Podium Wishes for GPF

[clairecloutier]

These are just my wishes--not predictions.

Ashley -- I really admire her fire and commitment this season.
Akiko -- Great skater, great programs, she deserves better scores than she's gotten.
Mao -- No matter how bad her jumps get, I still love her and root for her.
Christina -- I'm so impressed with her this year; hoping for another strong skate in Sochi.
Elizaveta -- I think she's the best Russian lady right now.
Kiira -- I like her long program this year--that cello music is great.


V/T -- They deserve to win IF they skate clean. I don't like their material this year, but their technical superiority/pairs quality cannot be denied. The last third of their long program, with those 3 amazing lifts, is one of the most impressive things I've ever seen in pairs skating.
P/T -- I think they've been a bit underrated this season. Always enjoy watching them; their programs are lovely.
K/S -- I really like their February long program, it's quite beautiful. At TEB, their speed on the ice amazed me; they looked twice as fast as D/R.
D/R -- They have improved a lot.
B/L -- I really want this team to get a new choreographer or coach.
M-T/M -- I appreciate their technical ability, but that is about all.


D/W -- I love them. I could not believe how much better Notre Dame was at NHK than at SA. It was amazing, and they are in fantastic shape.
V/M -- I'm enjoying Carmen, but they really need to clean it up technically.
P/B -- This is close, I could almost see them ahead of V/M. I really like the Stones FD, and they are looking sharp so far.
C/L -- Great programs this year; they are getting better and better. They will have to fight hard against the Russians, though.
B/S -- Much improvement this year, but the posture problems are still there.
I/K -- Ehh.


In men, I don't really have any wishes, I just want whoever skates best to win. I have never been a Chan supporter, but I must admit his programs this year are definitely the best he's had, so if he skates well, he probably wins. Takahashi, on the other hand, is saddled with mediocre material. One thing I noticed during his LP at NHK is there's a lot of arm movement, but less whole-body movement, as you see with Chan and Abbott. This move back to Morozov was a real step backward IMO. I am not a huge fan of Fernandez, but if he skates well, I'll have no problem with him winning. I like Kozuka but really wish he could just reach out to the audience more and show some expressiveness. As for Hanyu, I like him, but artistically I just find him very young and not in the same league as Chan, Takahashi, or Abbott.

 

[Skate21]

Men:
1st: Chan
2nd: Yuzuru
3rd: Kozuka

Ladies
1st: Akiko
2nd: Mao
3rd: Elizaveta

Come on please no Wagner!

Pairs
1st: VOLOSOZHAR/TRANKOV
2nd: PANG/TONG
3rd: KAVAGUTI/SMIRNOV

Dance
1st: VIRTUE/MOIR
2nd: PECHALAT/BOURZAT
3rd: ILINYKH/KATSALAPOV

Haha my dream podium for dance, if only

 

[pitterpatter]

Men
1. Taka
2. Yuzuru
3. Dai

Ladies
1. Akiko
2. Liza
3. Mao

Pairs
1. V/T
2. P/T
3. K/S or D/R

Dance
no W/P or Shibs

P/B and B/S on the podium

 

[rosacotton]

Men
Japanese sweep

OR

Fernandez
Takahashi
Chan

Ice Dance
Shibs
D/W
W/P

 

[deedee1]

Here goes mine!

Dance:
1. Meryl/Charlie
2. Nathalie/Fabian
3. Tessa/Scott -> just because I haven't seen in a while they got a 'bronze' medal lol

Pairs:
1. Qing/Jian :yes:
2. Yuko/Sasha
3. Kirsten/Dylan ->love their Free this season!

Ladies:
1. Akiko arty:
2. Liza
3. Ashley

Men: Podium sweep by Japanese boys! , and preferably...
1. Daisuke -> why not?
2. Takahiko
3. Tatsuki

I know these only happen in my sweet dream, though...

 

[Layfan]

For the ladies, I just hope that whoever wins does so in spectacular fashion. I'd love to see Mao give such a surprisingly divine performance that she blows away everyone else like her old self. Or for Ashley to give the same kind of commanding skate she has all along this season that she leaves no doubt that she is the real thing. Or for Akiko to simply have the SOHL.

That would make the ladies field exciting.

The men are bound to be exciting, I think. Such a good field. I think it's between Patrick and Hanyu but of course I wouldn't count out Daisuke. Last year I was rooting for Patrick to win everything but this year Hanyu is very exciting so I dunno...

