Sochi 2014: Opining on the Ladies Event- The Good, The Bad, and Mao Asada

What an emotionally draining two weeks this has been! I don't know about you, but the Sochi Winter Games has taken me to all different emotional highs and lows- especially the last 48 hours. Let's just get to it okay? There's so much to talk about and I'm on an Asada-induced nirvana that I just want to plough through this crap. And believe me, there is a ton and a half of bullshit to get through, and this is going to be a LONG post.

Let's begin with, OBVIOUSLY, the ultimate Champion of the Games (yes, with a capital C)- Japan's Mao Asada. On Wednesday night, Mao Asada went into the short program as a major gold medal contender. However, the next two and a half minutes were to be the worst  of her skating career. She fell on a downgraded triple axel, underrotated a triple flip, and nulled a planned triple loop combination. It was just *BAM*. Silence fell, not only in the Iceberg Palace, but also in the Ventura household. Four years after losing to Kim, Asada found herself in 16th place. 

All of the sudden, all that hard work- all the pain of relearning her jumps, losing her mother, the success since Vancouver- it all came to nothing. She held it all in at the Kiss and Cry, and when the night finished, Asada lost any hope of ever medalling at Sochi. 

Today however, was a different story. 

Skating to Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto 2, Mao went into the free skate with no pressure, no tension, no nothing- and boy did it pay off. She landed EIGHT triples (and yes, ALL the triple jumps) including her signature triple axel and a triple flip-triple loop! She breezed through her programme with grace, maturity, and performed like the CHAMPION that she is. She got a couple of URs, but even so- she received a personal best of 142.71, and realised her dream of skating the perfect performance at the Olympics. The breakdown of emotion after her final element was just so moving, that nothing else mattered. We'll get to the scores in a minute, but for now- let's all pay our respects to the great Mao Asada, who performed with incredible grace under pressure and did her country proud, despite what any Japanese ex-PM thinks (shame on you Yoshiro Mori!.) There are moments in life when all the method, all the scores, the numbers, the politicking, the stakes, and all rationalisation go out the window- and this was one of those moments. Those four minutes will stand as a momentous event in the history of figure skating. 

Moving forward....here are my thoughts on the rest of the competition (I know... had to sit through two more groups!)

THE GOOD

CAROLINA KOSTER (ITA) finally medalled at an Olympic Games! Third time really was the charm for this statuesque Italian. She broke her unlucky streak by skating two clean programs, and just exuded so much artistry and grace- she really should have won the Gold medal. In fact, I am baffled at how the judges stomached giving her an 8.71 in Transitions? Yes, she is technically inferior to the rest of the field but if there was one thing she could rely on, it was her second mark, which remained in the mid- to low-9s! What the hell? In any case, apart from Mao- Carolina was the only other skater who skated like a star tonight- full of personality, gumption and pure joy. If she was to retire today, her performance at Sochi was nothing short of a spectacular swan song. 

Sochi 2014: Ladies Figure Skating Team Event- Short Program (Thoughts?)

What's an Olympic event without a few raised brows and a stream of questions on one's Twitter feed? Today's event got tongues wagging as we watched some of the most-anticipated ladies in the field, compete for the first time in the Winter Games roster for their national teams the Figure Skating Team Event. Headliners included Julia Lipnitskaia (RUS), Mao Asada (JPN), Carolina Kostner (ITA) and Ashley Wagner (USA). 

There were a lot of questions afterwards, so instead of writing a preamble, let's just get to it!

RANKINGS after the short program:

(Source: Yahoo)

1. (RUS) Julia Lipnitskaya, 72.90 (TES 39.39 PCS 33.51)- Julia skated a clean program. It was surprisingly excellent- but for me, that was mainly due to the crowd. The Russian audience were outstanding in their support for the fifteen year-old as they cheered her on, complete with a standing ovation before she even finished her final spin. Taking the crowd with you and skating a clean program will get you far in the Games, and this performance took Julia to the top. However, was she overscored? In my opinion- yes. Even before looking at the protocol, it was obvious that there were a few kinks in her otherwise fine program. Julia had a very obvious flutz which was 'overlooked' today, and a terrible double axel that warranted a side-comment from Robin Cousins and +2s in GOE from three judges. Considering the entry and the height and distance that her 2A covers- it's generous to give it a +1. Her components score also kept rising, with 2 points higher than her European Championships score. It's not a surprise that such 'inflation' is seen at the Games but when you have the world watching not just the athletes but also Russia itself- one does wonder who's in charge. I also don't understand how the judges could give her a mid-8 score in Interpretation and Choreography when she's hardly an aesthetic performer. There's no fire, no artistry, no choreography. Unlike her free program, this SP is quite bland. Whatever. All I can say is, if the technical panel proves to be lenient on edge calls all the way to next week, Mao better get +GOEs and no calls on her lutz. After all, the Olympics are all about equality, right technical panel?

