Ando lands a quad and wins Japanese nationals!

[Mokah]

....But I can't find any English language articles about this. And I've never seen Miss Ando skate before. If anyone finds a good, informative article could you post a link? I'm sorry that Fumie only received second and Arakawa third but Onda and Ota will have to be satisfied with the 4cc team. Sounds like Japanese nationals---at least for the ladies---is incredibly stressful.

[Smiley0084]

Originally posted by Bondo
Whether the quad was fully rotated remains to be seen, I've heard Ando is one to cheat her jumps a bit.

But still good job for her. We'll see how she can do at Worlds.

Actually Ota is the one who cheats her jumps. I saw a vid of Miki's performance and her quad looked fully rotated, but the landing was a bit forward. Also her 3lutz/3loop is perfectly clean as well. Great technique. She is just an amazingly talented girl, and her presentation is coming along nicely.

[PaulWyliefan]

Originally posted by Mokah
....But I can't find any English language articles about this. And I've never seen Miss Ando skate before. If anyone finds a good, informative article could you post a link? I'm sorry that Fumie only received second and Arakawa third but Onda and Ota will have to be satisfied with the 4cc team. Sounds like Japanese nationals---at least for the ladies---is incredibly stressful.

Here's an article. I'm afraid it's awfully short, but it's the only one I've been able to find so far.

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=6&id=283528

I would have liked to see Ota make the podium -- but I guess there's always next year.

[Spider68]

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getsp.pl5?sp20031228a1.htm

Stunning win for Ando over Arakawa, Suguri

NAGANO (Kyodo) Sixteen-year-old Miki Ando picked up her first title at the National Figure Skating Championships when she came from behind to beat overnight leader Shizuka Arakawa and two-time world bronze medalist Fumie Suguri in the women's free skate on Saturday.

Miki Ando upset 2003 Grand Prix Final medalists Fumie Suguri and Shizuka Arakawa on Saturday at Big Hat in Nagano to win her first national figure skating title.

National junior champion Ando received five first-place scores from nine of the judges at Big Hat ice arena to win the top honors while Suguri, who was gunning for her fourth straight title, settled for second and Arakawa, who led after the short program, took third.

"I'm really happy and also very surprised. To win a spot in the next worlds is like a dream come true," said Ando, who landed a clean quad jump in the competition which used the 6.0 judging system.

In men's action, Yamato Tamura of Nihon University showed his resolve with solid skating in the free skate to keep the overnight lead and claim his career second victory, with Kazumi Kishimoto taking second and Daisuke Takahashi third.

Tamura, who will retire at the end of the season, crashed twice on quadruple jumps but also drew applause for his fluid movements in a performance to the theme song from the animation "Uchu Senkan Yamato" (Space Battleship Yamato).

"I wanted to end my career as a champion," Tamura said. "Until I saw the score, I didn't feel I could stand it. It's been six years since I won this competition as a third-year high school student," he said.

Japan ace Takeshi Honda, who finished fourth at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, sat out the three-day meet nursing a sprained right ankle.

In ice dancing, Nozomi Watanabe and Akiyuki Kido claimed their first national crown after maintaining their lead from the opening day of the meet, which also served as a qualifier for the World Championships to be held in Dortmund, Germany, in March 2004.

The Japan Times: Dec. 28, 2003
(C) All rights reserved

[Magdalenka]

Thanks for sharing the article :) It's really nice.

And of course yay for Miki! What a success for her. I hope she'll be able to do great at Worlds.

[Skatingsarah]

Wow I love nationals that totally stir things up! BTW I was just wondering how many places does Japan have for worlds?
-Sarah

[Magdalenka]

Originally posted by Skatingsarah
Wow I love nationals that totally stir things up! BTW I was just wondering how many places does Japan have for worlds?
-Sarah

I think Japan has 3 entries for Worlds in Ladies as last year Fumie was 3rd and Shizuka 8th.

[hiliairyh]

Originally posted by Bondo
I've heard Ando is one to cheat her jumps a bit.



Heard from whom? Ando's quad sal was ratified in GPF jr 2002. I guess the one landed in Japanese national is ratified? or waiting to be ratified. That makes her the first lady to land a quad jump in both junior and senior competition.

[hebequeen]

Except the quad, it was a pretty lackluster performance with her so so presentation. It was a prety lackluster competition in general.

[Magz]

I have a video of that quad Miki Ando landed in the JGPF and it was a bit cheated, but it may have improved and be fully rotated by now

EDIT after seeing a video of Miki's performance, as far as I can tell her quad is fully rotated though her landing looked a bit scary...good for her!

[CanadianSkater]

Originally posted by Magz
I have a video of that quad Miki Ando landed in the JGPF and it was a bit cheated, but it may have improved and be fully rotated by now

EDIT after seeing a video of Miki's performance, as far as I can tell her quad is fully rotated though her landing looked a bit scary...good for her!

How could the quad she landed in the JGPF be cheated if it was ratified?

[Roma]

Originally posted by Spider68
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getsp.pl5?sp20031228a1.htm


In men's action, Yamato Tamura of Nihon University showed his resolve with solid skating in the free skate to keep the overnight lead and claim his career second victory, with Kazumi Kishimoto taking second and Daisuke Takahashi third.

Tamura, who will retire at the end of the season, crashed twice on quadruple jumps but also drew applause for his fluid movements in a performance to the theme song from the animation "Uchu Senkan Yamato" (Space Battleship Yamato).



So I guess this is the first competition in which the women's champ landed a quad but the men's champ did not. :( for Tamura falling, but Go Miki!:)

[schnood]

And this *isn't* a spoiler?

I was looking forward to watching this event when I receive my tape from Japan...great for Ando. I still look forward to seeing it.

[Kabooke]

Originally posted by CanadianSkater
How could the quad she landed in the JGPF be cheated if it was ratified? They ratified cheated jumps in the past. It's at their discretion on what to ratify and what not to despite wheather it is clearly cheated or not.

[Mokah]

Oh schnood---you are right. My apologies for that. I was so shocked and excited I wasn't thinking. Thanks to PaulWyliefan and Spider68 for the articles/links.

[Dolly]

http://www.jimandmaryjo.com/MK/ma.htm


Here is a link to a video of Miki. She's fabulous!

[Schmeck]

Thanks for the link, Dolly, although her quad was a quarter/half rotation done on the ice in this clip - still amazing rotation!

[icenut84]

Originally posted by Schmeck
Thanks for the link, Dolly, although her quad was a quarter/half rotation done on the ice in this clip - still amazing rotation!

At the start of the jump or on landing? If it's at the start, it doesn't mean it's cheated. A salchow REQUIRES a little "pre-rotation".

[MQSeries]

Originally posted by icenut84
At the start of the jump or on landing? If it's at the start, it doesn't mean it's cheated. A salchow REQUIRES a little "pre-rotation".

The rotations were not complete when she landed, but it was still a great effort to stand up on it and get a good run out on the landing. I saw a clip of Miki's recent win at the National championship. Even witht he quad and 3-3, she's not ready yet to challenge for the senior world title. If she can improve her speed, inbetweens, and carriage by 2006, watch out.

[rudi]

So, does this mean Yamato will be at Worlds? I think I read (probably here) that he was going to retire after Japanese Nationals. Anyone know?

I can't view the video of Miki (probably because my computer is too old/slow), but I am really looking forward to seeing her skate at Worlds.