Japanese Federation may not send Mao to Vancouver

[kwanatic712]

It looks like Mao may be in even more trouble than we thought. According to this article I found from The Chosun Ilbo News, the JSF is picking spots based GP finishes, similar to the USFSA's selection choice.

She may even be denied an opportunity to compete in the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in February as the Japan Skating Federation has decided to distribute three spots on the Olympic team based on the results of the Grand Prix Final.

That's pretty sad. If she shows any sign of weakness at nationals, she may get left off of the team...it just keeps getting worse and worse for her...


The rest of the article is here.

[attyfan]

I've heard that the Japanese Federation has already decided that one berth will depend on the GPF; one on Japanese Nats; and the Federation will pick the third. I hope this is true, but I am notot sure which is correct (the link you posted is to a Korean news source, so I am not sure how accurate it would be)

[scootie12]

Considering she has been pretty consistent in terms of being on podiums at nearly all events over the past few years, I'm certain she will somehow be named to the team. I think she simply needs to change her focus and try not to be so stoic this Olympic year. Three triple axels is a huge accomplishment, but why risk it all?

There's the double edged sword here...one being that she will pull off two spectacular skates and win Olympic gold, which would put her with the likes of Midori Ito (years later, Midori's story of landing the triple axel at the '92 Games is still a very common feature on skating shows since many in Japan call her a hero for her feat....especially considering her very rough practice week at the Games). The other side being that Mao will bomb and finish a distant position off the podium.

I much prefer Mao skate a program with one triple axel, and then do a layout similar to her 2008 World's LP. Even with the flutz issues, I'd still rather see that jump in the program, and a solid triple/triple, which we all know she can do well.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks her programs now seem a bit bare because the jump layout is so limited. She's basically doing only triple axels, triple flips, the loop, and the toe or salchow. IMO her 2007 and 2008 programs had more well-balanced distribution of elements.

Anyway, bottom line is I think she's putting too much pressure on herself. Why not experiment with it in a non-Olympic year?

This brings back memories of when certain critics called Tonya Harding the do or die skater back in 1991/1992...She was either going to skate well or falter depending on what she could pull off on a given evening.

[kwanatic712]

I'm over at Golden Skate (I'm not a member, but I'm just going through some of the posts) and what shocks me is that most people seem to think that without the three 3As Mao doesn't have a chance of catching Yu-Na. I find this really retarded to say the least...

Mao has the ability to complete every jump in the book, including the lutz and several 3-3 combinations. I think the reason people feel that she can't do these jumps is because for the past season and a half, she and TT have been putting so much focus on the 3A that her other jumps are starting to fall. That's how it is with anything you focus on: if you hone in "A", "B" suffers because all of your focus is on "A". That's Mao's problem at this point. If she'd just scale back the 3As and use it as the kicker for her LP, I think she'd be fine. GET A FULL-TIME TECH COACH! Her lutz was getting better last season before they stripped it from the program. She needs to go back to giving every jump equal focus. That's why she's messing up so much! She's focusing completely on the 3A and the psyching herself out when it comes time to deliver it, and then when it's time for the other jumps, her confidence is shaken on those too because she hasn't been practicing them enough. It's a stupid strategy that is suffocating her skating and her confidence and it needs to stop ASAP.

If she can add the 3-3 and the lutz back into her program, she'd be about 20pts closer to Yu-Na's score. That's where adding the 3A to the LP (as a one-time deal) would be beneficial because that would help to boost her TES. The remainder of the points she needs to make up would have to come from improvements in her programs. Rather than come up with something totally new, she should return to one of her older, more comfortable programs. It's a known fact that both of her programs this season have gotten crappy reviews; why she insists on staying with them is beyond me. Everyone was so excited at the possibility of her changing Caprices into her SP; but now they are saying she's keeping everything as-is. I just don't understand her reasoning...

Case in point: If Mao wants to hand Yu-Na the OGM, she'll stay the course with these 3As. If she actually wants to turn this season into the one everyone was looking forward to (a battle between two of the most talented skaters in recent years), she'll think about making some changes.

[Dolphine]

The JSF stated at the beginning of the season that they'd "consider" giving a spot on the Olympic team to the highest podium finisher at GPF. The national champion will be awarded a spot, and the third spot will be up to them to decide.

Considering the fact that the JSF gave Miki a spot in 2006 (instead of Yukari who was more than deserved IMO), I'd be completely shocked if they left Mao off the team. Shizuka didn't make the GPF in the 2005/2006 season either.

