Winter Olympics 2010

thanks batsuchan for all those little quotes ! It always bring a smile on my face!

Thanks for the photos, kirakira!



The other girl from this photo http://www2.daily.co.jp/newsflash/2010/03/03/Images/02755834.jpg reminded me of Yukari!

Batsuchan wrote:

She said, "I'll put the silver medal somewhere where I can always see it, and I'll try to forget the pain."

She's still hurt. So are we, I guess.
But time will heal this, I'm sure. It always does.

Batsuchan wrote:

http://www.asahi.com/sports/spo/NGY201003030020.html
She said, "I'll put the silver medal somewhere where I can always see it, and I'll try to forget the pain."

Actually, she said that she will put the silver medal somewhere she can always see to not forget the pain(regrettable feeling).

coconut wrote:

Batsuchan wrote:

http://www.asahi.com/sports/spo/NGY201003030020.html
She said, "I'll put the silver medal somewhere where I can always see it, and I'll try to forget the pain."

Actually, she said that she will put the silver medal somewhere she can always see to not forget the pain(regrettable feeling).

HIIIIEEEEE coconutty!

ohhhh mao, give me a break! the drama of it all.

^ For once, I agree with you. I hope Mao realizes that a silver medal in the Olympics is an AMAZING achievement for ANYBODY. Mourning over something as amazing and unbelievable as a silver medal in the olympics is just bewildering to me.Considering her coaching situation and her season, this was a near perfect end of the season for her. Everybody in the world would love to win a silver medal in the olympics.

Japanese people tend to be overly dramatic about some things such as failure. If you watch jdrama, the characters always make a deal about failure of any kind. I think it's part of their honor/success culture. On a bright side, the silver medal can be a motivating force for her to do better so she won't regret next time.

A silver medal is not a failure. Making the olympics is an incredible feat itself.

☆Genie wrote:

^ For once, I agree with you. I hope Mao realizes that a silver medal in the Olympics is an AMAZING achievement for ANYBODY. Mourning over something as amazing and unbelievable as a silver medal in the olympics is just bewildering to me.Considering her coaching situation and her season, this was a near perfect end of the season for her. Everybody in the world would love to win a silver medal in the olympics.

I couldn't agree more =)
She has silver, that's more than some athletes could ever achieve. She wasn't even in the shape of her life, unlike Yu-Na and yet she managed to pull off two great skates.
Mao simply needs to move on and stop being mad at herself, there is no need to be sad about something which is so amazing.

☆Genie wrote:

A silver medal is not a failure. Making the olympics is an incredible feat itself.

But it depends on the person though. Mao's goal is always to win the OGM, so I can totally understand her disappointment. I think for Mao and Yuna; it is a disappointment if they do not win, because a lot of people expect them to do well and they also have high expectations for themselves. Of course for some athletes who don't really have a realistic shot of a medal, least the gold, being there and competing is already a great honor. It's all about perception.

However, I do think Mao shouldn't be too disappointed in winning the silver this time. In my opinion, I don't think Mao lost to Yuna per se, but rather she was hindered by not playing the system. Because losing to a person means if the other slips up, the gold is yours. However, if Yuna had slipped up, she may still have won. So it wasn't an even game from the start. That's not say Mao should lose her originality by adapting to the system. I think she can strike a balance between originality and adapting to the system. She can't let the system overwhelm her as it seems to be doing now. So I hope Mao puts this all into perspective because the real battle she is facing is a against herself and system; not against Yuna or any competitor.

Of course winning the silver medal is a great accomplishment, and I think there were only two women in the world who would have seen it as a failure of any kind. They both had tremendous pressure on them from their countries, as aoi88 said, and it's only human to feel a bit of a letdown when one of them fails to achieve her best.

And I think that's what Mao is most upset about, really, that she didn't quite do that in the LP; she made mistakes. We can argue about how much of a difference it would have made if she'd skated clean, but I think those mistakes are what will haunt her the most. (And I suspect even Shen & Zhao, who won their gold medal after all, will always have a nagging feeling in the back of their minds: what if we had skated a clean LP and made it a perfect experience?)

Given the past year, Mao's silver is an incredible accomplishment--less than a year ago she was off the podium at the Worlds, and only a few months ago she was struggling greatly. Her silver is as good as gold, in my book. I hope she comes to see it that way.

But as for this:

coconut wrote:

Actually, she said that she will put the silver medal somewhere she can always see to not forget the pain(regrettable feeling).

Remember, Mao is a fighter, and she doesn't want to forget the motivation she feels right now. She wants to take that pain/regret/whatever you want to call it and channel it into her skating over the next four years.

Of course Mao was aiming at the gold medal, but a silver medal is nothing to be upset about! Many athletes would be happy just for being at the Olympics!

aoi88 wrote:

However, I do think Mao shouldn't be too disappointed in winning the silver this time. In my opinion, I don't think Mao lost to Yuna per se, but rather she was hindered by not playing the system. Because losing to a person means if the other slips up, the gold is yours. However, if Yuna had slipped up, she may still have won. So it wasn't an even game from the start. That's not say Mao should lose her originality by adapting to the system. I think she can strike a balance between originality and adapting to the system. She can't let the system overwhelm her as it seems to be doing now. So I hope Mao puts this all into perspective because the real battle she is facing is a against herself and system; not against Yuna or any competitor.

