Nagasu: "I want to go back to my roots"

[skylark]

The people who continually criticize Mirai swing back and forth. When she skates clean, they say she needs to raise her PCS. When she makes mistakes they say she doesn't deliver her tech.

That isn't just true of the people who criticize Mirai. People do the same sort of criticizing with all the skaters. Figure skating is a sport that requires both technical skills and presentation skills. So unless they can put both sides together in one skate, there's going to be criticism.

What distinguishes skaters above and beyond TEC plus PCS is whether or not she or he can make the audience feel something.

 

[VIETgrlTerifa]

She can't go back to being a little girl anymore. She's had some very hard times but she crawled back and refused to give up. What we see now is a battle scarred Mirai, stronger but clearly worn from the experience. I respect her even more for it and could care less if she emotes through a performance or not.

Well, you can't be mad at people if they don't feel the same as you do. I find her carriage maddening at times, especially during times when she does bring it all and reminds me of what her fans see her in her. Skating fans want to see it all, always have. Mirai landing her jumps (with them being called fully rotated) is a great victory for her, but some people need more to be won over. Even the best skaters get criticized.

 

[frida80]

Well, you can't be mad at people if they don't feel the same as you do. I find her carriage maddening at times, especially during times when she does bring it all and reminds me of what her fans see her in her. Skating fans want to see it all, always have. Mirai landing her jumps (with them being called fully rotated) is a great victory for her, but some people need more to be won over. Even the best skaters get criticized.

Mad? Hardly. Annoyed, a little. But this isn't about being won over. If you don't like her skating, there's little to nothing she can do to make her acceptable to you. I don't expect everyone to embrace her, but at this point it's just counterproductive. She has an expressionless face. It's been that way for years. She has said that when she is being judged she can't focus on emoting. She can't do anything about her face. But she can skate to a program that doesn't require her to change her expression. She can focus on not under rotating. But expecting her to skate like a world champion at this point is unrealistic.

If she gets there great. But it would be better if people stopped expecting perfection when it's clear she can't meet those expectations. At some point you have to view skaters like a doting mother. Happy with what they can do and understanding with what they can't. Otherwise you're just in for a world of disappointment.

 

[chuckm]

Her goal is to go to the Olympics. If she skates clean she has the best chance. Her chances at medaling at the GP is low considering her competition. Her focus should be no underrotations and that's it. If she tries to do too much she make more errors.

That said, her Chopin program got 8s. If Jeffery composed another program that suits her style, it will be easier for her to perform it and gain on her PCS.

Her Chopin program got 8s at Nationals, and set her up with a good shot at the US championship. But then her nerves got to her in the FS: she fell on the second jumping pass and seemed to give up, URing several jumps after that.

Mirai has never received 8s in PCS from international judges. Even at 4CC, for her clean FS she got 7.86 7.46 7.93 7.75 7.89
while Kaetlyn Osmond with 3 falls, a UR and a single axel got 8.29 7.93 7.68 8.18 8.36

 

[frida80]

Her Chopin program got 8s at Nationals, and set her up with a good shot at the US championship. But then her nerves got to her in the FS: she fell on the second jumping pass and seemed to give up, URing several jumps after that.

Mirai has never received 8s in PCS from international judges. Even at 4CC, for her clean FS she got 7.86 7.46 7.93 7.75 7.89
while Kaetlyn Osmond with 3 falls, a UR and a single axel got 8.29 7.93 7.68 8.18 8.36

Yes she has. At Autumn Classic she got 8s for her Chopin SP. Here's the protocols.

https://skatecanada.ca/results/2016-ACI/CSCAN2016_SeniorWomen_SP_Scores.pdf

 

[skylark]

Mad? Hardly. Annoyed, a little. But this isn't about being won over. If you don't like her skating, there's little to nothing she can do to make her acceptable to you. I don't expect everyone to embrace her, but at this point it's just counterproductive. She has an expressionless face. It's been that way for years.

Since I viewed those two programs from 2013 and 2010 (iirc) just a few days ago, I can understand why her long-time fans keep wishing/thinking she can come through with the expression. Hope springs eternal.

But what you've said is exactly what prevents me from being engaged by Mirai's skating. Even when she's skating well, you can see that she's purely focused on doing the jumps, etc. And there are whole other sections in her current programs when I'm thinking, "oh, she's just skating." For me, there has to be more.

 

[bevybean]

Actually her exhibition piece from 2016 Nats was a lot more expressive than her programs the last couple of years. She even smiled. So, she's capable, but not with competition nerves, I guess.

 

[IndependentObserver]

Yes she has. At Autumn Classic she got 8s for her Chopin SP. Here's the protocols.

https://skatecanada.ca/results/2016-ACI/CSCAN2016_SeniorWomen_SP_Scores.pdf

Same for the FS https://skatecanada.ca/results/2016-ACI/CSCAN2016_SeniorWomen_FS_Scores.pdf

I actually think her programs from 2012-2013 were way more 'expression' filled than some of her other programs these last few years. Her Nats performance of Downhill Special was really fun and playful. Even the Organ Symphony had some power and dramatic moments - despite her fighting through the flu. I think some of her underrotations were harsh in that performance- she's just more prone to getting the UR microscope.

