Women’s Free Skate, Worlds 2007

It seemed that nerves got the best of some of the female skaters at the World’s championships, while others were able to rise to the occasion.

Kimmie Meissner, for example, was in third after her short program, and in spite of being the defending gold medalist and having less pressure than the Asian women, wasn’t able to shake off her nerves. Of course, it didn’t help skating immediately after Mao Asada, who came from behind after a short program affected by her nerves to make her personal best and win the free skate.

“It was tough tonight,” admitted Meissner. “Mao skated before me and obviously did very well so that the crowd was really into it. It was very emotional and intense. I had to calm down myself, and I think it took me a jump to get into it.”

As Candus Thomson of the Baltimore Sun said about Meissner, her “performance at the World Figure Skating Championships looked a lot like her performance at the U.S Championships. Except for one major difference: she didn’t win here today.”

Like she did at Nationals, Meissner put her hand down on her opening jump and failed to do a triple-triple combination. She was also downgraded for cheating the landing of the second jump of her triple flip-triple toeloop combo. She was able to complete six clean jumps and her footwork was excellent, but it unfortunately wasn’t enough. It was the first time since 1994 that no American woman won a medal at Worlds.

“It was not my best; I can do better,” Meissner admitted. “So I’ll regroup and come back strong next year.”

Yu-Na Kim’s long program was the most disappointing, especially after she earned the highest-ever score for a short program earlier in the week. She came into the long program the favorite to win Korea’s first gold medal at Worlds. Her nerves and chronic back pain seemed to get in the way, though. Two minutes into her free skate, it appeared that Kim would fulfill all expectations, but she fell on the first jump of an intended three-jump combo, fell a second time, and had another combo ruled scoreless.

“I didn’t really feel any pain in my back,” she reported. “But my legs felt heavy and so I was unable to perform well and I wasn’t as confident in my jumps.”

The biggest comeback at Worlds was Canadian champ Joannie Rochette. She skated a dismal short program, putting her way back in 16th place. Canada needed two berths for next year’s Worlds, though, and she was able to deliver for her home country. She rallied and her long program was the fifth-best.

“I was disappointed [in my short program] so I wanted to come back and fight for it and try to keep those two spots,” Rochette said. “I knew I needed a top-12 finish. It was really hard to stay focused and I tried to give it my all.”

Mao Asada won the free skate, but narrowly missed the gold medal, probably because of her disappointing short program. Her home audience was completely behind her; by the time she ended her free skate, they were on their feet. She was able to overcome the nerves that had hassled her previously and she earned her personal best, winning the silver medal.

“I am very happy,” said Asada. “Before the program, I was in the 5th place after the short program, so I really wanted to win a medal of any color. I am very satisfied with my performance. The crowd was very nice. I was very impressed by myself. I love skating at home!”

Asada’s teammate Miki Ando came back in more ways than one. The first woman to land a quad salchow, Ando was attacked in Japan after a poor showing at the Olympics. After finishing 15th in Turin, she re-hired her previous coach, Yuko Monna, and moved to New Jersey to work on her choreography and jumps.

At Worlds, though, she had practiced her acclaimed quad and even made it a few times during the practice sessions earlier in the week, but chose to play it conservative and “only” do a triple salchow, her opening jump. When she ended her marvelous performance to the roar of the crowd, Ando knew that she had won a medal, but didn’t know if it would be enough to win the gold. She posted a personal best. She was second in the free skate, but edged out Mao Asada by a mere 0.64 points.

“After the Turin Games I had such a hard time,” Ando said, tears running down her face. “I came back strong.”

Sources:
Associated Press. Ando Wins Women’s Title. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/24/AR2007032401047.html

Canadian Press. Rochette 10th at figure skating worlds. http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/195716

ISU World Figure Skating Championships: Tokyo (JPN) Day 5. http://www.isu.org/vsite/vcontent/content/news/0,10869,4844-131973-133281-18886-268081-news-item,00.html
Kaye, R. 2007 World Figure Skating Championships: Ladies’ Free Skate Highlights. http://goldenskate.com/articles/2006/032507_ll.shtml

Thomson, C. Meissner comes up short in world championships. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bal-skating0324,0,80130.story?coll=bal-home-headlines

Women’s Short Program, Worlds 2007

It was the “battle of the teenage jumpers.”

