2010 Olympics Ladies Figure Skating Predictions: Yu-Na Kim vs. Mao Asada? Probably not.

[laura123153]

Do you know any transition and technical things? I don't agree with you.sorry..

[laura123153]

This guy is just a person. Not a judge.

[jjunplay]

very critical comments. thank you for your honest opinion :D it is so cool!

[LoveApril2012]

@LoveApril2012 I don't understand why such dirty comments are thrown to Mao Asaka. I hope we can stop them. Does anyone know how?

[supergreatmagna]

die useless garbage. garbage of garbage.

[xoxoxoselena1]

score of yu-na is too high.thats wired.i learned bullet.so i know who is the most beautiful .

and did you see Worlds inTorrino?i think Miki is 2nd,Costner (Italy) is 3th.yuna is the no.1 in free skating??? yuna jumped 3A three times?of course NOT.

STOP KIDDING!!!!!!!

[jun08548]

@xoxoxoselena1 Wow, you really gotta learn how to write in English. Sentence structure is just horrific. Anywho, YUNA is #1. Period. Got it? Get it? Good.

[xXSuJuNo1FanXx]

Yuna kim, out of artistry, musicality, and technicality is i dare say, the best in history.

she is magical. this is not biased. not all her fans are korean. her fans are all over, proving how her performances touch people.

[songj7]

more than 90% of what you said isnt your opinion, just a false assertion

[feeer8]

there's no doubt yuna kim has been the best skater this whole season. But there can't be a doubt either on she being overscored. The grades from the olympics were just ridiculously high; she has not improed her spirals or spins and she still surpassed the world record three times in one season... I mean, the beginning of the season is no time for breaking a mark and her performance at TEB was not that good to make it. Just my point of view, which is pretty obvious

[star915]

@feeer8 Everyone was overscored at the olympics in every single discipline. If spirals and spins are the ones that determine the world record then I don't know why Alissa czisny and Caroline Zhang never set a world record. BTW just because some skaters always screw up the first competition of the season (Mao Asada) that doesn't mean no one should set a world record at the beginning of the season.

[feeer8]

@star915 I'm not saying so. Why on earth people just brings out this stupid nonsense fight between Mao and Yuna when they're mentioned? SURE AS HELL i know Yuna owns and deserves her WR, I'm just saying that some of her GOE's are insane. She always gets a level 4 and +2.00 for her spiral (just bringing an example) and not even alissa Czisny or Zhang get those scores. Of course i know spins & spirals don't give you a record and i did not even mention Mao Asada in my first comment. Have a nice day

[star915]

@feeer8 When did I say you mentioned Mao Asada? Do you even know the criterias for GOEs and Levels? Do you know the speed, edge quality, ice coverage also counts towards GOE for spirals? Do you know how many seconds they have to hold a position to get the levels? I'm not going to argue with someone who clearly doesn't know the judging system. If Miki Ando is getting Lv4 +1.8 for spiral, Lv4+1.4 for Joannie and Lv4 +2.6 for Mao Asada I don't see a problem with Yuna getting Lv4+2.

[feeer8]

@star915 hahaha then why do you keep arguing and why did you start anyway? You're so funny (:

[star915]

@feeer8 Yeah I'm funny that way lol now let me hear your opinion then.

[Redglasses98]

tony.. u r a loser just find something else to do and.. ITS JUST SO LAME>

Even though I'm American. i think yu na kim is the best skater in the whole universe.

mao asada cant be her rival..shes too..u know what i meen

[fanboys7]

YUNA KIM scores were too high. especially for a girl.

[hybmg57]

loser!!! do somthing else for yorself!!! its just rubbish!!!

[TonyWheeler]

@hybmg57 Who? LOL. Me? Why, thank you.

[koolangeldude1]

wat! kim yuna's fs is awesome! wat u smokin?

[skater199000]

Examples of this are the calls for Mao Asada's two triple Axel combinations, which photos show these elements should both probably received downgrade calls, giving her the silver medal instead of the bronze.

