winter olympics

Kim Yu-na wins figure skating gold with record score; Asada 2nd

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Who didnt see this coming?

well i guess J media going to shut up now, only 4 medal and no gold!

see that is what happend when you are not been humble.

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Congrats to Kim,Asada and Rochette. They all performed well. I withheld comment about Asada's wardrobe from yesterday, but she should really change it. Way too 60's. But she had great performance.

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Congratulations to Kim and Asada! In celebration both of you are invited to my apartment for dinner, etc. Good show.

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Kim Yu-na was flawless. Mao Asada was very good but not in the same league as Kim Yu-na, unfortunately.

Hope Mao Asada doesn't commit any violent acts against herself or others, but judging by the pissed off look on her face when she heard her score, along with her angry look on the podium, one can only wonder.

Lastly, the Japanese media can end their discussion on Mao Asada winning the gold, as her distant 2nd place finish speaks a little too loudly.

Always a pleasure.

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Who didnt see this coming?

Certain posters didn't or refused to see this coming.

That performance by Kim was unbelievable! Yet again, she breaks a record, and beats Asada in the free by a very wide margin. There's now no doubt who the number one skater is. One poster kept on drumming it into our heads that Asada normally makes up and will make up any deficit in the free, and that just because no female skater in recent history has won both the short and the gold, Kim would likely not win the gold. Well, that's changed the trend! She is in a league of her own.

Probably Asada's first slight stumble made her lose concentration which led to her next mistake. I don't know whether Rochette could have gotten silver had she skated a cleaner free, but I guess it's never easy to beat Asada (unless you're Kim). Ando skated well, but was downgraded at the end by a happy Nagasu. Well done to the top 8 skaters. Suzuki did well, no doubt because she felt much less pressure.

One more thing. I really do wish NHK would not interview skaters when they burst into tears. The cameras just kept rolling when Asada couldn't keep her emotions in. Makes great TV viewing, I'm sure, but I just thought it was thoughtless and plain rude.

Now, let's get back to Toyota!

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The pressure on the other skaters after Kim Yu-Na was intense and kept building until the end with Nagasu. Kim Yu-Na was the most professional which is surprising for a 19yr old, but maybe her calm collective behavior can be a role model for other Korean athletes/coaches and the general Korean populace.

Best competition this whole Olympics talent-wise.

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but maybe her calm collective behavior can be a role model for other Korean athletes/coaches and the general Korean populace.

I've met a number of hot-headed Korean oyajis/ajosshi in my life too! KIm certainly has maintained her cool throughout the games.

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And surprisingly no big falls among the top skaters!

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Congrats to both for generating so much interest in their sport. Good job ladys. Kim is just in a league of her own and mao would have won any other olympics had she had of been competing....except this one. And she'll be 23 come next games and tell me she wont be nailing triples of her own by then.

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And Miki Ando did well. Let's not forget her.

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Kim was unbelievable. Asada did well but looked a poor loser by crying for the NHK interview and standing on the podium looking miserable. Rochette wasn't far behind Asada in performance, got a bronze, and was warm and gracious throughout, even after having gone through a lot more in the past few days than anyone.

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Congrats to Yu-na, Mao and Joannie. Yu-na's performance was spectacular. I was little surprised that Mao looked so sad...You just won the silver medal in the Olympics--smile!! Really happy for Joannie; her mom would be proud!

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Kim has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt she is simply the best female figure skater in the world at present. That will change, as all things do, but for now, with all the other championships under her belt as well, it cannot be disagreed with. And the difference between first and second in terms of score (which I'm SURE some posters will feel there is something wrong with) is just astounding. Kim is the best female figure skater for years, and only 19.

Asada also deserves a heartfelt congratulations. It's clear that she dealt with the enormous pressure she faced with slightly less grace than Kim, and it affected her performance in my opinion, but still an amazing job all told. As posters pointed out above, she needs to change her outfit, and it's great that she and Kim have given so much interest to the sport from the Asian side.

I'm not surprised about Ando, really, after the first round, but was pleasantly surprised Nagasu bumped her out of fourth. The former woman will no doubt gripe about this and that, and be pretty bitter about the whole thing as she made a lot of excuses beforehand, and a few after her first performance, but them's the breaks.

And of course Rochette deserves the utmost respect for both her performance and the conditions she did it under. Big win for Canada despite the colour of the medal. I'll be honest and say I didn't think she could hold on to third, and so I'm happy she proved me wrong.

Suzuki also did a lot better and I was happy to see her move from 11th to 8th. Korea, Japan, and Canada all have a LOT to be proud of here. Sadly, I suspect as is more often than not the case in competitions where first and second are between Japan and South Korea, we're never going to hear the end of it from one side, while from the other side we'll simply never hear of it again.

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see that is what happend when you are not been humble.

Now, let's get back to Toyota!

Some of you just cannot forget your prejudices and the chip on your shoulder can you.

The biggest achievement by far was by Joannie Rochette. Forget about the first two, Rochette deserved the Gold here.

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I guess I'll have something to look for online later.

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I'm glad Kim won. Watching her reminds of how it feels watching the greatest athletes. Tyson, Joran, Woods, etc. Not just a good performer, but engaging and just plain fun to watch.

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Kim's performance wasn't "unbelievable" if you'd seen her perform it earlier in the season. Anyone who'd seen it before knew Asada had a very tall mountain to overcome. Technically, Kim's program was 5 points more difficult than Mao's before they even got out of the gate, even with Mao's two triple axles. There was no drama here. Unless you consider how crushed Mao looked tonight and what she has to deal with back in Japan.

The real controversy should be over the bronze medal and whether the judges packed the program components to give Rochette an advantage.

Program components consist of: Skating Skills Transitions / Linking Footwork Performance / Execution Choreography / Composition Interpretation

Program Component results: Kim - 71.76 Asada – 67.04 Rochette – 68.48 Nagasu – 60.56 Ando – 61.60

So Rochette was in the same league as Kim and Asada? And three botched jumps didn't lower her artistic performance/execution? If her short and free program numbers hadn't been inflated, there might have been an interesting battle for the bronze. Instead, the results were well known to anyone who knows skating at the end of Tuesday's short.

This is probably why Ando took risks in the short, but skated conservative in the free. If a medal is not possible, why risk another Torino-style meltdown?

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northlondon: "Some of you just cannot forget your prejudices and the chip on your shoulder can you."

Agreed, but you ought to be telling that to the J-media as well.

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I found all the girls did their best. Suzuki's performance was quite a surprise.Ando just perfect. But yet for all, Maochan's performance was a lot of hard work. Kim did less complex stuff and was perfect.No way, I could have even stood staright if I was in a position like Rochette. I know what it is like to loose someone so close to your heart.

Gold medals for all the girls.

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combinibento: "I'm glad Kim won. Watching her reminds of how it feels watching the greatest athletes. Tyson, Joran, Woods, etc. Not just a good performer, but engaging and just plain fun to watch."

Agreed. I don't quite feel the same with Mao -- too tense, and not natural enough.

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I'm happy that Kim won too, but I wish Mao did not stumble.

I was hoping for both to skate clean and there would be a controversy on the scoring. As soon as Mao stumbled, there was no controversy, the gold belonged to Yuna Kim.

I still think Mao is capable to beat Yuna Kim, because she has done it before. If Mao had a clean skate who knows how close the scoring would have been.

Well at least we know that Mao will be training for 2014, but I think this will be the last we will see Yuna Kim as an Olympian. She has too many things ahead of her now, with the upcoming millions, maybe billions filling in her wallet.

The only skater to beat Yuna Kim was Mao Asada. It was over when Mao stumbled. Yuna looked confident and Mao did not.

