Sochi Olympics 2014 ［Ladies Competition］

Sorry if this has been posted already though, Patrick is good at leading a lady while Yuzu ... hehehe

Did Caro kissed Yulia on her cheek? Adorable   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xpg5qUys5s

pearlyriver wrote:

COHK wrote:

Oh my god! this is creepy...
So it could be sung:

'Don't you love farce? My fault I fear
I thought that you'd want what I want
Sorry my dear
But where are the clowns? There ought to be clowns, quick send in the clowns...'

I think, after all, I underestimate someone's ability to understand the meaning of Send in the Clown   
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I listen to this song over and over again and I still don't feel I understand it much even after I've read some explanations. Now I'm pretty sure that if a skater hasn't watched the play carefully and if she is not around Desiree's age, her interpretation barely scratches the surface. The vocal version is like 10 times more profound than the instrumental one, which is just like a generic lost love song. Yuna's SP was designed to please the public mass   I only see the fake melancholy in Yuna's performance but I don't see the mockery and the self-deprecating humor. Anw, I think this song is very hard to channel on the ice, especially for single skater. There needs to be another male skater since Desiree's lover is also the clown, the fool for trying to hold onto his past youth by marrying a naive young bride IMO. I guess you must be a big fan of the musical   

Not necessarily a big fan of the musical, but I am a big fan of the musical/song writer, Stephen Sondheim. Sondheim's musicals in American musical theaters are not the main stream ones, but they are usually deep with meanings. One of the singers who interpret Sondheim's music really well once commented: 'Sondheim’s music and lyrics are absolutely wonderful. His songs are like onions. There are so many layers to them.' Before I got to know Yuna would skate to Send in the Clown this season, I once looked for programs using the music. Alas, none of the program skated in the past using Send in the Clowns ever grasped the true meaning of the lyrics, not up until today.

Anyway, I was been sarcastic to cite the above lyrics. And I purposefully leave out the last line: 'don't bother, they're here', so the clowns/fools are already there.

I'll rest my explanation here.

Elvis Stojko on Mao's FS

linglang wrote:

Sorry if this has been posted already though, Patrick is good at leading a lady while Yuzu ... hehehe

Did Caro kissed Yulia on her cheek? Adorable   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xpg5qUys5s

So sweet of Carolina. There're 1000 reasons to love her. I've always liked Carol, but it wasn't until this Olympics that I truly got why the judges were soin love with her skating, and aside from her artistry, she has a beautiful heart.

linglang wrote:

Elvis Stojko on Mao's FS
>

Thanks for the upload! I find his comments always helpful.  He has the gut to speak out and not hide his opinions, albeit they may be different from his Canadian federations from time to time.  However, this time everyone agrees she is the real winner who overcame pressure and presented flawless programs. Stojko is reall a nice person and athlete.  

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y6aT_Ia-go
It is Mao olympic LP, you can watch it? Or it is only available in latinoamerica? Because all comentaries are in spanish  

chapis wrote:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y6aT_Ia-go
It is Mao olympic LP, you can watch it? Or it is only available in latinoamerica? Because all comentaries are in spanish  

No I cant see in the US. bummer.  

Tripleaxelqueen wrote:

chapis wrote:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y6aT_Ia-go
It is Mao olympic LP, you can watch it? Or it is only available in latinoamerica? Because all comentaries are in spanish  

No I cant see in the US. bummer.  

Ok, I wanted to confirm it because Mao had a great performance in sochi, the best LP of the night, but in some other fórums they are only talking about the supposed scandal, the petition with 2 million of signs    (98% are really korean), and I thought that Mao´s performace got unnoted
But this video is only available in latinoamerica, I can to say a public very impartial, they mostly watch FS only in olympic games, so no japanese, no korean, Russian, itialian and american people viewing this videos.

Views of videos (claro sports)
Mao LP 48,500   
Yuzuru 44,000
Adelina 13,000
Julia team LP 6,000
Yuna 4,000
Carolina 3,000

So, considering that Mao was not even medalist she definitly got noted in that night   . Everyone can to say they want, that Yuna should to win, Adelina, etc. But the truly queen was Mao Asada, and if Mao wanted to show to the world what she is capable, she got it. I don´t care what Katarina Witt said or other commentators, they are at certain point biased.

I found an article which says that Mao was the "MOST TWEETED: You don't have to win gold medals to drive social media conversation. Going into Sunday, Twitter said that the Winter Olympic athlete mentioned most in tweets throughout the Sochi games was Japan's Mao Asada, who finished sixth in the women's figure skating. Second was Yuna Kim, the silver medal-winning figure skater from South Korea, followed by American hockey player T.J. Oshie and snowboarder Shaun White. The Sochi games were mentioned in 38.1 million tweets since the opening, Twitter said."