[Dragonlady]

Mao was World Champion in 2008. There is no way the Japanese federation would leave her off the team no matter how poorly she skates between now and the Olympics. They have far too many sponsorship $$$'s riding on this girl.

[missmarysgarden]

Originally Posted by Dragonlady

Mao was World Champion in 2008. There is no way the Japanese federation would leave her off the team no matter how poorly she skates between now and the Olympics. They have far too many sponsorship $$$'s riding on this girl.

I wonder what they would take for her in trade? We could offer Japan Ashley, Alissa, Bebe, Emily and Rachel for Mao - 5 for 1. I still think it would be a great trade. I guess I've been watching too much baseball. Sorry. But still - not a bad trade for us.... maybe we could sweeten the pot with a rookie and a sweeper!

[kittyjake5]

Sounds like a veiled threat to me from the JSF to Mao. Cut TAT and tow the line or suffer the consequence. Of course this is just speculation on my part I have no facts to back it up.

[iceman]

No, MissMary, your suggested trade wouldn't be a good trade at all-----ashley won a silver at GP Cup of Russia
and Alissa placed higher than Mao at that event

[ros01]

There was this same speculation about Miki Ando in 2006 and they sent her, even though there were lots of rumors about her diva-ness and bad training practices. Sponsor pressure there too, people thought. I am almost sure Mao will go.

[missmarysgarden]

Originally Posted by iceman

No, MissMary, your suggested trade wouldn't be a good trade at all-----ashley won a silver at GP Cup of Russia
and Alissa placed higher than Mao at that event

I'll take my chances, iceman. I really have a lot of faith in Mao - just pry her loose for the old skating madam. And I think she has more than all the other skaters I mentioned put together - she's wearing TT like a drag anchor.

[missmarysgarden]

Originally Posted by iceman

No, MissMary, your suggested trade wouldn't be a good trade at all-----ashley won a silver at GP Cup of Russia
and Alissa placed higher than Mao at that event

I'll take my chances, iceman. I really have a lot of faith in Mao - just pry her loose for the old skating madam. And I think she has more talent than all the other skaters I mentioned put together - she's wearing TT like a drag anchor.

[uncchristine99]

I know her GP outing has been disappointing but I will be shocked if she's left off the Olympic team, especially since they have 3 spots to fill. Did they forget that she was the reigning World Champion as recently as last spring? I think the media and people in general are too quick to count somebody out... clearly Mao has some work to do but I think that will motivate her where she's been too complacent with Tarasova.

[Sparks]

I still have faith in Mao and believe she is one of the best in the business these days. I kinda wish everyone would just simmer down. I'm already tired of "Mao should do XXX", "Mao shouldn't do XXX", "Tarasova should XXX", yada, yada, yada.

Why does this remind me of 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005?

Let face it, Mao wants to stick with TT and the 3/Axel. Those are her choices. She also trains exceptionally hard. I just wish her the best. I hate to see her sad.

Dolphine, will you let me know if you hear anymore news?

Thank you

[kwanatic712]

Originally Posted by Sparks

I still have faith in Mao and believe she is one of the best in the business these days. I kinda wish everyone would just simmer down. I'm already tired of "Mao should do XXX", "Mao shouldn't do XXX", "Tarasova should XXX", yada, yada, yada.

Why does this remind me of 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005?

Let face it, Mao wants to stick with TT and the 3/Axel. Those are her choices. She also trains exceptionally hard. I just wish her the best. I hate to see her sad.

Dolphine, will you let me know if you hear anymore news?

Thank you

It's hard to follow your sentiments Sparks and I say that only because it's just beyond obvious to everyone who isn't Mao that the course she's on will only end in tears. She wants to keep TT and the 3As; she trains so hard... Sadly her training has yielded zilch thus far. When you go from bad to worse, that means it 's time to step back and figure out what needs to be changed. The only thing she changed from TEB to COR was her SP outfit; it was slightly better than the putrid seafoam green floral arrangement she wore the competition before but I still wanted to rip all that crap off of the front of it!

Point is the 3A has left her; and not only did it leave, it packed up her other jumps and took those too! The fixation on the 3A, choosing to stay with music that she's just not capable of pulling off, and her assinine assumption that she doesn't need a technical coach are all reasons she is getting the brush off from everyone. It's frustrating to see because ever since she hooked up with TT, her career has been in a nosedive...

The word is she's keeping the prowling vampire music, the barely there choreography and the OMGWTF?! costumes...not to mention the see-ya-when-I-see-ya coach. The only changes they've said she's making is to the transitions; they say she's making them easier. HOW is that supposed to help her score? Mao has obviously lost her way and until someone steps in and stops her from ruining her career, she'd be lucky to get anything higher than bronze Vancouver...

