Ladies - Short Program

[Sjs5572]

. I think Clara Peters skated as best she can, she done very well to make it out of the prelimanary round.

I don't understand why the senior test only requires four different types of double jumps, and two different double/double combos, while the senior short requires a triple jump, and triple/double combo.

It seems like the senior test should be updated to reflect contemporary requirements. A skater with Clara Peters' technical skills does not belong in the senior ranks, IMO.

 

[skatinginbc]

...shakes her hips...

That's excellent "Transition".

 

[Olympia]

The triple axel was her mother's favorite jump. Mao has been really close-mouthed about her loss, even cancelling a publication of her book because the publishing company made some reference to her mother's passing in the advertisement. It would likely have been a best-seller (tens of thousands of copies had already been pre-ordered when it was cancelled). Maybe doing the triple axel is something she wanted to do for her mother?

Though I'd really love to see Mao ditch the triple axel if it could get her the gold, seeing this statement makes me realize that Mao doesn't need this World Championship to validate her career. She has an Olympic silver, two World Championships, a GPF, and any number of other medals, plus an adoring international fan base. She's also situated in a country where skating is hugely popular, so she can have a pro career that lasts for years and keeps her at the peak of stardom. If, therefore, she wants to spend this season and the next chasing the triple axel at the cost of medals, she's got nothing to lose. We who are her fans will always love her skating, and we'll pretty much follow her anywhere. Maybe this is her way of mourning her mother. I wouldn't be surprised. Grief has many guises.

Nevertheless, I do hope she pulls out the program she needs to for the long, and I still want her to win. She's actually in a good position for it. (1) Unlike a lot of other skaters, she has phenomenal drive and is far from a head case. (2) She's frequently had to dig herself out of a hole with a lights-out long program. (3) She's within grabbing distance of the gold.

Go, Mao!

 

[treeloving]

That's excellent "Transition".

I will not be surprise if Amadio got sky rocket score tomorrow as well as he is great in shaking hip.

 

[Violet Bliss]

should only go to hip shaking on the move on one blade.

 

[Mrs. P]

Though I'd really love to see Mao ditch the triple axel if it could get her the gold, seeing this statement makes me realize that Mao doesn't need this World Championship to validate her career. She has an Olympic silver, two World Championships, a GPF, and any number of other medals, plus an adoring international fan base. She's also situated in a country where skating is hugely popular, so she can have a pro career that lasts for years and keeps her at the peak of stardom. If, therefore, she wants to spend this season and the next chasing the triple axel at the cost of medals, she's got nothing to lose. We who are her fans will always love her skating, and we'll pretty much follow her anywhere. Maybe this is her way of mourning her mother. I wouldn't be surprised. Grief has many guises.

Nevertheless, I do hope she pulls out the program she needs to for the long, and I still want her to win. She's actually in a good position for it. (1) Unlike a lot of other skaters, she has phenomenal drive and is far from a head case. (2) She's frequently had to dig herself out of a hole with a lights-out long program. (3) She's within grabbing distance of the gold.

Go, Mao!

Well said. I know everyone thinks competition is about winning (and for most people that is the goal), but within every competition each skater has goals/aspirations that have nothing to do with the podium.

That 3A, for Mao, is her goal. And if it indeed was her mother's favorite jump I can see why she wants to keep working on it.

 

[Spun Silver]

I think the Japanese media has a lot to do with Mao's chase of the 3A. I've heard "3 axel" in every media clip of Mao I've ever seen. There seems to be a mania about it. JMO.

 

[skatinginbc]

I think the Japanese media has a lot to do with Mao's chase of the 3A.

agreed

 

[lavender]

So far this whole competition has kind of not been so great....lol It all started with the pairs with everyone falling and doubling jumps. The big names aren't doing so great except S/S,D/W and V/M. I’m scared for the men now.

I will not be surprise if Amadio got sky rocket score tomorrow as well as he is great in shaking hip.

I use to really like his skating but we all know what happened there. NM sure likes the hip thing.

 

[fairly4]

it is what is it is. with the american ladies.
alissa has to take the blame and not use other excuses for me it is focusing on past not present.
the u.s. ladies will be lucky to keep 2 spots.
we can do would have, could have, should have, but we sent who thought could handle it alissa-2 time natl champ-3 time to worlds, ashley. it isnt over, but it doesnt look promising.
heck we could have sent agnes , caroline zhang-would have at least fought, mirai, rachel, but we let alissa go to show us what she can do. she made mistakes .

alissa is more front end skate

 

[wonderlen3000]

I think the Japanese media has a lot to do with Mao's chase of the 3A. I've heard "3 axel" in every media clip of Mao I've ever seen. There seems to be a mania about it. JMO.

That and 3A is Mao signature jump so I can understand she wants to keep it in her program. Although, she should have save it for the long program.... oh well. But she still within one jump away from lead, so anything can happend in FS.

 

[kwanatic]

That and 3A is Mao signature jump so I can understand she wants to keep it in her program. Although, she should have save it for the long program.... oh well. But she still within one jump away from lead, so anything can happend in FS.

I just wish she would do it in the LP and not in the SP. It's too risky. As they say, you can't win a competition in the SP but you can lose it. That's more 6.0 era logic but it still holds true today. If you flub the SP too badly and get too far behind, it becomes really difficult to make up those points. I wish Mao would have played it safe in the SP and gone for a clean program...if she had, she'd be in the lead right now.

