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. 

Skate America: Top 3 Ladies Performances

MAO ASADA (JAP): SP- CHOPIN'S NOCTURNE; FP- RACHMANINOV'S PIANO CONCERTO NO.2

ASHLEY WAGNER (USA): SP- SHINE ON YOU CRAZY DIAMOND by PINK FLOYD; FP- PROKOFIEV'S ROMEO & JULIET

ELENA RADIONOVA (RUS): SP- ANNA KARENINA, TWO STEPS FROM HELL; FP- FRIDA (SOUNDTRACK)

Enjoy!

Asada Wins The Gold and Sets New Record, Wagner Becomes a Threat

(Credits: AFP Geoff Robins)

What a great start to the season!

Kicking things off this season was the first Grand Prix stop at Detroit, Michigan for Skate America. The ladies event was full of potential and promise, and this weekend we saw Asada and Wagner make a play for their Olympic trails. Mao Asada won the event (we'll get to that in a minute) breaking the 200pt. mark, the first of the season, and Wagner took home the silver after accomplishing two strong and promising programs. This marks a milestone in Asada's career as she finally sets the record for being the only singles skater (to date!) to have won gold at all the current Grand Prix events. This was only the second time she had competed at Skate America, the first back in 2006 during her senior debut- and for both events she skated to Chopin's Nocturne for her short programme. 

She garnered 73.18 points in her short programme after landing a two-footed triple Axel, a triple Flip and a triple Loop-2Loop combination. Her non-jump elements received all Level 4s and her component scores averaged at around 8.5 per category. It gave her nearly a four point lead from Ashley Wagner (US), who scored 69.26 (a personal best) after landing her first credited triple-triple (3F-3T) of the season. She however, lost points on spins for which she received Level 3s, therefore giving Asada a buffer lead.  

In last night's free skate, Wagner repeated her triple-triple again, but after receiving two underrotation calls, she was only credited with five rotated triples and an overall score of 124.55, skating to Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet. Her spins and other non-jump elements left points on the ice once again, and so preventing her from taking over the lead from Asada who earned 131.37. Mao fell on her triple Axel (and a tough fall at that. Hip and ankle!) and underrotated the back end of a 3F-2L-2L combo. She was also credited with five rotated triples but her overall presentation and the rest of her elements proved superior over Wagner's and received Level 4s on all of them. Personally for me, it seemed still a tad generous but protocols reveal that Asada won with her lead in the short and her component scores. Plus, the podium was in the right order, so points aside- I'm fine with the overall results. What this has shown us however is that a.) Wagner is ready to go and is up for contention, provided that she cleans up the rest of her elements, b.) Asada's programs are proving to be great vehicles for her Olympic season and her reputation this year has been favourable, and c.) it's OLYMPIC SEASON! It would be bizarre if we don't see debatable judging running up to the Winter Games!  

All competition aside, it was lovely to hear that there was nothing but love and respect between the girls. 

"I have to say congrats to Mao, because she is pushing this sport further and further every single competition, and that's something we should all be very happy about," Wagner said.* referring to Asada's triple Axel. 

"The triple axel is something that's so exciting to happen in figure skating and I really I can't wait to see the day where it's not just the triple-triple that's required to be competitive but the triple axel," Wagner said. "Having women like Mao setting the tone in that way is quite extraordinary. She's pushing the boundaries of skating, and it's up to us whether or not we're going to keep up with her.

Even the youngster Radionova says that she doesn't see Mao as 'just a rival' but also as '[her] idol', which I think is so sweet. Let's not forget, when Asada came on to the scene in 2005, she only a year older that Elena and was the bright young ingenue who upset the likes of Cohen, Slutskaya and Arakawa as she competed and won over the senior ladies. Had she been eligible to compete at the Games in Turin, she would have been the favourite to win the gold. I really do wish all the best to Radionova, especially as the sport needs new and promising talents to take over, after the leaders at Sochi retire from competitive skating. 

Another notable attendee was Russia's firecracker Junior World Champion, Elena Radionova, the fourteen-year old wunderkind who is making her senior debut- armed with the most difficult combination for the ladies', a triple Lutz-triple Toe. Sound familiar? It's only Kim Yuna's calling card! Though still far too young to compete at Sochi, Radionova is taking no time off to create a name for herself. She has shown tremendous potential this weekend and winning the bronze at Skate America shows that she can compete with the top ladies in the field- even taking over her compatriot Elizaveta Tuktamysheva who is still suffering from puberty pangs and inconsistencies. Here's hoping that puberty goes easy on Radionova, for as it stands- she's the future of Russian skating. PLUS, she is so adorable to watch. She is bursting with joie de vivre and excitement and spirit whenever she hits the ice, and she looks like Dakota Fanning. 

See you at Skate Canada!

Quotes: ESPN

Asada Update: Mao Takes Silver

From Left to Right: Mao Asada (JAP) at 2nd, Ashley Wagner (USA) at 1st and Caroline Zhang (USA) at 3rd. 

