Figure Skating Chat!- Page 13

[Madame X]

Posted: 2/10/06 at 9:30am

Doesn't it suck to have to type out all those names VIETgrlTerifa?

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 1:37am

Shouldn't she be practicing?

Um...who says she isn't practicing? Every big name Olympian will be doing tons of interviews in-between the practices and competition.

Doesn't it suck to have to type out all those names VIETgrlTerifa?

Not really, because I love typing all of them out. I'm a huge figure skating nut, lol.

NPR reported that we'd better watch out for the Russians this time. The report said that since the last Olympics big money has once again been pumped into the training program a la the Soviet era.

That doesn't really change anything because the Russians have always been a powerhouse in figure skating, and deservedly so.

Updated On: 2/11/06 at 01:37 AM

[cturtle]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 1:39am

you must be a gymnastics nut too!

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 1:42am

I'm not as nutty about it as I am with figure skating, but I'm getting there.

[cturtle]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 1:47am

well, then, we should start a club. i think we'd get along just right :)

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 1:54am

I'm just glad I can go crazy about figure skating with someone else on this board, lol.

[cturtle]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 1:58am

there are a good many of us skating fans. it's going to be fun when the olympic competition starts. i just hope people don't post any spoilers!

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 2:03am

That's why I won't be going on the internet at all until AFTER the competititon airs on NBC.

By the way, who do you want to see in the top 6 of all the disicplines?

[cturtle]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 2:08am

i'd love to see the AMERICAN LADIES sweep! i like IRINA too, but in a different way than our ladies.

i'd like to see MATT SAVOIE skate really well and get a high placement. i love him to death.

i also hope JEFFREY BUTTLE rocks. he has two EXCELLENT programs, if he can just skate them cleanly.

i definitely want to see TANITH and BEN on the podium. they SO deserve it.

and i hope S & Z are now healthy enough to bring down the house.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 2:21am

I wrote this for another board where a poster wanted to know who the Big contenders would be in the skating competition, so I will copy and paste what I wrote there. Sorry if there are any biasedness in these because I tried to be as fair as I could:

Pairs:

Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin (Russia)- 2 time and reigning world champs. Although a bit cold to each other and at times the audience, they are very elegant and could be moving when on. They have a lot of elements that are textbook, like many of the best Russian pairs, but again, seem to be lacking something the other great Russian pairs have. It is their textbook technique that really makes them stand apart from other teams. They improved a lot in presentation as well, much improved from the robots that they were in 2002.

Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao (China)- 2 time World champs, but major injury kept them from competing the LP at last year's worlds and he's just coming off of surgery. Though they have made great progress, we don't know how they're going to skate in Torino. Though don't have the textbook line that Totmianina and Marinin have, they have dynamic presentation and great choreography, and they have a great relationship towards each other and audience. Big throws.

Pang and Tong (China)- elegant pair that can be enjoyable, however her very skinny body and pairs sloppiness can take away from the performance. They have times where they can be totally clean and sell the program well musically, and at the same time be sloppy too and off-beat as well. It's weird. Big throws.

Zhang and Zhang (China)- probably have the biggest throws of all pairs, but can be very zzzzzz. Though they try and have worked on selling their programs.

Aliona Savchenkoand Robin Szolkowy (Germany)- new pair that really took notice this season. They got together in 2004 and really could be medal spoilers. They work well under the new scoring system, and they seem to have that "it" quality that some of the bronze medal contenders lack.

Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhnov (Russia)- 2000 World champs. They can be solid when on and have nice presentation, but they're pretty sloppy or boring at times. They don't have the polish of Totmianina and Marinin and seem far from their prime. However, they can't be counted out because they are certainly in the hunt for a medal.

Julia Obertas and Sergei Slavnov (Russia)- Tamara Moskvina's newest pair. Moskvina gave us classic pairs team like Mishkutenok and Dmitriev and Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze and coached the 1984 Olympic pairs gold medalist and current coach of Totmianina/Marinin, Oleg Vassiliev. They have the Moskvina style, flexibility and fresh choreography. However, they don't seem to have the quality that Moskvina's great pairs have. They lost a bit of steam, but they still do have enough to be a dark horse in the medal hunt.

Dorota Zagorska and Mariusz Siudek (Poland)- Known for big, great lifts. They are a sort of old-timer team like Petrova/Tikhnov, but they are still able to be in contention for a medal if they are on.

