- Joined
- Feb 14, 2006
Wow, I mean... having seen Irina and Sasha... the distance between them should have been much, much greater.
Astounding how overmarked Irina was.
Astounding how overmarked Irina was.
Ladies Short Program
- Thread starter millie
- Start date
Sasha, irina and Shiz
Sasha was wonderful. I think Sandra Bezic hit it on the head, "she was wise to go back to John Nicks." I hope she can sustain this through the LP. She must fight to control her nerves, fight for those jumps (like she did with the double axel), and believe in her self. She has the best chance to win gold that she's ever going to have, so here's hoping. Her programs are packed with choreogrpahy and Irina's aren't really comprable in that respect. So it's going to be really interesting. I think Shiz has her game face on too, and she could be the Sara Hughes of this Olympics.
Sasha was wonderful. I think Sandra Bezic hit it on the head, "she was wise to go back to John Nicks." I hope she can sustain this through the LP. She must fight to control her nerves, fight for those jumps (like she did with the double axel), and believe in her self. She has the best chance to win gold that she's ever going to have, so here's hoping. Her programs are packed with choreogrpahy and Irina's aren't really comprable in that respect. So it's going to be really interesting. I think Shiz has her game face on too, and she could be the Sara Hughes of this Olympics.
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2004
Sasha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2003
ITA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Longhornliz said:
Irina's PCS
Although I don't totally agree with this school of thought, i think the judges give her high PCS because of her energy and the fact that she skates to music that make the most of this style of skating (energizer bunny programs). She is lively and energetic, which is a skating style, but the part that bothers me is that her programs lack real choreography and coherence. They seem to have, for once, given Sasha the credit she deserves for a beautiful program and dinged Irina for a somewhat incoherent program. that lacked finesse All styles are not created equal and Irina's is much less refined, which should be a negative. Now if Irina skates a clean program and Sasha doesn't then it should get dicier. I would still give Sasha a slight edge unless it turned into a splatfest because of her superior execution and choreography. But if Irina skates dynamically and cleanly, I can see them giving her the gold also. I have to hope there is a clear winner for the LP, no matter who wins.
Although I don't totally agree with this school of thought, i think the judges give her high PCS because of her energy and the fact that she skates to music that make the most of this style of skating (energizer bunny programs). She is lively and energetic, which is a skating style, but the part that bothers me is that her programs lack real choreography and coherence. They seem to have, for once, given Sasha the credit she deserves for a beautiful program and dinged Irina for a somewhat incoherent program. that lacked finesse All styles are not created equal and Irina's is much less refined, which should be a negative. Now if Irina skates a clean program and Sasha doesn't then it should get dicier. I would still give Sasha a slight edge unless it turned into a splatfest because of her superior execution and choreography. But if Irina skates dynamically and cleanly, I can see them giving her the gold also. I have to hope there is a clear winner for the LP, no matter who wins.
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2003
What an amazing program Sasha put out there! I think she's conquered many demons that came onto the ice with her in programs past. As much as people make of her excessive competitive attitude, I think there has always been an intense desire to come out on top that has not been commensurate with her confidence in herself. Having talent is easy, or sometimes just dumb luck (I know this from experience); developing it is quite a burden, and I think Sasha has gone as far as she could go by this Olympic moment in converting all that potential into world-beating skill. Irina's selling point is her jumps, but no judge, as much as they may want to cling to biases, can put her over a Sasha who has landed all her jumps and who sells the CoP-type spiral sequence - a monstrosity in the wrong hands, as we have seen many times - better, with more polish and oomph and chutzpah than ANYONE out there.
She's driven, she wants it, and she's done more mental, physical, on- and off-ice work towards winning than I'd ever seen her do. The stars seem aligned for everything to fall into place at the right time for Sasha, and I am confident that with such a loving, supportive, and affectionate coach who knows, understands, and care for her, she'll make her most valiant bid for the top spot on the podium - and for her skate of a lifetime, most importantly, ever. People may have different opinions about her, but I think critics and critiques of skaters' personalities, without a genuine attempt to empathize with the person behind the public persona, with his or her struggles and experiences, are a dime a dozen.
Sasha's performance tonight, her focus on developing her potential to its fullest and pursuing her ultimate dream, are a real inspiration to me, as I feel I can identify with her battle to conquer demons of insecurity, lack of self-confidence, difficulty with believing in oneself, etc. My only wish is for Sasha's support system - her newfound confidence, Mr. Nicks' support, wisdom, and experience to keep her in the good place she's fought so dearly to reach.
BIG Kudos to Fumie as well for a beautifully delivered program, technically and emotionally! My wishes for the podium are Sasha and Fumie.
Wooooooooooooah OLYMPICS!!!!!!
Sarah M.
