Mira Leung article - she is ready for the new season!
- Thread starter Taan
- Start date
Well, the interview in the article sounds very promising, Mira listening to the coach, Mira working on poise. These are the things that are going to get her places. Why did it take her so many years to figure out that she and Mama Leung do NOT know better than the pros? I am looking forward to see the great improvements in Skate America, particularly from the poise point of view. It has been an area of her skating that she has consistently struggled with. It will be really nice to see the grace and softness in her skating.
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2003
Goodness - this is a bit harsh don't ya think? The thing I do like about Mira is her determination and spunk. Mira may be a bit of a "diamond in the rough" but the girl is very hard working and is determined to make it.
I remember Liz Manley a few years ago. Everyone - including Skate Canada pretty much counted Liz out, but boy did she show them and us at the Calgary Olympics in 88 what a champion is made of. She was the dark horse. No one expected little Elizabeth Manley to be on the podium at the Olympics. Mira could be the next Liz at the 2010 Olympics here in Vancouver.
Go Mira - I believe in you!
Well, I think she may still improve, but after watching Mao's new program, it really puts in perspective the quality of skating that's out there. I am not sure that hard work is enough to bring Mira's overall level of skating equal to Mao or even Yu Na Kim, or even Caroline Zhang or Mirai Nagasu. There's no comparison.
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2005
I dont see any parallel between Manley and Leung. Everyone always knew Manley had developed the skills neccessary to compete with the best, it was just a matter of whether her figures would be strong enough to stay in the running, and most of all her tendency to self-destruct in the clutch. She had been 5th and 4th at the previous two years going into those Olympics, losing a medal due to compulsory figures only in 1986, and a medal due to self-destructing in her free skate at the 1987 Worlds. Of course splitting up the much hyped Witt-Thomas duo surprised many largely that those two were built up in the media as if infalliable goddess's of some kind who never could falter, but she did not come out of nowhere, and she was someone as noted as having the needed skills if it all came together unlike Leung at this point.
Also Manley atleast wore makeup, nail polish, had a neat hairdo, neat costumes and tights with no holes, and no granny stockings showing.
Also Manley atleast wore makeup, nail polish, had a neat hairdo, neat costumes and tights with no holes, and no granny stockings showing.
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2006
I think the unkempt appearance at the camp was a ploy to get people to think that she hasn't at all improved. I don't think Joanne McCleod would lie about Mirai--she's fired Mirai before, and wouldn't hesitate doing it again.
Let's wait to "pass judgment" until she skates her first GP
Let's wait to "pass judgment" until she skates her first GP
Mira's personal appearance wasn't the reason why McLeod dumped Mira. McLeod fired Mira because she would ignore McLeod's instructions and did what her mother told her to do.
Mira had shed the granny panties for the recent training camp, but the taped dirty skates and ripped tights over visible socks were still in place. And apparently Mira is still practicing 3Z3L, when she has never landed a solo triple loop in competition.
I guess we'll have to wait til next week to see if Mira's new attitude will result in a higher placement than 6th at Skate America.
Mira had shed the granny panties for the recent training camp, but the taped dirty skates and ripped tights over visible socks were still in place. And apparently Mira is still practicing 3Z3L, when she has never landed a solo triple loop in competition.
I guess we'll have to wait til next week to see if Mira's new attitude will result in a higher placement than 6th at Skate America.
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2004
There are many successful skaters that have not "come from money" yet manage to be professional.
It doesn't require large amounts of money to look neat and tidy in proper fitting attire.
It's a pretty lame excuse for just being lazy and/or oblivious.
It doesn't require large amounts of money to look neat and tidy in proper fitting attire.
It's a pretty lame excuse for just being lazy and/or oblivious.
That's strange. Why hasn't she done a triple loop on its own? Is it related to the number of points or the strategy under cop?
Because the loop is a jump she clearly does not really have.
The only times she has tried the triple loop was when she was forced to in the short program at junior events. Every time she tried the loop it was very short of rotation . She often landed forwards on those attempts.
The talk of a triple-lutz triple loop combo is just talk right now.
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
It could be. If you can do a triple loop in combination then you can do two Lutzes and two flips as your repeated jumps. Somthing like
3Lz+3Lo (but can anyone do this besides Miki Ando?), 3Lz, 3F+3T, 3F, 3S, 2A+2Lo+2Lo, 2A.
Any lady who can do all that will automatically beat everyone, except a skater with a triple Axel (Mao Asada).
NEW Mira article!!!
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.html?id=d081fd40-b61a-4324-bc79-1f177cc53e86
New-look Leung gets real
Heading to Skate America mature, more poised
Vancouver figure skater Mira Leung will be in tough this Saturday when a world-class field hits the ice at Skate America in Reading, Pa.