Rena Inoue and John Baldwin, Jr. (USA)- Current U.S. champs. Inconsistent, especially Baldwin, but had a kick ass Long Program at Nationals this year where they did the first ever Throw Triple Axel. Though many think they are long shots for a medal, I believe they could be in contention for a medal if they perform their LP the same way they did at Nationals LP. The international judges seem to like them well enough too, but you never know.

If I forgot any good teams, please add more to the list.

Men:

Evgeny Plushenko (Russia)- the 3 time World champ is the clear favorite for the mens gold medal. Missed the World Championships last year due to injury, but he seems to have come back in top form for Torino. Though his chroeography is lacking and there are things other men can do better, nobody has the command that he has and he really sells the programs that he do. When he's on, he'll can make you forget about some of his shortcomings and he shows you why he's the champion.

Stephane Lambiel (Switzerland)- the reigning World Champ is the one people think can dethrone Plushenko, if anyone could. He has excellent spins, one of the best spinners currently in the eligible world. He also has quads that he has been able to land the past and his style and danceability are really first-rate (Buttonism), though can be a bit unrefined. However, he hasn't looked like he's in the shape that he was at Worlds last year, and his triple axel is becoming a bit scary for him right now. What also hurts him is that as excellent as his spins are, the spins he's choosing to do actually seem to be level 2-3s rather than level 4s which will hurt him.

Jeffrey Buttle (Canada)- reigning World silver medalist. He has shown that he can still medal even with a lot of mistakes because of his PCS score. Buttle knows how to choreograph his programs to suit the new COP. They're full of difficulty, in-betweens, and choreography that matches the music. His style is very musical and has one of the best presentation skills, but his style is a lot more subdue and subtle than it is flamboyant. His big problem is his lack of quad and his inconsistency. He needs to be able to do his jumps if he wants to be close to getting the gold.

Johnny Weir (USA)- The 3 time U.S. champ is a great lyrical skater who is seemingly skating to the beat of his own drummer. He doesn't have a quad (though he's been doing them in practice in Torino, so who knows), which hurts him, and he has been battling the COP this season rather than being helped by it. He has changed his Long Program from piano muzack to an old one that is really breathtaking if he is on. If he can have the skate of his life, he may have a medal around his neck.

Daisuke Takahasi (Japan)- one of the more musical skaters in this group, his Long Program to Rachmaninoff is incredibly smooth and flows with the music very well. He's fast and his jumps can be really breathtaking. His strength is that he makes everything, even the jumps, look so effortless. However, he hasn't been able to land his Quad cleanly, and his inconsistency may hurt his chances for a medal (like it did at Worlds last year). IMO, he's the one to watch other than Plushenko, Weir and the 3 World medalists from Worlds last year.

Brian Joubert (France)- a masculine skater who prides himself more on jumps than style. Many people criticize him for his imitation of Alexei Yagudin (reigning Olympic champ) and his choreography. Also, he's very stiff and doesn't have the quality that the other men do. However, one thing he has that some of the other men don't have, when he's in his form, he is a good solid jumper. His jumping could be very secure and high. That and his charming persona could help him win a medal. One thing he can claim that many other skaters can't is having beat Plushenko.

Evan Lysaceck (USA)- the regining World bronze medalist is different from the current U.S. champ Johnny Weir. He's charismatic and his style is more in-your-face. He has a very loose way of movement that is actually appealing so he can really move fast with the fast music he's chosen and get the audience going. His problem is his inconsistency to hit and his unpolishness can be off-putting to some. But he is musical and can get himself in contention for a medal if he sells his program and hits his jumps.

Emmanuel Sandhu (Canada)- probably the biggest "diva" in Mens skating. Many people think that he's the only man who can beat a clean Plushenko, and he has beaten Plushenko during the 2003-2004 Grand Prix Final, though it was based on a technicality. He has excellent clean body line and a balletic like quality that sets him apart. Great dancability. However, he always seems to be 2 extremes...skating very well or skating very badly. There never seems to be a middle ground and there are times where he skates the SP very well then bombs the LP, and vice verca. You really hold your breath for the first moments of his program and after that, you seem to know what to expect.

Fredric Dambier (France)- just recently placed 4th at the European Championships and though him medaling is a long shot, he's a skater that could spoil the rankings in some way. He can be enjoyable to watch and has fans in this sport that enjoy this style.

Ilia Klimkin (Russia)- Very flamboyant, musical, and avant-garde in style. His programs have transitions that are out of this world and he can do moves that no other man can do, like reverse camel spin into triple salchow! However, he never seems to be able to be in medal contention, and we are never sure how he'll skate. I also don't think his current Long Program shows off his avant-gardenss that well.