2. (ITA) Carolina Kostner, 70.84 (TES 35.92 PCS 34.92)- Surprise, surprise! Carolina skated CLEAN. Complete with a triple toe-triple toe, Caro was fabulous on the ice. She skated to her new short program looking inspired and took on her final Olympic bid head on. She's not as flexible as Julia nor as technically competitive, but her crisp landings and considerable ice coverage earned her enough positive GOEs. I'm fine with her being behind Julia in the TES, although really not by four points, but to have them almost neck in neck in components was a joke. Kostner's lines are much more superior, her musicality and interpretation sublime, and her transitions and skating skills greater than Yuna Kim. I just don't get the mark. I would have given somewhere within the region of 36 and Julia around 31. I'm beginning to sense a pattern here. 

3. (JPN) Mao Asada, 64.07 (TES 31.25 PCS 33.82)- Yes, Asada fell. Not only did she fall, her triple Axel was also downgraded and with the deduction- it was basically a null element. HOWEVER, the rest of Mao's program was absolutely fantastic. Her lines were great as always, her spins were also good- overall, it wasn't a bad performance. All season Asada has been undefeated, and that's with a season of no 'clean' programs (except for GPF, that axel was round.) and her components scores have been steadily around the 34 area. All of the sudden today- what's with the drop? Okay fine, the fall caused a dilemma- but it didn't really affect her overall performance. Her spins, which all season has been awarded a Lv.4 has now dropped. A judge even had the audacity to give her 7s in components (!)- and this is a skater who exudes Chopin's musicality to the tips of her fingers! Her program was well-structured, it has enough transitions and her interpretation and skating skills were otherwise on point. DO NOT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THAT STEP SEQUENCE. Mao is the QUEEN of the StSq- and hers today was not in way shape or form a Level 3. WHAT IS GOING ON?! She's in the right position but should be a point higher in her second mark IMO. 

4. (USA) Ashley Wagner, 63.10 (TES 32.16 PCS 30.94)- Another skater hammered down on PCS was Ashley Wagner. Unfortunately for Diva Wagner, despite landing the triple flip-triple toe which she missed during the warm-up, she landed her backend toe on two feet and her flip was called underrotated. Ouch. She was very cautious and nervous heading in, but in the end she pulled off a good program that would have done her great service at Nationals. However, we're in Russia. Of course it wasn't going to be good enough- and the judges were saving marks for a certain *ahem* favourite. Her skating style fitted the music perfectly, and despite not having the best lines or skating skills (or transitions- while we're at it), her PCS shouldn't have been that low. A 31-2 at the most maybe, and that's with Olympic inflation- but the disgust on her face when she was given her scores said it all. 

5. (CAN) Kaetlyn Osmond, 62.54 (TES 33.86 PCS 28.68)- I really am not a fan of Osmond's and I couldn't care less about her performance- however, she skated cleanly after coming back from the injuries that plagued her all season! Well done. She showed flashes of the Kaetlyn that caught everyone's attention last year, full of fire and personality on the ice. I thought it was funny that the judges gave her a mid-6 for linking footwork and transitions. HER WHOLE PROGRAM IS LIKE RAPUNZEL'S HAIR WHEN ITS BRAIDED! In fact, one would argue that there's too much. Whatever. I don't see her medalling, but I would have been generous and given her a somewhere between a 29-30 in components. 

At this point, I don't know if the judges are trying to prop up Julia as THE medal contender, or if they're sending Kim a message, or they're just being terribly inconsistent or if they're being pressured (yes, I went there.) The good thing is, this is only a team event. I see this more as a good tune-up for the athletes to test out the Sochi ice before their upcoming individual events. After all, one would hate to see one's favourite peak at the most unimportant event in the roster. On a positive note, putting the over/underscoring aside, it's surprisingly fun to watch the teams interact with each other. It's not quite as fabulous as the World Team Trophy, but at least it's giving enough good vibes for all the athletes, having their teammates' support at the Kiss and Cry. 

Click here to see the protocols.

Watch out for tomorrow's free skate event. It's set a 19:00hrs local Sochi time. For us in the UK, we can enjoy Robin Cousin's enlightened commentary on BBC Sports at 3pm. 

Sochi 2014: The Ladies Roster- Who Will Win Gold?

