Olympic Ladies' FS: Mao Asada
Okay, let's do this. I'm going to look at the Olympic FS again for Asada, Kostner, Sotnikova, and Kim, and write down my own impressions. I'll look at the protocols as well. I'll post about the programs one at a time so I don't overwhelm myself.
Mao Asada first, skating to Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2, which is one of my all-time favorite pieces of music for skating. So stirring, turbulent, romantic. It matches up with my own emotional range.
Opening is very slow and doesn't have a whole lot of choreography except for a slow build of emotion: good strategy for giving her a feel for the ice before gearing up for the triple axel.
3axel: about a quarter-turn to an eighth of a turn underrotated, beautiful entry and air position and trajectory, not huge but a good size and, well, triple axel. :-) Maybe I'd give it a +1? A negative for not rotating completely, but it was a minor underrotation and the jump itself was so beautiful.
Her carriage and timing look good between the 3ax and the combination. Very clean, good edging, well measured.
3flip-3loop: the flip was gorgeous. Huge. Very confident entry, beautiful shape. The takeoff of the 3loop was cheated and honestly, I don't understand how anyone in the world could do a 3loop as the second jump of a 3flip combination without cheating it! Is it even humanly possible? A 3flip-3loop is an insanely difficult combination and she is so hardcore for even doing one! The landing of the 3loop was slightly cheated as well. But the combination overall looked really good, confident, and pretty, and that does count for something -- it contributes to the overall impression of the program as soaring and ebbing to the music, and that is not a small matter. That is the whole point of the sport. So, hmm. Maybe I would give this a 0 GOE. The second jump was very underrotated but the first one was so amazing, and the underrotation definitely did not interrupt the program.
Oh, her extension and transitions continue to be so good. Her body looks properly relaxed, not all tight from nerves. Of course, this is a dreadfully sad thing to notice, since surely this relaxation is from her resigned determination to retain some dignity despite the impossibility of a gold medal. But the fact remains that her carriage is a textbook example of how to look controlled and graceful during a high-pressure program.
Dreadful wrong edge on the 3lutz and underrotated landing, although the technical caller does't seem to have taken off for the landing. But the shape of that jump was beautiful, as was the direct transition into her combination spin. GOE -1 for the edge change but kudos for choreographing the spin directly after it, as though to compensate for that technical imperfection.
Good camel change sit. The speed was okay, the centering was fantastic, the positions were good and very steady, flexibility good, number of rotations okay. I'd give it +1 for the centering, wow. Even with the change of foot, dead on. In fact, her whole performance is dead on. She is so centered and balanced, every point of contact between her skate and the ice is like it's drilling a hole straight down. So true.
Transitions into flying camel with catchfoot variation going onto an inside edge. A bit wobbly with the centering but the positions are difficult and the entry was very nice. I would give it 0 GOE; it was a wee bit slow and she finished a little early, off the musical beat, so with the wobbling, the difficulty of the position didn't counteract the performance quibbles.
Very nicely paced, elegant spread eagles and steps into a 2axel-3toe where the landing of the 3toe is a bit underrotated but the 2axel is, of course, a thing of absolute beauty! The speed! The shape! In love with this one. I might have to give this a +1 GOE just for the first jump even though the second one looked a bit short. The reach back for the pick had such good stretch, though.
Good 3salchow. The landing was confident in its full rotation, so clean, plenty of room coming down. +1. I also liked how it came soon after the 2axel-3toe and the transitions into it expressed the music well with good timing.
Lovely 3flip-2loop-2loop. Insanely difficult, beautifully controlled! How confident she is to put two edge jumps into a three-jump combination! Well timed rotations in accord with the music. This is wild! +1 for execution as I still don't understand the concept of fully rotated loop jumps in combination ;-) and a bit of worship for her mastery.
Now building in intensity, digging strongly into the ice on good deep knees, into a big 3loop with perfect landing. Oh, lovely. Not sure if her weight on the entry was fully on the right outside edge, so +1 from me, plus a big swell of emotion as the music builds and she gives us that "ahhhhh" thrill of excitement that she's finished her jumps splendidly. That rush in the audience, it counts for something. It elevates the performance from the sum of its elements into the possibility of a complete artistic statement.
Flying camel-illusion-sit-change-forward layback-Biellmann. Slight wobble during the illusion but wow, what a fantastic array of positions with otherwise good changes, and again a steadiness in the change of foot. +2. I really liked the clarity of her sitspin position.
