Tara May be Returning to the Ice

[Muffin]

I think the "saving marks" excuse is pure BS. The judges knew way back in 1997 that the Olympic title would probably come down to Tara or Michelle, and that it might be a very close contest. Regardless of which one skated first, the judges were damn sure going to plan their marks so that at the end of the night they could give the win to the one they wanted to. They chose Tara as the winner because that's who they wanted to win, not because they were hamstrung by skate order.

[neptune]

Occam's razor applies even in skating.

Yeah, but I've heard most of the female skaters prefer Nair.

[orbitz]

Tara had the speed, the passion and a technically superior program. Michelle was good. Tara was great, and great won the OGM as it should.

I think the technical superiority of Tara's program was really only in the 3lp-3lp. The bad picking technique on Tara's fluzes and flip were jarring to me, and the final 3sal felt squeeked out. I do agree that Tara had better speed and even better flow to her Rainbow program that Michelle's Lyra, and Tara's joy came across as very genuine.

[IceJunkie]

Eh. All these years, I feel like if Michelle had won that night, it would have been justified. I don't think Michelle was robbed, and I don't think Tara would have been robbed either...it was that close.

It's been a few years since I've seen both programs back to back - I may have to YouTube and see if I still feel the same.

[DickButtonFan]

I think Tara deserved her win. A 3loop 3loop is incredibly difficult and while her artistry wasn't my style it was still good enough. It's very rare for a 15 y/o to have the artistry she did. To this day I haven't seen a skater like her that could jump like that and had descent artistry at that age.

I prefer kwan but her flip landing was like the landing of plushenko's shaky 3axel in Vancouver. Tara had basically 0 landing flaws, I think that was the difference as well.

[elbeep]

It could have gone either way. Tara was a little bit better that night. She brought more joy and excitement, and she nailed that 3/3 loop. She deserved to win.

[Sparks]

So now that we have covered Nagano, Tara's money, and injuries, I'm still left with questions:
* Is Tara going to skate again?
* Has she been on the ice recently (even though she once said she wouldn't skate again)?
* Where would she skate and would it be televised?

[AJ Skatefan]

So now that we have covered Nagano, Tara's money, and injuries, I'm still left with questions:
* Is Tara going to skate again?
* Has she been on the ice recently (even though she once said she wouldn't skate again)?
* Where would she skate and would it be televised?

Yes, those are the burning questions!

[NeilJLeonard]

Yes, those are the burning questions!

Actually, they are....

NJL (..everything preceeding that post is so 1990s......)

[Rock2]

IMO Lyra Angelica didn't have anything to do with it. V&M skated to a death march for crying out loud and still won, probably the most boring program to ever win an Olympics.

What's boring to you? I thought it was really exciting. Amazing tricks, good speed and exceptional connection to the music. My heart was racing.

[Rock2]

I think the technical superiority of Tara's program was really only in the 3lp-3lp. The bad picking technique on Tara's fluzes and flip were jarring to me, and the final 3sal felt squeeked out. I do agree that Tara had better speed and even better flow to her Rainbow program that Michelle's Lyra, and Tara's joy came across as very genuine.

I agree on the Lz and F comment...no fluidity in those jumps...and yes, very jerky and jarring.

the 3S would be forgiven, though, given it was on the back end of a 3/3 sequence. Same type of landing as Joannie's in Vancouver.

[taf2002]

Joannie didn't win gold.

[BmcC102]

I agree on the Lz and F comment...no fluidity in those jumps...and yes, very jerky and jarring.

the 3S would be forgiven, though, given it was on the back end of a 3/3 sequence. Same type of landing as Joannie's in Vancouver.

Say what you will about her lutz, but her flip had a low, straight, light toe-pick. If she had done the same picking with her lutz (which was nice and straight into the ice, but too high), she may have had more success with the outside edge. Watch her flip at the 1:00 mark:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZhIs6OIJ-I

Unlike most skaters who flutz with high free legs (S. Hughes, Zhang), Tara's flip was very, very good.

[skateboy]

Other than the flutz and an unconventional double axel (which wasn't really wrong, in terms of getting the job done), I think all of Tara's other jumps were really good.

[leafygreens]

It's very rare for a 15 y/o to have the artistry she did. To this day I haven't seen a skater like her that could jump like that and had descent artistry at that age.

What?! lol

Her layback and spiral were horrendous and squat looking. Michelle didn't have the greatest flexibility either, but everything she did was stretched out and elegant.

And I guess it's easier to do jumps when you have a midget center of gravity. Let's go back and judge Tara with IJS - I think we will come to a different conclusion about her jump quality.

[Enero]

Other than the flutz and an unconventional double axel (which wasn't really wrong, in terms of getting the job done), I think all of Tara's other jumps were really good.

I agree. And almost everyone flutzed back then so that wasn't a dealbreaker IMO. All of her jumps were spot on. She had nice flow going in and out of all them.

[skateboy]

What?! lol

And I guess it's easier to do jumps when you have a midget center of gravity.

Oooooo... that's cold. Really cold. And not necessarily true.

[Octoberopals]

Yawn!!!!

[JerseySlore]

I agree. And almost everyone flutzed back then so that wasn't a dealbreaker IMO. All of her jumps were spot on. She had nice flow going in and out of all them.

That's patently untrue, especially when the silver and bronze medalists had lutz with outside edge.

[IceJunkie]

That's patently untrue, especially when the silver and bronze medalists had lutz with outside edge.

I love your user name.