Max Aaron: "I'm shooting for Olympic gold" (per IN, May 21)

[plushyfan]

Not in the terms of any Olympic medal, this thread is about the Olympic gold medal goal. I have watched figure skating since early sixties and cannot remember that any singles skater has won the Olympic gold medal without having stood on the Worlds podium earlier.

Sarah Hughes?

 

[Jaana]

Sarah Hughes?

NO, she had won a Worlds bronze medal before the Olympics.

 

[iluvtodd]

Yes, absolutely. This is only his second year in senior men...and he just turned 21 in February. I think the average male skater starts out working on getting the jumps consistent, and artistry goes on the back-burner somewhat. Sure, some boys are just artistic by nature, but I think most boys have to grow and mature into becoming an artist. I remember early Boitano, Eldredge, Weiss...good jumpers, mediocre artistry...but they all grew and matured into really decent artists.

Max made a huge improvement from his first year in senior men to his second (i.e. 8th to national champion). I expect that we'll see further exciting progress next season! :yes:

While I have no idea if Max will medal @ the Olympics (first of all, I hope he earns the chance to go to represent the US), I admire his attitude, and look forward to seeing him continue to make strides in all aspects of his skating. I think your point about Brian B., Todd, & Mike is well taken.

 

[plushyfan]

NO, she had won a Worlds bronze medal before the Olympics.

THX! Really!

 

[ice coverage]

While I have no idea if Max will medal @ the Olympics (first of all, I hope he earns the chance to go to represent the US), I admire his attitude, and look forward to seeing him continue to make strides in all aspects of his skating. I think your point about Brian B., Todd, & Mike is well taken.

:agree: I forgot to include one of the same thoughts in my previous posts, and am glad that ITL wisely reminds all Aaron-watchers:

He first has to qualify for one of the two precious American men's Olympic spots, which so many others also would love to snag.​

Aaron seems like a level-headed guy, so I do not think his ambition for Olympic gold means that he is counting his Team USA chickens before they hatch.
I hope and believe that he will advance to Sochi, but obviously he (and we) won't know for sure for months.

 

[meem]

snip

I like his spirit. And who knows... Nichol may bring something to the table that suits Max artistically. He's never going to skate like a delicate flower... and I wouldn't like that anyway. He's upfront about his weaknesses, and he's doing something to address them.

Still, he's going with his strength. Five good quads would amass a huge technical score, and would certainly make him a threat.

The more I learn about this kid, the more I like.

Me too! IMO, Max is a Gene Kelly-on-ice type of skater--very athletic and powerful, exciting to watch, *and* he can interpret the story behind the music. I really admire him for setting a goal he can work toward while he's making the effort to increase his artistry (ballet *plus* ballroom!). Most likely I'm the only skate fan who still enjoys Carmen (loved the Italian dancers' version this past season) and since Lori Nichol is my favorite choreographer, I'm really looking forward to seeing what Max will do with it in the new season. If only Max could bottle his energy, gumption and fearlessness--I'd buy a caseload!

 

[dardar1126]

Me too! IMO, Max is a Gene Kelly-on-ice type of skater--very athletic and powerful, exciting to watch, *and* he can interpret the story behind the music. I really admire him for setting a goal he can work toward while he's making the effort to increase his artistry (ballet *plus* ballroom!). Most likely I'm the only skate fan who still enjoys Carmen (loved the Italian dancers' version this past season) and since Lori Nichol is my favorite choreographer, I'm really looking forward to seeing what Max will do with it in the new season. If only Max could bottle his energy, gumption and fearlessness--I'd buy a caseload!

I love this sentence..."gumption" is a word that doesn't get used enough these days! And Max certainly has all three of these traits in abundance!! :agree:

 

[Mathman]

Most likely I'm the only skate fan who still enjoys Carmen!

Me! Why would anyone skate to anything else?

 

[plushyfan]

I also enjoy Carmen music and programs

 

[iluvtodd]

I still like Carmen music, too!

 

[TontoK]

Gosh, Max is going to have to repeat himself until he goes hoarse before the haters will listen, won't he?

He has SAID, MULTIPLE TIMES, that he knows the artistry is his weak point and that HE IS WORKING ON IT. One day, maybe, you'll actually listen to him.

I believe I'm sensing a veiled attempt by some to discredit anyone who might potentially pose a threat to Chan. It's almost a sense of panic that their boy won't do it.

