Murakami and Yuzuru medaling?

I believe that both are great skaters but i was wondering whether or not people here would consider them good enough to start medaling by next season?

I mean Mao-chan was medaling even internationally as soon as she started competing on senior level an within a short span of time she became best in the world.
In my personal opinion i think that it might be a while before we will see either of them medaling, not because they are bad skaters per say, but because there's a lot of heavy talent in figure skating right now. Internationally Mao, Yuna, Miki, Mirai and to a lesser extent Akiko Suzuki, Rachell Flatt, even Laura Lepisto are all decent skaters for Kanako to have to compete against. In Yuzuru's case, there's Evan, Plushy, Dai, Nobu, Joubert. It's a lot to work for.

Perhaps nationally they might do decently this season (with Kanako having medaled 5th and Yuzuru 6th during Japanese Nationals)
I guess this is all to ask, would it be logical to expect to see either of them medaling either nationally or internationally next season when they start competing?

kanako and yuzuru both got gold during the world jr so i dont think it is impossible for them to start medalling....they'r both really talented

I think that a big part of medaling is definitely gaining the judges favor. I really hope that Kanako and Yuzuru have that favor

Winning a GP event is going to be a bit of a stretch, but it's more than possible for Kanako and Yuzuru to medal in their events.

They both have great scoring potential, and Kanako in particular has been looking rock-solid from show reports. Yuzuru is still trying to get his 4T stable, so he's more of wildcard at this point, but should he land the jumps...

At first I thought they didn't really have a good chance of medaling but when I really started to think about it... their first GP is NHK so they'll have a big home advantage which might help them out a bit, plus they both won everything as juniors last year so at least the judges liked them on the junior level! Also look at Oda, on his first year as a senior he won NHK and 4CCs and placed 4th at GPF and worlds! And he had only landed his first triple axel in competition for the first time the year before. So when I think of it like that, I think it's definitely possible.

Kanako has a chance to overcome Suzuki Akiko, if she has some
stable and wonderful jump on her own. But it is still hard to pass
over no.1 like Mao and no.2 like Miki.

For Yuzuru, he will be no.4 for a long time, if Takahashi, Oda, Kozuka
are still there. BTW, I like Machida and the other teenager with quad.
I think Nanri cannot join Grand Prix any more if Yuzuru come to share
the medal this year.

Latest Kanako clip with her practicing the 3F-3T (slight UR) and her step sequence, which I like so far.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8wUJ4fdztg

There was a Haruka clip as well that was uploaded recently but YT removed it already...

clovera wrote:

Latest Kanako clip with her practicing the 3F-3T (slight UR) and her step sequence, which I like so far.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8wUJ4fdztg

There was a Haruka clip as well that was uploaded recently but YT removed it already...

I think she always has great choreography and that step sequence looks really good.
The type of boy she likes..

I think it will be easier for new male skaters to rank up this season because many of the top skaters will not be competing this season. Evan won't be competing until worlds I think. Looks like Plush won't be competing next season. Johnny won't be competing next season. Stephan retired again. Who knows which Brian, and Jeremy, and Patrick are going to show up. The Japanese guys have been probably the most solid overall lately, and I think they will definitely be the overall powerhouse next season too, with all their top skaters continuing to compete. That being said though, it will be more difficult for newer Japanese guys to medal nationally, and be in the bigger competitions.

As for the girls, same thing as far as lots of competition within Japan. Just breaking out, and being one of the top skaters in Japan who gets to compete at the major competitions is a big accomplishment. I don't think there will be as much opportunity opening up this season for the ladies as the guys internationally, but then again, the field wasn't quite as dense to begin with with the ladies. Remember how much harder it was to predict the final standings in the olympics for the men, as opposed to the ladies? There is going to be some new opportunity however, with Yuna not competing at all until worlds. Then who knows how the heck she is going to skate then? And Joannie will not be doing the GP this season, and is still undecided about the rest of the season as well. So right there is a little opportunity for other skaters. I don't really see any new skaters getting much spotlight though. I see Miki, and Akiko to continue skating great. I see Marai, Laura, Cynthia, probably Rachel, and maybe a couple others to continue improving their skating, getting more medals, and becoming bigger threats.

Sorry to get off the subject a bit from just the two skaters to all skaters in general

Kanako news!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p9ukGppt4I&feature=channel

Does anyone know what her SP and FP music is yet?

Figure_skating_love wrote:

Does anyone know what her SP and FP music is yet?

She's skating to Jumping Jack for her SP and to the Mask of Zorro soundtrack for her FS.

