Ladies' SP

[Blades of Passion]

It was a good event. Lots of strong performances, although I don't personally think any of them were magical artistically.

 

[dgel]

I've been watching sports of all sorts for close to fifty years and I would say that Joannie's skate tonight was one of the bravest things I've seen - and that would have been the case even if she had a poor performance. I noticed that Liz Manley and Jenn Robinson commentating for CTV did not say a word during her programme or even until the end of the next skater's programme- I'm sure they were overwhelmed emotionally. Rod Black - the consummate professional - was clearly having difficulty himself but carried on, filling in for Liz and Jenn for a good five minutes or so.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Other than the 3A, the difference between Mao and Yuna is in Personality.
Mao tends to skate seriously as a serious athlete should.
Yuna exudes the carefree skate as an entertainer must.

We are influenced by the personality of a skater, vis-a-vis Ryan Bradley. I suspect the judges are also, but it does mean good and clean technique as well. I used to think the roar of the crowd was a factor, but I now realize it is the charm of the skater.

 

[miki88]

Other than the 3A, the difference between Mao and Yuna is in Personality.
Mao tends to skate seriously as a serious athlete should.
Yuna exudes the carefree skate as an entertainer must.

We are influenced by the personality of a skater, vis-a-vis Ryan Bradley. I suspect the judges are also, but it does mean good and clean technique as well. I used to think the roar of the crowd was a factor, but I now realize it is the charm of the skater.

Usually, Mao skates seriously. But last night she skated with joy; she was actually smiling at some points in the program. However, I do agree Yuna has more personality in her SP. Her Bond Medley definitely helps.

 

[Fruit Loops]

Coming out of my lurking role to commend the ladies for a terrific three hours of (overall) good skating! Not going into a detailed review as it's all be said. But I am still curious to how Miki finished as high as she did. She is such a sloppy skater. Even her jumps last night looked messy. There aren't alot of ladies who have her usual consistency but, according to how they skated last night, I would have given both Americans the nod. At least their form and lines are neat and clean. And don't get into a UR debate with me because Miki was forgiven MUCH as well. And Kostner should NOT have gotten over 60 points with her skate. She's brilliant when on (though she's always ackward-looking, IMO) but she was sloppy too. I don't know. That's figure skating, I suppose!

I'm satisfied with the top three. I think Yuna has a bit too much of a lead but that's mainly because I like to keep things interesting and no one wants to see a for-gone conclusion. Also, no one wants to see someone have a splatfest in the lp stand atop the podium no matter how brilliant the sp was. I don't see that happening, but the system certainly creates the possibility.

Mao's music choices leave me cold. She has just as much personality and star power as Yuna but I don't think she's been choosing the right vehicles as of late. Inspite of the icky music she chooses she still manages to catch my interest but I have to give the edge to Yuna in the presentation department. I really like both skaters and am so glad both were "on" last night.

And I am an unashamedly-biased Canadian fan so, of course, I though Joannie was stunning and totally deserved being scored over 70 and is in contention for a silver medal.

 

[Figure88]

Other than the 3A, the difference between Mao and Yuna is in Personality.

Yuna exudes the carefree skate as an entertainer must.

Uh no. She has BOTH technical power + artistry. That's why she gets the such high scores. To say Yuna is a "mere" entertaintainer is a little condescending to say the least.

 

[museksk8r]

Scott Hamilton just pointed out on NBC that Yu-Na skates with more speed into her jumps and attains more height than Mao does in the air. He also said Yu-Na skates with much more expression and personality than the serious workman like quality of Mao. I agree with him, Mao leaves me cold, and I picked up on the same impressions last night during the SP.

 

[dlgpffps]

Uh no. She has BOTH technical power + artistry. That's why she gets the such high scores. To say Yuna is a "mere" entertaintainer is a little condescending to say the least.

I think you're overreacting. Both skaters have artistry, but of different sorts. I think Joeitz is just pointing out another major difference. I also don't think he means "entertainer" in a condescending way, as figure skaters must skate for not only themselves, but also the audience. To be able to move the audience, whether it is to tears or to bursts of joy or paroxysms of laughter, is an amazing talent, which Yu-na has. He's pointing out something amazing about Yu-na, so no worries

 

[screech]

I think you're overreacting. Both skaters have artistry, but of different sorts. I think Joeitz is just pointing out another major difference. I also don't think he means "entertainer" in a condescending way, as figure skaters must skate for not only themselves, but also the audience. To be able to move the audience, whether it is to tears or to bursts of joy or paroxysms of laughter, is an amazing talent, which Yu-na has. He's pointing out something amazing about Yu-na, so no worries

I agree - Kim engages the audience, and skates like she's performing for them. Mao's skating is more introspective - more like she's skating for her own love of it, not for the audience. There's nothing wrong eith either style, but Kim's does tend to be more entertaining.