Mao will only be 23 in 2014 so she's still young. As long as she stays in shape, I think she will be the skater to beat in 2014.

It would be nice to see both of them to compete in 2014, but it seems like Mao is the only most likely to stay.

Yuna Kim is already a big time celebrity and her life is pretty much set without figure skating. I hope she doesn't turn out like Oksana Baiul.

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If we are going to continue the recent trend of complaints about news media reporting being too biased in it's coverage of home athletes (the constant nagging about NHK and other Japanese news media), then let's pick this very article here apart. Joannie Rochette of Canada, despite her mother passing away only about a week ago very unexpectedly and at a young age, goes on to win a fantastic Bronze medal. Yet this Japan Today/ Associated Press article only gives Joannie Rochette a sentence and a half in an article that goes on and on about Kim's 'pillow-like' soft landings, the tracings of her spins and her bodyguards back home ?? It's very easy to nag about the Japanese media all the time, but this very article was quite disrespectful to Joannie Rochette.

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I feel sorry for al the crap Mao will have to face when she gets back to Japan. At least she won a medal, because "that is what the Olympics are all about."

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Could not watcht it...I highly doubt there will be a full re-run of Kim's performance on Japanese TVs tonight. It is internet for me.

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Can you imagine the furor in Korea if Kim had somehow not won?

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I'm going to put on my amateur psychologist hat and say what looks obvious to me. Asada never was able to deal with Kim's improvement after she started working with Brian Orser. It reminds me of Roger Federer after Nadal showed up on the tennis scene. I remember a match a couple of years ago when Federer was getting killed and he was like "What is he doing, doesn't he know I am Roger Federer!", and he seemed to be really thrown off by having equal competition. But he adjusted and rose to the challenge, I would say it looks like Asada didn't. She went from being the anointed gold medalist for Vancouver 2010 to being one of the favorites, and she didn't adjust. Her form was off coming into the Olympics, she had some problems with coaches, and her overall preparation for the Olympics looked pretty iffy. In both programs her body language was poor, you could see the pressure she was feeling, and she was lucky to hang on to the silver.

And about that interview performance and the get-me-out-of-here look she had on her face during and after the ceremony, that looks like a sign of poor preparation and poor coaching to me. They must have known they were probably getting the silver so why wasn't she ready for it. If you are not happy with silver that's ok, but at least PRETEND you are. I would say if she is going to continue to 2014 she needs to sit herself down, maybe with a sports psychologist, and figure some things out.

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combini:

I'm glad Kim won. Watching her reminds of how it feels watching the greatest athletes. Tyson, Joran, Woods, etc.

I don't know who Joran is, but I'd prefer it if you don't mention Woods or Tyson (especially Tyson) in the same paragraph as Kim.

northlondon:

see that is what happend when you are not been humble.

Now, let's get back to Toyota!

Some of you just cannot forget your prejudices and the chip on your shoulder can you. The biggest achievement by far was by Joannie Rochette. Forget about the first two, Rochette deserved the Gold here.

Why are you mixing my quote with someone else's? I hope you're not still angry because the British skater didn't even qualify for the free. Congratulations to Rochette, but sympathy alone won't get you the gold. She done her country proud and she deserves a gold for pure courage, but Kim and Asada were better at skating. Or do you belong to the BNP?

Bebert:

Anyone who'd seen it before knew Asada had a very tall mountain to overcome. Technically, Kim's program was 5 points more difficult than Mao's before they even got out of the gate, even with Mao's two triple axles

I don't know, but why was one poster yesterday going on and on, saying that Asada had the more difficult routine in the free? Someone's wrong.

smith:

Agreed. I don't quite feel the same with Mao -- too tense, and not natural enough.

Yes, I can't quite describe it, but Asada tends to be nervous, or that's how it seems to me. The TV programmes are already talking about her life story. I really do hope they don't put even more pressure on Asada.

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So Rochette was in the same league as Kim and Asada? And three botched jumps didn't lower her artistic performance/execution? If her short and free program numbers hadn't been inflated, there might have been an interesting battle for the bronze.

I agree, Berbert61. Rochette isn't even in the same league as Ando and Nagasu. But especially for this occasion the judges allowed a sympathy-consolation correction.

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I agree with womanforwomen. Both of these fine atheletes did a great job. Mao Asada has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. She will come home a hero to people in Japan and to people all over the world. Both Yona and Mao were a class act. It is a shame that the Olympics always end up becoming a whining contest amongst spectators from different countries. This is particularly true of non-Japanese in Japan who almost seem to take an obscene pleasure when Japan does not get a gold medal in something.

I know you will not read this, but 'Good for you Mao!' 'Good for you Kim!'Good for you Joannie!' You are an inspiration to everyone!

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Can you imagine the furor in Korea if Kim had somehow not won?

I can, and I'm glad Kim won. Hell hath no fury like a Korea scorned. The Chinese too must be glad, because it deflects attention away from Korea's disqualification yesterday.

nothlondon:

Despite Rochette coming in third, this article has talked plenty about her. I think you're just peeved that Kim won.

madoka:

It would be nice to see both of them to compete in 2014, but it seems like Mao is the only most likely to stay.

Once again, presumptions based on nothing. I don't see why Kim would want to quit.

I was hoping for both to skate clean and there would be a controversy on the scoring

I'm hoping that it's just a mistake in your English, but why on earth would you want a 'controversy'? Don't you think the rivalry between Koreans and Japanese is intense enough as it is?

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Congratulations to all! Great routines all around and a great finish by Kim Yu Na, Mao Asada, and Joannie Rochette. Kim Yu Na is the talk of the town now and I see on Nippon Tele that they are showing her whole life story. I didn't know that Kim Yu Na has an older sister who also used to skate, but since it costs a lot of money and they found out that Kim Yu Na is the better skater, they ended up investing all of their time and money into her (feel sorry for the older sister though). Kim Yu Na's father ended up quitting his job and doing the housework. Very devoted family.

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Madoka: "I was hoping for both to skate clean and there would be a controversy on the scoring. As soon as Mao stumbled, there was no controversy, the gold belonged to Yuna Kim."

Sigh... I knew you'd be on here with a few sour grapes to peel, despite fervently saying you don't care who wins just as long as it's Kim or Asada. How many times has Asada beat Kim? And how many times has Kim beat Asada? You make out that you think Asada has the potential to be better than Kim because the former beat the latter once, but refuse to concede that the latter might be better because she's won EVERY OTHER competition for the past two years. Kim is the better athlete, bottom line. That has been proven time and again.

Also, I'm not really sure what you're on about about this being Kim's last Olympics. The woman, like Asada, is 19!! They both have at LEAST one more chance at the Olympics, and I would bet we'll see both for two more or better. True, Kim is the single most powerful person in figure skating and in Korea in particular, but endorsements and what not come from PERFORMANCE.

If both Asada and Kim skated PERFECT performances there STILL would have been no 'controversy' on the topic at all -- Kim would have one. The only way Asada could have overtaken her is if she skated perfect while Kim's performance was flawed. Kim went on to prove that she is flawless, while Asada proved that while she is excellent, she is only perfect on occasion. Again, the only controversy coming from anyone is that from those who are jaded over the result.

Pukey: "The TV programmes are already talking about her life story. I really do hope they don't put even more pressure on Asada."

