U.S. Ladies [#19]: Do You Know the Way to San Jose?

[FSfan107]

This is why I’m positive Bradie will be pushed to Frank very soon. If she keeps up her consistency, USFS will strongly suggest Frank Carroll and she’ll get a packaging make over with Lori Nichols Choreography. Sigh...

I’d rather she stick with her coaches and simply go to a new choreographer. To let her find her own style that speaks to her rather than having other people decide for her. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that she doesn’t take the plunge like so many girls before her.

I hope Bradie does what she wants. I too rather her stick with her coaches and work with new choreographers. Seems like USFS is so caught up in "packaging." They need to be concerned about the jumping technique of these skaters. Bradie's is fine and doesn't need to be messed with.

 

[RD]

I hope Bradie does what she wants. I too rather her stick with her coaches and work with new choreographers. Seems like USFS is so caught up in "packaging." They need to be concerned about the jumping technique of these skaters. Bradie's is fine and doesn't need to be messed with.

A lot of fans are too. Couldn't have said it better myself!

 

[Frida80]

That approach completely failed to work for Gracie. You don't think they've learned anything from that?

No I don't. They seem to be as clueless as ever, since they pushed Tessa to go to him just after his nasty display with Gracie. I don't want Bradie going to him to be a Gracie clone either! I'm too heartbroken over Gracie to want it to happen again. But USFS wants it's top skaters to be with top coaches. Raf is too busy. Tom can't do artistry. So who does that leave? And as soon as they go to top level coaches, their PCS scores magically rise. It's a vicious cycle.

 

[cbd1235]

I don't think there's any lack of drive from Ashley, but her body is an issue. She looks injured (ala Kwan in her last year and a half), her body conditioning just isn't there. You can see it in her crossovers, you can see it in her jumps. There isn't the height or snap. There's a loosy-ness that signals hip issues to me.

The fortunate thing about not making the GPF (I don't see her winning this...), is that she'll have time to train for Nationals, but it's a big uphill climb for her. I don't see her continuing past the Olympics (if anyone thought she might).

I am crossing my fingers for her. She has really floated the US ladies for years, whether you like it or not. And you can see evidence of that in how much the crowd loved her during her short. She's earned that.

 

[Jarrett]

Re-watching Ashley's SP, that dress is pretty but I don't think it fits that music or the choreography at all. I hope she has a new one by Nationals.

 

[mag]

Re-watching Ashley's SP, that dress is pretty but I don't think it fits that music or the choreography at all. I hope she has a new one by Nationals.

That is a Lisa McKinnon original. Very expensive to just pitch out after one competition!

@cbd1235 I don’t think Ashley’s crossovers are related to an injury. She has always had bad technique on those. It takes quite a few pushes to get any speed. Her jumps have also always been borderline if not down right under, but I agree, I think she is dealing with a body that has had enough.

 

[Willin]

Looks like Ashley's ankle injury is worse than we thought. Still, it was a good move for her to stop mid-program as opposed to risk further injury at this point in an Olympic season.

They also said that she had a recent infection along with the ankle problem and was wearing a compression sock on the ankle. No wonder she seemed so off and tired! If she's still looking at this way at Nationals I'll be more concerned, but with how recent it sounds like things are, this result may be expected.

 

[HSGP21]

ankle, or ego?

 

[RD]

All I have to say at this point is...wow.

Those 3 spots should be open to whoever can grab them at Nationals in January

 

[Willin]

In the interview, Ashley said it was actually an ankle infection and that it happened more recently than we thought - a week and a half ago. She sounds awful! Whether it's osteomyelitis or an infected joint, those are really painful (and swollen - I'm surprised it fit in her skate) and usually require serious antibiotics to treat. I've only seen it treated with IV antibiotics in a hospital. Honestly I'm surprised she was trying to compete instead of in bed!

 

[ilovepaydays]

Looks like Ashley's ankle injury is worse than we thought. Still, it was a good move for her to stop mid-program as opposed to risk further injury at this point in an Olympic season.

They also said that she had a recent infection along with the ankle problem and was wearing a compression sock on the ankle. No wonder she seemed so off and tired! If she's still looking at this way at Nationals I'll be more concerned, but with how recent it sounds like things are, this result may be expected.

I hope it isn't too bad. But how would a compassion sock help an infected ankle? Really, nothing is going to help as much or as quickly as resting and letting the prescribed treatments heal. Ashley should have WD from Skate America if she was in this much pain the last 1-2 weeks.

ankle, or ego?