Kevin Van Der Perren (Belgium)- Charming skater who many people seem to have a crush on. I don't think he's in contention for a medal, but he's very enjoyable to watch he's certainly capable of great performances. Something about him makes him likeable.

Matt Savoie (USA)- a real skater's skater. His basic skating skills really are first-rate and he has a nice quiet quality about his skating that makes him enjoyable to many fans. His choreography is also complex and his presention goes well with the music he skates too. The cons are that sometimes he may be too quiet and that he's very underrated and underscored by the judges.

I think those are all the contenders for Men. Please add some more if you think I overlooked someone or tell me if you disagree on some of my assessments.

Ladies and Ice Dance coming up.

Updated On: 2/12/06 at 02:21 AM

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 2:29am

Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomorov (Russia)- are the reigning and 2-time World Champions. Though they don't have the most difficult programs, they do what they do very well and they have a line and polish that no other team has. They can be elegant to watch and fun to watch. However, Tatiana Navka does the bulk of the difficulty, but that is not to say that Roman doesn't do anything difficult or hasn't improved, but she's clearly the strength of the team. There are some that think they are pretty blah for a gold medal favorite ice dance team because they seem to do the same sort of free dance and that there are other teams that are superior. Many also think that they don't deserve such "invincibility" in their scoring.

Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto (USA)- are the reigning World silver medalists. They are young and very energetic team. Their routines are full of difficulty and they have a lot of charm that can only come from a fresh young team. However, sometimes they can seem a bit artificial (yes even for ice dance standards...yes ice dance has standards) and Ben seems to be the strength of the team. Tanith, though making great strides in improving her dance skills, still isn't up to his level yet. People also think Tanith's form and line isn't up to where it should be. It's their strong difficulty and their energy that really makes people like this team.

Elena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov (Ukraine)- Reigning World bronze medalists. Liked by many people, but more from what they potentially can do then what they actually do on ice. Elena Grushina could arguably be the best single ice dancer competing in Torino. It's Ruslan that brings this team down from greatness, but he does enough to warrant them to be big medal contenders. However, their free dance is really not that good this season, almost not watcjable because they are capable of so much more. However, they really are medal contenders and deserve to be.

Delobel and Schoenfelder (France)- A great team where both members do great difficulty and both members have good line and presentation. Though criticized for bordering on the boring side, their programs rival Belbin and Agosto's in terms of difficulty, and this team are known of their great lifts and in-between moves. Known for trying new and innovative moves, and they have a free dance (a really theatrical one) this season that really shows off their strengths and can maybe help them come out of their shell.

Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovski (Israel)- 2002 World bronze medalists. Known for their great footwork and speed in the program that can really get the crowd going. Criticized for bad form and iffy basic skating skills, they have worked very hard the past four years to improve those aspects of their skating. Seemed to have been going in a downward spiral since their bronze win, maybe they will find what they need in time for Torino. It doesn't hurt that they do a Free Dance to the legendary Bolero and have actually made one of the best Free Dances of the year with it. Not bad.

Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon (Canada)- They have one of the best Free Dances this year that really shows off pure dancing in a romantic fashion rather than over-the-top theatrics. Actually beat the reigning world silver medalists this year and beat them in the FD in the Grand Prix Final giving them a medal. They could definitely be in the hunt for a medal.

Oksana Dominina and Maxim Shabalin (Russia)- rising up and coming team that has people excited about the future of this pair. You should watch out for them because they really might be able to have the possibility to break the top 5 if totally on.

Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas (Lithuania)- 5th at the last Olympics, they came back after 3 years away from competitive skating. They surprised everyone by placing third at the recent European Championships. Criticized for her form and basic skating skills and their lack of in-betweens in the chroreography, they do have difficult elements and have a great relationship to each other (they're married so maybe that helps) and they really know how to sell it to the audience. They can be passionate when on, and maybe they might repeat their performances and sneak in a medal.

Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margalio (Italy)- Reigning Olympic bronze medalist in 2002 and former World Champions (2001) are really a question mark going into Torino. They did win the Italian Nationals, but does that equal a good placement or even perhaps a medal at Torino? They are known for their fast footwork and great speed, but criticized for Maruizio's weakness in ice dancing keeping the team from having greater success. Some speculate that the Olympics being in Italy will help their chances for a medal.

