25 minutes ago, shanshani said:

I had a crazy thought about Yuzu doing the Team FS to have an extra chance at landing the 4A. I don't actually think that's going to happen (creates too many risks for the individual event), but I have to get it out of my brain lol

This...

 

20 minutes ago, Alpha_orionis said:

I am so nervous, I don't think my heart could handle a sudden WD like before NHK

This too.....

 

May God protect him. Healthy and happy yuzu at Beijing Olympic pls 

7 minutes ago, Alpha_orionis said:

It will be nice to see Shoma but I'm kind of freaking out about Yuzuru. At this point the "mystery act" is getting so strange that I'm not sure it's a strategy anymore... He always seems motivated to compete for his country (e.g. went to Worlds last year despite Covid to get the 3 Olympic spots), I can't understand why he would decline the team event unless he's having health issues. Besides, there is so little time left before the individual event that it seems like a disadvantage for him not to be adjusting and training at the venue like everyone else now. What if his ankle condition is worse than we thought, or the 4A is not ready? I am so nervous, I don't think my heart could handle a sudden WD like before NHK

 

What I'm thinking is that maybe he saw how close the seats were to each other in the team waiting area (Japan being right next to Russia) and thought that the event would be too dangerous for him, especially since has asthma.

 

Of course he could be still working on his 4A and wants to keep practising by himself until the last minute

2 minutes ago, Alpha_orionis said:

It will be nice to see Shoma but I'm kind of freaking out about Yuzuru. At this point the "mystery act" is getting so strange that I'm not sure it's a strategy anymore... He always seems motivated to compete for his country (e.g. went to Worlds last year despite Covid to get the 3 Olympic spots), I can't understand why he would decline the team event unless he's having health issues. Besides, there is so little time left before the individual event that it seems like a disadvantage for him not to be adjusting and training at the venue like everyone else now. What if his ankle condition is worse than we thought, or the 4A is not ready? I am so nervous, I don't think my heart could handle a sudden WD like before NHK

Sure, that's a possibility that has crossed my mind several times too, but I feel like worrying about it at this point, when there's so little information, is just giving yourself a bunch of unnecessary stress. There are lots of reasons he could be choosing to skip the SP. Given that there are athletes testing positive after entering the bubble and there are skaters among the close contacts of known positive cases, he may just be trying to reduce his chance of exposure to covid (especially since his non-allergic asthma is a covid risk factor). Let's remember that Team Japan is hardly in poor hands because he's absent--Shoma and Yuma are both capable of placing highly in the Team Event. 

 

Yes, it's possible he's skipping the Team SP because he's having an issue with injury or the 4A, but even if that's the case, it's not necessarily a disaster-scenario. He wasn't fully healed a JNats either, but he put out two wonderful performances there. (Though obviously, we would rather he be fully healed). He could simply have decided that, all things considered, the Team event isn't worth 1. putting unnecessary stress on his ankle 2. cutting into 4A training time 3. increasing his risk of being exposed to covid. Generally speaking I feel like he's been less, uh, stubbornly lacking in self preservation lately, so I don't think it would be completely out of character for him to decide the cons outweigh the pros even if there wasn't anything acutely wrong.

 

Even if the 4A isn't coming together, which admittedly is a real possibility, there are still eminently possible scenarios where he doesn't land 4A and still wins. Honestly, Nathan's condition is hardly looking amazing. Obviously we'd all feel bad for Yuzu that he wasn't able to achieve it at the Olympic games, but I think anyone trying to come after him for failing to land a jump a lot of people thought was literally impossible a month after coming off of injury is kinda deranged. 

I just keep picturing the headline:

 

Hanyu Arrives!

Kagiama, Uno triumph in team event

 

OK, I know the second part is fanciful, but you get the idea ... 

 

Just now, ZuCritter said:

I just keep picturing the headline:

 

Hanyu Arrives!

Kagiama, Uno triumph in team event

 

OK, I know the second part is fanciful, but you get the idea ... 

 

Oh I don't know, Yuma's in a pretty good position to win the free since he's not facing Nathan or Yuzuru, and if Nathan fails a jump while Shoma is clean, Shoma could very well go above Nate. Is it the most likely scenario? No. Is it a scenario that is likely enough not to be dismissed out of hand? I'd say so.

 

Although...hopefully Yuzu will arrive before the Team FS result is decided. Otherwise, I'm afraid we will all go crazy.

Admittedly, I did have a little hope that Yuzu would participate in the Team Event because it's the first time that TJ actually has a decent chance of medalling and that would add an extra Olympic medal to Yuzu's collection, just like how V/M and Plushy were able to add so many to their collection.

 

However, I'm reminded that in the years of following Yuzu, he has shown us many times that he doesn't obsess about every single record and achievement that isn't personally important to him, even though we all thought it would be cool if he did it. He tends to place his focus only on the things important to him. In other words, he only picks the battles that are important to him. For example, not attending 4CC multiple times despite him missing only that from his Super Slam collection and so on. I suppose that that's part of the reason why he's managed to achieve so much success. He himself has said that he has given up many of his other dreams to pursue the ones most important to him.

 

I suppose that since Beijing wasn't even in his plans for his skating career, he can't pack everything into his new plan. He has to choose, and he has no doubt chosen his 4A quest. Anyway, like someone else mentioned earlier, Shoma and Yuma can carry TJ's weight, it's not like in 2018. They are always mentioned as medal contenders.

 

wishing for Yuzu to achieve his dreams at this Olympics.

