Rachael Flatt Appreciation Thread

[equestrianguy]

I love her as well! This is how I see it....Hopefully, as the USA future of ladies..
Rachel Flatt - Kwan's consistancy..
Miria Nasagu - Tara Lipinski as the jumping bean..
Caroline Zhang - Sasha the beautiful ballerina..

 

[dorispulaski]

Here's the youtube clip of her Jr. Worlds SP:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTbu5G-cM5A

And here's her Jr. Worlds EX to Respect + Encore

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6FyZEvd-_Y

Here's the Liberty LP in 2006 where I first saw Rachael skate:
Needless to say I do not agree with the opinion of the person who posted it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRZOzqHHHog

 

[fairly4]

she is a decent skater who had No expectaction and pressure on her at any of the junior grand prix final, nationals, junior worlds.
in fact at nationals-they felt guilty about last year so they held her and and she improved a bit.
but they all are about the same, decent skaters.

 

[Nigel]

she is a decent skater who had No expectaction and pressure on her at any of the junior grand prix final, nationals, junior worlds.
in fact at nationals-they felt guilty about last year so they held her and and she improved a bit.
but they all are about the same, decent skaters.

Flatt had her own expectations and goals for the JGP season, US Nationals as well as JW. Not sure why you would say she had no pressure on her. Just because she was under the radar in terms of the media blitz that Zhang and to a lesser extent Nagasu dealt with, doesn't mean there was no pressure. Zhang's agent made sure that her name was out there prior to US Nationals, whereas Nagasu and Flatt went about their training. Not sure that hiring an agent is good for a 14 yr old. Too many expectations and distractions beyond training. Most adults can't handle those kinds of distractions. Not sure why anyone would think a 14 yr old can.

 

[museksk8r]

Flatt had her own expectations and goals for the JGP season, US Nationals as well as JW. Not sure why you would say she had no pressure on her. Just because she was under the radar in terms of the media blitz that Zhang and to a lesser extent Nagasu dealt with, doesn't mean there was no pressure. Zhang's agent made sure that her name was out there prior to US Nationals, whereas Nagasu and Flatt went about their training. Not sure that hiring an agent is good for a 14 yr old. Too many expectations and distractions beyond training. Most adults can't handle those kinds of distractions. Not sure why anyone would think a 14 yr old can.

Thank you. I wish the belittling comments I've read about Rachael would cease. I absolutely her!

 

[chuckm]

Rachael has improved tremendously since last year, and markedly just in the months since her first JGP appearance in Austria.

She used to have a high kick into her lutz, and that is gone.
Her spins were once slow and labored, and they have improved greatly.
She was slow in her first JGP event, but not any more---she skates faster than Caroline and Mirai now.

I have never seen a skater skate with (not to) the music the way Rachael does. Her arms, shoulders and body express every single note and nuance in the music. And I haven't seen such joy in a skater's face since Kwan left the scene.

Let the naysayers nitpick. Rachael is a very special kind of skater. If they don't see it, they are the losers.

 

[feraina]

Zhang's agent made sure that her name was out there prior to US Nationals, whereas Nagasu and Flatt went about their training.

What's your evidence for this?!

Not sure that hiring an agent is good for a 14 yr old. Too many expectations and distractions beyond training. Most adults can't handle those kinds of distractions. Not sure why anyone would think a 14 yr old can.

Her family & coach have stated explicitly that the role of the agent right now is not to promote her or engage in commercial deals, but rather to shield her from media exposure and other distractions. Her team pointedly avoided interviews and such in the run-up to National's (and also earlier in the run-up to SA, her senior debut).

She got all this media attention because of her stellar junior season, and also her successful senior debut season. I don't see how anyone can find her to blame.

 

[chuckm]

This is a RACHAEL FLATT APPRECIATION thread, feraina. We know you like Caroline Zhang (as many of us do), so why not start a CAROLINE ZHANG thread?

 

[emma]

Rachel rocks

I agree - she moves with the music in a way that is quite special and unique - and her joy is like pure abandon, and I love it!!!!!!
And - it is really inspiring and awesome to watch these young skaters improve with every single competition - wow, wow, wow is all i can say

(love a lot of these other young ones too...but here's appreciating Rachel, who, IMO, totally and utterly deserves its!!)

 

[demarinis5]

This is a RACHAEL FLATT APPRECIATION thread, feraina. We know you like Caroline Zhang (as many of us do), so why not start a CAROLINE ZHANG thread?

Well to be fair to feraina he/she did not bring up Zhang. When I read the post she is quoting I also thought it was a little unfair to Caroline especially in a post appreciating Rachel.

 

[feraina]

This is a RACHAEL FLATT APPRECIATION thread, feraina. We know you like Caroline Zhang (as many of us do), so why not start a CAROLINE ZHANG thread?

So if a thread is devoted to a particular skater, it's all right to state anything untrue about another skater, and there's no way to correct this except to start a new thread?

News to me...

 

[PolymerBob]

I was not able to watch the competition live, but I saw video clips of the girls’ performances. Let me say that Rachael did a fantastic, wonderful job with her two performances. She showed both technical skill and artistry. She was a pure joy to watch.

I would normally end the note there, but the subject of Caroline has been brought up, and rather forcefully, so I’ll add my 2 cents. Everything I wrote about Rachael also applies to Caroline. So much so that I cannot say which of them “deserved to win.” The margin of 0.35 point is so small that one tiny mistake by one judge could have thrown the outcome one way or another. So my position is that BOTH of them deserved to win. None of us could put up a strong argument whichever girl ended up with the gold.

I really hope to see many more such performances from this podium in the future.