U.S. Women [#1]: The Contenders Unmask Themselves

[sundayspirals]

Seems likely. There's only a two week gap between Lombardia and Nebelhorn, and she's trained in Italy in the past. One of her coaches, Massimo Scali, is from Italy. Also, Alysa has worked with Carolina Kostner in Italy in the past, so it's actually a great chance to work with her some more between the competitions.

She also worked with Lorenzo Magri over the Summer (Rizzo and Grassl's coach) which is when she posted her 3a and 4Lz on her IG stories.

 

[Sylvia]

Lindsay Thorngren and Clare Seo compete in the SP tomorrow (Thursday) at the first JGP in Courchevel, France. They drew #1 and #2 to skate, respectively (what are the chances?!

They finished in 1st & 2nd! Here are their individual videos from the ISU JGP channel:

Seo (63.43): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OK6VJc9eLw

Thorngren (62.63): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaNZnkG7CnE

ETA: Both of them had their 2nd half combos called 3Lz+3Tq by the technical panel.

 

[layman]

They finished in 1st & 2nd! Here are their individual videos from the ISU JGP channel:

Seo (63.43): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OK6VJc9eLw

Thorngren (62.63): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaNZnkG7CnE

ETA: Both of them had their 2nd half combos called 3Lz+3Tq by the technical panel.

I like Clare Seo's use of her knees, which reminds me of the technique of Japanese skaters and I like Lindsay Thorngren's excellent posture. Wishing them both the best of luck in the free.

 

[baramin]

Wow—I haven’t heard of Clare Seo before, but that footwork sequence into spins at the end of her program was top notch. Very classic skater.

I like Clare Seo's use of her knees, which reminds me of the technique of Japanese skaters and I like Lindsay Thorngren's excellent posture. Wishing them both the best of luck in the free.

I saw one of the videos of her footwork floating around Twitter without her name attached, and for a split second before I saw her face I wondered if someone had dubbed new music over a Mao fw sequence. I try not to get too hype about juniors, and it would be nice if her jumps were larger, but any 14 year old who can do steps like that is going to be a joy to watch for as long as she chooses to skate.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

I like Clare Seo's use of her knees, which reminds me of the technique of Japanese skaters and I like Lindsay Thorngren's excellent posture. Wishing them both the best of luck in the free.

Agreed.

Japanese skaters have the most amazing knees, resulting in soft landings and tremendous outflow from their jumps.

When I learned that Thorngren was trained by Austria's Julia Lautowa, I immediately saw the resemblance to that former fabulous skater's style. Julia was so much fun to watch live and in person, too.

 

[Vagabond]

I would love to see a Thorngren-Seo rivalry through 2026 and even beyond.

I am a fan of Clare, but I will root for both.

 

[layman]

Great job from our athletes in the freeskate! Clare had a lot of carrots (Karen Chen redux) but she fought for everything and got the bronze. Lindsay got the gold. She seemed very focused and determined as well. Her double axels look so easy that the triple axel should definitely be doable.

 

[Frau Muller]

I would love to see a Thorngren-Seo rivalry through 2026 and even beyond.

I am a fan of Claire, but I will root for both.

They’re not the only US women in their generation who may contend in 2026. Isn’t Kanon Smith - famous little Mary Poppins at recent Jr Natls - the very best of that group? She even beat Levito in the FS at Natls but came in 2nd overall. Seo was 3rd overall, behind Levito & Smith. (Thorngren competed as Sr in Nationals.) There’s also Kalin, who more closely resembles the Russia Ultra C style. US has a big pool of Jr women possibilities for 2026.

 

[AxelAnnie]

Wow—I haven’t heard of Clare Seo before, but that footwork sequence into spins at the end of her program was top notch. Very classic skater.

I saw one of the videos of her footwork floating around Twitter without her name attached, and for a split second before I saw her face I wondered if someone had dubbed new music over a Mao fw sequence. I try not to get too hype about juniors, and it would be nice if her jumps were larger, but any 14 year old who can do steps like that is going to be a joy to watch for as long as she chooses to skate.

Thank you so much for mentioning her. I had not heard of her. Just watched her LP - Gorgeous!!!