The Games at Sochi is just days away from commencement, and sure enough- the ladies' figure skating event remains the jewel in the crown of the Winter Olympics. The fact that it is slotted in the later half of the event raises more tension and excitement in the air. Who's going to take the gold? We have a very deep field of seasoned veterans and fresh young talent, waiting to take their place on the ice and leap their way to victory. Take a look at the ten ladies you should watch out for: (The ranking is how I predict the top ten will finish)

Yu Na Kim (Getty Images)

1.) Yu Na Kim (KOR)- The reigning World and Olympic Champion comes back to defend her title after a rather light, yet still impressive, couple of seasons. Kim managed to prove her critics wrong when she sashayed in at London, Ontario last year, beating the competition to a pulp despite being away from the circuit all season. In the run up to the Winter Games in Sochi this month, Kim showed little signs of wear and tear, failing to skate clean programs at the Golden Spin Trophy and South Korean National Championships. It's not costly as was shown by her victories, but every little counts when she has young and hungry skaters breathing down her neck. Due to her low ISU ranking, she is set to skate in the earlier groups. This can be a good thing in that there will be no pressure as she should stay ahead of the pack going into the final group. However, as history can often repeat itself- the judges may want to save marks for later and leave Kim a few points behind like they did at Worlds, despite a perfect skate. It will prove vital that she lands her triple lutz-triple toe combination in both her programs, and skate with the fire that has been lacking since her win at Vancouver, to win gold again and the chance to add her name to a rather short and exclusive list of repeat Olympic Champions. 

Mao Asada (Getty Images)

2.) Mao Asada (JPN)- She remains unbeaten in the circuit this season, as she was last season in the run up to the World Championships. However, come the showdown between Asada and Kim last March, she made a couple of costly errors that ultimately cost her the gold. Since her silver medal at Vancouver, she seeked out revered Japanese coach Nobuo Sato to help her restructure and relearn her jumps from scratch to regain full use of her arsenal. Asada remains to be the only woman who is capable of landing all six jumps, however, it all depends of whether she does land them. She has matured greatly in artistry in the last four years, and so in the run up to Sochi, Asada once again looks as a heavy favourite for gold. I put her behind Kim because unless she had changed her mind, she enters the free skate with a hope of landing two triple axels again, therefore removing her lutz (which apart from the change of edge, has been looking solid thus far) and her triple-triple combination. This poses as a problem because she had only managed to land her triple axel cleanly, once this season. Nevertheless, she goes into the Games with the strongest short program, a renewed reputation with the judges, and a gutsy fighting spirit that may serve her well and land her on top of the podium. 

(EDIT: Mao has just announced she's ditching the second 3A in the free program for a more balanced layout. Phew! Good girl! Read it here.)

Julia Lipnitskaya (Getty Images)

3.) Julia Lipnitskaya (RUS)- This young Russian prodigy has proven that she is a main threat. She doesn't yet have the artistry of Kim and Asada but she has the technical goods to blow the competition away. Despite her tendency to flutz and her relatively small jumps, she is capable of landing a solid triple lutz-triple toe. Puberty is also on her side, being small still and so flexible- so if she hasn't gone through the ugly shift just yet, then now will be the time to strike! Clean will have to be Julia's agenda heading into the Games, and the fact that she will be competing on home turf and skating to Schindler's List- the stars may very well align for this young talent and get her a medal at her first Olympics. Her recent victory at the European Championships will also help with the judges to cement her status as a serious contender. Yes, her scores have seen a rather dramatic rising from the Grand Prix Series to the Euros, but will we see the same 'inflation' at Sochi? The Russians are notorious when it comes to politicking, but at the end of the day, ice is slippery. She showed cracks when she competed at the Cup of Russia earlier this season, and she heads into the Games as Russia's number two. Anything can happen. 

ISU World Championships 2012: Thoughts

What a weird final! It's been a rather interesting finish to the season, what with Patrick Chan getting booed for winning (stealing) the gold medal, to Carolina Kostner actually skating good enough (for me anyway) to win her first World title. Here are my thoughts on the events that went down this week....mainly on the ladies' event, because Eurosport messed up the timetables that they ended up not showing anything on TV. I did find a stream for the ladies at the end and the videos for the men's have been available online, so fragmented though it has been, I managed to watch most of the Worlds. 

LADIES:

After making the GPF final, and then withdrawing because of the death of her mother...then finishing 2nd at Four Continents, Mao Asada (JAP) skated lackluster programs that ultimately placed her at 6th place. She missed fell on her opening triple axel in the short, which she went for in memory of her mother (it was Kyoko's favourite jump) therefore hurting her scores, and then in today's free programme, she only landed three triples (3FL-2T, 3L, 3Sal), a 2A-2T, and 2FL. She singled her opening axel and the final loop, and in the end she scored 164.52. From where I stand, its all psychological with Mao. It seems to be a mixture of trying to prove she's still a top skater hence all the triple axel attempts, a lack in confidence because of her jump training, and the loss of her mother. It's unfortunate that all of these elements caused another season off the podium, especially after a wonderful start at the Grand Prix and a promising return of her 3-3 combo...but we can forgive her for losing steam. In fact, through it all..as her PCS showed tonight (60.52), her skating quality was still top grass. Hopefully she will take the time off-season to reevaluate where she wants to be by next winter. She does not need the Japanese press harping down her neck on her failure to land triple axels....it's not the only thing that makes her a champion. Also, I think however stubborn she is, she needs to realise that there is nothing left to prove to the world. I kinda wish Yu Na was competing in the circuit again just push back Mao into old form like back in the old days. 

