baron-pierreIV Posted November 3, 2011 Report Share Posted November 3, 2011 Wow. Didn't take long for the ISU to choose Sochi to host the 2012 Grand Prix final. Guess that will be one of many test events for the 2014 Winter Olympics there. Will the Bolshoi Ice Palace be ready by Dec 2012? And the staff they train for that might not hang around for the 2014 WOGs...that's like a 14-month gap. Besides, I think the core of Sochi FS staffers already a crash course with the 2011 Worlds that were belatedly moved to Moscow in April. Again, if Sochi will be retaining the same key people who will run the FS events for 2014. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guardian Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 @guardian: a lot of skating assumed Sochi will be given the 2013 Europeans as a test event but instead Zagreb is hosting it. Tokyo is once again hosting 2013-14 Grand Prix Final. That's going to be the third straight Grand Prix Final leading to the Olympics that they'll be hosting. Kitchener, Ontario hosted the 2001-02 Grand Prix Finals. oops should have said Japan is hosting the 2013-14 GPF. The host city has yet to be named. Well, I never mentioned anything about the European Figure Skating Championships for any particular year. Anyway, that figure skating venue will be interesting to see on TV next year. It is not like the Russians are going to screw things up, when it comes to having facilities ready for competition. I just hope they don't rush things unnecessarily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intoronto Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 Feels like Vancouver 2010 was yesterday and now Sochi is in the horizon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olympian Posted November 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 Well, I never mentioned anything about the European Figure Skating Championships for any particular year. Anyway, that figure skating venue will be interesting to see on TV next year. It is not like the Russians are going to screw things up, when it comes to having facilities ready for competition. I just hope they don't rush things unnecessarily. you didn't. but the most logical test event for sochi would've been euros 2013 since that is a bigger tournament as oppose to a grand prix finals. torino had euros in 2005 while salt lake city and vancouver had four continents in 2001 and 2009 as their figure skating test events. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olympian Posted November 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 Cup of China results Men 1 Jeremy ABBOTT, USA 2 Nobunari ODA, Japan 3 Nan SONG, China >> Russia's Gachinski and Japan's Hanyu ranked 1st and 2nd after the short only to stumble and finish fifth and fourth overall. Ladies 1 Carolina KOSTNER, Italy 2 Mirai NAGASU, USA 3 Adelina SOTNIKOVA, Russia Pairs 1 Yuko KAVAGUTI / Alexander SMIRNOV, Russia 2 Dan ZHANG / Hao ZHANG, China 3 Kirsten MOORE-TOWERS / Dylan MOSCOVITCH, Canada Ice Dance 1 Ekaterina BOBROVA / Dmitri SOLOVIEV, Russia 2 Maia SHIBUTANI / Alex SHIBUTANI, USA 3 Pernelle CARRON / Lloyd JONES, France >> Defending worlds bronze medalists Shibutani siblings is defeated by 15.12 points by the Russian team in their first tournament since their surprise bronze medal finish at Worlds 2011 >>> Off to Sapporro for NHK Trophy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intoronto Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 If anyone is interested the qualification for the 2012 Youth Olympics has finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 Cup of China results Men 1 Jeremy ABBOTT, USA 2 Nobunari ODA, Japan 3 Nan SONG, China >> Russia's Gachinski and Japan's Hanyu ranked 1st and 2nd after the short only to stumble and finish fifth and fourth overall. Ladies 1 Carolina KOSTNER, Italy 2 Mirai NAGASU, USA 3 Adelina SOTNIKOVA, Russia Pairs 1 Yuko KAVAGUTI / Alexander SMIRNOV, Russia 2 Dan ZHANG / Hao ZHANG, China 3 Kirsten MOORE-TOWERS / Dylan MOSCOVITCH, Canada Ice Dance 1 Ekaterina BOBROVA / Dmitri SOLOVIEV, Russia 2 Maia SHIBUTANI / Alex SHIBUTANI, USA 3 Pernelle CARRON / Lloyd JONES, France >> Defending worlds bronze medalists Shibutani siblings is defeated by 15.12 points by the Russian team in their first tournament since their surprise bronze medal finish at Worlds 2011 >>> Off to Sapporro for NHK Trophy. It looks like the Russians are inching their way back to the top to peak in 2014. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intoronto Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 It looks like the Russians are inching their way back to the top to peak in 2014. Thats exactly what I was thinking. Although they might not win any at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 Thats exactly what I was thinking. Although they might not win any at all. Nope. They will win some. There's always the home-court advantage. That's only failed in....ahem...Calgary and Montreal. Even Italy won ONE gold medal at Cortina '56. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intoronto Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 Nope. They will win some. There's always the home-court advantage. That's only failed in....ahem...Calgary and Montreal. Even Italy won ONE gold medal at Cortina '56. In figure skating. Off course they will a gold medal 10+ at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 Off course they will a gold medal 10+ at least. 