I guess deep down I'm hoping for Patrick to win. I can't help but hope for him to be the frontrunner at the Olympics next year. His surge since Vancouver has been so exciting and I would hate to see him unable to keep it up through 2014. And I wish more people would warm up to him.

 

[silverlake22]

Gao FTW. I'm surprised hardly anyone has her above 5th or 6th. I think she could surprise and wind up on the podium...Akiko and Mao aren't that consistent, Liza was great at TEB but not as good at SC, may still be recovering. And Ashley, she's on a roll for now, but idk if you can expect her to be perfect all the time. Plus Korpi is sick!!

 

[mskater93]

Liza is on an upward trajectory, though, so apparently her injury is WAY better. SC was her first event and TEB her second and her TEB score was > than her SC score. If Gao finished above 5th, it'll be a HUGE surprise but in a good way.

 

[Layfan]

Gao FTW. I'm surprised hardly anyone has her above 5th or 6th. I think she could surprise and wind up on the podium...Akiko and Mao aren't that consistent, Liza was great at TEB but not as good at SC, may still be recovering. And Ashley, she's on a roll for now, but idk if you can expect her to be perfect all the time. Plus Korpi is sick!!

Yes, she definitely could. Go Christina! arty:

 

[Tinymavy15]

Yes, she definitely could. Go Christina! arty:

she certainly is capable of skating up to podium level, but it remains to be seen if she will be judged as such.

 

[questar]

Men

Chan,Kozuka,Javier(in any order)

I just hope my favorites give a great performance.


Ladies

I will be soooooo happy if Kiira wins the gold medal. I really like her programs & expression this season.
But I heard Kiira isn't in good condition.
Anyway Go Kiira !

Dance

1. Tessa/Scott
2. Pechalat/Bourzat
3. Davis/White or Anna/Luca


Paris

1. Pang/Tong
2. Voloszhar/Trankov
3. Duhamel/Radford

 

[Olympia]

For the ladies, I just hope that whoever wins does so in spectacular fashion. I'd love to see Mao give such a surprisingly divine performance that she blows away everyone else like her old self. Or for Ashley to give the same kind of commanding skate she has all along this season that she leaves no doubt that she is the real thing. Or for Akiko to simply have the SOHL.

That's my hope too: that the winner ends up with gold because she skates lights-out. I'd love for it to be Mao, but I'll be happy to cheer whoever gives such a spectacular performance that the gold just has to go to it.

For the men, I always root for Daisuke first. (Act surprised.) If he is beaten, I hope it's by some astonishingly stupendous performance. But really I hope that the astonishingly stupendous performance is by Dai.

Ice dance: I'm torn, as always. I love both D/W and V/M.

Pairs? The top three are wonderful in any combination, but because K/S are a Moskvina pair, I have a special sentiment for them. She's one of my favorite coaches ever, in any discipline.

 

[Trewyn]

Oh podium wishes, I do have them Won't dare to predict this field though.

Ladies:

1) Ashley - obviously
2) Akiko - also pretty obviously
3) Mao or Elizaveta - both aren't favourite skaters of mine but I can get excited about either of them if they skate to their full potential
4) Christina - I think she's definitely strong enough to not wind up last, possibly end up on the podium if others falter

Men:

1) Kozuka
... Don't have any strong favourites in the rest of the field

 

[Layfan]

That's my hope too: that the winner ends up with gold because she skates lights-out. I'd love for it to be Mao, but I'll be happy to cheer whoever gives such a spectacular performance that the gold just has to go to it.

For the men, I always root for Daisuke first. (Act surprised.) If he is beaten, I hope it's by some astonishingly stupendous performance. But really I hope that the astonishingly stupendous performance is by Dai.

Ice dance: I'm torn, as always. I love both D/W and V/M.

Pairs? The top three are wonderful in any combination, but because K/S are a Moskvina pair, I have a special sentiment for them. She's one of my favorite coaches ever, in any discipline.

Heh. that's how I feel about Mao - that whoever beats her will do so with an astonishing performance. But what I really want is the astonishing performance to come from Mao.

But I guess the reason I'm hoping for a spectacular performance from the ladies is that all these lovely women could use one. This isn't like Kim Yuna in 2009 racking up the medals so that if she had so-so skate or two who cares? This year, Mao could use a great skate to show she's truly back on top. Ashley could use one to show is is truly one to fear. And Akiko.

