2018-19 U.S. Ladies' figure skating

Tavi... · Apr 9, 2019

drivingmissdaisy said:
It's going to be an uphill battle, but hopefully she can do it. We're focusing a lot on her jumps, but everything else (spins, steps, speed, etc.) needs a lot of improvement from what she showed at Rostelecom, too. With COP, there aren't any "throwaway" elements; the levels and execution have to be there on every move.

Yes of course. The thing is, I’m guessing that Gracie knows better than any of us what she’s lost relative to her peak, and I’d imagine the challenge for her right now is being patient and positive as she regains skills, speed, stamina.

Honestly, after the public disaster that was Rostelecom, it’s pretty amazing to me that instead of quitting, she gritted her teeth, went back to work, and just six months later, had the courage to perform publicly again, even though she’s clearly still a work in progress. And she was enjoying herself - she was really happy to be out there. Remember when people used to criticize her for being a plastic perfect princess? I didn’t see a hint of that in the clips, and that’s probably the greatest change of all.

ETA: ex 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdtC49pqJR4

Ex 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEhmAYpJsQs

Thanks to Firedancer on FSU for posting these.

Skater Boy · Apr 10, 2019

ice coverage said:
patinartphoto recorded Gracie triple toe at IceWorks show:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwASBdFndM3/ (posted Apr 8)

No less than anchor Natalie Morales, who has interviewed many Olympians (including figure skaters) for Access and for the Today show.

I think it was two footed but nice to see Gracie skating. I wonder how she compares to say Gabby Daleman who has had struggles too? She definitely was not up to her best but she still did a reasonable job at worlds. So if Gracie is ahead of Daleman then she wouldn't be in that bad shape at all.

Skater Boy · Apr 10, 2019

oatmella said:
I kind of don’t want to be a downer, and I wish Gracie the best.

But I don’t really see how she can work up to being one of the top US ladies anytime soon - and not by Nationals.

Okay she has like 9 mos there is plenty of time for her to get into competitive shape. She has been training already for like six months ; she is coming along. Whether she gets to her top level like before may be hard but not impossible. Look at Gabby Daleman. She has made huge strives to compete and many might feel Gracie is stronger and certainly more talented than Gabby.

drivingmissdaisy · Apr 10, 2019

Skater Boy said:
Okay she has like 9 mos there is plenty of time for her to get into competitive shape. She has been training already for like six months ; she is coming along. Whether she gets to her top level like before may be hard but not impossible. Look at Gabby Daleman. She has made huge strives to compete and many might feel Gracie is stronger and certainly more talented than Gabby.

She has to be in pretty good shape well before Nationals, because she'll have to qualify this year unless she has a bye (which would also mean she's in good enough shape to compete internationally). We really don't know much about her rate of success on the jumps her team is posting on IG, how the rest of her elements are looking, etc. Gracie looks to be improving little-by-little, but it might be unrealistic to expect her to get to her best form this season.

halulupu · Apr 10, 2019

Guys u have to believe ;-) don't give up on her so easily. Will she ever win a world gold? Probably not. Will she fight for it. Yes of course

doublequad · Apr 10, 2019

i think it's important that she looked really happy doing that show even tho she only did a 2T, 3T (2 foot), and 3T (fall) in her other EX. too early to say anything else

Sugar Coated · Apr 10, 2019

I want to believe she can be competitive again but realistically I don’t see that happening. However, I do think that skating on her terms and knowing she gave it her best may be important to her in the long run. That’s reason enough to keep going. I also think that competing again is giving her publicity to talk about mental health while also potentially gaining more sponsorships and opportunities for her future.

moonvine · Apr 10, 2019

Tavi... said:
Honestly, after the public disaster that was Rostelecom, it’s pretty amazing to me that instead of quitting, she gritted her teeth, went back to work, and just six months later, had the courage to perform publicly again, even though she’s clearly still a work in progress. And she was enjoying herself - she was really happy to be out there. Remember when people used to criticize her for being a plastic perfect princess? I didn’t see a hint of that in the clips, and that’s probably the greatest change of all.