10? I think that's a little high. At least 8. FS is up for grabs. They only have strong contenders in their usual domains: pairs and ice dance. Very weak for the men's singles right now. Their ladies are coming on strong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intoronto Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 10? I think that's a little high. At least 8. FS is up for grabs. They only have strong contenders in their usual domains: pairs and ice dance. Very weak for the men's singles right now. Their ladies are coming on strong. Men could be dark horse. The women with the 14 year! old could surprise. But for the pairs I see no way they can beat the Germans/Russians and for Ice dance I can't see them beating Canada/USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Men could be dark horse. The women with the 14 year! old could surprise. But for the pairs I see no way they can beat the Germans/Russians and for Ice dance I can't see them beating Canada/USA But u always forget that when it comes to the BIG moment, there is the "Olympic" curse and injuries. Many odds-on athletes have always choked at their BIG Olympic moment. Here are jsut a few examples. There are others: - Tai Babilonia and Randy were the world champions going into Lake Placid 1980 and 'sure' for gold. They had to scratch before the long program because of Randy's 'groin injury.' - Sergei Bubka failed in 1992 to clear in his first 3 attempts and was out just like that -- when he was representing his native Ukraine...not the defunct USSR. In Atlanta in 1996, a heel injury caused him to withdraw from the competition without making even one jump. In 2000, at the Sydney Olympics he was eliminated from the final after three attempts at 5.70 m. Yet look at him today--an IOC member!! - Savchenko and her partner are known to choke at their big moment., etc., etc. - Usain Bolt for the 100 at the recent IAAF champs? Int...how long have you been observing the Olympics Games? I won't count the Russians out just now. And with a half-a-point or so difference in the scores, that's when the 'home-court' advantage kicks in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faster Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 We will see, Russia will probably win 3 to 4 medals in figure skating. Russia has not embraced the new sports like Austria, Germany, Norway and Sweden and their home performance will suffer for it. I expect a new gold medal and total medal record in Sochi. Neither of which will be accomplished by the Russians. I think Russia will be lucky to win 20 medals. 1. USA 2. Germany 3. Canada 4. Russia 5. Norway. Russia has almost no presence in 54 of 98 events and I doubt they will be able to be competitive in speed skating either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olympian Posted November 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 the some of the russian women won't be eligible for worlds till next year. also, the moment the growth spurt hit them it can either be good or bad (usually the latter). the only thing certain for the russians right now are the pairs. ice dance will be between virtue and moir and davis and white. they don't have any competitors right now maybe except the italians if they're on. gachinski won a bronze at worlds last year but faltered at cup of china. we'll see in his next grand prix assignments and in sheffield if he can handle the pressure of being the next one. the brightest future for russian skaters are certainly with the ladies right now. also, the most medals you can win in skating is 12 that is assuming you sweep the podium which hasn't happend in a long time especially in singles. the last sweep in singles skating happend with the ladies during worlds in 1991 with kristi yamaguchi, tonya harding and nancy kerrigan sweeping the podium in munich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olympian Posted November 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 It looks like the Russians are inching their way back to the top to peak in 2014. the ice dance field at cup of china wasn't that strong. the winning ice dance team at cup of china would've placed only 2nd in either skate america or skate canada while 2nd and 3rd placers will be off the podium at the previous 2 tournaments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intoronto Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 But u always forget that when it comes to the BIG moment, there is the "Olympic" curse and injuries. Many odds-on athletes have always choked at their BIG Olympic moment. Here are jsut a few examples. There are others: - Tai Babilonia and Randy were the world champions going into Lake Placid 1980 and 'sure' for gold. They had to scratch before the long program because of Randy's 'groin injury.' - Sergei Bubka failed in 1992 to clear in his first 3 attempts and was out just like that -- when he was representing his native Ukraine...not the defunct USSR. In Atlanta in 1996, a heel injury caused him to withdraw from the competition without making even one jump. In 2000, at the Sydney Olympics he was eliminated from the final after three attempts at 5.70 m. Yet look at him today--an IOC member!! - Savchenko and her partner are known to choke at their big moment., etc., etc. - Usain Bolt for the 100 at the recent IAAF champs? Int...how long have you been observing the Olympics Games? I won't count the Russians out just now. And with a half-a-point or so difference in the scores, that's when the 'home-court' advantage kicks in. Since 2002. Its just guesses right now. How can you predict two years in the future? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Since 2002. Its just guesses right now. How can you predict two years in the future? In figure-skating, it's a bit easier. 2 or 3 seasons out, you can tell who the leading contenders will be. One season after the last WOGs is when the next batch of Olympic hopefuls come out, make their marks, and attempt to jockey for position. This is about the right time to start making an impression with the judges (who are basically from the same pool), thus they will become familiar with you, make allowances on an off night, and then reward you on the next good night. For the guys like Patrick Chan and Javier Fernandez, they are perfectly placed to peak in 2014. I have been watching the scene for nearly 40 years now, so one has a handle on who are positioned perfectly and who are not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faster Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 In figure-skating, it's a bit easier. 