GPdF 2025 PBP - Women's FS: “Chick-a-cheater”

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Trying to remember how many times has someone came straight out from juniors and then won senior worlds or the Olympics the very first year.

 

[Karen-W]

For real. Wasn't on my radar at all for Oly gold until this comp.

Based on what she was doing in juniors, she wasn't on my radar either as a new senior.

 

[shan]

Aww, Ami is adorable!

 

[Colonel Green]

Trying to remember how many times has someone came straight out from juniors and then won senior worlds or the Olympics the very first year.

Eteri had it down to a science for a bit there.

 

[tony]

Trying to remember how many times has someone came straight out from juniors and then won senior worlds or the Olympics the very first year.

Zagitova

 

[jlai]

Great skates for last 2 but programs were zzzz.

 

[Lilia A]

I love happy tears.
Big congrats to senior grand prix debutante for winning it all

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Zagitova

That’s the only one that I can think of at the top of my mind

Lipinski winning worlds?

 

[tony]

That’s the only one that I can think of at the top of my mind

Lipinski winning worlds?

She was 15th in 1996, 23rd in the short

FWIW, Medvedeva did it in 2016 as well as far as Worlds goes.

 

[Karen-W]

Trying to remember how many times has someone came straight out from juniors and then won senior worlds or the Olympics the very first year.

@tony beat me to it, but less than a decade ago with Zagitova...

 

[Private Citizen]

Well, where can Isabeau get some more BV? (Could be a long, frustrating season) These are big scores for this time of year.

She can’t. Levito and others probably peaked too early in the cycle instead of pushing their tech content.

Even Sakamoto could end up off the podium with perfect skates if Nakai, Glenn, and Petrosian, or possibly others deliver triple axels and quads.

 

[PRlady]

Trying to remember how many times has someone came straight out from juniors and then won senior worlds or the Olympics the very first year.

Med did it, with Worlds.

But those of you who follow Juniors know that Ami was not even the top Japanese skater there, that’s been Shimada for years. I don’t think anyone saw this coming.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Looks like we need to raise the minimum age to 18 now

Tee-hee

 

[Hedwig]

I admit, I did not have Ami in the running for the third Japanese spot (1 and 2 going in all probability to Kaori and Mone)

 

[zigzig]

The talent out of Japan is INSANE and frankly I would love a Japanese sweep at the Olympics.

Isabeau looked a little tight. This program feels like a retread for her. Almost wish she took the direction of her short and expanded on that for the long instead.

Pretty solid event despite all the pops.

Props to Chaeyeon for sneaking in that extra jumping pass - she did that pretty stealthily unlike Irina Slutskaya who would pump around the rink twice fitting in a random jump. God I ducking hated her skating so much.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

She was 15th in 1996, 23rd in the short

FWIW, Medvedeva did it in 2016 as well as far as Worlds goes.

Damn, you’re like Rain Man.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Sakamoto looked extra hunchy tome today. Did she get the last feature for the last spin? The final position looked short.

Nakai’s skating quality was inversely proportional to the shrieking that was happening. Did she not get the memo that the Olympics were in Italy, and if you want to skate to someone yelling, choose opera?

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

She was 15th in 1996, 23rd in the short

FWIW, Medvedeva did it in 2016 as well as far as Worlds goes.

Wow, I could’ve sworn 1997 was her first worlds,

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Damn, these are like worlds scores.

 

[Colonel Green]

That’s the only one that I can think of at the top of my mind

Lipinski winning worlds?

She was 15th in 1996, 23rd in the short

FWIW, Medvedeva did it in 2016 as well as far as Worlds goes.

It would also almost certainly have happened at 2020 Worlds, but for the pandemic.

 

[tony]

Wow, I could’ve sworn 1997 was her first worlds,

Off-topic but no, by a vote of 13-12 the USFSA decided to send her to Worlds over Bobek and she just narrowly made the free skate. But her free was

 

[Hedwig]

Japanese Nationals is gonna be so brutal. even more so than usual.

We have skaters like Watanebe who won both her GPs a couple of seaons ago and is not even really in the conservation anymore. Not because she is not still a great skater but just because there are too many others even better than her. And that is not even taking Shimada into account who will only start making her claim with the next season. Wow.

 

[danafan]

Wow it's going to be hard to make the Japanese Olympic team (I mean we already knew that, but...wow)

 

[Karen-W]

Listen, folks, before we get ahead of ourselves... Ami's struggled in the past in the major events - J-Nats and Jr Worlds. She's going to have a ton of pressure and expectation on her suddenly at SCI in a couple weeks. She will likely make the GPF, but I wouldn't put my eggs in her basket when it comes to medaling in Milano-Cortina.

 

[tony]

Listen, folks, before we get ahead of ourselves... Ami's struggled in the past in the major events - J-Nats and Jr Worlds. She's going to have a ton of pressure and expectation on her suddenly at SCI in a couple weeks. She will likely make the GPF, but I wouldn't put my eggs in her basket when it comes to medaling in Milano-Cortina.

That's true of almost everyone going into an Olympic event.

 

[PRlady]

So much in Milan is going to come down to pressure. Those with the experience to withstand it and a history of holding up mentally are my bets. Alysa, Kaori, Mone, Isabeau are my bets for that reason. Petrosian is a big question mark and Amber has the goods but only if she can hold it together.

 

[shan]

Off-topic but no, by a vote of 13-12 the USFSA decided to send her to Worlds over Bobek and she just narrowly made the free skate. But her free was

Yes and she skated to the soundtrack from Speed if I'm not mistaken.

 

[tony]

Yes and she skated to the soundtrack from Speed if I'm not mistaken.

She did, at least in part. That free skate was on fire and surely she would've placed a bit higher if not having skated in the first group.

 

[peibeck]

Between the RD results and these I think the judges are wanting to f**k with our heads at the start of the Olympic season.

 

[Karen-W]

That's true of almost everyone going into an Olympic event.

Sure, but I'm just pointing out that she doesn't have the greatest of track records in those two events - last season in particular. She did relatively well in 2023-24 when there wasn't much pressure or expectation, but after her bronze at Jr Worlds that year, she didn't even make the podium at Japanese Jr Nats (4th) and went from 4th at Japanese Sr Nats in 2024 to 15th last year, and she also missed the Jr Worlds podium. Not exactly the track record I'd consider to be something to bank on for Olympic gold.