U.S. Women [#2]: The Unbearable Lightness of Beijing

[Trillian]

International scoring actually helps her for the most part as she scores competitively with the other ladies in contention to make the team. It's people's imaginations that tells them that she deserves to be way behind.

I agree. I think Liu and Bell have shown more international scoring potential among age-eligible skaters, but I’m not sure who else is supposed to knock Chen off the Olympic team. Glenn or Thorngren? They both could beat Chen some days, but I don’t think either has made a particularly convincing case. Among Chen, Glenn, and Thorngren, I think USFS will take whoever finishes highest this week, and I doubt the judging will be particularly skewed in favor of any of them. None of them is a perfect skater, none has done markedly better than the others with international judging panels, and none is a household name, so I don’t see anyone having a lot of motive to push any of those three over the others.

And if anyone is worried the Isabeau Levito will be unfairly scored lower than any of the age-eligible skaters… I’d say there’s a zero percent chance. They’re going to give her whatever medal she skates well enough to earn, up to and including gold. If we don’t have a likely Olympic medalist in 2022, USFS is going to be more than happy to start promoting any potential medalists they see for 2026.

 

[On My Own]

What is this about Levito by the way? She's probably my favorite American junior woman and has nice overall skating already, but she does have jump issues of her own (which will become more obvious as she grows older, IMO, she jumps somewhat like an Eteri girl). Maybe the field is empty enough for her to medal, but I think the three main seniors (Bell, Liu, and Chen) are the podium and the team, currently. I think it could be Thorngren who plays spoiler, instead of Glenn.

 

[Trillian]

What is this about Levito by the way? She's probably my favorite American junior woman and has nice overall skating already, but she does have jump issues of her own (which will become more obvious as she grows older, IMO, she jumps somewhat like an Eteri girl). Maybe the field is empty enough for her to medal, but I think the three main seniors (Bell, Liu, and Chen) are the podium and the team, currently. I think it could be Thorngren who plays spoiler, instead of Glenn.

Levito has scored quite well internationally, so I think the judges will be more than happy to reward her for clean performances. (We’ll see if she pulls that off.) I personally have no long-term predictions for her (or any other 14-year-old in this sport, ever), but she’s one of the more successful juniors we’ve had in recent years. USFS is going to want to promote any skater who shows signs of being competitive with many of the Russians in her age group, whether or not that ultimately translates to long-term success.

I agree about Thorngren being a more likely contender than Glenn - Glenn is my favorite of all of them, but nothing is ever “likely” with her. But honestly, I don’t think any of these skaters has been consistent enough to be confident in where they’ll end up, and I don’t see anyone besides Liu having a political advantage in the scoring. Most of it really will likely depend on how they actually skate this week.

 

[olympic]

I always marvel at the length of the women's thread in comparison to the other 3 disciplines.

 

[thvu]

Wow. Karen’s new SP is excellent. I thought ditching Lady Caliph was a mistake, but I was wrong. She skates that clean, it should be an easy 1st place, even if Alyssa has a 3axel.

 

[Karen-W]

Wow. Karen’s new SP is excellent. I thought ditching Lady Caliph was a mistake, but I was wrong. She skates that clean, it should be an easy 1st place, even if Alyssa has a 3axel.

Oh, I dunno... If Mariah also skates clean, I think either of them could be in 1st place ahead of Alysa. Though, to be fair, and knowing that it took some time this season (Mariah's dud SP from the summer) they all have very strong SPs.

 

[Coco]

Based on practice reports Mariah still does not have a triple triple.

 

[thvu]

I mean, in all honesty, does Karen really have a 3/3?

 

[Rukia]

I mean, in all honesty, does Karen really have a 3/3?

Based on practice I'm not sure Alysa does either though.

 

[Karen-W]

Lindsay does, based on what we saw in practice, lol.

 

[jfeiqfwq]

Based on practice I'm not sure Alysa does either though.

Alysa landed all of her 3-3 clean in practice.

 

[jfeiqfwq]

Lindsay does, based on what we saw in practice, lol.

Lindsay's 3Lz+3Lo attempts were all downgraded.

 

[Rukia]

Alysa landed all of her 3-3 clean in practice.

I would bet on review many of her jumps were not clean. A lot of them looked very iffy in real time.

 

[Karen-W]

Alysa landed all of her 3-3 clean in practice.

She landed them. The rotations were questionable to my eye.

Lindsay's 3Lz+3Lo attempts were all downgraded.

Really? There was a tech panel there during practice? If you think Alysa's 3-3 attempts were clean then I guarantee you, Lindsay's also were clean.

I would bet on review many of her jumps were not clean. A lot of them looked very iffy in real time.

Agreed, and we both said it during in real time watching the practice cam.

 

[jfeiqfwq]

She landed them. The rotations were questionable to my eye.

Really? There was a tech panel there during practice? If you think Alysa's 3-3 attempts were clean then I guarantee you, Lindsay's also were clean.

Agreed, and we both said it during in real time watching the practice cam.

https://twitter.com/rockerskating/status/1478907597310808064

 

[Marco]

Between Alysa, Karen, Mariah, Amber and Lindsay:

Alysa has the nomination to the team 90% sealed. If her focus is just on that (or on regaining her title), she is better off not going for the 3axel but just do 7 triples. That said, she can definitely afford a mistake on the 3axel and still win comfortably. Landing it here would give her great momentum - even though she wasn't acing it at practices.

