Gracie Gold

Perhaps a new rising star but this time from the USA! She nails triple jumps (even 3-3's and triple axel!) with amazing height and always recieves positive GOE. Her speed and elegance on the ice is outstanding as well. She's 16 years old and just recently won US Nationals in the Junior level and she also won JGP Estonia. She is going to Junior Worlds to compete against Liza and Adelina. She has one hell of a future ahead of her....here are some videos of her:

Yes, I think she's the next star in the USA as long as she'll be able to stand the pressure. I think her team did great, keeping her in juniors and let her slowly develop for the seniors. Although once she turns senior the expectations are going to be HUGE. Phil Hersh is already writing articles about sending Gracie to next month 4CC.

It will be interesting to see, how she'll fare against Liza, Adelina and Yulia at Junior Worlds.

zarinaballerina wrote:

Yes, I think she's the next star in the USA as long as she'll be able to stand the pressure. I think her team did great, keeping her in juniors and let her slowly develop for the seniors. Although once she turns senior the expectations are going to be HUGE. Phil Hersh is already writing articles about sending Gracie to next month 4CC.

It will be interesting to see, how she'll fare against Liza, Adelina and Yulia at Junior Worlds.

From what I heard, they were actually considering sending her to 4CC because the majority of US women aren't that great. They decided not to, though.

Alokya wrote:

zarinaballerina wrote:

Yes, I think she's the next star in the USA as long as she'll be able to stand the pressure. I think her team did great, keeping her in juniors and let her slowly develop for the seniors. Although once she turns senior the expectations are going to be HUGE. Phil Hersh is already writing articles about sending Gracie to next month 4CC.

It will be interesting to see, how she'll fare against Liza, Adelina and Yulia at Junior Worlds.

From what I heard, they were actually considering sending her to 4CC because the majority of US women aren't that great. They decided not to, though.

Smart decision, imo. It's not easy changing junior lp to senior lp, especially in such a short time.

I hope Ashley and Alissa will somehow secure 3 spots at worlds, it sucks seeing the 3rd placed lady off the team.

I wish all the best to Gracie, though I don't see her beating the russians just yet.

I don't think she's ready for 4CC at the moment. She doesn't have a lot of international experience yet but lets just wait it out and see how she does at JR Worlds. I think she will *at least* make it on the podium.

She is much better than the most of the US Ladies, especially as a Junior. I hope Alissa and Ashley will secure the 3rd spot back and it's a shame that Mirai did not qualify yet again :'(

midnightfrostifyx who do you think Gracie has a chance of beating? If all three russians skate clean, I don't see it happening.
If one of them has a bad day, then yes, she'll land on the podium.

It depends. If Liza skates as strong as she always skates, then it's likely that she can beat Gracie. If Adelina remains consistent (which she has struggled with all season), then theres a good chance that she can beat Gracie too. I don't see Julia beating Gracie though, Julia's technique isn't quite as developed as Gracies. Gracie also has a harder repetoir than Julia.

Heres the way that I see it turning out (based on how they have competed all season)
1. Liza Tuktamysheva
2. Adelina Sotnikova
3. Gracie Gold

I must say I like your podium. Especially Liza on first place.

Liza is a great skater but she has her moments as well. I just wish them all the best and we'll see how it turns out

If Gracie would have competed in the senior ladies event at Nationals, she would have placed 3rd based on the scores she received in the junior event. How impressive! Cannot wait to see her compete against the Russians girls at Junior Worlds. She has a bright future ahead of her.

It seems to me that the US has now finally found a new skater to pin their hopes on, and to be honest, I am not surprised! She is, as they say, as good as Gold. She's got clear, undeniable triple jumps that don't need spotting whatsoever, and she can land a triple axel that at the moment looks better than our Mao's. With all of these new skaters, it's hard to tell if Mao has enough time to get back in shape and medal at Sochi the way Plushy did after 2006. I believe that these young ones still have a lot of work to do, especially with how political and ridiculous the senior level scoring has been in terms of PCS. Gracie has got the technical difficulties down, but she still very much skates like a junior. Let's just hope her transition will be easier than Kanako's.

From the US ladies' field, I would choose Gracie over Ashley any day. I really do love Alissa but if she doesn't get her game together she may as well retire.

Gracie
She is such a healthy and beautiful skater...I do love her skating, too. Very clear and clean.

http://fskating.com/2013/04/gracie-gold-i-perform-my-best-when-i-stay-fully-in-each-moment.html

Gold's interview with Vladislav Luchianov



Gracie Gold: “I perform my best when I stay fully in each moment”
APRIL 19, 2013

By Vladislav Luchianov

When the guys on Wall Street say that prices for the gold are rising gradually, I finally understand what they mean. The beginning of the debut season in the senior skating was not an easy one for the 17-year-old American Gracie Gold.