I also enjoyed Kim's Bond program because even without the music, she did little moves to let you know what she was skating to - the theme. No, she's not perfect in her skating, but nobody really is (except V/M's FD performance).

 

[lavender]

Love both Mao and Yu na but I think Yu na is too far ahead of Mao but not surprised. I thought they were going to be even more ridiculous and give Yu na a score of 80.

It's too bad we didn't have Mirai at Worlds last year. We feel that we would have definitely had enough for 3 spots.

 

[Figure88]

I think you're overreacting. Both skaters have artistry, but of different sorts. I think Joeitz is just pointing out another major difference. I also don't think he means "entertainer" in a condescending way, as figure skaters must skate for not only themselves, but also the audience. To be able to move the audience, whether it is to tears or to bursts of joy or paroxysms of laughter, is an amazing talent, which Yu-na has. He's pointing out something amazing about Yu-na, so no worries

I don't know why you're replying to me, but this poster clearly draws the distinction that Mao is an athlete, whereas he says Yuna entertains and has charm. And it can be easily construed as condescending. Aspects of Yuna's skating such as speed, jumps etc is an athletic trait not artistic one.

 

[dlgpffps]

I don't know why you're replying to me, but this poster clearly draws the distinction that Mao is an athlete, whereas he says Yuna entertains and has charm. And it can be easily construed as condescending. Aspects of Yuna's skating such as speed, jumps etc is an athletic trait not artistic one.

OK well sorry for butting in. I'll stop. Before I do, I just want to point out that he also said "...but it does mean good and clean technique as well."

 

[Figure88]

OK well sorry for butting in. I'll stop. Before I do, I just want to point out that he also said "...but it does mean good and clean technique as well."

Uh, look at the tone of his post and the fact that he starts out with the point that the difference between the skaters is the 3A. Oh really?

 

[Sk8n Mama]

Happy for so many great skates in the SP! I'm not going to get too into the Mao/Yu-Na debate. I just wish there were some kind of extra gold medal for what Joannie Rochette did. She had the SP of her life in the most trying time of her life. I watched on NBC (I don't like Jennifer Robinson and Liz Manley and Rod Black commentating-way too much talking) and I'll forever remember Scott Hamilton crying when he tried to talk after her skate. He was only expressing what we were all feeling. I wanted to be respectful to all the skaters who skated after Joannie but for me the event was done. I watched it but my heart was not in it. I don't know if Joannie can carry herself thorugh the entire long program but I'll remember what she did in the short for the rest of my life & I don't think I've ever been more proud of one of our Canadian athletes.

 

[jeff goldblum]

It's too bad we didn't have Mirai at Worlds last year. We feel that we would have definitely had enough for 3 spots.

Mirai as she is skating now, yes. But recall that her state of mind, physical fitness and level of skating at this point last year probably would not have yielded a very good result at the World Championships. After all, she even withdrew, or rather, declined her invitation to Junior Worlds. I think the promising thing is that, if she and Rachael can continue to improve up to Worlds, they should have no trouble regaining that third spot.

 

[Bennett]

Mirai I missed her while writing an email for my work. I tried to search the internet, but it seems that NBC does a comprehensive work in cleaning-up the Olympic videos If anyone has her performance video, I'd appreciate a post. I am telling myself that I could see her an even better performance at worlds without any unfortunate nose bleeding.

Laura As beautiful as ever.

Mao She has returned to an innocent, happy girl! I am so happy for her. She just cannot help smiling with joys! Her 3A was REALLY high! Amazing! But I thought her second jump of the combo pretty URed. I am surprised that it was not DGed. I liked the eagle before the 2A. Her Spirals were exquisite. Just fantastic positions. I also liked steps. She looked so happy when she finished and jumped a little on the ice over joy. So cute! At KC, she was saying hello to her three dogs twice. Why dogs and not Mai who at least understands what you are saying?

