Hanyu, who turns 20 year old on December 7, feels that he himself hasn’t changed after winning Olympic gold, but admitted that it is sometimes difficult to deal with the attention coming from the media and the fans.
He looked awful at NHK---so thin and frail, and far from in top condition. I'm not sure he will be that much better in two weeks. Since he is determined to forge ahead, I am hoping for the best for him. I don't want to see Kovtun win the GPF.
Kovtun may have been fortunate that Hanyu royally bombed his CoC FS and that TEB the rest of the field was meh so he could afford a sloppy SP.
If the accident between Hanyu and Han Yan did not happened, the results would be different at CoC/TEB/NKH for Kovtun, Hanyu and Han Yan
Perhaps Yuzuru could have smash the world record had not been for the collision. and perhaps Han Yan could have reached 90 points for his SP at TEB. And perhaps with the different skate order, Kovtun could have skated much worse at TEB. And perhaps with more pressure, Murakami could have skated badly just like Mura.Perhaps. Hanyu most certainly wouldn't have had 5 falls although given his poor SP the night before I doubt he would have skated lights out either. Yan would have likely skated better too but not enough to podium I don't think. And who knows, Kovtun might have skated better if he hadn't been spooked by the collision himself, so he still could have won. Yan would have probably skated better at TEB (although not enough to beat Kovtun), and Hanyu might have skated better at NHK, but likely not well enough to beat Murakami (probably well enough for the podium though).
We'll never know.
Yes, that's why I will wait until Murakami skates under true pressure to see if he can handle it. Like Mura. He won against Javi who was under more pressure and small injuries. Then at NHK he crumbled at LP as he couldn't handle the pressure of skating last. I don't count Murakami yet because of that. Let's wait and see can he do that again under huge pressure.Honestly I think Murakami had the least expectations and its not like he was gunning to qualify for the GPF, so I'm thinking he still would have turned out that brilliant skate.
Kovtun was super fortunate at TEB to have made the final flight. It could have changed his whole mentality.
We have seen good competitors have done not so well under pressure. For example, PChiddy. He has had so many good performances under pressure and still he also had bad performances under pressure. And certainly PChiddy has won enough titles for his confidence. So I am not sure about confidence boost for any skater.Murakami isn't the most seasoned competitor but hopefully his NHK win gives him confidence. Obviously if Machida/Mura/Hanyu are on they'll defeat him but those guys have all shown weak performances at some point or another so it's up in the air. I love Murakami's quad salchow though. It's not the highest but it looks very clean and crisp.
This guy will be the best ever.
There are plenty of guys who can beat Kovtun at the GPF. Kovtun may have been fortunate that Hanyu royally bombed his CoC FS and that TEB the rest of the field was meh so he could afford a sloppy SP... but at the GPF, I'm pretty sure Machida and Fernandez will be gunning for that top spot. I hope Hanyu's healthy enough to put on a great show, but I'd be unsurprised if he placed off the podium or even last. Kovtun is a question mark, although I think he'll be 3rd. Mura/Voronov might do well technically, but don't have high PCS which will hold them back.
When he is on he is just amazing. I hope he will skate the lights out at worlds and crack the 300.