Okay. I'm not going to rant as I intended to because that wouldn't be a good colour on me. Mao wouldn't have liked it if I did also, so.

I can't. I have to say something!
I read the news at 6am and found myself wide awake. I had a nagging feeling that something was going to happen and I wasn't sure what, so before I went to bed I was a bit unsettled by how the ladies' free skate will turn out. As expected, something did happen. Ashley Wagner (USA) claimed her first international title at the Four Continents Championships with a career high of 192.41, beating our two-time World Champion Mao Asada, who ended with 188.62. 

As far as her overall performance was concerned, a clean Ashley deserved the title for this competition. She has been performing well this season, winning her first National title two weeks prior, and it came as no surprise that with such a slim lead, Mao's downgraded triple axel gave Wagner the title. She landed six clean triples against Mao-chan's five so it wasn't shocking. Earlier on in the short programme, Mao clinched the lead with 64.25 but the gap was relatively grey between that and Wagner's 64.07. Whether or not it was the altitude or the fact that it was home turf for the Americans that ultimately downplayed Asada's game, we'll never know, but the fact remains that my favourite darling had to settle for second best. 

This does not, however, discredit Mao's performance. She landed a triple axel! Underrotated, but she landed it. She's tried to put it out this season at Colorado and chances are, it will give her the confidence to try at Nice this March for the World Championships. She made a couple of errors; doubling a triple salchow and having a hand down on a triple lutz- but on a positive note, her lutz did not get an edge call! No more flutzes for Mao! Liebestraum has been a superior programme for her for the last couple of seasons and though she has yet to nail it to perfection, it is still one of the strongest free programmes in the ladies' field. Plus, she has a new Grecian-inspired costume which is just the most beautiful thing ever! However, with her track record, Mao also wore another new costume, though slightly more hideous for her Scheherazade SP. As it turned out, she did like the trousers from the first outfit but it did not allow for maximum movement. They said it would have put a dent on any triple axel attempt, so instead of risking it, out came a cyan number with a fluffy bra. Oh, Mao! ^^

To comment on the whole thing, in my head I kept screaming "AN AMERICAN BEAT MAO ASADA. WHAT!?'. With Mirai Nagasu out of the running and Kim Yu Na on the verge of retirement, it seemed as though Mao was clear of any immediate threat. Her biggest competition this season has always been Carolina Kostner (with her hefty European marks) and her fellow compatriots, not the American ladies. Alissa Czisny has been quite a mess this season despite winning the Grand Prix in 2011, and until now Wagner has never been a strong contender but I guess with two strong programmes with a promise of a triple-triple combination, the game was on. 

The main issue that sent Twitter-fans to go amuck was the fact that Mao Asada was beaten by Ashley in the PCS scores. I'm happy to say that because she skates cleanly, Ashley deserved that medal, but to get a +2 GOE on a spiral that featured a 'swan' breaking wings is ridiculous. I have seen that spiral so many times this season and it is not +GOE worthy, at least not by that much. It is Kim Yu Na all over again! All season, Mao's PCS scores has been one of the best because she's just that good. A messed up Mao can still beat a clean Carolina if it meant getting back points on the basis of presentation. Also, Asada got a LOT of -GOEs, but for what?! Almost everything. One judge gave her as much as a -3 for an underrotated triple axel. Now, I am not a skating expert so I'm leaving the protocol sheet as it is, but if somebody like the much debated Patrick Chan (CAN) can break the 300 point mark with a season peppered (and I mean, PEPPERED) with falls and near mishaps, how does an underrotation earn that much negativity? We're talking about presentation here, and I will go for Mao's beautiful Biellman finish over Ashley's iffy take on being a demented ballerina. Wagner was good- her free programme has grown on me but she does not have Mao's pedigree when it comes to classical skating. It's just weird! That's not even saying that I am just a bit too biased towards my favourites, as anybody would be blind not to know who's superior when it comes to presentation and interpretation. 

Here's Ashley's Free Skate,

Nevertheless, I am happy that Mao has finally put her triple axel back in the game. Strategically, if she wanted to claim a third World title, all she needs to do is to change the salchow to a triple toe, and execute a double instead of a triple axel. The extent of her on-going jump rebuilding has yet to produce world record setting 3As, and she's always been unsteady with the salchow so to play it safe would mean earning more +GOEs and taking home the gold. However, knowing what she's like in the field, Mao is gutsy. I never know now when to expect a triple axel, let alone a triple flip-triple loop combo she's been practicing lately. Luckily for us fans, she does listen to her coach Nobuo Sato and his very 'centered' and zen-like teaching has been a good pat on Asada's back ever since. She's not peaked yet, and I have a feeling that Ashley has, so we'll see how it goes in Nice this March. France loves Mao and her skating so it'll always be like skating on home turf for her. I remember, they gave her an encore despite not making the podium at the French Grand Prix. How much more love can they give eh? I WILL NOT be watching the US commentaries though, that's for sure. Scott Hamilton annoys me with his logic. Euro commentators all the way baby! They know. 

[image: Examiner]