TIME Magazine Favors Meissner

[Vash01]

Wasn't TIME the same zine that put Sarah Hughes on the cover before the Olympics?

They got lucky last time. They may not be that lucky this time.

Kimmie has not won anything but she has shown a lot of progress and poise under pressure at the US Nationals. For her to win the OGM a lot of the top ladies will have to have disastrous performances and Kimmie will have to give a Mao Asada like performance. It is not impossible, and since she is 16, I am not counting her out. It is still highly improbable. I like the chances of 18 year old Carolina better.

Vash

 

[nymkfan51]

Thanks Rgirl (always love reading your posts! )

The only person I would be betting on for the ladies event this year is Irina. All the rest have big question marks for me.
It does bum me out that so many folks are burying Michelle before this thing even begins, but maybe that will work to her advantage. I mean, if everyone is expecting nothing from her, she has nowhere to go but up, right?

As for Kimmie, I like her a lot. She has a sweet and gentle quality to her skating, to go along with the power. I do think it's telling though, that the 3A was missing this season. I predicted that at last year's Nats. Those big-ticket items are the first to go as the competitions get more important.
I also think Kimmie has a way to go yet with her style. She still seems a bit juniorish to me ... especially with her arm movements. But I fully expect her to improve, and assuming she doesn't have any huge growth spurt, she should be a major player in the next few years.
I don't expect her to finish ahead of Sasha at the Olympics.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

I've already put Kimmie high on my list for the win at Olys, if and only if, she hits the 3A. The Olympic judges' penchant for medaling teenagers has proven true for the past umpTEEN years. Kostner and Ando are also gifted teenagers.

I haven't read the magazine but from what rgirl wrote, it seems there was no comparison of the three US gals to Irina. I hope Time has not concluded that only an American can win.

Joe

 

[soogar]

They got lucky last time. They may not be that lucky this time.

Kimmie has not won anything but she has shown a lot of progress and poise under pressure at the US Nationals. For her to win the OGM a lot of the top ladies will have to have disastrous performances and Kimmie will have to give a Mao Asada like performance. It is not impossible, and since she is 16, I am not counting her out. It is still highly improbable. I like the chances of 18 year old Carolina better.

Vash

I think the Times is onto something here. I definitely think Kimmie can be a bigger spoiler than everyone thinks. She doesn't have to be a world medalist or whatever other BS everyone is spouting. And if a medal in previous worlds is the criteria, then I guess Michelle isn't goingto do very well in these games b/c she wasn't on the podium. Kimmie has 3-3s and solid skating skills. I am certain Kimmie's coach is upping her spin and footwork levels as well. Kimmie will be the dark horse to do well and if those 3-3s are ratified, well Michelle and Sasha can watch on the sidelines lamenting how their advisors told them that 3-3s are not required to win and watch yet another young lady skate off with the OGM with 3-3s in tow. 3-3s (as well as the quad for men) will be essential to win. Only the lady who puts it all out is truly in control of her fate.

 

[chuckm]

Sarah Hughes made TWO GPFs and won the bronze medal each time. She had competed in three Senior World Championships and finished 7th, 5th and 3rd. She won her first GP event at Skate Canada 2001, but that was her only gold medal before winning the OGM.

Kimmie skated in the GPs just this season and finished 5th twice. She made the JGPF last season and won the bronze medal behind Mao Awada and Yu-Na Kim . She has skated in Junior Worlds twice; she won the silver medal behind Miki Ando in 2004 but finished off the podium in 2005, behind Mao Awada, Yu-Na Kim and Emily Hughes. Kimmie couldn't skate at Worlds 2005 because she was too young.

The biggest negative for Kimmie is her low PCS scores. Her best PCS scores were in the mid 6s (6.4-6.6) at NHK, but at that competition, she was dinged for underrotating 3 of her triple jumps. Her best FS performance was at TEB, but her PCS scores were only 6.25-6.5, nearly 8 points lower than Sasha Cohen's. Part of the reason for the low PCS scores is that while her jumping is very good, her spins, spiral sequence and footwork are mediocre compared to the other top ladies. Kimmie has had problems falling on the spiral and the footwork, as well as falling out of some of her spins during the GP.

Even if Kimmie got credit for her 3/3s and a 3A (which she hasn't attempted even once this season), she still has a problem in that her PCS scores for the FS are likely to be 8 points lower than Cohen's and 12 points lower than Irina's, and she loses points to both on spins, spirals and footwork.

Even if Slutskaya, Cohen, Arakawa, Kwan and Suguri all make big mistakes, they will still get higher PCS scores than Kimmie. Kimmie's 'other stuff' still needs considerable work to be at the same level as the top competitors, and it isn't possible for her to improve sufficiently to make a difference at Torino.

