Japanese Nationals 2013-2014 - Men | Page 5 | Golden Skate

Japanese Nationals 2013-2014 - Men

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
Okay if it's
1.) Hanyu
2.) Machida
3.) Kozuka
4.) Oda
5.) Takahashi

The spots goes as follows:
1.) Winner of nationals
2.) 2nd at nationals/3rd at nationals/Highest GPF finisher
3.) 2nd at nationals/3rd at nationals/Upper 3 world standing/season's best. The exact language is: Those who leaked out from the selection of No. 2, the upper three Japanese in the world standing at the time of the ending of Japan nationals and the upper three Japanese of ISU season best score.

So:
1.) Hanyu
2.) Machida (2nd) /Kozuka(3rd) /Hanyu (Highest GPF finisher). Hanyu is in under No. 1 So I'd say Machida.
3.) Kozuka (3rd at Nationals) or Takahashi (Season's Best/World Standing)

If Oda and Kozuka switch places.
1.) Hanyu
2.) Machida
3.) Oda (3rd at Nationals) or Takahashi (Season's Best/World Standing)

So yes, technically Takahashi (and Machida and Hanyu also)can technically be chosen for the No. 3 spot regardless of the Nationals placement because of his high SB/World ranking. Even if Oda beats Daisuke by placing 4th, he doesn't fit any of the criteria. Kozuka, in placing third, also is in danger of losing out the spot to one Machida or Takahashi. The road is harder to plow for Oda and Kozuka, it seems. Basically Kozuka and Oda basically would have to get up to the silver medal position to avoid a federation showdown for the third spot.
 

deneuved

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 1, 2013
Don't really get this obsession in this forum with Takahashi. OK, he's maybe still suffering from his injury, but if he comes 4th, 5th or even worse, he should not be sent to the Olympics. Life is tough. May I remind you that the German federation would not have sent Katarina Witt to the Olympics in 1994 if she had fared worse than Marina Kielmann at the Euros? And she was a 2-time Olympic Champion! Everything what Takahashi has achieved pales in comparison, really.
 

deedee1

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 14, 2007
-My quick thoughts after watching Men SP live tonight:

Good for Yuzuru to break 100. But his skate was not as electrifying as at GPF, I thought.
The best of the night for me was Tatsuki. :yes: Sorry I'm not saying any bad words on Yuzu, I simply don't agree with JSF on 10 points gap between the two.

So so sad for Dai Nobu and Mura. Just can't get over it, though been hours since I came home. Dai skated while quite a lot in pain. :cry:

Shoma Uno was GREAT. :love: He skates big in spite of his height. He doesn't appear as tiny as used to be. What stnads out for me was Shoma does have ability to draw audience in. Hope he can land his enemy jump 3A soon.

Another skater who took my attention tonight is Sota Yamamoto! I kept on and on talking to my husband while watching him, 'who is this little boy?' At first nobody didn't pay attention to this boy, including myself, but he let the entire crowd eventually into his performance completely. Got a standing ovation at the end! What I really like about skaters under Nagakubo team (Akiko's primary coach), they have good skating skills and overall speed. Very very pleasant and comforatble to crowd eyes when watching live far and above of the arena! :)

-My impression/messages I got from JSF after SP

I was really shocked to see Taka's score, to be honest...
Before the season started, Yuzuru, Daisuke and Takahiko had been their preference/desired picks for Sochi, after I saw how they tried to score our 6 top skaters tonight.
Yuzuru is JSF's only hope for OGM. Will send him as clear No.1 no matter what.
Tatsuki needs to grab his own spot by himself: saying 'If you can skate brilliantly two in a row and outskate either Dai or Taka, then we will score you accordingly.'
Takahiko needs to outskate everyone else (except Yuzuru). If places 2nd overall, then JSF is ready to send him Sochi.
They don't want to send Nobu clearly. That's why Taka scored over 90 with that shaky skate. To make a considerate cushion between Taka and Nobu, in case Dai can't hold it again in the Free tomorrow.

My message for tomorrow: "It ain't over till it's over!" :yay:
 

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
Thanks for the report deedee1!

Yeah it seems the JSF does not want to send Nobunari. However, you are right on with Yogi Barra. I hope Nobu will come back with a strong FS and make JSF's decision tougher. :)
 

minze

Medalist
Joined
Dec 22, 2012
-My quick thoughts after watching Men SP live tonight:

Good for Yuzuru to break 100. But his skate was not as electrifying as at GPF, I thought.
The best of the night for me was Tatsuki. :yes: Sorry I'm not saying any bad words on Yuzu, I simply don't agree with JSF on 10 points gap between the two.

