2014 Olympics Ladies Short Program

[Skater Boy]

I have to agree with the poster that said Yuna's programs have become predictable. I would have hoped that after winning the OGM in 2010, that she would have progressed or pushed the sport forward somehow. Meaning, this time around, I was expecting something fresh, innovative or dynamic. She's such a lovely skater but I haven't seen much growth over the past few years. She's beautiful to watch and rightfully deserving of her marks and placement however I think she is in jeopardy of becoming overshadowed but some up and coming skaters such as Lipnitskaya if she doesn't pull something out of her bag of tricks. I guess I can relate Yuna to being the Virtue and Moir of Ladies figure skating. Beautiful and breathtaking to watch, at the top of their sport in 2010, but haven't really done much since then to advance the sport. I know it must be hard to stay at the top for so long and she deserves all the credit in the world for doing so. I just wanted to see more fire and attack out of her to really throw down the gauntlet, and for me, the night belonged to Carolina. I hope Yuna comes out guns blazing tomorrow night, but I won't be surprised if either Carolina or Adelina come out on top.

No V and M not only skated to different music they tried to get the nuance or theme or genre Yuna is more Davis and White perfunctory excellence but not overly unique (other than being consistent of course and consistentlly elegant on the ice. D and W were always princessy so to speak; Yuna has the great technical prowess like D and W. I guess Yuna is thinking of where to put her new OGM. Kostner and Sotnikova are not known for great consistency or clean skates in the lp.

 

[moviechick]

Because her scores are outrageous. It is completely unfair to skaters from other countries. This is cheating. Can't wait for puberty monster to strike. She comes, she goes.

You know, there is a way to make a point without being a huge dick.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

Many people here are raising legit questions about judging that seems to favor the Russian skaters. Yes "These girls are doing their best and they are the best in the world" but should they not be judged fairly and equally regardless of the country they represent?

I've discussed them too...almost to death. Just don't see the need for things like " I'm glad she fell" or "gumby".

I heard people at the rink calling Polina big bird. That is so unnecessary!! This sport lacks respect! Once it gets that then the rest should follow! Yulia has flaws but so do they all. No need to be rude! But then again I'm letting a troll upset me. They'll go away soon enough.

 

[Dutchie]

No V and M not only skated to different music they tried to get the nuance or theme or genre Yuna is more Davis and White perfunctory excellence but not overly unique (other than being consistent of course and consistentlly elegant on the ice. D and W were always princessy so to speak; Yuna has the great technical prowess like D and W. I guess Yuna is thinking of where to put her new OGM. Kostner and Sotnikova are not known for great consistency or clean skates in the lp.

I have to disagree. D/W weren't the defending OGMedalist. V/M were just like Yuna so that's where the comparison came into play. V/M and D/W are both technically consistent. They wouldn't be #1 and #2 if they weren't. I think Yuna is more like V/M in the way that they have been great consistently and technically for the past 4 years after winning OGM but haven't really pushed themselves or reinventing themselves. I like both dance teams so I don't have a biased opinion there, I just think the comparison to V/M is more credible since they were the defending champs.

 

[Skater Boy]

I agree as well. I felt the same with Michelle Kwan. Every clean performance she had in isolation were breathtaking to watch, but I think a certain level of complacency was reached in the later stages of her career where she would recycle the same footwork, spins, and choreography and it just came off to me as a little stale and boring.

ITA I even saw that with Ssquared in pairs too.

 

[emma]

I know that there has been a lot of talk about scoring for some of the tops skaters and especially the Russian skaters; but I'm wondering what people think of the scoring of Polina Edmunds. I'm not suggesting she should be among the top....and she did have a strange slip after her triple flip. But, I'm not really seeing the underrotation on her triple lutz triple toe; and I'm wondering about her pcs compared to some of the others...your thoughts?

 

[tempus]

Good evening. First post.
I haven't yet read the entire thread but I wholeheartedly agree with those posters saying there is major hometown bias at work here. Lipnitskaia in a close fifth place after a FALL on a required SP jump? Give me a break. Does anyone recall what happened to Boitano, Browning, etc. ad infinitum when they fell on required SP jumps? And Sotnikova, though she skated carefully and did not make major mistakes, less than half a point behind Kim after a triple-toe triple-toe? Debi Thomas had a triple toe-triple toe TWENTY-SIX YEARS AGO! Sotnikova also has lousy, to say the least, transitions and those ain't no Maryinsky ballerina arms neither, lol. Gold was a little overscored herself with those landings, but with the appalling overscoring of the Russians who's complaining?
It's a pity Mao self-destructed. Even for the program she skated, however, those marks were vindictive.

 

[starrynight]

I am not underevaluting the difficulty in these combinations. But I'm simply pointing out that advancing the sport isn't all technical. There's more to figure skating than jump combinations.

In that case, how could you say Yuna's artistry stayed in 2010? The emotional depth that I felt today was uncomparably huge. She has definately upped lyricism in figure skating along with Mao for years and years. I am so sad to see devaluation start even before she takes the ice for her farewell performance.

