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

[kwanatic]

In terms of a Yu-Na versus Ashley argument, I think if it's close and Ashley skates cleanly (with the added technical content (3-3 in the SP, probably a 2-3 in the FS)) and say Yu-Na makes mistakes, I honestly think the judges would reward Ashley, if only b/c she's been so strong all season. That's what happened to Miki in 2011: if you remember, Miki was extremely consistent with her FS that season and won everything except the GPF that year. To top it off, she turned in two virtually flawless programs at worlds. Yu-Na had been absent all year and struggled in both programs... I fully agree that Yu-Na's overall quality as well as her programs were superior to Miki BUT b/c Miki had been kicking ass all season and delivered at worlds when Yu-Na made mistakes, the judges rewarded Miki. I could see something similar to that happening at worlds this year if Yu-Na struggles and Ashley (or someone else) delivers cleanly.

[leafygreens]

Well there's the answer then. It's not possible to beat Yuna, even with a fall and a pop. It would take a complete implosion of her falling on all of her jumps to beat her.

[Maofan7]

But do you think Mao can have her 3A and 3-3s back in competition ? (serious question !)

She is moving in the right direction. I think Mao could well have her 3A and 3x3 combination back by 2013 Worlds

[FunnyBut]

Well there's the answer then. It's not possible to beat Yuna, even with a fall and a pop. It would take a complete implosion of her falling on all of her jumps to beat her.

The fact is she landed very signficant jump content. Really the only jumping pass Yuna lost was the 2a-2t-2l. She landed the sal in the 3sal-2t. She landed 3Z-3T, 3F, 3S, 2A, 3Z (and the first part of 3S-2T). So that's more jump content than what Mao and Carolina have put out this season despite hre mistakes. She does have some cushion against Ashley (who's been clean twice this season), and Akiko, but that's not so different than what Mao and Caro have.

[Sylvia]

Here's the latest Japan Times "Ice Time" column that focuses on Asada and Kim: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/sp20121219it.html
It ends this way:

Kim Sun Young of Yu Na's management agency, All That Sports, informed Ice Time in an email from Seoul on Monday that a decision on her participation on the Four Continents will come next month.

"She hasn't decided to go Osaka yet. I can tell you in January if she will compete at Four CC or not," the email stated.

Kim Sun Young confirmed that Yu Na will next lace up her skates for the Korean nationals (Jan. 4-6).

So the coming months promise to be filled with drama as the skating world awaits the second round of the Mao vs. Yu Na battle at the Olympics. Two young but experienced athletes, still in their prime, going for the greatest prize in the sport.

That is about as good as it gets.

[kwanatic]

Well there's the answer then. It's not possible to beat Yuna, even with a fall and a pop. It would take a complete implosion of her falling on all of her jumps to beat her.

I really hope that's not the case. Jump wise, Yu-Na is still the standard. BUT if she turns in a sloppy performance, I'd be pissed to see her held up over someone who had a clean or more inspired skate. As of now, I'm not too thrilled with her programs. I think Mao, Ashley, Akiko and now Carolina all have programs that stand out.

To me, Yu-Na's programs are like Kiira's: nice but nothing spectacular. They don't really stand out among the others. I had a Yu-Na love fest marathon the other day and was looking back at her programs from 2009, 2010 and her performances at worlds in 2011. Her programs have always stood out...even in 2011. I thought her Giselle program was lovely even though it didn't leave as big of an impact as her Bond or Danse SPs did. But her Homage to Korea program was gorgeous: the pacing was wonderful, the music was unique and there was just more depth to it. Even with the mistakes, it was an amazingly beautiful program.

Kiss of the Vampire and Les Miserables aren't that great IMO...they feel generic. Looking specifically at the programs (ignore the jumps and focus only on the structure, choreography and music), if you stacked all of the programs next to each other (Mao, Ashley, Akiko, Carolina and Yu-Na), in terms of overall impact, I still think Yu-Na would come out on the lower end.

As I said in an earlier post, I should probably cut her some slack. With two lower level competitions and worlds as her schedule this year, it makes sense she wouldn't want exhaust too much creative effort for the programs...best to save that for the full season she has next year. I honestly think she should have just stuck with Giselle and Homage this season. Neither of those programs were performed well and I really think they deserved another chance. Maybe these two programs will get better...I don't really see how but hopefully she'll prove me wrong.

[naan]

.

