I totally agree with you. The fact that it was overall boring except for few instances like Yuna Kim, who was mesmerizing, being able to skate like that after a clean performance by Mao. And especially about Joanna Rochette, felt guilty that we had to sneak a view at her very personal moments. But I was also in tears when she finished her program. That's one strong woman, She deserves the gold of heart in my sports. Can't wait till this Thursday though (as boring as it may be) . Good luck to US skaters!

Eric, I completely agree with everything you said. Yu-Na Kim really seems to be a great deal ahead of the other skaters, with both solid artistic and athletic ability. When it comes to Mirai, I completely sympathize with your frustration. In a new scoring system that seems more concerned about rotations and angles I understand how she could finish 6th. Do I think it's right? Heck no, Mirai brings amazing speed, joy, and heart to the ice. Plus, I'd put her spins and spiral sequences up against any of the other women. It was disheartening to see her placement, but at the same time she's still young and if she skates her best during the long program I think we can all be proud.

The one complaint I have with regards to the scoring is that I feel that Yu-Na's scores were really inflated. In a way, Mao was robbed. With this huge score difference, she must skate a flawless program while Yu-Na makes 2 big mistakes of her 7 jumps. That's close to wishful thinking for Mao at this point. This marking totally takes away the competition for the long program.

Asada's style is very classical and she shouldn't be penalized for it. Coaching here really reflects these two girls styles. Yu-Na's coach is Brian Orser and he was always known to have his own flare. I think Yu-Na has a huge advantage by training in Toronto (I used to skate at the same skating club). As a Canadian, I also want to cheer for her because she trains here so there's no doubt why she has so many local fans. At this point, I think Yu-Na will win the Olympic Gold for both her and her coach (2-time Olympic Silver medalist).

I really think some adjustments to the current marking system need to be made. I actually think they are not accounting for jumps enough. A woman doing a triple axel is really a tremendous feat and men landing quads should also be a requirement for a medalist. I mean, if these women competed in the Men's Single, they'd be in contention for a medal! The men need to step it up! At the end of the day, figure skating is a sport and athleticism should take precedence over artistry.

Hmm, I agree with Yuna Kim being amazing (although I thought her scores were a bit inflated too) and I am a HUGE fan of Mirai Nagasu. She brings such joy to her skating, and she just has this effervescent quality that no one else (not even Yuna Kim) possesses. That makes her very very special. I agree her lines and spins are breathtaking. However, I have to disagree with your assessment of Flatt. I don't normally root for her, but I thought she did a fantastic job yesterday. She had a ton of energy, her routine was very playful, and everything was executed perfectly. I hate that a bunch of commentators and newspeople have labeled her "just an athlete" because it's really hurtful to someone who has worked their whole life in order to perform these routines. I think both Nagasu and Flatt deserved to be in front of Miki Ando. I feel sorry for Miki and think she needs to get a new coach. Artistry doesn't come easily to everyone, but it can be learned. Yu-na Kim got over her shyness, and Miki can get over her awkwardness too.

I completely thought that the short programs were very interesting not rather boring. In my opinion Mirai did very well actually much better than some of the ladies that scored ahead of her, and well to see these results really has me wondering who will really take the gold. I would of loved for Sahsa Cohen to of been able to be in the Olympics, with a great skater like that there would have been great competition, especially in artistry. A great skate from Sasha with all landed jumps and the rest is all hers. But away from that subject, above all I root for the best to win, and until Thursday can we really see who's the best in the world.

Who are all of the us figure skaters that participated in the women's short program competition?

The full breakdown of the scores, including the scoring for each individual technical and artistic element, can be found on the Vancouver Olympic website.

I suggest that you do some basic research before declaring how you cannot understand how someone was "robbed".

Joe: Honestly, those figures are totally meaningless to me. I'm not a skating judge. I'm someone watching the performances at home, and responding to what I see. I felt that, by far, Mirai turned a much more impressive performance than some of the other skaters. The judges and their numbers and algorithms aren't going to change that opinion. And I remain confused as to who this new judging system serves, since it isn't the viewers, I don't think it's the skaters, and I don't think it's the sport. Routines that were less enjoyable to watch were scored higher. I don't get that.

Meraine: The only US skaters who participated in the women's short program were Mirai Nagasu and Rachael Flatt. We only had two spots in the women's competition.

I whole-heartly agree with Joe. Some of you need to STOP pretending to be some expert in figure skating. Your comments say much about your lack of understanding instead. Stop repeating and regurgitating the same internet rumors about how difficult it is to understand the judging criteria. It is not.

The scoring for each Technical and Artistic elements are readily available for all to see.

Yuna Kim's Triple Lutz + Triple Toe combination is judged Equal or better than Mao Asada's Triple Axel + Double Toe combination. And no other skaters can execute the combination better than Yuna. Her speed is amazing and the distant she covers in that combination is unsurpassed. That's what the judges see in Yuna. And that's what her coach, Brian Orser, is counting on to defeat Mao Asada. If Mao were to do a Triple Axel + Triple Toe combination, then I would agreed she deserves better. However, for some of you to say "Mao was robbed" says much about your ignorance or your biases.

Artistically and execution, Yuna is superior to Mao. The Americans, Flatt and Nagasu are several levels below Kim and Asada.

