Four Continents Championships Preview
A royal cast of figure skaters is heading this week to Seoul, South Korea. For the first time ever, I'll take a look at the action and blog about all the events of the competition.
Choosing South Korea as the host country of the Four Continents Championships (FCC) was most appropriate, given that Yuna Kim lives here. Now, I doubt that I have to explain to you who Yuna Kim is, but just in case some of you have just discovered your passion for this sport: she is widely regarded as the best figure skater of the decade. I believe that's a title she ought to share with skaters such as Mao Asada or Carolina Kostner, but the fact remains that through her achievements and mind-blowing talent, she has convinced South Korea to get as involved in this sport as possible. They have more skaters competing on the international scene than ever before and they are hosting spotlight events like the FCC because of her.
Unfortunately, Yuna won't be able to represent her country this week as she is officially retired from competition. That doesn't mean though that we won't get a show in the ladies' event. I'm placing my bets on Gracie Gold for the...well, gold, because she hasn't been defeated by any of the ladies competing here all season, so unless she'll have a really, really bad couple of days, she's sure to win. The other two medals will most likely go to Japan, who is equal to Russia in the amount of amazing talents it has been producing lately. Kanako Murakami, Rita Hongo and Satoko Miyahara are the names you want to keep an eye on here.
Japan has the advantage in numbers in the men's event as well. Takahito Mura and Daisuke Murakami made quite an impression in the Grand Prix series and might get a medal each. But then Jason Brown has the kind of talent that makes a room grow instantly quiet when he walks in. He was also just crowned the US champion despite not being able to jump quads, which is quite impressive and speaks loads of his presentation skills. The poster boy for the event though has to be Denis Ten. The Olympic medalist finished on a frustrating fourth last year at the FCC, so this is the perfect time for him to prove himself.
The ice-dancers will turn the heat up a notch with their paso dobles. Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje are looking to win their first Four Continents title as Canadian front-runners, with only Madison Chock & Evan Bates as rivals. The Americans have a couple of sophisticated routines with some very difficult lifts, but they can't really compete with the Canadians' fierce short programme or their lyrical free skate.
Another pair of Canadians who are bound to win are Meagan Duhamel & Eric Radford. Their triple Lutzes and thrown quad have made them technically untouchable even in the face of such legends as Qing Pang & Jian Tong. Yes, you heard me right. Apparently the Chinese pair have decided to postpone their retirement and are back in the game. Whether they'll get a medal or not we will see, but it's more likely that they'll compete with Cheng Peng & Hao Zhang than with the Canadians' for one.
So, those are my predictions for the 17th Four Continents Championships. Make sure to come back to see my commentary on the competition as well. See you soon!
Choosing South Korea as the host country of the Four Continents Championships (FCC) was most appropriate, given that Yuna Kim lives here. Now, I doubt that I have to explain to you who Yuna Kim is, but just in case some of you have just discovered your passion for this sport: she is widely regarded as the best figure skater of the decade. I believe that's a title she ought to share with skaters such as Mao Asada or Carolina Kostner, but the fact remains that through her achievements and mind-blowing talent, she has convinced South Korea to get as involved in this sport as possible. They have more skaters competing on the international scene than ever before and they are hosting spotlight events like the FCC because of her.
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| Seoul, South Korea, home of Yuna Kim Photograph: www.hotelroomsearch.net |
Unfortunately, Yuna won't be able to represent her country this week as she is officially retired from competition. That doesn't mean though that we won't get a show in the ladies' event. I'm placing my bets on Gracie Gold for the...well, gold, because she hasn't been defeated by any of the ladies competing here all season, so unless she'll have a really, really bad couple of days, she's sure to win. The other two medals will most likely go to Japan, who is equal to Russia in the amount of amazing talents it has been producing lately. Kanako Murakami, Rita Hongo and Satoko Miyahara are the names you want to keep an eye on here.
Japan has the advantage in numbers in the men's event as well. Takahito Mura and Daisuke Murakami made quite an impression in the Grand Prix series and might get a medal each. But then Jason Brown has the kind of talent that makes a room grow instantly quiet when he walks in. He was also just crowned the US champion despite not being able to jump quads, which is quite impressive and speaks loads of his presentation skills. The poster boy for the event though has to be Denis Ten. The Olympic medalist finished on a frustrating fourth last year at the FCC, so this is the perfect time for him to prove himself.
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| Will Duhamel & Radford score another victory in Seoul? Photograph: David Ramos / Getty Images Europe |
Another pair of Canadians who are bound to win are Meagan Duhamel & Eric Radford. Their triple Lutzes and thrown quad have made them technically untouchable even in the face of such legends as Qing Pang & Jian Tong. Yes, you heard me right. Apparently the Chinese pair have decided to postpone their retirement and are back in the game. Whether they'll get a medal or not we will see, but it's more likely that they'll compete with Cheng Peng & Hao Zhang than with the Canadians' for one.
So, those are my predictions for the 17th Four Continents Championships. Make sure to come back to see my commentary on the competition as well. See you soon!
Great post! But I think Kaitlyn and Andrew have won 4cc back in 2010, although most of the Olympians didn't compete in 4cc that year.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. It totally skipped my mind because there weren't any Olympians competing. Thanks for pointing it out.
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