For the first time in recent history, the drama regarding who will take Olympic gold medals will not be an Americans-only battle. The World Championship of Figure Skating in Los Angeles from Staples Center allowed only two of potential three podium chances for Americans in Vancouver for women’s senior skaters, leaving the field open for crown rivals Miko Asada and South Korean Yu-na Kim. And Miki Ando could conceivably put up a fight on her best skating day for a Vancouver 2010 neck metal.
Unlike the men’s skating battle for Worlds which pitted Evan Lysacek, Patrick Chen, France’s Brian Joubert, and Czech Tomas Verner against each other, the Ladies’ offering for Olympic gold is not sustained by Olympics results. Women’s figure skating for the United States is having an “off” year, not producing multilevel gold medalist possibilities for the nearing Olympic Winter Games. And with ice queens like Kim and Asada putting up show stopping performances up, it’s a good thing.
The one Olympic gold medal in figure skating has long been the pearl in the crown for any country in a Winter Olympics. Gold medal figure skaters become (more) celebrated and attain stardom for their country forever. In Vancouver 2020, the gold medal will not go to an American. The Worlds’ qualifying results have set that in stone. Rachel Flatt and Alissa Czerny are Olympics class skaters, but the talent the Koreans are bringing eclipses the field.
In today’s media lifetime a gold medal figure skater can enter any career from acting to politics with a shining top podium win. It’s likely that, barring injury, Yuna Kim or Mao Asada will powerhouse the Vancouver Olympics skating stadium in a once in a lifetime performance race that will make the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games ticket holders shiver with glee. Closest contenders are the always-elegant Miki Ando, the still-green Carolina Kostner and Canadian Joanie Rochette.
Thus the die for the candidates qualifying Olympics 2010 competition in the 2010 World next year are cast. The 2009 Ladies’ Figure Skating Worlds results in fact could be a slate for the Olympics (or Worlds) after Vancouver 2010. Sarah Meier of Switzerland might consider herself to old to stay trained. Many holdovers that made the Turin 2006 Olympics have aged out of the running.
Kostner, whose strange skating style looks American and feels flat, placed twelfth in the Worlds 2009 Staples Center result. Kostner still skates like a sloppy former champion with lessened polish and choreography morphed into a young body with a skimpy costume. Rochette would be a solid medalist contender in any year that didn’t have quality talent like Kim and Asada leaving only one spot left in the medals ceremony. Ando, a veteran on the world skating championship scene, could make a lucky sweep if her spirit and polish outstrips nervier athletes on the day.
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