Who has the best chance of beating Yu na Kim at the 2013 worlds?

[sadya]

Very probably Mao Asada or else, Ashley Wagner. You never know though, perhaps someone suddenly sees the light and has the performance of her life, outskating everyone or perhaps Kim, Asada and Wagner all making so many mistakes that and outsider wins. Still, it's fun to predict the outcome an see what really happens.

[maatTheViking]

I think Wagner, Asada, Kostner and Suziki are all capable of beating her, depending on various small errors/non-errors.
Ando WAS, but I doubt she will be a worlds, or be a factor (sadly).

if someone wipes the ice, all bets are off, of course.

[briancoogaert]

Hmm, Yuna is back. She just competed last week at NRW Trophy. And she seems and sounds quite serious going for Sochi with one or two of her compatriot skaters which is impossible if she doesn't show up at Worlds since S. Korea now has only one spot for Worlds. Sad, but true

Wheee ! My mistake !
I've just watched it, her SP is really good, and her LP is good. Not at her best shape, but it's a good come back

[Autumn_girl]

I think everything depends on wheither Yuna goes clean in the SP or no. If clean, she will score at least 5 points higher than the current group of top ladies and will be very hard if possible to beat even with some mistakes in the FS. I don't think nowdays Asada has a chance against her then, and definitely not Wagner or Suzuki. Clean Kostner maybe, but she needs at least the second 3F in her LP. As for youngsters, clean Adelina with better programs (but how likely is that?) maybe has a chance, others, IMO, need more time

[kwanatic]

Any of the top ladies have a shot at beating Yu-Na right now...the ice is always slippery. But unlike most skaters, whether or not Yu-Na wins is based on Yu-Na. When she's at the top of her game, she's pretty much untouchable.

I'm sure many will disagree with me here, but I don't care for either of Yu-Na's programs right now . I've watched them several times and they're nice, but IMO Mao, Ashley and Akiko all have more dynamic and unique programs than the two Yu-Na has. Yu-Na's programs are very safe, almost cookie-cutter David Wilson programs. Don't get me wrong, they're nice programs...but they aren't spectacular or standouts a la her Bond/Gershwin combo or even Giselle/Homage from 2011. I'm so used to being blown away by Yu-Na's programs that for me, these two are a bit of a letdown. To be fair, for this truncated season she doesn't need her absolute bestest best programs. As it stands she's only doing NRW (done), Korean nationals and worlds which means only one performance will happen on a big international stage. She's probably saving her wowzaa! programs for next season. Still, I was hoping for more...

Even though Yu-Na's programs place last in terms of the contenders (for me at least), Yu-Na's jump content is already at the top of the heap. Just by having a clean lutz and a 3Lz-3T she has a big advantage over the other front-runners. BUT she'll need to be clean especially if Ashley ups her technical content and goes clean and if Mao is clean. Unfortunately (for Akiko anyway) I think a flawed Yu-Na will beat a clean Akiko, but this won't be a cakewalk for her. Yu-Na is not known for turning in back-to-back clean performances with regularity. She'd always have a mistake or two but the strength of her other jumps combined with her overall skating pulled her through. Depending on how her competition delivers, that might not be enough this time.

I really hope Yu-Na reconsiders and competes at 4CC. Her programs need more mileage (obviously) and I think it will do her good to compete at a competition where the skaters are on her level. NRW was not a challenge and Korean nationals won't be a challenge either. She needs to re-acclimate herself to the intensity of a high level competition and the pressure that comes with it.

I am thrilled she's back though! Just having her in the competition ups the stakes and puts the pressure on those around her. Mao will need to start fully rotating her jumps b/c it's doubtful 3 or 4 triples will hold up for gold; Ashley will have to up the ante and add that 3F-3T to the SP and the 2A-3T to the LP to stay competitive; and everyone else will have to up their game as well.

Worlds should be a great competition this year!

[Vash01]

Kwanatic,

As I wrote in another thread, I believe these programs are just the beginning and they will grow choreographically.

[olympic]

There are a few ways this could turn out:

Yu Na seems more focused on skating now than during the '10 - '11 season where she ended up losing '11 Worlds to Ando. But, I wouldn't say she's back to Vancouver form where she was virtually unbeatable. Another problem is she isn't fully committing to seasons anymore. I also daresay that her 201 pt. total at NRW was probably a little inflated. If that were performed in a GP event, it would've been a few points lower.

Right now, I give Mao the best shot of beating her. But, Mao will need something more technically to do it and I'm not sure she has it. I also don't think she will have a clean 3x by Worlds.

