And you're right. For that reason, I wouldn't have recommended it. She did the right thing by showing up, doing a surprisingly good SP, and getting through the FS.
Sasha's comeback attempt.
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And you're right. For that reason, I wouldn't have recommended it. She did the right thing by showing up, doing a surprisingly good SP, and getting through the FS.
IMO, Sasha knew after the SP that she wasn't going to make it to the Olympics. She needed to build up a substantial lead in the SP to have any chance to place top two.
When she wound up in a virtual tie with Flatt and Nagasu, the writing was on the wall. That was why she didn't show up for the FS practice and warmup, and why she skated the FS without showing any visible nerves or tension.
When she wound up in a virtual tie with Flatt and Nagasu, the writing was on the wall. That was why she didn't show up for the FS practice and warmup, and why she skated the FS without showing any visible nerves or tension.
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From my perspective:
1. She got on the plane with Mr Nicks
2. She skated at her scheduled practice sesssion on Wednesday afternoon
3. She took the ice for her SP and we were treated to another vintage Sasha SP
For me that was mission accomplished and delicious crow dinners were enjoyed by many
mission accomplished mission accomplished :yes: :yes:
You know Chuck, I think you're right. It makes sense in my mind. She knew her FS was not fully developed (or wasn't up to snuff yet) so the short program is where she needed to attack and build her lead. After all, her entire career has been based on leading after the short. It would have been ok IMO if she was tied with Flatt OR Nagasu, with the other down by 8-10 pts. But the SP at Nationals has been a stellar event since 2007, with multiple competitors hitting it out of the park each time. I do think she wanted to try to win the competition/Oly spot on the short program (which we've seen is completely possible- look at Yuna Kim) but didn't count on Nagasu putting out the SP of her life. (Flatt has been beaten by imperfect skates before.) Cohen's LP seemed to be constructed to just "get by", which probably was not the best strategy from a competitive point of view. I think the factor that overshadows these other nuisances, though, is simply NOT ENOUGH TIME TO PREPARE
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I've read this elsewhere so I gotta ask...WHAT was missing? She obviously did not perform the footwork sequence up to snuff, but that could've been nerves, not having enough speed or who knows. I think the LP seemed watered down overall, but that may have been in hopes if she just could skate cleanly, she'd bank on high +GOEs on what she did do and PCS marks to win.
She was present at Fridays LP practice, she didn't show for Sat AM practice, but was present for the warmup. I thought she seemed deflated when she took the ice, not the same deer in headlights look she has had, most notably at 2006 Olys LP, 2004 Worlds LP, but she certainly didn't have this confident, attack air about her. She seemed to dwindle at the boards a bit, as if she was waiting for a push, and seemed to bask in the love from the audience like it was her final curtain call, not like she was going to knock it out of the park and win a spot to the Olys. JMHO.chuckm said:
Perhaps skating an SP "only" good enough for three-way tie deflated what little confidence she might have had coming into the event? I was quite surprised that she didn't have her typical scared look in the LP. *THE FOLLOWING IS SIMPLY SPECULATION, I DON'T CLAIM TO KNOW ANYTHING* Seemed like she could have given up competing for the team and just wanted to enjoy the attention of the audience and cameras. Unfortunately, by doing this, her head was not where it needed to be in order to land those jumps.
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But weirdly enough, she did have her head in place to sort of keep things from becoming a total disaster.
Is this a new side of Sasha or have we seen this before? I am talking about the tendency to skate a cautious LP that saves face and averts meltdown, but doesn't thrill?
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So does that make them failures??Of course, being from Houston, I was rooting for the Texans to slip into the playoffs, but alasdidn't happen
of course not. After all, they were able to secure their first winning record in franchise history (9-7). That in itself is an accomplishment- plus, there's always next year 
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I noticed there were lots of butts in those seats.
Me too!!! She is just so elegant, and just a beauty. The ladies right now are no where near the ladies of yesteryear---- Michelle K., Sasha C., Jenny K., Angela N.
Hmmmm!!!
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Give Mirai a couple more years and I definitely think she could join that class.
I think she was simply drawing on her competitive experience. Remember, she's a seasoned veteran.
You just answered your own question- I bolded it. :agree:
Sasha did show up for the FS practice, but she didn't run through her FS. She did no jumps, just stroked around the rink for most of the practice session. I personally believe she still has tendonitis and that's why her FS was so unfinished, for lack of practice.
After the SP, she realized that she had no shot at an Olympic berth, so there was no point in further aggravating her injury by doing a full practice and warmup. She saved what she could do for the FS.
After the SP, she realized that she had no shot at an Olympic berth, so there was no point in further aggravating her injury by doing a full practice and warmup. She saved what she could do for the FS.
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I more or less agree with chuckm - for once!
