Where to for Mirai Nagasu now?

[pinky166]

Mirai needs to just address the URs, if she can fix those, the judges will still reward her skating with good scores. I don't know if the URs are due to her technique or how her body has changed since the Olympics. I know in the past couple seasons, some people questioned her fitness, but she looks very fit and in shape now, but she is a noticeably bigger person than she was at the 2010 Olympics when she looked pretty willowy and fairly similar in build to Yuna. Perhaps more off-ice training could help with the URs too, if it were an option, switching to Christy Krall and getting the help of dartfish could maybe be what she needs to correct some of her iffy jump landings. But I'm sure the finances are a limiting factor. Having the flu doesn't help either. She has made noticeable improvements this season though and she had a great SP at Nationals so she should be proud of herself. If she wants to continue skating past 2014 I think she should, but if she also wants to stop and try other things, then that is fine too, she's an Olympian and was fantastic at the 2010 Olympics, also won Nationals at 14 and won the SP at Worlds at 16, so even if she was at the "peak" of her career at a very young age, no one can deny that her accomplishments are very impressive.

[Sasha'sSpins]

^^^
Well put!

Mirai has a more womanly figure now post-Olympics and there's nothing she can do about that except to keep in top condition. And train train train those jumps!

[Polymer Bob]

I was very pleased that Mirai got full credit for the 3T3T in the short program, but I was concerned about the longer free skate since it was reported that she had gotten sick the week before Nationals, and some respiratory symptoms were still evident.

It must stink to have to skate with the flu. Actually, 2 ladies were hit by viruses.
Mirai suffered from the flu virus, ( Influenza A H3N2 ).
....................... while Caroline suffered from the screw virus, ( Techcallerous ridiculi ).

[loulou]

IIRC, Frank offered her a place to stay gratis with a local family in Palm Springs to cut down on her commute, but she (or her family) refused it. So I'm not sure how much finances were/are the issue.

If finances are an issue, then federation financial support and a private fix are two different things and can't be accepted in the same way, even if both provide a roof over your head.

[Sylvia]

IIRC, Frank offered her a place to stay gratis with a local family in Palm Springs to cut down on her commute, but she (or her family) refused it. So I'm not sure how much finances were/are the issue. It's also not clear if she turned it down, or her parents (there was speculation her mom didn't want her to move away).

I believe this originated as hearsay info posted in the Golden Skate forum in February 2012 and was copied over here: http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/show...&postcount=244
I also mentioned it in this U.S. Ladies thread last year and there was some discussion here: http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/show...=1#post3512678

[UMBS Go Blue]

Finally watched my DVR recording of the ladies' free skate and was absolutely heartbroken when I saw Mirai crumbling to pieces like she did in the kiss-and-cry.

Cheer up, Mirai, get well, and come back stronger than ever (if that's what you want). (((hugs)))

[Polymer Bob]

Finally watched my DVR recording of the ladies' free skate and was absolutely heartbroken when I saw Mirai crumbling to pieces like she did in the kiss-and-cry.

Cheer up, Mirai, get well, and come back stronger than ever (if that's what you want). (((hugs)))

The strange thing is that I thought Mirai was doing well during her free. It was only her expression that told me something was wrong. That and her scores.

[Jammers]

Mirai needs to just address the URs, if she can fix those, the judges will still reward her skating with good scores. I don't know if the URs are due to her technique or how her body has changed since the Olympics. I know in the past couple seasons, some people questioned her fitness, but she looks very fit and in shape now, but she is a noticeably bigger person than she was at the 2010 Olympics when she looked pretty willowy and fairly similar in build to Yuna. Perhaps more off-ice training could help with the URs too, if it were an option, switching to Christy Krall and getting the help of dartfish could maybe be what she needs to correct some of her iffy jump landings. But I'm sure the finances are a limiting factor. Having the flu doesn't help either. She has made noticeable improvements this season though and she had a great SP at Nationals so she should be proud of herself. If she wants to continue skating past 2014 I think she should, but if she also wants to stop and try other things, then that is fine too, she's an Olympian and was fantastic at the 2010 Olympics, also won Nationals at 14 and won the SP at Worlds at 16, so even if she was at the "peak" of her career at a very young age, no one can deny that her accomplishments are very impressive.

Mirai has been getting hit with UR calls since 2010 when she much slimmer and before her body changed. It's been a problem since her Junior days actually.

[pinky166]

Mirai has been getting hit with UR calls since 2010 when she much slimmer and before her body changed. It's been a problem since her Junior days actually.

