Our last two U.S. Champions (Nagasu and Meissner) were not able to place any higher than 5th (Nagasu at Skate America) in Grand Prix competition. Inconsistency continues to plague the likes of Czisny and Liang.
Jump downgrades have been the name of the game this season and Zhang and Wagner have felt the brunt of that wrath.
Katrina Hacker is still a bit green and lacking in the technical department and Emily Hughes has...well...she barely did...Our one ray of hope this season has been Rachael Flatt. She's managed to be (mostly) consistent. She also achieved the highest placement on the Grand Prix by any U.S. lady, a silver in Russia. She's had to deal with the occasional downgrade as well but seems to be working through the problems better than the others.
As I look forward to U.S. Nationals, I'm gonna peg Rachael as the one to watch...and potentially...beat. More than any of the other U.S. ladies, she's bringing the goods this season. She's managed to work through the technical content while still bringing some style and elegance to the ice; a feat few U.S. women have accomplished this season. Mark my words...keep an eye on her.
Here's her SP from Cup of Russia...it's not perfect, but shows that she is definitely a competitor.
3 comments:
US Ladies is a wash in the world scene. None of them can be placed in the top 3. Surprisingly, US men actually have a much better chance to bring home the medals. Even possibly a gold. Flatt might actually ended up say 5,6 in the worlds. It's pretty sad. Maybe it's time for Sasha to come back. At least she'll have a much better chance of getting a bronze at the worlds than any of the current ladies. Look for Meissner to continue her downfall. Zhang continue to be down graded for her jumps. Nagasu to fall a few times. Czisny and Liang will both take a dive. Although I do have to say if Czisny only fall once, she might even ended up with a medal and a chance to go to the Worlds. As for Emily, as "fat" (in figure skating standard) as she is, she actually also have a good chance to make it to the podium and go to the Worlds (even though she always look clunky and unpolished). It' going to be a splat-fest for the ladies at Cleveland.
Way to backhandedly compliment Emily Hughes. To call a figure skater fat (even qualifying it with "in figure skating standards"), when eating disorders are fairly prevelant is irresponsible. To do so anonymously in the comments section on someone else's blog is cowardly. Calling Emily's skating unpolished is a legitimate opinion, commenting on her weight is unnecessary and mean.
We all know in figure skating, looks always counts for something. Period. No ifs and buts. When Angela Nikodinov was fat (in figure skating standard), she never did well in international competition. That's is a known fact. But when she got skinny and changed the way she look, boy, did her ranking shot up. Coincidence? I think not. I call them as I see them. Whether you like it or not is your problem. Do I think Emily needs to loose weight as in normal girl. No. She looks like she has a normal average person's weight. But in figure skating world, yes, she's overweight. If she wants to win world medals, then she needs to loose weight. If she's happy to come in say 6,7. Then I think it's perfectly fine in whatever the weight she is in now. I cannot recall a female world/Olympic champion in the past 10 years has her body weight. Can you? I think not. Truth cannot be denied. Period.
Post a Comment