2 or 3 seasons out, you can tell who the leading contenders will be. One season after the last WOGs is when the next batch of Olympic hopefuls come out, make their marks, and attempt to jockey for position. This is about the right time to start making an impression with the judges (who are basically from the same pool), thus they will become familiar with you, make allowances on an off night, and then reward you on the next good night. For the guys like Patrick Chan and Javier Fernandez, they are perfectly placed to peak in 2014. I have been watching the scene for nearly 40 years now, so one has a handle on who are positioned perfectly and who are not. One could also argue it is not always the case. I remember when Rochette first started skating at the senior level I thought she would be like every other Canadian women since Elizabeth Manley. She was unremarkable and most Canadian commentators thought Cynthia Phaneuf would be the most likely top Canadian in the future. Rochette then performs better than expected in Torino and finishes it off with a bronze in Vancouver. And did Sarah Hughes or Shizuka Arakawa do anything to show they would be Olympic champions before they did it? Maybe women's skating is a little less predictable. But Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olympian Posted November 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Sarah Hughes won bronze at Worlds 2001. But other than that, nada. Shizuka won Worlds in 2004 but dropped to 9th in 2005. I remember Joannie being pretty unremarkable at the start. Cynthia on the other hand couldn't put 2 good performance together since Torino Worlds. Won't be surprised if Amelie Lacoste ends up winning in Moncton. Canada can only send 1 spot for ladies. The US on the other hand hasn't fielded three ladies skater starting LA 2009. Alissa Czisny looks like she finally exorcise her demons and could be well on her way to Sochi. I need to see Mirai Nagasu put 2 good skate in the same competition. As for Flatt, i don't know. Especially after how USFSA reprimanded her for hiding her injury at Worlds last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intoronto Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 In figure-skating, it's a bit easier. 2 or 3 seasons out, you can tell who the leading contenders will be. One season after the last WOGs is when the next batch of Olympic hopefuls come out, make their marks, and attempt to jockey for position. This is about the right time to start making an impression with the judges (who are basically from the same pool), thus they will become familiar with you, make allowances on an off night, and then reward you on the next good night. For the guys like Patrick Chan and Javier Fernandez, they are perfectly placed to peak in 2014. I have been watching the scene for nearly 40 years now, so one has a handle on who are positioned perfectly and who are not. Spain FTW!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 As for Flatt, i don't know. Especially after how USFSA reprimanded her for hiding her injury at Worlds last year. Didn't like Flatt at Skate Canada. She's just too heavy and also distracted by school at Stanford. If the US gals can field Alissa (whom I hope will be more consistent), Mirai and Ashley, I think that'll be a pretty strong team. The US guys still aren't there yet...but it's a wide open field...and Abbott, Dornbush, Miner, Ripon, that Iranian guy are all on the 19-20 yr old cusp that any of them could break out by 2013 or 2014. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olympian Posted November 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Nagasu just needs to be consistent. I see Nancy Kerrigan in her so far (good short program, will bomb long). I think Nancy Kerrigan didn't skate 2 clean programs until Lillehammer. Who can forget when Nancy led the short at Prague Worlds only to bomb in the long program and finished fifth overall, losing a third spot for the American ladies. Never liked Flatt at all. For Russia though, looks like the odd woman out will be Ksenia Makarova once Elizaveta Tuktamisheva and Adelina Sotnikova becomes age eligible for senior Worlds or Euros and will make up the squad together with Alena Leonova. Pressure is on as well for Cynthia Phaneuf to finish in the top 10 and secure two ladies slot for Canada at Worlds '13. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athensfan Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 I always liked Sarah Hughes. She had the x-factor. I don't think Flatt has the goods. The truth is she just falls -- flat. Nothing special, just ok. I've never seen anything wonderful from her. Consistently mediocre. Mirai Nagasu has the spark and tons of talent. She's got to stop beating herself up and relax into her skating, trust her training. I think she's got some backwards ideas about what constitutes mental strength. I think she's hurting herself in that area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olympian Posted November 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 I was never fond of Sarah Hughes' skating. She had one memorable skate. I prefer Michelle Kwan, Sasha Cohen and Kim Yu Na. I was watching clips of Janet Lynn's skating and what musicality. If it wasn't for school figures during her time she would've won. Just sad when the short program was introduced in 1973 Janet Lynn fell twice at Worlds that year and was so backed up going into the free skate. Janet Lynn changed figure skating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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