Nor are the judges perfect. For some elements so much happens so quickly it is hard to pick out everything that needs to be considered in the marks. Not one judge penalized Asada for under-rotations (even if not worthy of a downgrade) or a two footed landing.

[catherine5612]

Wow~ Just amazing

[erichmom]

You need to sleep

[TonyWheeler]

I had plenty of sleep at the time of this video, but thank you for expressing concern :)

[33divigi]

I agree with you.

[TonyWheeler]

Why thank you :)

[x4812k]

you're so right about miki ando.

[tomynator]

South Korea's Kim Yu-Na wins the ladies' figure skating gold medal

[jering117]

Yuna Kim was insuperable in combining speed, athleticism and grace. Her jumps are of the highest technical quality, properly started at full speed and landed without any visible effort. Her spins are done with great flexibility. She was flawless till the end, seducing the audience with her expressiveness. Her presentation, the way she uses her arms, her head and her body while skating on deep edges. She is as light as a feather. She is breathtaking on the ice, a real marvel.

[Theponchan2007]

You mentioned "grace" and "athleticism". In my opinion, the word Grace" belongs to Yukina Ota and Shizuka Arakawa and Mao Asada is the one who excels in "athleticism". Yuna Kim has a high level of both grace and athleticism + fierce determination to bring back the gold to her country: what impressed me the most about her at this competition was the fact she skated clean SP AND LP which is a difficult thing to do and that she did it under a tremendous pressure from her country. Amazing..

[Theponchan2007]

I just watched GALA. Thought that, as the Queen of Ice of 2010 OP, Yuna should have prepared a better program with a little more 'content', so to speak. Mao had a well-choreographed program but did not seem to have her usual energy. Maybe both ladies were tired because of non-stopping media frenzy after the medal ceremony ?

[TonyWheeler]

I'm sure they were exhausted, and it's just an exhibition.. content doesn't matter at all. I've never really been a fan of the exhibitions, honestly.

[mrsuavecool]

ice skating, dancing, diving, gymnast = asians

artistic sports requiring synchronization, extreme concentration, years of mental exercise and discipline, and intelligence = Asians

NOTE: asians are chinese/japanese/koreans/mongo­lians/etec... absolutely not Indians.. they're not good at anything and they're middle easterners...

all other brute-force sports = whites and blacks.

long distance running requiring long endurance = whites

short distance running w/ fast dash = blacks

[hongkongchico168]

WELL SAID!!

[EdDy4RheelZ]

@mrsuavecool

Why are you including all Asians when it's only Koreans and Chinese who have accomplished gold medals in the Olympics?

When it gets to Winter Olympics, only Chinese and Koreans dominate of all Asians.

Japanese are only good at baseball.

Not to be anal here but I like realism.

[FlyboT]

@mrsuavecool if you must post ignorant crap on the internet, at least try and get some of the information correct. India is on the Asian continent. Indians are Asians.

To play any sport at a professional level requires years of discipline and dedication, as well as intelligence.

Long distance running has been dominated by African runners for years and years, Gymnastics has been dominated by Eastern European and American athletes until recently, and lastly THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS RACE!

[EdDy4RheelZ]

Yo. Do you know the real reason why Eastern Europeans and Russians cannot dominate anymore? It's because they have no money due to fall of communism. All the skilled East Europeans and Russians athletes and coaches move to different countries to coach and teach, thus whoring their valuable techniques and skills that they have used to win gold medals in the past. If east europeans and russians government have enough money, they would still dominate. It's economics and politics.

[mrsuavecool]

@FlyboT - Indians are middle easter fuckers that prob came from the aborigines australians as the indian subcontinent drifted into Asia.. so no.. they're a pathetic fucker. And europeans are crap at skating due to their body large frame size and stiff movements. Africans run fast to run away from animals.

[FlyboT]

@mrsuavecool If they're middle eastern then how could they have come from Australia, even in a Pangaea map? Unless you're saying that aborigines in Australia are also Middle Eastern? In which case there's nothing left to discuss with your ignorant self. Actually looking at the rest of your post I shouldn't bother feeding the troll.

[kellybelly1004]

didn't that joannie girl make like five mistakes?

