Monday, December 29, 2008

More digging...

Anonymous...as per your request.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks. I think Oda's program 2 years ago was better than this one. Didn't he used to have a quad? Why is that ever since the last Olympic, everyone's quad just starts to fall apart. Even Joubert is having hard time to pull them off now these days. Where is Plushy when you need him?

Aaron said...

He's basking in the glow of Russian stardom!

It seems like Quads Ebb and Flow...we're in an Ebb now. Also, these guys are getting smarter at constructing their programs in ways that they don't need quads, i.e. level four elements, back load the triples, and hit 5 billion positions in your spins. Why do a quad when you get more points for doing a Triple Flip-Triple Toe-Double Loop in the back half of your program?

Anonymous said...

True. But don't they get even more points if they do quad, triple, double in the back half of the program? While I do not believe quad is everything, I just miss a person who can do all the jumps and artistic at the same time a la Kulik. Takahashi and Lambiel came the closest after Plushy. But too bad Lambiel is gone and Takahashi is injured. So the field is left with those who can jump: Joubert, and those who are artistic: Weir, Chan. But not both.

Anonymous said...

Nobunari never landed a quad in his previous season. He also got his 3A rather late for a male skater - he landed his very first successful one in the practice at 2005 Junior Worlds (he was about to turn 18). Apparently he was motivated by Mao Asada, who got tired of his defeated attitude and told him to get his act together. They both landed 3A in the LP and won gold in Kitchener.

Perhaps it doesn't show very well on the TV screen, but he really is incredibly tiny and delicately built in person. Actually I never suspected him to land a successful quad.

His programs this past season were, IMHO, not a good match to him. Nobunari himself said that his goal last season was mostly to recover mentally (he was afraid to compete after his missed season) and land a quad successfully (accomplished at Worlds).

This season he plans to concentrate on performance and skate entertaining programs. He also wants to put 4-3-3 in his LP.

-Maria