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

[Jammers]

Wow Caroline finished in last place. I don't see what she can really at this point to improve her scores. Compared to the other girls she's just so slow and her jumps are just not impressive.

[olympic]

Wow Caroline finished in last place. I don't see what she can really at this point to improve her scores. Compared to the other girls she's just so slow and her jumps are just not impressive.

I noticed when watching her LP at the 4:00 mark, during the spiral, she had a look of pain on her face. I hope she is OK ...

[Marco]

Wow Caroline finished in last place. I don't see what she can really at this point to improve her scores. Compared to the other girls she's just so slow and her jumps are just not impressive.

The sad thing is she didn't even skate that badly (for herself). She missed one jump only. If she had landed that flutz, she would still have been last. If she had landed the flip in the short and hence clean for the whole competition, she would still have been second last.

[Jammers]

I think the other skaters have passed her up. Her lack of speed is really telling when you see some of the other girls flying around the rink. Lets face it it just looks more impressive when you go into a jump with speed and not moving like your stuck in molasses. Her lack of speed affects almost all parts of her skating.

[smarts1]

I feel that she dealing with some injury or something. She doesn't seem like herself out on the ice (in stark contrast to what she was like last season). Even some of her spins looked painful for her.

[darya_russian]

I think the other skaters have passed her up. Her lack of speed is really telling when you see some of the other girls flying around the rink.

It is especially obvious when you see her skating live - painful to watch, really. But it's not the only problem. Watching her SP at CoR I kept thinking that she may have gotten away with her slow skating if she was skating "big", don't know how to explain it better. She usually has powerful music, with highs and lows, and if she was hitting it, if her movements were big enough and held long enough, she still coud have been fine. But instead she just looks lost on the ice - as in 'can barely be seen on this big-big rink'.

[chipso1]

After Rostelecom Cup. Gracie improves her SB score by nearly 4 points!

2012-13 U.S. Ladies -- Top International Scores

1. Ashley WAGNER (188.37), Skate America
2. Gracie GOLD (175.03), Rostelecom Cup
3. Christina GAO (174.25), Skate America
4. Agnes ZAWADZKI (172.95), U.S. Classic
5. Mirai NAGASU (163.46), Cup of China
6. Angela WANG (162.65), JGP Zagreb

7. Hannah MILLER (158.52), JGP Linz
8. Samantha CESARIO (157.72), JGP Linz
9. Leah KEISER (156.33), JGP Istanbul
10. Courtney HICKS (153.77), JGP Lake Placid
11. Caroline ZHANG (149.87), Skate Canada
12. Barbie LONG (147.19), JGP Bled

13. Kiri BAGA (142.22), JGP Lake Placid
14. Vanessa LAM (140.89), JGP Courchevel
15. Ashley CAIN (136.51), JGP Courchevel
16. Rachael FLATT (136.09), Skate America out for rest of season
17. Nina JIANG (115.48), JGP Istanbul

Japan Open (free skate only) scores: Ashley WAGNER (123.57); Agnes ZAWADZKI (89.95)

Upcoming assignments:

• Trophee Eric Bompard (Christina GAO, Ashley WAGNER)
• NHK Trophy (Alissa CZISNY, Agnes ZAWADZKI)
• JGP Final (Leah KEISER, Hannah MILLER, Angela WANG)

[demetriosj]

I think the other skaters have passed her up. Her lack of speed is really telling when you see some of the other girls flying around the rink. Lets face it it just looks more impressive when you go into a jump with speed and not moving like your stuck in molasses. Her lack of speed affects almost all parts of her skating.

Well, perhaps maybe live she doesn't appear as slow as you describe? Things always look different on a computer screen.

Sounds like she probably is dealing with some kind of injury?

[mrinalini]

I was quite taken aback at how bad Caroline looked. I don't think it's a question of technique this time (although in her case that could always use improvement); she just looked seriously out of shape. She actually looked quite pudgy and not at all like a fit athlete - if people were complaining that Rachael Flatt didn't look in optimal condition at times, Caroline now looks far worse than Rachael ever did.

[demetriosj]

I was quite taken aback at how bad Caroline looked. I don't think it's a question of technique this time (although in her case that could always use improvement); she just looked seriously out of shape. She actually looked quite pudgy and not at all like a fit athlete - if people were complaining that Rachael Flatt didn't look in optimal condition at times, Caroline now looks far worse than Rachael ever did.

aren't you sweet............

[mrinalini]

aren't you sweet............

