Sochi 2014: Opining on the Ladies Event- The Good, The Bad, and Mao Asada

What an emotionally draining two weeks this has been! I don't know about you, but the Sochi Winter Games has taken me to all different emotional highs and lows- especially the last 48 hours. Let's just get to it okay? There's so much to talk about and I'm on an Asada-induced nirvana that I just want to plough through this crap. And believe me, there is a ton and a half of bullshit to get through, and this is going to be a LONG post.

Let's begin with, OBVIOUSLY, the ultimate Champion of the Games (yes, with a capital C)- Japan's Mao Asada. On Wednesday night, Mao Asada went into the short program as a major gold medal contender. However, the next two and a half minutes were to be the worst  of her skating career. She fell on a downgraded triple axel, underrotated a triple flip, and nulled a planned triple loop combination. It was just *BAM*. Silence fell, not only in the Iceberg Palace, but also in the Ventura household. Four years after losing to Kim, Asada found herself in 16th place. 

All of the sudden, all that hard work- all the pain of relearning her jumps, losing her mother, the success since Vancouver- it all came to nothing. She held it all in at the Kiss and Cry, and when the night finished, Asada lost any hope of ever medalling at Sochi. 

Today however, was a different story. 

Skating to Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto 2, Mao went into the free skate with no pressure, no tension, no nothing- and boy did it pay off. She landed EIGHT triples (and yes, ALL the triple jumps) including her signature triple axel and a triple flip-triple loop! She breezed through her programme with grace, maturity, and performed like the CHAMPION that she is. She got a couple of URs, but even so- she received a personal best of 142.71, and realised her dream of skating the perfect performance at the Olympics. The breakdown of emotion after her final element was just so moving, that nothing else mattered. We'll get to the scores in a minute, but for now- let's all pay our respects to the great Mao Asada, who performed with incredible grace under pressure and did her country proud, despite what any Japanese ex-PM thinks (shame on you Yoshiro Mori!.) There are moments in life when all the method, all the scores, the numbers, the politicking, the stakes, and all rationalisation go out the window- and this was one of those moments. Those four minutes will stand as a momentous event in the history of figure skating. 

Moving forward....here are my thoughts on the rest of the competition (I know... had to sit through two more groups!)

THE GOOD

CAROLINA KOSTER (ITA) finally medalled at an Olympic Games! Third time really was the charm for this statuesque Italian. She broke her unlucky streak by skating two clean programs, and just exuded so much artistry and grace- she really should have won the Gold medal. In fact, I am baffled at how the judges stomached giving her an 8.71 in Transitions? Yes, she is technically inferior to the rest of the field but if there was one thing she could rely on, it was her second mark, which remained in the mid- to low-9s! What the hell? In any case, apart from Mao- Carolina was the only other skater who skated like a star tonight- full of personality, gumption and pure joy. If she was to retire today, her performance at Sochi was nothing short of a spectacular swan song. 

Sochi 2014: The Ladies Roster- Who Will Win Gold?

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)

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. 

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.)

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.