But Gillian, nobody who has posted here is pretending to be an expert. We're merely saying that from a spectator point of view, we preferred the performances of certain skaters to others. There's nothing wrong with that. And nobody is suggesting that Yu-Na is not leagues above the rest of the competition -- that much is obvious to anyone, judging scores or not.

dont sell mao so short. she is the only one who has beaten yuna, twice as a matter of fact in the past 2 years. in my opinion mao is pushing the sport, she is the first woman to land a 3 axel combination at the olympics, nevermind you in the short program. quite a feat. alot of men cant land that combination period. she will attempt two 3 axels in the long program thursday night. mao also has had coaching changes the past 2 years and i think it was the wrong choice. she needs someone like a frank carroll to play to mao's strengths. no offense to tatiana tarasova, but mao regressed by working with her.

anyway, i do think yuna will win gold but mao has made her a better skater and vice versa. mao will skate well and get a well deserved silver.

Eric,

My comment was towards people who were saying "Mao was robbed."

Yes, Mao's triple axel has a higher degree of difficulty than Yuna's triple lutz. Nobody disagree that Mao's the only woman with this arsenal at her disposal. However, when you put those into combinations together, Yuna having the 3Lutz + 3T and Mao's 3Axel+Double-toe, basically it's pretty much a wash. Then, from the judging standpoint, you have Yuna's superior execution, artistic element and that amazing speed and distance she covers, it's clear as a day. According to some sites, Yuna covers over 25 feet in that combinations.

Brian Orser was interviewed about Yuna's lack of 3-axel compare to Mao's repertoire. After the interview, I began to understand his coaching expertise. Basically he said when you put the combinations together, Yuna will perform two difficult jumps vs. Mao's one Very difficult jump + easier jump. Then, from the judging point of view, it comes down to the execution. And he said, this is where Yuna will shine over Mao. Orser also said that this is the reason why he wants Yuna and Mao to skate back to back, so the judges can see their contrasting styles.

That's all I'm going to say and good night.

I`m not a judging expert, but I have been watching skating for quite some time, and I might be a bit biased considering I am a HUGE Yuna Kim fan. Anyways, a triple axle may be way more harder, but it also depends on the athlete herself, if she can execute the element then there's scores right there. However, if she misses the element then there's huge points deducted. Executed elements are calculated by the base value + GOE (grade of execution (lowest : -3 , highest : 3)). Every skater has different elements executed therefore, every skater has various total base values. The thing about Yuna is that her triple triple combination has a GOE of 2.00 and her highest was a 2.20, because it's basically perfect when she executes her 3Lz-3TL(basic value = 10.00, 10.00 + 2.00 = 12.00). On the other hand, Mao's 3A-2TL, her GOE isn't as great as Yunas, only a 0.60 (basic value = 9.50, 9.50 + 0.60 = 10.10). Also, there's a component score, the component score is composed of five subjects ( choreography, footwork, interpretation, performance, and skating skills). Obviously, Yuna gets scores a whole lot more than the other skaters on her components because her footwork (hers is level 3, highest is level 4), and her interpretation, her expressions, how she expresses the music while she's on ice, choreography, her artistry, and etc.

Also, if you're still confused you can go to www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-figure-skating/schedule-and-results/ladies-short-program_fsw010201aj.html and press the " + " on the right side of the score, it tells you all the GOEs and scores and everything! Hopefully you'll understand why, instead of being a "spectator".

On a whole different subject : I`m just SO proud of Yuna! I hope she can keep up her amazing efforts. She's truly special. Also, some people argue that she's an athlete that makes TOO much income, however, she isn't selfish. She's donated to Haiti, kids whom can't afford to figure skate ( because of her past, her skates were always broken, so 1. she couldn't afford new ones, or 2. because there weren't many skates in korea, since it wasn't popular before. I`m not sure which one, because I don't know her personally.) And she's helped children suffering. She's just so kind, a great figure skater, and a sophisticated lady with many talents!

Congrats Yuna Kim! <3 & I hope I helped you understand the new scoring system a bit better (=!

Oh , and if you love yuna or mao, don't hate the "rival", they're actually great friends. It's just a friendly rival thing (=!

THANK YOU. Living in Colorado Springs you'd think that Rachel Flatt's sh*t didn't stink. She makes the front page of the paper and the Facebook pages are NAUSEATING. She lives and goes to school in the richest area of town and so what I see is a rich kid who has never suffered any kind of adversity. PERIOD. I see no story in her skating. I see used kleenex compared to the Asian skaters.

dead on...biased!

I think that the results were what everyone was expecting since everyone obviously thought Yuna Kim was going to win from the beginning, since so many people rooted for her to win. I think that Mirai should have atleast placed 3rd place after that free skate. First off Rochette had a few mistakes and clearly does not skate as beautiful as Mirai and with all that joy that she brings to the ice. These types of competitions should be scored without so many deductions in jumps since some skaters are better at jumping than other elements which kind of brings the performances of some of the ladies down when scoring. A skater with spins like Mirai, should be given just as much credit since it takes as much time and effort to execute one. She was perhaps one of the only ladies to perform a Layback spin which makes the other ladies typical sit spins seem like nothing, which was a good one at that. Well I'm glad Yuna won her gold medal and she deserves it, but when I saw those points I knew no one was going to top that, well Technically top that since she gets such high scores on her jumps, But also Mao should have atleast had a much higher score than that since she landed 3 triple axels overall which is quite a feat.