We agree on some things, but not this. In NO WAY do I think the media needs to apply more pressure. In fact, I think the media is the problem in most cases -- they reported they were going to get 10 medals, and now many if not all Japanese are disappointed with the performance and possibly the athletes (the responsibility lies largely with the government with it's lack of funding, in my opinion). The media pushes people like Fukuhara Ai to the brink or meltdown, and make Ishikawa Ryo out to be a god when he's still quite low-ranked on the international circuit. They then focus on the J-athletes crying and making excuses, talk about bad conditions (that of course only the Japanese faced and no one else), ad nauseum.

Northlondon: I don't think there are too many besides MadokaKato that disagree with you on the lack of coverage for Rochette and bias in general.

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Hotbox08: Interesting history on Yu-Na, eh?

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Pukey, Asada had two triple axles in her free, a jump no woman has ever performed at the Olympics, so they were very difficult and her program was unique, a milestone. But when you add up the value of all of their planned jumps, Kim's were worth about 60 points, Asada's 55. You can dissect the programs here: http://www.nbcolympics.com/figure-skating/resultsandschedules/event=FSW010000/phase=FSW010101/doc=analysis.html

Presto Agree. In judging, tragedy, home ice and other factos do count in the mix. Still, Joannie didn't look that much happier on the podium than Mao. And Mao looked like someone had just kicked Aero.

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I say you all come over my place tonight and debate.... with beers and boxing gloves. Kim was world class (westernized sportsman)...and what a lady! I still loved all the other girls too. That Mirai was smiling sportsman too.... Cheers to figure skating becoming the next dream to every little girl in Korea and Japan... as long as it keeps you outta smut mags and the mizu biz.

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Kim deserves this win. She is a rare level of skater and her performance for the Gold in both programs prove it.

I love Maochan too, but she needs to gain the elegant maturity that Kim has before she can really compete with her on a fully equal basis. Both are athletic and technically strong, but Kim is heads above Mao on performance, maturity, elegance and grace.

That said, I agree that Mao will be the one to watch in 2014 if she keeps her game up.

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So the battle between Yu-Na/Asada tonight is the figure skating version of the Jordan/Wilkins Slam Dunk contest?

Congrats to all three. Very entertaining evening.

If only Asada smiled more during the medal ceremony. Silver is nothing to be pissed/upset about, it's your first Olympics. Be Proud! I will admit Asada looked like a wicked witch when she was posing for pictures at the end of the night, hehe.

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Mao did a mistake to change coaches. Last year she looked much better. She seems so unlucky with her new coach now, Orsen cares for Yuna so much, Morozov cares for Miki Ando and it seems Tarasova does not have any time for Mao at all. i think Mao should consider a better coach who will be able to pay her attention.

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Yu-na´s performance was just perfect. In another league from the other women. I think she has the chance of being one of those athletes that appear from time to time and completely dominate a sport (like Tiger, Federer, Schumacher and Asashoryu).

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Why does JT refer to her as "Kim Yu-na," when her first name is Yu-na. It should be "Yu-na Kim." All the other athletes listed are written "first-name, last-name." Show some consistency.

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Bebert: "Still, Joannie didn't look that much happier on the podium than Mao."

You're right; with her mom dying only four days ago she should have looked ECSTATIC on the podium, I suppose?

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In NO WAY do I think the media needs to apply more pressure.

smithinjapan: Agreed. The media puts way too much pressure on Mao Asada. I also feel the coach does this too. After all a good coach instills confidence; not fear. Her coach always looks scary and mean.

In any case, congratulations should go out to not only Yu Na Kim for her skills, but also to her coach Brian Orser for recognizing the type of coaching she needed and utilizing her talents to their fullest. The figure skating routines perfectly matched her personality and abilities. Excellent teamwork!

Tarasova does not have any time for Mao at all.

Love USA: I have to agree with you on that one. Mao Asada should have a coach that would actually be able to instruct her "on the ice" with her. And Mao has to do more lighthearted and upbeat numbers, rather than the dark tragedy pieces she does. This is obviously a case where Mao's talents are being underutilized.

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LoveUSA, I agree, Tarasova has been terrible for Mao. Tarasova might have a great track record, but she saddled Mao with that music, was rarely at the rink, constrained Mao's training and somehow allowed Mao's skating to lose that lightness that made her such a delight to watch several years ago. The same lightness Kim displayed in both of her skates. Tarasova should retire.

Meanwhile, Brian Orser has set the bar for what a coach should be and shown how a coach nurtures a talent like Kim to Olympic status. He certainly didn't do it by yelling at his skater through a telephone from half a continent away.

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smithinjapan,

I didn't know I was sour grapes since I am happy that Yuna Kim won. Mao has beaten Kim before, but she was injured last year and unable to land her triple axels and not only Yuna beat Mao, but others too.

Mao is capable of beating Yuna, and she has done it before so I don't understand why you are saying it's impossible?

True Yuna has matured far more than Mao has. It was obvious. I don't understand how this figure skating judging works, but I thought Mao had the more difficult elements than Yuna. Don't know since I am not a judge here and I don't know how the system works. If Mao was flawless, would she have beaten Yuna? Too bad no one will find out.

Maybe Mao should hire Brian Orser as her coach now. He seemed to train Yuna like a man, because I never seen any female skater doing all these combination jumps with full speed while most other skaters slows down including Mao.

smithinjapan, why would Yuna want to stay as an amateur?

She got her medal, and know she is a hero in Korea. She seems like she has a singing career so why stick around? She's going to get more endorsements now since she won the gold for Korea.

As much as I want Yuna to stay, I think she's going to retire. There's nothing more for her to do. Tara Lipinski retired after she won the gold and she was about 14-15. So did Sara Hughes.

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Is it over or Japanese want one more round between Kim and Mao? Hard to swallow but Gold is Gold and Kim deserved that. Now, with this one medal (silver) Japan needs just six more to meet the target !

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Now, with this one medal (silver) Japan needs just six more to meet the target !

That's right, and Canada needs just 13 to meet their target. I think Russia needs about 27 to meet thei target.

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I don't understand the judging at all. I thought both Miki Ando and Rachael Flatt were better than either Kim or Mao. And there is no way Kim should have received 150 points in her free skate while Mao, landing two triple axels cleanly, received just 131 points.

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And let the investigations begin !

OK- Kim Yu-na deserved the gold, nut not at a world record score ! This has all the ingrediants of a "fix". Kim's performance was Gold medal material- but the scores were so high, it was obvious that the judges weren't going to allow another skater to even challenge. The performance was solid- but there wasn't anything spectacular there. Asada was the only one to attempt 3 triples !

As for Asada- Poor performance ! I can't believe that took the silver ! I counted three obvious mistakes that should have bounced her off the medals platform.

Rochette was imperfect also. Two obviouse errors in an otherwise conservative program.

Mirai Nagasu from the USA was absolutely brilliant- so much so that she had the Pro-Canadian crowd clapping along halfway through her program !

This observer had the final podium looking like this;

Gold- Kim Silver- Nagasu Bronze Rochette

Lets hope the media follows up on the scoring and asks some obvious questions. In the meantime, stick a fork in Ando- she's done ! I see the Americans, at 16 and 17 years of age, challenging Kim and dominating the future of womens figure skating. Damn I hate judged events !

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If Japan didn't $uck so bad in this Olympics and won some gold, I would have been cheering on Yuna Kim only because she is sexier than Mao.

Since Japan was so pathetic this year in the Olympics, I wanted Yuna to win, but I also wanted Japan to at least win 1 gold.

I think Berbert61 is correct, before the coaching change, Mao and Yuna were trading off titles. Since Tarasova, it seems like Mao has only beaten Yuna once in the last 2 years.

