Mirai Nagasu Is Amazing

[Tinymavy15]

Honestly i don't think it does. Girls bodies changing can throw off their centre of gravity pretty harshly thus ruining the timing of jumps often resulting in the need to relearn the jumps again from scratch. With boys going through puberty their centre of gravity does not change nearly as much and the increase in muscle tends to make jumping easier because of the increase in strength.

That is my very unscientific opinion but i don't think puberty hits the boys as hard, even a big growth spurt for a boy isn't going to be as troublesome in timing for jumps as the general changes to a girls body would be.

Ant

I hope she can keep her jumpimg ablity. It would be a shame to lose a talent like her.

 

[antmanb]

I think the US has an awful lot to look forward to. The comments that i've seen aroudn the internet discussing the "death of US ladies figure skating" (where is teh FSu drama queen icon when you need it) has been a little premature. Seems that this year the Junior Ladies might end up being more interestng than the seniors...isn't that the way it usually goes in regionals and sectionals too - the junior ladies are more interresting than the senior?

At any rate there's so much talent in the US right now that i don't think you've got anything to worry about...the teenie boppers may well be duking it out in Vancouver!

Ant

 

[Mafke]

Girls bodies changing can throw off their centre of gravity pretty harshly thus ruining the timing of jumps often resulting in the need to relearn the jumps again from scratch. With boys going through puberty their centre of gravity does not change nearly as much and the increase in muscle tends to make jumping easier because of the increase in strength.
That is my very unscientific opinion but i don't think puberty hits the boys as hard, even a big growth spurt for a boy isn't going to be as troublesome in timing for jumps as the general changes to a girls body would be.

Yeah, puberty in girls means gaining body fat and a wider pelvis (and crucially there's no increase in muscle and upper body strength).

Puberty for boys might mean height increase but usually also means more muscle and especially more upper body strength.

Also, male skaters become typically become competitive at a later age (reflecting the generally slower maturing process) than females. If puberty is going to wreck a male skater it usually does so before they attract much attention as skaters.

While we're here, is it just me or does Czech skater Tomas Verner have a very untypical body shape for a male skater? I think his SP costume emphasizes or exaggerates it but he seems to have broader shoulders and narrower hips than is common for final group finishers. I wonder how this affects his jumping. I think his spins look off somehow and I wonder if broad shoulders make it harder to spin (intuitively I think it would make it easier to loose balance which he sometimes appears on the verge of doing).

 

[debdelilah]

Yeah, puberty in girls means gaining body fat and a wider pelvis (and crucially there's no increase in muscle and upper body strength).
.

Actually, women do naturally gain muscle mass in puberty.

 

[Mathman]

Interesting tidbit -- according to this article

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/16541150.htm

Mirai's skating expenses were met in part by a Michael Weiss Foundation scholarship.

 

[Mafke]

Actually, women do naturally gain muscle mass in puberty.

Yeah, that was sloppy of me, there's some gain, but not as much compared to men (and it's not as significant to overall athletic function as the necessary bodyfat gain). So overall they don't have much increase (comparitively speaking) in the upper body strength needed to rotate the big jumps.

But there's lots of individual variation, IME more than men, women can become very physically strong without developing prominent muscle mass. I once worked in an office where the 'other duties as required' occasionally meant moving furniture. My boss (a middle-aged woman) was physically stronger than me or any other guy in the office (including the young guy who worked out in the gym 5 days a week and had a very muscular build).

 

[scorekeeper]

While we're here, is it just me or does Czech skater Tomas Verner have a very untypical body shape for a male skater? I think his SP costume emphasizes or exaggerates it but he seems to have broader shoulders and narrower hips than is common for final group finishers. I wonder how this affects his jumping. I think his spins look off somehow and I wonder if broad shoulders make it harder to spin (intuitively I think it would make it easier to loose balance which he sometimes appears on the verge of doing).

That is similar to what I remember Scott Hamilton (?) saying about Michael Weiss some years back. He'd really bulked up his shoulders, chest, and arms, and the extra weight that he'd gained in the process made it harder for him to get enough height on his jumps to complete the rotations.