Most notably the recent music selections haven't really allowed her to be fun or playful. Gatsby allowed for some fun moments, but the music cuts were so quick, it was hard to sustain a mood for very long. I did enjoy the SP last year, I hope she does continue to grow it this season too - it doesn't require to do much emotionally which is fine. Hopefully Miss Saigon will allow her to just skate strong to the big music.

She's been so close at putting it together at nats - let's hope she does it this year. In 2011, she botched a spin and lost points (not the first time that season). She likely would have qualified for the GFP had she not bobbled her layback at TEB, settling for silver instead of gold. 2012 was not her competition. 2013 was the flu year with too many UR's. 2014 - nuff said. 2015 was the unfortunate boards incident and injury. 2016 was boot problems and a 3-2 combo in the short. 2017 she was just a few points off from 3rd place - had she not fallen on the lutz, the rest of the program may have held up. 2018 - this is it - you can do it!!!

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Yes she has. At Autumn Classic she got 8s for her Chopin SP. Here's the protocols.

https://skatecanada.ca/results/2016-ACI/CSCAN2016_SeniorWomen_SP_Scores.pdf

That Elizabet was also getting 8's tells you how generous the scoring was in that event.

 

[Mathman]

Nagasu often peaks at February. I remember she did well at Vancouver too. If I were USFA, I would give her a ticket to Olympic. She might do well there.

I think the USFSA will wait to see how well she skates in the Grand Prix and especially at Nationals before they start giving out tickets. If she lands her jumps with no under-rotations she will be well on her way, whether she smiles a lot during the performance or not. :yes: That's what I think, anyway.

 

[Ender]

Nagasu often peaks at February. I remember she did well at Vancouver too. If I were USFA, I would give her a ticket to Olympic. She might do well there.

 

[frida80]

That Elizabet was also getting 8's tells you how generous the scoring was in that event.

Only two judges gave Elizabet 8s on her sp performance. Just one for her LP. The other five scored her in the 6-7 range. There's bound to be a few outliers in ever competition. It doesn't make Mirai's scores less valid. Even the lower scoring judges still gave her eights in everything but transitions. It would smart of her to focus on transitions at least in her SP since it's the same.

 

[ssffww]

Her Chopin program got 8s at Nationals, and set her up with a good shot at the US championship. But then her nerves got to her in the FS: she fell on the second jumping pass and seemed to give up, URing several jumps after that.

Mirai has never received 8s in PCS from international judges. Even at 4CC, for her clean FS she got 7.86 7.46 7.93 7.75 7.89
while Kaetlyn Osmond with 3 falls, a UR and a single axel got 8.29 7.93 7.68 8.18 8.36

Not true. She got 8's at 2016 Worlds - SP (http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1516/wc2016/wc2016_Ladies_SP_Scores.pdf). FS (http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1516/wc2016/wc2016_Ladies_FS_Scores.pdf)

 

[jFarrisFAN]

Not true. She got 8's at 2016 Worlds - SP (http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1516/wc2016/wc2016_Ladies_SP_Scores.pdf). FS (http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1516/wc2016/wc2016_Ladies_FS_Scores.pdf)

Yes she got 8's from some judges but the overall average for each of the sections was lower than 8 which is what I think chuckm was talking about

 

[Mathman]

Mirai tried a triple Axel in her short program at skate Detroit yesterday. It wasn't quite successful, but not a bad first attempt. The video was posted to the Skate Detroit thread:

http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/showthread.php?63870-2017-Skate-Detroit

 

[Ender]

Mirai tried a triple Axel in her short program at skate Detroit yesterday. It wasn't quite successful, but not a bad first attempt. The video was posted to the Skate Detroit thread:

http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/showthread.php?63870-2017-Skate-Detroit

3A alone doesn't help if she doesn't land other jumps...

 

[fallingsk8er]

Agreed. She totally wiped out on that 3 Flip...yikes!

 

[Ender]

Agreed. She totally wiped out on that 3 Flip...yikes!

It's still off season. However she should consider taking out the 3A if she couldn't get it consistent before National.

 

[mrrice]

I remember seeing Mirai live at Nationals in 2011. She was animated, fast, and had the best spins in the event. She CAN be animated but unfortunately, I don't think it's priority for her team. She was with Frank in 2011 and she hasn't been the same performer since she left him. Her jumps are certainly bigger but, IMO, that's really her only improvement under Tom. Here's the 2011 SP to Witches Of Eastwick .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEDJOZQhOI0

 

[Barb]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H8TQ5ddPxgc
New LP. i love it!!