What would have happened at 96 Worlds if Ito had skated perfectly as well

[bardtoob]

I read in a skating book that Midori was weak at the '96 worlds because she'd been starving herself to lose weight.

I heard she was so worried about being judged again that she developed an ulcer and was anemic from the ulcer by the time she arrived at Worlds.

[judgejudy27]

I see bardtoob`s point on Yuka though. Although many ways she was skating better than ever as a pro she didnt even have the jumps to win against the likes of Baiul, Kerrigan, Chen, and Bonaly in 93-94 (apart from winning a depleted Worlds with only Bonaly in) so what were the chances her jumps were going to be strong enough to be in the fight to win vs the likes of Kwan, Lipinski, prime Chen, and Slutskaya had she returned. While her overall skating had improved it isnt likely she was going to reach a higher jumping level than she reached in 94 and Kwan and Lipinski are far superior to Baiul (even factoring in how insanely overrated she is) and Kerrigan, skaters Sato didnt really have the jumping ability to beat if they skated well.

[essence_of_soy]

With a triple axel combination, Ito would probably have won the short.
Her Firebird program really suited her.

While there is no deny the music to Cinderella was powerful, it really didn't suit Midori at all. She may have won the free skate on technical merit, but placed third in composition & style behind Kwan & Chen.

Her combined total may have given her the silver medal.