I know, which is why I think the root of the issue maybe stems from her jump technique. It's not textbook, and while he jumps look nice in the air and she gets good height on them, she's had a tendency to hook and cheat her landings most of her career, and that's going to be hard to fix without somewhat of a technique overhaul. That's why I recommended Christy Krall because I think she could maybe help Mirai clean up her jumps, although I assume Mirai is not planing on moving to Colorado Springs anytime soon so it might be a moot point. Even so, it probably is even harder to make sure the jumps are around now that she's built like a strong woman instead of a little girl, or even a wiry teenager like she was at the Olympics. But technique is where the issue stems from I'm pretty sure. I remember when she won Nationals, she had a lot of URed jumps, she got called for some of them then, but now panels are much stricter, and the same skate now would have likely had almost all of those jumps marked down.

[judgejudy27]

I have a feeling whether the U.S regains a 3rd spot will play a large part in her decision whether to come back for one final amateur season or not.

[change of edge]

I think she's going to go for it. The "what if" factor would probably be too great for her to live with if she stopped now.

I have a feeling whether the U.S regains a 3rd spot will play a large part in her decision whether to come back for one final amateur season or not.

[apatinar]

I think she's going to go for it. The "what if" factor would probably be too great for her to live with if she stopped now.

well, she already has been to the Olympics so it's not like she never will have the chance to skate on Olympic ice.. Even if she makes it to Sochi, she will be lower than the 4th she placed in Vancouver..

[Susan M]

Mirai has a more womanly figure now post-Olympics and there's nothing she can do about that except to keep in top condition.

She doesn't look to me like she is in top condition, nor has she been for a couple years. I'm not talking about her muscles or curves, I am looking at her upper arms and the tops of her thighs and see no muscle definition. To be at optimal fitness for this sport, she needs a lower percentage of body fat. I am in no way suggesting she is fat by normal standards, but every sport has an optimal strength to weight ratio and I don't think she is at that optimal point.

[aftershocks]

It must stink to have to skate with the flu. Actually, 2 ladies were hit by viruses.
Mirai suffered from the flu virus, ( Influenza A H3N2 ).
....................... while Caroline suffered from the screw virus, ( Techcallerous ridiculi ).

Well clearly a number of ladies were screwed, and some others were gifted. Seems to be the way of it in figure skating. I guess the thing is to rise above that dastardly "screw virus."


ETA:
Looking at the ladies event again, I think Mirai should have been in second after the sp, and maybe in 5th after the fs, but certainly no lower than 6th overall. I don't know how many downgrades she rec'd in her fs, but I think they overdid it if she received more than two, plus she shouldn't have been hit with a full point deduction on the fallout (Mirai touched two hands down, but did not fall on the ice like Agnes did in both her sp and fs). IMO, Christina Gao deserved to be on the podium.

[Coco]

That fall deduction was weird because according to the rules, she didn't fall.

[aftershocks]

^^ Yes, that's what I was referring to, so clearly the judges seemed to be looking for ways to take Mirai down wherever possible. I'm not saying Mirai doesn't need to continue to improve and to try putting on a happier, more upbeat face in the midst of not feeling well and struggling for a program. But IMO, Mirai did not skate horribly in the fs, especially knowing she was battling for the program under the effects of flu. There's the fact too that Mirai arguably should have placed second in the sp. Taking all of this into consideration, and knowing that others in USFS good graces were treated more kindly, it's quite obvious that Mirai was not being given credit where credit was due.

It's as if Mirai was pre-judged and not expected to do well in either of her programs. Conversely and ironically, USFS was overly eager to rush Mirai up the ladder and over-reward her when she debuted in seniors as a young teenager.

[judgejudy27]

I think she's going to go for it. The "what if" factor would probably be too great for her to live with if she stopped now.

She has already been to an Olympics and placed 4th, a height she will almost certainly never reach again, and has been 6th and 7th at the last 2 Nationals, and hasnt even made it to Worlds since 2010. What `what if` factor is there really. If she U.S gets the 3rd spot I could see her taking her shot to fight for it, but even with the U.S having 3 spots she would be a major long shot at this point. If the U.S has only 2 spots forget it, no chance, and I think she knows that too and would surely not even bother then. However with 3 spots she might take a crack at it, as much of a long shot as it still would be now.

[TheIronLady]

There is that 4th place Olympic finisher ladies curse!

Tiffany Chin
Jill Trenary
Tonya Harding
Surya Bonaly
Maria Butyrskaya
Sasha Cohen
Fumie Suguri
Mirai Nagasu

I have hope for Mirai, but she fits ominously in this field of ladies 4th placers. They all share some sort of subsequent Olympic disappointment.

[modern_muslimah]

Well, Sasha did win an Olympic silver medal.

As for Mirai, I hope she's in a good space and inspired. She tweeted this today:

‏

@mirai_nagasu
Cut my hair all off. It's time for a fresh start.

[TheIronLady]

Well, Sasha did win an Olympic silver medal.

As for Mirai, I hope she's in a good space and inspired. She tweeted this today:

@mirai_nagasu
Cut my hair all off. It's time for a fresh start.

‏

I hope it wasn't a Britney Spears cut.