Mao Asada | Page 10 | Golden Skate

Mao Asada

They only thing that tech panel was missing was actual hammers to throw at the ladies. Top ladies skated so clean in the SP they needed to hit their quota for deductions or something? It puzzled me to no end unlike Mao who floored me into giddy delight:bow:
 
gotoschool said:
Here is some information from posters on the ladies thread supporting the view that the tech judges cheated Mao out of points with more detail and patience than I have.
Click to expand...

As much as I don't agree with the judging at times, I also would suggest not placing too much trust in armchair analysis of jumps one reads on forums, especially since a lot of her harshest critics tend to scrutinize her jumps after every event. I think scores will always be debated in figure skating. It's just the nature of the sport. But one thing is clear and that is Mao delivered great performances at Worlds. Her FS wasn't perfect but except for one visible error, the rest of her performance was pretty awesome.
 
gotoschool said:
Yet, some journalists like Jack Gallagher in the Japan Times are reporting
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Jack Gallagher? LOL. That name doesn't belong in the same sentence as the word "reporting".

That guy is a rabid fanboy of the worst kind, for a certain skater. His rants leaves him with no credibility whatsoever, and are a disservice to the very skater he holds so dear - never mind all the other skaters he slags off, in order to venerate his chosen one.

Don't waste your time reading, and adding to his hit counter...
 
miki88 said:
As much as I don't agree with the judging at times, I also would suggest not placing too much trust in armchair analysis of jumps one reads on forums, especially since a lot of her harshest critics tend to scrutinize her jumps after every event. I think scores will always be debated in figure skating. It's just the nature of the sport. But one thing is clear and that is Mao delivered great performances at Worlds. Her FS wasn't perfect but except for one visible error, the rest of her performance was pretty awesome.
Click to expand...

I second this. Mao gave to magnificent performances under intense pressure, both 3A's were to die for, and 3f3lo was immense and she did it like a piece of cake, she landed a total of 7 jumps with level4 on all spins and steps, after a record breaking sp. Sooo proud of her, for keeping it together and delivering the way she did. loved watching the contrast between the light sp and the dark fs program. She just transforms when the music starts.
 
YesWay said:
Jack Gallagher? LOL. That name doesn't belong in the same sentence as the word "reporting".

That guy is a rabid fanboy of the worst kind, for a certain skater. His rants leaves him with no credibility whatsoever, and are a disservice to the very skater he holds so dear - never mind all the other skaters he slags off, in order to venerate his chosen one.

Don't waste your time reading, and adding to his hit counter...
Click to expand...

Believe me my only goal in citing this sub-par hack was to show how blatant and petty he is in trying to deprive Magnificent Mao of her monumental moment, hence his utter lack of journalistic integrity.

Contrast this with the profound respect and admiration Mao earned from the gracious British commentators on Eurosport, "Unreal! She pulled it all together. That was an amazing performance. Absolutely incredible! That triple Axel was an absolute corker! (Looking at the replay on triple axel) Clean as a whistle. Sure she’s going to get that! She must have a mind of steel!!"

I admit I was also crushed when I saw Murakami's and Suzuki's tech marks plummet so precipitously and suspiciously. Though most all skaters were judged strictly, I definitely agree with other posters who claim there was bias against the Japanese in tech scoring. Though admittedly I haven't looked at skaters from all countries. this is a list of deductions I noted: Murakami (-12), Asada (-11), Suzuki (-7) compared to Lipnitskaya (-4) and Gold (-2.5). I am not a saavy judge, but the discrepancy just seems to be too much when watching the performances. This may be a little off the topic of Mao, but does anyone know the composition of the tech panel?
 
gotoschool said:
This may be a little off the topic of Mao, but does anyone know the composition of the tech panel?
Click to expand...

The technical panel was CAN, GER, FRA. You can find some info about them on Google if you search. Although I am a bit sad they were so strict, the good part is that no one can question the validity of Mao's win. There was nothing resembling home-field advantage :). As for journalists who say she had a subpar performance, I'm guessing they didn't watch the event and went straight to the protocols.
 
BounceAround said:
The technical panel was CAN, GER, FRA. You can find some info about them on Google if you search. Although I am a bit sad they were so strict, the good part is that no one can question the validity of Mao's win. There was nothing resembling home-field advantage :). As for journalists who say she had a subpar performance, I'm guessing they didn't watch the event and went straight to the protocols.
Click to expand...

Thank you BounceAround. The composition of the tech panel sounds like it was clearly slanted towards an advantage for the Western world- much like the deductions. As usual, Mao had to fight extra hard for victory making it twice as brilliant and precious. And as usual, she takes it on the chin in the press because they largely accept the protocols at face value without digging any deeper or posing any questions. Thank you Eurosport commentators for giving us the true sensation of Mao's magnificent clutch performance. At least, she decisively won both the short and long programs here, unlike her last World's win in 2010 when she finished 2nd in both the SP and LP. Still don't know how she didn't get first in the free-skate at 2010 Worlds because her Bells of Moscow performance there with two triple axels and mesmerizing spins and step sequence was one of my all time favorites.
 
Mao was truly magnificent! She's such a lovely skater, and I'm so glad for her!

Has anyone posted this yet?