[TonyWheeler]

She stepped out of TWO jumps, but like I said, rotated all 7 of her triples. Singling or cheating a jump is much, much more costly. But if you saw five mistakes, do let me know where they occurred!

[waddleduckie1]

kellybelly1004 , As for Joannie Rochette, she was under enormous pressure, especially with the unexpected passing of her mom from heart disease.

[angelsword1000]

omgsh i totally agree

mao asada keeps soo focused on her flips that she kinda jumps when kim yu na does a CLEAN flip:)

[mrsuavecool]

@angelsword1000 - I agree.. I saw her making mistakes in both the short and long performances. she misstepped, and her transition from one movement to the next did not flow naturally... sorry, I think ice skating belongs to Asia.. European bodies are just too awkward, bulky and big that's not really suited for this art... They should try out american football.. more suited for brute-like sports

[Girlsurfer01]

mao asada cheated on jumps!!!!

[barae1004]

I'll look forward to see your review on 2010 Vancouver Olympic women's figure skating soon.

[idolopinions3]

wow you are cute!!! Yu-na kim is amazing

[wjwildcat]

Best comment I have ever heard in a year/ Thanks dude. We all love Yuna Kim

[tokee1234567]

um at least yuna did not stumble when she skated.. mao does the most screw ups and rochette does some screw-ups. for me the cleanness and the choreography of the skating is what matters the most.

[junkie4vids]

Yu-Na Kim and Mao Asada are simply the two best female figure skaters in the world. The rivalry between "Queen" Yuna and "Chairwoman" Mao is one of skating history's greatest and will continue. Yuna and Mao are far ahead of the rest of the skaters in terms of skating ability. Rochette won the bronze due to her accumulated points. Mirai Nagasu skated brilliantly and placed 4th because of her lower total point accumulation than Rochette. The best is yet to come for Mirai Nagasu.

[ImSoJJang]

YUNA KIM MARRY ME

[barae1004]

Just shut up!!!

[ImSoJJang]

@barae1004

Biatch don't get mad cuz you want her for yourself.

[TonyWheeler]

LOL, this is funny.

[mickyS2]

if you're saying this with no offense to the skaters.. then don't say it..

how 'bout saying something nice like "you guys did a great job^^"

[eirelav215]

YUNA is simply the best and im happy that she won. i like her style and that makes her unique, she's really something.

mao is so frustrated eh! she smiled firmly.

congratulations to all the medalists

[goyanghee24]

YAY yuna WON :DD. HONESTLY. I think that Joannie shoul have gotten SILVER. Mao didnt do so well, she made few mistake as well. :S

[mrsuavecool]

bull.. joannie got bronze because symphathies from judges.. I thought ando did much better than her

[TonyWheeler]

Are you kidding? Rochette should have had a bigger lead over Ando in the short after Ando got away with a cheated triple flip. In the free skate, she also received no downgrades when I think, at the least, one of them was very obviously short of rotation. Rochette rotated all 7 of her triples and landed 6 cleanly, and IMO is way ahead of Ando on every single aspect of the components marks.

[amyoinyokohama]

Absolutely--Miki has worked on her choreography, but most of the time it still looks like signal flags. Joannie is head and shoulders above Miki artistically--and she skated a strong and clean SP. Joannie's the most stylish skater I've seen in...I don't know when. The bronze was hers-no sympathy needed from the judges. I respect Miki's athleticism (she was, and remains, the only woman to land a quad in competition), but her overall skating isn't quite on a level with the medalists.

[goyanghee24]

omg. u must be kidding me. joannie's skating was almost without flaw. I seriously thin she deserve a silver medal.

[amyoinyokohama]

...(cont from below) poor Mao stood there beating up on herself for not bringing home the gold. No sour grapes--she's just *really* hard on herself. I agree with Tony--too much focus on 3x's, and way wrong music for her natural style. Hope she has a better season next year (new coach, Mao?). Happy for Joannie to medal:) And really glad to see Akiko move up! Nice job! Overall, I found myself in agreement with the judging.

Well predicted, Tony!