Many of the female figure skaters who competed at the Worlds championships in Tokyo this year were under the age of twenty. The reigning World champ, American Kimmie Meissner, is just sixteen, as is Korea’s Yu-Na Kim and Japan’s Mao Asada. Both Kim and Asada were too young to compete at last year’s Olympics and Worlds. Much has been made this year of Asada’s ineligibility, but most of the press has seemed to forgotten that Meissner also experienced the same thing the year before, when she was too young to be eligible for Worlds in 2005.

The difference, however, is that Meissner is participating in a sport that many are saying is in a decline in her home country, while figure skating in Japan has never been more popular. Even Meissner recognized that although there was a great deal of pressure on her as the defending champion, the real pressure was on the Japanese skaters, with their massive and highly critical press and enthusiastic fans.

The pressure was so great on Mao Asada after her ineligibility last year that she moved to Lake Arrowhead, Calif. to train. There has been a great deal of discussion about the fairness of the international rules regarding skaters’ age limit, but Asada’s short program at the 2007 World championships seemed to give support to the wisdom of the limitations on young skaters. Asada started off well with a triple Lutz, but then crumbled under the pressure and popped the second jump of her planned triple flip-triple loop combo into a single jump. She lost eight points on that one move alone.

“I didn’t feel that nervous. I knew I had to do my best,” Asada said. “When I finished I thought, ‘I failed.’”


The big story thus far at this competition was Yu-Na Kim, who has become Asada’s biggest rival. The Korean, who bowed out of her own Nationals due to a herniated disc in her back, had just come out of a month of intense training (with her coach, Canadian great Brian Orser) and acupuncture treatment. Kim arrived in Tokyo still in pain, but had improved by the time she skated her short program. “Today during the performance I felt no pain, so I was feeling better and was able to skate in a very confident manner,” she said.

Kim put out a dazzling performance of her short program. She made a triple flip-triple toeloop combo, a triple Lutz, and a level-four combination and layback spins. She had just one shaky moment, in her spiral sequence, but earned another level four anyway. When her marks came up, Kim reported that she could hardly believe them.

“I was surprised with such a high score. I made a small mistake on the spiral sequence, but I’m happy that I had a good score," she said. The end result was amazing: not only did she post a personal best (71.95 points), she set a new record in the short program, beating Sasha Cohen’s score (71.12) back in 2003.

Miki Ando, the only female skater to execute a quad salchow, has been touted as another of Asada’s rivals in the Japanese press. Her quad made history, but it has also proven to be her undoing; she tried one at the Turin Olympics, but fell and missed most of her remaining jumps. She finished in a disappointing 15th. Although Ando hasn’t successfully made a quad for three years, she was able to make a quad during a practice session earlier in the week, however, putting her one the front page of Japan’s many sport papers.

She was coy about whether she would bring it out for the free skate. “I don’t want to make the same mistake as last year,” she told reporters.

Ando’s performance was exceptional enough to put her in second place after the short program. She nailed a triple Lutz-triple loop, a triple flip, a double Axel. She earned a level four for her spiral sequence and flying sit spin, but only a level two for her layback spin. Her 67.98 points slightly improved her previous personal best.

The other two notable teenagers in the short program, Americans Kimmie Meissner and Emily Hughes, seemed to falter. Hughes came in sixth, but was happy with her skate, which included a triple flip-double toeloop comb, a triple Lutz, and strong spins.

“The excitement in the arena helped a lot,” said Hughes, who skated after Kim and Ando.