Er, this will result in a double post, but oh well...
Kanako won Chubu Regionals a week ago, and clips of her programs are up:
Short Program Free Skate

While her SP was clean with a ratified 3T-3T, her Mask of Zorro FS had several pops, which was unfortunate since it was planned to be a 7 triple program on paper (incl. the 3Lo and the 3F-3T, both of which were apparently perfect during official practice). Here's hoping she'll do well in the NHK Trophy next week!
A dream NHK ladies podium with Mao winning and Kanako in second will make my day for sure

Yuzuru appears to have skipped Regionals this year, but Tono is on the list of entries for Kinki Regionals which starts today.

Thanks for the videos, clovera!

clovera wrote:

Here's hoping she'll do well in the NHK Trophy next week!

Doesn't NHK Trophy start on the 22nd?

MikiAndoFan#1 wrote:

Doesn't NHK Trophy start on the 22nd?

It is Sunday in Japan, so as long as someone counts Sunday as the beginning of the week...the 22nd is still technically "next" week.
Although for those that regard the beginning of the week to be Monday then yeah, it will indeed be "the week after next week." Your pick.
I'm clearly going nutskies today, sorry about that.

ETA: It might be interesting to take a poll on this!

clovera wrote:

It is Sunday in Japan, so as long as someone counts Sunday as the beginning of the week...the 22nd is still technically "next" week.
Although for those that regard the beginning of the week to be Monday then yeah, it will indeed be "next week." Your pick.

Right, I forgot it was already Sunday in Japan!



Now it's also Sunday here in Azores.

Does anyone else think that Kanako's FS dress is a bit exaggerated?

I love Kanako's free program

She looked very nervous and lacked her big smile before the start.
According to Machiko Sensei who was serving as a commentator for this competition broadcast, Kanako has got her new skates (due to which she had to cancel the Nebelhorn Trophy). Machiko Sensei said it'd take some time for her to feel fit in them. Also, her program has 3 loop for the first time at a big competition, which she popped this time.

I think she'll be OK and it's better off making mistakes at early stage than later.

alyssa wrote:

Does anyone else think that Kanako's FS dress is a bit exaggerated?

I agree. It's a bit too much. But, I prefer it to her SP dress which looks to me suitable for Novice children.

TV "Sukkiri" on Murakami Kanako:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ-owLQAb80 part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf82nWu0PdI part 2

yes, I agree she has similarities with young star/singer Matsuura Aya 松浦亜弥

I'm surprised though that at her age Kanako already has 7 major sponsors to her name,
such a feat at 15! quite impressive.

purplemaze wrote:

I'm surprised though that at her age Kanako already has 7 major sponsors to her name,
such a feat at 15! quite impressive.

I've read that she actually received CM offers as well, but Chukyo High School is prohibiting that from taking place since it clashes with the school's policy. Not a bad thing, since the media is clearly ready to hype her up like mad (and to an extent have already done so) and pressure her as they have done with young athletes past and present far too many times. I am happy about the sponsorships, though. Skating is not a cheap sport, and receiving support in and of itself is not a bad thing at all.

Yuzuru is still under the radar, which I find both shocking and somewhat reassuring...for now.

Kanako has a lot of pressure coming into this season.
Yuzuru is my favourite men skater, btw.

clovera wrote:

purplemaze wrote:

I'm surprised though that at her age Kanako already has 7 major sponsors to her name,
such a feat at 15! quite impressive.

I've read that she actually received CM offers as well, but Chukyo High School is prohibiting that from taking place since it clashes with the school's policy. Not a bad thing, since the media is clearly ready to hype her up like mad (and to an extent have already done so) and pressure her as they have done with young athletes past and present far too many times. I am happy about the sponsorships, though. Skating is not a cheap sport, and receiving support in and of itself is not a bad thing at all.

Yuzuru is still under the radar, which I find both shocking and somewhat reassuring...for now.

To her credit however Kanako is quite good and she deserves the hype she is receiving. If she can continue to perform the way she did at NHK trophy then she will have a very good senior debut

Yuzuru isn't under the radar, he's just being shadows by the other great men skaters out there, but don't worry he's getting there

I like Kanako a lot. She's very talented although she doesn't has as much "wow" factor as when Mao debuted. What does concern me is that she has similar issues as Mao with some of her toe jumps. I think this is the reason why she opts for a simpler 3T-3T. I hope she gets them fixed soon. With these things, it's always better to get them started early.

ooh i watched them at NHK trophy and i was super impressed!

Murakami's short program was so cute! and that triple triple? awesome!

Yuzuru's style reminds me a lot of Johnny Weirs, he's very graceful and hits well positions and shows personality in his skating...he also had probably one of the most gorgeous triple axels i've seen