I refuse to believe this D<

A friend of mine is a huge skating fan, having skated competitively himself. He's a fan of Mao too, but I couldn't believe it when he suggested that Mao might be following in Kimmie's footsteps. Why? Because Kimmie, like Mao, won the Worlds title, but the following year, she, like Mao, finished 4th and off the podium. He said, "I wonder if Mao peaked too early..."

I for one refuse to believe so. Mao's been gradually improving and I feel her potential's practically limitless! Despite the things my friend pointed out, Mao WILL NOT end up in Kimmie's footsteps. I have firm blief in this.

What say you? (:

I absolutely 120% do not believe this.

I'm sorry, but I was never a Kimmie Meissner fan, and I always thought she was way overrated by the US media, and that her winning 2006 Worlds was pure luck. Even I, who had never skated before, could see that she muscled her jumps (used upper body strength, not her legs, to launch them), and when she developed a womanly body, unsurprisingly, she couldn't do this anymore.

I also not found her to be very graceful. A very sweet girl, sure, but a genius and beautiful skater like Mao? NO WAY!!

Go Mao!

Let's not forget, ahem, that the other Japanese lady skater who was coached by TAT - Shizuka Arakawa - won 2004 Worlds, placed *9th* at 2005 Worlds, and then won the Olympics!! I totally believe that's what we'll see next year!

Mirai wrote:

A friend of mine is a huge skating fan, having skated competitively himself. He's a fan of Mao too, but I couldn't believe it when he suggested that Mao might be following in Kimmie's footsteps. Why? Because Kimmie, like Mao, won the Worlds title, but the following year, she, like Mao, finished 4th and off the podium. He said, "I wonder if Mao peaked too early..."

That's a damn firm piece of logic! And one friend of mine, who's never watched figure skating (as well as never worn any skates), told me today that Mao will follow in steps of Mao. Why? She hasn't given me any reasons, but I think that she was right, and this thread should be mersifully closed by moderators. -_-

totally agree with Batsuchan.

There's a huge difference between Kimmie and Mao.
Kimmie already had the time and skate of her life - and that was in Calgary 2006. I believe she'll never be that good again.
Back then she wasn't perfect either, not the best skating abilities and the jumps were just about ok.
Still she had a good night and managed to nail her 3-3s, which is a huge accomplishment and she did deserve her title

Also I do respect her for not giving up. Like Tara or Sarah Hughes she also could have left the skating world, after winning such an important title, but she stayed and kept trying.
She's a fighter, not by any means my favorite, but someone who doesn't give up!

But unlike Kimmie, Mao didn't lose her jumping ability. Yes, her 3f-3l this season is a huge problem she needs to solve and the Lutz needs to get consistent, but Mao still has her beautiful axels and flips, loops and salchows.
She also grew a bit this season(like Kimmie did earlier) and hence has problems with her 3-3, but I think she can solve that problem.
Also she has won the GPF this season, the NHK trophy and medaled at TEB and 4CC. Is that failure? Is this the beginning of an end?
I don't think so. She missed the podium at worlds by a few points(2-3 I guess?) which is quite close.
Like every skater Mao needs a bad time to revocer and come back stronger.
There are surely paralles to draw between her and Kimmie, still a huge discrepancy remains. For Mao is different and still the world elite. I don't say Kimmie won't ever be as strong as in 2006, although I guess it's highly unlikely. Mao had a coaching change this season to cope with, problems with her jumps to solve and a totally new program and style to get used to. Still she managed to be that good.
So I'd never dare to say she's at an end. It might just be the hard beginning of a great new skating season.

Batsuchan wrote:

Let's not forget, ahem, that the other Japanese lady skater who was coached by TAT - Shizuka Arakawa - won 2004 Worlds, placed *9th* at 2005 Worlds, and then won the Olympics!! I totally believe that's what we'll see next year!

Damn straight, Batsuchan! I'm gonna rub this piece of information in my friend's face if he dares bring up the whole "similarity between Kimmie and Mao" thing. >D


@summervie: I'm...sorry if this thread was infuriating in any way.

Mirai wrote:

@summervie: I'm...sorry if this thread was infuriating in any way.

Oh, no, it wasn't. Rather excuse me.
I just found this logic... well, there really were no reasons for making such a conclusion.

Kimmie who? I try not to speak ill of other skaters but there are some that should not have won Worlds! I watch Rachael Flatt and I think - what on EARTH is the U.S. figure skating association doing sending her to international competitions when you have brilliant skaters like Mirai Nagasu on the reserve list?!

To me, Kimmie and Rachael both lack originality and artistry in their skating. To put in frankly, they're BORING to watch. I've written this somewhere on youtube before, but watching Rachael Flatt skate is like watching a figure skating instructional video. "Here's how you do a triple salchow...here's how you do a layback spin...here's how you do an arabesque spiral." No innovation at all. Even Alissa Czisny, with her inconsistent jumps, is better to watch!

Speaking about Kimmie, I've never been a fan but I absolutely loved her skate at Worlds!
I never liked her style much, never thought she had charisma or the "it" factor and I might have rather seen other skaters get the World title instead of her but the way she won was amazing!

I'd so love to see Mao have the skate of her life when it really matters and leave the ice with a feeling of surpassing her own expectations.
AND being REWARDED for that!!!!!!!

I feel sorry for Kimmie whether I like the style of her skating or not, its always really weird when the world champion suddnley falls next year.
I guess its gonna be really tough season for anyone if she is previous world champion. Miki had pretty rough season last year too but look at how she brought herself back this year. Im not that worried about Mao too, I know she is strong!

Differene one Mao has won a silver medal at her first Worlds,then gold. Kimmie has only one world medal. Difference two Mao won her first Grand-Prix final, Kimmie? No, Mao has a lot of titles,Kimmie has only a few.

kawaiimao wrote:

Speaking about Kimmie, I've never been a fan but I absolutely loved her skate at Worlds!
I never liked her style much, never thought she had charisma or the "it" factor and I might have rather seen other skaters get the World title instead of her but the way she won was amazing!

I'd so love to see Mao have the skate of her life when it really matters and leave the ice with a feeling of surpassing her own expectations.
AND being REWARDED for that!!!!!!!

That is true, it's always nice to see skaters skate their very best.

But the whole time I was like, "Grrr, if only Mao could go to Worlds!!"

Yes, I too would love to see Mao have the skate of her life and leave the ice ecstatic!!

I think Mao has had time this year to experiment with a different style of skating and practice...and this coming year she will find the perfect balance of progressing in figure skating and just being Mao.