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Feb 24, 2014

2014 Olympics: Ladies Event Recap


And that is all.







18 comments:

  1. I came to expect something of substance from you.

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  2. What are your thoughts on their performances that night? Mao and Caro both delivered once-in-a-lifetime performances, and probably Adelina too.

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  3. Why the sudden diplomacy? I had been so looking forward to your comments about this. Yagudin has stopped tweeting, too.

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  4. I am not being diplomatic at all.

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  5. Adequate post. This is one of those things were the only thing to do is forever holding your peace.

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    1. It was just one of those Olympic nights, one of those...

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  6. Kind of disappointing, coming from you of all people.

    I get that you're happy about Adelina's win, but could you perhaps bother to explain a little bit more why you think such high scores for her are warranted? I mean I've seen them all skating live (Adelina most recently) and at least her ice coverage/ skating skills/choreo are nowhere near the other two medalists (and certain others in the top ten, as well).

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  7. Actually, I don't think Ms. Sotnikova deserved her scores at all, but the sheer volume of the invective hurled at her has made me reluctant to create more fodder for those who attack her.

    And I confess: If I were scoring the event, I would probably have given the gold to Ms. Carolina Kostner.

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  8. Ok, here are some quick comments I have (insert caveat about only watching the ladies event twice and a week ago):

    Mao Asada: SP made me die a little on the inside, LP was kickass and would almost certainly have scored quite a few pts higher if she skated in the final group. 3F-3Lo looked rotated to me, 2A-3T more borderline.

    Carolina Kostner; it's no secret that I LOVED her Bolero LP from last year, but the changes she made to the choreography (moving up the 3S, changing the choreo sequence, etc) has, IMO, made the program at least 30% less brilliant. Still, loved her LP performance and was absolutely floored when she whipped out that 3F-3T in the SP. Oh--and I still prefer Humoresque over Ave Maria. LP was performance of the night for me after Ms. Asada.

    Yu-Na Kim: SP was super, LP.....well, she got the jumps done (bobble on the 3Lz aside) but I felt the LP was a bit flat and her overall skating as a whole lacked that snap and finish she had in Vancouver. Also, her LP fails as a tango and doesn't really go anywhere.

    Adelina Sotnikova: SP marks more justifiable; LP marks.....oof. PCS was clearly inflated beyond all sense, but unlike many others, I don't think it's a reflection of cheating/corruption, but the same old patterns of scoring we have seen for a long time--e.g. judges' inability to vary their scores in the different PCS components, judges seeing transitions and thinking "choreography," etc.

    To Anon @ Feb. 26: I would have the top 3:
    SS: Kostner > Kim > Sotnikova
    CH: Kostner > Kim > Sotnikova
    Ice coverage is part of the CH mark.

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    1. I would not give OGM a skater(Caro) who did not do 3-3 in LP alone among Top 6 and a skater(Yuna) who behaves as if 3Lo jump does not exist. Even Lambiel(supreme artistry) & Chan(THE best skating skills) need 4T or(and) 3A to win.
      Of course Adelina has not real 3Lz unlike Yuna&Caro. But anyway she tried!
      So I think the podium order was right.

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    2. I was that anon. Thank you for your comments. I've never been to her social media pages but if they're really bullying her to that extent, then, yeah, it's pretty horrible. Still, I'm not going to say I'm in any way fine with the scoring discrepancies or the pro-Russian bias throughout the event.

      Thank you also for resurfacing from your months of undead hibernation!
      You've been missed.

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    3. ooh, ooh, one more thing!
      Can you imagine if Leonova was Russia's great hope?
      Would the skating world have been able to swallow it?

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  9. I would not give OGM to a skater(Caro) who did not do 3-3 in LP alone among top placers and a skater(Yuna) who did not do 3Lo in LP. Even Lambiel(supreme artistry) & Chan(the best SS) needs 4T & 3A to win.
    So podium order was right!

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  10. I would not give OG to a skater(Caro) who did not do 3-3 in LP alone among Top 6 and to a skater(Yuna) who behaves as if 3Lo jump does not exist. Even Lambiel(supreme artistry) and Chan(THE best skating skills) need 4T or/and 3A in both SP&LO to win.
    Of course Adelina does not have real 3Lz unlike Yuna&Caro. But anyway she tried and was ratified.
    So I think the final order(Adelina-Yuna-Caro) was right.

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    1. Your logic is completely flawed. Men need a triple axel and/or a quad to compete, no ifs, ands, or buts. It has only been a recent development that ladies need a triple-triple, and Carolina performs a double axel-triple toe which has equal (if not greater) point value in the grand scheme of things - e.g. 3Lz and a 2A+3T has the same value as a 3Lz+3T and 2A, with the additional GOE of having 0.7 factored for both elements as opposed to 0.5 and 0.7.

      Adelina's was only ratified because the technical caller is the Vice President of the Russian Figure Skating Federation. Please educate yourself on the scoring before spouting such biased nonsense.

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  11. The result simply can't be justified under the current system. The discrepancy between how the IJS is supposed to be used and how it is actually applied has never been greater, and never been more obvious. Under 6.0 Sotnikova's win can be explained by her doing more triples and personal preference. But as much as I dislike the IJS, under today's system, the OGM should have been decided between Yuna and Caro. The PCS did not even remotely reflect what the skater's did on the ice.

    I don't think there was any consipiracy, either. I simply think the system is not practical. If the judges clearly see Sotnikova as the best of the event, then they should be able to put her into first simply by using the system correctly. If they can only express their judgement by disregarding how the system's criteria should be applied, then the system should be changed.

    The way it is now is a laughable farce.

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  12. Was anyone disappointed by the Sochi streams and camera work? I was watching Kaeltyn Osmond's performance and the camera was unsteady and moved up and down with her movements (especially her jumps!) and I found this to be true with other non-Russian athletes as well. I found this version of Yuna's performance at her forum (with apparently amplified audience reaction, lol):
    http://vimeo.com/87758816

    Since IOC is apparently vigilantly monitoring youtube, do we have any other (edited or otherwise) broadcasting of Mao's and Carolina's performances as well? I really do not want to have to rely my saved Sochi streams, and I don't want to bring this issue up at the already heated exchanges at the forums...

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  13. instead of medals gold, silver, bronze, olympic commitee should consider giving this type of award: best new comer: adelina. best consistency: yuna; best performance: caro; best character: asada

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