olympic
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What if each of Yamaguchi, Ito, Kerrigan, and Harding skated back-to-back their best SPs and LPs, what would the results have looked like?
My opinion -
SP:
1. Ito - 3A combo; better with that intangible quality of ice presence than Harding; music more presentable for the judges
2. Harding - Competes w. Ito jump-for-jump; actually a better spinner IMO, but loses to Ito for the above-stated reason; also intl. judges were not unwilling to break from the USFSA and its backing of Yamaguchi, usually they were willing to give Harding higher marks than natl. judges and reward her SS when clean
3. Yamaguchi - Does not compete technically w/ Ito and Harding. I did not like the Blue Danube SP; it was IMO languid in comparison to Ito and Harding's music and showed her to be less powerful than the other 2. Still in a position to control her destiny.
4. Kerrigan - Good SP, but she is the 3rd American w/ the same jump layout as Yamaguchi keeps her in 4th
LP:
1. Ito - A 3A-2T and 3Z-3T, along with a more developed sense of artistry than in the past would've IMO also won her LP. Also, I think in the battle with everyone doing their best, Ito was more likely to pull a 6.0 in tech than Yamaguchi pulling a 6.0 for artistry. That is why even in a close battle, Ito has an edge.
2. Yamaguchi - Out on a limb, but I think judges would've given Yamaguchi the 2nd mark over Harding and Ito. Better music and 'telling a story' on the ice, but I think she may have been a little too far behind Ito's tech mark, yet close enough to Harding (3Z-3T; repeating the 3Z). Her edge jumps were Sumners-swingy but could be landed to decent effect.
3. Harding - Also developed better sense of artistry and a 3A, but less ambitious jumping than Ito (3T-3T instead of 3Z-3T; no 3A combo; no repeated Lutz), so closer to Yamaguchi for Harding to slide behind her on the 2nd mark, maybe breaking any possible ties: I could foresee 5.9/5.8 for Harding and 5.8/5.9 marks for Yamaguchi
4. Kerrigan - Good qualities and I loved Born on the 4th of July as her LP, but the least tech among the 4 skaters and was the #3 American. She had a Lutz and a 3T-3T.
G- Ito
S- Yamaguchi
B- Harding
4- Kerrigan
There was a big gap between 4 -> 5. I didn't include Bonaly, who would only figure in the top 4 if the others made grave mistakes in the SP (which happened in reality). Also Lu, Chouinard and Sato were not fully developed skaters at the time. I think Chouinard and Sato had an arsenal up to the 3L (?) that season.....
My opinion -
SP:
1. Ito - 3A combo; better with that intangible quality of ice presence than Harding; music more presentable for the judges
2. Harding - Competes w. Ito jump-for-jump; actually a better spinner IMO, but loses to Ito for the above-stated reason; also intl. judges were not unwilling to break from the USFSA and its backing of Yamaguchi, usually they were willing to give Harding higher marks than natl. judges and reward her SS when clean
3. Yamaguchi - Does not compete technically w/ Ito and Harding. I did not like the Blue Danube SP; it was IMO languid in comparison to Ito and Harding's music and showed her to be less powerful than the other 2. Still in a position to control her destiny.
4. Kerrigan - Good SP, but she is the 3rd American w/ the same jump layout as Yamaguchi keeps her in 4th
LP:
1. Ito - A 3A-2T and 3Z-3T, along with a more developed sense of artistry than in the past would've IMO also won her LP. Also, I think in the battle with everyone doing their best, Ito was more likely to pull a 6.0 in tech than Yamaguchi pulling a 6.0 for artistry. That is why even in a close battle, Ito has an edge.
2. Yamaguchi - Out on a limb, but I think judges would've given Yamaguchi the 2nd mark over Harding and Ito. Better music and 'telling a story' on the ice, but I think she may have been a little too far behind Ito's tech mark, yet close enough to Harding (3Z-3T; repeating the 3Z). Her edge jumps were Sumners-swingy but could be landed to decent effect.
3. Harding - Also developed better sense of artistry and a 3A, but less ambitious jumping than Ito (3T-3T instead of 3Z-3T; no 3A combo; no repeated Lutz), so closer to Yamaguchi for Harding to slide behind her on the 2nd mark, maybe breaking any possible ties: I could foresee 5.9/5.8 for Harding and 5.8/5.9 marks for Yamaguchi
4. Kerrigan - Good qualities and I loved Born on the 4th of July as her LP, but the least tech among the 4 skaters and was the #3 American. She had a Lutz and a 3T-3T.
G- Ito
S- Yamaguchi
B- Harding
4- Kerrigan
There was a big gap between 4 -> 5. I didn't include Bonaly, who would only figure in the top 4 if the others made grave mistakes in the SP (which happened in reality). Also Lu, Chouinard and Sato were not fully developed skaters at the time. I think Chouinard and Sato had an arsenal up to the 3L (?) that season.....
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) was that gold was Kristi's to lose. It is common for fans to remember or see these things differently – because they are fans and are cheering on a specific skater. The politics, however, favored Yamaguchi if she did not suffer a meltdown or give it away – it is important to emphasize this. Never underestimate the political side of things. Kristi was a clear favorite despite the fact Midori earned and enjoyed an abundance of praise for the magnificent skater she was. Still, Midori was somewhat in the shadow of the USA having a viable Olympic gold medal threat (Kristi) after a considerable dry spell of not, even though Japan was looking for their first Olympic Champion, which they eventually got w/ Shizuka.