I've been trying to understand the difference between the SP and the FP. It wasn't the usual difference between killer perfect SP and killer not-perfect FP. The way she stunned everybody at the SP practice, tossing off jump after jump and running through her SP ... we didn't see any of that at the FP practice. Why?
My best guess is that her injury kicked up again. She didn't appear to be hurting at all right up through the SP. I don't think she gave up because she was in a 3-way tie. She faced that in the Olympics. You never know who will falter so there's no reason not to fight even if the probability isn't there.
I think she gave up because of pain. Undertraining alone doesn't explain how great she looked and skated in the first part of the competition. She certainly should have had enough energy left for snatches of brilliance. Instead, she had an eerie calm from start to end of the second part of the competition (all the way through awards and apparently post-interviews). She seemed to be at peace with the poor performance and the loss in a way I've never seen from her before.
So my best guess is that the old injury - or who knows, maybe a new one - was exacerbated by stress and intense training and came back after the SP - just in time to wreck her FP and Olympic dreams. Her resigned attitude - if I'm right - was because she knew she couldn't skate all-out in that physical state. Thus she couldn't do what it would take to place top two. That would be why she didn't do the planned content. But she went through with it like a good sportswoman and with the determination that, if either Mirai or Rachael had a meltdown, she'd be there to get that spot. And that's why she fought as much as she did in the FP, even though it wasn't going well.
Or perhaps it was like one of those old movies where the dying heroine performs one last piano concerto to a cheering audience before expiring. Maybe she skated her SP through pain on sheer spirit and adrenalin, but knew they wouldn't get her through the much tougher FP two days later.
But all this is just my guesswork. Maybe sometime we'll know what really happened.
I'm very glad she's at peace with the journey and the outcome. Nobody can take away the sweetness of the first part of the competition, when she showed the doubters that she was back and fully prepared, and got such a welcome from fans and press, and delivered in the SP. Brava, Sasha!
I've been trying to understand the difference between the SP and the FP. It wasn't the usual difference between killer perfect SP and killer not-perfect FP. The way she stunned everybody at the SP practice, tossing off jump after jump and running through her SP ... we didn't see any of that at the FP practice. Why?
My best guess is that her injury kicked up again. She didn't appear to be hurting at all right up through the SP. I don't think she gave up because she was in a 3-way tie. She faced that in the Olympics. You never know who will falter so there's no reason not to fight even if the probability isn't there.
I think she gave up because of pain. Undertraining alone doesn't explain how great she looked and skated in the first part of the competition. She certainly should have had enough energy left for snatches of brilliance. Instead, she had an eerie calm from start to end of the second part of the competition (all the way through awards and apparently post-interviews). She seemed to be at peace with the poor performance and the loss in a way I've never seen from her before.
So my best guess is that the old injury - or who knows, maybe a new one - was exacerbated by stress and intense training and came back after the SP - just in time to wreck her FP and Olympic dreams. Her resigned attitude - if I'm right - was because she knew she couldn't skate all-out in that physical state. Thus she couldn't do what it would take to place top two. That would be why she didn't do the planned content. But she went through with it like a good sportswoman and with the determination that, if either Mirai or Rachael had a meltdown, she'd be there to get that spot. And that's why she fought as much as she did in the FP, even though it wasn't going well.
Or perhaps it was like one of those old movies where the dying heroine performs one last piano concerto to a cheering audience before expiring. Maybe she skated her SP through pain on sheer spirit and adrenalin, but knew they wouldn't get her through the much tougher FP two days later.
But all this is just my guesswork. Maybe sometime we'll know what really happened.
I'm very glad she's at peace with the journey and the outcome. Nobody can take away the sweetness of the first part of the competition, when she showed the doubters that she was back and fully prepared, and got such a welcome from fans and press, and delivered in the SP. Brava, Sasha!
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- Jul 28, 2003
I'm very glad she's at peace with the journey and the outcome. Nobody can take away the sweetness of the first part of the competition, when she showed the doubters that she was back and fully prepared, and got such a welcome from fans and press, and delivered in the SP. Brava, Sasha!
Spun, thank you!!! You said it all so well. The other thing I thought was she deserves to be respected as one of the best US skaters.
Not that it matters...but it was reported/tweeted by various people that Sasha WAS doing jumps during practice Friday-she warmed up with singles, 2ax, did a couple jumps in her run through, then did all her jumps after the run through,including a back charlotte into 3s/2t/2t, 3fl/2t, 3lp, 3fl, 3lz, 3s, basically was reported she did all her planned jump content, just only did a couple in the run through, and did the FW which was speculated not to be worthy of a level 3.