 

[dwiggin3]

I've not had my coffee this AM and didn't sleep well, so my "self-edit" feature is not working......

I am SOOO tired of these baby ballerinas winning the Olympics and other comps! I will absolutely hurl if Kimmie wins.:banging:

Admittedly, in Nagano and SLC, Tara and Sarah did skate the best and deserved to win, but hello - this is "LADIES" figure skating. Tara was a CHILD. Sarah at least looked like she'd gone through puberty.

I agree with the age limit at the Olympics, I’d up it to 16 if I could. But at other international and national events, we have these tiny children – babies, winning. I know smaller body types are desirable, but look at Kwan, Shiz, Irina, Alyssa...they are at least womanly looking. Argh!!!...

I guess I just want "Ladies Figure Skating" to really consist of Ladies who skate like Ladies. Not children who skate like children.

Okay, I'll go crawl back into my hole....

GO KWAN!!!!!

Darby

 

[Mathman]

For Rgirl...

Newby hype, ten point type.
Stale and old, below the fold.
Kwan again? Dog bites man.
Kimmie's hot! Man bites Spot!

MM

 

[chuckm]

I think the Times is onto something here. I definitely think Kimmie can be a bigger spoiler than everyone thinks. She doesn't have to be a world medalist or whatever other BS everyone is spouting. And if a medal in previous worlds is the criteria, then I guess Michelle isn't goingto do very well in these games b/c she wasn't on the podium. Kimmie has 3-3s and solid skating skills. I am certain Kimmie's coach is upping her spin and footwork levels as well. Kimmie will be the dark horse to do well and if those 3-3s are ratified, well Michelle and Sasha can watch on the sidelines lamenting how their advisors told them that 3-3s are not required to win and watch yet another young lady skate off with the OGM with 3-3s in tow. 3-3s (as well as the quad for men) will be essential to win. Only the lady who puts it all out is truly in control of her fate.

Every Ladies OGM winner has been on the World podium at some time before winning the OGM, not necessarily the year before. Ladies who meet that criteria are Slutskaya, Cohen, Kostner, Kwan, Arakawa, Sokolova and Suguri.

The only skater whose 3/3s have been consistently ratified is Kostner, although she suffers from overall consistency problems. Arakawa, Meissner and Ando have all had their 3/3s downgraded, and Meissner and Arakawa have had solo triples downgraded as well. Meissner's JUMPING skills are solid, but she has a ways to go with her spins, spirals and footwork. She has never gotten an SS score better than the lower 6s. That will not stand her in good stead when Slute gets low 8s and Cohen, upper 7s,

 

[mzheng]

Kimmie will be the dark horse to do well and if those 3-3s are ratified, well Michelle and Sasha can watch on the sidelines lamenting how their advisors told them that 3-3s are not required to win and watch yet another young lady skate off with the OGM with 3-3s in tow. 3-3s (as well as the quad for men) will be essential to win. Only the lady who puts it all out is truly in control of her fate.

Well, for Kimmie a 3/3 is a 'MUST' and pluss some of other top ladies faulted to win. For Sasha I don't know what her camp told her need or not......However just watched the Michelle's press conference, there she said she know a 3/3 is a must for her to win at least her chance are high.

 

[Doggygirl]

After seeing Kimmie at Nationals....

I think Kimmie is a bright potential star for the future of US skating. IMO, what she seems to have really going for her are "cat feet" when it comes to jumps. That will serve her well. And since jumps are her strength (IMO) I'm thinking she will go for a 3/3 in her SP (and I think some among the faves will not) and maybe 2 3/3's in her LP, and maybe the 3A. (but that was absent at Nats). Those extra points for jumps will work in her favor.

Seeing her live just reinforced for me that she still has a LOT of work to do on everything else. Her spins and spirals and FW and general presentation are NOT up to the standards of the other top ladies. So the only way I see Kimmie on the podium is if there are significant mistakes from several of the other top ladies such as Irina, Sasha, Shiz, Fumie, Michelle, Carolina, Elena etc. etc.

But of course speculation is most of the fun!! And the press will have fun speculating right along with us!! OK now Kimmie! Get out there and prove me wrong!! (I love a good underdog victory )

DG

 

[millie]

Newby hype, ten point type.
Stale and old, below the fold.
Kwan again? Dog bites man.
Kimmie's hot! Man bites Spot!

MM

I am not trying to compete with you MM but here is a little one on articles and the media;

He who has a thing to tell
And goes and whispers in a well.
Is not so apt to get the dollars
As he who climbs a tree and hollers.