I'm not trying to start anything; I really do think that her lack of fitness is impeding her performance. I remember that she looked somewhat similar early last season and the skating also looked laboured; flash forward to Nationals and she was suddenly slimmer and fitter and performed a thousand times better, too. The jumps had more amplitude, she skated with more speed and freedom; everything just seemed so improved.

I'm not normally body conscious when watching anyone on television, so for me to notice that Caroline appears to be out of shape for an elite athlete...well, I really do think that she must be.

[demetriosj]

I'm not trying to start anything; I really do think that her lack of fitness is impeding her performance. I remember that she looked somewhat similar early last season and the skating also looked laboured; flash forward to Nationals and she was suddenly slimmer and fitter and performed a thousand times better, too. The jumps had more amplitude, she skated with more speed and freedom; everything just seemed so improved.

I'm not normally body conscious when watching anyone on television, so for me to notice that Caroline appears to be out of shape for an elite athlete...well I really do think that she must be.

Maybe her "lack or fitness" is the result of being injured and not being able to train?

My guess would be that she is possibly injured and therefore can't train properly, or as often, hence the appearance of being out of shape and skating slowly?

[smarts1]

^ Yes, I honestly do think she is dealing with some sort of injury.

[mrinalini]

Maybe her "lack or fitness" is the result of being injured and not being able to train?

My guess would be that she is possibly injured and therefore can't train properly, or as often, hence the appearance of being out of shape and skating slowly?

I've no clue as to why her training is affected (if that is even the case) and I won't even begin to speculate, but to me it's clear that she is out of shape and so it's unsurprising that her skating looked as bad as it did at the CoR.

Take skaters like Kiira and Carolina - they're taller and bigger-boned than the average female skater but they look totally fit and toned and not at all out of shape. I think about how Caroline looked like at this competition and...to me, the contrast is just so stark.

[triple_toe]

Kiira and Carolina are in no way big-boned. Tall yes, but very, very thin in person. Tiny.

[Coco]

If it came out that Caroline had back problems, I wouldn't be surprised That pearl spin can't be healthy.

I hope she has a strong nationals.

[mrinalini]

Kiira and Carolina are in no way big-boned. Tall yes, but very, very thin in person. Tiny.

I've never seen them in person so I wouldn't know...anyway, I didn't say they were big-boned, I said they looked bigger-boned in comparison to the average female skater, i.e. some of the Russian wunderbabies, Mao, Christina Gao...and that is only on television or my tiny computer screen. In person, they could all look deathly thin or the opposite or whatever; I wouldn't know.

[pinky166]

Kiira and Carolina are in no way big-boned. Tall yes, but very, very thin in person. Tiny.

This is true but this is the normal for female figure skaters. Caroline now has a bigger build/frame for a ladies figure skater to begin with, so it's especially important she is in fighting shape due to this. Other people are thin naturally and would be regardless of if they were an elite athlete, but for Caroline it's very apparent her body build is curvy by nature. Also she's no longer short, and sometimes if you're very petite in terms of height, you can get away with being a bit curvier/heavier build wise because your center of gravity will be lower and the weight is still likely quite low just from being short so the jumps are easier. Rochette, Leonova, Flatt in her prime are examples of skaters who were not stick thin but could still jump well, but they are all like 5'2", while Caroline is listed as 5'5". Usually, the taller you are, the more important it is to be thin if you're a top ladies skater. There are a fair amount of taller ladies in elite skating these days, but if you notice, the ones that are successful are really really thin for the most part, like Kiira, Carolina, Polina K. Agnes may not be a stick but she's extremely toned and has a very athletic build. Just looking at Caroline's arms and legs, she does not look like an elite athlete. Plus her hourglass shape is not doing her favors. It's unfortunate that she needs to be skating her very best and in top condition to even be competitive at this level, but that's unfortunately the reality. If she's injured though she may be better sitting out to heal until she's better.

[orbitz]

I noticed when watching her LP at the 4:00 mark, during the spiral, she had a look of pain on her face. I hope she is OK ...

I thought she was emoting

It is sad for Zhang. I don't think there's anything more she can do now to improve at this stage of her career. A 3-3 in the SP might give her 1 or 2 higher placement, but her overall standing will still be relatively low.

[VarBar]

Well done by Gracie and Agnes at CoR. I am very proud of Agnes that she didn't fall apart again in her free skate and, to me, she has better skating skills than Gracie. But Gracie's got something about her that I would call star quality. Good luck to both ladies at US Nationals.