You got to give Brian Orser credit for developing Yuna. Orser also mentioned Yuna's maturity beyond her age. Orser seems to spend time with Yuna and showed his loving guidance. I don't mean that sexually either, since Orser is gay. Like a father-daughter type bond. I don't know what kind of relationship Mao had with Tarasova, but it seems like Mao did not improve while Yuna did the past 2 years.

It is because of Mao, Yuna pushed herself to get better. Maybe Mao should ask Brian Orser to coach her, it would be pretty cool if Yuna stays they can be practicing together.

One thing I am bitter about was when Mao was not allowed to compete in 2006, because of her age. I still think Shizuka Arakawa's gold medal is a joke.

Mao is actually cute, so why is she dressed like a little girl? She's only 2 weeks younger than Yuna.

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hotbox: "In any case, congratulations should go out to not only Yu Na Kim for her skills, but also to her coach Brian Orser for recognizing the type of coaching she needed and utilizing her talents to their fullest."

I agree, and not at all because the guy is Canadian (and I know him a little). He's put his whole heart into coaching her. My only fault with him is that he seems to be living vicariously through Mao to an extent. But still, when I see and hear about other coaches the man was always there for her, saw her potential, and has worked extremely hard for her. He's been ideal, and that has paid off for both of them.

Madoka: "Mao is capable of beating Yuna, and she has done it before so I don't understand why you are saying it's impossible?"

It's impossible until Asada grows up some, that's for sure, and with their current level of competition it's impossible unless Kim makes a mistake. The reason I said sour grapes is because you are making all sorts of excuses for Asada while you pretend to support Kim, instead of simply saying Kim is the better athlete of the two. That's a fact, proven time and time again. What's hard to understand is why you can't admit that without making excuses and suggesting that Asada is better but just didn't do well enough this time.

"smithinjapan, why would Yuna want to stay as an amateur?"

What on earth are you talking about? People who win gold at one Olympics don't quit based on that reason. Was Takahashi Daisuke an amateur at 29 years of age? Professionals still compete in the Olympics, and it's still one of the greatest competitions at all times, though not necessarily the measure of who's best (depending on the other competitions for the same sport). You have an odd definition of what's amateur and what's not.

"As much as I want Yuna to stay, I think she's going to retire. There's nothing more for her to do."

She can win more. Should Ohno have retired because he won some medals in past Olympics? Again... just bizarre.

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"OK - Kim Yu-na deserved the gold"

I would have given the gold to Miki Ando, the silver to Rachael Flatt and the bronze to Mao. 4th would be Joannie Rochette, 5th would be Mirai Nagasu, and Kim would have been 6th or 7th. She was silky smooth, but that was about it.

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Didn't she cry just a little too much in post interview...what is it with the crying culture ? Yesterday Toyota's ceo,today Mao,whose next ??

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As much as I want Yuna to stay, I think she's going to retire. There's nothing more for her to do. Tara Lipinski retired after she won the gold and she was about 14-15.

From what I understand, Tara Lipinski's body is shot due to figure skating injuries and she can no longer skate competitively. That's partly why she retired. Kwan limped into retirement, also. Kim has a history of serious injuries. The physical demands of top tier figure skating can really do an number on a body. I suspect she'll retire unless she gets pressured to stay in competition by the Korean media.

But, if some14some thinks there should be a rematch, I'll bet money Mao will compete in the Figure Skating World Championships in Italy at the end of March. Will Kim-san be there?

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would have given the gold to Miki Ando, the silver to Rachael Flatt and the bronze to Mao. 4th would be Joannie Rochette, 5th would be Mirai Nagasu, and Kim would have been 6th or 7th. She was silky smooth, but that was about it.

The Olympic Committee is in dire need of judges like you, Sarge!

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presto - Word! Ha ha ha!

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Didn't she cry just a little too much in post interview...what is it with the crying culture ? Yesterday Toyota's ceo,today Mao,whose next ??

In some cultures people have been trained not to show any emotions, they suppress them and the built up stress finds an outlet in different ways. Others never had any emotions, which is eerie.

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The Olympic Committee is in dire need of judges like you, Sarge!

Sarge is having dreams of skating on the ice with all his medalists.

Sarge, and what is your criteria?

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Sarge, Branded,

Here is the judge's math:

http://www.nbcolympics.com/figure-skating/resultsandschedules/event=FSW010000/phase=FSW010101/doc=analysis.html

I think Kim won hands down, but there was definitely some point inflation in the ladies event. For a similar set of skates just three months ago, Kim won, but with only 188 points versus 228 at the Olympics. Did she add 40 points worth of improvements between then and now? Probably not. Still, she earned her gold even if other placements are in question.

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This was reminiscent of Calgary in 1988, when Katarna Witt faced off against Debi Thiomas. Everoyne stated then in the news how Witt was under such pressure form the East German Government, and how Thomas would end up winning. Witt, instead, embarrassed the field in the same way that Kim did, with Thomas stumbling twice (yet still getting the bronze), the Gold going to the East German Wonder again.

A lot of people were talking about all the pressure that was on Kim's shulders, and how that would cause her to crack, and Asada would come out on top as a result (because of some messed-up idea that Asadas wasn't under any pressure of her own). What I saw today was a 19-year-old girl from Korea basically telling the pressure - with her routien and skating - to take a flying leap, and then go and have FUN on the ice. The result? A Flawless performance, ando ne that likely will not be bested for many Olympics to come. Asada, on the other hand, lost it after the first stumble. not onyl thus, but Asada's dress was horrendous on her. Anyone else, and maybe it would have been okay, but Asada? No. Not her style. Had she a dress similar to Kim's - simple yet elegant - it would have done wonders for her, and the difference here was glaring: Kim looked for all the world liek a 19-year-old having fun doing what she likes to do. Asada looked tight, mechanical in her jumps (though no less impressive in the two triple axles she hit), and like she was forcing the emotions (whereas Kim's came fluidly, effortlessly, and as natural for her to be skating on the ice as breathing), and her garish dress made her look older than she really was and is. Basically, Mao looked like she was going out on the ice to work, not have fun (and it showed). I really feel that Rochette deserved the silver and Mao the Bronze.

Finally, Mirai Nagasu: "Oh my Gosh! I got Fourth Place!!!!!" I've never seen anyone happier abut losing out on a medal (though, the way she skated at the end, Mirai "lost" nothing), and, personally, I believe that she deserved the bronze, Rochette the Silver, and Asada 4th place. I like Mao, and I think she is one of the greatest skaters to grace the ice, but so long asd her handlers keep forcing her to grow up, rather than mature gracefully, as Kim Yona has, she will never be the kind of skater that busts up records, and wins Olympic gold medals by 23 points...

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Oh my gosh... I actually agree with Blue Tiger!

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bebert61;

"I think Kim won hands down, but there was definitely some point inflation in the ladies event. For a similar set of skates just three months ago, Kim won, but with only 188 points versus 228 at the Olympics. Did she add 40 points worth of improvements between then and now? Probably not."

No argument from me- I posted the same thoughts earlier. Unfortunately, knowing the history of Olympic skating competitions and the Koreans background included, I think the inflated numbers are a scam ! The judges knew that some formidable opponents were skating after Kim- so they gave her a score that nobody could reach. This has all the markings of a fix ! I'd like to see a breakdown of numbers and hear explanations. Remember, the judges have access to slow motion video tapes so the explanations should be "matter of fact". Anyone else notice that Nagasu's scores seemed to take forever to come up ? Sorry folks- I don't buy it ! Somethings amiss.

