Figure Skating Champions SURVIVOR: Ladies QUARTER-FINAL (WITH POLL)

[SamuraiK]

Umm, the poll didn't work last time. Sorry about that

As we say goodbye to the best chinese skater of all time, we reach the final chapters of this SURVIVOR..

5TH PLACE: LU CHEN (38.61% of votes)

The remaining contenders are:
(New Links)
01. Michelle Kwan - USA - 1996,1998,2000,2001 and 2003 World Champion.
02. Irina Slutskaya - RUS - 2002 and 2005 World Champion.
03. Mao Asada - JPN - 2008 and 2010 World Champion.
04. Yuna Kim - KOR - 2009 World and 2010 Olympic Champion.

Already Eliminated:
06th Place - Shizuka Arakawa (39.06% votes)
07th Place - Tara Lipinski (37.15% votes)
08th Place - Carolina Kostner (41.39% votes)
09th Place - Maria Butyrskaya (32.67% votes)
10th Place - Miki Ando (24.90% votes)
11th place - Sarah Hughes (53.06% votes)
12th place - Kimmie Meissner (50.26% votes)

So, Yunabots, Maobots, Kwanatics and Slutfans... one of your queens won't make the podium this time, YOU DECIDE WHO

[skateboy]

Still no poll...

[SamuraiK]

Ok, I'm having problems with posting a poll... I click the poll boxes and everythign but it doesn't show.. IF and ADMIN is Kind enough to fix it (and delete the other one) I would aprreciate it..

SO SORRY

[gingercrush]

Hmm a poll in the Olympic forum has not been working too. Maybe there is something wrong.

[blue_idealist]

If/when there is a poll, I'll vote for Mao.

[judgejudy27]

My vote will be for Mao too. Love her and think she is an amazing (and not entirely fulfilled) talent, but cant find a reason to justify keeping her over any of the other 3 left.

[dariaparadise]

Comparing Mao and Irina, I think Mao is better in almost every aspect, no? Lines, skating, flexibility, spins, steps, even many of the jumps... Competitive record is on par

[Cheylana]

Leaning toward voting for Irina this time...

[judgejudy27]

Comparing Mao and Irina, I think Mao is better in almost every aspect, no? Lines, skating, flexibility, spins, steps, even many of the jumps... Competitive record is on par

Jumps- Not really. She outjumped Irina at the 2005/06 GP final as a teenager, but Irina didnt do any triple-triples and she had been doing them frequently in the last 15 months, plus didnt do a clean short, and 2005-2007 was Mao's jumping peak pretty much even with the 2010 triple axels, and began regressing after that. Irina does all the triples and jumps better besides the triple axel, and she mantained her jump consistency for a longer time. Mao at one point was reduced to a bad flutz, flip, loop, and double axels as her only jumps.

Spins- I dont really think so. I havent seen Mao had a performance with better spins than one of these programs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVTmfWPnUxg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVddMvsxLME
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsrxgkMdt8E

Footwork- Definitely not.

Speed, power, command of the ice- Would give Irina all of those over Mao.

Mao definitely has better lines, posture, lightness, elegance, the triple axel, better spirals I would say. Choreography and interpretation flucuates, young Mao's was much better than young Irina's, then Mao went to Tarasova and saw her jumping and overall skating go in overall decline almost immediately, while Irina improved in those areas as she got older, never really great, but doing programs that increasingly suited her well and that she seemed totally at home performing to.


Competitive record is not on par. Irina with 6 World medals. Mao has 3. Irina has 4 Grand Prix final titles and 9 medals at that event. Irina has 2 Olympic medals. Irina has many more grand prix and international event wins. Irina has 7 European titles as well, many more than Mao has Japanese National titles, Four Continents titles, whatever you use as a comparision.

[miki88]

Voting for Irina again. Besides her speed, I just can't find anything else appealing about her skating. And I don't agree that her presentation got better as she became older. She just got more confident and divaish.

[RumbleFish]

I predict that Irina will be voted out, receiving 20 more votes than Mao Asada.
If Miss Asada gets 100, Irina will get 120 votes.
If Miss Asada gets 500, Irina will get 520 votes.

[briancoogaert]

Between Irina and Mao, I guess I'll vote for Irina.
I don't like Mao's technique, but her skating is more beautiful to watch.

[sk8ingcoach]

Artistically Michelle, Yuna and Mao have a slight lead over Irina

Technically Yuna, Mao and Irina have a lead over Michelle

Votes could go either way depending on what criteria you base this poll on. Personally im voting technical ability 70% and Artistically 30%. Therefore it is a close call but i will be voting for michelle ( Please dont hate on my decision )

[os168]

What's with the polls? Not able to get rid of anonymous voting or the mysterious 20 bugs?

My votes goes to Mao. Yeah shocking right?

My criterias are body of work, seniority, competitive environment, quality and consistency, and overall career. It would seem impossible to compare those who have already achieved greatness to those who are still establishing their own legends in the making. (For this reason I'd probably vote Yuna out if she get to compete with Michelle, and may be Irina - or just not vote at all.)

Irina and Michelle has already made their great come back, while Yuna and Mao are still in the process of making theirs. For this reason, I am voting Mao out this round, she is a special type of skater, but her 2 WC wins without winning either a SP or LP hurt her quite a bit.

She maybe a prodigy with great potentials, but this has rarely been realised consider the amount hype around her since the very beginning, and consider she is the only one with the 3A. The biggest hype being this fictional OGM given to her had she eligible for Winter Olympics 2006, except around the same time, she actually lost to Yuna Kim at Juniors WC convincingly (by 24+ points). So if they'd been both been age eligible and competed at the Olympics 2 weeks earlier, it is certainly would not have been an easy 'given' like so many had widely claimed.

I do however really like her Jupiter, one of the great heartfelt exhibition last few seasons from the ladies. Mao is a beautiful skater when she is within her elements and stop looking like she is trying so hard. Now if she can bring that full realization to her competitive programs , covering more range and diversity (Akiko is doing Kill bill this year! Just wow!), along with fully rotated and well landed jumps, we should have a great rematch in the next 2 years along with the Russian/US wonder babes.

[miki88]

So if they'd been both been age eligible and competed at the Olympics 2 weeks earlier, it is certainly would not have been an easy 'given' like so many had widely claimed.

It wouldn't be 'given' (nothing ever is) or else Arakawa wouldn't have pulled an upset at that Olympics. However, I always believed that 2006 junior Worlds was a competition that Mao didn't particularly care about much. Her season really ended with the 2005 GPF where she got to compete with the seniors. So a lack of motivation probably played a part; this situation is not so different from the Worlds after the Olympics for Yuna.

[shady82]

I'd prefer to vote Irina out first because she is the only skater on this list who clearly doesn't have the complete package. But I think it's Mao's turn. She simply hasn't delivered enough when it counts. In term of competitiveness, she ranks well behind the rest on this list.

[shady82]

Artistically Michelle, Yuna and Mao have a slight lead over Irina

Technically Yuna, Mao and Irina have a lead over Michelle

Votes could go either way depending on what criteria you base this poll on. Personally im voting technical ability 70% and Artistically 30%. Therefore it is a close call but i will be voting for michelle ( Please dont hate on my decision )

I respect everyone's opinion, but I don't think 70% technical and 30% artistic is at all objective.

[victoriaheidi]

I'm torn, but I think my vote will have to go to Mao this time. Hard because I love her, but I just don't think she's lived up to her hype.

[alchemy void]

Probably the Trash Can has already used FSU's poll quota for the month.

[merrywidow]

My vote is for Asada