So so sad for Dai Nobu and Mura. Just can't get over it, though been hours since I came home. Dai skated while quite a lot in pain. :cry:

Shoma Uno was GREAT. :love: He skates big in spite of his height. He doesn't appear as tiny as used to be. What stnads out for me was Shoma does have ability to draw audience in. Hope he can land his enemy jump 3A soon.

Another skater who took my attention tonight is Sota Yamamoto! I kept on and on talking to my husband while watching him, 'who is this little boy?' At first nobody didn't pay attention to this boy, including myself, but he let the entire crowd eventually into his performance completely. Got a standing ovation at the end! What I really like about skaters under Nagakubo team (Akiko's primary coach), they have good skating skills and overall speed. Very very pleasant and comforatble to crowd eyes when watching live far and above of the arena! :)

-My impression/messages I got from JSF after SP

I was really shocked to see Taka's score, to be honest...
Before the season started, Yuzuru, Daisuke and Takahiko had been their preference/desired picks for Sochi, after I saw how they tried to score our 6 top skaters tonight.
Yuzuru is JSF's only hope for OGM. Will send him as clear No.1 no matter what.
Tatsuki needs to grab his own spot by himself: saying 'If you can skate brilliantly two in a row and outskate either Dai or Taka, then we will score you accordingly.'
Takahiko needs to outskate everyone else (except Yuzuru). If places 2nd overall, then JSF is ready to send him Sochi.
They don't want to send Nobu clearly. That's why Taka scored over 90 with that shaky skate. To make a considerate cushion between Taka and Nobu, in case Dai can't hold it again in the Free tomorrow.

My message for tomorrow: "It ain't over till it's over!" :yay:


I agree with you. Personally, I love Dai and Kozuka, but the federation needs to be Fair. Basically Hanyu is in (deservedly so) but if Machida outskates everyone, then send him to Sochi. If Dai improves and moves up to 3rd with his LP, then send him. If Kozuka has a great LP and moves up to 2nd then send him, same goes with Oda. I hope JSF does not send the message to their up and coming skaters that nationals does not matter and we will send our favorite.

Also, I understand their selection process, but I think it makes things more complicated than it has to be.
 

evangeline

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
How low would Takahashi have to place to be left off the team? 6th? 10th? Like, is him competing here just a formality?

Probably. The JSF has its own criteria for the composition of the Olympic team that takes into consideration factors outside of Nationals placing. They placed Miki Ando on the 2006 Olympic team despite the fact that she placed 6th at Nationals that year--given Takahashi has a high SB/WR and the JSF's criteria takes that into account, I'd imagine they're going to do the same for him this year no matter how much he bombs.

That said, I really feel for Machida/Oda/Kozuka/whoever is going to be left off the Olympic team. The depth of the Japanese men's field is INSANE.
 

demarinis5

Gold for the Winter Prince!
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
Thank you for your detailed report deedee! Always nice to hear from someone who is at the competition.

Exciting JN so far for sure , can't wait for the FS.

Congrats to Yuzu for breaking his own world record!

Ganbare Dai-Chan!!!!!
 

blue_idealist

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 25, 2006
Just looked at the results.. surprised to see Mura and Murakami so far down the list. I'm disappointed to see Daisuke where he is. I hope he can pull up in the FS and still go to Sochi. The only ones I've watched so far are Hanyu and Machida, both of which I found quite impressive. I'll probably watch Dai, Nobu, and Taka too.
 

coolboogie22

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 21, 2009
The Olympic team should be : may the best 3 skater at nationals go to the Olympic, I'm comfortable if they send Hanyu, Machida and Kozuka they would have deserve really much especially Kozuka who make major improvement this season.

Sorry to say that but Daisuke Takahashi has past his times, without a consistent quad, he isn't a contender anymore for a medal for Sotchi, but I can see both Hanyu, Machida and Kozuka be a contender for a medal at Sotchi, they have a more consistent quad then Daisuke.
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
It looks like barring a catastrophe by Machida in the LP the team will probably be Hanyu, Machida, and Takahashi. The JSF would not send Oda over Takahashi if both are outside the top 3, or probably unless Oda were top 2. They would not send Kozuka at this point unless he won Nationals.
 

CanadianSkaterGuy

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
Thanks for the report deedee1!