On a much brighter note, WELL DONE to Akiko Suzuki and Kanako Murakami, who finished at 3rd and 5th respectively. Team Japan came out strong, and the Suzuki earned a bronze medal after a fabulous skate to Die Fledermaus with only a singled Lutz tarnishing what was otherwise a gleaming performance. With a strong 180.68, she edged out Ashley Wagner (USA) who was also astounding with her clean Black Swan programme. After tumbling down to 8th in the short programme, Wagner restored the pride of the US team by hitting seven triples and earning 176.77, way ahead of her teammate Alissa Czisny who finished at 22nd place with 124.11 with a sloppy performance full of falls. Carolina Kostner (ITA) finished at the top with a nearly perfect performance that earned her 189.94 points. She hit five triples and capitalised on her component marks by upping the artistry, even with that hideous jumpsuit costume of hers (really, why is nobody commenting on her camel-toes this season!?). That was enough to take the lead from Alena Leonova (RUS) who was emotional after skating a solid programme, eventually finishing at 2nd place. 

MENS:

Surprise, surprise..Patrick Chan (CAN) takes the gold medal despite botching a planned triple lutz and falling on a double axel. With a collective score of 266.11, he takes his second World title ahead of Team Japan's Daisuke Takahashi and Yuzuru Hanyu, who was a surprising bronze medallist. Takahashi landed a beautiful quad and skated a beautiful programme for the ages, but obviously that wasn't enough for the judges. Seriously, what does it take to take Chan out? Personally, I feel that this season Takahashi has been robbed of many a gold medals, but whatever. I'm no judge so if they say Patrick in untouchable....then I'm sticking with the crowd with their booing. After a rocky short programme, Hanyu unleashed his inner Romeo and jumped ahead of veteran Brian Joubert (FRA) and fellow team member Florent Amodio (FRA) by landing a quad and eight triples. This boy has got such a bright and shining future ahead of him, I have nothing but love! I have adored that step sequence since the beginning of the season and he recovered and delivered effortlessly, I can only applause and smile. Another surprise was Joubert's comeback! After two less than desirable seasons, he serves us two clean programmes alongside gratuitous bum angles that remind us of why we love him so much. Woop woop! Jeremy Abbott (USA) did enough to secure a top ten finish, with only a fall out on a triple axel and a little flaw with his step sequence, he fought for his jumps enough to earn 226.19 points. That just made him so much more adorable to me. 

PAIRS:

Oh the joy! The joy on Takahasi/Tran's (JAP) faces when they finished with a bronze medal was priceless! I couldn't help but smile at Narumi's Tom-Cruise-at-Oprah's-couch reaction to their scores, wasn't it just heartwarming? They just beat Pang and Tong (CHI) and earned the first ever Pair's medal for Team Japan. That on it's own was reason enough to watch the competition. 

Actually, watching Maxim Trankov (RUS) fall on a pivot, dropping Tatiana Volosozhar on a death spiral was also a jaw-dropping moment. Team Russia did not have the best of luck going into the free programme, after unanimously falling everywhere on the ice. But the curse was countered by Mother Russia for they made up for it with a clean skate at the free, earning the silver medal with 201.38 points. Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy (GER) won their fourth World title, with a minutely flawed skate but considering how relatively....average? the field had performed, it did not take much to win. No, actually, it was .11 points that set them just ahead of the Russians. That's how good their comeback was. 

Overall, it was a rather surreal season finish. All week there was talk of how the quality of ice at Nice left more to be desired, and perhaps the warm weather proved a little too taxing for the skaters. But at the very least, with Mao being less than stellar, it gave Kanako, Akiko, Ashley and Carolina an opportunity to shine. Caro deserved her gold and it's about time for her. I never really peg Alena as a medal contender, mostly because I'm not her biggest fan and I find her programmes quite unbecoming, for lack of a better word. Kana-chan and Akiko came to win and they did..especially since Kanako had not medalled at all this season, at least she raised her season's best this week. Shame about Ashley, but she made up for Alissa's crap. I'm happy for the Japanese men for their medals but I stand on my ground that Chan was overscored and was not deserving of that title. Hopefully, next season will be more interesting and exciting. For some reason, this Championship felt a little under the weather, so to speak. With the Russian jumping babies debuting next season alongside the promising Gracie Gold of the US, the field might just be shaken with some fresh talent. Finally, here's hoping Mao gets it all together. If Sochi is her goal, she only has two more seasons before her time is up. I will be here to support all the way :)

Hope you enjoyed the season!

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.