She really is the best. This performance has made me the PROUDEST I'VE EVER BEEN BEING A MAO FAN

Uh-oh. Our old friend Gallagher is at it again:

Quote :

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2014/02/23/more-sports/maos-inflexibility-hurt-medal-chances/#.UwuiHoVKY3M

Wow, get a load of this:

Quote :

"Performing when you have no pressure at all is no challenge. The expectations are low, so it is not difficult to look good."

Expectations were low?!

LOW?!      

It was even higher, and even an ex-PM of Japan criticized Mao's performance. At that moment, it must have also hurt that she had to be defined by THE WORST SKATE OF HER ENTIRE CAREER. It was both heartbreaking and humiliating.

So yeah, if that's what you mean by NO EXPECTATION AT ALL JUST SKATE AND HAVE FUN HONEY then okay you win!   

Some more stuff from this article:

○ Main topic of the article: Mao only focused on her 3A. What about her step sequence, her edges, etc? She was much better in other areas than 3 years ago.
○ Mao's jumps were already deteriorating so she had to rework on her jumps from scratch.
○ 3A is not just a signature jump, it was her mother's fave too. There is the sentimental value to be considered.
○ Add to that, she had been landing her jumps -including the 3A- consistently in practice. (Based from news reports of course.) So why not include that in the program?
○ 'She returns home with the disappointment of what might have been.'  Did not medal, but she landed 8 TRIPLES and said it herself that she had no regrets.
○ Sad to say, this article subtly implies that winning is everything and failed to note that Mao's FS drew everyone's attention. (Note that she was the athlete most mentioned in twitter, as  posted by rachmaninoffangel.

And while I agree that Mao lost to her nerves during her SP, claiming that performing well in her free skate is not a big deal is an insult to the courage she showed when she stepped on the ice last Thursday night. My goodness, Mao is the first lady to land all triples in a FS. She moved from 16th to 6th and had she skated in the last group, she would have scored much higher. Oh but of course, since she did not win a medal who cares about skating an inspirational performance, right? A writer's gotta do what a writer's gotta do, so let's make controversial story and focus on the negative things instead.

Add one to the garbage bin.

Wow! Mao was the most tweeted out of everyone in Sochi??
Amazing!

Seriously, I don't understand Jack Gallagher. He must not have a heart. I don't get how he can write such a kind piece about Mao and her mother after she passed away, and turn around and write such crap like this.
Especially considering he said Mao had been kind to his daughter in the past, who is a supposed fan of Mao.

No other reputable journalist had said anything bad about Mao, everyone recognized the significance and power of what she did.
Does he get paid to write crap about her? By who? The Korean media? Whatever Gallagher, I'm planning to boycott whatever you write.

klarification wrote:

Uh-oh. Our old friend Gallagher is at it again:

Quote :

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2014/02/23/more-sports/maos-inflexibility-hurt-medal-chances/#.UwuiHoVKY3M

............
Add one to the garbage bin.

Everything that comes out of his mouth is garbage and shit, can't remember when the last time something he said made any sense, his article just proves that Mao executing all 8 triples with insane difficulty as well as getting level 4 and on everything most have trikkered his envy more then ever, or else why would he dedicate so much time to try downplay the enomious achievement she made against all odds!

This article says a lot about him as a "professional" can't believe he gets money for writing his biased opinion  

Hi everyone! I can't believe I've missed the gala and all of this during the past three days.   I was staying at my grandma's and of course there were problems with internet connections, what else is new.   

I honestly can't believe the nerve of Korean federation. What a bunch of sore losers. I know I've often complained about the lack of support from JSF to its skaters, but honestly, after BS that koreans are pulling, I'm glad JSF never publicly said anything, even when it was clear their skaters were being screwed over.

Here's what Tjaša Andree Prosenc had to say about the Yuna issue. I'm only summarising, because I personally haven't heard it, but my grandma told me. Apparently she said, that Yuna while being clean, she lacked the fire that Adelina and Caro had, the desire to win. Instead she was cold.

And I don't get whay the outcry. I mean did those people not watch the competition? Did they not see the lack of expression on Yuna? this was not a freaking tango. Where was the fire, passion...?! You can't win with level 3 stuff and low jump content. And she got 74 in PCS for this luckluster performance, while Mao got 69 for her amazing, full of emotions LP. So what more do the Yuna fans want? She already got overscored! she performed to her program like she didn't give a damn, and still scored higher than Mao.  

And I've lost the micro small respect I had left for her after reading what she said about Adelina leaving the press conference. Seriously? Why must this woman make a big deal out of everything?

