Thoughts on Four Continents 2013: Ladies' Event

Hello darlings!

Apologies to those who read my blog, for the lack of recent posts. I have recently started at a new job and finishing up the other contract has really drained me. The free time I had in between was spent catching Zs and watching a backlog of American TV, in hopes of just switching my brain off and recharging. Also, I seem to be going through an uninspired lull- going through the motions with nothing greatly exciting to rouse my spirits. I have a BIG holiday coming up real soon and the momentum for that has been steadily rising, so I am foreseeing a slew of posts running up to my departure for The Philippines. Also, any excuse to write a post on skincare essentials for an Asian summer- SPF 15 won't cut it. And although I'm only going to be gone for two weeks, I need to readjust my routine to fit what I am assuming to be excruciating 40-degree weather. Anyhow, let's move on!

Mao Asada, skating to Tchaikovsky's seminal 'Swan Lake' (Getty Images)

What a weekend it has been in Osaka! The ladies' event at the Four Continents Championships was crammed to the top with fantastic skates, and equally sloppy showings that it really did highlight who wants to go for Sochi. Without the likes of Kim Yu Na, Ashley Wagner and the Europeans, the field was open for Mao Asada and Akiko Suzuki to dominate- and THAT THEY DID, resulting to a Japan 1-2-3 finish.

The undefeated Asada finally incorporated her signature triple axel in her programs and successfully landed a blinder in her FANTASTIC short program. Skating to Gershwin's 'I Got Rhythm', the two-time World champion swapped her 2A for her signature element and scored an astounding 74.49 points, just a few marks away from her all-time best. Team Sato had timed her season well enough to start her upgrade in the run-up to the World Championships in March. Mao is already showing early signs of Olympic fire and her win at the 4CC is a great booster for her- not only in ranking, but also mentally and emotionally. Her second attempt at the 3A was unsuccessful in her free programme, but despite three UR calls and only four clean triples, she still garnered 130.96 and a cumulative score of 205.45- just .05 shy of her Olympic score. I really do wish she would either work on her salchow or swap with with a solo 3T instead because she either strains to land it or she doubles. That said, she later commented that her free programme performance was actually on par with her practice run-through and so she was satisfied with the result. To be fair, barring the stellar performances from her teammates, she actually didn't need much to win the title, especially with her comfortable lead in the short. She seems to be coming back on a better form, and we can only hope that Team Asada goes from strength to strength from here on end.

***

Akiko Suzuki JAP, Kanako Muramaki JAP, Zijun Li CHI, Gracie Gold USA, Kaetlyn Osmond CAN (Getty Images)

As for the rest of the field, I am so happy that Akiko Suzuki is finally getting the credit she deserves. She put out a fantastic short programme, and despite the axel mistake on the free, her performance was still beyond great. Skating to 'O' by Cirque de Soleil, the queen of the peacocks showed the rest of the field that being a grandma in skating years is irrelevant- she's in better shape than some of these up and comers, and that's saying a LOT. Bronze medallist Kanako Murakami tango-d her way to round up the Japanese podium with a strong free skate to a medley of Piazzolla's classics. She got called out for a couple of URs (as always), but as the Skating Lesson Duo pointed out- her coach Machiko Yamada has a bad history of letting her pupils wallow in bad jump techniques (case in point- Mao Asada, hence the retooling by the Satos). Nevertheless, this has been the best showing from Murakami this whole season, especially since missing out on the National podium. Plus, I was very moved by her step sequence. I have actually gone online on a rampant search for that 'Adios Nonino' arrangement! If anyone can help out, that would be AMAZING.

Lower down the ranks, we see a lot of (personally, I think!) underscoring and meltdowns.  I'm starting to feel a little bad for USA's Gracie Gold. After serving a momentous free programme at Nationals, she seemed to have suffered from nerves again here at 4CC. I can only assume how much the press is to blame for this, because of the enormous cross they have decided to put on Gold's back. She's green, and just about as green as they come. Unlike Asada and Kim who transitioned into their senior careers rather smoothly, Gold is suffering from the same misfortune that has plagued her contemporaries, including the crop of Russian super babies (Tuktamysheva, Lipnitskaia, and Sotnikova).


She is a jumping dynamo, but when battling with intense pressure to perform well for a Federation who hasn't much success since Michelle Kwan, Gold was bound to stumble. She is still lacking a certain polish and sophistication but when on top shape, she can land a killer 3Lz-3T. I would talk about her compatriot Christina Gao, but personally, she's not my cup of tea. However, she had her wits about her a little more than Gold...probably because nobody really gives her their time of day. I'm looking at you Phil Hersh.  Fellow newcomer Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada seemed to have suffered the same fate.


She was a virtual unknown and now she's being hailed as the new Joanie Rochette. Fair enough the US and Canada need new heroes for their federation as their stocks have greatly plummeted, but it almost seems cruel thrusting Gold and Osmond into the spotlight even before they start showing signs of longevity. Granted that Osmond has a bit more panache and flair than Gold, the way her programs are set out this season seem a little too gilded that frankly, it's very distracting. It's great for covering up her lack of experience and she does play the tart-on-ice very well for a seventeen year old, but I feel like she needs to focus a little bit more. These two are up against Asada for crying out loud. Or even better- Suzuki, who has been competing since Gold and Osmond were only ten. 

Now, contrary to Gold and Osmond, Zijun Li of China was magnificent. Severely underscored (I would never have put Zawadski or Lacoste above her in the short, and Eurosport agreed with me!), I thought she deserved fourth place instead of Gao. She has a dancer's demeanor  a quality that Gao lacks greatly. It's is like comparing a meandering river to a dancing tree. She skated to Tchaikovsky's 'Sleeping Beauty' with enough charisma and flair that you wouldn't  she was fresh off of Juniors and the youngest out of the girls in the top ten (Gracie, take note). She's fast becoming a favourite of mine, and her transition is (again) reminiscent of Asada and Kim's, so really if puberty treats her well, she's looking at a possibly similar career path. 

Overall, I thought the ladies event played out just about right. With Asada's track record this season, it was silly to bet against her- and on Suzuki. Moving on to Worlds, I really hope Mao fine tunes her 3A and 3S and keeps in the state of mind that she's in. For Suzuki it's the same I think. Their biggest competitions at Worlds will be of course, Kim Yu Na of South Korea whose programs at Nationals have since become viral with its display of the skater's infamous finesse and technique. Reigning World Champion, Italy's Carolina Kostner will also be there equipped with her new Lutz and of course, Ashley Wagner from the USA. Wagner has had a tough few weeks after not performing to her potential at the Grand Prix Final and US Nationals but here's hoping she can at least throw her hat in the mix. 

A few more weeks before the Figure Skating season ends folks! Then you won't hear from my pseudo-expertise again, until the fall.

See you in Ontario in a few weeks!