[jhdwow]

Yu Na Kim and Mao Asama do not match!

And Joannie Rochette. I think it was her silver medal!

[iiiiiiiim]

i fervently agree with you jhdwow.

because joannie did much better than mao.

[appleyy0713]

@iiiiiiiim agree

[amyoinyokohama]

I got to watch in real time, so I waited to post till I figured everybody in NA had watched to the end:) After Yu-Na skated I knew she had it locked up, but even she was suprised by her score for the FS. 150--wow. That was the most emotional I've ever seen her. Well done, Yu-Na!

Little Mao was interviewed by the Japanese press immediately after the event and before the medal ceremony--and could hardly speak for crying. Dabbing at her eyes with a hankie so's not to ruin her eyeliner ...

[Ji4810]

YU-NA KIM IS THE BEST!!!!

SHE WON THE GOLDEN MEDAL!!! =p

[miyachannel]

KIM YUNA is the best <3

[MissGirlMystery]

Kim Yuna is WAY WAY BETTER than Mao Asada. Her mind is so firm, but Mao's isn't. No offense though. Anyways KIM YUNA WON THE GOLD MEDAL AND BROKE THE WORLD RECORD!!!

[dafneec]

KIM YU NA WON! Mao Asada placed second, and JOANNIE WAS THIRD~/

go canada (:

[zetaunoquadro]

hunk likes figure skate? what's wrong with u?

[yoyaya007]

heyy boy i think u r wrong now yu na kim is first in short program mao is second and tomorow is the free skate and i think mao asada will be the first .

anyways i hope so! so basicaly u r quiet wrong about asada.

[TonyWheeler]

I made this preview 2 weeks ago, and yes I was very wrong about Asada. She had yet to score 60 points internationally in the short program this year, so she really delivered when she needed to. I hope she holds it together for the free skate, but again there's just so much time devoted just to those triple Axels that it worries me. But I wish her the best. Obviously Rochette's mothers death just occurred so that puts another spin on things.. I'll put a video up about all of it tomorrow.

[joeun514]

Mao might win over yu na kim, but not mikki..

For reals yu na is way more skilled and tallented than Mao

[TonyWheeler]

I don't think it's necessarily that Yu-Na is "way more" talented, I think Mao is just so focused on the triple Axel that she's lost other (easier, mind you) triple jumps that she once had, and she's giving up a lot of the free skate just to skate in a large circle to prepare for two triple Axels. It's like all the time Tarasova has invested is just in a few specific areas. I miss the days when Mao skated to light music and looked like she loved doing it. She did look very good last night, tho!

[yoyaya007]

@TonyWheeler i kinda agree wid u, well i don t know y, but i'm so ambitious about mao asada performing tomorow , tomorrow is the big day for mao asada.

i think rochette joannie did great although her mom passed away only a few days ago, so sad! she is stronger than i thought.

i ll subscribe to u to c ur next video about the results of vancouver 2010 figure skating women....

[kok1able]

otaku desune...

[amyoinyokohama]

sonna koto iwanakute ii yo..

[kok1able]

nande?

[amyoinyokohama]

shitsurei dewanai no?

[kok1able]

betsuni.....

[1ceb1ade]

its pronounced YUH na kim

[amyoinyokohama]

her name is transliterated into japanese katakana as "yo na". Any idea why?

[TonyWheeler]

I'll put up my thoughts from the ladies short program most likely tomorrow afternoon, as well as a very delayed review of the free dance, for those curious why there have been no new videos these last two days. I DEFINITELY had some issues with the free dance results, but the ladies short, with a few exceptions, was wells-scored in my opinion. More about that tomorrow :)

[at1212b]

It seems that all the other skaters partition parts of the rink and focus on that part, esp when they have to do a jump, but Yuna just glides effortlessly and uses the whole rink (given her speed and quality) transitioning with ease.

[todpose]

You're hot.

[TonyWheeler]

LOL, thanks.

[amyoinyokohama]

This really is the last one-- just to say thanks! Thanks for posting great analysis--very insightful, thought-provoking. Do you do this for Worlds, too?