As for the Gallagher jerk, I stoped reading what this idiot has to say a long time ago. he's not worth my anger.

polosatik wrote:

Oh God, Denis Matsuev played Rachmaninoff piano concerto n2 at closing ceremony   

Oh I neraly died listening to him.    And the bloody german commentators kept talking through his performance  , like I care how popular he is, or where he's performing and whether his concerts are sold out! hello?! he's playing one of the most beautiful piano concertos that exists, and during his performance, you feel the need to inform us about his success? How about you do it after he's finished, the same for ballet. they went on and on about Bolshoi and Mariinsky, and how can the viewers tell them apart.        This ain't marathon where you must talk to feel the void, so that the viewers aren't watching those people run for hours in silence, this is art. You're not suppose to talk during the performance! Idiots.

This might sound weird, but I absolutely fell in love with the bear mascot. So cute and that tear he head after the flame was extinguished...I got teary eyed. 

zarinaballerina wrote:

Hi everyone! I can't believe I've missed the gala and all of this during the past three days.   I was staying at my grandma's and of course there were problems with internet connections, what else is new.   

I honestly can't believe the nerve of Korean federation. What a bunch of sore losers. I know I've often complained about the lack of support from JSF to its skaters, but honestly, after BS that koreans are pulling, I'm glad JSF never publicly said anything, even when it was clear their skaters were being screwed over.

Here's what Tjaša Andree Prosenc had to say about the Yuna issue. I'm only summarising, because I personally haven't heard it, but my grandma told me. Apparently she said, that Yuna while being clean, she lacked the fire that Adelina and Caro had, the desire to win. Instead she was cold.

And I don't get whay the outcry. I mean did those people not watch the competition? Did they not see the lack of expression on Yuna? this was not a freaking tango. Where was the fire, passion...?! You can't win with level 3 stuff and low jump content. And she got 74 in PCS for this luckluster performance, while Mao got 69 for her amazing, full of emotions LP. So what more do the Yuna fans want? She already got overscored! she performed to her program like she didn't give a damn, and still scored higher than Mao.  

And I've lost the micro small respect I had left for her after reading what she said about Adelina leaving the press conference. Seriously? Why must this woman make a big deal out of everything?

As for the Gallagher jerk, I stoped reading what this idiot has to say a long time ago. he's not worth my anger.

polosatik wrote:

Oh God, Denis Matsuev played Rachmaninoff piano concerto n2 at closing ceremony   

Oh I neraly died listening to him.    And the bloody german commentators kept talking through his performance  , like I care how popular he is, or where he's performing and whether his concerts are sold out! hello?! he's playing one of the most beautiful piano concertos that exists, and during his performance, you feel the need to inform us about his success? How about you do it after he's finished, the same for ballet. they went on and on about Bolshoi and Mariinsky, and how can the viewers tell them apart.        This ain't marathon where you must talk to feel the void, so that the viewers aren't watching those people run for hours in silence, this is art. You're not suppose to talk during the performance! Idiots.

This might sound weird, but I absolutely fell in love with the bear mascot. So cute and that tear he head after the flame was extinguished...I got teary eyed. 

what did she say?

ballerinamao wrote:

what did she say?

Someone on this forum has translated it. it went something like how until now at every press conference she participated, all top three left together, but this time since Adelina started her conference long before Yuna came she left early, but Yuna was still confused by it. or something like this.

She could've left it be, but not Yuna. I'm surprised there were no "I was obstructed during warm up" complaints from her camp.

zarinaballerina wrote:

ballerinamao wrote:

what did she say?

Someone on this forum has translated it. it went something like how until now at every press conference she participated, all top three left together, but this time since Adelina started her conference long before Yuna came she left early, but Yuna was still confused by it. or something like this.

She could've left it be, but not Yuna. I'm surprised there were no "I was obstructed during warm up" complaints from her camp.

I see, well I only saw the video that was posted and there she just continued answering the question she got. her not complaining about the warmup, there was no need for it, since her mad expression when someone did a spin while she wanted to jump was filmed live, and didn't stop her fans from complaining about the skater that got in her way and who "ofcourse" did it on purpose!

Gallagher is an idiot! And honestly I doubt someone take him seriously, you know, all people in Japan, that is where probably someone read him, know how much Effort Mao had done, the lost of her mother and everything about her. Who is him? A nobody.

ballerinamao wrote:

zarinaballerina wrote:

ballerinamao wrote:

what did she say?

Someone on this forum has translated it. it went something like how until now at every press conference she participated, all top three left together, but this time since Adelina started her conference long before Yuna came she left early, but Yuna was still confused by it. or something like this.