[naan]

I agree that Yuna's new SP is not as spectacular as her usual SP, but it looks still nice to me. I just don't like the music, it's too heavy and creepy...
My favorite SP of this season is Kostner's SP - mostly because of the music I like Akiko's Kill Bill, enjoyed Mao's delightful SP and Yuna's dark Vampire (it grows on me now) as well! Ashley's SP was forgettable.
Yuna's Les Miserables is my favorite LP along with Akiko's LP! I think it has a potential to be a masterpiece - interesting layout, some great choreography and transitions. Mao's LP is nice, but nothing special to me. Kostner's LP was very disappointing - empty, lots of meaningless posing. Ashley's LP looks good, but I much prefer Joannie's.
I don't want Yuna to bring back her old programs. I didn't enjoy her Giselle, and I don't like skaters reusing their programs even if they're great.

Here's the latest Japan Times "Ice Time" column that focuses on Asada and Kim: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/sp20121219it.html
It ends this way:

Kim Sun Young of Yu Na's management agency, All That Sports, informed Ice Time in an email from Seoul on Monday that a decision on her participation on the Four Continents will come next month.
"She hasn't decided to go Osaka yet. I can tell you in January if she will compete at Four CC or not," the email stated.
Kim Sun Young confirmed that Yu Na will next lace up her skates for the Korean nationals (Jan. 4-6).

Hmm.. Yuna is still considering 4CC. I hope she goes to 4CC, it will be good for her.

[martyross]

beating in the sense of striking her?

[AndyWarhol]

beating in the sense of striking her?

[PUNKPRINCESS]

The girl with swag (Ashley)

[os168]

Swag punch kick dunkin donut spin power all you like... Yuna is a fast escape artist.
http://youtu.be/XTPDoEr_cbc?t=1m20s

OT I do wonder if these girls are all playing tag on the rink, who will the first one being tagged
I bet Ashley would probably be the most enthusiastic tagger, I can totally see it.

[martyross]

not if you put Julia in the equation..
that would totally repay me for the last 2 seasons' boredom

[lowtherlore]

Swag punch kick dunkin donut spin power all you like... Yuna is a fast escape artist.
http://youtu.be/XTPDoEr_cbc?t=1m20s
...

LOL.. BTW the one with the yellow dyed hair is the "elevator guy" in PSY's Gangnam Style video.

[Jeschke]

funny to read that ando, who is not competing this season, has more supporter than leonova & sotnikova seems like sochi 2014 will be fun

[kwanatic]

I agree that Yuna's new SP is not as spectacular as her usual SP, but it looks still nice to me. I just don't like the music, it's too heavy and creepy...
My favorite SP of this season is Kostner's SP - mostly because of the music I like Akiko's Kill Bill, enjoyed Mao's delightful SP and Yuna's dark Vampire (it grows on me now) as well! Ashley's SP was forgettable.
Yuna's Les Miserables is my favorite LP along with Akiko's LP! I think it has a potential to be a masterpiece - interesting layout, some great choreography and transitions. Mao's LP is nice, but nothing special to me. Kostner's LP was very disappointing - empty, lots of meaningless posing. Ashley's LP looks good, but I much prefer Joannie's.
I don't want Yuna to bring back her old programs. I didn't enjoy her Giselle, and I don't like skaters reusing their programs even if they're great.

For the SP, I think it's the music too. IDK, it's just so dramatic, pretty much the whole way through...not enough variation. I don't like it . Akiko's Kill Bill has grown on me and Mao's performances of her I Got Rhythm SP has helped it to grow on me too. I like Ashley's SP and that she took on the double whammy challenge of skating to Red Violin (double whammy b/c the music is tough to skate to and that's the Kween's music...that's always a challenge). It's good but it's not my fav. I really love Carolina's SP too...that music is wonderful and the choreography matches it so well.

Yu-Na's Les Mis feels a little bland to me right now. I don't know why but I'm not seeing any kind of masterpiece potential from it. To me it's decent, but definitely not a stand out among her portfolio. Mao, Akiko and Ashley take the cake with LPs this year. Mao's is elegant and balletic and I really like the pacing and the edits of music they chose; Akiko's is just *sigh* so beautiful...there's just something about the music and her interpretation that really pulls me in; and Ashley found the perfect vehicle for her strengths. She's powerful and strong, yet there's this finesse to her; her S&D really highlights those qualities.

As for Carolina's Bolero, there are parts that stand out (particularly the last 45 secs) but I hope they add a bit to it as well. I don't care for Bolero...at all really...but this program has the potential to change my mind.

Hmm.. Yuna is still considering 4CC. I hope she goes to 4CC, it will be good for her.

