Michael Weiss on Turin

February 21, 2006

OLYMPIC LADIES FIGURE SKATING CHAMPION is the most coveted title in the Winter Olympics.  ...And it's up for grabs... as the chase for gold begins tonight with the short program.

Irina Slutskaya is the favorite coming into Torino.  She is the reigning World Champ and carries the momentum of a year full of nothing but WINS.  Her athletic style and triple-triple combinations give her a leg up on the competition.  She is very consistant and I think she will skate into the lead after the short program.

Sasha Cohen is the best chance at gold for the U.S.  She has it all...grace, flexibility, jumps, spins, footwork....and carries the momentum of her first National title.  The only place Irina has the edge is Triple - triple combinations!  But, if Irina slips up...expect Sasha to skate right by her.  Sasha is a strong short program skater....so look for her to be in the top 3 after the short program.  

My pick for the number 3 spot is Shazuka Arakawa from Japan.  She is an elegant, smooth skater that combines difficult jumps with fluid edges and grace.  If she can land the triple lutz-triple loop combination, she will be right in the hunt for a medal.

The Amercans Kimmie Meissner and Emily Hughes are in a similar position.  It will be up to them to skate to a top 6 finish...which would be realistic. 

Kimmie's strength are her TWO triple-triple combos in the long program.  Her youth and aggressive skating are her strengths.  Remember, she landed a triple AXEL at last years National Championships...so she can jump!

I would have picked Emily as my surprise of the event, but she will sneek up on no one after the media blitz she has handled this week!  Her biggest strength is her competitve spirit.  She performs exactly what she can do...never beating herself...and challenges the other women to have to BEAT her!  Her biggest weakness would only be her inexperience in International competition.  She is relatively unknown from the judges standpoint....and will have to prove to them quickly that she can contend. 

Like her sister Sarah, she comes in as the number 3 skater on the US Team....and we all know what happened to Sarah four years ago.  Can a miracle happen to the same family TWICE?  The biggest difference is...although an underdog--Sarah came in as the reigning World Bronze Medalist.  Whereas, Emily has very little International experience.  So it will be a challenge for Emily...but she seems to be soaking in all of the attention and using that energy to take her skating to a new level.  It will be exciting to watch!

Although it is difficult to predict HOW skaters will perform...it is relatively easy to predict where they will PLACE when they all DO skate well. 

So, here are my picks for the short program:  Keep in mind....I think the ladies will be very tight in points-- 10 points separating the top 10 Ladies.  Which means everyone will have a shot at medals going into the Long.  (much closer than the men's event)

The judges seem to be scoring on a slightly higher scale in these Olympics....so get ready for A LOT of personal best scores.

1. Irina Slutskaya  @ 70 points

2. Sasha Cohen  @ 70 points

3,4,5-- Shazuka Arakawa, Miki Ando, Carolina Kostner  @ 65 points

6,7,8-- Fumie Suguri, Emily Hughes, Kimmie Meissner @ 60 points

Of course, if anyone misses there combination jumps, they will have skated themselves out of medal contention.

Here we go...the most coveted title in the Winter Olympics is about to get underway!

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• #7 Comment from kudliac 
  2/23/06 4:07 PM | Permalink

  I see no arrogance in Sasha Cohen....she deserves to win....I don't Kwan should have even applied...she knew she was hurting, she also had several chances before and didn't make the Gold...what makes anyone think she could now that she's older and her body aches.  GO SASHA, EMILY AND KIMMIE, bring home the medals...Does anyone think that Michelle can do any of the necessary jumps?  Be reasonable.  The men blew their chances in most of the races so let's pray that our girls bring home the medals....Kudos
• #6 Comment from burkynet 
  2/22/06 8:53 PM | Permalink

  Skate on Kimmie we hope you get the gold, if not, the silver.  For Irima the charming young woman who has had so much to carry for years, you definitely deserve GOLD, you are wonderful and a delight to watch.  We do not need spoiled young children as Golden Girls.
• #5 Comment from lttcthr 
  2/22/06 7:55 AM | Permalink

  saha cohen is the in the world          $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. GREAT
• #4 Comment from mgggmssamc 
  2/22/06 12:59 AM | Permalink

  Looks like a dead heat to me ---  top 3.  I think the spread should have been greater between Sasha and the rest.   She not only did the jumps, but the elegance / positions were in a class by itself.
• #3 Comment from shelovesjurgen 
  2/21/06 8:48 PM | Permalink

  great insight and awesome skating blog - i will definitely be checking this site when i need a skating fix.
  -<a href="http://ainge.typepad.com">ainge</a>