Chapter 112 It seems I can't slack off anymore during the adjustment period.
Often, experienced athletes can deduce their scores based on their performance, compare their results with those of other athletes from previous years, calculate their ranking, and adjust their ranking based on the actual performance of other athletes.
After Feng Simai finished skating, there were two people left in the last group. Xia Yuezi calculated that Lin Ye and Feng Simai could both perform in the last group of the free skate, while the other men's singles skater was struggling to qualify for the free skate.
This newly promoted men's singles player is being primarily trained by the Heilongjiang provincial team, presumably with the intention of having him take over Lin Ye's responsibilities. Song Qiao has already started having him practice quadruple jumps.
Like most men's singles players, he was also struggling in the junior group. He finally stabilized his triple jump routine, including the 3A, but a 4T training session caused him to collapse with two triple jumps, and even his 3T became unstable.
Ice hockey fans had been expecting that all three Chinese men's singles players would at least make it into the top twelve, if not the top ten. But this guy surprised everyone by making a huge impact as soon as he appeared, completely reversing the rankings.
After Xia Yuezi took Feng Simai to the drug test, she ran into Coach Ma, who was hiding in the stairwell. Through the crack in the door that wasn't closed properly, Xia Yuezi saw him taking out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket with a depressed look on his face, and then taking one out to light it.
Judging from these moves, Coach Ma must have been avoiding other people's kicks quite a bit. But being a coach is so tiring, you really need some ways to relieve stress.
Xia Yuezi herself doesn't have any bad habits, but she has been a member of the boxing club for several years. As a result, her temper is getting worse every day. Before she was even thirty, her parting was getting bigger and bigger. She had already started buying hair extensions with Meng Xin.
The two had only intended to stand there for a while and didn't plan to disturb him, but Coach Ma heard the noise, turned around, saw them, paused for a second, then put his cigarette back and asked, "Coach Xia, what's wrong?"
Xia Yuezi turned and waved to Feng Simai, telling him to go find Meng Xin to get something to eat first. After he walked away, she said to Coach Ma, "It's okay, Simai is gone now, you can smoke."
Cigarettes are inherently bad, and athletes, especially Chinese athletes, abstain from both smoking and drinking during their active careers. This is strictly controlled, and even if there are people smoking around them, they are taken into consideration and allowed to go out only after the smell has dissipated.
Coach Ma's act of putting away the cigarette shows that he is usually quite mindful of this when he's with the athletes.
Coach Ma put the cigarette pack back in his pocket: "No, my wife doesn't like me smoking, and I guess you don't either."
Xia Yuezi neither agreed nor disagreed, but also expressed her understanding: "So what are you going to say to Xiao Zheng when you get back tonight? With Lin Ye, his senior, overshadowing him, and considering how he performed in his first Four Continents Championships, if he doesn't adjust his mindset, he might collapse in the free skate."
Mentioning Zheng Yisheng, Coach Ma irritably raised his hand and grabbed a handful of hair. He knew this student's personality better than anyone else; he usually liked to overthink things and was always comparing himself to others.
But if we're talking about emotional sensitivity, he should be able to empathize with the music better, and his slide performance wouldn't be much worse. If we don't compare him to Feng Simai, he'd at least be at a mid-level in men's singles. In the end, his slide performance is only slightly better than Fujiwara Yoshino, who is also stiff.
"What else can we do? I'll decide whether to scold them first and then coax them, or just coax them directly, depending on the situation."
Coach Ma sighed, his hand in his pocket, unconsciously gripping the edge of the cigarette pack: "This kid is both soft and hard. We need to let him know where the problem lies. Otherwise, he'll get all fired up after a scolding, but then he'll go down again after the competition. That's not a long-term solution."
Xia Yuezi nodded, then thought of the children under her tutelage and couldn't help but feel a sense of sympathy for Coach Ma.
She leaned against the wall and analyzed, "However, I think Xiao Zheng's movements are not entirely a matter of mentality. The timing of his failed combination jump was already off, and his point throw was also rushed."
Coach Ma himself understands that the child took too big a step, and practicing four quadruple jumps distorted his original technique. Other jumps were also a bit overdone.
The two fell silent for a moment, only the announcement of the awards ceremony from the ice rink echoing softly in the stairwell.
After a while, Coach Ma pushed the cigarette pack deep into his pocket, opened the door, and gestured for Xia Yuezi to go first.
"Let's go. If we stay hidden any longer, that child might scare us to tears."
Xia Yuezi nodded slightly, said a few words of comfort, and had no intention of getting involved in their master-disciple relationship.
On the third day of the competition, the women's singles free skate and ice dance free dance will take place.
