2025 4CC - Women Free: “Red Light, Green Light”

[euterpe]

I'm thrilled for Bradie making it to the podium. She's had a tough time over the past 3 years with those injuries (NO thanks to YOU Tom Z).

 

[Sally1214]

Another great competition in the books. Are Junior Worlds really in just a couple of days?? Good Lord, I don't know how I'm going to manage that yet. There ARE some other things that I need to do in my life. The fs skating season is a tough schedule for the hardcore fans .... we get a week or two off once in awhile but then it's back-to-back comps with practically no time to sleep, eat or do much of anything but be glued to the the screen. Ah, but we DO make the best of it, don't we? I'll figure Jr. Worlds out. Good night, everyone. It's been fun being with you all.

 

[zigzig]

Kim - came. saw. conquered. on a meh night she really shone.

Tennell - got the job done.

Everhardt - everything felt tight but she came through. bad choice to pick such big music for someone who walks through her choreography.

Liu - this program is a horrible choice for her. She looks so lethargic through it. Watching all these girls skate to disco just makes me wish Nicole Bobek could have skated to pop songs back her in day. She should have made her short into a long program and gone back to her Don Q for the short. Such a missed opportunity for her.

Higuchi - really should have been challenging for a medal in this field but it is what it is.

Chiba - is she injured or something. she skated that whole thing like she was underwater. Normally love her but this was a yuck fest.

Sofia - kudos to her for 3rd highest TES of the night (prolly should have been higher than Bradie's too)

Lee - meh

Yun - could be a podium contender with a MAJOR transformación.

Dupuis - she's solid but has no wow factor. she's gonna be one of those strong middle of the pack skaters who can occasionally snag a bronze in weak, minor competitions.

Matsuike - she peaked too early this season. all the magic is gone. oh well.

Schizas - needs new coaching team.

 

[Karen-W]

Per Bev Smith, Mone got sick last night with whatever's felled several other skaters/teams here.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1893546480889188354

 

[YukiNieve]

Mone Chiba was not feeling well. Some other skaters also withdrew from the exhibition due to illness. There seems to be something going on.

 

[NinjaTurtles]

I mean I was a teen so I thought everything was funny but I remember when he went to town on Sasha Cohen for this (at least) one time.

her non-extended-to-the-eyes smile is even the thumbnail on the YouTube video of that Buttonism from 2003 Worlds.

 

[Private Citizen]

Alysa made one mistake all competition and it keeps her off the podium.

That and selective calling. Everhardt's flip was off a clear outside edge, yet Liu's flips got ! and Everhardt had no call. She crams the flip into a part of the rink where it's hard to see, but to me it's 3Feq and warrants -4 if not -5. The outside edge deepens as she takes off. If anyone has a different perspective on Everhardt's flip, I'd love to hear it. I'm not sure why or how she's escaping an edge call.

 

[honey]

Sarah’s jumps are interesting to me. She has a very lazy free leg in the air that is bordering on a wrap at times. She’s got plenty of height usually, but that air position is a flaw in her technique that is always going to make her susceptible to having q applied. She has to eek the rotation around because of the air position when there really shouldn’t be any need for that given the height on her jumps. It’s something that is fine when she’s firing at 100%. But fatigue or nerves could really throw a wrench into every jump. I thought she was lucky to not get any calls in the short and just a couple in the long.

This is a fixable flaw though, and I’m sure her coaches are not unaware of this. But it’s one of those things. We all know that once you get a reputation on the jumps everything will be scrutinized.

 

[annie_mg]

Kim's posture(looking up and breaking her neck line) used to bother me a lot. It bothers me less, but it still does. But I guess it's her trademark too?

I'm thrilled for Bradie. She is not my favourite skater but she fought so much to come back and is an inspiration.

Sarah E could have skated to any music. Or, she looks like the music is just in the background. 0 interpretation. Can she improve? Time will show. She will never have Alysa Liu's charisma that's for sure.

This competition brought Samodelkina back to my attention and I'm excited to see what comes for her.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

So my no doubt totally wrong Worlds predictions are now:
Gold - C.Kim (because she's on a roll)
Silver - Sakamoto (because there hasn't been a 4-peat since Carol Heiss!)
Bronze - Glenn (because she'll have one awesome & one mixed bag skate)
The rest of the top 3 will include an American and a Japanese woman plus one wild card skater.

 

[million$momma]

Mone Chiba was not feeling well. Some other skaters also withdrew from the exhibition due to illness. There seems to be something going on.

During the pairs event they had mentioned that Lia Pereira had been super sick with a gastro bug and that she hadn't even practiced the day before the short. I bet that's what was taking everyone down. On cruise ships Norovirus spreads so easily and quickly - I imagine a skating competition would be similar.

 

[LilJen]

Tara Prasad wins best dress of the competition by far. K&C honorable mention for Jeremy Abbott in Smurf gloves (?).

Samoldekina, worst dress by far. And worst music. Congratulations.

And while I am in fashion commenting mode, big negative GOE for all the cankle tights on the women here.

 

[Aceon6]

Tara Prasad wins best dress of the competition by far.

She designs and makes her dresses.

