TheSkatingLesson: Alissa Czisny's Resilience

It really was heartbreaking watching USA 2011 National Champion Alissa Czisny meltdown during the 2012 season after the comparatively fabulous season prior (her best to date). She's a beautiful skater, perhaps America's answer to Finland's Kira Korpii, and when in good shape, I think she's got the whole package. She's an amalgamation of the best things Wagner and Gold are made off and unfortunately, a serious hip and foot injury had cost her a whole season in the run up to the 2014 Winter Olympics. Now, after spending time rehabilitating and getting back in synch to prepare for the Olympic season, she opens up to TheSkatingLesson's Jenny Kirk (former World Junior and Four Continents Champion) on recovery, refocusing and the future. I can't help but admire her resilience when I watched this interview, as if I couldn't love her even more. With a new long program to Gone With The Wind, here's hoping she can be fierce on the ice when she comes back in full force. Be fierce baby, Scarlett O'Hara fierce!

Asada Watch: Thoughts on the Rostelecom Cup 2011

Mao-chan won, and this means she's in the Grand Prix Final! This is her first time in two seasons, and the GPF sure has missed her long enough. What a comeback! In any case, I'm going to try and rationalise this all so my emotions won't cloud my opinions on the event this weekend. Yesterday at the short programme, Mao skated just before RUS Alena Leonova, and instead of attempting a triple axel she opted for a double and it was a good call. She skated cleanly landing an additional triple flip-double loop combination and a triple loop, with the only nitpicking flaw being her slow camel spin. She finished with 64.29 with just a slim lead ahead of Leonova. She was spirited and her programme was sensational. It was fun, light and at times alluring with that smile that she has kept on since leaving Tarasova. Being in the lead was the first step into her second chance at winning her first Grand Prix title in three years.

Today at the ladies' free event, everybody brought their A-game. I was already sort of not feeling RUS Adelina Sotnikova because she was also skating to Liebestraume but Mao's was superior. Tarasova's choreography for Adelina was disjointed and the musical arrangement was not good. Maybe Adelina is just too young to skate to a musical piece that is too emotionally mature? Even so, she has not performed as expected this reason, lagging behind her compatriot and rival Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, whose dynamic debut earned her two titles and is currently the favourite to win. She's young though, so she has such a great future ahead of her, and perhaps it was that pressure of being the face of Russian skating that got to her. In a recent interview, Tatiana said that when Mao first looked at skating to Liebestraume, she also offered to create the piece for her. Mao-chan said no, and looking at Adelina's programme, I'm very happy that she did. It's not Tarasova's thing and if Sotnikova's piece is any indication of what could have been Mao's, it would not be as good as it is now with Lori Nichol's touch. Just a thought. Plus, I was not a fan of her Tango SP last season. Scheherazade is beautiful, but in the future I think it would be great for Mao-chan to stop with Tarasova and go with Lori like she did back in the day. 

Mao-chan Watch: Silver at the 4CC, HUGE Triple Axel!

So results are in, and with 196.30 Mao-chan took home the silver medal at the Four Continents Championships. She opened with a HUGE triple axel that we haven't seen since Vancouver, and skated strongly with a much changed program. More lyrical and more pre-Tatiana Mao, it never failed to make me smile. It was the first time that Mao skated the revised program since Nationals so there were bits where she was rough, but overall it was good enough to remind young skaters Mirai Nagasu and Rachel Flatt (USA), who came in at 3rd and 4th respectively, that her talent has not tarnished one bit. It's a shame for GPF champion Alissa Csizny (USA) for not making the podium after making big errors both in the short and free skate. Congratulations are in order for 4CC champion Miki Ando, who won the title with 201.34!! It looks like we may just have, a repeat of the Japanese showdown back in 2007 when Ando snatched Asada's crown at Tokyo by a point. Arms up ladies, it's going to a bloody Odyssey this March. Tokyo here we come!!!