[TonyWheeler]

I'll probably continue, yes. I enjoy it and it seems that many people also enjoy sharing their agreements or disagreements. :)

[amyoinyokohama]

last comment, then I'll shut up (promise)-- my picks (fwiw), I assumed Yu-Na would walk off with the gold a while ago (even though, living in Japan, I'd rather see Mao get it). The other 2 spots I figured would go to one of the following 3 plus dark horse: Mao, Miki, Joannie, and a dark horse. Dark horse could be Laura L (Finland), one of the Americans (though not really likely imo), Suzuki Akiko (would love to see her up there, but not likely considering the politics), maybe Kostner but ..

[amyoinyokohama]

(cont) sorry to be so yakky--don't have anybody to talk about skating to at home. Also nice to see somebody else notice Suzuki Akiko:)) Damn--she put her hand on the ice in the SP again. She should be higher imo, but she has a good chance to jump up in the standings after the LP *if* she nails it like she did at the Japanese nationals. She has great interpretation, great energy--I think she's under less pressure than Mao or Miki, so she's out there having more fun and it shows. Thanks!

[amyoinyokohama]

(cont). I've preferred Mao's style since I first saw her--and I'm glad to hear somebody else say that the music for her sp *and* lp just don't fit her! She nailed her 3x, so she's 2nd to Yu-Na right now, but can she pull it out of the bag in the LP with Rachmaninov (love that on piano, but to skate to??). Hope she doesn't crack under the pressure--she was clearly astounded by her SP score. Yu-Na took a new WR in stride. (cont)

[amyoinyokohama]

an american living in japan--so I've been watching the japanese skaters for a while now. Excellent assessment. I told my mom four years ago after Torino that the next Olympics would be two little (at the time) girls coming up-- Mao and Yu-Na. I totally agree about Miki--I didn't care for her sp or lp at Torino (thought it's hard to watch anybody implode like that). I assumed she was considered Japan's best hope at the time because she was the only woman to land a quad in competition. (cont)

[rtc7788]

Just as I predicted so far.

1st: Yuna Kim (New World Record 78.50)

2nd: Mao Asada

3rd: Joannie Rochette

Yuna Kim just seems really unbeatable at the moment.

[dpflzk]

Yu-Na Kim!!!!!! pure talent yet so humble.

At least she doesn't interfere other skaters during practice.

Seriously, stop bothering her!

[ham509]

Yuna Kim, definitely.

[SplendaWorld]

I absolutely loved Yuna's long program. I was really impressed. Even though some people may be bored with it, I think a lot of people would still be really impressed.

[liebeklose]

Definitely Yuna Kim! She's beautiful!!!!

[smkm0]

Yuna Kim

[theGREATcoolio]

Mao and Mikki for the GOLD and SILVER!! Beating yu na will be VERY difficult, but its not impossible.

[BobaSquirt]

i love yuna(: i hope she wins the gold!

[RubiksCubeAndMe]

GO YU NA!!!

[Elohom]

i hope yun a can win!:D

[lilymaoas]

MAO OR MIKI

[rtc7788]

Yuna Kim just seems too unbeatable at this point

[tomynator]

People!!! Yu Na Kim is the world best!

[musume11]

Go Mao Asada!!!!!!!! i cant predict the result, but I hope she can win!!!!

[BevHills]

Mirai Nagasu: She amazed me as a junior skater. I hope she gets that fire back. I hope that she has a good showing in Vancouver, but I don't think that she will end up on the podium.

[BevHills]

Laura Lepisto: Love her long program. Beautiful presentation. Lovely 3loop, 3Sal, 3toe. However, she is so inconsistent. I've never seen her skate clean in the long.

Carolina Kostner: Nice jumps when she hits them. Very inconsistent.

Rachel Flatt: consistent, but I really don't like her programs. I wish that she would of had different programs this year with better music and choreography. Hope she does well though. Seem like a nice girl.

