U.S. Ladies [#5]: All That Glitters Is Not Gold

[peibeck]

I vote for Lee Ann Miller for Gracie Someone who will sloooooooooow her down but know how to use her amazing power and energy.

I vote for Tom Dickson. Though I am completely biased, because I love his choreography.

Do you think they'll replace Flatt for the Ice Challenge?

It might be another opportunity for Mirai since it looks like no additional GP is forthcoming.

[TheGirlCanSkate]

I vote for Tom Dickson. Though I am completely biased, because I love his choreography.



It might be another opportunity for Mirai since it looks like no additional GP is forthcoming.

But she will just be finishing Cup of China.

[peibeck]

Well then the slot will probably go unfilled.

[leafygreens]

Will be interesting if she returns at all. She wont get a gp assignment next season (no way do I see USFSA using another host pick on her) and will have to qualify for Nationals.

She won't be back. Her level of skating has deteriorated. Add in a break of a whole year, and forget it. I'm glad she's finally listening to her body and giving it the rest it needs, rather than showing up and continuing to perform badly.

[olympic]

I agree with the posts above that Flatt is done w/ skating.

BTW, there is another thread on FSU in which someone stated that Alissa was in the audience at SC last weekend, and she spoke to someone there confirming she will be at NHK.

[demetriosj]

I think Gracie will probably peak after Sochi. But she might hit her peak in between Olympics which has happened to a lot of great skaters. Sometimes timing is everything.

& maybe she's peaked already? There'd be no shame in that. She had a terrific Junior season.

[smarts1]

I wonder why everyone is making a such big deal about Gao after one competition. She's never been considered one of the top 2 US ladies and just because she skated well at Skate America doesn't make her the automatic number 2 US lady. We don't know if Skate America was a fluke. Christina has a bad habit of peaking early and fizzling out during the rest of the season.

[johndockley92]

I've always thought highly of Gao and think that with a push in the right direction, she can easily bring forth a medal-worthy performance.

[olympic]

I wonder why everyone is making a such big deal about Gao after one competition. She's never been considered one of the top 2 US ladies and just because she skated well at Skate America doesn't make her the automatic number 2 US lady. We don't know if Skate America was a fluke. Christina has a bad habit of peaking early and fizzling out during the rest of the season.

Actually last season, Christina was pretty dismal on the GP circuit but came back to finish strong at Nationals

[Sylvia]

My rather late reply: According to their Team USA bios on IceNetwork, Scott Brown choreographed Agnes Zawadzki's "Rhapsody in Blue" FS, Angela Wang's "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" SP, and both of Ashley Cain's programs this season, in addition to Gold's.

[kwanatic]

My rather late reply: According to their Team USA bios on IceNetwork, Scott Brown choreographed Agnes Zawadzki's "Rhapsody in Blue" FS, Angela Wang's "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" SP, and both of Ashley Cain's programs this season, in addition to Gold's.

Angela's SP is very nice and both of Cain's programs are good as well. Is Rhapsody the same FS Agnes had last year? If so, that was a decent program too...

Hmmm...so maybe it's not Scott. Maybe Gracie just can't pull off the choreography. Either that or his style doesn't mesh well with hers.

[pinky166]

Actually last season, Christina was pretty dismal on the GP circuit but came back to finish strong at Nationals

True, but her ISU SB both last season and the season before came from her 1st competition of the season (JGP Austria in 2010, CoC in 2011). She's never ended up on the podium at JW due to putting out her best performances, at least internationally, in the fall.

[smarts1]

^ Yes, that's what I mean. Of course 2011-2012 was a little different for Gao since she peaked at Nationals, but honestly, Nationals was her only good performance. Her grand prix outings were subpar and her JW outing was as well. There's a reason why she hasn't medalled at Junior Worlds, even though she's been there 3 times and her fellow American teammates have each time she's been there.

Gao does tend to peak too early.

[pinky166]

^ Yes, that's what I mean. Of course 2011-2012 was a little different for Gao since she peaked at Nationals, but honestly, Nationals was her only good performance. Her grand prix outings were subpar and her JW outing was as well. There's a reason why she hasn't medalled at Junior Worlds, even though she's been there 3 times and her fellow American teammates have each time she's been there.

