US figure skating has been in a state of
flux in the past four years, particularly in the disciplines where it's traditionally
had success. Ice dance, in which the US won no Olympic medals between
1976 and 2006, is actually the discipline where the US is most likely to
medal. Medals in pairs will be a long
shot—if not an impossible shot.
Pairs
It’s hardly even
worth mentioning American medal hopes for pairs; those hopes are pretty much
non-existent. American teams placed 9th
and 13th at this year’s World Championships. 2012 National Champions Caydee Denney and
John Coughlin didn’t compete due to Coughlin’s injury, but if they’re healthy
for the Olympics, they’ll likely improve on those placements. Those improvements won’t be enough to
approach the medal podium, though—not with the significantly stronger Canadian,
German, Russian, and Chinese teams in the mix.
2011 National Champion Caitlin Yankowskas (who won with Coughlin) is
also hoping to compete next year with her new partner, Joshua Reagan. They were also sidelined by injury this
season, but their biggest problem is likely not the injury—rumors have been
flying for the past month that the couple on and off the ice has split (both on
and off the ice). The state of US pairs
does not bode well for a medal.
Thankfully, we have ice dance to keep our hopes going.
Ice Dance
Five-time US
National Champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White are just coming off of their
second world title. They beat out
training partners and close competitors Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (of Canada)
for this year’s gold, but Virtue and Moir beat them out in 2012—as well as at
the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Davis
and White are a virtual lock for one of the top two spots and are the closest
thing to a sure thing the Americans have for a medal in Sochi.
The US could even
have a shot at the bronze medal, though it’s not quite clear which of the other
US teams is likely to snag that medal.
2011 World bronze medalists Maia and Alex Shibutani have lost ground
this past year to American cohorts Madison Chock and Evan Bates. While Davis and White, Virtue and Moir, and the Shibutanis are all under the
coaching direction of Marina Zoueva, Chock and Bates have had most of coach
Igor Shpilband’s attention since Zoueva and Shpilband ended their coaching
partnership last summer. This attention
has helped them tremendously in the past year, but will it be enough to help
them improve upon their 7th place finish at Worlds this year?
Are there any other American contenders in pairs or dance that you
see missing from this equation?
No comments:
Post a Comment