Interestingly, Ashley is beating Carolina in this poll. I think Carolina has better scoring potential than Ashley, but Caro is an interesting case: In order to compete with the best this year, she wil have to bring back jumps she's abandoned over the past year and perhaps a harder 3-3. We are looking at a tougher competition this year. She's not the most dependable skater under pressure though, so where would that leave her? She'll probably garner big PCS for a decent skate but not enough to beat Yu Na. Clean Caro but w/o anything harder than last year and she may be off the podium, falling victim to a resurgent Mao and a hungry Ashley.

I don't think Akiko or any of the others have any shot even in fantasy land.

I would say Ashley is the hungriest of all the top ladies, and sometimes that can make all the difference. If she has a 3-3 in the SP, and a 2x-3t in the LP, anything can happen ...

[kwanatic]

Kwanatic,

As I wrote in another thread, I believe these programs are just the beginning and they will grow choreographically.

I remember reading somewhere where she said she wasn't giving 100% to the performance b/c she was focusing on landing the jumps, which makes sense seeing as how the whole point in competing at NRW was to to get the necessary TES requirements.

I'm sure the programs will grow somewhat but, like I said, being that she only has one more performance before worlds, I don't know how much growth we'll actually see. I really, really, really think she needs to reconsider and attend 4CC. Then again, maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way. Maybe her goal isn't to win worlds this year. She said she's just trying to qualify and get Korea those spots. Maybe that's why she's not competing at 4CC. Yu-Na only needs a decent performance at worlds to make the podium (more than likely) so maybe she's just easing back into it...

Either way, I'm happy she's back...still not sold on the programs though.

As for Carolina, she has her work cut out for her. She'll need more content if she hopes to stay at the top.

[Vash01]

Yu na's return is going to make all the ladies work harder, and think of adding more difficult jumps & other content. It's good for the sport.

[museksk8r]

My favorite ladies currently are Carolina and Elizaveta! I have also warmed up to Kaetlyn this season. I simply find Yu-Na boring now and I think a large part of me feeling that way is that I don't get the sense she is motivated to still be competing at this level, but instead is doing it out of obligation towards her federation. IMO, she has regressed from 2010 (I don't see the fire in her or the love of competing) and I don't have an interest in seeing skaters come back to competition only to be shadows of their former selves (see Johnny Weir this season and Sasha Cohen in 2010). I give Yu-Na major props though for keeping up her technical level. She certainly is a hard worker!

[lowtherlore]

Nobody can come back to that level without the love for skating, IMO. She was hesitant to return due to the fear of psychological burden and gruesome training. That psychological burden IMO is more from the pressure of satisfying the huge anticipation for certain level of performance expected out of her, than from competing with others for placement itself. The sense of obligation to her federation or to Korean skating may also have set in. But, for her return to ISU Worlds, whether her main motivation or the goal is to win or to get the Olympic berths for her fed, is not worth debating. Bottom line, I think she came back because she WANTED to, after all.

Her skating and the programs will get better by the worlds, as Vash said. I think both her programs are beautiful. The SP has the cult movie feel to it, tastefully done. The LP is both epic and lyrical. As for her physical conditioning, it would be safe to assume that she will be at least 90% of her Vancouver level. As for her skating and performance finesse, I think in some aspects she has gotten better since Vancouver.

That being said, Yu-Na has been, and still is, beatable. But it would require some mistakes on her part. If anybody has comparable number of mistakes, I'd say Yu-Na has 1-2 fall cushion for her difficulty+quality at this point.

[chmea]

Kostner does have the ability. If she can pull off clean programs with two 3flips and a 2a+3T then she could easily win. She has the components she just needs to do the jumps and she could beat almost anyone IMO

"Could easily win" you lost some credibility here

"Almost everyone" Yes

"IMO" That's better, because it's surely not a fact !

[seabm7]

I really, really, really think she needs to reconsider and attend 4CC. Then again, maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way. Maybe her goal isn't to win worlds this year.

Yuna Kim cannot go to 4CC because of a schedule conflict. She's working as an ambassader for the winter special olympics, which happens in Korea on February. The olympics ends when 4CC starts, which leaves her little training time right before the competition.

[rosewood]

Mao is in her own class.

[npavel]

I think YuNa's score at NWR was really strange. If you look at PCS, she got more than at 2011 Worlds with a sub-par performance. The goe went from -1 to +3 for the same element. If you take that in account, her score was really not to take in consideration or to compare to the skaters in the GP circuit.
That said, I really think her SP is the worst I have seen her skate ever, the music is over whelming her skate. The free might be a god program with some more transition, interpretation ... feeling.
She is definitely not the strongest in Ladies field right now, but by worlds you never know ...
I have to wait to see Carolinas programs to be able to express myself, but right now I prefer other ladies programs - skating to YuNa's and think she is definitively beatable by some of them.

