U.S. Ladies [#17]: Heading to Helsinki in a Handbasket

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alchemy void said:
owning the hell out of those Egyptian arm movements
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Those Aladdin program arm movements may have convinced you, but I was not convinced. I mean good for Malinina for sticking with the program and trying really hard and believing in herself, and skating it cleanly in 1999. She had a good season. She was not a great skater. To each their own. :)
 
alchemy void said:
Oh come on. Saying that Wagner isn't likely to medal because of 1999 is weak, and really, just preposterous.



It was not a minor stumble in the SP, she had a bad splat on a weak double axel. Her 4th place placement was considered rather generous by many, especially compared to Malinina and Rechnio, two very strong skaters with great overall elements, in 5th and 6th



Yes. 6 clean triples, no double axel. Butyrskaya had 7 triples and a clean 2axel. If you watch her LP, the crowd was extremely supportive, lots of happy clappy, and very engaged in her performance. For the record, I think Ariane is Kwan's second best LP ever (after Taj Mahal) and her silver is well earned, although in a perfect world, I think Malinina deserved silver overall, Kwan bronze.



I'm sorry, but that is such bullshit. Kwan NEVER used her cold as an excuse for underperforming at 1999 Worlds. Let's see how Kwan would have done with the terrible/non-existent training conditions Anna Rechnio had to deal with. Is it likely she would have "finished off the podium or withdrew from the competition altogether"? Kwan was the only skater who could handle adversity? Please.
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Thank you! Entire post!
:respec:
 
SmallFairy said:
I never got Malinina. I was very happy with Soldatova. (I know I'm the only one for both these statements:lol:)

I loved Gusmeroli (darn 3f, epic choreo) and Rechnio. Rechnio!!! What could have been...
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What a shame that Rechnio never medalled in any Championships, and that she retired so early from competing. :( She was such a talent! That tremendous speed & big jumps. Unfulfilled skater. Exactly ''What could have been'' story, I read that she's currently living in Denmark and very happy with her life though! :) Anna is also involved in Figure Skating coaching in Denmark and working as a sports instructor according to my knowledge.

I liked Malinina too, but I guess it's me being sentimental for the 90s. :p
 
alchemy void said:
It was not a minor stumble in the SP, she had a bad splat on a weak double axel. Her 4th place placement was considered rather generous by many, especially compared to Malinina and Rechnio, two very strong skaters with great overall elements, in 5th and 6th
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Right! I know she didnt lose to Butyrskaya because of a stumble. Homegurl went down. That was the year Kwan debuted her pixie haircut and I can still see the disappointment in her face as she lost to Butyrskaya.

Also, Im one of the ones who thinks Tara DID DESERVE her World Championship title... and I am a Kwan fan.

Tara had the goods too. She was excellent. (and artistic in her own way.)
 
OK, 2 days and counting...

Ladies trio puts in final hours of prep before worlds
Wagner, Chen, Bell look to secure three spots for U.S. at 2018 Olympics

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2017/03/27/220748700

"Three spots...three spots...three spots. Those two words are most likely ringing in the ears of Ashley Wagner, Karen Chen and Mariah Bell."

I personally think its good Arutunian focused on Bell's SP to Chicago. Bell seems to be a free skate skater and her SPs have been the weaker program. If she could score higher in the SP that would help her so much. You cant win with the SP but you can lose it because of it.
 
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Malinina was the poster girl for the 3Lz in the ISU instructional videos.

In Lipinski's Worlds debut, after coming in 2nd in hee group in the quali round, she barely made the FS. However, placing 11th in the FS after an early start put her back on the map, more than two 10ths for the SP and FS would have.
 
kwanfan1818 said:
Malinina was the poster girl for the 3Lz in the ISU instructional videos.
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:swoon: Best jump ever! https://youtu.be/XwVdheQlYq0?t=37

I totally disagree with the poster who said she wasn't a great skater. She had superb quality jumps, very good speed and flow, and quite good spins and positions in general (particularly her camel position and flying camel, which are quite beautiful https://youtu.be/2pyQauPxqmY?t=110 ).

Her excited reactions were also particularly fun to watch, and it was fun to see her excited reaction this year at U.S. Nationals when her son, Ilia Malinin, won the U.S. Intermediate Men's title. :)
 
RFOS said:
:swoon: Best jump ever! https://youtu.be/XwVdheQlYq0?t=37

I totally disagree with the poster who said she wasn't a great skater. She had superb quality jumps, very good speed and flow, and quite good spins and positions in general (particularly her camel position and flying camel, which are quite beautiful https://youtu.be/2pyQauPxqmY?t=110 ).

Her excited reactions were also particularly fun to watch, and it was fun to see her excited reaction this year at U.S. Nationals when her son, Ilia Malinin, won the U.S. Intermediate Men's title. :)
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Soldatova was overmarked that year ... no doubt. Malinina should have finished 3rd overall in 1999 Worlds.
 
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I have a very big soft spot for Malinina. Her reaction to winning NHK and thus securing a spot at the GPF despite being a longshot after her 6th place finish at the German GP event is one of my favorites. I think she even said out loud that she now needed a second long program.
 