I really don't think (and I hope) that Ashley didn't just quit because the program wasn't going the way she needed it to.

 

[kwanfan1818]

If she was giving it a shot to make GPF for the body of work criteria, then there's no reason she shouldn't cut her losses rather than risk further strain and/or injury, especially since she might be invited to skate in the gala, regardless of results.

I don't know if this is what she did, but I don't think there's anything wrong with it if she had.

 

[Willin]

@ilovepaydays Generally compression socks are most useful for people who have desk jobs, problems with swelling in their lower legs, those at risk for blood clots in their legs, etc. But I Ashley isn't exactly doing a desk job, probably isn't at risk for swelling in the lower legs (commonly seen in pregnant women or people with heart failure), and isn't at high risk for blood clots in her legs, so decreased swelling around the injury is my best guess. Maybe without the compression sock her foot wouldn't fit in the boot?

I'm impressed she tried to compete with the pain. All the patients I've seen with a joint/bone infection are given opioids or some other intense regimen for their pain. And since Ashley can't take opioids or benzos (banned by WADA)...

 

[Spareoom]

I know people like to rag on Ashley, but questioning her motive for everything is a bit much. There's tons of other skaters who make strategic or calculating decisions based on points/facts and we don't drag them all over the floor too. I think we *want* our skaters to be smart and informed, but not actually be too obvious about it; like lull us all into this fantasy that "we're just here to compete" and "we want to do our best".

Ashley knows the deal...she wants to build her resume for team selection in case she needs it...so of course she was going to try and skate even if there was a big chance it would hurt/get worse. Once she saw how stuff stacked out and her foot wasn't cooperating to make a decent run at a GPF spot, there was no reason to keep going and make it worse. Analytically, it makes a TON of sense.

Personally, I think that I (and I'm guessing most of everyone here) value the sportsmanship and competitive aspect of these competitions, so athletes withdrawing during a program for anything less than a catastrophic happening-at-the-moment injury kind of ruins a bit of the atmosphere. I'm thinking that one V/M program stop years ago that people were really fussed about.

So I don't personally like it when people use WDs and program stops/restarts in a strategic way. BUT it's allowed, and I don't think Ashley was faking her pain. Obviously I don't think she intended to stop, but she was probably weighing her options in her head the whole time and made a decision.

 

[FSfan107]

I don't think Ashley would have withdrawn if she could have made it through the program. She has skated through injury before. She's tough and like she said this is the first time she has had to withdraw. It's better that she doesn't injure herself further.

 

[Coco]

In my limited experience, if the foot or ankle is not absorbing the force it normally does due to injury, loss of mobility, etc., that force goes up the leg into the calf muscles, causing inflammation. The compression socks can really help limit the inflammation.

My feet are super inflexible. I was getting bruises at the bottom of my lower legs from the 'shin' splits (weren't really on the shins but whatever). Now I wear compression socks from ankle to knee when I officiate (lacrosse) and the 'shin' splints are barely noticeable.

 

[HeatherC]

Ashley has an overall better body of work now than she did in 2014 so she didn't need to make the GPF to prove anything to anyone IMO. I hope she goes home, gets her ankle healed, and gets herself ready to be awesome at US Nats. She didn't need to painfully push herself through a GP event when the bigger goal is US Nats (which is basically what she said in her interview). I respect the fact that she tried but I'm glad she stopped when it was getting too painful for her. I hope she gets healed soon because I want to see her in fighting form in San Jose.

 

[topaz]

It's going to be an interesting journey over the next 3 months. Ladies is not my favorite discipline because of inconsistent skaters and the crappy music selections.

But this season has turned out to be more shocking to usfsa and US fans. The state of US ladies figure skating was laid bare to the world. It will be interesting to see how the USFSA handles this. Bradie Tennell will definitely be at next year's SA.

Bradie did herself proud. This is my 2nd time watching her via TV, she has very good technique. But she's gonna need some "real" programs next season if she wants to be in the mix for medals. I wonder how many Russian and Japanese skaters SA will allow to skate in Everett WA next season. I'm sure they are going to attempt to limit the skaters from those countries. I expect Japanese fans will be going to Skate America next season.

 

[kwanatic]

Really shocked to see Ashley withdraw. She didn't look like she was in pain but there's no way to tell what she was feeling. Tara and Johnny (who surpassed all previous levels of shadiness and bitchiness here) basically suggested Ashley stopped skating because of Bradie's score. I think that was a new level of low for them.