That's my Gracie! How many people would have done all she has?

drivingmissdaisy · Apr 10, 2019

halulupu said:
Guys u have to believe ;-) don't give up on her so easily. Will she ever win a world gold? Probably not. Will she fight for it. Yes of course

I don't think anyone has given up on her. It's just that the bar is so high that Alysa and Bradie have set nationally, and the Russian/Japanese women internationally, that it's difficult even for anyone who has trained continuously to keep up. If we're being honest, Gracie isn't really much closer to closing that gap with the top women than she was five months ago at Rostelecom. If our expectation is that she's going to go from being a skater having trouble landing a clean 3T in an exhibition program to one doing a seven triple LP in competition with top level spins and steps in 9 months, we're likely to be disappointed. For me, I'm looking forward to watching her journey this season without any anticipation of strong competitive results.

Tavi... · Apr 10, 2019

First, Alysa and Bradie are both very good, but I can’t agree they’ve set the bar too high for Gracie to reach. Neither is at the level of the Japanese or Russian women. And there is not a huge amount of depth here, IMO.

Second, many of you seem very focused on this fall, and are convinced Gracie won’t be ready to qualify for 2020 Nats. What if that’s true? If she’s not ready then, is there a reason she can’t aim for 2021 Nats?

Maybe she’ll never make it, but I don’t think any of us know for sure what level she can reach and how long it will take her to get there.

oatmella · Apr 10, 2019

There’s no reason that Gracie can’t aim for 2021 Nationals, making the 2022 Olympic team, etc.

But as of now, I don’t think she would be competitive with Mariah, Bradie, Alysa, Ting, Hanna Harrell. It’s not like all these skaters (or others) will stagnate, while only Gracie improves.

While US ladies don’t have the depth of Russian or Japanese ladies, I don’t think there is such a lack of depth that it won’t be extremely challenging for Gracie to get a Worlds/Olympics spot in any future year, especially if there are only two.

drivingmissdaisy · Apr 10, 2019

Tavi... said:
First, Alysa and Bradie are both very good, but I can’t agree they’ve set the bar too high for Gracie to reach.

Gracie has to pass up a lot of other women, who are also working just as hard and doing everything right, to get to the level of the national medalists. As oatmella mentioned, the other women are improving so the level needed to make a world team is also inching higher. Her 2016 form would obviously be more than enough to get her to the top domestically, but it also required her to make personal compromises and unhealthy choices that she's (hopefully) not willing to make anymore. As we hear more stories emerge from skaters and their eating habits, I am just not sure if it's possible to be both a healthy young woman and a top figure skater.

moonvine · Apr 10, 2019

drivingmissdaisy said:
. As we hear more stories emerge from skaters and their eating habits, I am just not sure if it's possible to be both a healthy young woman and a top figure skater.

And that makes me SO ANGRY. One day I will start a thread about it. Probably the umpteenth.

Ice Dance · Apr 10, 2019

drivingmissdaisy said:
I am just not sure if it's possible to be both a healthy young woman and a top figure skater.

I would say statements like this are the last thing that female skaters need to see when they read the boards. One thing is certain. Athletes who are not healthy will not remain top figure skaters for long and many have their careers cut short before ever coming close to reaching their potential. There are also many testimonials from athletes who corrected unhealthy behavior and went on to be much stronger and more competitive after improving their eating habits and lifestyle.

theharleyquinn · Apr 10, 2019

Ice Dance said:
I would say statements like this are the last thing that female skaters need to see when they read the boards. One thing is certain. Athletes who are not healthy will not remain top figure skaters for long and many have their careers cut short before ever coming close to reaching their potential. There are also many testimonials from athletes who corrected unhealthy behavior and went on to be much stronger and more competitive after improving their eating habits and lifestyle.