 

[Nater]

I'm wondering why i'm the only one who is speculating why Gracie is almost 6 points off of a podium spot I thought she could challenge for.

Gracie gave away 2-3 points just with the landings of her jumps. If Gracie had skated the way she skated at US Nationals, she would have gotten a score similar to what she got at US Nationals - 70-72 points, and she'd be right in it...

 

[Icey]

And neither was Ashley FWIW. Not sayiing you said she was, but just pointing it out. She worked part-time to help pay for her skating expenses until the endorsements started coming in.

Ashley's father retired a Lt Col and her mother was a school teacher. In the earliest years he was a Lt Col, he would have made around 60, 000, later on up to 100,000 in basic pay per year..
In addition to the basic pay military gets food allowances, housing allowances etc.

 

[Nater]

I hope the technical controller for the womens LP is not again a Russian. That is clearly the only reason Sotnikova got level 4 footwork and Kostner's far more difficult footwork a level 3 for instance.

Vanessa Gusmeroli is Russian?

 

[Mathman]

Welcome, tempus. Thanks for joining us.

 

[Dutchie]

In that case, how could you say Yuna's artistry stayed in 2010? The emotional depth that I felt today was uncomparably huge. She has definately upped lyricism in figure skating along with Mao for years and years. I am so sad to see devaluation start even before she takes the ice for her farewell performance.

I'm not sure what you meant by that.

That is your personal preference/opinion. If we are taking about emotional depth here, MY personal preference/opinion was that Carolina off the charts compared to 2010 in terms of emotional depth. That's the beauty of coming here to discuss. We can appreciate other's opinions and know why and how those opinions are formed. I have no dog in this fight since I'm not an uber fan of any of the top contenders. I'm just pointing out my observations as I see them according to my point of view. That's different for everybody and that's what makes this community a beautiful thing.

 

[Olympia]

Polina looked great for her first international meet--cool as a cucumber for the most part.

And YuNa...Aaaahhhh! Lovely.

 

[TCAngel18]

Ok, for anyone watching NBC right now, yes, Yu Na skated amazing, but I'm sorry, I laughed out loud when I heard Sandra Bezic catch her breath when saying Yuna is the best competitor she had ever seen. That May or may not be true, she is wonderful, but I don't know why I found it sounded hilarious coming out of Sandra's mouth. It was like Sandra had never said anything in her life with more conviction. #dontjudge #itsnotthatbigofadeal

 

[Seruleane]

Ok, for anyone watching NBC right now, yes, Yu Na skated amazing, but I'm sorry, I laughed out loud when I heard Sandra Bezic catch her breath when saying Yuna is the best competitor she had ever seen. That May or may not be true, she is wonderful, but I don't know why I found it sounded hilarious coming out of Sandra's mouth. It was like Sandra had never said anything in her life with more conviction. #dontjudge #itsnotthatbigofadeal

Yeah, the prime time NBC commentary is always annoying. I was happy to watch Yuna skate again, b/c this morning when I watched, I was way too nervous to really enjoy her skating!

 

[Mrs. P]

Ashley's father retired a Lt Col and her mother was a school teacher. In the earliest years he was a Lt Col, he would have made around 60, 000, later on up to 100,000 in basic pay per year..
In addition to the basic pay military gets food allowances, housing allowances etc.

That hardly makes her a rich ****, especially if you live in an place like Washington D.C. with a high cost of living.

 

[mhu714]

What is this nonsense about Kim not "advancing the sport"? What is she supposed to do, triple axels? 3-3-3 combos? She's doing (perfectly!!) the hardest 3-3 combo and to me all of her steps, spins and movements remain exquisite. Kostner can't do any harder combo than the quite pedestrian 3T-3T. THAT'S advancing the sport? And she gets held up with PCS even when she makes technical mistakes, which has been pretty frequent over the yrs. Don't even start with Sotnikova. She reduced her 3-3 combo to T-T from early in the season to now. THAT's advancing anything? Her scores tonite continue to blow me away. Absolutely NO justification for them, especially on the tech side. Julia will possibly advance things as she continues to mature and grow with her expressions. I actually like her more now that she fell and is likely out of the medals. Looking forward to her battles with Gold over the next quad.

 

[HalfTriple]

Ok, for anyone watching NBC right now, yes, Yu Na skated amazing, but I'm sorry, I laughed out loud when I heard Sandra Bezic catch her breath when saying Yuna is the best competitor she had ever seen. That May or may not be true, she is wonderful, but I don't know why I found it sounded hilarious coming out of Sandra's mouth. It was like Sandra had never said anything in her life with more conviction. #dontjudge #itsnotthatbigofadeal

As a competitor, Kim is.
I'd say Sandra's statement is more factually weighted than speculated. Actually Kim's real competitor is, not her peers, but the ISU. And she is still hard to beat with all the mishandlings that play out against her.

 

[SkateToronto]

There wasn't much to complain about Yuna's performance in the short. As for her program itself, I found it quite dull...but that's my own personal taste, I guess.