 

[Vagabond]

I still feel like I’m watching a junior skater.

OMGGGG I find An much much more interesting and sophisticated.

Chocolate and pastries

Lay off the Kahlua and the edibles! They are affecting your mental health.

 

[LilJen]

I know everyone around here raves about Rino, but this music is so bland and generic. She has some wonderful qualities, but ZERO personality other than submissively sweet.

I could just watch her do basic stroking. SUCH good skating skills.

Wow, she resembles you know who

Trying to think who looks like Voldemort.

Chris is extremely impressed by Brady's comeback this year. He can't stop gushing about it.

He gushes about her broken ankle and hardware and having the hardware removed. Like nobody else has ever been through such TRAGEDY. It absolutely sucks (have done this twice) but gosh, Chris. It’s not as though she cam back from breaking every bone in her body. That says, good job, Bradie.

Sarah seems nervous today. A lot of the choreography is feeling rushed.

Her choreography always feels like paint by numbers to me. Zero feeling or instinct, all following rules.

Sarah Everhardt USA

3Lz
2A+3T
3F tight, outside edge
3Lo+2A
3Lo
3Lz+2T+2Lo
3S

She looks down the entire time. Literally the entire time. There's no presentation at all. The lilt in her knees is quite nice but the arms are all over the place and the upper body posture is never great. Malinina was the same way for many years: zero presentation but good foundations and great jumps.

I know I'm going to get it wrong, I know certain posters are going to say the judges know better, but this PCS should not be above a 7.00 average. Give her good scores for skating skills if you want but the presentation does. not. exist.

Her jumps also somehow look like very hard work.

Sorry that Alysa didn’t quite make it to the podium. Congrats to Kim, who brought hair bling and a dress that is a sparkly brown sugar boba tea.

 

[Coco]

For context, Bradie's ankle hardware saga come on the heals of a previous injury saga that kept her out for the '21-22 season, then a subsequent ankle injury that delayed her comeback from the foot injury. She broke her ankle - the beginning of the hardware saga - around Halloween 2023.

 

[MacMadame]

He gushes about her broken ankle and hardware and having the hardware removed. Like nobody else has ever been through such TRAGEDY. It absolutely sucks (have done this twice) but gosh, Chris. It’s not as though she cam back from breaking every bone in her body. That says, good job, Bradie.

I'm going to have to disagree with this a bit. Ankle injuries are very tricky and hard to come back from. I honestly didn't expect Bradie to be able to pull out the performance she did in the FS ever again due to it.

 

[Debbie S]

As someone who broke their lower leg and hardware put in their ankle, then removed, and never regained full ROM....it's fine for daily activity, no pain, but not quite where it needs to be for back 3's and brackets....I have no problem with Chris's comments or tone.

I think it's a bit premature to declare that Sarah will never have the presentation abilities of _____. She is younger than the others in the top group, in her first senior int'l season, and is still learning/maturing. She really just needs to find the right music. Peacock has the gala up, I would encourage people to watch Sarah's performance (i haven't watched but I assume she skated the same Beth Hart number she did ar Nats). And then start a social media campaign to get her to use that for her SP next season.

People here are focusing on Alysa's 2S, but she was also behind Sarah in the SP due to < call on the 3T in her combo. IMO, she was lucky to only get a q in the FS. Before she puts in a 3A, she needs to get her other triples clean. And while her program is entertaining and she brings a lot of personality, there are almost zero transitions with mostly 2-footed skating between elements.

As for Oly selection, I agree with Private Citizen that the Oly team will be 3 (assuming 3 spots) of the current top 5.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Did anyone notice how exhausted many of the skaters were after their free? Like more exhausted than normal...

Some were sick. Some had just competed at the Asian Winter Games. Some were sick and had just competed at the Asian Winter Games.

 

[mtnskater]

Just finished women. I’m a hardcore skating fan, but I don’t stay up all night or get up early to watch skating. I like to go about my day and watch skating later in the day on my schedule. Went on a two day ski trip so I’m watching most of 4CC’s right before the recordings disappear Thankful for Peacock replays even if short time frame.

Some home score inflation for Kim. Rightful winner though. And great for the Korean fans in attendance, so it’s all good.

Bradie! What a great emotional moment for her in the K&C to receive that score. She is tenacious and works so hard. Happy for her even if her skating is not my cup of tea. Her spins are so fast…love that.

Sarah Everhardt is amazingly consistent and really has a head for competition. Medalist at her first ISU championship event. Impressive. The criticism of her lack of expression is justified. And I hope she will improve it. But I feel like Higuchi and C. Kim really have stone faced skating too. But they don’t get called out for it like Sarah. Consistency will get you everywhere, even with lack of expression. See Chayeon Kim.

Sad for Chiba. I really enjoy her. Reminds me of Kristi Yamaguchi. Thought she was going to faint on the ice and was so glad she made it off in one piece. I’m sure she will be fine for worlds since it was a bug.

Alysa is a joy for me to watch. Not nervous and always smiling. I agree that the disco music isn’t the best for her. But how amazing to be doing so well after not skating at all for two years. She is another with an amazing head for competition. U.S. finally has a bench of women who are consistent competitors again.

