Fumie Suguri failed to qualify for Japanese Nationals again

[dawnie]

She was only 18 in Torino, but she looked so much older. Not sure if she chose to dress like that or if that was packaging by Carol Heiss-Jenkins or what, but it did her no favors.

It screamed Harajuku so I doubt Carol Heiss-Jenkins had anything to do with that dress. If it were up to her, Ando would have gone out looking like Lisa Ervin or Tonia K in the early 90s.

[skatinginbc]

Fumie Suguri failed to qualify for Japanese Nationals again? I mean "again"? It takes a lot of mental strength to face repeated failure and still be able to keep on pursuing one's dream. I admire her for that.

[Iceman]

Maybe the fed should let her compete based on her perseverance alone. Or , at lease, invite her to take part in the exhibition.

[tkaug]

She is actually doing some minor shows overseas lately but hasn't been invited in Japan's shows for a while, even when many other Japanese skaters were doing charity shows in Japan, she never joined any of them and showed foreign audience that hip-hop program.

[dawnie]

She is actually doing some minor shows overseas lately but hasn't been invited in Japan's shows for a while, even when many other Japanese skaters were doing charity shows in Japan, she never joined any of them and showed foreign audience that hip-hop program.

Interesting. I'm convinced Shizuka blacklisted her. Didn't those two not like each other for years while competing?

[tkaug]

Interesting. I'm convinced Shizuka blacklisted her. Didn't those two not like each other for years while competing?

Is Shizuka the only Japanese female skater that Fumie doesn't like? I have never heard her get along well with them. That must be one of the reasons why she is not invited in Events in Japan anymore.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

I remember watching one of the GP events in 2002-2003, and we saw Yoshie Onda and Shizuka watching Fumie Suguri's performance and while they were commenting on it, one of them mocked her Swan Lake arm flaps.

Through the years, I always had the impression that Fumie never really got along with the other Japanese women for whatever reason while Shizuka was Ms. Popularity (maybe Queen Bee). Fumie seemed to have been able to have a cordial relationship with Kwan and Sasha though.

[casken]

I had no idea about any of this drama between Arakawa and Suguri!

[Andofanatic]

Fumie is such an underrated skater. She was robbed of the 2002 World gold where she deserved to beat both Michelle and Irina. She was robbed of silver or even gold at the 2006 Turino Olympics, where she clearly outskated Sasha Cohen and Irina Slutskaya, and skated just as well as Shizuka Arakawa the winner, doing virtually the same content. I hate skating judges who ruined her career and made her skate all these years for justice.

[Andofanatic]

Irina Slutskaya was also the most overrated skater ever. She wasnt even the best jumper, her teammate Victoria Volchkova was a better one, so if the judges and Russian federation were rewarding someone just for jumps why didnt they give her more support instead of Irina.

[operagirl]

Nakano is the best spinner Japan has ever produced.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

This thread inspired me to watch a slew of Japanese skating videos, and rewatching some of Suguri's best routines reminded me of why I loved her back in the day. When she was on and in her prime, she knew how to perform and was absolutely committed to her choreography.

It's a shame what the Code in Torino made Fumie do to her spins, because I think she gave the best performance of the night in the SP. Not saying she should have placed higher as her technical elements weren't nearly as strong as the top 3, but her performance, interpretation, and execution were really up there.

OT, but this is the first time I've seen Hanae Yokoya and is it me or is her 1996 Worlds LP really good?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Gy-Nzjuxx4

[Kelvster]

aw ... fumie suguri. I rooted for her especially past 2006. When she finally made the worlds in 2009 (after failing in 2007 and 2008) I thought it was a good way to end her career, but obviously she decided to continue indefinitely ... even bowing out in 2010 when she failed to make the Olympic team wouldn't have been embarrassing (her free skate at the pre-Olympics Nationals wasn't great, but she fought and fought ... remember her landing a triple-flip, double-toe-double loop at the end of the programme which I never saw from her and which showed her fighting spirit.

interestingly, wikipedia says that Michelle Kwan taught her the triple lutz in 1994! when little fumie attended the practice rink at the World Championships.

And obviously Sasha Cohen borrowed the tights from Suguri in 2002.

She seems to be quite friendly with the Americans (and her spoken English ain't bad at all, from what I have heard from interviews). But I wonder if the same can be said about her relationship with other Japanese skaters

[Alex Forrest]

With all due respect, what WAS her problem? She seemed to have good flow, but she was never over her body. She had good flow, but she was brittle and not with it on the ice. Never could straighten her knee or ankle. She missed the ballet class that you actually need to do something with your body before you give those dramatic bows. Her coaches robbed her IMO. She landed many jumps, but the sum of the whole was less than the parts. She and Yoshie Onda must have had the same coaches. There is more to just skating fast and landing jumps.

