The Games at Sochi is just days away from commencement, and sure enough- the ladies' figure skating event remains the jewel in the crown of the Winter Olympics. The fact that it is slotted in the later half of the event raises more tension and excitement in the air. Who's going to take the gold? We have a very deep field of seasoned veterans and fresh young talent, waiting to take their place on the ice and leap their way to victory. Take a look at the ten ladies you should watch out for: (The ranking is how I predict the top ten will finish)
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| Yu Na Kim (Getty Images) |
1.) Yu Na Kim (KOR)- The reigning World and Olympic Champion comes back to defend her title after a rather light, yet still impressive, couple of seasons. Kim managed to prove her critics wrong when she sashayed in at London, Ontario last year, beating the competition to a pulp despite being away from the circuit all season. In the run up to the Winter Games in Sochi this month, Kim showed little signs of wear and tear, failing to skate clean programs at the Golden Spin Trophy and South Korean National Championships. It's not costly as was shown by her victories, but every little counts when she has young and hungry skaters breathing down her neck. Due to her low ISU ranking, she is set to skate in the earlier groups. This can be a good thing in that there will be no pressure as she should stay ahead of the pack going into the final group. However, as history can often repeat itself- the judges may want to save marks for later and leave Kim a few points behind like they did at Worlds, despite a perfect skate. It will prove vital that she lands her triple lutz-triple toe combination in both her programs, and skate with the fire that has been lacking since her win at Vancouver, to win gold again and the chance to add her name to a rather short and exclusive list of repeat Olympic Champions.
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| Mao Asada (Getty Images) |
2.) Mao Asada (JPN)- She remains unbeaten in the circuit this season, as she was last season in the run up to the World Championships. However, come the showdown between Asada and Kim last March, she made a couple of costly errors that ultimately cost her the gold. Since her silver medal at Vancouver, she seeked out revered Japanese coach Nobuo Sato to help her restructure and relearn her jumps from scratch to regain full use of her arsenal. Asada remains to be the only woman who is capable of landing all six jumps, however, it all depends of whether she does land them. She has matured greatly in artistry in the last four years, and so in the run up to Sochi, Asada once again looks as a heavy favourite for gold. I put her behind Kim because unless she had changed her mind, she enters the free skate with a hope of landing two triple axels again, therefore removing her lutz (which apart from the change of edge, has been looking solid thus far) and her triple-triple combination. This poses as a problem because she had only managed to land her triple axel cleanly, once this season. Nevertheless, she goes into the Games with the strongest short program, a renewed reputation with the judges, and a gutsy fighting spirit that may serve her well and land her on top of the podium.
(EDIT: Mao has just announced she's ditching the second 3A in the free program for a more balanced layout. Phew! Good girl! Read it here.)
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| Julia Lipnitskaya (Getty Images) |
3.) Julia Lipnitskaya (RUS)- This young Russian prodigy has proven that she is a main threat. She doesn't yet have the artistry of Kim and Asada but she has the technical goods to blow the competition away. Despite her tendency to flutz and her relatively small jumps, she is capable of landing a solid triple lutz-triple toe. Puberty is also on her side, being small still and so flexible- so if she hasn't gone through the ugly shift just yet, then now will be the time to strike! Clean will have to be Julia's agenda heading into the Games, and the fact that she will be competing on home turf and skating to Schindler's List- the stars may very well align for this young talent and get her a medal at her first Olympics. Her recent victory at the European Championships will also help with the judges to cement her status as a serious contender. Yes, her scores have seen a rather dramatic rising from the Grand Prix Series to the Euros, but will we see the same 'inflation' at Sochi? The Russians are notorious when it comes to politicking, but at the end of the day, ice is slippery. She showed cracks when she competed at the Cup of Russia earlier this season, and she heads into the Games as Russia's number two. Anything can happen.