 

[mtnskater]

Just watched the Junior women's free from Courcheval. Great result! Great podium! So happy for Lindsey. I became a budding fan of hers last year. Love her line, stretch and the flexible positions. She achieves a full split in the Bielmann And I agree with Ted who was gushing over the soft knees in her jump landings and flow out. She seems super shy in the expression department so I hope she can work on that for the future. Her interview was cute and she was super excited with the win. She probably isn’t that tall but was towering over Kaya and Clare standing side by side.

Kaya was wonderful too. She has the expression and charisma that pulls you in. A bit stiff on the landings but gets the job done nicely. Great to see an old favorite of mine, Scott Davis, as her coach!

I was not as familiar with Clare before this competition. She has real promise at only 14. That 2axel/Euler/3 flip combo knocked my socks off. Don’t see that often.

The Korean ladies have alot of promise too. Very solid on the jump technique.

 

[Jayar]

She seems super shy in the expression department so I hope she can work on that for the future.

She is VERY shy. I talked with her after she won her junior title and she said few words. Her coach was the perfect juxtaposition to her shyness-- super outgoing and a total riot. Julia was helping Lindsay give more detailed responses-- they worked very well together,

 

[SkateFanBerlin]

Should be no pressure on skaters to develop interview skills. This is a product of our times. Expect everyone to be a personality and show well on YouTube. Lindsay has some big issues to face - i.e. what to do about a 4/3A world for example. She's a lovely skater with good nerves. Let's leave it at that.

 

[Vagabond]

Should be no pressure on skaters to develop interview skills. This is a product of our times. Expect everyone to be a personality and show well on YouTube.

It's interesting that you bring this up.

On a Sunday evening Russian broadcast I watched in Tbilisi three years ago, Russian ice dancers younger than Thorngren skated exhibition performances under lights before an audience, were interviewed, and were all cool as a cucumber about it.

Clearly, there is pressure on them to develop interview skills, but there is training to go with it.

 

[Frau Muller]

In the prehistoric era, most prominent US ladies at the Olympic and World level were quite shy, eg, Peggy Fleming developed her p.r. skills much later on, after becoming pro. Wasn’t she nicknamed “Shy Bambi” by Sports Illustrated? Not all were shy - Vinson Owen was known for her chutzpah.

 

[SkateFanBerlin]

It's interesting that you bring this up.

On a Sunday evening Russian broadcast I watched in Tbilisi three years ago, Russian ice dancers younger than Thorngren skated exhibition performances under lights before an audience, were interviewed, and were all cool as a cucumber about it.

Clearly, there is pressure on them to develop interview skills, but there is training to go with it.

Maybe there is training. Or, as Frau Muller says maybe some just like it.

 

[SkateFanBerlin]

Oh, a little off topic but the great track athlete Evelyn Ashford almost never gave interviews. She felt interviews took energy away from her process. She preferred to funnel everything into her work on the track.

 

[Sylvia]

Posted on Aug. 7:

Newly added to the ISP:
...
Sofia Frank - finished 3rd (159.73) in her Senior Ladies debut at Glacier Falls Summer Classic last weekend - clip of her fun/upbeat SP (final minute as filmed by Cowan back in May): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sgeuk7GliaE

Sofia Frank's name has been removed from the ISP because she now has the opportunity to represent Philippines at Nebelhorn Trophy - news is posted here: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...es-pairs-ice-dance.108202/page-4#post-6042495

 

[Sylvia]

Seo (63.43): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OK6VJc9eLw

Thorngren (62.63): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaNZnkG7CnE

GOLD Lindsay THORNGREN USA 181.45 2 1 (118.82 in FS): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDVuB1B77BU
BRONZE Clare SEO USA 174.80 1 4 (111.37 in FS): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi3EP2xZRZ4

I'm happy to let Lindsay's skating do the talking for her and I hope Clare will get another JGP opportunity.

 

[Willin]

US Skaters did receive media and interview training at Champs Camp, however I don't know if that still happens at its current iteration.

 

[bladesofgorey]

It's interesting that you bring this up.

On a Sunday evening Russian broadcast I watched in Tbilisi three years ago, Russian ice dancers younger than Thorngren skated exhibition performances under lights before an audience, were interviewed, and were all cool as a cucumber about it.

