I have the feeling in this discussion there are two problems:
1st, people complain about podium results, but for that matter they consider just the long program
2nd, they praise 6.0, but at least with this system we have an objective way to compare performances (UNDERROTATION EXCLUDED). Going back to 6.0 would take back athleticism and reward just clean performances. skaters would stop pushing themselves to their limit.
In my mind, the only fact placing a problem/discussion is the placement of Yukari...So let's discute in an objective way!
a) She has wrong jump techinque. Full stop. When people say the wrap doesn't bother them, the judges couldn't care less. When you learn jumps they teach you you should not have the wrap, it is wrong.
b) She had a wonderful performance, and it was recognized by the judges, since she had the second best pcs of the night. Now, on this point we can argue, since Mao had the highest pcs, and people have started wondering if with such a fall she should have been rewarded less.
Mao's pcs: despite she is not a brilliant interpreter, everyone can agree she has this effortless quality in her skating, so in theory she deserves to be up there. The problem is there is no place in pcs to take notice for such a fall. I guess here everyone can have their own interpretation.
My own would be to give her a lower mark in performance, since in my mind she definitely gave a halt to her program and the music seemed like a background for a bit (not a minute, it was 15 seconds I think). Even if it was just a short halt it makes sense that it is unrewarded: it is not just a regular fall. On the other hand, Mao did her best to wow everyone with the rest of the performance.
In the end I cannot blame the judges for given her higher pcs than Yu-Na or Caro. In fact, if she had slighlty lower pcs she was risking to be behind Kostner. I can't decide which is worse: a HUGE fall, or 2 step outs and a three turn....I'd go with the first, even though I'm still not sure.
Notice that Mao was very surprised (her coach too) about her placement. So indeed she received a little gift, but I wouldn't consider it enough for talking about it...
let's say I want to be strict and give her 0.75 points less in performance her new free skate total is 120.71.
Now, I can't decide whether Yukari's pcs should be higher than Mao or not...I would have put them equal, since one girl was superior in interpretation and performance, and the other one in skating skills...Just to make thing fair and square. So, going back to Yukari, i would have granted her at least one point more. But her problem is her tech mark. Her jumps are ugly. Her axel and flip were indeed underrotated, full stop. People get over with it...
The only thing I could argue is that if Cop wasn't so harsh on underrotation (i.e. just counting it as a double, and not giving her negative goes) Yukari would have fared the following on underrotated jumps:
3 axel < 3.50 (instead of the 2.24 she got)
3 flip < 1.87 (instead of the 1.48 she got)
she would have gained in this way 1.65.
Summing this up to the extra one point in pcs is 2.65. Sum this up to her free skating mark, Yukari's new total is 118.95..
Unfortunatel, this would have not been enough to beat Yu-Na. Even if I would have put Yukari on the podium (anywhere, but there) with my heart, sport is not something you should judge with your heart. There are points to be summed up, and i think it is better this way.
now, let's analyze Yu-Na.
She rightfully won the free skate. Her tech mark is completely right. She got plus goes on everything (EVEN ON HER POPPED LUTZ) except on her triple salchow - which was actually looking underrotated. So she even got a little gif here from judges.
Her pcs were right since her performance was washed out compared to her standards (and this does have an impact on judges, remember that they are used to seeing her with more power and energy).
Let's say her free skate total if fine, even if I would have counted her the underrotation (-2 points for counting her a double instead of a triple salchow), with a new free skate total of 121.38.
I agree with people wanting Yu-Na ahead of Caro after the free skate (and that is what happened), but here too often people think that the competition is based only on the LP. Yu-Na put herself out of contention with her short, really subpar her standards. Therefore I conclude that her marks are fine, and unfortunately she is ahead of Yukari.
Let's go to Kostner. Now this is the one creating more controversy and people complaining. Let's start with pcs. She really is a fine interpreter, and obviously everyone has their own preferences, but people do not realize she has improved tremendously. She always had the same effortless quality, but I remember her still face in 2005 and 2006 at the olys (ah ah scared face very often). In the sp she was superb in that weird music, and in the lp she was second to yu-na in interpretation. She even had plenty of energy and portrayed the right intensity of the music when counted. She really had a dramatic improvement this year, and her pcs are actually the same as the last years. so I don't think she was gifted anything. If I had been a judge, I would have given her less in performance (let's say a 6.25 vs a 7.25 - 1 point less-...but not more than that because she indeed fought through the whole program, which was quite powerful.
The tech mark is fine, since she was rightfully dinged for every step out with the following goes
triple lutz : -1 (indeed was the less serious one)
triple flip: -2 (right! she put a hand down)
double axel-triple toe: -0.86 (hand down, I would have given her -1)
triple salchow-double toe: - 1.57 (she just got her toe pick a bit stuck on the ice, I'm fine with this deduction)
And that was it. I would like people to stop bashing no sense. When they describe their performance they say she double footed all jumps. This is not true. the reality is: tow hands down, one step out, one toepick stuck. This doesn't qualify it as a clean performance, but it is not what people describe.
So with my calculations she would have -1 points in pcs -0.20 in goe. and maybe I would add -1 in the spiral (even though she had wonderful edges, and her leg did indeed stay up the required seconds in a good bielmann, but since it took her a bit to put it up i would give her zero goe). for a total of -2.20 points, and giving her a new free skate total of 118.20, which puts her behind yukari IN THE FREE.
To conclude this veeery long post, the maybe more correct free skating results would be:
1st: Yu-na 121.38
2nd: Mao 120.70
3rd: Yukari 118.95
4th: Kostner: 118.20
Now. let's see the final standidng....
1st: Mao 184.71
2nd: Kostner 182.48
3rd: Yu-Na 181.23
4th: Yukari 180.05
Unfortunately my calcs do not change anything except making the gap between Mao and Caro wider.
PLEASE, please remember that also the sp is part of the competition, before giving your comments.
