Is this Sasha's year?

[BlackNBlue]

I feel like this could be Sasha's year. To me it almost seems like a Michelle '96 year for her... it seems like she has matured dramatically and is finally starting to break through on top. I feel that if she continues to skate like she did, at least in the short at Skate Canada.. she'll be almost unbeatable. Anyone agree?;)

[duane]

i think it's too early to say that 2002/2003 for sasha will be like 95/96 was for michelle (when michelle simply dominated ladies skating, consistently landing 7-triple programs and winning perhaps 99% of all competitions she entered), but i hope so!! and, with sasha's new coach, her awesome new SP, and her new outlook, it's very possible. of course, she must get more consistent in performing cleanly--especially her LPs.

[NorthernLite]

No.

[Yazmeen]

Possibly. It all depends on one thing, CONSISTENCY, which up to now, has not been Sasha's strong point. We shall see.

[adrianchew]

Originally posted by New Yorker

In any case, this will be one heck of a season, and with all four of these talented skaters out there (and that's not counting other contenders waiting in the wings), at least one of them will be mighty disappointed come Nationals or Worlds! 8O

US Nationals with Sasha, Sarah and Michelle - plus possibly Ann-Patrice or Angela being "unknowns" - could be as interesting if not more interesting than Worlds. I do think people are missing the boat by writing this post Olympic year off as a bad one, its far too soon to tell.

At this point in time of what we have seen - Sasha seems to be the skater with the most improvement and potential to challenge Michelle and Irina. I don't think Sarah's weaknesses will allow her to surpass a 7 triple performance by Michelle or Irina, but a clean Sasha with the same jump content might.

New Yorker is pretty much on the money - someone or other is going to be disappointed. And a word of wisdom shared to me - never let that spoil your enjoyment of the actual skating - whether a favorite medals, wins, or doesn't.

[bunghodog]

I think it could very well be Sasha's year, I felt Sasha was a beautiful skater last year, she was already at irinas and michelle's level, I think that she has matured so much and skates with alot of confidence, its funny to me, this has nothing to do with Sasha's year but I have seen where people compare her to Tara, I don't see that at all, Sasha is very musical, and can do the jumps, Tara was a jumper not an artist.

[ILoveAllSkaters]

Yes.

Good luck, Sasha. I hope you skate well. :)

[Marco]

Too early to tell...but she could be, if she fixes her inconsistency issues.

[nits]

This will depend on the other ladies. Nobody really knows what Sarah has planned. She may blow them away at Nationals. Michelle just might prove everyone wrong again as well...or maybe it'll be Jenny Kirk or AP that "wows" everyone this year.

[rack]

Sasha is a gorgeous skater with STAR written all over her. She's still my pick to win Nationals.

However, before we assign the year to her, we should remember that she's only been in two competitions thus far, and in one, against strong competition, she came in fourth in a field of six.

Sasha is definitely the skater of the moment, partly because her move to Tarasova generated a great deal of publicity, and partly because Michelle, Sarah, and Irina are laying low right now. But there's a big difference between moment and year.

[Hannahclear]

Sasha very well could win it all this year, she is a phenomenal talent. The artistry and musicality are incredible, and she has landed a 3/3 sequence this season, very encouraging sign.

I am becoming somewhat concerned that we haven't see her skate clean in both a SP and a LP. I'm still giving her time to adjust, but I really thought that she would go clean at SC, and I'm mildly concerned that she didn't. That said, I don't really care if she falls, she is still one of the best, most fascinating skaters to watch!

[AxelAnnie22]

My money (and my heart) are with Sasha. I think it will be her year, and her march to the '06 OLYS.

Consistency aside for a moment.....she is, element for element, brilliant, and as good as if not better than anyone else in the field.

I think TT will fix her brain, and keep her focused on completing each element. Her problem is not that she can't execute, but that she CAN! She doesn't have to think about if she will, but how she will. It is not a lack of ability or confidence but a lack of concentration. (Obviously that is my opinion)

Now, another opinion. I have this niggley thought in the back of my mind: I think maybe we won't see Michelle and Sarah at Nationals. Here is my thinking (and please, feel free to disagree, but don't feel free to attack).

Sarah first: As she sits out the next few weeks, she is going to see that there is LIFE out there outside of competition. She has other very important goals for herself. It is hard to get back into the fray. She may just decide not to.

Michelle: Same applies for Michelle, plus this: As Michelle watches the year unfold, she will also see other skaters not only rivaling her artistry, but skating on by technically. (Think about AP's beautiful lutz, and her spins. Think about Sasha's spirals, spins, layback, camel, 3/3.) I don't think Michelle is going to be too anxious to come to Nationals and stand second or third on the podium.

[Hannahclear]

I completely disagree.

Sarah is going to want a life outside of skating, but she also wants a National and World title. I'm sure she doesn't like people thinking it was a fluke and will be eager to prove her place in skating.

Michelle has said this year that she is skating for fun, working with a new coach, and taking it a step at a time. She was quoted during SA saying that she was seeing 3 axels and that she would just have to see what happened. I really think Michelle is in a different place now, and is skating more to skate, not so much to eclipse some record.

