Just would like to say that IMO all of Carolina's PCS are deserved for what she did at this competition. Her FS is a dream. And I have never seen another woman who can skate with the combination of power, elegance, freedom, and musicality as she does. She's truly an artist at heart and skates with a vision. I wasn't the biggest Kostner fan when she first came on the scene, but she really won me over through the years. As someone who loves Mozart to pieces, I think he would've been so pleased!
Here's my two cents on Carolina:
1.) I was definitely irritated last season that Carolina seem to get magic points for watered down content last season.
2.) That totally changed for me this season and namely because of two very fantastic, well-choreographed programs this season. Both programs really highlight exactly why Carolina is a factored despite the lack of a lutz — the skating skills, ice coverage, speed, etc.
3.) I'd rather have Carolina's FS here or even from GPF than a very badly-choreographed 7-triple program from Alena Leonova, who basically does three flips.
4.) I've been talking alot about strategy and management lately, especially in defending Jason Brown, another skater who is very good but is criticized for his current lack of a 3A. Many people see Carolina's team strategy as "giving up" or "playing it safe." In contrast, I see it as more a rebuilding or a redevelopment of confidence, especially since she had an injury. Even when she was being a train wreak in 2010, you can tell that judges still acknowledged her skating skills/artistry. I think her team realized that she need to rebuild her jump arsenal, but as long as they had programs that highlighted her strengths, that she would still do really well. I think the strategy has worked. It is not her fault that her competitors could not rise to the challenge (or they weren't there do so). I think she will get the Lutz back. We're already seeing a second flip and she has been able to skate relatively clean programs; so I'm hoping that the Lutz is next.
5.) I get that for some of you it's much more fun to see 7-triple programs with 3-3. But for me, I'd like to see a well-executed 7-triple program with 3-3. I'd say Elizaveta T. has been the closest to that goal, but even then there are weaknesses — she still doesn't have great ice coverage and her choreography is not as
developed. I'm a big fan of Gracie Gold as well, but she is also still weak on the PCS side (namely choreography/interpretation; she has decent skating skills). Adelina and Julia are close to the whole package also. If all those girls develop more on the PCS AND maintain that tech content, Carolina will not be able to win with her current technical content.
But this is a sporting championship at the highest level, and it should be about what is actually delivered on the ice on the day, irrespective of who it is by, why, and how.
If it is the gold standard of ladies figure skating, frankly this ceased to be about the sport anymore...but then it never is, is it?
Alena on the other hand at least tried desperately hard, and I'd always want to give people extra bonus for bother trying.
I know people's explanation and sympathies about why she left out her lutz and why her jump content wasn't as strong because of injuries blah blah blah. But this is a sporting championship at the highest level, and it should be about what is actually delivered on the ice on the day, irrespective of who it is by, why, and how. If it is the gold standard of ladies figure skating, frankly this ceased to be about the sport anymore...but then it never is, is it?
I'm with you. Many people say Takahashi has already passed his prime because he is not as consistant with his quads as before he tore his ACL despite of his superb skating skills and artistry. (I hope he will get his quads back and prove them wrong, though.) For Kostner, "Oh poor Carolina, she had injuries! She doesn't need a 3Lz because she is such a lovely skater with great skating skills and artistry." What a double standard!
I don't blame general public if they don't take Ladies Singles little more seriously than they do Miss Universe.
I'm with you. Many people say Takahashi has already passed his prime because he is not as consistant with his quads as before he tore his ACL despite of his superb skating skills and artistry. (I hope he will get his quads back and prove them wrong, though.) For Kostner, "Oh poor Carolina, she had injuries! She doesn't need a 3Lz because she is such a lovely skater with great skating skills and artistry." What a double standard!
Carolina is a good skater, a great skater in certain areas, but her score is outrageous given what was put out there. You look at her FS and then Yuna Kim's FS at the Olympics that set the world record for ladies figure skating, be it technical content, artistry, depth of musical interpretations/realization, the difference is only 0.82 apart? Really? Wow!
Right. And it's a figure skating contest. A contest on who can deliver the best package of technical content which includes a variety of different jumps, spins, steps, spirals, and other blade-on-ice skills, with the best overall quality, with difficult combinations of skills, executed in time to music to show technical control of the timing, and if possible with extra qualities of performance, musical expressiveness, and program construction to add "artistry" to the technical feats.
It's not a triple lutz contest, or even a who-can-land-the-hardest-jumps contest.
I thought you wanted this to be a sporting championship at the highest level, about what is actually delivered on the ice on the day.
It's not a trying hard contest either.
Yes, skating with energy, attack, commitment, whatever you want to call it, is worth more than "phoning it in." But that's a completely separate issue from jump content.
Other than being blatantly unfair to other competitors who aims for risk taking content to be competitive like Ashley, Akiko and Mao, it does not do Carolina any favours when her legitimacy might be called into question when her content clearly does not stack up to those before her.
I don't understand why you are so outraged. Kim had the best combination of technical content and presentation and won convincingly that night, but since when was her programs at the Olympics consindered the golden standard for artistry and depth of musical interpretation? Kostner is just every bit as good in all of the PCS and better in some. I personally find Carolina's presentation more genuine and her musicality more natural, less put on. The choreography of her programs is also artistically more mature and complex than Kim's.3) With no Yuna or Ando challenging her and Mao in a sad unstable state, she has the full support of the Europeans and the previously repressed Carolina Fans who has a real shot at regaining the championship for the 1st time outside Asia in 6 years, and back in Europe in 8 years. Carolina is a good skater, a great skater in certain areas, but her score is outrageous given what was put out there. You look at her FS and then Yuna Kim's FS at the Olympics that set the world record for ladies figure skating, be it technical content, artistry, depth of musical interpretations/realization, the difference is only 0.82 apart? Really? Wow!
Can you give an example of where Kostner is being overscored and why you think so?4) The 'rebuilding confidence' and 'strategic smart' are water down excuses and discredit figure skating as a sport. It is easy to rebuild confidence when you have the judges on your side, and you just have to stay on your feet.
1. Scores aren't static. For example, if we compare Chan's 2010 GPF winning LP with Dai's 2008 4CC, Dai seems to win by only one point. But judges were using two different standards, and Chan had about a five-eight point advantage over Dai just on the rule changes alone. So os168, you can't compare scores across seasons.
2. But even presuming that, I don't know why you'd be so dismissive of Kostner's PCS. Is it just that it's close to Kim's two year-past standard? What score should she get for PCS and why?
I don't understand why you are so outraged. Kim had the best combination of technical content and presentation and won convincingly that night, but since when was her programs at the Olympics consindered the golden standard for artistry and depth of musical interpretation? Kostner is just every bit as good in all of the PCS and better in some. I personally find Carolina's presentation more genuine and her musicality more natural, less put on. The choreography of her programs is also artistically more mature and complex than Kim's.
Can you give an example of where Kostner is being overscored and why you think so?
Put it this way, this fact the score of this FS program with 1 hands down is 0.82 points different from Kim's FS error free high degree of everything program at the Olympics is a warning sign of the things to come.
Koster did the best skate on the day hands down. I have no problem with that. It is probably one of the best skate of her life even with one hands down but imo still lack in finesse and variance (change of mood, pace, depth of full realisation, tone etc) I look for in a FS program