The performances of Wagner and Gold

[Globetrotter]

If Tuk can't land the 3A then her advantage over Gracie is gone especially if Gracie starts being more consistent. I can't think of much that Tuk does better then Gracie other then being consistent which is of course the name of the game.

I will say that Tuks has the technical edge over Gold in having the 3A and also the correct edges and generally solid techniques. Gold has better spins and to me, better SS edges. The biggest edge Tuks has over Gold is really the competitive nerves and the ability to deliver when she is required to.

 

[moriel]

High disaster potential but in the long run, challenging herself to perform different types of programs will help her find her signature style.

yeah dunno, i'm just waiting to see it =D Don't really see a tango dancer in her but then also in 2014, nobody would expect adelina to do a decent samba and now it sounds like a hit, so who knows =D
tbh, i think maybe some pop stuff would work for her?

 

[lyverbird1]

Gracie's programs are Tango SP, Firebird LP, according to TSL

Well cue a predictable costume choice so...

 

[russianbratz]

Gold cannot outscore Tuktamysheva without a 3A, unless Liza has a rare disastrous performance -- though that scenario is more likely to be seen with Gracie. Mental toughness cannot be underestimated. The combination of solid technique combined with the belief you can win is nearly unstoppable, especially in this current field of ladies.

Now, with potentially two ladies out there with 3A jumps (and naturally high PCS), any PCS Gracie would receive would not be enough to overcome the technical deficit if everyone skates clean.

Overall, I agree that Gracie seems to be the best hope of the U.S ladies right now, if she can put it all together... would definitely be worthy of the podium.

I disagree. We still haven't seen Tuk skate a clean long with the 3A. Her performance at worlds was far from perfect. I think its more accurate to say that Gracie can't win gold without fixing her triple flip.

Despite the much vaunted 3A, I think it is positive GOEs that make up the points advantage under IJS, and Tuk has very powerful technique on every jump. Emphasizing the 3A is a TES argument. If you want to talk TES, Radionova and Polina already have the other ladies beat.

What an increasing number of women have that not all jumping beans have are clean protocols on those two key two jumps. So Youn Park, Mariah Bell, Karen Chen, Satoko Miyahara---they all pose a long term threat to Tuk, because they disrupt how judges attribute all the system's 'hidden points.' Gracie's jumps are strong enough that she got could be a threat too, but right now she's just riding the fickle wave of political PCS, and hoping her competitors fail.

I do think most of Gracie's misfortune last season was circumstantial. Post Olympics, coming into the season out of shape, getting the injury, and above all dealing with the stature and expectations heaped on her. The only thing Gracie can't deal with on that list easily is dealing with the pressure of performing.

In order to name-ifest her destiny and become a gold medalist though, she is going to have to fix that flip. Triple axel... take it or leave it. Gracie has a horrible axel anyway (I don't know why). She can eek out a win in the short program as of now, but particularly in the long, lacking both toe jumps will make her case for first increasingly thin.

 

[moriel]

OBS: Tuks already skated clean with 3A: her SP in Worlds.

As for Gracie fixing things, i disagree about jumps/technique/whatever - imho she needs to start putting out clean performances more consistently first.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Despite the much vaunted 3A, I think it is positive GOEs that make up the points advantage under IJS, and Tuk has very powerful technique on every jump. Emphasizing the 3A is a TES argument. If you want to talk TES, Radionova and Polina already have the other ladies beat.

This is why I think Liza will have more consistent results than Mao. Even if she misses the 3A in a LP, Liza can still do 7 triples with +GOE to keep her TES high.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

This is why I think Liza will have more consistent results than Mao. Even if she misses the 3A in a LP, Liza can still do 7 triples with +GOE to keep her TES high.

But in the past and even a bit at WC this season she does seem to posses the ability to unravel a bit. It will be interesting to see if in a year or two years time if she is still replicating this seasons level of consistency. It would be an incredible feat....a very fun one in fact to watch

 

[jkun]

Actually curious to see Gracie performing a tango... Although imho it has some disaster potential.

I think both have disaster potential. I like tangoes and hope Gracie can bring some fierceness. After Anna's firebird last season... I can only hope Gracie can give it some life.

 

[jkun]

OBS: Tuks already skated clean with 3A: her SP in Worlds.

As for Gracie fixing things, i disagree about jumps/technique/whatever - imho she needs to start putting out clean performances more consistently first.

Honestly with Liza skates another short program like that, it is going to be very difficult for anyone to catch up to her in the long. Few skaters have a scoring potential above 70 in the sp.

 

[LRK]

Note: Liza has only tried the 3A in her long once - at WTT. And that after a long season, and not having really trained it in the long. Also, to note that she only started training/landing the 3A on ice in January. So by Worlds' she'd only been doing it three months, at WTT four. My personal belief is that she is only going to get more consistent at it - on the other hand, her stated aim is to include two 3As in the free, so there may be some hurdles to overcome in that pursuit.

Personally, as a Liza fan, what I dread most of all is over-hype. So, actually I'm glad to see that people can still continue to underestimate her. So, really I shouldn't have said any of what I have - and actually debated whether I should or no. Thankfully, I doubt it's going to have much, if any, effect.

 

[russianbratz]

This is why I think Liza will have more consistent results than Mao. Even if she misses the 3A in a LP, Liza can still do 7 triples with +GOE to keep her TES high.

Yup, exactly. Mao always suffered when she didn't have her axel consistent, because she got dinged on the Lutz and had no 3-3. I'm wondering if Mao might include a 3T-3T, or a 3F+3Lo to try to make up the difference.

 

[abc123]

She did a rather feisty latin-inspired program for her short at 2013 nationals (hernandos hideaway i think)...the only problem with programs like that for gracie are that, as we all know, when she doesn't do well on her jumps (aka fairly often) she lets the rest of the program slide in performance quality and gets that dead eye look. Not a huge problem when her whole program is a bit of a snooze, but could become more glaring if otherwise the program is high-energy.