VIETgrlTerifa said:
I have a very big soft spot for Malinina. Her reaction to winning NHK and thus securing a spot at the GPF despite being a longshot after her 6th place finish at the German GP event is one of my favorites. I think she even said out loud that she now needed a second long program.
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Yes! :lol: https://youtu.be/-IUA51ukhuU?t=452

Having to skate two different free programs at the GPF was the dumbest rule in the first place.
 
kwanfan1818 said:
Maybe. But I used to love it when Plushenko used his previous year's FS in the quali round and his current one in the FS.
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As a fan who likes watching skating I wouldn't mind watching an extra program, but it just seemed like a lot to expect of skaters to train another competitive free skate for just one competition. I don't have the patience or time right now to try to find the announcement to see what, if anything, the penalty was for not using two different programs (if it's still available online). You seem to be good at finding obscure ISU documents so if you happen to find it, it would be interesting to know. :)
 
Loves_Shizuka said:
I will forever love Diva Butyrskaya :glamor:

That is all.
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^^ Yep indeed, Maria Butryskaya was amazing at 1999 Worlds. And I laud her for also overcoming all the dismissive put-downs she endured from Russia fed.

Maria always looked so good and well put-together on the ice too. :cool:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkJwO3eKUNQ Maria 1999 Worlds sp Jazzy lady in red flirting with the judges :rollin:

Crap, I can't locate Maria's 1999 winning fp at Worlds on Youtube
Here's her 1999 Euros fp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1BnZAFcnzE (a bit tight in the knees and great efforts to land those jumps which was never easy for her)
Looking back is fun (and I see even clearer how much MK inspired her peers during that era to raise their game). Maria was passionate and determined in trying to raise hers.

I remember enjoying Anna Rechnio for her amazing and powerful jumps, but she never put it all together. That was during an era before skaters began being supported in training abroad to give themselves better opportunities to fully develop their skills wherever they could find the best coaching and training environments.

kwanfan1818 said:
Malinina was the poster girl for the 3Lz in the ISU instructional videos.

In Lipinski's Worlds debut, after coming in 2nd in hee group in the quali round, she barely made the FS. However, placing 11th in the FS after an early start put her back on the map, more than two 10ths for the SP and FS would have.
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Quali rounds at Worlds really were asking too much of skaters back-in-the-day! :duh: At least there's a somewhat better system today re qualifying for Worlds on the basis of achieving scoring limits in advance.
 
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Latest IceTalk Episode #25 is up with Tara Lipinski (no less :lol:) and our Diva Ashley Wagner!

http://web.icenetwork.com/fans/icetalk


ETA: Good episode with Tara & Ashley ... I love Ash's bubbly, fun, confident and serious approach. Cool that she's been talking to Mariah on what the Worlds experience will be like and how Mariah should prepare in her training for what those nerves will be like in Helsinki.

I love the Jaws music after Ash spoke about knowing she has to be clean and precise because however much she'd like to have 'friends' at Worlds, she knows there won't be any 'friends' for her at Worlds, and thus she's not going to be there to make 'friends.' :lol:
 
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Right about now i think we'd take an inconsistent Gracie over Karen or Mariah to keep those 3 spots to be honest. While she never put it all together and got on the podium you knew even with a few mistakes she was going to be in the top 6 since the judges loved her and she at least had proved herself internationally but not so with Karen or Mariah who also don't have the scoring potential of a clean or near clean Gracie.
 
Gracie's vast inconsistencies this season and very poor performances at U.S. Nationals did not warrant any consideration for sending her to either 4CCs or Worlds this year. That's the reality. I doubt that Gracie skating the way she has all season long would be of much benefit at Worlds, just because of her abilities. Gracie's reputation for inconsistency and her poor season would likely far outweigh the ISU judges' past positive views of her. Gracie needs to focus on strengthening her competitiveness and rebuilding her reputation going into next season.

Gracie and Mirai needed to earn a Worlds spot at Nationals, and sadly they didn't. I could see a case being made for Mirai in 3rd at Nationals perhaps over Mariah. And for Ashley in first over Karen, but US judges made their choices and announced their Worlds selections prior to 4CC, so they left no room to second guess their decisions.
 
Areski said:
What a shame that Rechnio never medalled in any Championships, and that she retired so early from competing. :( She was such a talent! That tremendous speed & big jumps. Unfulfilled skater. Exactly ''What could have been'' story, I read that she's currently living in Denmark and very happy with her life though! :) Anna is also involved in Figure Skating coaching in Denmark and working as a sports instructor according to my knowledge.
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She is in Stockholm, Sweden.
 
Jayar said:
She is in Stockholm, Sweden.
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I'm so glad to hear she's happy and still involved in skating. She had her big chance to medal at 98 worlds, being second after the SP, and what a fab SP that was. She was very good also in 99, but in 00 I believe she had a horrid qualifying round at Euros, it wasn't broadcasted (to my knowledge) but commentators said she fell 8 (!:wideeyes:) times. Still qualified, but made mistakes in both SP and FS. Was that her last year competing?

Sorry, hijacking the US-thread with Rechnio:p
 
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