[Sparks]

As a long time skating fan, I have learned a couple of things:

* Accept the things you cannot change (and don't put out negativity into the Universe)

* Stay tuned...

[cestlavie000000]

A Japanese women's team of Ando, Akiko, and Nakano would be great to watch....looks like they would have good chances...we will see as the season unfolds.

[rosiekins]

I remember one of the commentators (I think Terry Gannon) mentioning that Yukari had hard feelings because Miki was sent to the 2006 Olympics instead of her, even though Yukari had placed above Miki at the Nationals, NHK (which she in fact won), and the GPF. Despite this announcement, I'd be shocked if the Japanese Federation chose not to send Mao.

[Dolphine]

Originally Posted by kwanatic712

It's hard to follow your sentiments Sparks and I say that only because it's just beyond obvious to everyone who isn't Mao that the course she's on will only end in tears. She wants to keep TT and the 3As; she trains so hard... Sadly her training has yielded zilch thus far. When you go from bad to worse, that means it 's time to step back and figure out what needs to be changed. The only thing she changed from TEB to COR was her SP outfit; it was slightly better than the putrid seafoam green floral arrangement she wore the competition before but I still wanted to rip all that crap off of the front of it!

Point is the 3A has left her; and not only did it leave, it packed up her other jumps and took those too! The fixation on the 3A, choosing to stay with music that she's just not capable of pulling off, and her assinine assumption that she doesn't need a technical coach are all reasons she is getting the brush off from everyone. It's frustrating to see because ever since she hooked up with TT, her career has been in a nosedive...

The word is she's keeping the prowling vampire music, the barely there choreography and the OMGWTF?! costumes...not to mention the see-ya-when-I-see-ya coach. The only changes they've said she's making is to the transitions; they say she's making them easier. HOW is that supposed to help her score? Mao has obviously lost her way and until someone steps in and stops her from ruining her career, she'd be lucky to get anything higher than bronze Vancouver...

According to some articles, she has been landing the 3A in practice. Mao even admitted that it is more mental than anythinhg. We have NO IDEA how much pressure Mao has been under for the last 4 years. Ever since Mao beat Irina at GPF in the 2005/2006 season, the entire country has been saying that Mao will win OGM in 2010. It's even worse than what Midori went through back in 1992. Remember Midori apologized to the nation for not winning OGM? Mao has been under the same pressure (or more) since she was 15 years old. She is probably scared that if she doesn't win OGM in Vancouver, not only she'd have to apologize to the entire country but also she'll have to do 500 hours of community service or something.

This poor girl is only 19 yrs old. It is frustrating for fans to see her struggle. But, just like Michelle wanted to it HER way in 2002 with no coach, Mao wants to do it HER way. OGM or not, she doesn't want it any other way. I wish her the very best. I really hope she proves us all naysayers wrong and we can see her smile at the end of her performance in Vancouver.

Back to the original topic - Like I said, there is NO WAY the Japanese federation will leave Mao off the team. NO WAY. Her spot on the olympic team has been secured since 2005. If Mao skates poorly at Japanese Nationals and ends up off the podium (just like Miki was in 2006), I have a hunch that someone else (my guess is Akiko because they can't do that to Yukari twice) will be bumped off the team to give a spot to Mao.

IF (and it's a BIG IF) Akiko finishes behind YuNa at GPF and Yukari wins Nationals and Miki comes in 2nd, then the JSF has a big problem. I don't know what they're going to do if this scenario happens. Fortunately, chances of this happening are very very slim.

Dolphine, will you let me know if you hear anymore news?

Of course, Sparks! As soon as Mao calls me with updates, I'll let you know.

[Sparks]

Mao has been under the same pressure (or more) since she was 15 years old. She is probably scared that if she doesn't win OGM in Vancouver, not only she'd have to apologize to the entire country but also she'll have to do 500 hours of community service or something.

Dolphine, I agree with all you wrote. AND, I trust your insights.:
Does Mao have your current number?

[Miss Eggplant]

I remember reading articles around the time of the 2006 Olympics lamenting the fact that the actual best figure skater in the world (Mao) was not able to compete due to her age. Who knows what would have happened had she competed -- she didn't win the Japanese title that year or the junior world championships in 2006, so who knows if she would have won the Olympics. But it's sad to think that 4 years ago, people were calling her the best thing ever, and now she is struggling so much.