I agree with Louis abotu Karen. Between her jump UR issues and Mariah not having a solid 3/3 still, perhaps the best strategy for both of them is just do 3/2 in the short, and 6 triples in the long for a clean competition and sky high PCS. (like what Mariah did in Russia) Probably their best shot for the team. They both used to have such a reliable 2axel3toe. For the Olympics, perhaps lutz, flip, loop, sal, repeat two of them plus a 2axel3toe. That would get them into the bottom half of top ten which is what they honestly will be maxed out at anyways if the Russians and Japanese are on.

Amber and Lindsay on the other hand have to play attack. Amber needs the 3axel I would say in both programs to have a shot if the top 3 above are clean. With a 3axel she can attempt 8 triples in theory but I don't think she has all season. She will need tha5t here. Lindsay was attempting the 3axel and 3/3s earlier in the season but has seen scaled back due to consistent UR calls. If she only does 7 triples here without 3axel, I don't think it will be sufficient.

 

[VGThuy]

Wow. Karen’s new SP is excellent. I thought ditching Lady Caliph was a mistake, but I was wrong. She skates that clean, it should be an easy 1st place, even if Alyssa has a 3axel.

Is there a video of the practice?

 

[ptvvibezz]

Is there a video of the practice?

 

[sk9tingfan]

Did I miss any post on Mariah having a distinct injury? On Instagram a bit ago, she thanked a company called Care Wear which she indicated was an integral part of her training and recovery. Anyone have thoughts?

Mariah Bell 🔔 on Instagram: "Thank you so much for supporting me @carewearcorp 💖 You are an integral part of my training and recovery! #carewearing"

2,170 likes, 2 comments - mariahsk8rbell on April 23, 2021: "Thank you so much for supporting me @carewearcorp 💖 You are an integral part of my training and recovery! #carewearing".

www.instagram.com

How CareWear Works | CareWear

CareWear Wearable Light features advanced sports medicine technology using PhotoBioModulation (PBM) to treat pain and improve muscle recovery.

www.carewear.net

 

[Coco]

She's repped companies like this in the past. I think it's just for normal world class athlete inflammation.

 

[sheetz]

Did I miss any post on Mariah having a distinct injury? On Instagram a bit ago, she thanked a company called Care Wear which she indicated was an integral part of her training and recovery. Anyone have thoughts?

Mariah Bell 🔔 on Instagram: "Thank you so much for supporting me @carewearcorp 💖 You are an integral part of my training and recovery! #carewearing"

2,170 likes, 2 comments - mariahsk8rbell on April 23, 2021: "Thank you so much for supporting me @carewearcorp 💖 You are an integral part of my training and recovery! #carewearing".

www.instagram.com

How CareWear Works | CareWear

CareWear Wearable Light features advanced sports medicine technology using PhotoBioModulation (PBM) to treat pain and improve muscle recovery.

www.carewear.net

In fitness jargon "recovery" is often used to describe the normal process of rebuilding the body after a stressful workout.

 

[Maximillian]

Karen's ice coverage is just wonderful so much better than most of the top ladies (in the World, not just the U.S.)

 

[On My Own]

Karen's ice coverage is just wonderful so much better than most of the top ladies (in the World, not just the U.S.)

And her speed! I love the steps in this SP.

 

[VGThuy]

I think among the ladies, Karen, Amber, and Mariah have to most “international” look when it comes to speed and ice coverage.

 

[stjeaskategym]

I mean, in all honesty, does Karen really have a 3/3?

Do any of the top women contenders. Amber does, but she seems pretty out of it based on her productivity internationally. Lindsay has one, but she's prone to underrotations, sometimes many of them. Sometimes Alysa can get full credit for hers, sometimes not.

 

[4rkidz]

Thank you for sharing, that was lovely. I subscribed to your Youtube, nice videos.

 

[layman]

Jackie Wongs Practice Reports:

2022 US Championships: Practice notes! — Rocker Skating - Analysis by Jackie Wong

Your one-stop shop for practice notes at the 2022 US Figure Skating Championships

www.rockerskating.com

Gracie Gold (From Jackie Wong's practice reports):
Gold: 2A, 3Lz, runthru (3Lz(hand)3T, 3Lo, 2A, 2A3T, 3Lz, 3F(e?fall), 2S), 3F(e), 3S2T, 3Lz3T, 1F, 3F(e?), 3Lo, 2A3T2T, 3Lz, 2A, 3S2T

Gracie is the only US Lady who is not consistently under-rotating. According to Jackie's practice reports, her jumps look 98% clean. I sure hope the US National judges see this (as Jackie does) and score (everyone) correctly.

Plus, Gracie's triple/triple combo (3Lz/3T) seems to be the only consistently clean one among the US ladies. Again, I hope the judges take notice!!!!

 

[Karen-W]

Oh, Christ, let's see if Gracie can do in competition what she is doing in practice, please? She looked great in her SP at Alpharetta but fell apart somewhat in her FS. The score she posted there to qualify for Nats isn't going to get her on the Olympic team (not to mention she doesn't have the TES mins, so she won't be going there or to 4CCs in a couple weeks).

 

[Vagabond]

There was a discussion in a thread that's been closed about what single result at Nationals would cause the greatest chaos. I think that a top-three finish by Gracie Gold would probably be it, not that it will happen.

 

[Karen-W]

There was a discussion in a thread that's been closed about what single result at Nationals would cause the greatest chaos. I think that a top-three finish by Gracie Gold would probably be it, not that it will happen.

Yes, that would certainly cause a great deal of chaos, lol. And, no, it won't happen, but I could see her being in the top 3 after the SP tonight and causing a good 24 hours of angst and handwringing everywhere, lol.