U.S. Women [#7]: Make Me a Believer!

[Allskate]

My impression of Isabeau last year in Montreal was that she skated with nice speed when she wasn’t entering a jump. She slowed down considerably going into the jumps though. She is capable of skating with an above average amount of speed, but she wasn’t doing it for the whole program. Not sure if it looked different than this here or not.

She acknowledged last season that this was a problem for her when she gets nervous and she said she was working not to do that. Even if she didn't slow down for the jumps at Worlds, I thought it would be difficult for her to be up to full speed given how much training time she lost and that she couldn't even walk without pain. But, from what we're hearing, it seems like her team was able to help her a lot and she still had pretty good speed.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

unfortunately, I’ve had personal things going on and had to be a way for most of worlds and gradually sneaking back in here.

Has an American woman ever won the Grand Prix final, and then a different American woman won the world’s the same year? I doubt it. But how is that for depth!!

All US women brought something different to the competition and it was amazing. Isabeau has that earthly, artistic grace, Amber has a fierceness …fast powerful presentation that translates so well and then Alysa, oh my gosh can we just get to Alysa for a moment..

Here’s what I want to say about Alysa …. most competitors look nervous and certain people always say skaters about to get “puke face” and then look at Alysa ….She’s all smiles and then cartwheeling her way onto the ice. She looks like she’s on her way to a sorority party not to compete and it totally works for her and I love it.

I always think being nervous is not great for getting presentation marks, and not good for you mentally. If I was in a competition about to compete, I would treat as a vacation and I’d be like oh gosh I’m not at home with the damn kids or doing the laundry or answering work emails. Lol.

And then we have Bradie who is silver medalist at four continents, and Sarah Everhart, who also followed up with the bronze and has other medals this season, and we can’t forget about Ava, Elyce and Sherry….

Next season is going to be so cool I think.

 

[Private Citizen]

Has an American woman ever won the Grand Prix final, and then a different American woman won the world’s the same year? I doubt it.

Twice.

Tara Lipinski and Michelle Kwan in 1997-98 (granted, Tara did not compete at Worlds).

Sasha Cohen and Michelle Kwan in 2002-03.

 

[Jammers]

I can't remember the US ever having this much depth from 1-7. This team had the GPF champion the defending World silver medalist and a returning skater who's one time at Worlds she won the bronze medal.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Look at Alysa Liu & Simone Biles Both walked away from their sports to focus on themselves & Life led them right back to showing off their elite talent again

Even Amber takes time out to focus on her mental health, and was so supportive for Isabeau, withdrawing from nationals to focus on her health.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Glenn has gone from a near-lock to on the bubble again; I could see her off the team depending on how next season goes

Oh, not only do I think she is a lock, I think she’s a guaranteed lock.

And I’m hoping she puts a triple axel/ double toe and a triple axel and triple loop in the short program.

Isabeau is probably the most likely of the three to get lost in the shuffle publicity-wise,

I don’t think so NBC was already spending that whole hee mom is from Milan and she’ll be skating in Milan. So I think there’s a story right there

 

[Jarrett]

Oh, not only do I think she is a lock, I think she’s a guaranteed lock.

And I’m hoping she puts a triple axel/ double toe and a triple axel and triple loop in the short program.



I don’t think so NBC was already spending that whole hee mom is from Milan and she’ll be skating in Milan. So I think there’s a story right there

I don’t think you can repeat jumps in the short unless they are a part of the same combo. I would say she is a lock if she skates decently well next season. If she flops or sits out the fall and doesn’t show up for nationals she is definitely not a lock.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Why does she have to go clean across both programs? She scores higher with mistakes than others do without them

Yeah, I don’t know what Karen is drinking. Lol … Amber won Japanese nationals this year with mistakes.

 

[Karen-W]

Yeah, I don’t know what Karen is drinking. Lol … Amber won Japanese nationals this year with mistakes.

Hey, now, I'm hardly the only person in this thread who has said Amber may not be as locked in for the third spot as Alysa or Isabeau.

I do think that she is the most vulnerable of the three if only because she is the least likely of them to skate clean. Having said that, her triple axel gives her a massive advantage over the women coming up from behind - Bradie, Sarah, Elyce, & any others - and they're probably on the outside looking in unless they up their own technical content or really lock in with their own consistency.