She could've left it be, but not Yuna. I'm surprised there were no "I was obstructed during warm up" complaints from her camp.

I see, well I only saw the video that was posted and there she just continued answering the question she got. her not complaining about the warmup, there was no need for it, since her mad expression when someone did a spin while she wanted to jump was filmed live, and didn't stop her fans from complaining about the skater that got in her way and who "ofcourse" did it on purpose!

she was just confused..even me while watching the whole press con.. nothing else.. yuna actually was gracious in defeat..she never said anything bad about the judging nor any skaters... she was complementary even towards to adelina.. she said that adelina is a natural talent and a hardworker..

polly10 wrote:

ballerinamao wrote:

zarinaballerina wrote:

ballerinamao wrote:

what did she say?

Someone on this forum has translated it. it went something like how until now at every press conference she participated, all top three left together, but this time since Adelina started her conference long before Yuna came she left early, but Yuna was still confused by it. or something like this.

She could've left it be, but not Yuna. I'm surprised there were no "I was obstructed during warm up" complaints from her camp.

I see, well I only saw the video that was posted and there she just continued answering the question she got. her not complaining about the warmup, there was no need for it, since her mad expression when someone did a spin while she wanted to jump was filmed live, and didn't stop her fans from complaining about the skater that got in her way and who "ofcourse" did it on purpose!

she was just confused..even me while watching the whole press con.. nothing else.. yuna actually was gracious in defeat..she never said anything bad about the judging nor any skaters... she was complementary even towards to adelina.. she said that adelina is a natural talent and a hardworker..

A person who was merely confused doesn't go to the media and says she has never experienced anything like it, she knows very well that by doing so,she is making a big thing out of a thoughtless act from Adelina

she has been around the media long enough to know the consequences of her act and words and what they might lead to.

polly10 wrote:

ballerinamao wrote:

zarinaballerina wrote:

ballerinamao wrote:

what did she say?

Someone on this forum has translated it. it went something like how until now at every press conference she participated, all top three left together, but this time since Adelina started her conference long before Yuna came she left early, but Yuna was still confused by it. or something like this.

She could've left it be, but not Yuna. I'm surprised there were no "I was obstructed during warm up" complaints from her camp.

I see, well I only saw the video that was posted and there she just continued answering the question she got. her not complaining about the warmup, there was no need for it, since her mad expression when someone did a spin while she wanted to jump was filmed live, and didn't stop her fans from complaining about the skater that got in her way and who "ofcourse" did it on purpose!

she was just confused..even me while watching the whole press con.. nothing else.. yuna actually was gracious in defeat..she never said anything bad about the judging nor any skaters... she was complementary even towards to adelina.. she said that adelina is a natural talent and a hardworker..

And she said Adelina had luck   
But she said nice things about Mao. As when she watched Mao crying after her lp, she felt like crying too because she understand what Mao was feeling. I know she is a good girl but all this fuss about she losing gold is ridiculous.

ballerinamao wrote:

A person who was merely confused doesn't go to the media and says she has never experienced anything like it, she knows very well that by doing so,she is making a big thing out of a thoughtless act from Adelina

she has been around the media long enough to know the consequences of her act and words and what they might lead to.

Yup.  Yuna knows exactly what she is doing.  A lot of the disgusting messages on Adelina's Instagram are about Adelina being "rude," "disrespectful" and "walking out" of the press conference.  

And it's not true that Yuna hasn't said anything about the judging.  She said in a Washington Post article (I can't post a link yet) that her score did not reflect her performance no matter how well she did, to the point of being strange.  Those are pretty strong words.

nita wrote:

ballerinamao wrote:

A person who was merely confused doesn't go to the media and says she has never experienced anything like it, she knows very well that by doing so,she is making a big thing out of a thoughtless act from Adelina

she has been around the media long enough to know the consequences of her act and words and what they might lead to.

Yup.  Yuna knows exactly what she is doing.  A lot of the disgusting messages on Adelina's Instagram are about Adelina being "rude," "disrespectful" and "walking out" of the press conference.  

And it's not true that Yuna hasn't said anything about the judging.  She said in a Washington Post article (I can't post a link yet) that her score did not reflect her performance no matter how well she did, to the point of being strange.  Those are pretty strong words.

   if she really said that, then that just confirms what i thought all along, she and her team were convinced that she could waltz in soshi and win without, changing anything in her layout or spins meaning no increase in difficulty in anyway (and just rely on pcs and goe) despite knowing that all the main competitors were going for 7 or 8 triple(in Mao's case),  the crazy thing about it is that it almost went after their planes, because despite kim missing most competition the past 4 years, she was still awarded the highest pcs and second highest goe in competition again, for very genetic programs that include the same pleasing movements and posing of David Wilson, and with that the judges made me lose the little faith left of the judging and COP, still can't believe the low pcs and general score Mao received for the outstanding performance she gave!