With this start list of the Team Men's SP, I suppose it's confirmed Shoma is doing the SP for Japan

1 hour ago, Alpha_orionis said:

It will be nice to see Shoma but I'm kind of freaking out about Yuzuru. At this point the "mystery act" is getting so strange that I'm not sure it's a strategy anymore... He always seems motivated to compete for his country (e.g. went to Worlds last year despite Covid to get the 3 Olympic spots), I can't understand why he would decline the team event unless he's having health issues. Besides, there is so little time left before the individual event that it seems like a disadvantage for him not to be adjusting and training at the venue like everyone else now. What if his ankle condition is worse than we thought, or the 4A is not ready? I am so nervous, I don't think my heart could handle a sudden WD like before NHK

I just checked.

In 2018, Yuzuru only arrived in Korea when on 11 Feb, after Team Men's SP had finished.

I'll say that 2018 was more nerve wrecking than now for sure. That time, we did not see Yuzuru in action at all for months before 2018 Olympics.

 

This time we saw him at Nationals in Dec.

*that's another mandatory 'getting anxious' post*

Honestly even individual isn't so far away, Yuzu please come and be okay ;;;;

(the anxiety even makes me rhyme, it seems...)

4 hours ago, airi said:

*that's another mandatory 'getting anxious' post*

Honestly even individual isn't so far away, Yuzu please come and be okay ;;;;

(the anxiety even makes me rhyme, it seems...)

Depending in which country we are, it is still four or five days until the individual competition. Honestly, that's quite a long time. He came to JNats two days before the competition and practiced only one day before. Right now, he can probably practice more focused in Sendai than in Beijing.

If he doesn't show up on Saturday for the last official practice on the main rink, it is time to get anxious. But not earlier. I think, for now, we should do what he asked for and send him our support and our wishes for him.

 

 

I don’t think the team medal registers on his radar tbh.  I think, like me, he may not regard it as a ‘real’ medal.  It’s not like gymnastics where the team event happens at practically every major tournament, in the same format, and means something to everyone involved.  It’s a very recent construct.  The only thing that might be beneficial is that it may be a factor in countries like Japan upping their game in the disciplines they aren’t strong in, and mens singles is the strongest game Japan has.  I think with Canada slipping behind their previous standard there is a chance of a medal for Japan, but the improvement of their pairs team is probably the biggest factor in improving their chances.
 

Aaaand- there are so many excellent reasons to stay away - Covid, plus the team set up which looks very virus friendly to me, and they’re next to the Russians; several fewer days in the spotlight, with no press conferences or other annoying distractions;  the benefits of practice on his home rink, with no scrutiny and being able to take advantage of the fact that it’s only a short flight away so no acclimation problems;  he doesn’t need to worry about the team because Shoma and Yuma are perfectly capable of covering that (he might feel he should try to be there if they were less strong).  I don’t think the ankle is a particular factor - no one can imagine that he isn’t hammering it on the practice rink wherever he is, and it’s either holding up or it’s not.

2 hours ago, Kizuna said:

Admittedly, I did have a little hope that Yuzu would participate in the Team Event because it's the first time that TJ actually has a decent chance of medalling and that would add an extra Olympic medal to Yuzu's collection, just like how V/M and Plushy were able to add so many to their collection.

Yes that’s true, but I highly doubt it will be gold, and gold is Yuzu's colour 

 

Tbh I personally think it’s the smartest decision to spend the least amount of time as possible in Beijing with other skaters due to Covid and the best strategy not to show how far 4A really is, he knows exactly what he is doing and right now he has the upper hand regarding the sick mental games that ISU and the media just love to play. He is in control.
I also think his absence is getting to NC’s nerves. 

5 minutes ago, Sora said:

Yes that’s true, but I highly doubt it will be gold, and gold is Yuzu's colour 

 

Tbh I personally think it’s the smartest decision to spend the least amount of time as possible in Beijing with other skaters due to Covid and the best strategy not to show how far 4A really is, he knows exactly what he is doing and right now he has the upper hand regarding the sick mental games that ISU and the media just love to play. He is in control.
I also think his absence is getting to NC’s nerves. 

I feel like NC's lack of being in peak condition is the main thing getting on his nerves. I think I saw him replying to an interview question about whether he would jump 6 quads with something like "I'm 22 now, I'm not young any more," which kinda suggests to me he's starting to feel the wear and tear, because, uh, 22 isn't exactly elderly, even in this sport. Plus he may have bad memories from the last Olympics. 

 

While I don't think he looks to be in dire condition from the practice notes, he's hardly looking invincible either, and I also kind of suspect he isn't as over his nerves as some people might suggest. Guess we'll see how things go tomorrow. Either way, the most important thing for Yuzu, both competitively and in general, is to maintain his own health.

I rarely look at practice condition as being indicative of form in competition. It helps to see where someone is, but competition nerves or someone's ability to rise to the occasion can totally change how someone competes. The champions land those jumps at the right moment, even if they've failed in practice. 

 

I don't worry about Yuzu not having arrived yet. He arrived just before the sp in Korea and this time the time zone differential his very much in his favour compared to 4 years ago. He might arrive even later without having the need to adjust in that fashion.

 

Can't believe the men's sp is tonight?! ( I do benefit from being in the same time zone as the Eastern US)... looking forward to some good skates, maybe some nerves... i doubt Canada will do well. We are definitely in a rebuilding phase, we could be down to 4th or lower, who knows... it will be fun to see if Japan can get on the podium. It would be nice to have a country other than Rus,Can and US on there... and with their strong pair... it could happen...