It's an interesting and exciting time for the US women. We have five women of whom I have every confidence would go to Milano and easily finish in the top 10, quite possibly top 6 depending on how the rest of the field behind them skate. Elyce is the only one whose mental game & consistency I think may let her down under the glare of the Olympic spotlight - and that's probably not fair because she locked in for Jr Worlds, so she's got it in her too.

And if anyone had told us, three years ago, that this is where the US women would be heading into Milano I believe every single FSUer would have laughed in your face and said "that's the best April Fool's Day joke ever!"

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Wow, Alysa was seven months old when Kimmie won the world title … the last American to do so.

Liu comes out of retirement to give USA first Women’s World title in 19 years

Alysa Liu (USA) came out of retirement to give the USA their first Women’s ISU World Figure Skating title in 19 years, in what was a spectacular night of figure skating at the sold-out TD Garden. The 19,600 spectators in the venue, plus the millions in front of their TV or computer screens...

isu-skating.com

 

[mtnskater]

For me at Worlds Isabeau was still my favorite to watch of the field. Her elegance, clean lines, no flailing arms, extension, stretch, attention to detail, precision, and no sloppiness are stand outs from the entire field. Her speed and skating skills are really good. I’m so used to the lutz and flip takeoffs that I kind of ignore them and focus on her rotation in the air and her landings, which are lovely. No question though, those two jumps hold her back. The rest of her jumps are all around lovely. A treat to watch such beautiful, classical skating.

Alysa was such a trip!!! She is from another planet. Doesn’t get nervous. Has a blast. Not sweating bullets. Excellent all around skater. Her short program is my favorite of all short programs this season. Such a masterpiece. Beautiful!! I hope her choreographer gets recognized for that work. Her free program before worlds for me was meh. At worlds I LOVED it! It really turned out to be perfect for the crowd because it made you want to dance along with her. It was so energetic and exciting. Myself and 13,000 other people were standing while she was doing the last spin combo. I’ve rewatched her skate a zillion times already and find the tunes from her Donna Summer medley really in my head in a good way What will she come up with next year??? And she made clear she will skate next year and is not retiring if you listened to Adam and Ashley’s podcast

Awwww Amber!! She had a killer warm up for the short program. Hit everything great. I thought…she’s
gonna do it. But I also heard Ashley the rink side MC say during her warm up that Amber is a favorite for the title. I immediately said NOOOOO don’t jinx her!!!! Ughh! Sure enough when she came out to skate her face was different and I knew she was way too nervous. Free skate was much better, but still tight. I wish we could give her some of Alysa’s ability to get in a positive mind set with few nerves. Still she had a great season overall. And positive progress forward.

 

[asdf334]

Has an American woman ever won the Grand Prix final, and then a different American woman won the world’s the same year? I doubt it. But how is that for depth!!

Twice actually, but cheating a little because the skater(Kwan) that won Worlds wasn't at the GPF either time (1997-1998 and 2002-2003 seasons), and the GPF winner wasn't at Worlds one of those times (Lipinski in 1998).

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I gone back to watch all of Alysa’s post interviews from the short and free program. My gosh she speaks like such a soul well beyond her years. She’s 19? She handles these questions so well and gives really adult, grown-up, mature, interesting answers. I find her interviews is fascinating as her skating.

 

[Jarrett]

I gone back to watch all of Alysa’s post interviews from the short and free program. My gosh she speaks like such a soul well beyond her years. She’s 19? She handles these questions so well and gives really adult, grown-up, mature, interesting answers. I find her interviews is fascinating as her skating.

I agree she is very present in all of her answers. Very genuine answers.

 

[layman]

I gone back to watch all of Alysa’s post interviews from the short and free program. My gosh she speaks like such a soul well beyond her years. She’s 19? She handles these questions so well and gives really adult, grown-up, mature, interesting answers. I find her interviews is fascinating as her skating.

I agree too. Alysa Liu has matured so beautifully both on and off the ice. Her frankness is so refreshing.