Oooh, huge swell of emotion as she does opposite-rotation twizzles to transition into what everyone knows is coming: serpentine step sequence to the crescendo of this concerto! So exciting, so exciting. There's nothing like a climactic step sequence after a full program of clean jumps with no falls or step-outs or two-foots. I have chills throughout this sequence. Her positions hit so many axes with turns in both directions, managing to progress across the ice while forming still pictures with her body shapes -- a pirouette here, a bilaterally symmetrical two-foot backward leap there. It's good that she has enough room in this program to do a serpentine; of the three step sequence patterns (the others are straightline and circular), the serpentine is the longest, and I find it quite incredible that she's managed to do so many jumping passes and have room for such a lengthy step sequence packed with so much difficulty and change in position. Here's why this is significant: the more high-level jumping passes you have in a program, the less time you have to recover and set up for each move. It's much harder and more stressful, and requires you to be in position a lot more securely with less margin for error than someone who has a few more seconds to do crossovers and get their concentration back. With all the difficult jumps, Asada could have done a shorter step sequence and been done with it, but no, she packed this in. Finishing with a triumphant upright spiral right by the judges. Amazing. I am amazed. +3 from me for that.
Flying into her forward right outside spiral. +1.
WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW. That was greatness. That was Olympic greatness. That gets extra points from me for delivering Olympic chills, for having certainty in her steps and centering, for keeping the pace and not letting her nerves rush her, for staying with the music which is especially important with a dramatic piece like this that depends entirely on the building of emotion. This is -- should be, in my opinion -- an element in the scoring. Ability to control the self and compete under pressure is a skill and it is part of what is being measured. Ability to convey emotion in the moment, also. Showing what the self can do: that's the point of the Olympics. She did it. Wow.
Okay, time to do some counting.
3axel
3flip-3loop
3flutz (skating jargon for a lutz with an incorrect entry edge)
2axel-3toe
3salchow
3flip-2loop-2loop
3loop
Seven jumping passes, at least one of each triple, eight triples total. So she backed off on the lutzes, wisely, but did two 3flips and two 3loops. It might be seen as a weakness not to have two 3lutzes, but clearly the inclusion of a triple axel and two combinations with loop jumps more than makes up for any possible scoring deficit. Seven jumping passes, including two very difficult ones. Geez. All I can say is, thank goodness for my emotions that I didn't go into these Olympics with my heart set on this skater becoming champion, because this program by itself wins the whole Olympics for me and my heart would have broken from the greatness of it! Oh lord, and now I'm watching her sobbing at center ice having delivered the skate of the Olympiad and still knowing she will leave without a medal. Ach, I think my heart is breaking anyway! It hurts to see a person's soul with every protection ripped away! It hurts!
Mao Asada first, skating to Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2, which is one of my all-time favorite pieces of music for skating. So stirring, turbulent, romantic. It matches up with my own emotional range.
Opening is very slow and doesn't have a whole lot of choreography except for a slow build of emotion: good strategy for giving her a feel for the ice before gearing up for the triple axel.
3axel: about a quarter-turn to an eighth of a turn underrotated, beautiful entry and air position and trajectory, not huge but a good size and, well, triple axel. :-) Maybe I'd give it a +1? A negative for not rotating completely, but it was a minor underrotation and the jump itself was so beautiful.
Her carriage and timing look good between the 3ax and the combination. Very clean, good edging, well measured.
3flip-3loop: the flip was gorgeous. Huge. Very confident entry, beautiful shape. The takeoff of the 3loop was cheated and honestly, I don't understand how anyone in the world could do a 3loop as the second jump of a 3flip combination without cheating it! Is it even humanly possible? A 3flip-3loop is an insanely difficult combination and she is so hardcore for even doing one! The landing of the 3loop was slightly cheated as well. But the combination overall looked really good, confident, and pretty, and that does count for something -- it contributes to the overall impression of the program as soaring and ebbing to the music, and that is not a small matter. That is the whole point of the sport. So, hmm. Maybe I would give this a 0 GOE. The second jump was very underrotated but the first one was so amazing, and the underrotation definitely did not interrupt the program.
Oh, her extension and transitions continue to be so good. Her body looks properly relaxed, not all tight from nerves. Of course, this is a dreadfully sad thing to notice, since surely this relaxation is from her resigned determination to retain some dignity despite the impossibility of a gold medal. But the fact remains that her carriage is a textbook example of how to look controlled and graceful during a high-pressure program.
Dreadful wrong edge on the 3lutz and underrotated landing, although the technical caller does't seem to have taken off for the landing. But the shape of that jump was beautiful, as was the direct transition into her combination spin. GOE -1 for the edge change but kudos for choreographing the spin directly after it, as though to compensate for that technical imperfection.
