What does Akiko need to do.....?

[MKFSfan]

Yu-Na DID win the FS. She messed up her SP-fall plus lower levels on non-jump elements than usual-so therefore could not make up the difference and that is why she was not 1st or even 2nd overall. I do believe Carolina was gifted Silver though, and had the judging been more accurate, Yu-Na would've been 2nd overall.

What did Yukari in is her 2 downgrades-3ax and 3flip. She also only had 2 Level 4 on non-jump elements, 3 Level 3's. So she did leave some points of the table there as well. Had her two jumps not been DG, she would've scored at least a 124+ and would've won the LP. Then she also would've been Silver overall, behind Mao by less than 1 point. So, she did herself in with those two downgrades.

 

[silverlake22]

What did Yukari in is her 2 downgrades-3ax and 3flip. She also only had 2 Level 4 on non-jump elements, 3 Level 3's. So she did leave some points of the table there as well. Had her two jumps not been DG, she would've scored at least a 124+ and would've won the LP. Then she also would've been Silver overall, behind Mao by less than 1 point. So, she did herself in with those two downgrades.

Does Yukari get negative GOEs on her jumps for her severe leg wrap too? If so then it explains things even more.

 

[vlaurend]

Akiko had the highest technical score in the long program at the GPF and if she had been given the same PCS as Miki Ando, she would have placed first in the long program. There is no way Miki's PCS should have been higher than Akiko's in the long program, based on how they actually skated that night. I wish the judges were able to forget all of their preconceptions and skaters' past performances and truly judge each performance based on the 5 program components when handing out those scores. I do not believe in the reputation mark.

 

[shine]

Akiko had the highest technical score in the long program at the GPF and if she had been given the same PCS as Miki Ando, she would have placed first in the long program. There is no way Miki's PCS should have been higher than Akiko's in the long program, based on how they actually skated that night. I wish the judges were able to forget all of their preconceptions and skaters' past performances and truly judge each performance based on the 5 program components when handing out those scores. I do not believe in the reputation mark.

And it's not like Miki Ando's past performances have ever really deserved any PCS higher than 7.5.

 

[Wrlmy]

^^ But the problem is, with subjective judging, those numbers are arbitrary.. not that I believe Miki necessarily deserved higher pcs than Akiko aside from skating skill.

 

[I-witness]

After watching the Ladies this season my favorite LP was this one skated by Akiko at the GPF:

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

I enjoyed this performance very much but it still was only good for third place at the GPF.

I disagree - but wonder if others can point out why Akiko's LP marks were less than Yuna and Miki.

I agree with you, janetfan. :agree:
The other day, I was looking at a website which does interesting analysis on score sheet. I found an intresting thing about GPF's score.
There were three judges who scored Akiko's LP 125+.
A number of judges who gave 125+ for each skater's FS was like this:
Yuna 4/9 (120.38-136.08, two judges gave her 130+!),
Miki 0/9 (115.98-122.88),
Akiko 3/9, (one another gave her 124+)
Others 0/9
From this season, judges scores on score sheet are shaffled for each skater so we cannot compare scores of a particular gave for different skaters. But there are at least four judges who scored Akiko's FS higher than Miki's.

 

[Figure88]

Yu-Na DID win the FS. She messed up her SP-fall plus lower levels on non-jump elements than usual-so therefore could not make up the difference and that is why she was not 1st or even 2nd overall. I do believe Carolina was gifted Silver though, and had the judging been more accurate, Yu-Na would've been 2nd overall.

What did Yukari in is her 2 downgrades-3ax and 3flip. She also only had 2 Level 4 on non-jump elements, 3 Level 3's. So she did leave some points of the table there as well. Had her two jumps not been DG, she would've scored at least a 124+ and would've won the LP. Then she also would've been Silver overall, behind Mao by less than 1 point. So, she did herself in with those two downgrades.

I don't think Kim's short was the problem. Sonia Bianchetti points out that her 5 clean triples in the FS should have been more than enough to overcome the mistakes in her SP and put her in the leadership overall, since both Mao and Kostner "bombed" their FS. As Bianchetti says, Mao's disastrous fall wasn't the only mistake in her long since she received an edge call on her lutz and DG on her 3-3 combo. However, she received she received the highest PCS for the long program overtaking even Kim. Had Mao been scored more accurately, Kim would have placed first.