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smithinjapan,

From what I see, while Yuna improved in the last 2 years, I haven't seem Mao improve at all. Mao could beat Yuna, but you are right. Mentally, she is too immature. Mao has a gift, but it doesn't seems like she has a coach in developing her gift. When I see the relationship between Mao and Tarasova to Yuna and Orser, you can tell that Orser is spending more time with Yuna and developing her. I don't know what the hell is going on with Mao and Tarasova. From what I see, Mao didn't seem to improve for the last 2 years.

I support Kim, but I also see the difference where 1 has improved and the other has not. Between 2006-2008 it looked to me like Mao had the advantage. Mao would have won the gold in 2006 if it wasn't for that stupid IOC under 16 rule.

I don't know why you are being an @$$ smithinjapan, but I also understand the Japanese media is a bit annoying. I had a friend who was the world record holder in swimming and she was favored to win in the Olympics. She was winning all the way until the last 10 meters and didn't win a medal.

You think Mao was taking abuse by the Japanese media, Midori Ito was taking far worse abuse. She seemed like she eating some chocolates and got a bit chunky before the Albertville games.

WHy are you arguing with me anyways? No matter what I say, Yuna won. It would have been interesting if Mao did not make any mistakes to see how close the score would have been. Mao might have beaten Yuna's previous world record. After her flaws, it was over, but elements were good enough to win the silver.

smithinjapan, maybe you should leave the country if you can't stand NHK and other Japanese sports broadcasters.

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Anyone else notice that Nagasu's scores seemed to take forever to come up ? Sorry folks- I don't buy it ! Somethings amiss.

Just like with Evan Lysacek's score. Smells fishy. Daisuke Takahashi's and Plushenko's scores also took a lot longer to calculate after Lysacek's. If there is going to be an investigation into the ladies program, then it's only fair there should be one into the mens.

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Sarge:

I would have given the gold to Miki Ando, the silver to Rachael Flatt and the bronze to Mao. 4th would be Joannie Rochette, 5th would be Mirai Nagasu, and Kim would have been 6th or 7th.

Don't worry, Sarge. From when you fall asleep tonight until you wake up tomorrow morning, Ando will be winning the gold.

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Miki Ando winning the Gold ? For what- the "three B's ? Bony knees, Buck teeth, and Big Ears ! We could throw in the 4th- "Bad Costume", but why be hypo-critical ?

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Rochette deserve the silver?

You have to be kidding me.

Who dressed Mao? For some reason Yuna looked taller and sexier, but they are the same height. If Mao looked like Midori Ito, I can understand why she is dressed that way, but Mao is cute and capable of looking sexy.

Yuna is sexy, even though she is 2 weeks older than Mao, she looked like she is 5 years more mature than Mao. Orser did a great job in making Yuna confident about her sex appeal. Maybe Mao should have Orser coach her, because she hasn't developed in the last 2 years.

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I pity those of you who believe the the scores were fixed. Truly pitiful of you.

Yuna had the harder program(level 60) and she did it without a single mistake. Mao had the easier program(55) and she still made a couple of mistakes. Quit being sore losers and just accept that Mao lost to the better skater.

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I pity those of you who believe the the scores were fixed. Truly pitiful of you.

Spot on, VG877! Kim Yuna deserved the gold, Mao the silver, and Joannie the bronze. Kim Yuna skated perfectly, Mao didn't, but had a difficult enough program to place her second with no falls, Joannie had a slightly less difficult program than Mao's and was not perfect thus was third. Mirai and Miki had even less difficult routines than the top three and thus scored as 4th and 5th respectively even though they had no falls. Both of their routines looked great albeit some lower GOEs, but too many double jumps, and slow step routines. Makes a big difference.

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Yuna is sexy, even though she is 2 weeks older than Mao, she looked like she is 5 years more mature than Mao. Orser did a great job in making Yuna confident about her sex appeal. Maybe Mao should have Orser coach her, because she hasn't developed in the last 2 years

So strange interpretation of figure skating. Not everything should be based on sex appeal. Figure skating is not bar dancing. sure Mao can be sexy if she wants it. Not every woman wants to do jobs based on sex appeal.

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Certainly, Mao's score was overestimated comparing to Joannie's performance. She made at least three mistakes during her performance while the Canadian player made only one. IMHO, Joan deserves the Silver and Mao for the bronze.

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Hotbox, the technical start value of Mao's program was 55 points. Rochette's was 58. Ando's was 57. Nagusa's was 57. It came down to the quality of execution and the whims of the judges and Rochette screwed up 3 of her jumps.

As for Mao's development, she has improved technically, to the point where she is landing the new jumps in competition and she is introducing the new positions, such as that unique leg position that Kim borrowed from Mao. Unfortunately, Mao has been stunted as a performer, unlike Kim - who has blossomed. Why? Do you blame the 19-year-old girl or do you blame her coaches or do you blame the media? 20 days age difference, a similar media fishbowl. Signs point to management.

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Curious, will Yu-Na still train in Toronto after this? With her getting more exposure in Canada due to the Olympics the media and press might begin to follow her every move now. Won't be as crazy compared to Korea, but still.

Mao Asada looked like she was in a low-budget 1980's fantasy flick. All that was missing was Queen's "Flash! A-ha!" from Flash Gordon.

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LoveUSA:

So strange interpretation of figure skating. Not everything should be based on sex appeal.

Well then, please stop basing sumo wrestlers on their sex appeal.

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hmm, while I think Yuna was great on the ice today, I don't think it was a world record breaker performance. She never did anything extraordinary nor extremely difficult moves, just plain routines and was quite ordinary. Getting such unbelievable high score makes it questionable since the head of the International Olympic Comittee on Ice Skating is a Korean, and 2 judges were also Korean (the other was a Korean born in Canada and passed as a Canadian judge as not to arouse much suspicion) and the Japanese judge was removed among the judges...four judges were European and another judge is from Australia.

Yuna did won but her lopsided victory makes things so suspicious.

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Interesting that some postors have stated that Mao hasn't been consistent, while Kim has steadily improved over the last two years. This is something I pointed out at the beginning of the Fall, and people laughed at me then, statign that Kim wouldn't do as well on such a grand stage.

And someone mentioned rigged judging? Okay, so I may not agree entirely that Mao deserved a medal, even bronze (she DID nail two triple axles), but rigged judging? No. And I agree that Nagasu deserved a medal with her flawless performance, but I don't think the judging was rigged (unlike 1994 when Oksana Baiul "beat" Nancy Kerrigan for the Gold). The judges made their decisions, and they were sound, overall. Now, if Asada - with her flawed repetoire - had somehow edged out Yuna and her literally perfect performance, THEN I'd've cried "rigged judging!". As it stands, the judging was far better than what I've seen in the past....

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Congratulations to all the medallists... Kim Yuna is in a league of her own, but I liked her short program far more than today's routine. I think if Mao had of pulled off a flawlwess routine today the gap would have been far less...content-wise it could ahve been great. I agree with all of the people here saying Mao had poor coaching. Her coach met her in Vancouver for the first time in ages..and they meet every couple of months it seems...Mao should have done what Kim Yuna did, live near the caoch for as long as it takes to prepare for the Olympics. Mao's training environment does not compare to Kim Yuna's.... and finally... Mao...that frock that music....(a dirge at best) tragic!!Next Olympics...new look, coach and music...you are still young enough to get there in 4 years!

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Blue Tiger, I love your comments, but could you please start using a spell checker?

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Yuna did won but her lopsided victory makes things so suspicious.

Everything she did was in sync, but indeed, there was really nothing spectacular. The judges made their decisions on the basis of what was expected of them.

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Asada looked stone-faced as she waited for her marks, and she didn’t even crack a smile when she got her silver medal.

UN-COOL, and very ugly moves. She gets the gold in loserdum. Silver is excellent, it means that your the second best in the world.