Besides ice skating fans from all over the world, Yumikawa Ria, who had just undergone surgery and whose cast hadn't been removed yet, was lying on her bed in her room, also following the competition. She picked up a peeled apple and took a bite, but her eyes were fixed on the girl in red on the ice.
Claire just brought her total score to 215.92. While this score may not be as high as Yang Yiyan's score in the finals, it is definitely a score that would secure her a place on the podium in a women's singles event.
Yumikawa Ria thought to herself: My old friend, you'd better step up your game.
Xia Yuezi's approach to dealing with Yang Yiyan and Yan Rui was different before the competition.
Yan Rui's mentality is not good. She needs to find a quiet place to prepare before going on the field. After she has played more matches, we can bring her to the field to practice.
But Yang Yiyan had long since developed a strong mental fortitude, and she usually watched from the sidelines before the other contestants went on stage.
At first, Yang Yiyan was just like Yan Rui, but she soon discovered that if the opponents in front of her performed well, the audience would applaud, which would be somewhat distracting for the players on the field who knew nothing about it.
Athletes cannot go their entire lives without facing the results and performances of their opponents. Rather than doing so, it is better to know yourself and your opponent, and then bring out your absolute strength to compete well.
This mindset was also reflected in Yang Yiyan's program. Her expressions, combined with her movements, were fully displayed. The improvement in her footwork in the short program also made her changes of edge in the free skate clearer.
Yang Yiyan's physical fitness is considered good among women's singles skaters. She can achieve the best configuration in both the short program and free skate, but this is without using a triple A.
Looking back at the programs she's performed in, the short program was alright, as it didn't require as much physical strength. However, in the free skate, most of her footwork was at level 3, and she simply couldn't maintain a super C level while also achieving her best level.
In other words, Yang Yiyan is fully capable of perfecting every aspect of the regular three-week package.
As the competition progressed into the second half, fans saw Yang Yiyan preparing to cross her legs. They remembered that this move was 3LZ+2LO+2LO, since she had changed the take-off motion of the first half of the LZ jump to be the same as the LO jump in order to modify the blade.
To everyone's surprise, the final take-off was not a crossed X shape, but a figure eight shape, which means that Yang Yiyan's triple jump started with 3S.
While the figure skating fans were still in a daze, the skater continued with a 3lo and a 2lo. They paused for a second, then slapped their foreheads and suddenly remembered that Yang Yiyan had done this jump last season.
Neither coach showed any surprise. Although she hadn't agreed during the pre-Spring Festival training, Yang Yiyan's actions had changed her mind.
Not long after resuming training after the Lunar New Year, Yang Yiyan not only did not increase her body fat, but also improved her physical fitness after Polina won the European Championship again. She was also able to integrate well with the new 3S+3lo+2lo configuration.
It's obvious to everyone that as long as Yang Yiyan doesn't make any mistakes later on, her technical score alone can make up for the gap in program content score, not to mention that she ranked first in the short program.
Claire, who is expected to win the championship, did not have a sullen face when facing the camera. Instead, she clapped with a smile, seemingly sincerely wishing the contestant well.
She has been skating on the ice for over 20 years, and has represented Canada in international competitions for 12 years. Her experience is far beyond what these young female singles skaters can match.
A few years ago, Claire might have been more sullen about such things, but now she truly realizes that she's getting old and can no longer keep the flames burning as brightly as they are now.
So for her, regardless of the color, as long as she can get the brand, it's a sure-fire win.
Yang Yiyan temporarily changed the setup to double 3LZ and double 3LO. In order to avoid invalid jumps, the setup for the second half had to be changed, which was a new test of physical fitness.
Yumikawa Ria stared nervously at the screen, quickly calculating the next jump configuration. Considering only the doubling of the second half, it would score more than two points higher than her previous program configuration.
If the referees are generous enough, Yang Yiyan's technical score will likely be similar to that of a single 3A player with a 3T setup. Based on her understanding of this Chinese coach and student pair, they are very likely already trying to restore their 3A.
As for the program content score, she and Yang Yiyan are both Asian athletes. Under normal circumstances, their P scores are less than two points apart. China is still trying its best to send judges to the international arena, and it is said that it has even persuaded several brands to invest in the International Skating Union.
Yumikawa Ria clenched her hands, not daring to think any further. She looked at her legs and then burst out laughing.
"It seems I can't afford to slack off any longer, or you really will take the gold medal in Pyeongchang."
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Author's note: Xiaoyan's setup this time is 3F3lo 3lz2lo 2A for the first half, and 3S3lo2lo 3T 3lz 2A for the second half.
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