Clearly, there is pressure on them to develop interview skills, but there is training to go with it.

For all the lip service currently being paid to mental health issues in figure skating and how harmful it is to force figure skaters (especially young figure skaters) to mold their personas and identities into narrow acceptable packaging for the public I see we still have a long way to go.

Lindsay is a cerebral, kind, unassuming young artist and a tremendous athlete. That's just who she is. Her personality isn't larger-than life, or even just generally extroverted. She is a quirky, intellectual, but extremely interesting young person who breaks the mold of what figure skaters who reach her level need to be like. I have shared ice off and on with her over a number of years now.

I grew up in skating rinks and had the opportunity to skate alongside many athletes who were, or later became, national and olympic-level skaters. I currently skate at rinks with international and national level skaters, as well as tons of young skaters who striving to reach that level. Lindsay is something special. She is in many ways the most "normal" young person I've encountered who has been on this track- and I don't mean that as a slight to any other high level skaters.

She's a perfectionist for sure, but she's the opposite of diva.

Her parents are not stage parents. It's a joy to share the ice with her when she is on a session. A lot of times when there are high level skaters (or skaters who are training to reach that level- or sometimes just skating parents who want them to reach that level) there's a lot of aggressive tension in the arena. Not so with Lindsay. She treats everyone around her with the same level of grace and has done so from an early age. She still goes to her public school. I just can't say enough positive things about her as a person, and it really would be a shame if she felt pressured by USFSA or fans (or just the people around her) to add a layer of stress and try to pretend to be anything other than the unique person she already is and will continue to become on her own over time.

 

[skateboy]

I was thrust into the spotlight in my teens -- as a solo violinist, a result of having won some national competitions. Performing didn't bother me in the least but, suddenly, I was being interviewed live, on the radio and on television.

While I was really comfortable and outgoing around my friends and family, I was excruciatingly shy and nervous when being interviewed, I could barely focus on the questions being asked. I remember my hearing broadcasts from some of my first interviews and being absolutely mortified, as I just sounded so dumb and unprepared. Nothing that came out of my mouth was worth listening to, I was so embarrassed.

Eventually I became better as I got used to it, and now I'm completely comfortable with interviews and public speaking. But I would have really welcomed some coaching back then, to develop interview skills in advance.

 

[Brenda_Bottems]

I am thrilled to see our US ladies back on top of the podium,where they belong.

Clare is a delicate and enchanting skater. She was undermarked. Shades of Beatrisa Liang.

Lindsey's interview was lovely and I find it bewildering that short interview is worthy of the discourse here. She has shown measurable improvement since the National Championships in most aspects of her skating. However,the poem reading in the middle of the program is superfluous and suspect this is an attempt to pander to the eastern European judging bloc.

I may get flamed for this,but I found the coach's casual cleavage in the kiss and cry to be in poor taste and frankly inappropriate. This is a junior-level competition with many children and minors present—not happy hour at the local highway tavern.

-BB

 

[Sylvia]

New assignments published as of August 23: https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/...22-international-assignments-and-results.aspx

JGP #4 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia (Sept. 15-18, 2021):
Kate Wang (she competed in the JGP in Chelyabinsk 2 years ago)
Maryn Pierce (Team USA & JGP debut)

U.S. International Figure Skating Classic (Senior B international) in Norwood, Massachusetts (Sept. 15-18, 2021):
Bradie Tennell (season debut)
Gabriella Izzo
Paige Rydberg
Sierra Venetta

CS Autumn Classic International in Pierrefonds, Quebec (Sept. 16-18, 2021):
Karen Chen (season debut)
Starr Andrews

JGP #5 in Ljubljana, Slovenia (Sept. 22-25, 2021):
Lindsay Thorngren** (still listed for #3 in Kosice, Slovakia on USFS' assignments page but likely to be shifted here now that Ava Ziegler's name appeared today in the ISU entries for SVK, replacing Thorngren's)
Mia Kalin** (placeholder spot for now since she will make her JGP debut in SVK first)

 

[ЭPiKUilyam]

Just watched the Junior women's free from Courcheval. Great result! Great podium! So happy for Lindsey. I became a budding fan of hers last year. Love her line, stretch and the flexible positions. She achieves a full split in the Bielmann And I agree with Ted who was gushing over the soft knees in her jump landings and flow out. She seems super shy in the expression department so I hope she can work on that for the future. Her interview was cute and she was super excited with the win.

