^^ Cool
@alchemy void. Your take, which I respect. And the point of me sharing my views is to have a conversation. We definitely are not all going to agree or see things the same way. As you say a tough tech panel, especially for those whose scores they wished to keep down to leave room for the rep status skaters.
What happened to Caro in the fp? Ran out of steam? I was happy for Caro landing in first in the sp, and I thought how cool that she might be able to pull off perhaps a career-ending win in Milan. Obviously, the table ended up being set for her in the fp skating last, but she tanked. That's tough, but all athletes are human. And of course, we all tank sometimes, not just athletes.
Miyahara was definitely given breaks (as she generally has been) on her pre-rotations and her poor ability to lift in the air. Otherwise, of course Miyahara is a gem aesthetically. It was uncharacteristic of Miyahara to tumble. For many of these skaters, I suppose we can chalk it up to mental and physical fatigue after a long season in a roller coaster Olympic year.
I realize that Mirai doesn't give herself a chance sometimes because of a tendency toward tentativeness and likely a feeling that she always has something to prove, which carries additional pressure. I think that's because she's quite often been given a hard time by USFS and ISU judges when she deserves better. (BTW, Mirai deserved a fairer chance at the mirror ball trophy too, but it's no secret that contest is rigged to the nth degree). It's def the case that Mirai deserved better scores in her fp at Worlds.
A lot of figure skating in terms of fan perception has to do with our individual emotional investments. I stand by my takes. Right that Bradie has a lot to improve in terms of packaging, but the panel was definitely tougher on Bradie than they would have been had she been considered a front-runner with political rep (and if she'd shown slam-bang consistency at the Olympics). Faltering in a prior important comp makes you vulnerable in the scoring when you are new on the scene. Plus there is so much depth and not a lot of room at the top, eh.
I agree re Tursynbaeva's overly high PCS scores. You like pretty Loena Hendrickx, and she is a talented up-and-comer.
IMO Loena needs more seasoning in different aspects, and more experience. She does have some lovely aesthetic qualities. In terms of talent and ability, Mirai is head-and-shoulders above so many of the skaters in front of her. Overall, it's just the tough time Mirai has been given, and the faulty judgment that she don't deserve the points unless she succeeds on the 3-axel. Mirai is one of those persons who seemingly gets overly-punished. Sotskova is determined and often consistent, but such a bore overall. I understand that Sotskova tries, and she gets a lot of generosity from the judges too. Daleman is sure to fight back next season from some rough outings at Olympics and Worlds.
Boy was I happy for Wakaba Higuchi! And great gutsiness from Kaetlyn Osmond at the tail end of the season. Well-deserved by both ladies. As I've said about Zagitova, reaching the ultimate goal in skating before ever attending a senior World championships is like putting the cart before the horse, but that's often the sport. Too politics-based. As Dick Button always quipped: "Everyone has to go through a bad performance." There's no way to know or control when it's gonna happen either. Stuff happens. Still, there's no excuse for the generally problematic judging, antiquated competitive structure, and faulty decision-making re the random rules changes.
So far, I continue to stay tuned.
However, if you want to talk about top 4 or 5, and want to beat the Olympic champion and a 30 year old legend, you need to have much better programs and packaging. She skated the event overall than Zags and Kostner, but especially with that LP, it's just a non-starter. And her LP wasn't perfect technically, either. (see below).
but what does flexibility really have to do with "skating"? I would prefer to see skaters with beautiful edgework and flow over someone who can pull their leg up above their head. The Janet Lynn/Yuka Sato school of skating, I suppose