I hate that Ashley had to withdraw but I think it's for the best. Like she said her goal is nationals. No need to push through the pain when there will be no payoff for it. Ashley's time in this sport is limited. I hope she'll be better at nationals but I'm still a bit skeptical. Injury or no injury, she's been struggling for a while now. Still, if I had a choice I'd put her on the team based purely on the fact that more than anyone else in the field, she's earned the right to represent the US women at the Olympics. She's basically carried the field for the past several years. She's earned it.

Bradie was wonderful. Her jumps are fabulous and it was amazing to see a US skater hit that kind of content with that much ease. I pray they don't over-hype or put too much pressure on her. This was only one competition and yes, she absolutely slayed it, but her work is not done yet. It's exciting to see someone new emerge with this kind of talent and some mental toughness to back it up. We'll have to see if that focus and mental strength holds up when the pressure is really on (e.g. nationals) but I'm very happy for her.

 

[arakwafan2006]

I just need Mirai to stay healthy through World's... That's pretty much all i have to say.

 

[SmallFairy]

Get well soon Ashley!

Those bitching about her not being injured for real have no idea about how serious an ankle infection can be. Tara and Johnny can stfu, they should support their skater, not talk rubbish. Glad I didn't have to listen to them.

 

[Willin]

@SmallFairy Seriously. I don't know about an infection of a joint capsule (I know IV antibiotics are required), but for osteomyelitis, you need to be bedbound with the extremity immobilized getting IV antibiotics for at least a month. Some patients need more like 4-6 months of antibiotics, and others require amputation of the limb. Keep in mind that Ashley said this started about a week and a half ago. Especially if she was going through this with no opioid pain medication, it's disgusting that people were suggesting she withdrew for any reason other than the ankle.

One has to wonder how she got it. Usually these are related to other diseases or trauma. It's not something that just happens in an otherwise healthy athlete...

 

[Mrs. P]

Some perspective on Bradie's consistency. She has not missed either the 3Z-3T or 2A-3T once this season. And her season started way back in June with the Broadmoor Open. She did the Philadelphia Int'l and Lombardia before SkAm. It's pretty incredible.

 

[RD]

I was initially wondering about Wagner's intentions as well but...she seemed genuinely upset during the NBC interview. I think she actually wanted to try to push through but realized it just wasn't smart to fight it so hard with nationals only a month out.

I hope she rests and doesn't try to rush back into it. USFS needs a healthy Wagner in the mix and both parties know it.

 

[NAOTMAA]

I was initially wondering about Wagner's intentions as well but...she seemed genuinely upset during the NBC interview. I think she actually wanted to try to push through but realized it just wasn't smart to fight it so hard with nationals only a month out.

I hope she rests and doesn't try to rush back into it. USFS needs a healthy Wagner in the mix and both parties know it.

getting interviewed by Andrea Joyce likely didn't help the matter

sorry was just trying to lighten the mood But you know it only goes down hill when she puts a microphone in front of your face

 

[skatesindreams]

Get well soon Ashley!

Those bitching about her not being injured for real have no idea about how serious an ankle infection can be.

Seconding this!

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I don't think there's any lack of drive from Ashley, but her body is an issue. She looks injured (ala Kwan in her last year and a half)

Yes, afters being Ash at canada and now here she reminds me of Kwan at 26.

Although homegirl Carolina doing good at 30.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

It's better that she doesn't injure herself further.

The thing is she was doing TONS AND TONS of them in practice.. whats another 5 more jumping passes?

Kidding, but still.

Even if she had had won here for sure she would have withdrawn from the Final anyway, so Im ok with it if it gets her healthy enough for Nats.

 

[Carolla5501]

I think the thing to do is trust the skater and their coach and not pretend that we know what's going on when we really don't

 

[Carolla5501]

@SmallFairy Seriously. I don't know about an infection of a joint capsule (I know IV antibiotics are required), but for osteomyelitis, you need to be bedbound with the extremity immobilized getting IV antibiotics for at least a month. Some patients need more like 4-6 months of antibiotics, and others require amputation of the limb. Keep in mind that Ashley said this started about a week and a half ago. Especially if she was going through this with no opioid pain medication, it's disgusting that people were suggesting she withdrew for any reason other than the ankle.

One has to wonder how she got it. Usually these are related to other diseases or trauma. It's not something that just happens in an otherwise healthy athlete...

Actually we are seeing these type of infections and reasonably healthy kids now. Basically the bugs are getting stronger! There is some theory that it's overuse of antibiotics this led to a stronger bugs