 

[clairecloutier]

Seeing her live at Worlds, I thought Isabeau had quite good speed. There was no sensation of slowness watching her, just nice flow and extension and push-through on her moves.

The one who stood out as looking a bit slow imo, comparatively to the other top women, was Mone Chiba.

 

[PRlady]

Seeing her live at Worlds, I thought Isabeau had quite good speed. There was no sensation of slowness watching her, just nice flow and extension and push-through on her moves.

The one who stood out as looking a bit slow imo, comparatively to the other top women, was Mone Chiba.

Mone is a meticulous little skater but she needs more standout moves and presence. I feel like she’s the latest JSF steady second, like Mana and Rinka and whomever else before her.

One thing I’ll say for the top US seven, they really are different from each other. Put them all in fencing suits and masks and we could probably pick out who’s who just watching them skate around the rink!

 

[Jonas]

I can't remember the US ever having this much depth from 1-7. This team had the GPF champion the defending World silver medalist and a returning skater who's one time at Worlds she won the bronze medal.

I'd say it was 25 years ago when we had this level of depth:

Michelle Kwan won US Nationals and Worlds.
Sarah Hughes was US bronze medallist and finished 5th at Worlds
Angela Nikodinov was US pewter medallist, won Four Continents, and competed at Worlds (forget whether she finished top 10).
Stacey Pensgen was 6th at US Nationals and won silver at Four Continents.
Jenny Kirk and Deanna Stellato finished 7th and 9th, respectively, at US Nationals, but went on to finish 1-2 at Jr. Worlds. These two also finished 2-1 at the Jr. Grand Prix Final.

Granted, 25 years ago there wasn't anywhere near the depth among the Japanese ladies nor was there a strong competitor out of South Korea, so I'd say our current crop of top US ladies face more formidable competition.

Your thoughts...

 

[PRlady]

No question but there’s more competition now. I’d add a small renaissance in European ladies, there are several who are top ten and a few that can medal under the right circumstances. Canada, however, is in a trough and there’s no Joannie or Katelyn on the horizon AFAIK.

There’s no one yet in the US with Kwan’s stature and accomplishments and I’m not going to jinx anyone by labeling a candidate.

 

[SkateFanBerlin]

Anyone have something Lindsay Thorngren? I wonder if she`ll continue. She reminds me of Angela Wang. A lovely skater but couldn`t quite get it going.

 

[PRlady]

Anyone have something Lindsay Thorngren? I wonder if she`ll continue. She reminds me of Angela Wang. A lovely skater but couldn`t quite get it going.

I always liked her and bristled when @Private Citizen posted that she's going nowhere given her jump technique. I guess he was right, much as it pains me to admit it.

 

[layman]

Anyone have something Lindsay Thorngren? I wonder if she`ll continue. She reminds me of Angela Wang. A lovely skater but couldn`t quite get it going.

I think Lindsay has been adjusting to several growth spurts since she won the Junior World Bronze medal in 2022. It seems like she has added a few more inches (in height) each season since then. It takes time to adjust to all that growth. She has to adjust her technique to her new physique (from season to season). I hope that she stays positive and does not get discouraged. We have seen many other skaters complete this transition successfully (including our current World Champion) and Lindsay will too!

 

[sk9tingfan]

Wow, Alysa was seven months old when Kimmie won the world title … the last American to do so.

Liu comes out of retirement to give USA first Women’s World title in 19 years

Alysa Liu (USA) came out of retirement to give the USA their first Women’s ISU World Figure Skating title in 19 years, in what was a spectacular night of figure skating at the sold-out TD Garden. The 19,600 spectators in the venue, plus the millions in front of their TV or computer screens...

isu-skating.com

Alysa when she was 14...

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

 

[Karen-W]

Just checked on YT - NBC's video of Alysa's FS has already had 4.7 million views, and the ISU's video of the same has nearly 500k views. Over 5 million views on just those two alone in less than a week. Now, there's a viral moment.

 

[cailuj365]

Just checked on YT - NBC's video of Alysa's FS has already had 4.7 million views, and the ISU's video of the same has nearly 500k views. Over 5 million views on just those two alone in less than a week. Now, there's a viral moment.

I'm not sure where you're getting these numbers. The NBC YouTube video of her FS has 2.6 million views, and the ISU video has 170k views. Still great, but not as high as that.