I know I am a broken record but it reminds me yet again that Michelle was so special. When she was 15, she was praised as being the best in the world and an amazing champion -- and she kept that up for another decade! It's not fair to compare Mao to that, but I do find it interesting that whenever we are so quick to call someone the new face in ladies figure skating that it doesn't take long for them to unfortunately falter. It's a tough sport and there are very few skaters like Michelle who could pull it off for so many years!

[Dragonlady]

Originally Posted by Sparks

Let face it, Mao wants to stick with TT and the 3/Axel. Those are her choices. She also trains exceptionally hard. I just wish her the best. I hate to see her sad.

Not necessarily. The Japanese federation has already summoned her for a meeting where I expect she will be told that things cannot continue this way. It's not working.

The one comment I have heard over and over from skaters over the years is "The program is not working.". It takes wisdom to acknowledge this and common sense to make the changes necessary to either make the program work for you or scrap it and move on.

Examples: Jeff Buttle planned to skate to Glenn Gould at the 2006 Olympics. How perfect to select music performed by a Canadian icon. Except the program wasn't working. After much soul searching, Jeff scrapped the Glenn Gould and reverted to Samson & Delilah and now has an Olympic bronze medal to show for it.

Evan Lysachek missed the GP final last year and his programs choreographed by Tarasova got bad reviews (does this sound familiar). Lori Nichol reworked the programs, and worked with Evan on his upper body movement. Evan won Worlds.

I know of lots of other examples but the bottom line in all of them is:

(a) An acknowledgement by the skater that the program doesn't work for them; and

(b) A willingness to make the changes necessary to be successful.

Someone needs to sit Asada down and show her the math on doing three 3A's in her short and long program. The triple axel combo is a losing strategy. Even if she lands all three 3A's, she cannot outscore Kim and her 3/3's. If she doesn't land all 3 triple axels she has no hope of winning and may not even medal. Needing to land all three triple axels in order just to make the podium when she's landing half of her attempts is just a dumb, dumb idea.

Yes, Mao could continue on with this strategy, but if she does, her chances of winning the OGM are slim and none.

[kwanatic712]

I agree that Mao is a young woman and wants to do things on her own terms...but that begs the question just how many times is she going to run headlong into that brick wall before she turns and goes around it? She's been attempting these 3As since last season and has only successfully landed both once. Because she's no longer consistently landing them in competition anymore, throwing the 3As in at every turn is not a challenge for her anymore; now it's just a gamble, a gamble that is doing nothing but running her into the ground.

It sucks that she's under that much pressure, but think about Yu-Na. She is literally the only skater from her country competing in the top ranks. It just seems like she's surrounded herself with people who are helping handle the pressure from the media and the expectations of everyone else. I was floored by how well she performed at TEB because I thought for sure she'd be feeling some pressure after winning gold last march. But she appeared cool and calm and she handled her business. I just don't understand why Mao thinks she has to go at this alone because, essentially, she is alone. You can't compare Michelle's 2002 decision not to have a coach with Mao's decision to not have a full-time coach simply because (1) Michelle was older, (2) she was more accomplished and (3) she was not struggling the way Mao has been struggling. For the most part, Michelle had herself together going into SLC; the same can't be said for Mao who, by all indications, is coming apart at the seams.

I just think she needs help. John Ruskin said, "In general, pride is at the bottom of all great mistakes." In this case, Mao's pride needs to take a backseat and she needs to seek out the help she needs in order to get herself back on track. I want to see her succeed but it just doesn't look like she will at the rate she's going...

[evergreen]

Originally Posted by iceman

No, MissMary, your suggested trade wouldn't be a good trade at all-----ashley won a silver at GP Cup of Russia
and Alissa placed higher than Mao at that event

If we suddenly did get Mao I think Ashley and all the U.S. ladies would turn in their skates. IMO she may be in a slump right now but she has proven in the past she's the best. I still think she is because I know what she's capable of. I can't say that for any other lady, even kim. Kim iis great but she isn't Mao, never will be. Mao will come out of this slump.

[Sparks]

It sucks that she's under that much pressure, but think about Yu-Na. She is literally the only skater from her country competing in the top ranks. It just seems like she's surrounded herself with people who are helping handle the pressure from the media and the expectations of everyone else.

True. BUTT remember there is a reason YuNa trains in Canada...not as much pressure from her countrymen/women. Who knows how much pressure YuNa will feel going into the Olys. I think its kinda sad that everyone is touting her as the next greatest thing since sliced bread. She even said in a post competition interview that her scores have put a lot of pressure on her.

DL - I agree that Mao may have to, or chose to change. We just don't know yet. I'm just tired of all the arm-chair coaches, choreographers, and costume designers on the internet.

Again, I chose to just stay tuned...