I think that statement is the first thing federations need to see to make it clear that they do not condone or endorse dangerous habits. The reality is, this sport has rewarded unhealthy behaviors time and time again. It does no good to brush it under the rug as it has been done for years.

drivingmissdaisy · Apr 10, 2019

Ice Dance said:
There are also many testimonials from athletes who corrected unhealthy behavior and went on to be much stronger and more competitive after improving their eating habits and lifestyle.

Maybe athletes in general, but singles figure skaters are a different story. Unfortunately, these young women have to deal with two realities: a slimmer build actually does help rotating jumps, and many in the skating community (especially sponsors) want these ladies to have a certain "look" for marketability purposes. Pretending eating disorders aren't prevalent only does damage because it makes women feel like no one else is going through the same struggles they are. When, in her interview, Gracie was talking about her insane diet with her friends, the unhealthy behavior was completely normalized in that group. If that's her every day life, of course she would think something was wrong with her for wanting to eat a normal meal.

Casual · Apr 10, 2019

oatmella said:
There’s no reason that Gracie can’t aim for 2021 Nationals, making the 2022 Olympic team, etc.

But as of now, I don’t think she would be competitive with Mariah, Bradie, Alysa, Ting, Hanna Harrell. It’s not like all these skaters (or others) will stagnate, while only Gracie improves.

While US ladies don’t have the depth of Russian or Japanese ladies, I don’t think there is such a lack of depth that it won’t be extremely challenging for Gracie to get a Worlds/Olympics spot in any future year, especially if there are only two.

As of now, Gracie is not competitive with Mariah, Bradie, Alysa, Ting, Hanna Harrell. Hard work and time is on their side, true. But, who has more raw talent?

From what I remember of Gracie, she was very talented - as is Alysa. The rest of them seem more limited in what they offer. Hard work overcomes drawbacks (such as lack of artistry or technique), but combining hard work with born talent leads to miracles.

I don't know if Gracie will ever reach her prior form, let alone gain competitive advantage over the current crop of US ladies. But I hope she will succeed at her comeback - both because I like rooting for underdogs, and because it would be so rewarding, to see a talent reach its potential. :biggrin:

I'd like to see her succeed, if she can do it without hurting her health, that is.

drivingmissdaisy · Apr 11, 2019

Casual said:
From what I remember of Gracie, she was very talented - as is Alysa. The rest of them seem more limited in what they offer. Hard work overcomes drawbacks (such as lack of artistry or technique), but combining hard work with born talent leads to miracles.

Gracie is very talented. Her strength was technical ability, and her weaknesses were artistry (arguably) and competitive nerves. She could return with her previous technical talent and improved artistry, and it might still not be enough if her competitive fight hasn't improved. I'm not saying that to dismiss her potential, but rather to say the US field is deeper than a lot of people give it credit for being. Seeing how strong Bradie was today reminded me of that.

mrrice · Apr 11, 2019

drivingmissdaisy said:
Gracie is very talented. Her strength was technical ability, and her weaknesses were artistry (arguably) and competitive nerves. She could return with her previous technical talent and improved artistry, and it might still not be enough if her competitive fight hasn't improved. I'm not saying that to dismiss her potential, but rather to say the US field is deeper than a lot of people give it credit for being. Seeing how strong Bradie was today reminded me of that.

I just went looking for Bradie's SP only to find it blocked in the US. Will this event be televised in the US at some point?

frida80 · Apr 11, 2019

mrrice said:
I just went looking for Bradie's SP only to find it blocked in the US. Will this event be televised in the US at some point?

Doubtful. I’m pretty sure it was FujiTV that did it this time.

2018-19 U.S. Ladies' figure skating

Tavi...

Skater Boy

Skater Boy

drivingmissdaisy

halulupu

doublequad

Sugar Coated

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie

drivingmissdaisy

Tavi...

oatmella

陈巍

drivingmissdaisy

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie

Ice Dance

theharleyquinn

drivingmissdaisy

Casual

drivingmissdaisy

mrrice

frida80

Similar threads

Connect with us

2018-19 U.S. Ladies' figure skating

All Hail Queen Gracie

&#38472;&#24013;

All Hail Queen Gracie

Similar threads

陈巍