Lindsay does have nice flow and run out on her jumps. I don't see any glaring weaknesses for her. She just needs to "up" her presentation level. Did I read correctly that this LP cost TEN THOUSAND dollars to choreograph????? What choreography? She's a technical skater who ticks off the technical boxes during the program. $10K just seems so much for so little. She's not Kwan, for heaven's sake. Sometimes I wonder about choreographers. Don't they let the skater first show how s/he reacts and moves to the music before trying to forcefeed steps/movements into memory? And seeing so many of these skaters just having zero connection to the music, whatever it is, is mystifying to me. I would think a high level skater would have dance class in their training, so they should be able to move to music, but I'm really not seeing it. Maybe they should go to school dances and just DANCE to music? Hopefully they would have more connection to the music at a dance than they display on ice? It's a mystery to me. When you take out the jumps and spins and all you have is the "choreography", does anyone think that is worth $10K? Or am too sticker-shocked to know that that is the going rate for a junior technical skater with no performance level?

 

[haribobo]

Nice assignments! The only skater in the top ten of summer scores thus far yet to be assigned is Emily Zhang (who is currently 10th with 170). Next after that (11th and 12th) are Maxine Bautista (168) and Sonja Hilmer (165).

 

[Vagabond]

Sonja Hilmer

I read that too quickly and wondered what Sonja Henie was doing on the JGP.

 

[Hedwig]

I read that too quickly and wondered what Sonja Henie was doing on the JGP.

Did she age out?

?

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Lindsay does have nice flow and run out on her jumps. I don't see any glaring weaknesses for her. She just needs to "up" her presentation level. Did I read correctly that this LP cost TEN THOUSAND dollars to choreograph????? What choreography? She's a technical skater who ticks off the technical boxes during the program. $10K just seems so much for so little. She's not Kwan, for heaven's sake. Sometimes I wonder about choreographers. Don't they let the skater first show how s/he reacts and moves to the music before trying to forcefeed steps/movements into memory? And seeing so many of these skaters just having zero connection to the music, whatever it is, is mystifying to me. I would think a high level skater would have dance class in their training, so they should be able to move to music, but I'm really not seeing it. Maybe they should go to school dances and just DANCE to music? Hopefully they would have more connection to the music at a dance than they display on ice? It's a mystery to me. When you take out the jumps and spins and all you have is the "choreography", does anyone think that is worth $10K? Or am too sticker-shocked to know that that is the going rate for a junior technical skater with no performance level?

I don’t expect juniors to have that much of a connection to their music although I do love Lucas Broussard.

I think that comes with maturity.

She blew me away. Her program to the Queens gambit I thought was top-notch. I think she’s also the best spinner of all USA ladies - juniors and seniors.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

New assignments published as of August 23: https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/...22-international-assignments-and-results.aspx

JGP #4 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia (Sept. 15-18, 2021):
Kate Wang (she competed in the JGP in Chelyabinsk 2 years ago)
Maryn Pierce (Team USA & JGP debut)

U.S. International Figure Skating Classic (Senior B international) in Norwood, Massachusetts (Sept. 15-18, 2021):
Bradie Tennell (season debut)
Gabriella Izzo
Paige Rydberg
Sierra Venetta

CS Autumn Classic International in Pierrefonds, Quebec (Sept. 16-18, 2021):
Karen Chen (season debut)
Starr Andrews

JGP #5 in Ljubljana, Slovenia (Sept. 22-25, 2021):
Lindsay Thorngren** (still listed for #3 in Kosice, Slovakia on USFS' assignments page but likely to be shifted here now that Ava Ziegler's name appeared today in the ISU entries for SVK, replacing Thorngren's)
Mia Kalin** (placeholder spot for now since she will make her JGP debut in SVK first)

Sylvia, do you not expect to see Amber Glenn getting sent out for a while if anything before skate America? I wonder how serious her leg is ?

 

[Marco]

Clare was a delight to watch but both she and Lindsay need to watch out on their jump technique.