Someone posted somewhere that she had some obligation that conflicted with 4CC. Maybe they're trying to find a way to make it work...I definitely think 4CC is a necessary competition for Yu-Na. If she has to skip it, worlds will be her first major competition of the season. True, she won't be as green as she was in 2011 (zero competitions prior) but it will be the first time she's been at a competition that actually has some competition. I'd just like to see her get her jitters completely out before the big one.

[lowtherlore]

^ It’s understandable the Japanese media paraphrasing the interview and wanting to hint the possibility and promote the event in Osaka, but Yu-Na is not going to 4CC. There’s a conflict of schedule with PyeongChang Special Olympics.

It’s funny. The Japanese media used to call the old rivalry as Asada the technician (the jumper) vs Kim the performer. Now they want to bill it as Asada the artist vs Kim the jumper, after all those rule changes unfavorable to Yu-Na regarding 2A restriction, re-calibrated BVs of jumps, and reduced GOE scale, and with Mao having made no progress as a performer since her Nocturne season. Go figure.

Mao’s programs this season are just forgettable. I wonder what her team was thinking when going for those routines. The music cuts are fine, but she could’ve done better than playing little and cutie. It’s understandable if it fits the taste of general Japanese audience and her most avid fans, but she has to come up with better programs if she wants to have a wide appeal to the skating fans. Even JSF’s Noriko Shirota issued a rare warning by dissing her performances as “juvenile” while praising Yu-Na’s as “mature”.

[mrinalini]

^ It’s understandable the Japanese media paraphrasing the interview and wanting to hint the possibility and promote the event in Osaka, but Yu-Na is not going to 4CC. There’s a conflict of schedule with PyeongChang Special Olympics.

It’s funny. The Japanese media used to call the old rivalry as Asada the technician (the jumper) vs Kim the performer. Now they want to bill it as Asada the artist vs Kim the jumper, after all those rule changes unfavorable to Yu-Na regarding 2A restriction, re-calibrated BVs of jumps, and reduced GOE scale, and with Mao having made no progress as a performer since her Nocturne season. Go figure.

Mao’s programs this season are just forgettable. I wonder what her team was thinking when going for those routines. The music cuts are fine, but she could’ve done better than playing little and cutie. It’s understandable if it fits the taste of general Japanese audience and her most avid fans, but she has to come up with better programs if she wants to have a wide appeal to the skating fans. Even JSF’s Noriko Shirota issued a rare warning by dissing her performances as “juvenile” while praising Yu-Na’s as “mature”.

The inferiority complex that the Koreans have vis a vis the Japanese is still prevalent, I see.

[kwanatic]

^ It’s understandable the Japanese media paraphrasing the interview and wanting to hint the possibility and promote the event in Osaka, but Yu-Na is not going to 4CC. There’s a conflict of schedule with PyeongChang Special Olympics.

It’s funny. The Japanese media used to call the old rivalry as Asada the technician (the jumper) vs Kim the performer. Now they want to bill it as Asada the artist vs Kim the jumper, after all those rule changes unfavorable to Yu-Na regarding 2A restriction, re-calibrated BVs of jumps, and reduced GOE scale, and with Mao having made no progress as a performer since her Nocturne season. Go figure.

Mao’s programs this season are just forgettable. I wonder what her team was thinking when going for those routines. The music cuts are fine, but she could’ve done better than playing little and cutie. It’s understandable if it fits the taste of general Japanese audience and her most avid fans, but she has to come up with better programs if she wants to have a wide appeal to the skating fans. Even JSF’s Noriko Shirota issued a rare warning by dissing her performances as “juvenile” while praising Yu-Na’s as “mature”.

I guess we can agree to disagree. I consider myself a Mao fan but (if you've ready any of my posts regarding her) she's not above reproach in my eyes.

I like her SP. I wasn't sure at first but I think it works for her. It was a risk simply b/c she is skating to what is considered juniorish or juvenile music. That was the challenge: take juniorish music and make it work for a 20+ skater. It's a light, happy and fun program that you'd probably see a younger skater use BUT it's performed with grace and maturity. I say it's a blend of Mao circa 2005 with today's Mao. It has that carefree and youthful feel but it's executed with the maturity and skill she's gained over the years. Like I said it was a risk but it's working. Despite whatever criticism she's received the judges clearly like it...

As for the LP, I think it was a great choice. It isn't overly complicated; the choreography is simple but effective. The program relies on Mao's superior lines, elegance and grace to bring it to life. I think it's stunning...one of her strongest programs to date.

[skatinginbc]

I have a hunch: Mao will try 3A at Worlds. She has been landing it in the practice at the Japanese nationals.