[naan]

For someone who thinks "Yuna was ridiculously overmarked, her score was a joke", here is Jackie Wong's opinion.

In a nutshell, her short program score was a couple of points too high and her free skate score was just about right. But it's also necessary to point out that in figure skating, scores are usually only relevant relative to the scores given to the other programs in the same competition. In that sense, Kim's blowout win was more than justified.

As for goe on her double axel in the SP,

The double axel had a late checkout but the bauer entrance and the speed and height justified a +1. The +2s were generous, and the +3 was outright incorrect, but in the big picture of things, it didn't affect the score that much.

More review on World Figure Skating

She delivered a solid program, which featured a combination of triple Lutz – triple toe loop, triple flip and double Axel. Her spins and steps got only the level 3.
In the free skate we saw again the real Yuna Queen with beautiful lines, big jumps, exquisite choreography and magic blades. I like the way she feels the music. Her skating looks so effortless, she is just beautiful to watch. She is like a magnet for the audience. Yes, Yuna made several mistakes in the free skate on jumps but this is only an indication that she is not ready for 100% right now. However, she has enough time to prepare for 2013 Worlds.
As for the 201.61 points Yuna Kim received in Dortmund, we know that so-called B events are considered as friendly for skaters.

Back to the topic, I think anything can happen. Ice is slippery!

[judgejudy27]

I think YuNa's score at NWR was really strange. If you look at PCS, she got more than at 2011 Worlds with a sub-par performance.

LOL like 2011 Worlds wasnt an extremely subpar performance. Also scores tend to elevate over the quad, havent people been around COP long enough to have figured this out yet.

[smarts1]

Too cute. Yu Na's scores from her first event back would have won the Grand Prix final quite easily, and would have been about 20 points over 2nd place Wagner. At this event she had a mistake filled long program and was quite mediocre for her standards. She doesnt have to promise anything, anyone knows she is not coming back to just be top 5, and unless she breaks her leg early in her long program she wont ever be down in 4th or 5th against the current crop of girls (although even then her usual short program would probably have her way ahead of the field, and able to win atleast bronze even with a 1 or 2 triple long, especialy seeing Asada winning events with only 3 triples).

Scores between events are NOT comparable and that definitely includes Senior Bs. Kiira scored what, a 69 for her SP at Finlandia?

[Lainerb]

LOL at people even talking about Ando. First off Ando isnt coming back. Second of all even if she does she would be lucky to even beat out Murakami for the last spot on the Japanese Olympic team. She is old (26), did not come close to an Olympic medal even in her prime, and with Asada doing well again would never get the support as Japanese #1 like she had in 2011 while Mao was slumping and visibly aided her scores. Anyway the level of skating Ando in 2011 and Kostner in 2012 won World with wont even medal in Sochi.

Isn't this the exact same thing you said about Ando during the 2010-2011 season when you said she'd be a none factor at worlds? I am not saying she is going to come back or not, but you can't deny the girl is extremely competitive when she is in the competition.

As for Kim this season, I kinda doubt that anyone will win against her come worlds. Maybe Kostner if she is is in competitive shape, but I just don't see Mao pulling it off and so far none of the Russian ladies have proven themselves at the level of Kim, Mao or Kostner thusfar.

[judgejudy27]

Scores between events are NOT comparable and that definitely includes Senior Bs. Kiira scored what, a 69 for her SP at Finlandia?

Korpi would have scored 69 for that short program anywhere had she duplicated it so I dont see your point. It was a much better short program than anyone all season has produced except for Kim's recent one, and reflected by the score. Based on how Mao was scored at the GP final, Kim's scores for what she did were expected. Her SP would always outscore Mao and Wagner even doing the same jumps, then with one doing a triple-triple and the others a triple-double the gap of 6 points is what one would expect. Her LP content was similar to what Mao produced at the GP final too, with only slightly more in mistakes. If you think those are not scores Kim would get for similar performances be prepared to be surprised in the coming months (mind you her LP scores will likely go well up as her LP performances will improve greatly from what she produced at that event).

If by any chance the troll Lainberb happened to respond to me (which I suspect as this poster was frequent in stalking me from thread to thread), be known you were put on my ignore list almost 2 years ago so dont waste your typing fingers. If the response was not to me then I apoligize.