 

[sk9tingfan]

An article on Alysa Liu which identifies that the egg that was used un the artificial insemination process was of an origin of which I was not aware: truly genetic engineering:

Alysa Liu: First U.S. Figure Skating World Champ - RADII

The 19-year-old American-Chinese skater is injecting Gen Z energy into the sport.

radii.co

 

[Wyliefan]

Oh great, now the Russians will try to lay claim to her.

 

[Karen-W]

I'm not sure where you're getting these numbers. The NBC YouTube video of her FS has 2.6 million views, and the ISU video has 170k views. Still great, but not as high as that.

Whoops - you're right. I was looking at the subscribers, not the views.

 

[natsulian]

The depth in the women's field is probably one of the deepest. I am tremendously excited for the Olympic season and I cannot wait to see how each skater, regardless of their achievements, develops. What I enjoyed most about this season was witnessing the camaraderie amongst the skaters, especially between Isabeau, Alysa, and Amber. I am excited to see if we have a dark horse like Bradie emerge out of "nowhere" (I dislike this term as it renders invisible a lot of the hard work that skaters put in because they never truly come out of nowhere) and make it onto the Olympic team. Currently, I think we have six frontrunners.

Tier 1: Alysa, Amber, and Isabeau
Between the three of them, Alysa has two world medals (gold and bronze), Isabeau has a world medal (silver) and a Grand Prix Final medal (silver), and Amber has a Grand Prix Final medal (gold). Isabeau has five Grand Prix medals and has never been off the podium at any Grand Prix event since she first stepped foot on senior ice. Amber has four Grand Prix medals and boasts one of the highest scoring ceilings among the American women. Despite these accomplishments, both Amber and Isabeau did not finish as high as they would have liked at Boston which means that they are going into the Olympic season with the opportunity to demonstrate consistency and steely nerves. Alysa will need to work on her rotations and with the potentiality of a triple Axel, she has the opportunity to put down the gauntlet.

Tier 2: Sarah Everhardt, Bradie Tennell, and Elyce Lin-Gracey
Sarah is coming off of a bronze medal finish at Four Continents and has demonstrated consistency that put her on the radar. Sarah also recently showcased a triple Lutz-triple Toe combination which will likely replace her triple Toe-triple Toe. If Sarah can deliver as consistently as she did last season with an upgraded technical content, she will be a big threat and could potentially threaten Isabeau or Amber if they have less than stellar showings. Bradie is coming off of an amazing finish to her season with silver at Four Continents and a huge score at her last international event. If Bradie can maintain her level or even upgrade her technical content to include two triple Lutz-triple Toe combinations, then she will score 210-225 consistently which could threaten anyone except for a clean Kaori or Amber. Elyce had an amazing start then tapered off until she capped off her season with a bronze at the Junior World Championships. If Elyce can find better packaging and tap into her consistency, she could be a threat—if not this season then in the next quad.

Question Marks: Lindsay Thorngren, Starr Andrews, and Ava Marie-Ziegler

I believe Josephine might turn senior this season as well which will be exciting to see.

 

[olympic]

^ I would keep my eye on Bradie. Per my earlier post, she can score big when her elements are fully executed and clean, as evidenced by her scores just before YKW in 2020, and she just seems like a woman on a mission. I see her as the biggest threat of upending the current triumvirate.

Sarah is very good, reliable, and scores well, but she needs an extra something in her PCS to really start making move on those currently ranked just ahead of her.

Elyce needs to consistently do what she did at the beginning of this past season. But can she get there? I think Bradie and Sarah are the ones to watch until Elyce gets consistent.

Ava is a question mark. Do we know if she is coming back? She has been out a long time and it would be interesting to know if she still has the fire in her belly.

I am gutted for Lindsey and I don't know where she goes from here. It looks like she tries really hard, chooses more unique music and has shown ambition with jumps but she really needs something drastic like relearning technique or something.

Starr has been in the same position forever like 7 years and I haven't really see notable improvement, either in TES or PCS. Although look how long it has taken Amber, so maybe I shouldn't write Starr off, but she is at least going to need a Lutz to be taken seriously.