2017 GP Cup of China Mens FS

[Ender]

Interesting analysis. To me, it is the opposite. Jin's jumping prowess has somewhat disguised his evident skating skills and performance ability. He is just now starting to get the PCS that he deserves. That is just a natural progression and does not say anything about politics, IMHO.

For the second part, it seemed to me that the jumps always came first. Every year there was a new youthful "jumping bean" (Michelle Kwan, for instance) who wowed everyone. The hope was that this raw talent could be refined later on -- sometimes yes, sometimes no.

Had Jin been American, he would have won this event, in my opinion.

I have heard he has an ankle injury, no wonder about the bad landings. I think he will be healthy by the time of Olympic.

 

[silverfoxes]

The men have been a splatfest for quite a while now. Its been mostly decided on who makes the least amount of mistakes instead of who skates the best. The clean performances are few in between. Most seem to focus on the few clean performances and dream of the potential or know it but willingly cast a blind eye because the men in contention are fan favorites :confused2:

I know many fans seem to think the men's event is the most exciting these days but I think its hardly entertaining to see a champion declared simply because he didn't fall apart too much compared to the others. The Yagudin/Plushenko days are long gone.

Very true. :thumbsup: I only keep watching because of my favorites, even though I know they don't have the political backing or quad content to podium no matter how well they skate. I need to stop caring about the results at all. The fix is in. I'll probably skip the senior GPF and just watch the junior men since politics are not so blatant there.

 

[Mathman]

Had Jin been American, he would have won this event, in my opinion.

Anything is possible, but I don't think so. Kolyada's short was so far ahead of everyone else's that even with bombing the long, no one could catch him. Max Aaron won the free but still lost to Kolyada by 20 points.[/QUOTE]

 

[eppen]

I actually prefer to hear the reason when world champions suddenly produce the worst skate of their lives. Just like last week with Patrick.

And as painful as it was to see this skate from Javi, I don't agree that he should have withdrawn. He's an athlete, his job is to go out there and try. I'm sure he or his team didn't expect him to do quite this bad, but now that it happened, there are always lessons to take away from everything, including this skate.

Tureis is correct in many ways here on Javi. He has an incredible record of attendance in competition since 2007 when he started in the seniors. Not one missed competition as far as I know. He has had his fair share or at least minor injuries which have never stopped him from skating. Plus he himself has never used those as reasons for his poor performances as far as I know.

This time I have not been able to check all relevant sources because I am under chinese internet censorship for a few days still... but as dar as I know, javi himself has talked oly about how good training and practices here did not lead to the good performances, no excuses for what happened...

He did not look too good before the skate. Warm-up was fine, but when he came to ice to perform he was leaning on the borders in a way I have not seen him do before. That he managed to pull out a FS still at that level whilst being sick is a monument to his diligent training and preparations before the GP series.

E

 

[silverfoxes]

It's such a fine line knowing when to withdraw. Javi is a veteran and he knows his body better than anyone else. What would be worse than training for months, flying halfway around the world, and then having to bow out? For a top level competitor, it's always the last resort. I can't believe anyone would criticize him for wanting to compete, but after reading that particular poster's extremely longwinded rants, it's clear they have some kind of screw loose - who cares what s/he thinks? I am sorry Javi was ill, but I'm also very glad to know there is a reason for that performance that is something temporary. He should have had this competition in the bag.

 

[formersk8ter]

Entire post

You made yourself clear the first time, and the second.

As to the latest novel you've posted... I'm sorry, I do not have time to read and decipher all that. No one does.

 

[JustMe]

I won't get into scores or whatever specifics, because seriously, the only program I would rewatch from this Men's competition (if I had to), would be Han Yan's.

 

[Ice Dance]

I would thought everything matters in the presentation at the elite level. The smallest details can be an excuse to mark someone up and down. Human minds are very fickle.

Costume taste is very cultural. In general, North American fashion sense is about 180 degrees from Asian fashion sense. And Russian and French fashion are likewise very different. I don't think the judges care. I do think the audience cares, and it can be difficult to win over an audience that hates your costumes, which may have an indirect impact on judging. But very rarely can skaters please all international audiences with their costumes. In general, skaters have to hear the criticism of the TV commentators & fans who speak their language and watch their local competitions. Even if the Japanese or Russian commentators hate the costumes, U.S. skaters won't know or care. And vice versa. If everyone hates a costume, change it. If everyone likes it, thank your lucky stars because those occasions are few & far between.