She's driven, she wants it, and she's done more mental, physical, on- and off-ice work towards winning than I'd ever seen her do. The stars seem aligned for everything to fall into place at the right time for Sasha, and I am confident that with such a loving, supportive, and affectionate coach who knows, understands, and care for her, she'll make her most valiant bid for the top spot on the podium - and for her skate of a lifetime, most importantly, ever. People may have different opinions about her, but I think critics and critiques of skaters' personalities, without a genuine attempt to empathize with the person behind the public persona, with his or her struggles and experiences, are a dime a dozen.
Sasha's performance tonight, her focus on developing her potential to its fullest and pursuing her ultimate dream, are a real inspiration to me, as I feel I can identify with her battle to conquer demons of insecurity, lack of self-confidence, difficulty with believing in oneself, etc. My only wish is for Sasha's support system - her newfound confidence, Mr. Nicks' support, wisdom, and experience to keep her in the good place she's fought so dearly to reach.
BIG Kudos to Fumie as well for a beautifully delivered program, technically and emotionally! My wishes for the podium are Sasha and Fumie.
Wooooooooooooah OLYMPICS!!!!!!
Sarah M.
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- Joined
- Apr 1, 2004
Sorry, I have to say it one more time...
Sasha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sasha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2004
I don't think she's conquered anything quite yet. Sasha very often has clean SPs. Thursday will be the true test for her. And quite honestly, I don't think she has what it takes. She nearly always has little mistakes here and there in her LP, and the scores are just too close to allow for that. She needed to do something big in the SP and give herself a cushion, but she did just enough to hang in there. Just one of her trademarked bobbles, and she's out of the running, quite possibly off the podium. I'd like to say I have cofidence that she really has conquered her demons, but so far I have not seen enough to believe it.sarahmistral said:
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2004
Miles ahead, for what? Like Bezic even knows what she is talking about. Sasha was okay, but not special.sk8addict said:
Isn't it amazing where they come up with those component scores for Irina? Sasha should be miles ahead. What an beautiful performance.
Here comes the ubiquitous "wOw!!!" re the ladies' short!
From Kimmie, who skated second, to Sasha, who held her concentration together through what must have been a long night, there were so many beautiful and/or exciting performances.
The other day I was thinking the podium would be:
1. Irina
2. Shizza or Sasha
3. Fumie, Sasha, or Miki
Having seen Elena Sokolova practicing on "Olympic Ice," I felt she just didn't look "together." Plus her body looked relatively out of shape--I mean among the skaters, not us regular humans. But how sad to see her break into tears as soon as she finished skating. The agony of defeat even before her scores came up. She knew.
But having seen the SP, I think the podium is going to be composed of, in no particular order, Irina, Shizza, Sasha, Fumie...and maybe even Kimmie. Meissner skated a great long at USN. Past experience says Sasha or Fumie are most likely to make a significant mistake in the LP; the judges are most likely to underscore Shizza; Irina is most likely to tighten up or run out of gas due to health problems; and Kimmie is the biggest unknown--except for the spitfire Georgian 16-year-old, Elene Gedevanishvili (I read the spelling of her name off the TV screen). So go figure.
Only 3/100ths of a point separating Sasha and Irina! This is when I love the COP, when two skaters whose styles abd strengths are polar opposites wind up in a virtual tie for first.
Hmm, as I'm writing this, with all the focus on Irina and Sasha, perhaps Shizza will sneak in there for the OGM.
As I said, Kimmie threw down a beauty of an LP at USN, but that was after her SP tanked. Did everybody else catch the camera on Kimmie after Sasha had finished her SP? Well, so much for being in awe of skaters such as Sasha.
Kimmie's face was so cold, you could have skated on it, lol. She's competin' now, boy. Good for her. Kimmie grows up. I love it!
How much you wanna bet next year Kimmie competes as Kimberly or Kim?
I thought Emily looked to be in great shape. As I said in another thread, she gained a lot of weight this summer when she had viral meningitis and wisely, IMO, she lost it gradually and didn't seem to "freak out" about her weight. Good for Ma and Pa Hughes for raising two of the few women in the US under 25 who aren't obsessed with having a behind shaped like a skinny 12-year-old boy.
Emily is still rough around the edges, but I love her power. And how refreshing to see curves! And on a female skater!
I love Irina's SP. To me, she looks like female strength and beauty incarnate in that unitard. Irina has never been and IMO never tried to be a "pretty" skater. I think she's probably always been encouraged to skate from the soul of just who she is. She has some habits, such as the telegraphing of many of her jumps, that I'm not crazy about. But as Mzheng said, and like the "fanny out" descent women do on the death spiral in pairs, that's the way most Russian coaches teach it.
After all, Ukranian, 29-year-old Elena Liashenko telegraphs her jumps from outside the arena--J/K! Great for Liashenko for skating in the Olympics at almost 30.