She'll have to contend with 2007 world-champion Miki Ando and runnerup Mai Asada, both of Japan. Then there's American veterans Kimmie Meissner and Emily Hughes, fourth and ninth respectively at world championships in Tokyo last year. Throw in American Caroline Zhang, the reigning world junior champ, and it makes for a pretty tough crowd.
But there'll also be a new Mira Leung. There'll be a skater who, one can only hope, is poised to enjoy a much better season than the curveball of a campaign she flailed away at last year.
Vancouver's Mira Leung will be up against a world-class field at Skate America in Reading, Pa. this Saturday.View Larger Image View Larger Image
Vancouver's Mira Leung will be up against a world-class field at Skate America in Reading, Pa. this Saturday.
"It wasn't what I wanted to be," Leung, 18, said of the 2006-07 season after a recent training session with her coach Joanne McLeod at Burnaby 8-Rinks.
"It wasn't how I wanted it to go. This season it will be the real me."
This time last year Leung was struggling to adjust to a new coach who'd been hired in the summer after a falling out with McLeod in the spring of 2006.
Leung went on to finish eighth at last year's Skate America, earning just 128.07 points. She rebounded a bit a week later at Skate Canada, placing sixth with 150.92 points.
After patching things up with McLeod she earned a personal best 159.59 and finished second at Canadian championships to earn a berth at worlds.
In Tokyo she placed 24th. Only after the event was over did she reveal that she'd skated despite painful achilles tendinitis brought on, apparently, by a new pair of skates. The pain is gone now along with the confusion of the 2006-07 season.
"This year I know where I'm going and I have my goals set," Leung said. "I'm all strategized for the season. Last season was kind of topsy-turvy because of the sudden coaching change. I had to adjust and try to make the best of a bad season.
"But I learned how to adjust. I feel I'm a more mature person because of the experiences I had last year. I feel I can handle things that come my way. I'm stronger because of the things that happened last season."
Leung will use the same short program she had last year but the long program is new. She worked hard to improve her spins and footwork and a bold choice of music -- Rachmaninov's piano concertos No. 2 and 3 -- also offers a new look.
"This music lies close to my heart because of my musical training," said Leung, who has her Grade 10 level at the piano.
"I appreciate everything about this music. I feel I can express myself more in this program. It has changed some aspects of my skating for the better. It has allowed me to bring out better lines and a more elegant poise."
McLeod wondered about the choice of music but let her young skater run with it. That's partly because McLeod sees a more mature Leung.
"She's in a really good place," said McLeod. "I think she has matured a lot. In general, she's carrying more speed and poise than a year ago."
But as difficult as last season was and as tempting as it would be to make big and bold promises, Leung knows enough to keep things on an even keel.
"I just want to go to this particular Skate America, do my best and skate two clean programs," she said. "I don't want to think about last year or next year or anything else.
"Every season is a new beginning and this one is especially. I know where I'm going and I'm clear on what I want.
"I feel a lot better and more confident in my components and my spins and footwork. I feel like I'm going to do very well in those areas, [better] than I did last year."
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.html?id=d081fd40-b61a-4324-bc79-1f177cc53e86
New-look Leung gets real
Heading to Skate America mature, more poised
Vancouver figure skater Mira Leung will be in tough this Saturday when a world-class field hits the ice at Skate America in Reading, Pa.
She'll have to contend with 2007 world-champion Miki Ando and runnerup Mai Asada, both of Japan. Then there's American veterans Kimmie Meissner and Emily Hughes, fourth and ninth respectively at world championships in Tokyo last year. Throw in American Caroline Zhang, the reigning world junior champ, and it makes for a pretty tough crowd.
But there'll also be a new Mira Leung. There'll be a skater who, one can only hope, is poised to enjoy a much better season than the curveball of a campaign she flailed away at last year.
Vancouver's Mira Leung will be up against a world-class field at Skate America in Reading, Pa. this Saturday.View Larger Image View Larger Image
Vancouver's Mira Leung will be up against a world-class field at Skate America in Reading, Pa. this Saturday.
"It wasn't what I wanted to be," Leung, 18, said of the 2006-07 season after a recent training session with her coach Joanne McLeod at Burnaby 8-Rinks.
"It wasn't how I wanted it to go. This season it will be the real me."
This time last year Leung was struggling to adjust to a new coach who'd been hired in the summer after a falling out with McLeod in the spring of 2006.
Leung went on to finish eighth at last year's Skate America, earning just 128.07 points. She rebounded a bit a week later at Skate Canada, placing sixth with 150.92 points.
After patching things up with McLeod she earned a personal best 159.59 and finished second at Canadian championships to earn a berth at worlds.
In Tokyo she placed 24th. Only after the event was over did she reveal that she'd skated despite painful achilles tendinitis brought on, apparently, by a new pair of skates. The pain is gone now along with the confusion of the 2006-07 season.