On the men, I'm always torn between Patrick and Daisuke.

 

[Ilvskating]

Ladies:

Mao, I have such soft spot for her. It's not easy to re-learn your jumps in front of the eyes of millions of people. I'm glad to see her smile again. Win with two good programs girl!
akiko, OK, she's not the pretty pretty skater, but she is a hard-working girl learning triple-triple at such "senior" age. ---please don't call me rude---- this is just to show my respect and admiration.
Kirra, new found love this year. She's finally a good skater instead of good-looking skater.

OK, somehow I don't like Ashley anymore. I think her LP this year is very empty and she's slow. I don't understand where come those PCS. but if everybody bombed and she nails her jumps I'm all for her winning.

Men:
Chan, he's by far still the best. If he can nail most of his jumps he should win. I'd say he still have one to two jumps cousion with the others.

Abbot, come on, skate two clean programs please. It's so elusive that it becomes iritating. I will never get my hope up again if he can't deliver.

Javier, OK, I'm a bit half hearted between him and Hanyu. They are both young and not mature enough in style. But they have talent and they can jump. I love beautiful jumps besides beautiful edges. They both need to improve posture. Javier is better, but Hanyu beats Javier in SS.

I actually love Kuzuka, he has lovely skating skills, best among japanese men imo, and he has very lovely lyrical style. I just wish that he have more stable 4T and reach out a little bit. Come on, just draw some attention to yourself! He is so understated and as a result not rewarded as he deserved.

Takahashi, what should I say, I love his exhibition program this year. But in general I don't like the way his stroke looks, and the way he enters his jumps. I know it sounds like looking for trouble but those just look sloppy to me. I also feel that his arm movement is over the top most of the time. He's a great showman for sure, just not the style that I love. I see like to watch him for his passion and quick feet.

Pairs:
P/T, they're good and they have good programs. Hope they can nail the jumps.
V/T, Loved them but kind of disappointed by their programs and their display.
K/S. I did't like them before but warm up to them since last season and they are good this season. Finally Yoko is not over-the-top and looks refined to some degree. She's been so courageous and perserering that she deserves more recognition.
D/R have difficult elements but I still think they need to mesh their styles. Meagan is all about athletic and now added drama, but I think what she needs is not drama lessons but go to dance classes. She can't dance, and the thing bothers me most is the way she holds her head, especially before twist and lifts. I love Eric and if Meagan can manage to match Eric's style, movement and carriage, they will be great despite of the hight difference.
The other Canadian team had a make over this year in style, the girl looks more mature and polished. The man needs some catch up.
The other Russian team B/L? not my cup of tea. I'm not going to comment on the look or connection.

Dance:

D/W--- really sharp. Love their SD, so beautiful and lovely and full of joy! This SD and their FD from last season will be my all-time keepers along with V/M's olympic FD. Don't get their FD but technically it is superb. I love the way they always go for it, such speed and attack. I wish D/W get Gold.

V/M----I hated their FD at the beginning, Tessa looked like a Vampire. I think they improved at the second showing and it started to grow on me. I even love it now although some choreography details still bug me. Their SD did not leave much impression on me even after watching a few times---I'm getting old I guess.

P/B----The always come up with something special.

Don't like the Ghost FD by the Russian team. I'll pick the Italian team if P/B fail to medal.

 

[itoja]

Abbot, come on, skate two clean programs please. It's so elusive that it becomes iritating. I will never get my hope up again if he can't deliver.

Jeremy, you better deliver. It'll be such shame if Takahashi beats you here with his sloppy jumps and over the top arm movements.

 

[Mrs. P]

Jeremy, you better deliver. It'll be such shame if Takahashi beats you here with his sloppy jumps and over the top arm movements.

Uh Jeremy isn't here....

 

[itoja]

Really? But the poster before me said he is. And he must know, he knows how many jumps better Chan is than everybody else.

 

[starryxskies]

Really? But the poster before me said he is. And he must know, he knows how many jumps better Chan is than everybody else.

Jeremy didn't make it through, you can check the ISU site.......

 

[Ilvskating]

OK. It is a wish podium so it's borderline OK to dream some body who's not here Just kidding. My apology for a midnight daydreaming. I never think the No.6 Japanese man would make it to the final, and with a win over Takahashi. As a remedy, let's wish him taking the Gold! I really don't mind. But stll, Jeremy Jeremy, make the world team and skate clean.