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Olympics: dancers' takes on figure skating


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I think if Plushenko and his coach had lobbied the ISU a year ago to give the Quad higher points values, that would be ok. He could even say now "I disagree with the points value given, I think a quad should be worth more, to motivate the skaters to do them'. And yet, he knew what the Code of Points was all about, he won under that system in 2006. He chose not construct a program that took the most advantage of bonus points, or perform spins with higher point values. He has only himself to blame for the result.

This is the aspect that puzzles me a bit. Maybe Plushenko DID lobby the ISU to bump up the point value of the quad. Who knows? But that would certainly have been a good strategy to position himself for coming into this Olympics and I certainly wouldn't have faulted him for that.

But how could he and his coach not be aware of how the Code of Points is constructed? Or was this just a casualty of human shortsidedness. (My brain is substituting "arrogance" for "shortsideness" but I really don't want to go there....that's too similar to the way Plushenko and his whole support system ...up to the big guy, Comrade Putin, ...is operating)

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But how could he and his coach not be aware of how the Code of Points is constructed? Or was this just a casualty of human shortsidedness. (My brain is substituting "arrogance" for "shortsideness" but I really don't want to go there....that's too similar to the way Plushenko and his whole support system ...up to the big guy, Comrade Putin, ...is operating)

They are aware of how COP is supposed to work, but Plushenko received huge Program Component Scores and Torino in 2006 and in Tallinn a month ago, although not quite as high as before his comeback. It's not that his PCS were so much higher than his competitors -- it was the 8-10 points of positive Grade of Execution (quality on jumps, spins, and footwork) that gave him substantial leads -- but by giving him similar or equal PCS, the nullified the complex choreography, transitions, and interpretation of his closest competitors. Even in skating skills, which have a list of criteria apart from power, I would argue that he was overrated in the past, when he had speed and power -- in Tallinn and even more in Vancouver, he was not exceptionally fast or strong -- because he does not use his edges all that well. He has remarkable athletic ability to power his jumps, even when he doesn't approach them with speed.

Given the way he was rewarded in the past, Team Plushenko had every reason to believe that he would be judged the same way. He was within a point of beating Lysacek for the title with a sloppy, uninspired skate, however impressive it was that he came back after 3 years of not competing and with a 4/3 combination. I still believe he was overrated enough in GOE -- sloppy landings, bad air positions, no compensating jump entrances -- and PCS in Vancouver that it's possible to make a case for Takahashi winning the silver medal.

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Today's paper quotes Plushenko as follows: "Now it's not figure skating. Now it's dancing." Has "dancing" become a perjorative term? Can't you do a quadruple jump AND dance as well. Shouldn't that be the goal?

Personally I disregarded pretty much everything Plushenko has said. He DEFINES sour grapes and poor sportsmanship. He evidently felt he had won ahead of time and the results must have been quite a shock. Talk about having a sense of entitlement.

It was not Plushenko's finest hour, but I understood his feelings. Losing is one thing. Losing to the likes of Evan Lysacek....urrrgggh.

This is the aspect that puzzles me a bit. Maybe Plushenko DID lobby the ISU to bump up the point value of the quad. Who knows? But that would certainly have been a good strategy to position himself for coming into this Olympics and I certainly wouldn't have faulted him for that.

Well, he's right. The quad should be worth more, given its difficulty. But he knew the current rules going in. (I suspect it wasn't so much his scoring in the long program as the close grouping of the leaders in the short that really bugged him. Under the new system it often happens that the favorite collects such a whopping lead in the short that even a relatively weak performance in the long can't affect the final result much. Didn't happen here.)

But we seem to have wandered far off topic. :)

Floor reporter to Male Contestant after his finals performance of the slave solo in Le Corsair,

"You really got the crowd on their feet! How do you feel about your performance?"

Male Contestant: "Well you know Coach and I have really been working hard to stick the landings! (Fist pump to Coach) All you can do is try to stay focused on the prize and give 110 % all the time."

Or excuses, after a lackluster effort: "I didn't bring my A game today....I didn't dance my best....My knee has been giving me problems...."

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