I'm not even going into Kostner because her mistakes are obvious. Although Nagano seemed relatively clean, she didn't haven't the level of difficulty in her program to really overcome the leaders IMO. She only did a 3-2 combo in her short. It didn't help that the triple axle which she needed badly (a bad gamble IMO) was downgraded. It also did not help that she underrotated her 3-3 combo. Judges also had a problem with her "wrap around" leg, so even if her jumps were clean, she lost scores big time in the execution scores.

 

[Figure88]

Akiko had the highest technical score in the long program at the GPF and if she had been given the same PCS as Miki Ando, she would have placed first in the long program. There is no way Miki's PCS should have been higher than Akiko's in the long program, based on how they actually skated that night. I wish the judges were able to forget all of their preconceptions and skaters' past performances and truly judge each performance based on the 5 program components when handing out those scores. I do not believe in the reputation mark.

Akiko did have a lot of enthusiasm for her program and I admit she really "sold" it. However, if you look at the basic graded elements like jumps, spirals etc. they weren't executed any better than the other ladies and to me they looked kind of off. Maybe that's why her PCS scores weren't higher. I don't know.

Her jump layout also doesn't help. Her most difficult jump, the lutz, received an edge call. I think she is at a serious disadvantage on this score. If she is picked as one of the ladies to compete in Vancouver, she might have a difficult time even medalling, because we all know there will be at least 3-4 ladies with 3-3's and triple axels in their arsenals.

 

[silverlake22]

Her jump layout also doesn't help. Her most difficult jump, the lutz, received an edge call. I think she is at a serious disadvantage on this score. If she is picked as one of the ladies to compete in Vancouver, she might have a difficult time even medalling, because we all know there will be at least 3-4 ladies with 3-3's and triple axels in their arsenals.

The question is will they do them? Joannie does not really have a 3-3 as she has not done it in competition, although I guess her 3t-3s sequence is technically a 3-3. Yukari has a 3a but it's always downgraded when she hits it and she has the leg wrap and probably won't even be at the Olympics. Miki has a 3lz-3lo and a 2a-3t planned in her program, but she hasn't done it all season, plus doing a 3-3 with a loop on the back end is VERY easy to get downgraded on, Mao does not have a 3-3 or even a 3lutz although she does have the three 3a, one even in combination, but she is not likely to land more than 1-2 of those 3a attempts cleanly. Who else has a 3-3? Rachael, who could easily sneak up and overtake one of the favorites for a medal, but her PCS isn't great. Some lower level skaters like Elena Glebova, Elene Gedevanishvilli, Sarah Hecken, do 3t-3t but that combo isn't even worth that much and they don't have the other skills necessary to be on top. I suppose Caroline has the 3f-3t that she attempts, but it is almost always downgraded and she probably won't be there either.

 

[vlaurend]

Akiko did have a lot of enthusiasm for her program and I admit she really "sold" it. However, if you look at the basic graded elements like jumps, spirals etc. they weren't executed any better than the other ladies and to me they looked kind of off. Maybe that's why her PCS scores weren't higher. I don't know.

Her jump layout also doesn't help. Her most difficult jump, the lutz, received an edge call. I think she is at a serious disadvantage on this score. If she is picked as one of the ladies to compete in Vancouver, she might have a difficult time even medalling, because we all know there will be at least 3-4 ladies with 3-3's and triple axels in their arsenals.

But each of the elements you mention has already been scored individually in Akiko's technical mark (you can see what the judges thought of them by looking at the GOE) and she got the highest technical score of any lady in the long program. Also, a lot of ladies receive "!" marks for their lutz takeoffs, even Mao Asada, who gets very high PCS.
The PCS should reflect how well the skater did everything else between the elements. Akiko's transitions were smoother and more controlled than Miki's, her interpretation and overall performance and execution were at least as good if not better, and from what I can see on video, her skating skills appear to be equal to Miki's.

 

[silverlake22]

But each of the elements you mention has already been scored individually in Akiko's technical mark (you can see what the judges thought of them by looking at the GOE) and she got the highest technical score of any lady in the long program. Also, a lot of ladies receive "!" marks for their lutz takeoffs, even Mao Asada, who gets very high PCS.
The PCS should reflect how well the skater did everything else between the elements. Akiko's transitions were smoother and more controlled than Miki's, her interpretation and overall performance and execution were at least as good if not better, and from what I can see on video, her skating skills appear to be equal to Miki's.

I've never seen Akiko live, but I've seen Miki live and she was much better than she appears on TV. I don't know why but on TV she does not look that good. She is a very smooth and fast skater.