[BevHills]

Yuna Kim: The gold medal is hers to win or lose. She is pretty much the unofficial champion. Mao Asada: Having a tough year. Up until this skating season, she looked strong. I'm not really sure what is going on with her (i.e. pressure, lack of confidence, secret injury, etc). She just has been onw the downhill spiral since the 2009 Worlds. I would like to see her in her best form again. She needs to work a bit more on her artistic side.

[BevHills]

Overall, I agree with you. However, I do think that Miki Ando is better skater than how she was portrayed. When she first came onto the senior level, I could not understand why the Japanese skating federation would hold her up over Fumie Suguri. Miki was very sloppy with poor posture. She is much improved and move consistent. I think that she has a good shot at a medal, but ony the silver or bronze.

[MegaLafite]

I bet on Asada to win the gold.

[dazzlelamore1]

You seem very neutral.. I can agree with many things you said... including Yuna kim's long program.. I'm a big fan of Yuna kim.. but I thought her freeskate was boring too.

[iluvsua]

Go Yuna!!!

[DEMCAD]

Yu-Na Kim is so adorable. I like her artistic performances.

[hanagusuri]

I only hope you won't receive a flood of hate mails from Korea by criticizing Kim.

[jacobtodd2006]

Love Kim. She will probably win and you know one of the Japan ladies will probably medal. Fingers crossed for one of the US youngsters to sneak in there. It's a long shot, but it would be nice.

[dav242]

awesome stuff dude. your assessment is totally spot on. glad i'm not to the only guy who's totally way up into this event and all the other ice skating events at the olys -

[asiasano]

good insight! i'm hoping yuna kim wins the gold. luv her =)

[nola1122]

Excellent. totally agree with you.  Hope judges will be fair at the Olympics.

[erinylee]

I mostly agree with you. You seem to have accurate eyes on technical elements. Her 3-3 combinations have been always perfect and received fair credits for the last years until 08 COC last seaseon and 09 GPF this season. Certain judges always try to manipulate Yuna's score by unfair and controversial judgement. Those are Technical panels, Ms. Myriam from Switzerland, Ms. Junko from Japan.

[erinylee]

I'm sooo worried that the same judges were announced to be ladies' technical panel at this Olympics. Not only the strange downgrade mark but also her spins got level 3 at Toyko GPF, which she usually got level 4. I mean she fulfilled all the elements to be level 4 as you can see, but Ms.Myriam gave her lv3 whereas she gave lv4 to Ando Miki.

It's sooo strange. I just hope that figure skating judges don't repeat at the same mistake as was in 2002 Salt Lake.

[QuadrupleQueen]

Don't be so dramatic. In both the SP and LP, Miki and Yu-Na received five level 4s, Miki recieved four level 3s, while Yu-Na received five and Miki received a level 1. I don't know why you're being such a drama queen.

[sayomsskiver]

Agreed!

But you never know still the olympics do werid things to certain skaters.

But spot on.

[cheburashka19]

Hi! I read your article about the ladies, and I must say I totally agree with almost everything you said!!! I'd really want Joannie to get gold or silver. I don't like Miki Ando, as you said, I think she's always over-scored, she has no artistry at all, so I hope she doesn't medal. ...But I'd love to see Akiko Suzuki on the podium...she's my favourite Japanese lady.

[culmee]

why don't you see Queen Yuna's LP a couple of times more? it seems to me that she is playing the classic music with her subtle movements and textbook jumps. yes, maybe it seemed first a little boring but i believe she is trying to present artistry and beauty in the classic soft tune through sports. i just want you to feel Yuna's it because you are really into this sport. anyway thank you^^

[waddleduckie1]

Rachael Flatt is the only boring skater in the class. Its ironic of her namesake, that she is practically flat.

[jelim22]

Great!  Sharp!!! :)

[TonyWheeler]

Thanks :)

[kurzweil1111]

Yuna kim's jump is best beatiful

Mao Asada's spiral ist very good position

Miki ando is powerful jump

Joannie's skating is very soft.

Laura's triple-triple Lovely

[xBeeMine]

yeahh yuna kim is great :D

[TonyWheeler]

Wow, a -3 for saying the current World Champion is great? Some people are unbelievable!

[brijen9999]

Cool~