Albena Denkova and Maxim Stavynski (Bulgaria)- Dark horses going into the games. They have not competed much this season and missed the European Championships this year. They were the World Silver medalists in 2004, many argue that they should have won that competition, and 5th at the World Champions last year. Known for difficulty in the elements and in-between and noted for having both partners doing the difficulty. They also try to do new and more avant-garde themes to their programs. People criticize that their programs don't really differ from the other in terms of construction and that they can be sloppy at parts. Many people think they aren't in top form so their medal chances are not good with all these teams fighting for medals.

Ok that's ice dance and please add more if you think I missed out on some great teams or if you disagree on anything.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 2:38am

Now, finally the Ladies:

Irina Slutskaya(Russia)- is the reigning and 2 time World Champion. She has high, big jumps and is able to transition from one element to another. Known for her power and speed and excellent basic edge skills. She is able to do incredible jumps that can be attributed to her incredible strength and can have a lovable energetic personality that contrast with many ladies. Criticized for her lack of polish, form problems, finesse and presentation and choreography in skating, and some people feel she's overrated and/or overscored to the point where nobody could beat her. Seems to have adpated very well to the COP and that is her strength, but there is also the uncertainty of her serious heart condition.

Sasha Cohen (USA)- is the reigning and 2 time World Silver medalist. She has the best form and body line our any of the ladies in the field. Her finesse and spin positions are really impressive and make her stand out from the other ladies. However, she's been criticized for being a bit cold. Her basic criticism comes from her basic skating skills where she's behind other ladies and her inconsistency which many people differ on where it comes from. Some say it's her mental focus while others say it's because of her shaky basics, while others say it's both. That being said, she's worked on her basics since Salt Lake City, and has an excellent long program this year that really helps Sasha branch out to the audience and intepret the music better.

Michelle Kwan (USA) - placed 4th at Worlds last year and is a 5-time World Champion. Known for her warmth and emotional performances when she's on. Was one of the most consistent skaters of the ladies field, and has excellent basic skating skills. Also known to be very musical (can be subtle and dynamic), when she tries. Though she's not known for having "the best of the field" elements, some see her has being the best balance of great form and line and great basic skating skills (arguably the best). However, people have been criticizing the past four years of her career. Despite winning one more World title and three more National titles (nine in total), she hasn't been skating at a full competitive schedule since 2002 and her choreography hasn't been the best as it could've been in terms of in-betweens. Some have also noted her dwindling tech. in terms of jumps. That problem is also added with her inexperience with the Code Of Points system. Then her injury just made things a lot worse for Kwan's chances of a medal much less gold. Some also see her as being overrated who relied on her reputation the past four years. However, some people think that if anyone could pull of a medal under these circumstances, its Kwan, and she hasn't placed lower than 4th at an international competition since 1995.

Fumie Suguri (Japan)- reigning Japanese Champ and 2 time World bronze medalist (2002, 2003) who can be a spoiler for a medal. Some see her as warm with a good/great sense of the music with really good basic skating skills. However, some have problems with her form, though not bad, she could definitely improve in this area, especially in terms of stretching out her moves. She also can be inconsistent. However, when she's on, she has a good emotional quality to her skating that makes her endearing to audiences.

Shizuka Arakawa (Japan)- 2004 World Champion. Known for her elegance and flexibility and power and strong basics, Shizuka surprised everyone in 2004 by winning the World Championship title over the likes of Cohen and Kwan. Some criticize her lack of connection to the music, sloppiness at times, and her inconsistency. She's going back to Turandot, the music she won her world title with, after a season skating to Chopin, so we might see that power and fire and musical connection that we saw back in 2004.

Carolina Kostner (Italy)- Reigning World Bronze medalist. Known for excellent flowing speed across the ice and a certain excitement she brings to her skating. Criticized majorly for her lack of polish and posture and major inconsistency. When she bombs a program, she bombs it big time and is like a totally different skater. But when she's on, she's still not really clean either. Has the potential to do a technically demanding program that might impress the judges for a medal, maybe even gold. With the Olympics being in Torino, that might well happen.

Miki Ando (Japan)- First woman to ever land a quadruple jump and placed 4th at her first Senior Worlds in 2004. The most hyped skater of the Japanese known for her great marketability and jumps. However, her jumps have been on/off for her throughout the season as she fixed the major problems she had in presentation and form from 2005. The problems she had was that her presentation was very subpar (not musical and movement very wooden) and that her choreography did not help that. Now, in 2005-2006, with great choreography, Miki Ando didn't have the same fire or dynamic style she was known for and began losing steam. Some also didn't think her transformation was really as impressive as it seemed because she still seemed very forced in her intepretation. So she told the same choreographer to give her a more powerful program to Madame Butterfly (changed it from My Funny Valentine)suit her style. We'll see how that pays off in Torino.

