Firedancer
Well-Known Member
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Go Mirai!!
I refuse to get excited that Mirai skates 2nd to last in the SP, and in the group after Pogorilaya, Miyahara, and Sotskova.
(But it really is a perfect draw, just do it.)
Mirai.
Oh so nice. And the standing ovation.
She's got the pressure on the leaders.
And yay for Tom telling her nice things as she comes off the ice.
Tom Z: "That was your best long program this season so far."
Ouch this panel is kind of brutal. I expected Mirai to be in the 120s somewhere at least.
5. Mirai NAGASU (USA) - 180.33 Worldwide Loss of Signal For All Broadcasters
I agree.Well her LP was a lot better than at Skate Canada! Still lots of work to do...she actually lost levels on all spins I believe, plus on the step sequence. Tom, make sure she is going full out on her spins in all the run throughs! We know Mirai can get Level 4 spins and it is a points giveaway! Plus apparently she switched boot brands between here and Skate Canada? I think that top 5 in this field was not bad. Hopefully she will be peaking at the right time and be rotating most triples at nationals like she was last year.. up to Skate Canada, she had been rotating at least one triple triple per event from Nationals to the Autumn Classic, so it was kind of disappointing to see her not get one on the grand prix, but oh well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF1eLDm_Rhk
The < call on her flip was a uncalled for IMO, watching the slow-mo over and over during the KnC. Lutz edge was clean but she gets a ! on her flip now. Wish she would repeat the Lz or F instead of loop, especially for the combo (she has a strong running edge out of the loop but isnt showcased in combos). The <3T were barely within the quarter turn but the tech panel thought otherwise.
I just don't understand the flip-toe call. I mean the others, yes I totally agreed with them, but this one was just really weird. It was a beautiful 3-3 on slow-mo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q43x68O2T_A
Mirai's exhibition from NHK, this is how the she needs to skate in the competitive programs, FREE. That split jump at 2:48!!
Then flip was under so I am okay with the < . The toe was forward on the landing. Watch her ankle, she lands forward on the toe pick, continues to rotate on the pick, and then still puts the blade down short. It is where the toe pick goes in that counts. Hard to tell on YouTube exactly which side of 180 degrees she came down on. I would say she should be thankful they didn't give her <<.
I think Mirai has made great improvements. Her 3loop and 2A are amazing as are her spins. She still struggles with the rotation on the flip and the lutz and the 3T on the end of a combo. She clearly is able to pull short jumps out, but, IMHO, that is worse than a fall on a fully rotated one. Jumps landed forward are not actually triple jumps. Heck, even her practice videos are often short. I do think she is probably getting closer in practice, but landing short is an extremely hard habit to break. Her muscle memory is telling her she is all the way around, and she isn't.
ETA: Just watched the flip toe again a few times. The flip is closer than I thought and probably if the toe had been clean, they wouldn't have reviewed it. There in lies the problem, the toe is clearly cheated so they end up looking at the whole combo. Mirai is known for under rotating so she doesn't get any slack.
Say what you will but ditching Frank was her worst decision. Tom is making headway getting her to train but there is a tension and a rigidness to her jumps and technique that was not there before. I hope that the ease and lessening of being self conscious will return to her skating because that's where she was at her best. Right now, she's dodging bullets and that's not her best frame of mind. Also, Tom has not helped at all at bringing out what makes her better than the rest of the ladies which is that she used to have nerves of steel and a regal quality that combined flexibility, clean lines, exquisite positions with speed, accuracy and a reliability that others don't have. Mirai is a tough ass woman inside of a beautiful body. That's what I would like to see and I believe that frame of mind will make the difference.
Good start though using David and Jeff. They believe in her for sure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q43x68O2T_A
Mirai's exhibition from NHK, this is how the she needs to skate in the competitive programs, FREE. That split jump at 2:48!!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNpGv9Fglvo/
Looks like a rotated triple axel to me!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNpGv9Fglvo/
Looks like a rotated triple axel to me!