Yu-na silenced the critics and put to bed the conspiracy theory's. Everyone could understand why the judge gave her high marks in the short program now, she was frawress. WOW!

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As i said in a previous post Kim Yu-na certainly deserved the Gold. Mao on the other hand was questionable on silver? She made 3 significant mistakes how does that classify as silver? It should be bases on the entire performance and not just certain elements which this new scoring systems seems to favor. Miki Ando if anything should have been silver without question. I also can understand crying just missing the metals but Mirai Nagasu sure seemed to be happy getting fourth lol. Mao on the other hand crying for silver as give me a break. Another person commented that Mao likely was being pushed to hard by the media and her coaches and expecting to much of her. This might be true to a point and might explain her extremely poor attitude but still is not an excuse as silver is nothing to squawk at.

If this was on the old scoring system Mao would have not even made the podium. I just hope she can get her act together as she has great potential but a true champion is not just measured by winning a metal but by your attitude and how you present yourself. As it stands right now Mao has lost all respect I once had for her. Kim-Yu-na on the other hand was a class act and it showed. She had the same pressure as Mao but didn't let it get to her. Even the US broadcasters has stated that Kim-Yu-na's performance as being among the best they had seen in Olympic competition. It's to bad as Miki or even Mirai would have been more appreciative then Mao was and is extremely unfortunate to witness wasn't it.

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Good point, ReikiZen. After watching the video of the final 10 skaters' performances again, I could see that Miki Ando could have had a case for silver over Mao. She performed well and landed her jumps nicely. A big improvement from the short routine. But thems the breaks. Everyone will have an opinion as I do, but in the end, we are all not the judges (and none of us are qualified to be anyway).

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I watched her then had to check out some photos on the net... very pretty face. Kind of felt sorry for the other skaters but someone had to win.

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I mirror the poster above who said pity those who question the judging or suggest bias and wrong-doing. Mikihouse is a prime example of sore-loser. Some people just canNOT accept the outcome of an event and will use anything and everything to suggest that it was skewed in some way and the person they desired to win was wronged. I'd say that they change their tune when Asada wins, but she doesn't, save for once in two years or so, so I guess that bias and the judges follow these girls around EVERYWHERE they go and exude their bias in those places.

No, the wrong-doing here, if any, is with the various media. Japan played up its skaters are gold medal contenders, and even Miki Ando was interviewed in Canada as saying that Yu-na isn't necessarily the best. She is correct that you never know what will happen, but each country's media spins things its own way, and the Korean and Japanese are amongst the worst for supposedly free-speaking nations. You see it in baseball, soccer, and everything else. When one loses it's all about how the other team was wrong, or the judges were bad, while when they win it is proof they are the best in the world. Athletes are forced to apologize for not winning the top prize for their nations because the media promised said nation's citizens victory (or a number of them), the people buy into it, and when the athletes encounter superior opposition the people lash out. It's disgraceful.

I have NO doubt we're going to be hearing nothing but excuses for days and days, while they punish snowboarder Kokubo, blame foreign coaches and ice conditions that EVERYONE endured, and deride the people who did better.

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Is an Olympic athlete really a representative of their home country if their coaches hail from foreign destinations? Do some athletes train in foreign lands years before the game under student visas and foreign coaches? Maybe we should start taking the flag waving thing of the distant homelands out of some of the events and thus call it like it is…

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Mirai went last and gave it her all to be competitive. Miki Ando went earlier and was conservative -playing it safe.

Mao went for it but had some difficulty -she is not as professional or consistent as Yu-Na. Once Mao made a mistake Yu-Na knew she had won. (a very small possibility that Mao could win was erased)

It then became a battle for bronze and any little mistake would dash any hope of getting it. The fearful disbelief look on Nagasu's face before her competition said it all.

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I mirror the poster above who said pity those who question the judging or suggest bias and wrong-doing.

I also don't believe in conspiracy theories of fixes as some posters would have you believe. To me, it just speaks of "sour grapes". Let the results stand. Kim Yuna deserved gold, Mao Asada deserved silver, and Joannie Rochette deserved bronze. Congratulations to all!

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Kim Yuna deserves the olympic gold, that is not being questioned. What is being questioned is that she got a very very high score setting a new world record, when in fact Ms. Kim Yuna did a safe, conservative, routine stuff.

In my opinion, whereas Kim Yuna deserves the gold, she does not deserve to receive such a very generous points considering that what she did was never extraordinary nor remarkable. Her routine was smooth, flawless, very artistic and well executed thus she earns it. But to be awarded such high score after performing normal routine kills the sports. This is not a dance contest, it is a sport wherein contestants challenge themselves to do things that have not yet done or go beyond the human limit. If a person be awarded a near perfect score for doing a routine figure ice skating then better remove this sports from the olympics and start a figure skating dance contest.

And please no sympathy votes. USA deserves the bronze and Miki Ando is much better than the Canadian in my opinion.

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What is this "sour grapes" cr@p?

Yuna Kim won the gold. If Mao skated flawlessly, I don't think between gold and silver it didn't make any difference. just a smaller margin of victory and maybe Mao would have broken Yuna's previous world record.

I'd followed Mao since 2006, when they talked about how she was unable to compete in the Olympics, even though she was ranked #1 in the world. At that time I had no idea what she looked like. Then after the Olympics, it looked like a friendly rival between Mao Asada and Yuna Kim and they were exchanging titles for the next 2 years.

After I saw Mao's last victory over Yuna in 2009 at Seoul, it seemed like Yuna was improving while Mao did not. Is it coaching? Is it attitude? I don't know. From that last victory on, it seems like Yuna was developing some new things, especially with speed. Mao seemed to have problems. Yuna also developed into a real beauty. Her relationship with Brian Orser seemed really close, much like a 2nd father figure. Something I didn't see with Mao's relationship with Tarasova.

If Yuna have lost, I would have felt really bad for her. The last time she lost to Mao and apologized to her fellow Koreans for losing in Korea, I felt really bad for her. I also became a fan of Yuna Kim. Now it's Mao's turn.

I hope both do return for 2014, but Yuna is getting way too popular. She's going to make far more money now that she brought Korea their 1st Figure Skating gold. She already has a singing career, and there's going to be no doubt that she will have an acting career too. If she decided to continue to skate, she will have no time for a singing or acting career. She's going to get more endorsements than she ever had before.

Mao still has much to prove herself. Silver is not bad, but she was capable enough to get the gold if she had proper coaching. Maybe she should go to Brian Orser, because you got to give him credit the way he blossomed Yuna. Tarasova only seemed to care when she is competing.

The gold and silver was pretty obvious. They pretty much separated from other skaters, but Yuna separated from Mao. Something which I never seen, when both were healthy.

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I forgot to mention 1 thing.

These Japanese reporters are really annoying. Why are they getting into Mao's face after she lost? Is it that hard to give a 19 year old some space.

That was the other thing I realized that Yuna can handle the media better than Mao too.

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Generus points?!? Mikihouse, did you even see Kim skate? Her routine was PERFECT!!!!! EVERY point she won, she earned, and she deserved! Her performance was flawless. So was Mirai Nagasu's, and several others n the top ten, including Suzuki's. To say that the judges were generous with Kim's performance is akin to saying that butter shoudn't melt on hot toast. Like it or not, Kim Yuna was awesome today. I've watched many Winter Olympics, and in all of them, I've never seen a stronger performance nor a Gold that was so well-deserved. The judges weren't generous, they were correct....

MadokaKato - Agree, the press needs to leave her, and Ando, and Suzuki A-LONE! Let them have some time, then call for a press conference.

