I think
@all_empty was talking about ladies specifically. Young You and Eunsoo Lim are on the rise internationally and both of them may have made the team instead of the 2 that competed in Pyeonchang if they weren't too young.
I agree with
@ToFarAwayTimes that Choi is a solid skater- nothing spectacular and on the same level as Sotskova, Daleman, and the US ladies. You and Lim have way more potential and I expect both to be squarely in the mix with the Russians and Japanese in the next Olympic cycle.
Yep, I didn't say Choi isn't a solid skater. Right now though, she doesn't stand out from the pack, and she was overscored due to being in her home country, because she is talented and she skated fairly cleanly, if somewhat tentatively. She has a flowing, pleasant style to her skating, but I don't see much personality there. Kim Hanul I actually find somewhat more interesting than Choi. But sure, neither appear right now to outshine the potential of Eunsoo Lim and Young You. I think Young You still has a ways to go in developing in the younger ranks. I really enjoy Eunsoo Lim's skating. She is definitely outstanding, memorable and someone to watch. But once again, hopefully outsized expectations and pressure will not be overdone for these skaters. Also, we shouldn't completely ignore So-youn Park's contributions, even though she has not risen to the top tier like Yu Na. In general, South Korea is committed to developing in all of the disciplines and it's nice to see the progress they are making in some areas, particularly in ladies and with Jun Hwa.
There's always ebb and flow and unpredictability in skating. South Korea is obviously trying to make inroads again in ladies but I wouldn't characterize it as their ladies being 'on the rise.' If Eunsoo Lim continues to develop, I can see her as someone who can eventually challenge for top of the podium. I don't see that in Choi and Hanul, unless they each make some dramatically unexpected improvements.
I would not equate Choi at her current level with Gabby Daleman, simply because Gabby faltered at this event.
Gabby is a much more powerful, dynamic, expressive and 'on-the-rise' skater than Dabin Choi, in my estimation. Gabby is hands down a better skater with more speed and ice coverage, plus Gabby is already a World bronze medalist. IMO, Choi does not stand up to any of the top Japanese ladies either, who have much more dynamic skills and are more 'on-the-rise,' including Sakamoto, Higuchi, Mihara, and Kihara, no matter whether or not Choi can beat one or more on a given day (fs is not only about talent, it's about political-based judging).
You can compare Choi to Sotskova if you will. I think Sotskova is a more dynamic jumper, but neither have a lot of spark or expressive personality to their skating. I think Choi has a softer and more lyrical quality to her skating, and their physicalities are completely different, since Sotskova is much taller. Sotskova also has the benefit of being Russian that unfortunately also comes with the inherently uncertain strife as a Russian lady, of having to battle domestically to stay viable competitively for more than a hot minute.
As far as U.S. ladies, Bradie is still new on the senior scene, but her jumps are a technical marvel, and I see top tier competitive potential in her. It does remain to be seen how Bradie's career trajectory will pan out. Further, Mirai is a veteran with a lot of ups-and-downs but she's way more talented athletically and artistically than Dabin Choi, whether or not Mirai's overall career results have actually lived up to her precocious potential. That said, certainly what Mirai has accomplished by this end-of-career point, is greater than Dabin Choi's current stats. Karen Chen also has more talent athletically and aesthetically than Choi, even despite the fact that Karen has foot/boot issues and she has routinely underperformed. In my view, even Mariah Bell has more dynamic talent than Choi, despite Choi showing to this point a bit more consistency and competitiveness.
I don't know if she's performed that exhibition before since I don't get to see many exhibitions during the year. Most of the rest was standard fare. It was nice to see the Shibs bring out their Sinatra/Jay-Z hip-hop SD routine, and V/M & P/C were fun to watch. I didn't see the whole thing but what I caught was mostly anti-climactic. No fireworks. Why weren't the French team James/Cipres there if Marchei/Hotarek got an invite? They needed Adam, Mirai and Elladj out there or even Keegan to spice things up. Or better yet Jimmy 'Turn Down For What' Ma!
win? What do I win? Do I get a toaster? 
