Chapter 15 3A Austria Station = Dehydration Station
Not long after returning to China, the third leg of the Junior Grand Prix started in Italy, which was also Yumekawa Aya's first leg.
The women's singles match was held late at night in China, and Xia Yuezi couldn't stay up all night, watching the replay on her computer in the office the next day. With the start of the school season, the training time for her students was noticeably shorter, giving her some time to catch her breath.
In the short program, Aya Yumikawa skated a 3LZ+3LO. Even though her P score and GOO were lower, her score was still six points ahead of the second place. What was even more surprising was that she skated a 3A in the free skate, and it was a 3A with a full rotation.
The world's first female singles skater to jump a triple A was from Japan. Back then, ice skates were heavier than they are now, but that legendary female singles skater managed to jump a height of nearly 70 centimeters. Even after retiring for many years and becoming an old lady, she can still show off a triple A on the ice.
If she were a little bolder, given her jumping talent, she would probably achieve a quadruple jump even earlier than the men's singles.
Xia Yuezi stared intently at the screen, a worried expression creeping onto her face.
The scoring criteria for jumps have been constantly changing. Before the scores for quadruple jumps were officially set, the triple A was the jump that changed the most, especially as more and more female athletes began to challenge the triple A in the women's singles competition.
During the Vancouver cycle, the base score for 3A was increased from 7.5 to 8.2. After the Vancouver Winter Olympics, it was raised again to a record high of 8.5 points, and was only lowered to 8 points after the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
The second most difficult triple jump, the 3LZ, only has a base score of 6. This means that Yumikawa Ria can leave others at least 2.5 points behind with just one 3A, which is equivalent to using a single jump to offset other people's triple-double combination jumps.
If she is able to place the 3A in the second half to get the 1.1x bonus, it is already comparable to a low-level triple jump.
Thinking that Yang Yiyan's jumping height did not increase with her muscle mass, Xia Yuezi was filled with sorrow and wished she could enter Yang Yiyan's body to personally test and find out the reason.
Although there have been competitors who relied on speed to jump 3A, most of them have been marked with symbols on their scoreboards and quickly lost their difficulty after developing. On the contrary, those who rely on muscle to jump have more mature techniques.
Therefore, although Xia Yuezi was anxious, she did not put 3A on the agenda. Instead, she asked the cafeteria lady to make a menu to help her build muscle after the competition.
On the weekend, Yang Yiyan continued her 3LZ training along the arc. Xia Yuezi stood on the ice rink, and the more she looked, the stranger Yang Yiyan's entry seemed compared to before.
Before Yang Yiyan touches the ice, her legs form an "X" shape for about two seconds. This is a way to enter a low jump. It's not that this way of entering is not allowed, but the problem is in the second half. When touching the ice, Yang Yiyan's left foot will shift inward, and her two legs will be far apart.
Although Yang Yiyan had missed her mark before, she had never deviated this far. Xia Yuezi hissed and called to stop the training: "Stop, Xiaoyan, come here for a moment."
Seeing Yang Yiyan skate over, Xia Yuezi asked directly, "When you were learning, did your teacher tell you about the center of gravity for the hook jump?"
Yang Yiyan thought about it carefully: "I said it, on the gliding foot."
Thinking that she had made two mistakes at the beginning, Xia Yuezi paused for a moment. This mentor was perfect in theory but terrible in practice.
She then asked, "Didn't he tell you how to control your center of gravity? Your center of gravity has already shifted to your icy feet."
Yang Yiyan lowered her head slightly, blinked, and glanced at the coach out of the corner of her eye, but remained silent. Whenever she was in the wrong, she would look at Xia Yuezi with this expression, and then she would escape unscathed.
Xia Yuezi took a deep breath. She finally understood why this girl kept changing her mind. Yang Yiyan's first coach could only teach according to the textbook and judge the students' technical level based on the technical manuals released by the International Skating Union. However, some skills or things that had been summarized into experience in later generations could only be figured out by the students themselves.
She put on a stern face, ignoring Yang Yiyan who was pretending to be pitiful, and explained the theory to her again while demonstrating the actions to her.
"First of all, whether it's a hook or an inside toe, the center of gravity is on the gliding foot. This is what the International Skating Union's textbooks say. Secondly, when doing toe kicks, it's best to keep your two legs in a straight line to ensure that your center of gravity is between your legs so that you can keep your weight on the edge. You can use the Lo jump entry method to find your center of gravity, but don't let your legs go inward while gliding."
Yang Yiyan listened very attentively and even nodded to the coach, just like a student acting in cooperation with the teacher during a public lesson. However, this teacher was not so accommodating and criticized all of her previous jumps.
"For example, that jump you just did, and that jump in Latvia, your center of gravity was completely off, no wonder you couldn't keep it down."
Xia Yuezi glanced at the somewhat dejected child, stopped him from continuing, and turned to say, "Practice according to the method I just mentioned. First, put both legs in a straight line."
After Yang Yiyan completed forty sets of jumps, Xia Yuezi allowed her to rest off the ice. Yang Yiyan picked up her thermos, shifted her weight onto her left foot, and gently twisted her right ankle to relax.