And a clean 5 quad outing by a rising skater is certainly a podium threat.

Max Aaron could come out next year with the artistry of Baryshnikov, and it wouldn't be enough.

 

[Skater Boy]

I am trying to say that "everyone" generally makes these wonderful comments about improving this and that. Do you ever hear someone saying they are aiming to get worse or that they are getting worse - they spin it ie. an injury a chance to refocus and come back stronger than ever. However there is only one gold medal so it will be hard with Plushenko, Takahashi, Hanyu and Fernandez and even Chan in the mix. Olympics is about the right timing sadly for Chan he may be on the downhill Fernandez and Hanyu maybe just the right time. Max may not have enough time to tweak everything and Takahashi might be hoping for the skate of his life as eh seems to be fading a bit. I still wish Dai and Patrick could share OGM.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

I am trying to say that "everyone" generally makes these wonderful comments about improving this and that. Do you ever hear someone saying they are aiming to get worse or that they are getting worse - they spin it ie. an injury a chance to refocus and come back stronger than ever. However there is only one gold medal so it will be hard with Plushenko, Takahashi, Hanyu and Fernandez and even Chan in the mix. Olympics is about the right timing sadly for Chan he may be on the downhill Fernandez and Hanyu maybe just the right time. Max may not have enough time to tweak everything and Takahashi might be hoping for the skate of his life as eh seems to be fading a bit. I still wish Dai and Patrick could share OGM.

If there's anyone I want to win the OGM as a sentimental favourite, it'd probably be Takahashi. When he skates cleanly he's absolutely superb. Of course, as a Canadian, I'd love to see Chan win, but I'd hope he would do so on the merit of his performance (as I would hope for anyone who wins), and isn't held up on PCS or reputation. I still think Chan isn't quite on the downhill because his quads are still intact (and you would assume that if he's got a handle on his quads, he should be able to clean up his lutzes and other silly errors like the 2A or spin falls)... plus he's had good performances last year in the SP or the FS (just not the SP and the FS).

I think Hanyu winning would be great too though because it's been a while since a youthful teen just came and blew everyone out of the water and became a star at the Olympics. I would also love to see Javier win with 3 quads because it would truly show everyone the sport aspect of figure skating and it would be rewarded with a victory -- in the past, excellent technicians have been pushed down the standings for a lack of artistry, but Javier's got it all.

 

[dardar1126]

Twitter:

U.S. Figure Skating ‏@USFigureSkating 55s
Sneak peek at the subject of tomorrow's #tbt video. https://vine.co/v/bYJPttmKjV1

Too freakin' cute! :yay: He was a little speed demon from the start!! :yes:

 

[karne]

Twitter:



Too freakin' cute! :yay: He was a little speed demon from the start!! :yes:

The level of adorable here is beyond safe limits!

 

[plushyfan]

I would also love to see Javier win with 3 quads because it would truly show everyone the sport aspect of figure skating and it would be rewarded with a victory -- in the past, excellent technicians have been pushed down the standings for a lack of artistry, but Javier's got it all.

Sometimes you're really annoying.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Sometimes you're really annoying.

I don't see how that's annoying? I was complimenting Javier, and saying that it'd be nice for a guy with the highest technical difficulty to be rewarded with a victory (which hasn't happened in the past 3 Olympics). A skater winning with just 1 quad when another performs 2 or 3 would be as bad as a skater winning in 2010 with no quad while another skater does execute one.

 

[dardar1126]

Twitter:

Boston 2014 ‏@BOS2014 41m
Incredible speed, high jumps, and ... hockey? Can you guess who our latest featured skater is? http://www.boston2014.com/news/fast-rising-star-max-aaron/ …

I love this profile! My favorite line:

“I want everyone to be shocked when they see me, and say, ‘Is that Max Aaron?’”

 

[ForeverFish]

Sometimes you're really annoying.

Uh...how? For saying, as countless other posters have, that artistry is an important aspect of skating?

 

[dardar1126]

Twitter:

U.S. Figure Skating ‏@USFigureSkating 3m
WIN a signed @MaxTAaron photo! Give this a RT and @MaxTAaron a follow to enter! #TBT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7NlB3CZGaE&feature=youtu.be …
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BLh33UTCIAEPp7y.jpg

Dang, I don't know how Max made some of those goals! Some of those angles just looked impossible, but he still found the net...plus his speed and maneuvering...AWESOME!