[orientalplane]

OT, but this is the first time I've seen Hanae Yokoya and is it me or is her 1996 Worlds LP really good?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Gy-Nzjuxx4

Look up her 1995 Worlds LP - it's even better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPGyXASLhr0

She made some silly mistake in the SP, falling on the triple salchow IIRC, and ended up 10th overall.

[Jeschke]

She was robbed of silver or even gold at the 2006 Turino Olympics, where she clearly outskated Sasha Cohen and Irina Slutskaya, and skated just as well as Shizuka Arakawa the winner, doing virtually the same content.

are you kidding?
to fresh up your memories , a free program with 2f2t, sal<< and a wobbly 2a2t plus messy spins couldn´t be in any means compared to shizukas free skate. and even sasha with 3s3tseq and a much more complex program was obviously superior than suguri.
suguris free skate was absolute easily built, the choreography and transitions weren´t great at all. and 6.0 system has gone, so it´s not all about landing the jumps (which weren´t as good either, as i mentioned before)

[lowtherlore]

Watching Arakawa crowned while herself missing the podium must have been pretty hard to swallow for her, after having had an overall better international career up to that point except for the Arakawa’s WC win. She even shunned being on the same flight back to Japan with the rest of the team, with the Japanese media waiting at the airport to greet their only OGM of the Turin games. She might have felt that there’s something left to prove yet – her longevity, love of skating, whatever it was. I’d say she was respectably successful at it, making GP podiums and GPF in the following seasons, although since then it’s become painful to watch.

[Lara]

This thread inspired me to watch a slew of Japanese skating videos, and rewatching some of Suguri's best routines reminded me of why I loved her back in the day. When she was on and in her prime, she knew how to perform and was absolutely committed to her choreography.

It's a shame what the Code in Torino made Fumie do to her spins, because I think she gave the best performance of the night in the SP. Not saying she should have placed higher as her technical elements weren't nearly as strong as the top 3, but her performance, interpretation, and execution were really up there.

OT, but this is the first time I've seen Hanae Yokoya and is it me or is her 1996 Worlds LP really good?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Gy-Nzjuxx4

Agreed on both counts. I loved Fumie in her prime and she had some excellent programs especially in 2002 with Ave Maria and Moonlight Sonata - also 2005 with Pink Panther/Carmen (damn that fall on the lutz in the 2005 Worlds SP). It's a crying shame how weak and generic 2006 was in comparison.

And Hanae was indeed great, here's another skate from 1995 NHK where she placed second - wonderful smile!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbd3Wc0KMFY
I remember asking what happened to her after - puberty was the answer IIRC unfortunately.

[Fozzie Bear]

Through the years, I always had the impression that Fumie never really got along with the other Japanese women for whatever reason while Shizuka was Ms. Popularity (maybe Queen Bee). Fumie seemed to have been able to have a cordial relationship with Kwan and Sasha though.

I remember a video after her 2006-7 Nationals Gala performance that showed a crowd of skaters singing happy birthday to her and presenting her with a cake. (Mao was in there somewhere, iirc.) So she must have had some Japanese skaters she got along with.

It's a shame what the Code in Torino made Fumie do to her spins, because I think she gave the best performance of the night in the SP. Not saying she should have placed higher as her technical elements weren't nearly as strong as the top 3, but her performance, interpretation, and execution were really up there.

Out of the top four, she actually had the highest GOEs on the jumps, I think. Her footwork was excellent also. The spin levels and the spiral sequence were not as good, but she was really hosed on the PCS.

[dawnie]

I remember watching one of the GP events in 2002-2003, and we saw Yoshie Onda and Shizuka watching Fumie Suguri's performance and while they were commenting on it, one of them mocked her Swan Lake arm flaps.

Through the years, I always had the impression that Fumie never really got along with the other Japanese women for whatever reason while Shizuka was Ms. Popularity (maybe Queen Bee). Fumie seemed to have been able to have a cordial relationship with Kwan and Sasha though.

Shizuka was totally Ms. Popular, which is ironic since she was known to be reserved and cold while Fumie was considered the expressive performer. All the Japanese girls (except Fumie ) seem to like and respect Shizuka, it appears. She seems like the type of person who if you are on her good side, she's your BFF but if you are on her bad side...they don't call her Divakawa for nothing.

I remember a video after her 2006-7 Nationals Gala performance that showed a crowd of skaters singing happy birthday to her and presenting her with a cake. (Mao was in there somewhere, iirc.) So she must have had some Japanese skaters she got along with.

I get the feeling it was probably the ones around her age (Yoshie and Shizuka) she didn't get along with. But I do remember reading that she scolded a young Miki for not paying attention on practice ice when Fumie was rising up the ranks and Miki was a kid. Which reminds me, wasn't it Fumie who was accused of intentionally "impeding" Yuna during practice sessions? Man, who would have thought after all these years that Fumie Suguri will provide so much