I hope she can deliver in the LP...I really want to see her hit the podium this year.

 

[wonderlen3000]

I totally agree. I have a feeling that the sort of 3As we see Mao does at competitions others can, and perhaps do, privately, when no one is watching. Mao used to be exceptional, competing with Yunas of this world. She has become just one of many. She is wasting her life with her obsession with 3A. She may have been a 3A jumper in her teens, but, now, judging from her physique, muscle power and her other jumps, it's clear she doesn't
have resources to do 3As. She is not a Midori Ito or a Martina Navratilova.

Exactly....even without 3A, she can easily make smart 7 triples program like many other..
3F+2Lo
2A+3T
3Lz
3Lo
3S
3F+2Lo+2Lo.... and that is the same TES jump base as the skater with 3+3 program.
3T

 

[herro]

That's what I don't get.

She starts at the center of the rink, a few moves, comes around for the 3-3, comes back around for the 3f, and then right to the 2a, spin, shakes her hips and does lots of campy posing and footwork for the next minute, finishes footwork goes right to a spin and then a final spin and ends. There was no "skating" other than the first 30-35 seconds where she set up her jumps.

I appreciate her enthusiasm; I just don't like Alena's skating (too sloppy and unrefined). That program is garbage. Agree or disagree; obviously the judges disagreed...but that's my opinion.

Completely agree with you there.

I don't like Leonova's skating - I never have and I probably never will. It might sound harsh, but that's just how I feel.

I personally can't imagine seeing Leonova top the podium when so many (arguably) more refined and developed skaters are also in the competition.

 

[herro]

Exactly....even without 3A, she can easily make smart 7 triples program like many other..
3F+2Lo
2A+3T
3Lz
3Lo
3S
3F+2Lo+2Lo.... and that is the same TES jump base as the skater with 3+3 program.
3T

Don't know about the 2A+3T. It looked horribly underrotated in the practice video. She's probably better off just doing clean solo triples and triple-doubles at this point.

 

[wonderlen3000]

maybe Brian Olser could teach Mao and her coach a little thing call 'COP whoring'...milking out all the points..

 

[herro]

maybe Brian Olser could teach Mao and her coach a little thing call 'COP whoring'...milking out all the points..

I wouldn't really phrase it in the same way, but yea.

It's obvious. If you want to win, you have to try to maximize your score and you do that by being smart about the COP system.

 

[skfan]

maybe Brian Olser could teach Mao and her coach a little thing call 'COP whoring'...milking out all the points..

she's already won worlds twice. maybe being world champ is not the prize to her that it is to others, even though everybody prefers winning to finishing second, third, fourth... part of what i love about mao is her wish to do things her way, to define her own standard for success. when mao says that successfully completing all her objectives is more important to her than the final placements, i believe her. that's not to say she can never feel disappointment. anyway, the two are probably linked--if she counts having a jump ratified as one of her objectives, if the jump (or jump combo) is ratified she's more likely to place well.

i know too little about mao to comment on whether embracing the 3a to the point of stubbornness is a tribute to her mom. maybe in her view it's an essential step on the way to winning the sochi olympics? i doubt she's still in this merely to add to the number of worlds medals in her trophy case.

i think mao is one of the very few skaters who truly has it all, and her skating is magical even if she doesn't attempt any jumps. disruptive falls and other imperfections detract from the flow of her programs, but mao's given me as a fan many opportunities to witness greatness, and i'm grateful for that. even if i sometime shake my head -- i mean, i could say the same about another skater whom i'm *very* fond of who has been 'throwing away a jump passage' (in the words of another poster) on a usually-not-successful quad in nearly every competition... *sigh*

 

[christinaskater]

Alena is skating first in the final group.

 

[Trewyn]

I can't read through 42 pages, but I've read bits and pieces. Anyway; quite a bit of drama tonight!

Small Ladies SP update from Nice in random order:

Ashley: because she's the reason I'm actually here in the first place She did look nervous but still in control in the warm-up; I didn't see her struggle with anything, she landed a GORGEOUS triple flip-triple toe in the warm-up. That's how I could tell the timing was off when she attempted it in the competition :s Luckily she tacked on the double toe after her loop and didn't give up, though it all felt a bit cautious, just the vibe I was getting, like she was holding back. I'm looking forward to her Black Swan LP because she usually skates that with a lot of charisma and I hope she'll be awesome I guess a bronze isn't out of reach so.. fingers crossed!

Mao: no surprise really, the fall on the triple axel attempt; but I appreciated her choreography and body lines like I hadn't before.

Carolina: she wants it so badly! I really hope she'll perform that lovely LP to its full potential

Elene G: Brian Orser jumped up SO HIGH when she landed that triple-triple!!! Very cute and congrats Elene!

Alena: never liked her, I admit that I'm a bit biased, though she was very excited and I think she charmed a lot of people with her natural happiness. I think it's important that skaters exude love for the sport and what they are doing, Alena has that in abundance though everything else is over the top. Don't really want to imagine her as a world champion... (She's never even medalled at Euros!)

Ksenia: was pretty forgettable, it seemed like the audience wasn't much into it either.

Akiko: love her, but I think I like her LP better? More on Saturday. The nice Japanese guys sitting next to me gave a yellow jacket signed by her as a gift for me! So cool

Alissa: don't want to remember.. ouch.. In The Hague I saw her struggle in the warm-up, today not so much at all, so it came as a bit of a surprise really :s