Good luck in the LP, ladies! Here's hoping the skate gods bless all of you with personal bests and all of us with a knock-out competition!
Rgirl
From Kimmie, who skated second, to Sasha, who held her concentration together through what must have been a long night, there were so many beautiful and/or exciting performances.
The other day I was thinking the podium would be:
1. Irina
2. Shizza or Sasha
3. Fumie, Sasha, or Miki
Having seen Elena Sokolova practicing on "Olympic Ice," I felt she just didn't look "together." Plus her body looked relatively out of shape--I mean among the skaters, not us regular humans. But how sad to see her break into tears as soon as she finished skating. The agony of defeat even before her scores came up. She knew.
But having seen the SP, I think the podium is going to be composed of, in no particular order, Irina, Shizza, Sasha, Fumie...and maybe even Kimmie. Meissner skated a great long at USN. Past experience says Sasha or Fumie are most likely to make a significant mistake in the LP; the judges are most likely to underscore Shizza; Irina is most likely to tighten up or run out of gas due to health problems; and Kimmie is the biggest unknown--except for the spitfire Georgian 16-year-old, Elene Gedevanishvili (I read the spelling of her name off the TV screen). So go figure.
Only 3/100ths of a point separating Sasha and Irina! This is when I love the COP, when two skaters whose styles abd strengths are polar opposites wind up in a virtual tie for first.
Hmm, as I'm writing this, with all the focus on Irina and Sasha, perhaps Shizza will sneak in there for the OGM.
As I said, Kimmie threw down a beauty of an LP at USN, but that was after her SP tanked. Did everybody else catch the camera on Kimmie after Sasha had finished her SP? Well, so much for being in awe of skaters such as Sasha.
Kimmie's face was so cold, you could have skated on it, lol. She's competin' now, boy. Good for her. Kimmie grows up. I love it! How much you wanna bet next year Kimmie competes as Kimberly or Kim?
I thought Emily looked to be in great shape. As I said in another thread, she gained a lot of weight this summer when she had viral meningitis and wisely, IMO, she lost it gradually and didn't seem to "freak out" about her weight. Good for Ma and Pa Hughes for raising two of the few women in the US under 25 who aren't obsessed with having a behind shaped like a skinny 12-year-old boy.
Emily is still rough around the edges, but I love her power. And how refreshing to see curves! And on a female skater!
I love Irina's SP. To me, she looks like female strength and beauty incarnate in that unitard. Irina has never been and IMO never tried to be a "pretty" skater. I think she's probably always been encouraged to skate from the soul of just who she is. She has some habits, such as the telegraphing of many of her jumps, that I'm not crazy about. But as Mzheng said, and like the "fanny out" descent women do on the death spiral in pairs, that's the way most Russian coaches teach it.
After all, Ukranian, 29-year-old Elena Liashenko telegraphs her jumps from outside the arena--J/K! Great for Liashenko for skating in the Olympics at almost 30.
Good luck in the LP, ladies! Here's hoping the skate gods bless all of you with personal bests and all of us with a knock-out competition!
Rgirl
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- Joined
- Jan 18, 2006
mzheng said:
I've never seen Yags or Plush do that, or Abt.
All I can say is YUCK. I hate that arm curvy thingie.:disagree:
rain said:
Yes, she does telegraph - has a tendancy to drop her choreography cold in her jump prep. But the worst for me is her travelling three turns into her triple loop. It is such an ugly, ugly jump entrance. I've always thought she should get deducted for it, but, alas, she gets EXTRA points as it "adds difficulty." So no way is she going to stop doing it. Sigh.[/QUOTE]
I hate those traveling threes too!! The first time I saw her do them I wasn't impressed-though the announcers always say it is hard and the judges reward it. I understand that it's hard but YUCK!
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I thought Sasha performed better tonight than she did at Nationals. That being said, I have noticed that her "perfection" spiral was slow--and has been all season. She doesn't have it in the bag yet. None of the top three do, but Sasha really needs to conquer her demon.
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2003
dancindiva03 said:
I'm sure past experiences are on her mind and that SHE is going to do everything in her power to address them. The difference I see is in her approach, her confidence, and her determination to approach the whole situation, her nerves, the expectations, the sport's grandest stage, etc., differently, more wisely, with Mr. Nicks support and her willingness to draw constructive lessons from past SP victory-LP meltdown situations. I'm keeping the faith; as someone else said, this is her best shot, and I'm sure she knows it and is preparing mentally, physically, pacing herself, doing all the right things, etc. as we speak.
Dee4707 said:
Yeah, Dee!! That's the attitude I love to hear and plan to adopt myself re: my hopes for Sasha!!
:agree: 
Go Sasha!!
Go Fumie!!
Go Irina!!
Go everybody!!:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :yes: :yes:
