Vancouver Ladies Recap, part 1

As NBC played it and I followed along... part 1 of 2 with THE LADIES.



First up: Cheltzie Lee, AUSTRALIA Really pretty sparkly indigo strapless dress…

Music: Feeling Good - Tribute to Michael Buble

Cheltzie has the dubious honor of being better known of late for NOT being Tamar Katz, the Israeli skater who qualified for the Olympics but was somehow denied the opportunity to go… her spot went to Australia. Cheltzie probably doesn’t know this, but her skate is what Sandra and Scott use to explain to viewers what a) skaters are expected to do with this short program, and b) what the judges are looking for. Lucky for Cheltzie, she doesn’t make many errors for them to point out. Her technical level is pretty average—3Salchow/2toe, 3Toe, 2Axel, but she delivers most everything cleanly.

52.18. CURRENTLY 18th.


Tugba Karademir, TURKEY Crimson w/cap sleeves…

Music: Selection from "Bazaar Istanbul" by A. Kusgoz, H. Turkemenier

When they showed Cheltzie Lee I thought “oh well this must be their ‘Tugba’ for Vancouver (lesser-known skater w/interesting story, skating early, leading off the coverage)… but then whoa! Tugba herself! Anyway… had trouble with her 3Flip/2toe…3salchow was fine… got dinged a bit for her double axel too. Not sure that she’s improved much technically in the past 4 years, but she remains engaging.

50.74. CURRENTLY 21st.


Mirai Nagasu, USA (black & gold sleeveless…)

Music: Selections from Pirates of the Carribean

3 lutz/3 toe was doubled… it looked like a solid 3flip… Ina Bauer into 2ax lovely…Sandra says her spins may be the best in competition… really nice, well-centered spin at end… and a nosebleed? Yikes. Nice start, though! Unfortunately she got an edge call on the lutz and lost a few points there. Bah.

63.76. CURRENTLY IN 6th.



Laura Lepisto, FIN (Plum with violet bands)
Music: Imagined Oceans

3T/3T; the 2nd jump was doubled (at least according to Scott; was it always to be a double?)…shocker… flying sit good… layback travels a lot and I’m not crazy about the leg positions… 2axel OK…working the facial expressions in the spiral sequence…little trouble hooking onto last spin but saved it well.

61.36. CURRENTLY IN 10th.


Mao Asada, Japan (in red sparkly bodice w/solid red skirt)
Music: Masquerade

Oh boy, got the 3axel/2 toe as good as I’ve ever seen it…next, a 3flip, also good… already smiling by layback/Bielmann… everything else looks spot-on too, especially the spiral sequence (which got her positive GOE’s of 2 by most!). Wow, the happiest I’ve seen here in months and with good reason. Dang, she even got Taratsova (her coach) to smile. Good for her.

73.78…CURRENTLY IN 2nd. But look out…


Yu-Na Kim (black/gold/silver Bond girl,baby)
Music: Bond Medley, natch

3lutz/3Toe great speed, (got very high marks) …3flip great, especially if you’re thinking of that nasty spill she took earlier in the day. … layback…. Spiral… 2axel… flying sit… FW… change foot combo… it’s all good, and mucho fun.

78.50… best SP score for lady EVER! CURRENTLY in 1st.

I’ll post about the last 6 tomorrow…