I'm sure she was aching. She has tendonitis in her landing leg-I imagine it's hard to throw yourself into your jumps when you gotta worry if it's going to hurt to land them. And everyone knows how hard skating is on the body even when "healthy." I really think she just never got the muscle memory down pat to be able to let lose and skate "MS" as she wanted to and that made her think too much and not perform.
edited...I agree, SS, Sasha really did silence her doubters, and the critics who said she never was willing to work harder than she had to before. To make this comeback, she probably had to work harder than ever, and I'm sure she didn't expect it to be so hard, yet she stuck it out and really did give a lovely performance in the SP. The LP is much longer and with many more jump passes. Given the rumor she was barely doing doubles in her run through less than a month ago, my feeling is she just was not ready to do a full out LP, just ran out of time and she couldn't fake through it.
I'm sure she was aching. She has tendonitis in her landing leg-I imagine it's hard to throw yourself into your jumps when you gotta worry if it's going to hurt to land them. And everyone knows how hard skating is on the body even when "healthy." I really think she just never got the muscle memory down pat to be able to let lose and skate "MS" as she wanted to and that made her think too much and not perform.
I still would like to know what people thought Sasha left out of her LP since more than a few posters have posted that.spunsilver said:
edited...I agree, SS, Sasha really did silence her doubters, and the critics who said she never was willing to work harder than she had to before. To make this comeback, she probably had to work harder than ever, and I'm sure she didn't expect it to be so hard, yet she stuck it out and really did give a lovely performance in the SP. The LP is much longer and with many more jump passes. Given the rumor she was barely doing doubles in her run through less than a month ago, my feeling is she just was not ready to do a full out LP, just ran out of time and she couldn't fake through it.
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- Mar 14, 2006
I just watched the FP again in order to answer MKFSfan's q re: what was left out, and it seemed a lot more creditable to me than the first time when my heart was in my mouth. Yes, she messed up almost all the jumps and did not deliver an Olympic performance, but she stuck it out and kept her form and almost pulled it off. If she had been able to get to the GP - who knows?
Anyway - she left out the 3Lz-2T-2T, her layback and Biellmann, and her Ina Bauer, and I can't believe her footwork was as planned because level 1 footwork is just not normal for Sasha. She also neglected to throw in 2 more 2A, the only jump she got + GOE for. With all that she would have been packing for Vancouver.
Anyway - she left out the 3Lz-2T-2T, her layback and Biellmann, and her Ina Bauer, and I can't believe her footwork was as planned because level 1 footwork is just not normal for Sasha. She also neglected to throw in 2 more 2A, the only jump she got + GOE for. With all that she would have been packing for Vancouver.
I thought when I kept reading "left out content" it referred to planned elements that she did not do, not the things she usually includes. Her jump layout did not include a 3lz/2/2, but a 3s/2t/2t after the back charlotte-she landed the salchow poorly in the LP, so she didn't do the combo, but she was practicing it, so she had intended to put it in. She opted not to include a layback in her LP-maybe back trouble? The FCoSp she did include would've earned a higher base level had she completed the rotations (level 4 is a 3.00 Vs LSp level 4 being 2.70), so maybe just COP strategy?
I highly doubt she planned for a Level 1 FW, or that Lori or Nicks would not have caught on to that, especially since her SP was easily a Level 3. I wonder if she just didn't have it all stored in muscle memory since IIRC, she had "MS" reworked by Lori not too long before Nationals-there were reports she was with Lori specifically doing FW.
The only way Sasha could've done more 2ax would be to either leave out other triples, or do a sequence somewhere. She wanted to do all her triples (save the 3toe) so on paper she would've had a higher base value by repeating the flip and salchow. Alas, it wasn't meant to be and I hope she is busy planning a vacation to a lovely beach somewhere!
I highly doubt she planned for a Level 1 FW, or that Lori or Nicks would not have caught on to that, especially since her SP was easily a Level 3. I wonder if she just didn't have it all stored in muscle memory since IIRC, she had "MS" reworked by Lori not too long before Nationals-there were reports she was with Lori specifically doing FW.
The only way Sasha could've done more 2ax would be to either leave out other triples, or do a sequence somewhere. She wanted to do all her triples (save the 3toe) so on paper she would've had a higher base value by repeating the flip and salchow. Alas, it wasn't meant to be and I hope she is busy planning a vacation to a lovely beach somewhere!
I see the word "failed" was removed from the title. Not PC enough? 
Probably. Most of the reports were about her SP, but little was known about her FS. She just ran out of time to prepare it I think. For some reason she decided to compete it anyway. Perhaps to leave the door open for next year? If she WD, after all, she would have to start from scratch since her Oly bye is up. I think she will retire though.
Probably. Most of the reports were about her SP, but little was known about her FS. She just ran out of time to prepare it I think. For some reason she decided to compete it anyway. Perhaps to leave the door open for next year? If she WD, after all, she would have to start from scratch since her Oly bye is up. I think she will retire though.
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I see the word "failed" was removed from the title. Not PC enough?
Probably. Most of the reports were about her SP, but little was known about her FS. She just ran out of time to prepare it I think.
The biggest accomplishment of Sasha's comeback is that RD says he has newfound respect for her.
Go Sasha!!
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