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Too many posters here think they know what they are talking about concerning the judging system. The fact that they did not fall down does not mean that they should get a better rank. Mao landed the most difficult jump, twice. Yet, as with Plushenko, did not win the gold. Congratulations to all. To the people who are using this as a reason to bash the J media ... get a life.

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BDTAD:

Is an Olympic athlete really a representative of their home country if their coaches hail from foreign destinations? Do some athletes train in foreign lands years before the game under student visas and foreign coaches? Maybe we should start taking the flag waving thing of the distant homelands out of some of the events and thus call it like it is…

You just copied and pasted this in another post.

Badsey:

Miki Ando went earlier and was conservative -playing it safe.

Well it worked for her idol, Arakawa. Fortunately for Arakawa, someone of the same calibre as Kim or even Asada didn't compete in 2006.

mikihouse:

This is not a dance contest

Well then, tell them to switch the music off.

madokakato:

She already has a singing career, and there's going to be no doubt that she will have an acting career too

I saw clips of her singing on TV today. She should stick to skating. How does acting come into this? I'm puzzled.

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While other skaters slow down as they approach their jumps to steady themselves, she hurtles into them at full speed, yet touches down with pillow-like softness.

Makes a difference. Just like politics and how those in command step on stage.

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Gold:Kim silver:Asada. I think Rochette got "sympathy bonus points" added and Nagasu "16 year old/first olympics points" deducted, so Nagasu should have gotten bronze and for fourth&fifth toss-up between Rochette and Ando. Technicals are technicals, but people are kidding themselves if they don't think that these things count: past performances,expectations,attractiveness,costume,confidence,etc.

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A lot of this outcome has to do with the coachs' approach. Mao's Russian coach kept her focused on that triple axle. Yuna was also working on a triple axle but her Canadian coach convinced her that "you don't need a triple axle to win, do everything else perfectly". He was right. Yuna got maximum style points because she was fast into the jumps and fast out with smooth transitions in the combination jumps. Mao had to really reduce her speed coming into and setting up the triples and almost did not have enough speed for a one-and-a-half after it nearly coming to a stop. I'm sure if Mao had spent the year just perfecting the rest of her program the results would have been much closer. They are both great skaters and will meet head-to-head again. Yuna rocks!

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Well it worked for her idol, Arakawa. Fortunately for Arakawa, someone of the same calibre as Kim or even Asada didn't compete in 2006.

Actually, Irina Slutskya was on fire that season. She'd won all of her competitions that season except for one (against Mao, who couldn't compete at the 20006 games) and was heavily favored to win. But she fell in her free program. So did Sasha Cohen. Arakawa skated clean. I don't remember if they were scoring under the old system or not in 2006, but that might have also been a factor.

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Beber161:

But she fell in her free program.

Yes, and I remember Kosaka Kenji, the then minister of education, culture, etc, who publicly told Arakawa he was overjoyed when Slutskaya stumbled. He was forced to apologize to both skaters. I wonder how overjoyed he was this time, when Asada stumbled.

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"her Canadian coach convinced her that "you don't need a triple axle to win, do everything else perfectly". He was right."

I agree to a point. You don't need a triple axle to win- but you do need it to post the outlandish score she was given ! Something stinks here. In my opinion the first two slots were decided well before the programs started- and yes, we've seen this before. The only medal that was really up for grabs was the bronze- which went to the local. I'll stand by my previous decisions from what I actually saw-

-Kim wins the Gold for a flawless performance.

-Nagasu takes Silver for a flawless energetic crowd pleasing program.

-Rochette gets the Bronze for sheer determination and heart. Two minor slips aren't enough to bounce her off the podium.

Asada was gifted the Silver- which she obviously doesn't appreciate. Ando is done ! Gangly performance in a horrible costume. Flatt is the future for the US- at 17 she should be in her prime by Shochi Russia.

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@Branded:

Asada was gifted the Silver- which she obviously doesn't appreciate. Ando is done ! Gangly performance in a horrible costume. Flatt is the future for the US- at 17 she should be in her prime by Shochi Russia.

I agree with most of this but why did you leave Nagasu out as U.S. gold threat at Shochi?

You don't need a triple axle to win- but you do need it to post the outlandish score she was given !

I guess all or most of the judges thought she was perfect or close to it. BTW does andbody know what the highest possible score is?

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You guys haven't done the math regarding Asada and Nagasu. Coming into the event, Nagasu had to make up the 10 points she was behind Mao from Mao's flawless short program. They scored roughly even technically, even with Mao's stumbles. Mao beat her by five points in the program components -which were better than Nagasu's.

A gift for silver came in Torino when Sasha "crash" Cohen fell several times but beat out Slutskya, who won bronze.

As for who has a future, you'll see in about a month when everyone, except for Kim -and maybe Rochette (mourning)- will repeat this competition again at Worlds.

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Kim Yuna deserves the olympic gold, that is not being questioned. What is being questioned is that she got a very very high score setting a new world record, when in fact Ms. Kim Yuna did a safe, conservative, routine stuff. In my opinion, whereas Kim Yuna deserves the gold, she does not deserve to receive such a very generous points considering that what she did was never extraordinary nor remarkable. Her routine was smooth, flawless, very artistic and well executed thus she earns it. But to be awarded such high score after performing normal routine kills the sports.

Agreed. I don't dispute that she deservedly won the gold--I don't think there was any question about that as she was fantastic last night. I just thought the points awarded her were too generous for her routine. Granted, she had a very strong FS program, and even if Mao skated perfectly she still would have been behind Yu-na. It's just that I don't think her Free was worth the 150 points the judges have given her. Now, with this new scoring system I'm not really sure if it's really that much of an improvement after it was implemented to prevent the fiasco at the 2002 Olympics from happening again.

Congratulations to all the medalists. Great job, ladies. Looking forward to the Worlds next month. Keeping an eye on a new favorite, Mirai Nagasu.

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Queen Yu-Na: I still cannot believe I received those scores."

Neither can I. Well, no, I can believe it - after all, Olympic judges are Olympic judges.

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I thought Kim Yuna would be a little below Mao with about 72 points in the SP but even so she would have won in the free. I don't feel any glory in this victory.

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There is no debate on Kim's gold, she deserved her gold. When Asada faltered, you saw Kim's face that she knew she got the gold, because it was only Mao who had a shot for an upset.

Usually Kim falters on the free program, but once she skated clean and saw her 150+ she knew that the pressure is now on Mao. If Mao skated cleanly, I don't think it mattered. Maybe then would be a scoring controversy.

Don't get me wrong, I am NOT pro-Japan on this. I think Shizuka Arakawa's gold medal was a joke. She won, because Sasha Cohen fell and so did Slutskya. Sasha Cohen was already dressed up in her street clothes, because she didn't think she won a medal, until someone told her and she had to hurry back and get dressed again.

This is the part where I didn't understand why the Japanese media made such a big fuss about Shizuka Arakawa. Mao Asada wasn't allowed to compete because of her age, and Yuna Kim was still playing in the Juniors. 2006 was the biggest joke in figure skating competition since the Tanya Harding issue.

I am not a Miki Ando fan either. I wanted either Mao or Yuna to win.

By the way, whatever happened to Sasha Cohen? Did she not qualify for 2010? Because I was surprised that there was only 2 slots for the US skaters, while Japan had 3.

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Queen Yu-Na: I still cannot believe I received those scores."

Neither can I. Well, no, I can believe it - after all, Olympic judges are Olympic judges.

LOL You might me more right than you think. Just read an interesting article on how the new scoring system is really no improvement over the old one (as I've been wondering all along) and is just as conducive to dishonesty.

