@aftershocks I am writing about the two short programs skated the other night. It makes no difference in the scoring of those two programs that Gabby switched back to a previous long program. It makes no difference that Mirai has been working on her expression and is no longer emotionless. What matter is what they actually did. Mirai went ahead of Gabby in the team event because Mirai skated a better, stronger, more impactful program. In this short, Mirai did not. That is difficult music she has chosen. It requires a level of musical sensitivity that either Mirai has yet to learn, or maybe just has yet to be able to display during competition. Gabby’s program has more transitions, her entry into elements is much more seamless (all that stroking including a couple of big trucker steps Mirai does into that 3A does have an effect on PCS) and Gabby moves her body in a way that indicates a better connection to the music. I also think Gabby demonstrates a better connection to the audience.
Now before I get jumped on, I know the 3A is hard and requires a big set up. I get it. But that is a trade off and clearly Mirai and her team think it is worthwhile. I also mentioned that I think Mirai is undermarked for her Skating skills. Again, given the stroking that goes into the 3A, there will and should be a small hit to the SS Mark, but other than than, 8.04 which is what I think she scored, seems low when compared to the other marks given. She is not at Osmond or Kostner level, but I would put Mirai and Gabby in the same category for SS give or take .2.
Thanks for expressing your points of view
@mag. You have thought this out and you're backing up how you see it with good examples. I still think that Mirai is one of those skaters caught betwixt and between. What hurt Mirai for most of her career was not being backed by her federation. There were times when international judges were giving Mirai more props than anyone did in her own federation. Mirai has seemed to feel the weight of the world on her shoulders at times with all the scrutiny and lack of political support, so that became reflected in her performances. Granted too that Tom Z has more of a technical focus, which means Mirai's artistic abilities weren't receiving as much nourishment. But that's the way of skating today -- go for the points, and give artistry superficial attention and you can still get PCS points out the wazoo if you have the buzz, consistency and political backing, which then helps build your rep. Mirai actually has exceptional all-around artistic and athletic talents that have not been fully tapped and sadly have been too easily dismissed with a lot of harping on her weaknesses.
The only way for any skater to overcome the challenges and obstacles Mirai has faced, is to keep one's head up, have a good team, believe in oneself, and slay. Mirai deserves all the respect she's been receiving for not only hanging in there, but for thriving and taking no prisoners in what is a cruel sport (all the while maintaining her sweetness). She's grown up in the glare of the spotlight and she's managed to survive and make it back to the Olympics, while developing a fulfilling life off-the-ice. In today's world of teenybopper ice princesses, that's the real victory.
I so heart Mirai Nagasu!
I also admire Gabby Daleman. Her career has had a different trajectory, but she's faced some derogatory references being thrown at her skating. Those ridiculous 'refinement' critiques, I believe is what led Lori to taking Gabby down the wrong road with the
Gladiator program. Gabby needed forceful
Gladiator music, not soft tinkling. I think Gabby is fortunate to have a good choreographer in Lori Nichol, but their choreographic relationship is still evolving, and Gabby still has room for improvement interpretively. But that's a secondary focus for most skaters, since when you land the jumps consistently your PCS automatically rises. The bottom line fact is that Gabby has more political rep after breaking through to land on the podium last season. You could see that knowledge in Gabby's expression after she realized she had been placed behind Mirai in the team event competition.
I'm not saying Mirai is superior to Gabby artistically, but they are both certainly on a par even in the sps we saw the other day. I understand that you see it differently than I do
@mag. IMHO, if Mirai was actually focusing on expressing her full artistic potential (that we see glimpses of in her exhibitions), then she would deserve higher marks than Gabby, who is still maturing artistically. IOW, it's not that Mirai needs to mature artistically, she just hasn't been focused on flexing those muscles because she's had to concentrate on strengthening and sharpening her technical abilities, which are more crucial under the current judging system. (Mirai, who may be retiring after Worlds, is 4 years older than Gabby -- not an indication of artistic superiority by any means, but just an observation that Gabby still has more time and more room for improvement).
Olympic Bronze medal, 1st American Lady to land a 3A at the Olympics, 1st Lady to land an 8 triple LP at the Olympics.
Does the public really see much of a difference between 7th-11th place?). Hopefully we can at least do a little bit better at worlds though....And the media can eff off, Mirai is still my history making bad ass 
She did her job in the team event. Mirai has an instagram story with her grandmother wearing her bronze medal. And I appreciated her comforting Gabby Daleman backstage (another person who I'm guessing probably suffered from peaking at the team event).