**Also, while others skaters are doing more jumps than her yes, I haven't seen legions land 3/3's in Grand Prix events, or skate well enough to beat her when she is clean.

[JDC1]

Still too early to tell it won't be obvious until Nationals.

I don't think there's much comparison to Michelle in 96 - she WAS perfect!! She was gorgeous and she regularly beat the World champion before Worlds. Michelle also totally reinvented herself, Sasha is still very much the skater of past seasons, which is not meant as a slam, I don't think Sasha needs to reinvent herself.

As for all these "3/3"s...from whom? Sasha landed one 3/3 sequence (which was gorgeous) but is not valued more than a 3t/3t. AP's lutz is not enough to make up for Michelle's superior control and landing in her jumps and her superior edges and flow. The 3 axels came from ladies whose basic skating and spins are nowhere near Michelle's or Sarah's. Let's not re-write history folks, Sasha has only landed 3/3 sesquence in competition I love her skating, but let's be real. Until she has atleast one comp with clean back to back programs in a tense situation it's too early to tell if it's her year. Sarah and Michelle are getting plenty of rest and not flying around the world so come Nationals their bodies (barring any unforseen injuries) should be just fine and rested. They're both incredibly competitive and consistent at Nationals so I think it's rather premature to crown Sasha. Can she do it...we'll see, she has the talent but that "she will" do it...that's WAY to premature.

[hiliairyh]

BlackNBlue [/i]
I feel like this could be Sasha's year.

I agree this is her year, come on Sasha, we have been waiting since 2000.

I think she will win Lalique, and have a slight glitch at COR, but strong enough for GPF. I disagree that Sarah will sit out Nationals, if she is healthy Sarah will compete. It will be an interesting US nationals. Michelle may or may not compete at USA nationals, I mean after 6 titles, does a 7th one make that much difference?

[gandalf]

It will be interesting to see how Sasha deals with the pressure of being a gold medal favourite at Worlds in her own country.

[Tapper]

It "the year of" means winning the gold at every competition, then I don't know. If "the year of" means dishing out some great performances and arriving at some new place, then I think that this is going to be Sasha's year, Michelle's year, Jenny's year, Sarah's year, and AP's year. I think that each skater has something important to give us, and strong personal goals to achieve. I loved Sasha's short program at SC- and I loved the audience's cheers at each of her elements - it was great sport and great theatre! Very exciting (wish I had been there!) And I imagine we are going to have similar moments from each of our US ladies this season. That's enough for me to think that it's going to be a great year for all of them. (Maybe I should I change my name to Pollyanna?):lol:

[Toepoint]

Well it sure seems to be. I just hope she skates clean at Lalique. I just hate to see people win ugly. The only problem I see for Sasha is Burnout. She has to many competitions leading up to the Grand Prix Final. I think She should drop Cup of Russia and save herself.:(

[loveskating]

I hope its Sasha's year to rack up a lot of gold, to get her due...and I think she is even better than she was last year!

But as far as I'm concerned, her skating is among the best, if not the best, I've ever seen, and I think she is gold already. There is no skater I'd rather see skate.

[FunnyBut]

I think Sasha has always been this huge potential star, she has improved tremendously this year, but she's also improved greatly and generated alot of attention EVERY year. She certainly has the goods to make it HER year. But I keep thinking of Tiffany Chin and Nicole Bobek (in my mind more natural talent than either Tara, Michelle, Kristi or Sarah). Talent is just one part of the equation. Being consistent, being a great competitior and luck in avoiding injuries can be just as important, although talent is what grabs everyone's attention.

[rack]

While I was watching the ladies warm up in the Skate Canada coverage this afternoon, I had a thought (it does happen!).

If, and this is a huge if, this is Sasha's year, and next year is as well- if she strings together say two or three national championships and a comperable number of worlds, if she enters the Olympics as the odds on favorite, and then medals, she could turn out to be a seminal figure in ladies figure skating.

Part of what makes Sasha so fascinating is the dichotomy between her appearance (dresden doll, baby ballerina, ice princess), combined with her particular style (exquisite really is the appropriate, albeit overused word), and her (for lack of a better term) masculine approach to the sport. She is the lady committed to landing a quad, her footwork is "Yagudin" footwork, and even the brouhaha over the did she- didn't she- and was it deliberate if she did- run in on the ice with Michelle at last year's nationals was defined as an act of aggression, not a "diva moment."

Elite athletes are always tough, even Jennifer Robinson, who has a delightful ladylike quality to her skating performances or Angela Nikodinov with her heart tugging vulnerability.

But if Sasha becomes "the skater" of this Olympic cycle, she could force the great jumping skaters to be far more balletic and the great balletic skaters to be far better jumpers. She would set a genuinely higher standard for the women who follow her.

[Scott]

Yes, this will be Sasha's year-but only if she skates cleanly. There is no question that she has flowered into one of the most beatiful skaters ever. I do not think that Michelle Kwan will be able to hold her off this year, and she will completely out class Sarah Hughes. I think that we are also going to see a very strong showing from Jenny Kirk. Man has she matured!!!! And her jumps are so much higher. She could be 2nd or third at Nationals.

[spiralsrfun]

Great post Adrian...I agree.