So, now the target has shifted to Adelina.  Yunabots and the Korean media are united to bash her.    Poor Adelina. But, they are persistent and importunate so they will not stop it.

I don't buy Yuna's "nice" comments on Mao at all.  Call me bitch.  But I hate an opportunistic person. I don't want her to come close her nor even mention about her.  It looks she does it only for her merits.  Mao had been their target for years.  They took every opportunity to bash her and nitpicked her. No she cannot understand her at all. How come a person who's been chronically overrated and inflated without even maintaining the technical levels that she can execute but with deteriorating technical contents can say that she can understand Mao. All the skaters who compete are under pressure.  But Mao has been under extra pressure and disadvantage because she was the target of their negative campaign. It pukes my guts out when I read this new campaign of Yuna is nice girl, she's kind to Mao thing, which is rampant in Japan now.  What they are after now?  Show invitation?  I really hate what they do: trying to look nice to a skater who she feels now safe with while bashing so hard on another skater.

I've rewatched Mao's LP at least ten times and I can't help but feel extremely moved every time I see the passion she put in her performance and her expression at the end. It was definitely the best moment of the whole competition for me. And I'm a big Yuna fan, but I admit that this time, despite skating very very well (obviously, she's a great skater) she didn't put enough passion in her skating. I don't blame her only, I think the program (not her performance that particular day) was not good enough for her, she could do much better. Anyway, going back to Mao, she was exceptional and would  (or SHOULD) have scored at least the same as Adelina had she skated in the last group.

And this brings me to the controversial topic of Adelina's score, and I'll try to give my opinion about it. I think she skated brilliantly, but it is almost impossible for me to agree with the increase her scores have suddenly experimented from day to night (yes, I'm exaggerating but you get the point). I like Adelina so I don't want to start pointing out all her defects as some people have been doing in other forums. I'll only say that IMO she received crazy GOE for some of her elemetns and that her PCS were too high for a performance that, from what I've seen, lacked polishment and looked rough at some points. This is not the first time I mention this. I registered here three months ago and my first post was a kind of "review" of the TEB which I attended, and I remember mentioning that, when watching her live, Adelina looked much less refined to me than I expected, and her step sequences looked awkward and not fluid enough for my taste.

On the other hand, I admit that Adelina has a special quality...she's not a ballerina but I would never say she lacks artistry. It's just that, for me, she's not a 74 PCS skater yet. I would have kept Adelina's scores around 140, while Mao was the one who should have reached or surpassed the 149 points. Then, obviously, all other scores should have been "scaled" appropriately. Yulia shouldn't have scored higher than 130 and I would have kept Gracies PCS around 65-66 to score a total of 135 maximum. Then, 145 for Caro's performance would have been well-deserved.

I'll avoid talking about Yuna's scores since this has already been discussed to death. I just want to say that I love her skating and I'll miss her, and this was a bittersweet farewell in my opinion. Ironically, and although Yuna won silver and Mao was sixth, as a fan of both I felt happy for Mao and sad for Yuna. It's a strange feeling, but somehow I feel like Yuna was the one who failed, who didn't look satisfied and didn't seem to enjoy herself, while Mao was the one who won this battle. Honestly, I would have liked to see Yuna retire in a different way. It was like nobody was paying attention to what she would do, but everybody was expecting her to be perfect and win. It was like "let's see if Yuna can score higher than she did in Vancouver and beat Adelina" more than "let's watch her skate for the last time, let's enjoy her last performance". She did great, though, this is just my impression of the whole thing. Thank you Yuna for all these years of great skating. Let's remember her as the great competitor she has been and (I strongly believe) the good person she is!

As for Mao, I hope she rests as much as she thinks convenient after worlds and then decides to come back and keep competing for a while. Seeing her skate like she did last day made me realise that she hadn't reached her full potential yet. Now, she probably has, but it is obvious that with the kind of passion and freedom she showed in her Olympic LP she could still amaze us with incredible performances. Mao has always had the potential, but she is not like a machine who can be "switched on" just before skating to her program. She needs something else, I don't know exactly what, but when she has that, she becomes magic on ice, something simply gorgeous which cannot be described with words.

Well I see that while I was writing my long post some comments have been written about all the Yuna thing. I wrote these nice things about Yuna because this is how I feel about her, not because I'm trying to campaign in her favour after reading the comments. Just wanted to point that out