Good camel change sit. The speed was okay, the centering was fantastic, the positions were good and very steady, flexibility good, number of rotations okay. I'd give it +1 for the centering, wow. Even with the change of foot, dead on. In fact, her whole performance is dead on. She is so centered and balanced, every point of contact between her skate and the ice is like it's drilling a hole straight down. So true.
Transitions into flying camel with catchfoot variation going onto an inside edge. A bit wobbly with the centering but the positions are difficult and the entry was very nice. I would give it 0 GOE; it was a wee bit slow and she finished a little early, off the musical beat, so with the wobbling, the difficulty of the position didn't counteract the performance quibbles.
Very nicely paced, elegant spread eagles and steps into a 2axel-3toe where the landing of the 3toe is a bit underrotated but the 2axel is, of course, a thing of absolute beauty! The speed! The shape! In love with this one. I might have to give this a +1 GOE just for the first jump even though the second one looked a bit short. The reach back for the pick had such good stretch, though.
Good 3salchow. The landing was confident in its full rotation, so clean, plenty of room coming down. +1. I also liked how it came soon after the 2axel-3toe and the transitions into it expressed the music well with good timing.
Lovely 3flip-2loop-2loop. Insanely difficult, beautifully controlled! How confident she is to put two edge jumps into a three-jump combination! Well timed rotations in accord with the music. This is wild! +1 for execution as I still don't understand the concept of fully rotated loop jumps in combination ;-) and a bit of worship for her mastery.
Now building in intensity, digging strongly into the ice on good deep knees, into a big 3loop with perfect landing. Oh, lovely. Not sure if her weight on the entry was fully on the right outside edge, so +1 from me, plus a big swell of emotion as the music builds and she gives us that "ahhhhh" thrill of excitement that she's finished her jumps splendidly. That rush in the audience, it counts for something. It elevates the performance from the sum of its elements into the possibility of a complete artistic statement.
Flying camel-illusion-sit-change-forward layback-Biellmann. Slight wobble during the illusion but wow, what a fantastic array of positions with otherwise good changes, and again a steadiness in the change of foot. +2. I really liked the clarity of her sitspin position.
Oooh, huge swell of emotion as she does opposite-rotation twizzles to transition into what everyone knows is coming: serpentine step sequence to the crescendo of this concerto! So exciting, so exciting. There's nothing like a climactic step sequence after a full program of clean jumps with no falls or step-outs or two-foots. I have chills throughout this sequence. Her positions hit so many axes with turns in both directions, managing to progress across the ice while forming still pictures with her body shapes -- a pirouette here, a bilaterally symmetrical two-foot backward leap there. It's good that she has enough room in this program to do a serpentine; of the three step sequence patterns (the others are straightline and circular), the serpentine is the longest, and I find it quite incredible that she's managed to do so many jumping passes and have room for such a lengthy step sequence packed with so much difficulty and change in position. Here's why this is significant: the more high-level jumping passes you have in a program, the less time you have to recover and set up for each move. It's much harder and more stressful, and requires you to be in position a lot more securely with less margin for error than someone who has a few more seconds to do crossovers and get their concentration back. With all the difficult jumps, Asada could have done a shorter step sequence and been done with it, but no, she packed this in. Finishing with a triumphant upright spiral right by the judges. Amazing. I am amazed. +3 from me for that.
Flying into her forward right outside spiral. +1.
WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW. That was greatness. That was Olympic greatness. That gets extra points from me for delivering Olympic chills, for having certainty in her steps and centering, for keeping the pace and not letting her nerves rush her, for staying with the music which is especially important with a dramatic piece like this that depends entirely on the building of emotion. This is -- should be, in my opinion -- an element in the scoring. Ability to control the self and compete under pressure is a skill and it is part of what is being measured. Ability to convey emotion in the moment, also. Showing what the self can do: that's the point of the Olympics. She did it. Wow.
Okay, time to do some counting.
3axel
3flip-3loop
3flutz (skating jargon for a lutz with an incorrect entry edge)
2axel-3toe
3salchow
3flip-2loop-2loop
3loop
Seven jumping passes, at least one of each triple, eight triples total. So she backed off on the lutzes, wisely, but did two 3flips and two 3loops. It might be seen as a weakness not to have two 3lutzes, but clearly the inclusion of a triple axel and two combinations with loop jumps more than makes up for any possible scoring deficit. Seven jumping passes, including two very difficult ones. Geez. All I can say is, thank goodness for my emotions that I didn't go into these Olympics with my heart set on this skater becoming champion, because this program by itself wins the whole Olympics for me and my heart would have broken from the greatness of it! Oh lord, and now I'm watching her sobbing at center ice having delivered the skate of the Olympiad and still knowing she will leave without a medal. Ach, I think my heart is breaking anyway! It hurts to see a person's soul with every protection ripped away! It hurts!