Gao does tend to peak too early.

Yeah I agree this is a trend, especially because she was able to medal at the 2009 JGPF in a deep field and was considered a contender to medal at JW that spring, while the following year despite having issues at the JGPF and to a lesser extent at Nationals, both her JGP performances (prior to the final) were quite strong and she was again somewhat of a favorite to medal at JW but struggled in the FS there to end up 4th. Even in the 09-10 season she peaked early, having her best performance at the JGPF then wasn't quite as good at Nationals then faltered even more at JW. And even last season after being injured during the summer, she was still able to skate fairly well at CoC all things considered, it wasn't great but apart from Nationals her later internationals weren't quite so good, despite her being recovered from the injury. Hopefully, she can peak at Nationals, or ideally Worlds if she makes it there, this season to change the tides!

[haribobo]

I wonder why everyone is making a such big deal about Gao after one competition. She's never been considered one of the top 2 US ladies and just because she skated well at Skate America doesn't make her the automatic number 2 US lady.

It also doesn't *not* make her the number 2 lady. I don't think there's anyone saying it will be a slam dunk for Gao to get gold or silver at Nationals. It's not just her result at SA that is making people pick her in that poll- its the fact that her programs are better than ever before, her music choices are smart, she's with new coaches, and her actual skating has improved. People like to be inspired, and her skating inspired me, and I'm sure many others, at Skate America. We'll see how the rest of the season goes, and its very possible for Gao to finish 5th again, or 10th, or 15th. But there's no reason for us to assume every skater is going to not improve ever. Sometimes skaters get on hot and cold streaks, and sometimes they really do start to skate at a higher level. For example, Evan Lysacek after he won his junior title and moved up to senior, finished 12th, then 12th, then 7th, and 5th, before he finally started winning Nationals medals in 2005. For those few years, it seemed that Johnny was the big star and Evan's career was going down the tubes...meanwhile nobody could really imagine after Nationals 2008 that Mirai would have such struggles over the next several years. You just cannot predict with any certainty what will happen. We're all just guessing.

[chipso1]

Strong SP for Mirai at CoC today! She looks in fine form, and seems to be enjoying herself again.

[pinky166]

Strong SP for Mirai at CoC today! She looks in fine form, and seems to be enjoying herself again.

I was glad to see her skate well, but her PCS marks are a bit dissappointing - low 7s mostly and her Transitions mark was below 7. Mirai deserves better, so I hope she can keep skating well so that she can get those PCS marks up to where they should be! When Mirai skates well I think she should get 8s, or high 7s at least.

[RD]

But how does that compare to the numbers she USED to get (circa her peak in 2010)? Are they more or less in line? IOW, leaving personal feelings out of the equation...

[burntBREAD]

Well, she's getting higher PCS than she did before. Her tech score is lower because she didn't get as much +GOE on her spins as I thought she deserved (+1 for an amazing layback, +0.57 for a great combo spin, and +0.5 for a nice camel spin (the camel spin also got a level 3).

[kwanatic]

If Mirai nails her FS expect her PCS to be higher. They were decent considering she hasn't looked strong on the GP for over a season. A solid skate will yield better marks.

As for her spins, I'm surprised her layback didn't have more +3s...it was gorgeous. As for her flying and combo spins, I get why the GOE was a bit lower. Personally, I think she should make some changes to her entries and positions. I'd like to see her flying sit spin again:

2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...X0_QqCTE#t=95s
2011: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...q9aGBR0#t=255s

She got really good position, great centering and much better speed. I notice all of the skaters do some form of a tuck position now so I'm assuming she'd have to add it for 3 rotations, but I think it's doable.

As for her combo spin, nothing was better than this:

2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...eo9CH-I#t=256s

The camel position is fast and extended, the forward sit spin is even faster and beautifully extended as well...if she can't repeat the back sit position (is that the rule?) then she can pull straight up into the I-spin for +8 rotations and maybe add a variation like holding it with one hand for a few rotations. Is that enough for a level 4?

These new skating rules seem to favor quantity over quality and that's why so many of the spins look sloppy and slow now...