Meissner came in fourth place after her short program. She landed a triple Lutz-triple toeloop combo, a triple flip, and a double Axel, but earned only a level one for her layback spin. “The short program is always nerve-racking for me,” Meissner said. “The long program is definitely my favorite, so I am looking forward to it.”

Sources:
Associated Press. S. Korean Soars to Big Lead At Worlds. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/23/AR2007032301566.html

Brennan, C. Once-Popular Figure Skating Losing Heat. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/brennan/2007-01-24-brennan-figure-skating-popularity_x.htm

Figure skating: Asian debutantes raring to steal show at worlds.http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_sports/view/264724/1/.html

ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2007 Tokyo (JPN) Day 4.
http://www.isu.org/vsite/vcontent/content/news/0,10869,4844-131973-133281-18886-268075-news-item,00.html

Thomson, C. Meissner skater to beat in Tokyo: Bel Air teen set to defend title at World Figure Skating Championships
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/olympics/bal-meissner0319,0,2842347.story?coll=bal-sports-olympics


Zanca, S. (Associated Press). South Korea's Kim leads World Figure Skating http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Mar/23/br/br4739568021.html

A better article focusing on Kimmie Meissner

This AP article is substantially better than the USA Today one. It focuses on Kimmie Meissner's chances at Worlds.

I love this quote:

She failed to qualify for the Grand Prix final and only won the U.S. title after Emily Hughes fell.

A bit harsh, I think. Accurate, but harsh. Yes, it's true that if Emily hadn't fallen, she probably would've won, but Kimmie did beat Emily handily at the Four Continents competition.

I'm really looking forward to watching the broadcast of Worlds tomorrow.

Day Seven

10am: Arrived at the Arena. Late morning, but continuing difficulties with the internet connection in our hotel.

10:40am: Watched the women’s long program. Good for Kimmie Meissner! Too bad for Emily Hughes. Things were so close, there was less than one point separating them. And if it weren’t for Emily’s fall, she would’ve won by the slightest of margins. I guess it’s true what they say—skating a clean program often is what makes a difference. I’m happy for Kimmie, though; she needed this win after a so-so year after winning the World’s last year.

Oh, I found out my pressing question from this week. Peter Carruthers interviewed Kimmie after it was over, and she explained that it was her teammates from Delaware who were yelling it out. She said it was “our thing.” And it’s “Yeah, you’re hot!”

2pm: Late lunch at a trendy place called Twigs at the River Park Square. I was craving tuna, so I had their sashimi appetizer. Yum-o, as Rachael Ray would say.

7pm: Or there-abouts, since they started late. Watched the men’s long program. Man!

One of the best things about being here is that we’ve seen some amazing skating, live and in person. It’s been such an honor to be here for it. I can say that I saw history being made, and not just once. It’s been an incredible experience. Watching Evan Lysacek skate the program of his life was beyond description. Being so far away, I didn’t know until his interview that he had made a quad-triple combination! But the audience erupted afterwards, and was with him the entire time he was on the ice. I stood up with everyone else, and I’m sure that if I were alone, the tears in my eyes would’ve become weeping. Man!

And poor Johnny Weir, coming in mere third after three National titles. He fell once, and popped two jumps. I hate to say this, but I feel somewhat vindicated. All season, I’ve complained that Johnny hasn’t been true to himself. I believe that, along with the fact that he hasn’t trained like he should this season, is the reason he lost so badly. He even changed his costume to continue the change in his image he tried this season. It didn’t work. I continue to maintain that Johnny needs to be true to himself. This season, not being true to himself has been disastrous.

Yeah Ryan Bradley! He was over the top in his excitement about beating Weir, the National Champion, and coming in second. The audience loved it, though, and so did I. His program was very well choreographed, and loads of fun. He was sexy and charismatic and full of energy. It was a pleasure to watch him explode like he did. We’ve tended to ditch out before the awards, and Ryan was so fun, I felt that we had to stay for it.