Yuna It was fab! She was sexy out there and looked pretty relaxed. Her 3-3 was so fast and high and she jumped a great distance! Her Flip was really sharp and big, too! I think that the highlights of her program are those jumps and the step sequence. Her steps are a lot of fun. I am glad that she kept that costume and makeup.

Akiko I am sorry that she missed the flip combo. But she was calm enough to recover changing the solo loop out of steps to a loop combo. I think she also omitted the steps going into that loop. It was a good choice considering her mistake at 4CC. She looked more introverted than usual and she didn't spark that much until the step sequence. That might explain the relatively low PCS. But I hope that she is now used to the Olympic atmosphere and skate great at LP.

Caro Great speed, good combo, followed by a couple of jumping mistakes. Such a beautiful skater and her long legs really stand out. I usually find her programs and costumes very tasteful. But I find the pieces of music they put together didnt go too well. I think it works better if she sticks to just one piece of music.

Rachael Great expressiveness. Pretty dress. I wish she had a better posture, but she was really selling the program. I don't think that she deserves those blames on her artistry and I wonder how much of it can be attributable to her body type.
Her 3Lz looked very URed and I was a bit surprised that it wasn't called.

Miki She did make some mistakes in 3-3 and flip. But I didn't quite get why she scored so low in the PCS department. I find it one of the best programs of Miki. I also thought that she'd get Silver or possibly Gold because her pressures are smaller than before. But I feel that she might have thought too much. I hope she lands her 3-3 in LP.

 

[karenll]

Happy for so many great skates in the SP! I'm not going to get too into the Mao/Yu-Na debate. I just wish there were some kind of extra gold medal for what Joannie Rochette did. She had the SP of her life in the most trying time of her life. I watched on NBC (I don't like Jennifer Robinson and Liz Manley and Rod Black commentating-way too much talking) and I'll forever remember Scott Hamilton crying when he tried to talk after her skate. He was only expressing what we were all feeling. I wanted to be respectful to all the skaters who skated after Joannie but for me the event was done. I watched it but my heart was not in it. I don't know if Joannie can carry herself thorugh the entire long program but I'll remember what she did in the short for the rest of my life & I don't think I've ever been more proud of one of our Canadian athletes.

I totally agree. What Joannie did was infinitely more difficult than the hardest jump. The kind of courage, spirit, and grace she showed is what truly makes an Olympic champion.

 

[Figure88]

Congratuations to all the ladies for skating well last night--it was great to see the top skaters rise to the challenge of the Olympics by skating clean. I give extra kudos to Yuna for skating clean despite all the drama with the technical panel and enormous pressure put on her as the favorite.

Looking forward to the free skate.

 

[seniorita]

I rewatched Mao because I was half asleep last night, her skating just warms my heart, I cant explain with other words. I loved her last night and I m happy she was clean in Olympics.

but I'll remember what she did in the short for the rest of my life

I stayed all night to watch her skate and watching her there reminded me the real reason to watch Olympic Games. Big lesson of life and a triumph above any medal.

 

[Tinymavy15]

Mirai: I am glad she was going to try the 3/3 but when she could not complete it,
that kinda sucked the performance level down a bit. Not the same joy as we saw at Nationals, but no downgrades! Beautiful spins, she made us proud. This girl is a star.

I can't believe they did not show Elena G.!

Mao: I was overjoyed for her. The old Mao is back. Seeing her smile after that 3 Axel meant so much. Best skate I have seen from her in a long time. I thought she was slightly underscored, but to see her happy with it was great to see.

Joannie: what can I say? I am SO proud of her. I cried though thr whole program and for a while afterwards.

Akikko: unfortunate that she was not clean because she needed to be to have any shot. Her footwork is my favorite in the whole event, she really performs it with such charming touches.

Yu-na: skated like a champion. I don't quite see how it was her best ever...wasn't her SP at the GP just as good if not better? Overscored once again. With Mao's skate it should have been a nailbitter going into the free but it looks like we are headed to that coronation we dreaded.

Racheal: she didn't sell it was well at nationals... Funny both American girls had better skates at nationals. Her lutz was Zhang-like going in with all the swinging back and forth, but kudos for landing it. She looked a lot taller and older than in the past ( a good thing). 3/3 could have gone either way on replay, she was lucky.

Miki: very happy she tried the 3/3, but on replay the second jump loped cheated and the flip very much so (that was obviuos even in real time). The tech caller seems to have let her get away with them both, and considering her poor layback I can't believe she is ahead of the Americans. The judging here is the least fair of all four events so far...