But the beginning is just a part of a long skating season and Gracie proved, and not once, that her last name correlates very well with the general trend of her performances, some of which were no less valuable than those that bring first places. This season, she didn’t succeed to win personal gold at her events but we can safely say that the constant improvements of her performances leave no doubt that she’s on the way to main achievements.

Gracie finished seventh at her senior ISU Grand Prix debut at the 2012 Skate Canada. At her second event, the 2012 Rostelecom Cup, she took the silver medal. At the 2013 U.S. Nationals, Gold placed ninth in the short program but was first in the free skate showing a stunning performance and won the silver overall.

She was named in the U.S. team to the 2013 Four Continents and finished sixth at the event. At the 2013 World Championships, Gracie placed ninth in the short program, fifth in the free skate, and sixth overall setting a new personal best score of 184.25 points. Gold, with a teammate Ashley Wagner, who finished in fifth place, thus secured three spots for the U.S. ladies at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

At the 2013 World Team Trophy in Tokyo, she finished third, setting a personal and season’s best score of 188.03 points. Team USA won the gold for the second time since 2009.

The author talked with Gracie about this past season, about the goals for the Olympic season and about her free time activities.

Gracie, first of all, tell us your impressions of the last event of the season – 2013 World Team Trophy. Your team won and you set a new personal and season’s best score there.

Gracie Gold: World Team Trophy was the perfect ending for my season. I love Tokyo and the Japanese fans are amazing! Participating in a team event is unusual in figure skating and I love the camaraderie Team USA shared. Earning my season’s & personal best and contributing to our team’s victory was a sweet success. Standing on the podium with my teammates is a highlight in my skating career!

How would you evaluate your first season in senior’s skating in general?

Gold: This season was very challenging but ultimately very rewarding. I learned a lot about myself, and how to handle the pressure of skating at the Worlds level. I think I proved to others, and myself, that I belong with the best of the best. This year I had to fight through some tough moments, but I survived and I think I’m stronger because of it.

And what was your most exciting moment of this past season and why?

Gold: The most exciting moment of this past season was when I finished my long program at the U.S. Championships. After such a disappointing short program, when it seemed my dream of making the World team was gone, being able to perform that long program was incredible! It was that moment that everyone dreams of, when everything feels possible.

At your first World Championships you finished 6th. Did you expect such a success?

Gold: Honestly, I did not know what to expect going into this World Championships. My ultimate goal was to skate two clean programs and help get three spots back for the U.S. I knew I needed to place at least top ten for that to happen. I was very happy with my long program scores and placing in the top six. My first World Championships was an amazing experience!

You have a strong technical arsenal. What is your opinion on jumping elements in modern ladies skating? Will they become more and more difficult?

Gold: I think that a lot of us are pushing the envelope technically, more and more each year. This year there were a lot more triple-triple combinations being tried and completed than in the past couple of seasons. I plan to keep adding harder jumps and combinations to my programs. I don’t think we’ve reached the limit yet.

This season you also increased your scores for components. Tell us, please, about this aspect of your skating work?

Gold: This past season we worked hard on making that transition from Junior Ladies skating to Senior Ladies skating. I spent a lot of time working on my skating skills and my transitions in and out of jumps. By the end of the season, I think there was a noticeable improvement. I am very excited for this upcoming season; I think everyone will be impressed with my new programs.

Is there any special character (or characters) that you would like to perform in your future programs?

Gold: I don’t have a specific character in mind, but are some beautiful pieces of music that I hope to skate to in the future.

Any skater is very concentrated before competitions but American ladies usually look very relaxedly on the ice. However, they do not lose concentration during the performance. How would you describe the portrait of an American figure skater?

Gold: I don’t know if I can speak to the portrait of an American figure skater. For myself, I try to reach a sense of relaxed focus. I know that I perform my best when I stay fully in each moment. If I think too far ahead or worry about what has already happened, then I am out of focus and can have lapses in the concentration I need for my performance.

In your opinion, how should modern ladies singles skating look, taking into account technical and artistic issues?

Gold: Modern ladies’ singles skating attempts to combine the most challenging technical elements with beautiful, inspirational interpretation of the music. The goal is for the performance to come across as a complete, seamless performance. It should look easy and effortless in spite of the great difficulty.

When Gracie Gold has a free time, she likes…?

Gold: Gracie Gold does not have that much free time, but when she does, she likes to catch up on popular TV shows, read, be outside, hang out with friends, or go shopping.

A few words about your main goals for the Olympic season.

Gold: My main goal for this season is to qualify for the Olympic Games. My ultimate season’s goal would be to score 200+ and make the podium.