Evgeni Plushenko‏@EvgeniPlushenko·29 mar
Congratulation to 3 times world champion Mao Asada
2 beautiful 3A, I am so proud of you, thank you for pushing our sport to the next level
 
I'm fairly new to figure skating and I just love Mao to bits. And I just rewatched her FS in Sochi and can anyone tell me if the cheering -crowd clapping in the step sequence- was part of her music? Because I swear that gave me goosebumps. How the audience was able to connect with her.
 
berrymutt said:
I'm fairly new to figure skating and I just love Mao to bits. And I just rewatched her FS in Sochi and can anyone tell me if the cheering -crowd clapping in the step sequence- was part of her music? Because I swear that gave me goosebumps. How the audience was able to connect with her.
Click to expand...
It's not part of the music... audiences just love to clap along to strongly-rhythmic sequences like that. But especially during an amazing record-setting (8 triple jumps) performance like Asada's Olympic FS :-D

And Asada's step sequences are always awesome, whether the crowd gets behind it or not!

By the way: Asada's 2013-2014 FS music :-D
 
Thank you for answering that, I've been wondering since Sochi because that's the part that always has me tearing up.

And I agree that her step sequences are awesome (from what I've seen so far). My heart just swells everytime I watch that fs, especially when she gets to that part. Anyways, so happy for her that she won the gold in the world championships. :))
 
Here is an article I found translated into English in which Mao talks about retirement and how she feels about skating the last few years. I can't find the website anymore, so I am just pasting the content.

SAITAMA, Japan - Japanese figure skater Mao Asada said Sunday, the day after winning the world title, that she needed more time to decide when to retire from competition.
Asada, the runner-up to South Korean star Kim Yu-Na at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, has kept her fans and skating officials in suspense by saying she had a "50-50 chance" of continuing to compete after this season.
"What I feel is that I need some rest now," the 23-year-old told reporters during an exhibition after the season-closing world figure skating championships in Saitama near Tokyo.
"I have struggled for three years as I could not skate the way I wanted and jump the way I wanted," she said.
"I had thought about staking my career on the Sochi Olympic season," she added.
In Sochi last month, Asada botched her trademark triple axel and other jumps. But she came back brilliantly in the free skate.
She improved further at the world championships before her home fans.
Asada broke Kim's short programme world record and topped the free skate section to win her third women's title following her triumphs in 2008 and 2010.
On Sunday, she said her free skating in Sochi and her overall performance in Saitama was the level she had been seeking to produce ever since Vancouver.
"I am finally beginning to really get a grip of how I can perform," she said.
"But you need to set a goal and have a lot of determination to stay on. If such things don't come out naturally, I don't think I can do it," she added. "I don't think there is any need for me to come to an immediate decision." Asada has been a poster girl for Japanese figure skating since winning her first Grand Prix Final title in 2005 to begin a longtime rivalry with Kim, a fellow 23-year-old.
 
gotoschool said:
Here is an article I found translated into English in which Mao talks about retirement and how she feels about skating the last few years. I can't find the website anymore, so I am just pasting the content.

SAITAMA, Japan - Japanese figure skater Mao Asada said Sunday, the day after winning the world title, that she needed more time to decide when to retire from competition.
Asada, the runner-up to South Korean star Kim Yu-Na at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, has kept her fans and skating officials in suspense by saying she had a "50-50 chance" of continuing to compete after this season.
"What I feel is that I need some rest now," the 23-year-old told reporters during an exhibition after the season-closing world figure skating championships in Saitama near Tokyo.
"I have struggled for three years as I could not skate the way I wanted and jump the way I wanted," she said.
"I had thought about staking my career on the Sochi Olympic season," she added.
In Sochi last month, Asada botched her trademark triple axel and other jumps. But she came back brilliantly in the free skate.
She improved further at the world championships before her home fans.
Asada broke Kim's short programme world record and topped the free skate section to win her third women's title following her triumphs in 2008 and 2010.
On Sunday, she said her free skating in Sochi and her overall performance in Saitama was the level she had been seeking to produce ever since Vancouver.
"I am finally beginning to really get a grip of how I can perform," she said.
"But you need to set a goal and have a lot of determination to stay on. If such things don't come out naturally, I don't think I can do it," she added. "I don't think there is any need for me to come to an immediate decision." Asada has been a poster girl for Japanese figure skating since winning her first Grand Prix Final title in 2005 to begin a longtime rivalry with Kim, a fellow 23-year-old.
Click to expand...

Exactly, I really like this statement, she should take her time and think about it, and with time she will know whether her heart still wants to continue or not. In fact the time away from skating might revive her passion for competitive skating even more and make her more fired up (or atleast that's what I'm secretly hoping for :biggrin:). if a goal or new challenge is what she she is searching for, let her think, i hope she will find passion and a purpose to continue skating. I will be waiting patiently, and eagerly hoping for her to resume her fabulous skating career.
 
Here is another link from this site that is a short biography of Mao's life and skating career with many of her quotes translated in English and centered around her Sochi free-skate. Maybe you have already seen it, but I just wanted to share it because it is so beautiful, inspiring but also heartbreaking.

The Last Dance of Mao Asada
Now in English
http://www.asahi.com/olympics/sochi2...omtop_rnavi_r1
 
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