Sports: Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games Women's Figure Skating Hopefuls
The Vancouver-Whistler 2010 Olympic women's figure skating event is just two short years away. Even Sasha Cohen has preplanned to come out of retirement to train in anticipation of the Olympic gold. In the global figure skating competitions running up to the 2010 Olympics, women's figure skating in Vancouver will be tense. World figure skating has not seen a battle like Olympics 2010 for some time. Pressure for an optimum performance despite nerves could come from all of these talented skaters.
Elite figure skating among women at the Olympic level is a slippery slope at the top of a tiny pyramid. Qualifying spots for the Olympic contenders in Vancouver won't be decided until the 2009 figure skating worlds. That's next year. So the Olympic contention is skating past the eyes of judges right now. But the long Kwan era is over, and over skilled juniors and biding-time seniors want their innings.
Following are some of the possible women to watch for in the Olympic finals. We will highlight the Canadian women's figure skating team in another featured article.
1. Sasha Cohen
Cohen's day in the sun has come from behind the long cloud of Michelle's Kwan's quest for gold. But Cohen succumbed to nerves in Turin and has been criticized for being unable to deliver two solid routines, long and short, in Olympic competition. Cohen has an Olympic silver medal. Cohen at the top of her game is unmatched for speed, musicality, footwork and perfect form especially on layback spins. She's got the jumps, the style, she's a crowd pleaser, and elite figure skating authorities know her name. Will that be enough for Vancouver gold? As a Turin 2006 Olympic medalist Cohen will return for Vancouver 2010, but her shape and performance will have to be perfect.
2. Carolina Kostner
European judges just love Carolina Kostner. Tall and thin, with excellent dance elements and sophisticated crowd appeal, Kostner's technical merit gets her gold and silver around the world. Kostner is the Katherine Heigl of world figure skating. Dazzling the judges in elite figure skating competitions has been her hallmark, except for a few key competitions. Unless injury strikes, Kostner is the one to beat for gold on the world stage. Kostner's nerves will predict who stands on the Vancouver 2010 podium. If she falls, flotillas of qualified and very competitive skaters are right behind her.
3. Emily Hughes
The Olympic dream is alive for the Hughes clan. Sarah Hughes won Olympic gold and so might Emily. Last time around the Turin games were a bit of a late coming afterthought. But Emily will have two years to train and perfect already Olympic style. Having Olympic experience at the world level can flatten the nerves. Hughes has to bring more jump and spin elements as well as speed to place within the top world figure skating ranks in Vancouver.
Olympic competitions are world famous for taking gold medal contenders and turning them into nervous wrecks. One missed spin, one fallen lading, and the medal platform is out of the picture. But Sarah Hughes won Olympic gold against Kwan, in a world field much lighter in finesse and technical merit. Being America's darling won't win with new judging standards. With Cohen, Kostner, and the Japanese skaters, Hughes will have to blow them away to win. Or maybe just not fall.
4. Miki Ando
Miki Ando is one of a fantastic group of contemporary Japanese skaters who might repeat the stunner gold medal surprise of the Turin Olympics. Figure skating has many athletes who define an era, and Miki Ando is one of them. Beautiful Western lines, classical ballet and dance elements, technical prowess and a delicate style impress judges. Miki Ando is a huge influence on young skaters right now due to her impressive delivery of beautifully choreographed and balanced routines. If just one of the top 3 miss a jump or commit a technical error, Ando could take the gold very easily. Her sophistication, athletic ability, and skating performances are extremely difficult to match and beat.
5. Kimmie Meissner
Kimmie has a top American spot, but ranks probably fifth in the World or lower right now. Her tenacious craft and elegant style has evolved since her low medalist days under Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen. The athletic jumps and acrobatic style have found less favor with judges of late than smooth flow and delicate femininity, which Meissner's choreography and music provide. But world competition has caught up with her. Lower final results may drop her out of contention.
Meissner has been for so long overshadowed at the top ranks it's hard for many skating watchers to remember her style. The bigger media coverage surrounding Michelle Kwan's search for unattainable Olympic gold is now over. Meissner now stands close to the top of the American heap of elite figure skaters. If she can avoid injury until qualifying 2009 or 2010 Worlds for Vancouver, yet stay inside the qualifying levels to get to the Worlds before then, she'll be America's conservative shot at an Olympic medal.
6. Caroline Zhang
Caroline Zhang won 4th in the 2008 women's U. S. figure skating championship on gorgeous lines and technical perfection. Critics such as Michelle Kwan and Scott Hamilton praise her development from a junior of outstanding promise to a beginning senior in the ladies' ranks. If Zhang competes amid an injured or flailing field in Vancouver in 2010 she could take the gold with solid skating.
Zhang plays the violin and has a musicality that makes other skaters look simply less connected to their performances. But Zhang could fold under Olympic pressure, while she rivals Cohen in nuanced style and elegant showmanship. If Zhang remains free of injury she could steal a Olympic place from every American skater on merit alone. A young skater still, if Meissner and Hughes fall out of shape by 2010 Zhang is an elite competitor for the figure skating Vancouver gold.
7. Mao Asada
Mao Asada is a poster girl for Japanese women's figure skating and rightfully so. She is training under coach Rafael Arutunian in the United States at present. Highly popular back in Japan, she will have the hopes and prayers of millions riding on her shoulders.
8. Mirai Nagasu
Mirai Nagasu delivered on her longtime promise for figure skating fans in January of 2008. Her first seniors competition at the elite level in the senior ladies' division resulted in a fall in her long program. Nagasu and Zhang both battle immaturity and youth to compete against the older skaters who may be in competitive for come the qualifying seasons for Vancouver in 2010.
Skaters like Mirai Nagasu present a problem for judges who must compare youth and gifted skating versus the polish and sophisticated positions of older skaters. Her short program had placed her in first, and even with that one fall won the United States 2008 figure skating championship. The 2010 Olympics in Vancouver could fall just at the right time for her age eligibility.
9. Yu-Na Kim
This skater is part of the Asian Wall of elite women's figure skating that could take all the medals in Vancouver unless the rest of the world steps up their game and keeps it elevated. South Korea is proud of its native daughter Kim and her impressive world class skating. Kim's impressive style at 16 may mature fully right at the 2010 Vancouver games. Her tights turns but soft finish gives judges a relief from stark steeplechases of jumps and overly dance oriented routines. If Kim's back stays strong, her skating could steal the gold.
Yuna could take the top spot with an unmatched display of technical brilliance with a delicate but aggressive performance aimed at balanced flow and advanced mechanics of figure skating the junior skaters (of the senior elite) don't have. Skating fans know this may be due in part to the coaching. Yu-Na's coach is Brian Orser, the 1987 men's world champion and skating duelist for silver from the Brian Boitano gold medal skating wars. Kim's record scores and Grand Prix standing could last until Vancouver.
10. Ashley Wagner
Ashley Wagner has the lines of Carolina Kostner and the appeal of a perky Peggy Fleming. Wagner is a technical performer but stresses dance and elegant lines. Her 2008 third place U.S. National Championship shows her quiet ranking in the elite ladies senior division worldwide. And unlike the other medalists from the 2008 U. S. National, she is age eligible to compete this year worldwide. Placing behind Zhang and Nagasu in her last Junior Worlds, Wagner could increase her abilities to compete with the very best in the world by Vancouver 2010.
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