Overall, the ladies had the messiest event at Four Continents, especially in the free skate, with only one of the tpp three short program finishers making it to the podium. That doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to discuss though! Congrats to Mai Mihara for pulling off a big win here (with two clean skates, too!). After her strong Grand Prix season, many saw her as a dark horse, but probably not the winner. Yes, she has to mature yet, but she knows how to show up and deliver. She’s had a heck of a season for her first senior year and she’ll be the leader for Team Japan if Satoko can’t compete at Worlds. (*Prays that Tiny Queen is healing well*) Gabby Daleman didn’t look thrilled with her skates here, but she should be happy. I know she made some mistakes in the free, but this is her first international medal and she placed higher than her Canadian rivals. They did a good job picking music for Gabby this year, and she’s improving her performance quality. And of course that 3T-3T is gorgeous. I’m glad Gabby will be back at Worlds this year; she had a great finish in Boston. With the best free skate of her career, Mirai Nagasu grabbed her second consecutive Four Continents medal. I’m glad Mirai could end her year on an incredibly strong note (see more on that later) for herself. Her performance in the free was measured and concentrated, but I loved when she came alive at the end, especially in her last step sequence. Good for, you Mirai! #MiraifortheWorldteam Kaetlyn Osmond’s long program issues really came to a head here, and unfortunately she let mistakes creep in on the short as well. As a favorite to win, finishing a distant fourth is a definite disappointment. After a strong first half of the season, how she responds to this setback at Worlds is anyone’s guess but she will definitely need the best performance of her entire season to grab a medal at Worlds. I liked Dabin Choi’s new short program here- I thought she did a nice job with it and fifth is a great result for her. I think they have one ladies spot for Worlds, and with her teammates struggling with injuries, she might get that spot. (Have they announced it yet? I don’t think so?) Finishing sixth, Mariah Bell had a so-so outing here. This was her first big international event outside of Skate America so now at least she has this experience under her belt before Worlds. While I do like a lot about Mariah’s skating and packaging this year, the consistency just hasn’t been there. I do think Raf is good coaching choice for her and hopefully she can pick up some momentum after training with him for a whole summer. How much impact he’ll be able to have before Worlds is probably limited though. SIGH. Just a note on Karen Chen: On Instagram, Karen cited boot issues/injuries as playing a factor in her disappointing finish here. While there is a long list of Karen’s great skating qualities, I really hope she takes time to evaluate her injury before Worlds and does the right thing for her health and her career. (And selfishly, the U.S. ladies Olympic spots). Speaking of…. There is no way the U.S. ladies team as named will get three spots for the Olympics. My opinion since before Nationals has been that if the U.S. wanted three spots, we needed to send two ladies who had been to the World Championships before. Once Gracie bombed Nationals, we really needed (and still need) Mirai Nagasu on that team. USFS made the decision they did by following their procedures as outlined, but there needs to be some future consideration on those procedures being the most effective. (BTW, Russia still hasn’t named their team with ⅔ of the spots almost certain. Just sayin!) I was prepared to stress over the three ladies Olympic spots, but *two*?!!? The U.S. ladies’ dumpster fire of a year was definitely poorly timed. The U.S. men on the other hand, they’re looking up! More on that in my last preview to come!
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November 2017
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