- Joined
- Aug 29, 2016
Karen posted a double axel on ig stories, implication is it was her first one since injury.
Karen didn’t have a great last season either.
Ashely suffered from concussions that affected her cognition and ability to remember new programs, the reason why she decided to reuse an old SP last season. That might be a red flag for the officials to think she cannot compete at her full capacity any more.
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That was just fan speculation, never confirmed by Ashley. She has had concussions and has said she has memeory problems because of it, but has never said it was a reason for reusing old programs. I think it’s more likely that she always had hectic and nerve wracking Olympic years and wanted use something that she was comfortable with and that had gotten her great results before. It’s still such a shame that she didn’t get to go the Olympics. I think it should be obvious to everyone know that it was a bad call by the fed to push Karen over her. I’m still confused as to how that happened, when Ashley was the only us woman besides Bradie to get an individual gp medal that season and Karen coming in as us champ had the worst gp performance out of basically all of the top us ladies. Would Ashley have gotten an individual Olympic model? No but she would have put on a more memorable performance then any of the us ladies there. Ivett Toth got the crowd more engaged then Mirai or Karen did.
Karen was the reason we had 3 three spots to the Olympics. Her fourth-place finish at Worlds is what allowed three of our ladies to have the chance to go. I don't know if we can say for sure Ashley would have done well at Olys. If she performed similarly to nats, I wouldn't find it very memorable tbh.
I still think that what happened with SA had left a bad taste in USFS's mouth and that did not work in Ashley's favor at Nationals.
You don't KNOW that Ashley would have put on a more memorable performance than the other US ladies (meaning Bradie and Mirai). She would have been debuting before ISU judges that same forgettable FS she debuted at US Nationals. Ashley hadn't been able to complete a clean 3/3 all season, and was getting URs even on her 2a. Her spins were deteriorating, too. Yes, she won a bronze medal at SC, but with a total score under 185.
The 2017-18 Ashley was nowhere near the 2016 Ashley performance-wise---had she been, yes she would have deserved an Olympic berth and certainly would have gotten one. But great costumes, bright smiles over-the-top gestures and head rolls can't make up for technical deficiencies. Apparently, that's how the USFS judges saw it.
She placed higher at nationals, though. I thought Ashley's PCS should have been a few points higher, but their TES looked like it was judged by two different teams. Any tech panel that was equally strict would have had Karen's TES higher than Ashley's, and by a wide enough margin to put Karen ahead. I think the judging panel overcompensated in PCS to balance out those bad calls.
Completely agree!! I love Amber and she has more potential than Wessenberg.I still kind of wish Amber Glenn had gotten a spot over Wessenberg. I know she's a head case, but when she's on, Glenn is a gorgeous skater.
Is that...did they take Gracie's Olympic season dress and re-dye it a horrible shade of purple?
Yeah, I believe that was the nail on the coffin.
That's the thing about Ashley the past couple of seasons though and something her fans are going to hate me for saying but is the truth - every time she placed well it was never because she skated amazingly. It was because the other skaters skated badly. She skated fine but it's been a very long time since I've watched her skate and I walked away thinking yes, she unquestionably earned it. I've always walked away thinking what a shame x and y messed up but there's always next year but for now I suppose Ashley will have to do.
I was fully on Team Ashley until Skate America. I think she was either in no shape to compete, in which case she could have given up her spot, or could have fought through the LP. It seems she didn't feel well enough to challenge for the podium, and a fear of a lower-than-expected placement is not a good enough excuse to withdraw IMO. She was two years removed from that WSM and her form the whole 2017-18 season was nothing like it was before. Karen was the previous National Champion and 4th at Worlds, so there was no reason to push Ashley ahead of her. Ashley is a good competitor, but her jumps weren't good enough last season.
I know someone who knows Ashley and knew how bad the infection on her foot was. They don’t know how she put a skate on, let alone did triples. I wish people (not you! This is just an observation of skating fans) would stop holding SA up as this great moral failing from Ashley. Certainly she was not in her 2016 form and reusing Moulin Rouge was not a good idea but she withdrew from Skate America because she was in too much pain to skate. End of story. And I say this as someone who doesn’t think she should have gone to the Olympics.