Yeah it seems the JSF does not want to send Nobunari. However, you are right on with Yogi Barra. I hope Nobu will come back with a strong FS and make JSF's decision tougher. :)

Yeah, really. Between his NHK SP bs and his low PCS here, they're totally low balling him in favour of others. It's kinda crazy that with 2 errors Kozuka got over 90 points, but it shows the importance of rotating jumps and that was a great fix on his 3-3! At this point, Machida deserves a spot more than anyone (other than Hanyu, of course). As for Dai, I hope he earns his spot... I know he is hugely popular but other guys are way more consistent (injury sucks though but it shouldn't prevent others who perform better from going to Sochi. Somebody like Kozuka is at least rotating quads at this point and clearly he has potential to medal in Sochi. Oda is seemingly finished at this point unless he has the FS of his life... it's unfortunate because is such a talent - all these guys are (hah, totally agree with Weiss!). :)
 

seniorita

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2008
My dream team would be Hanyu, Dai and Kozuka in Sochi and I m really hoping for this! The Japanese Nationals are the most exciting thing ever!
 

snowflake

I enjoy what I like
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 10, 2008
Michael Weiss tweeted the following:

Michael Weiss
‏@MichaelWeiss2
Japan's Men skaters -- If you're good enough to potentially medal at an Olympics, don't you think you should actually be there?
#SendEmAll


https://twitter.com/MichaelWeiss2/status/414454529141526528

Yes, I totally agree with Michael Weiss on this one! :bow:

I don't. Olympics is olympics. The best from all countries compete and there has to be selections. Norway could potentially medal with 10-15 of their athletes in cross country skiing, but a lot of them are not chosen to go. It's a big advantage to compete in a country where your sport is popular and invested in. The Japanese guys have opportunities that skaters from smaller figure nations nations don't have. I have no problem with the rules.
 

jenaj

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
Country
United-States
No matter what the final result, they have to send Daisuke to Sochi. Otherwise the entire skating world will be disappointed.
It's not necessarily fair, but it's true.

Agree. If Daisuke is not on the team, it will spoil the men's program for me.
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
I think if Dai finishes 4th he deserves to go over probably Kozuka (although if Kozuka beats Machida by a substantial amount I might change my mind on that). However if Dai is 5th or 6th he does not deserve to go. Unfortunately (as far as the sake of fairness goes) he will most likely be sent even if he does finish 5th or lower.
 

MaiKatze

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 4, 2012
I don't think the Nationals are the most important event, the whole season before this has to count. I'm totally curious about the outcome. It is a fact that Daisuke is still suffering from his injury. I wouldn't count Daisuke out and say that he is over after this performance. He is not a Gold Medal favourite, but he has a chance of a medal in Sochi if he gets back to form. Even though Machida is performing great so far, I still think Daisuke has the highest scoring potential for Sochi (minus Yuzuru) and should go. I just cannot imagine Machida beating the likes of Chan on the big stage, while Daisuke proved before that he can do it. Mura we can count out now - and Oda is not favoured anymore. I think third spot depends on the outcome of the LP and is between Kozuka and Takahashi (with Machida and Hanyu as definites). I also think that maybe sending the men who couldn't make it to Sochi to Worlds and maybe becoming the World Champion in Japan would be a nice way to end the season without participating in the Olympics.

And just for me personally, as many have stated here, too: An Olympic figure skating Mens event without Daisuke Takahashi's last career ending performance - my excitement for this is very low.
 

Gigi13

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 2, 2013
I really want Hanyu, Oda, and Takahashi to be the team, but I'm okay with Kozuka and Machida only if Takahashi goes, I mean Daisuke always has ups and downs but he deserves to go no matter what place he places he's so popular and he's my second favorite after Hanyu, I'll be so disappointed/devastated if Uncle Dai doesn't go :cry: please do good in the free skates guys I'm hoping you all skate amazing! Ganbatte!
 

wordsworthgirl

Medalist
Joined
Sep 12, 2013
I completely agree with those who say that no matter how Takahashi skates here, he should absolutely go to the Olympics. His past record (way above others), his transcendent and glorious win at NHK this season, the fact that he's been injured and is still hobbled by injury, and the fact that he's retiring all weigh in favor of him being sent. I think he should have asked for an injury bye to the Olympics- I'm not sure why he is competing here. I'd say that even if Hanyu messes up the long, he should also go based on his season. Both Hanyu and Takahashi have the potential to be the Olympic gold medalist if they skate well and both have skated OGM worthy performances/competitions this year- none of the other Japanese skaters have that potential. The third spot should go to Oda, Kozuka, or Machida- whoever is placed highest in this Natl competition since Machida and Oda have essentially had equally good seasons and/or Kozuka if he is way above them.
 
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