"This year I know where I'm going and I have my goals set," Leung said. "I'm all strategized for the season. Last season was kind of topsy-turvy because of the sudden coaching change. I had to adjust and try to make the best of a bad season.
"But I learned how to adjust. I feel I'm a more mature person because of the experiences I had last year. I feel I can handle things that come my way. I'm stronger because of the things that happened last season."
Leung will use the same short program she had last year but the long program is new. She worked hard to improve her spins and footwork and a bold choice of music -- Rachmaninov's piano concertos No. 2 and 3 -- also offers a new look.
"This music lies close to my heart because of my musical training," said Leung, who has her Grade 10 level at the piano.
"I appreciate everything about this music. I feel I can express myself more in this program. It has changed some aspects of my skating for the better. It has allowed me to bring out better lines and a more elegant poise."
McLeod wondered about the choice of music but let her young skater run with it. That's partly because McLeod sees a more mature Leung.
"She's in a really good place," said McLeod. "I think she has matured a lot. In general, she's carrying more speed and poise than a year ago."
But as difficult as last season was and as tempting as it would be to make big and bold promises, Leung knows enough to keep things on an even keel.
"I just want to go to this particular Skate America, do my best and skate two clean programs," she said. "I don't want to think about last year or next year or anything else.
"Every season is a new beginning and this one is especially. I know where I'm going and I'm clear on what I want.
"I feel a lot better and more confident in my components and my spins and footwork. I feel like I'm going to do very well in those areas, [better] than I did last year."
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2007
I was just wondering...so what exactly happened to Mira at Worlds in 2007? I was surprised to find on youtube that she had a relatively clean sp, if with a low score, but I thought it was supposed to have been a disastrous performance because I know she ended up at the bottom before the long?At least she won't have to contend with Mai Asada's little sister.
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
According to the protocols her double Axel was downgraded, plus a -3 GOE. Also her PCSs didn't help her (only 20 points in all).
Still, she finished the SP only three points behind Joannie.
I suppose you could say that finishing 20th out of 43 in the SP is not so terrible.
A long way from contending, though.
Still, she finished the SP only three points behind Joannie.
I suppose you could say that finishing 20th out of 43 in the SP is not so terrible.
A long way from contending, though.
Mira's 2A in the 2007 World SP was underrotated; since the 2A is a required element, that cost her dearly. She also had a rather wobbly spiral sequence. Her PCS scores were mostly in the low 5s. Rochette got -GOE on her combo and solo lutz, but her major mistake was a fall on the step sequence; her PCS scores were mostly in the low 6s, which kept her out of the bottom tier of skaters going on to the FS.
Mira underrotated 3 jumps in the FS (3S, 3T, 3Z) and fell on an attempted flip combination; her PCS scores were all in the 4s.
Mira does seem to have a problem completely rotating her jumps. The only competition last year where she didn't get dinged for underrotated jumps was Canadian Nationals, and perhaps she was given the benefit of the doubt there.
ISU judges aren't nearly as kind. Mira's major asset is her jumping skills, and when the jumps aren't quite there, ISU judges are not inclined to prop her up in the PCS scores.
So she thinks her step sequence and spins are improved and that will make her competitive with Ando, Meissner et al. NOT. She HAS to completely rotate her jumps, and work on her presentation to be competitive. Why hasn't she addressed those areas?
Mira underrotated 3 jumps in the FS (3S, 3T, 3Z) and fell on an attempted flip combination; her PCS scores were all in the 4s.
Mira does seem to have a problem completely rotating her jumps. The only competition last year where she didn't get dinged for underrotated jumps was Canadian Nationals, and perhaps she was given the benefit of the doubt there.
ISU judges aren't nearly as kind. Mira's major asset is her jumping skills, and when the jumps aren't quite there, ISU judges are not inclined to prop her up in the PCS scores.
So she thinks her step sequence and spins are improved and that will make her competitive with Ando, Meissner et al. NOT. She HAS to completely rotate her jumps, and work on her presentation to be competitive. Why hasn't she addressed those areas?
Wow, this is a lot of press for Mira! Two articles in ten days! We don't see nearly the same kind of coverage of Joannie, or Kimmie, or Caroline, or Miki Ando (in the English-language press), and I think most people would expect all of them to place above Mira. What is this fascination with Mira (not always positive) both at the skating forums and in the press?
The bigger the talk, the harder the fall, the more the recriminations (on the boards). Mira sets herself up for this every year. Maybe she figures that this way, everyone will know who she is and will be interested to see her skate.
The press picks up on this, because she's a more interesting story than your average run-of-the-mill skater who doesn't do that well internationally.
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2005
chuckm likes Mira Leung about as much as I like Evan Lysacek. 