Totally agree. I think within the last week we have all come to the realization more than ever why Yuna has been scoring so high, and Mao hasn't. Like I have said before, I think Mao is aware that she needs to adapt the the Gop more, and plans finding on coach who can help her with that. I don't think we ever have to worry about her giving into it too much, and losing her originality though

Star85 wrote:

aoi88 wrote:

However, I do think Mao shouldn't be too disappointed in winning the silver this time. In my opinion, I don't think Mao lost to Yuna per se, but rather she was hindered by not playing the system. Because losing to a person means if the other slips up, the gold is yours. However, if Yuna had slipped up, she may still have won. So it wasn't an even game from the start. That's not say Mao should lose her originality by adapting to the system. I think she can strike a balance between originality and adapting to the system. She can't let the system overwhelm her as it seems to be doing now. So I hope Mao puts this all into perspective because the real battle she is facing is a against herself and system; not against Yuna or any competitor.

Totally agree. I think within the last week we have all come to the realization more than ever why Yuna has been scoring so high, and Mao hasn't. Like I have said before, I think Mao is aware that she needs to adapt the the Gop more, and plans finding on coach who can help her with that. I don't think we ever have to worry about her giving into it too much, and losing her originality though

I am not going to lie. I cried each time Michelle Kwan didn't win the gold. I cried right along with her. Mao pulled it together to give a happy performance in the EX. My other favorite Michelle Kwan was beautiful but in tears in her Ex Fields of Gold and strangely enough no one had a problem with it then. I bet Michelle Kwan would show regret even today for not having that Olympic gold medal.

sunnygirl wrote:

Star85 wrote:

aoi88 wrote:

However, I do think Mao shouldn't be too disappointed in winning the silver this time. In my opinion, I don't think Mao lost to Yuna per se, but rather she was hindered by not playing the system. Because losing to a person means if the other slips up, the gold is yours. However, if Yuna had slipped up, she may still have won. So it wasn't an even game from the start. That's not say Mao should lose her originality by adapting to the system. I think she can strike a balance between originality and adapting to the system. She can't let the system overwhelm her as it seems to be doing now. So I hope Mao puts this all into perspective because the real battle she is facing is a against herself and system; not against Yuna or any competitor.

Totally agree. I think within the last week we have all come to the realization more than ever why Yuna has been scoring so high, and Mao hasn't. Like I have said before, I think Mao is aware that she needs to adapt the the Gop more, and plans finding on coach who can help her with that. I don't think we ever have to worry about her giving into it too much, and losing her originality though

I am not going to lie. I cried each time Michelle Kwan didn't win the gold. I cried right along with her. Mao pulled it together to give a happy performance in the EX. My other favorite Michelle Kwan was beautiful but in tears in her Ex Fields of Gold and strangely enough no one had a problem with it then. I bet Michelle Kwan would show regret even today for not having that Olympic gold medal.

I think the difference is that Michelle Kwan was the favorite for gold,but as to Mao, many people even predicted that Mao would be off podium. Many people would think that this is the best Mao could get considering her condition, why she asks for more. They just don't understand that gold is always Mao's dream, she always tries her best to fight for it no matter how slim the chance is.

The first Olympics Michelle Kwan went to she was favorite for Gold but not the second one. Kwan had struggled all season long up until US Nationals where she did a beautiful performance.

I agree with some of your points, but at the same time, it's easy as a "bystander" to think that she should be happy already and move on.

I remember in school, when there's always the person aiming for 100% but is always sad when they don't get it (the overachiever)- and everyone else would criticize them, because anyone else would be happy with that mark. It's hard for other people to understand though.

Yes, although any other athlete would be happy with a silver, and I think Mao is happy with it, her performance still bothers her. I wouldn't call it drama though, her feelings are still there.

Besides, it's only been a week since the free skate! It seems much longer but I think she needs some more time to get over it. I'm pretty sure other athletes who wanted to win gold but didn't took some time to get over it too. The most important thing is that it's a learning experience for her.

illani wrote:

coconut wrote:

Actually, she said that she will put the silver medal somewhere she can always see to not forget the pain(regrettable feeling).

Remember, Mao is a fighter, and she doesn't want to forget the motivation she feels right now. She wants to take that pain/regret/whatever you want to call it and channel it into her skating over the next four years.

I know! Just like Mao said, she takes this as a step to next level. It's not like crying all the time to regret it. She is just really motivated. She is an athlete.

sapphiresky wrote:

Yes, although any other athlete would be happy with a silver, and I think Mao is happy with it, her performance still bothers her. I wouldn't call it drama though, her feelings are still there.

That's the point. I guess Mao always knew her strategy was not exactly what judges wanted to see, but she decided to follow her personal challenges and run the risks. She was prepared to lose. The main reason for her disapointment was not the silver medal, but not being able to deliver the program she wanted.

That's why I get really mad at those people accusing her of immaturity and lack of sportsmanship on the podium, for they have no idea what she was suffering for.

Mao interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEiU1ppgC1o

What Mao wanted to do was a "Perfect performance" ant it obviously wasn't. In order to do that perfect performance at Sochi, she needs to remeber those feelings she has right now. She doesn't wanna make same kind of mistakes there. I think many athletes usually feel like that when they are in the same situation. so I don't know what is so wrong with doing that.

and Thanks, kirakira for the interview!

Thanks, kirakira!



What is the interview about? By the way, Mao's hair looks so different! It looks pretty!

coconut wrote:

illani wrote:

coconut wrote:

Actually, she said that she will put the silver medal somewhere she can always see to not forget the pain(regrettable feeling).

Remember, Mao is a fighter, and she doesn't want to forget the motivation she feels right now. She wants to take that pain/regret/whatever you want to call it and channel it into her skating over the next four years.

I know! Just like Mao said, she takes this as a step to next level. It's not like crying all the time to regret it. She is just really motivated. She is an athlete.

Great posts !!!! Mao is definitely a fighter !!

MikiAndoFan#1 wrote:

Thanks, kirakira!



What is the interview about? By the way, Mao's hair looks so different! It looks pretty!

I wanna know too It seems like they talked a lot about funny things !