I loved Rino Matsuike’s program! Loved the show of edge and flow mastery. Now if she could match that with better posture, line and extension it could be mind blowing. Also her presentation is almost childlike. Needs more eye of the tiger and less sweetness maybe.

Did Samodelkina used to skate in Eteri’s camp? She was a top Russian junior at some point I seem to recall.

 

[livetoskate]

Tara Prasad wins best dress of the competition by far. K&C honorable mention for Jeremy Abbott in Smurf gloves (?).

Samoldekina, worst dress by far. And worst music. Congratulations.

And while I am in fashion commenting mode, big negative GOE for all the cankle tights on the women here.

Samoldelkina's dress was drab but I thought the other skater representing Kazakhstan had the worst dress. It looked too tight in the front and back and I had never seen a skater show so much cleavage. You'd think someone would have told her it looked inappropriate and like a costume failure was about to happen.

 

[MacMadame]

Sarah Everhardt is amazingly consistent and really has a head for competition. Medalist at her first ISU championship event. Impressive. The criticism of her lack of expression is justified. And I hope she will improve it. But I feel like Higuchi and C. Kim really have stone faced skating too. But they don’t get called out for it like Sarah. Consistency will get you everywhere, even with lack of expression. See Chayeon Kim.

Either you haven't been in the PBP threads or you have a lot of people on ignore.

 

[Karen-W]

Either you haven't been in the PBP threads or you have a lot of people on ignore.

Well, I think it's all relative. I know I've called out Kim's stone-faced expression in past seasons. I even called it out in the SP here. But, I also love her Tron SP because the music lends itself to a stoic expression. And, now that I think about it, same goes with Wakaba's Dune SP. Sarah would do well to skate to similar music.

I do think Wakaba is better at looking UP from the ice. It's just a matter of raising her chin, which neither Chaeyeon nor Sarah do. If Sarah worked on that one aspect of her posture, then I expect much of the criticism would fade away.

 

[Evgeniafan]

Just finished women. I’m a hardcore skating fan, but I don’t stay up all night or get up early to watch skating. I like to go about my day and watch skating later in the day on my schedule. Went on a two day ski trip so I’m watching most of 4CC’s right before the recordings disappear Thankful for Peacock replays even if short time frame.

Some home score inflation for Kim. Rightful winner though. And great for the Korean fans in attendance, so it’s all good.

Bradie! What a great emotional moment for her in the K&C to receive that score. She is tenacious and works so hard. Happy for her even if her skating is not my cup of tea. Her spins are so fast…love that.

Sarah Everhardt is amazingly consistent and really has a head for competition. Medalist at her first ISU championship event. Impressive. The criticism of her lack of expression is justified. And I hope she will improve it. But I feel like Higuchi and C. Kim really have stone faced skating too. But they don’t get called out for it like Sarah. Consistency will get you everywhere, even with lack of expression. See Chayeon Kim.

Sad for Chiba. I really enjoy her. Reminds me of Kristi Yamaguchi. Thought she was going to faint on the ice and was so glad she made it off in one piece. I’m sure she will be fine for worlds since it was a bug.

Alysa is a joy for me to watch. Not nervous and always smiling. I agree that the disco music isn’t the best for her. But how amazing to be doing so well after not skating at all for two years. She is another with an amazing head for competition. U.S. finally has a bench of women who are consistent competitors again.

I loved Rino Matsuike’s program! Loved the show of edge and flow mastery. Now if she could match that with better posture, line and extension it could be mind blowing. Also her presentation is almost childlike. Needs more eye of the tiger and less sweetness maybe.

Did Samodelkina used to skate in Eteri’s camp? She was a top Russian junior at some point I seem to recall.

Sofia never skated in Eteri's camp. She was a strong junior with a 3A and quad but she trained at CSKA with Davydov. Briefly with Plushenko, then waited it out to go to Kazakhstan. She trains part time there and in California with Raf. I think next year she will have better costumes. And maybe a Shae-Lynne program.

 

[PRlady]

Sofia never skated in Eteri's camp. She was a strong junior with a 3A and quad but she trained at CSKA with Davydov. Briefly with Plushenko, then waited it out to go to Kazakhstan. She trains part time there and in California with Raf. I think next year she will have better costumes. And maybe a Shae-Lynne program.

Nice to know. I vaguely remember her trying to compete with the Eteri machine. Hope she goes as far as Guba, another skater who needed to leave to succeed.

I like her skating as well as her healthy appearance but oy, lose the dress.

 

[Vagabond]

I like her skating as well as her healthy appearance but oy, lose the dress.

 

[MacMadame]

Well, I think it's all relative. I know I've called out Kim's stone-faced expression in past seasons. I even called it out in the SP here. But, I also love her Tron SP because the music lends itself to a stoic expression. And, now that I think about it, same goes with Wakaba's Dune SP. Sarah would do well to skate to similar music.

And you and/or others have said so. IOW, we do talk about it. All the time.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

I just got around to watching this LP since I was quite busy in February. I loved reading along with everyone's commentary, but I have to say, some of the comments are VERY funny in light of what happened at worlds.