I’m really glad we did, because Scott Hamilton and Brian Boitano participated in the ceremony. It was great seeing them. I’m sure that there was a great party going on last night at the Davenport. We’re old ladies, so we went back to the hotel for bed.

So it’s over. All that’s left is the Exhibition. Part of me is sad about that, but I miss my kids and I’m looking forward to seeing them.

I was able to answer another pressing question that came up this week. Figure skating does have a patron saint—Saint Ludwina, who lived in Holland in the fourteenth century.

Day Five

If I were to summarize this day, it would be with two phrases: “Dang, you’re hot!” and “There’s something in the water.”

The first phrase is a quote from some girls watching the competitions; when a skater (usually male) would take the ice, one of them would yell out, “Dang, you’re hot!” I’m old, so I never heard it before. I assume it’s an adolescent-thing I know nothing about.

The second phrase is something I came up with on my own. I intend to some research to back up my claim, but I suspect that several personal bests were made.

Anyway, here’s our schedule. I’m writing it on Friday, the sixth day, because we have a late morning today and I have more time. We spent the entire day at the Spokane Arena.

9am: Arrived at the Arena. We drove in, parked, and as we walked in, I found a large copy of the full skating schedule right there. Someone must have dropped it just a few minutes before because it wasn’t even wet or dirty. My mother-in-law Audrey commented that “God must be with us.” That inspired a discussion about the saints, and I decided that I would research if there was a “patron saint of figure skating.” We weren’t sure there was even one, and I wondered how to name one. Hmm, another thing to research.

The real reason we were there, instead of Catholic theology, however, was skating. We caught some of the senior women’s warm-up. I learned something new: skaters at competitions basically have two types of “practice” sessions. The first, one for each program, is called “practice,” and each skater gets to hear his or her music and run through their programs. The second is called the “warm-up,” and it consists of groups of skaters practicing without their music. It looked like the skaters went through their elements and skills.

I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to have the opportunity to catch Emily Hughes and miss out on my assignment to interview her. Fortunately, she was there and after her warm-up, asked if I could talk to her. She told me, “I have to take off my skates,” directed me up to her father sitting in the stands, and said that she’d try to join us later.

So instead of interviewing Emily, I got to interview her dad! What a nice man he is. (I’ll write up the interview this morning and send it to Ron Porter for Emily’s webpage.) I got a nice interview with him, and waited for Emily, who never came, probably because she got caught up doing something else. I gave Mr. Hughes my cell phone number, and left to get ready for the next competition. I probably should’ve waited a little longer, but there’s still time to talk with Emily. I’m happy with the interview I got, though.

11:00: Took my seats for the junior pairs free skate. I was disappointed that we didn’t get to see their short program. The winners, Keanna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker (named for Knute Rockne, I believe), won handily, by almost twenty points over second place. I suspected that it meant that they had an outstanding short program. At any rate, I continue to be awed and impressed by the quality of skating at this level.

I think the week finally caught up with me, because I had a headache and had to go seek out some aspirin from first aid. Lunch, which we caught there at the Arena, also didn’t set well with me. Fortunately, the meds kicked in and I perked up for the afternoon competitions.

2pm: Senior men’s short program. This is when I started thinking that there must be something in water at the Nationals here in Spokane. The audience was great, and it was great to be in a place where the fans and the athletes fed off each other. Lysacek and Weir are basically in a tie after the short program, with less a point separating them.

4:30pm: Dinner across the street at The Ticket. It was packed, so we sat sit with two ladies from Spokane who had tickets for the evening’s competitions. I continue to be impressed with the friendliness of this town.

5:50pm: Women’s short program. More great skating. Again, personal bests….
The scores are close here, too, making the gold anyone’s game. Kimmie Meissner was amazingly good. And there’s less than half a point separating BeBe Liang and my girl, Emily Hughes.

So I’m looking forward to seeing how things turn out. There’s been talk about the lack of “drama” here this year, but that’s fine with me. The skating is dramatic enough. I like that we have no distractions and tire irons this year, because we can focus on the exceptional skating.