The old 6.0 scoring system, beloved by audiences because it was understandable and nakedly subjective, was scrapped as a result of the Gailhaguet-orchestrated Salt Lake City scandal. Judges often propped up their favorite skaters by using the second, artistic mark, and their partisanship was there for all to see. And to boo. It was great theater. Now judges prop up their favorite skaters by using the five "program component" marks -- except that viewers in the stands and at home never see those marks and are left to scratch their heads at the numbers that flash on the screen determining winners and losers. As one coach recently told me, "The judges used to have one mark to monkey around with. Now they have five." Five, plus a cloak of anonymity. In other words the new scoring system is every bit as rife with potential for corruption as the old one.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/olympics/2010/writers/em_swift/02/13/judging.controversy/index.html

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genjuro,

It doesn't matter, Yuna won the gold fair and square.

True the scoring system was a bit suspicious when the gap between Mao Asada and Rochette was close. I thought there were other skaters who skated better than Rochette. Yuna and Mao were pretty much in their own class, because they were doing far more difficult elements than the other skaters.

The controversy is more like the battle of bronze, but what's the point fighting over a bronze medal. Mirai Nagasu was happy just to come in 4th place, because nothing was expected from her.

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Madoka, Oh, where did I say that Yu-na didn't deserve the gold? Point it out please. Just saying out that the new scoring system isn't that much of an improvement over the old one. I also think that even though Yu-na won, her scores were inflated. And because of the system in place, it's just as easy to prop up points as it was under the old system like the article said. Or did you even read it?

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EVERY point she won, she earned, and she deserved!

Exactly BlueTiger. I agree with all posters above that the scoring was fair. Bottom line is:

Gold: Kim Yu Na Silver: Mao Asada Bronze: Joannie Rochette

All these women DESERVED their medals. Everyone who thinks otherwise is just expressing sour grapes. It's too bad that some feel the need to resort to conspiracy theories and fixes as "an excuse" to make about their own country's medal hopefuls not getting a medal. And sorry to say it, but it's not only certain country's media doing this, but a lot of JT posters as well. Which is funny since the same posters who are lambasting the Japanese media for doing it, are doing it as well themselves. I for one am glad the results turned out the way they did. There is no disputing that the two best skaters in this competition (in both the short program and free skate) were Kim Yu Na and Mao Asada. The toss-up would be for Bronze, but Joannie Rochette did enough to merit that win.

But hey, I understand that there is always going to be a bunch of "armchair" judges out there who feel that they could do a better job of judging. I myself thought that too, until I realized I couldn't do it even if I wanted to. I'm neither qualified, nor in the position to do it. I would also have to really ask myself if I could really be unbiased and fair. I'm sure a lot of you would also face that difficulty. So let it stand.

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I don't like her, she is too arrogant and spoiled. She is no "Queen". I prefer Asada.

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genjuro,

I never accused you of saying Yuna doesn't deserve the gold. Anyone has to be a complete idiot to say that. I am only saying if Mao Asada didn't falter, and Yuna won the gold, then this would be an interesting conversation about the judging.

Nothing can be as bad as 1980 when the judging was already made before the competition began and they selected the East German over Linda Frantiane.

How about 1988 in boxing, when Roy Jones obviously kicked the cr@p out the Korean, but the Korean got the gold. Even the Korean fighter said Roy Jones won that fight.

I don't know how the current judging system works. I am confused since the announcers made a comment how no female has ever attempted 2 triple axels in a free skating, but for some odd reason Rochette's elements are considered higher than Mao? I also don't know if triple lutz+triple toeloop is considered more difficult than triple axel+double loop? Since I am not a figure skating expert, this new judging system is still a bit confusing.

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If you goto the NBC Olympics site they explain the scoring and even have a side-side video of Asada vs YuNa video for the SP. -I don't know what more can they do.

"but what's the point fighting over a bronze medal" -it is everything to these skaters and many were fighting for it (the scores show that).

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Figure skating in 2010 is not football ie the ball goes in the goal you get a point and if it doesn't you don't get a point.

Some posters should do some of the necessary research on the complex scoring system to see how scores are determined, It's not an infallible system but understanding the basics will give greater insight into the final result.

Figure skating is scored from the first note to the final. It doesn't award prizes for the best tricks.

And yes Yuna's score was certainly breathtaking - but then so was her performance. Please really look at it again.

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Mao's score is too high considering her jumps quality. Her jumps do not have artistic beauty and transitional smoothness. She even made a couple of mistakes. Her performance shows only skill but Yuna's one contains whole package of female figure skating. That's the difference between Mao and Yuna.

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Kind of like that Rochette getting the mercy points, even though she didn't really do much. But she is Canadian and it's being played in Canada. Since this is most likely her last Olympics, because she'll be 28 which is considered grandma in Figure Skating age, I guess you might as well give her the bronze livinghope21

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Madoka: "There is no debate on Kim's gold, she deserved her gold. When Asada faltered, you saw Kim's face that she knew she got the gold, because it was only Mao who had a shot for an upset."

You've really got to get over yourself. Here's a newsflash: even if Mao skated PERFECTLY, with no mistakes, she would not have won gold. In fact, the only way she could have won gold was if Kim screwed up royally, but since the latter skated perfectly Mao could not have won even if she didn't make the mistakes she did.

As for your 'generous' and 'sympathy' remarks for Rochette, get over it -- the Canadian deserved the bronze, and she got it. I know you dislike Canadians, but tough cookies.

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Canadian or not Rochette deserved a medal. It looked so much like she did it for her mother.Her love for her mother was just too evident. The scoring system can be challenged no matter what.

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Yuna is much better skater than Mao. She deserved the gold medal and there's nothing more to say about this.

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YADA! YADA! YADA!

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Who cares whether or not Rochette got the pity medal or not. It's just a bronze medal.

This will be Rochette's last Olympics and Mirai Nagasu is just getting started.

I would give the medal to Rochette too if I was the judge. As long as it's not gold.

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Asada..... took mistakes several times, one of which was so bad.

She does not deserve a silver, I think.

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Mao deserve the silver more than Rochette.

Rochette wasn't that great either and Mirai Nagasu skated better than her. If I was a judge, I will probably give Rochette the pity points since she's 24 while Nagasu is 16. One is most likely to continue to Soichi. 28 is considered grandmas age for a figure skater.

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No question that Kim deserved the gold. Mao screwed up so I thought that if Rochette had skated perfectly she could have overtaken Mao for the silver, she didn't. To be honest after watching Nagasu I thought she might have overtaken Rochette. All in all it ended well I think and everyone got the medals they deserved. Watch out for Nagasu in Sochi.

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tensaicanadian,

If you were the judge and had to select between Rochette & Nagasu. Would you select Rochette. I would, even though Nagasu skated better than Rochette.

One have a very bright Olympic future, but the other is in the retirement age. 28 is considered a fossil age for Figure Skating and that is how old Rochette will be in 2014. Vancouver should be her last Olympics.

It's a bronze, and not worth fighting over. Nagasu was happy to be placed in 4th, because she never thought she would be placed that high in the 1st place.

Whatever happened to Sasha Cohen? She seems so out of it and unable to qualify in the US team, since she was beat out by Flatt and Nagasu.

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I don't think Rochette deserved her bronze. Then again, it's a bronze medal and its not worth fighting for.

Mirai isn't complaining so I guess the mercy medal is worth giving to Rochette. Her score was a bit high since she really didn't do anything all that difficult.

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Why are people still commenting on this event - it was almost a week ago! Move along, people!

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WHOA! WHOA! WHOA!

Sweet child of mine!

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