Elena Sokolova (Russia)- 2003 World Silver medalist. Was known for having poor basics and mediocre form, but great jumps, she improved on those aspects of her skating. She is cute and bubbly and is capable of having the audience root for her. Has a techno Long Program that really suits her fun upbeat style (even if it deals with the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet) and strays from the common safe ice princess type of programs we usually see in an Olympic year.

Joannie Rochette (Canada)- Solid competitor who has solid basics and can sell a program when on. Gained fans last year with her David Wilson choreography that is known to be musical and full of choreography. However, Joannie is criticized for not always connecting with the music, and that may keep up in the mid-numbers of the top 10. However, she defintely could be a dark horse and break the top 5 or do even better.

Kimmie Meissner (USA)- Hyped American youngster who did the first ratified triple axel at U.S. Nationals since Tonya Harding in 1991 (whether or not Kimmie's should've been ratified is a different argument). Has difficult programs with a lot of transitions and capable of doing triple/triples. However, people tend to find her pretty blah with presentation that does not really stand out. Very junior-ish in terms of that, but her jumps might be able to put her in the top 5.

Those are the ladies that seem like likely contenders. If you think I left anyone note-worthy out, please add them or call me on anything you disagree with.

[cturtle]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 2:40am

WOW! that's the best summary of the favorites i've seen! and better than any professional view i've heard. i agree with your analysis almost point by point.

it's going to be fascinating to watch all these great skaters (as well as the ones with great potential) and see what the results are!

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 2:43am

I know cturtle. The best thing about these Olympics is that there are so many great contenders in all the disciplines.

Sure there are big favorites for the gold medal, but in all four disciples, anyone in the top 7-10 can really spoil for a medal. I don't think I've seen an Olympics as competitive as this one in a long time as far as figure skating is concerned.

[cturtle]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 2:55am

you're very right about the competitiveness! it would definitely not be a surprise to see the russians sweep the gold medals, but the other placements are totally up for grabs, and any one of the top russians COULD be upset.

what has johnny changed his long program to??

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 3:06am

After Johnny won his third U.S. title last January, he watched his performance and even though he landed all of his jumps, he felt the program was flat and played against his strengths and decided to change it back to his last season's program to "Otonal".

If you didn't know, most skating fans sighed in relief and even celebrated when they heard the news. His long program this season was not good at all. He has a love affair with everything Russian right now, and his "Otonal" program was sort of done because of the 1999 World Champion Maria Butryskaya winning worlds to that music. And it was perfect for his soft, lyrical style. It was lyrical, and yet powerful and a bit nostalgic and sad...perfect for Johnny.

For this season, he decided to emulate the 2005 World champ, Irina Slutskaya to her piano muzack, which worked for energetic style, but was awful for him.

[cturtle]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 3:11am

i totally agree. i didn't like this year's program either. i'm glad to hear he's using the old one!

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 6:53am

Vietgirl, I'm going to have to go back and read your summaries when I have time, but they look great!

Does anyone know what channel USA is on cable? Some of the skating is going to be shown on there today at 6pm.

[Glebb]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 9:37am

Wow! Johnny if you're reading, I am so in love with Russia.
I've been to Saint Petersburg and Moscow and I speak a bit of Russian. PM me!
Can't wait to see you skate! C'Bogum e OOdachi!

[NYadgal]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 9:43am

Fabulous summaries!

Dottie, cable channel numbers are different for every cable system. If you go to the NBC Olympics website you will probably be able to get your local listings.

Glebb, I am SURE he will PM you.

[Glebb]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 9:45am

LOL! I'd be surprisingly good for him.

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 11:13am

Lovely summary. But, one quick correction: Rena Inoue and John Baldwin did the first throw tripel axel at US Nationals, not worlds.

[bwaylyric]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 11:14am

Michelle Kwan considers withdrawing from Olympics after bad practice.
article

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 11:20am

Curious-what are the things Plushenko can't do that other skaters can?

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 11:35am

He can't do the "sex sell" that any number of male skaters can do. He also doesn't do "lyrical" as well as most American skaters. Nor does he have a backflip that I've ever seen.

But, neither of those will play into the Olympics -- where he is a HEAVY favorite to win gold. And he will if he skates clean and does all the big jumps.