Seeing this small gesture, Xia Yuezi scooped up a few pieces of ice and beckoned her over. The ice skates were tight, and as soon as she took off her ankle brace, she saw a fresh red mark around Yang Yiyan's ankle, thankfully without any deformation yet.
Figure skaters undergo long-term training in different jumps. The higher the star rating of their skates, the stiffer the uppers. The longer they train on the ice, the more obvious the ankle deformities become. If not properly cared for, ankle deformities can occur even in the junior age group.
The moment the ice touched her skin, Yang Yiyan subconsciously trembled, her muscles tensing and then relaxing in an instant. Xia Yuezi covered her ankle with one hand while summarizing the training just now: "The blade pressure was okay, but the ice contact time was a bit too fast."
Yang Yiyan pouted: "The longer the charging time, the harder it is to press down the blade. It's easier to just press it directly."
There are no fixed rules for the timing of the jump, and whether or not it's choreographed depends entirely on the athlete's skill level. However, for Yang Yiyan, who specializes in low-altitude rotation speeds, the demands on her weight and muscle mass will increase if she wants to use this method long-term.
"Okay, do it the way you're comfortable with."
Xia Yuezi did not object. When the same jump was presented, each athlete's jump was slightly different from the standard jump released by the International Skating Union. She had seen at least three different ways of jumping the 3A jump. But no one would nitpick over these differences. After all, the ultimate goal was to perform the movements perfectly on the ice. What suited you best was the best.
Furthermore, a shorter charge time makes the jump feel smoother and more effortless, resulting in a higher GOE score.
After finding the cause, Yang Yiyan's mistake was completely corrected within two weeks. According to the newly released medical examination report, her weight was trending upward, but her body fat decreased by 0.4%.
The Austrian leg of the competition was scheduled to start just before National Day. Yang Yiyan and Feng Simai's mothers took leave from school in advance, obtained passports, and traveled abroad with the delegation, planning to take their children on a trip overseas after the competition.
They were the guardians of the two children, so Xia Yuezi didn't say much, only telling the parents not to distract the athletes before the competition.
During the pre-competition music, Yang Yiyan sat on a chair to change her skates, looked up at the ice fans in the stands, which were twice as many as the previous stop, and then shifted her gaze to the skaters on the ice who were also from Asia.
Ria Yumikawa's ice skating is very decisive; she can even raise her hand while doing a LO (lo) and when doing a 3A (3-A) she moves close to the edge of the stands, directly skipping over five chairs.
Watching it live is definitely more impactful than watching it on live stream; this jump has already attracted a lot of attention.
A short, blonde, blue-eyed girl was at the other end of the ice rink. She did a 3F jump, and then skated off to do a 3LZ+3T.
At first glance, there seems to be no problem, but upon closer inspection, it can be seen that she twisted her ankle outward when landing on the ice, positioning the blade in a position around the foot to confuse others' vision, a technique commonly known as "foot-circle positioning".
Xia Yuezi happened to see the two jumps and couldn't help but praise the "golden ankles" in her heart.
Falling in the air causes more damage to the ankle than a normal landing. Alisa had this problem since she was a child, but she never had any major injuries and even did very well in the senior competition. It wasn't until she was around twenty years old that she revealed on social media that she had a serious foot injury. She announced her retirement right after graduating from university and switched careers to become a sports reporter.
Xia Yuezi glanced down at the girl leaning against the barrier, looking at Meng Chuanli with starry eyes, and couldn't help but give her a push, whispering, "Don't get distracted, find your own gliding path first."
Suddenly nudged, Yang Yiyan snapped out of her fangirl expression and started skating on the ice.
The preliminary rounds are coming to an end, and the coaches from various countries know who will make it to the finals.
Yumikawa Ria did another 3A before returning to her coach's side. She picked up a bottle of mineral water, took a big gulp, and pointed at the yellow-skinned girl who was doing the 3LZ, saying, "Is that the Chinese athlete that Fujiwara-kun was talking about?"
Fujiwara Yoshino and Yumikawa Ria belong to the same club, but have different coaching staff. In addition, they are both rising stars in Japanese figure skating and often travel abroad to compete together, so their relationship is better than that of other athletes in the club.
Ms. Chishima nodded and then said, "But you don't need to worry. No one is your match in this competition. The one who should be anxious is Alisa."
The technical supervisor for this competition, Mr. Thomas, is a neutral party. He once caught a seemingly clean world champion so badly that he couldn't even get onto the podium, earning him the nickname "Dehydrator".
Yang Yiyan and Alisa have similar difficulty levels. Alisa has technical flaws, while Yang Yiyan has a scoring disadvantage. Moreover, both of them won silver medals in the first group. Who will have the last laugh depends on which side's judges are more favorable.
Mengchuan Liya looked at Yang Yiyan with a hint of inquiry in her eyes: "If that's the case, I still hope that the finals can be played by Asians for many years. I don't want the finals to become the European Championship again."
Asian figure skating started late, and since its inception, the Grand Prix Final has been almost entirely dominated by Europeans and Americans. While the other three disciplines at least have some Asian participants, ice dance hasn't even gotten close to the competition.
Ms. Chishima sighed, "I hope so."
A note from the author:
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I won't be writing anymore until after my exams. I'll be back on the 21st, and I'll update daily for the rest of June to make up for it. [heart emoji]
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