 

[Doggygirl]

I am not trying to compete with you MM but here is a little one on articles and the media;

He who has a thing to tell
And goes and whispers in a well.
Is not so apt to get the dollars
As he who climbs a tree and hollers.

:chorus: :chorus: :chorus:

Totally Rockette Worthy!!

DG

 

[Mathman]

Factoid (from Jo-ann Barnas, writing in the Detroit Free Press): Kimmie is the youngest person on the U.S. Olympic team. The second youngest (by a couple of months) is snow boarder Elena Hight. Oldest is men's curler Scott Baird, 54.

Sarah Konrad will compete in both cross country skiing and biathlon -- the first female U.S. athlete to compete in two different sports in the same Olympics.

 

[rob43]

Considering Time picked Hughes for the '02 cover I have to say this might be the endorsement to get. But I am hoping we see Meisner another few years- i wasn't big on her for the past year btu thought she made a lot of improvement for Nationals on the tech side. With that down I really think her artistry will improve with time and experience.

 

[SkateFan4Life]

I don't think Time magazine's article favored Kimmie over Sasha at all, but rather covered their respective strengths and (Sasha) her odyssey to get herself trained appropriately.

The article contained quotes from Peggy Fleming on Michelle Kwan, of how she (Peggy) would be "terrified" to debut this season's competitive programs at the Olympics. Peggy also spoke of Sasha's enormous talent but that she typically skates the great programs at practice, not at the actual competition.

The article started off with a snippet about Sasha, of how she purchased a new house at the beach - between the Pacific Ocean and the mountains - and how she discovered during last year's mudslides that the house had been built on unstable ground. I just could not find much sympathy for Sasha. Really, how many 21-year-olds can afford to purchase a new house? And, if they are able to do so, why in the world would they not pay attention to the history of mudslides in that area of the counry and, perhaps, purchase a house on more stable ground? Duh.

 

[ladysarahchatto]

Thanks very much for sharing Rgirl!

I can't agree with Time-Kimmie has a shot but I think even with a relatively minor mistake Sasha will medal over her-if any of the Americans medal at all. Their competition will be TOUGH. The Russians, Japanese, and Carolina Kostner the hometown girl will definitely have a shot at to medal as well.

 

[SkateFan4Life]

Just curious. What does the picture of Kimmie on the cover of the story (not the magazine) look like?

Kimmie is performing a stag jump. Nice photo. There is another photo of her standing in the rink in the 'table of contents' section.

 

[LBC]

The article started off with a snippet about Sasha, of how she purchased a new house at the beach - between the Pacific Ocean and the mountains - and how she discovered during last year's mudslides that the house had been built on unstable ground. I just could not find much sympathy for Sasha. Really, how many 21-year-olds can afford to purchase a new house? And, if they are able to do so, why in the world would they not pay attention to the history of mudslides in that area of the counry and, perhaps, purchase a house on more stable ground? Duh.

I think that was a metaphor about her skating career. Sasha didn't buy the house. It was still in escrow when they got it inspected and found out about it sliding. They didn't make it clear that she never actually bought that house.

 

[SkateFan4Life]

I think that was a metaphor about her skating career. Sasha didn't buy the house. It was still in escrow when they got it inspected and found out about it sliding. They didn't make it clear that she never actually bought that house.

Interesting point! Thanks for the clarification.

 

[ladysarahchatto]

I don't think Time magazine's article favored Kimmie over Sasha at all, but rather covered their respective strengths and (Sasha) her odyssey to get herself trained appropriately.



The article started off with a snippet about Sasha, of how she purchased a new house at the beach - between the Pacific Ocean and the mountains - and how she discovered during last year's mudslides that the house had been built on unstable ground. I just could not find much sympathy for Sasha. Really, how many 21-year-olds can afford to purchase a new house? And, if they are able to do so, why in the world would they not pay attention to the history of mudslides in that area of the counry and, perhaps, purchase a house on more stable ground? Duh.

Much much older people than Sasha have found out after purchasing a home that they have made a huge mistake. My sister for one. She lost not one, but two homes to the hurricanes that hit Florida back to back the past couple of years. She also lost money on an apartment building she purchased-only to discover that the renters were not the kind to pay on time, etc. She had to sell. People can say well that is what they get for buying without researching, etc. but that is life-one learns from one's mistakes. . And not everyone has the option or resources to move where they please. In Sasha's case-she is definitely not the only person to uknowingly purchase a home under such circumstances. And at 21 she hardly has much life experience under her belt-I don't care how wealthy she is.