ICE SKATING: Skate America Preview

By Virginia Blalock

esportfans, like skaters and their fans, begins its trip around the world as the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating begins this week. First up is a preview of the first competition of the Grand Prix, Skate America, taking place in Colorado Springs, CO.

Event Preview and Predictions

LADIES

The entries(as of October 21): Michelle Currie (CAN) Siyin Sun (CHN) Caroline Gulke (GER) Chisato Shiina (JPN) Alisa Yamasaki (JPN) Sabina Wojtala (POL) Viktoria Volchkova (RUS) Elena Sokolova (RUS) Michelle Kwan (USA) Sarah Hughes (USA) Angela Nikodinov (USA)

Reiging World champion Michelle Kwan should win this one with not too much difficulty.

However, if Kwan falters, there are skaters in the wings waiting to claim the title.

European bronze medalist Viktoria Volchkova is a young talent and a medal contender.

American teenager Sarah Hughes has shown that she can skate with the big girls and could very well medal here. Her improvement in the last 2 years has been quite good. Elena Sokolova, a lovely skater who is good but inconsistent(but a previous medal winner at this event), and a newly trimmer Angela Nikodinov, a high quality skater but one who doesn't always skate up to potential, are also in the medal hunt.

Predictions

GOLD-Michelle Kwan(USA) SILVER--Viktoria Volchkova(RUS) BRONZE--Sarah Hughes(USA) Also in the medal hunt:--Sokolova, Nikodinov

MEN

The Entries(as of October 21) Emanuel Sandhu (CAN) Zhengxin Guo (CHN) Vincent Restencourt (FRA) Andre Kaden (GER) Silvio Smalun (GER) Yamato Tamura (JPN) Alexei Yagudin (RUS) Alexander Abt (RUS) Roman Serov (RUS) Todd Eldredge(USA) Timothy Goebel (USA) Trifun Zivanovic (USA)

Alexei Yagudin, the 3 time and current World champion, has the edge here. Yagudin has great skills and usually comes up with a good performance when he needs to. However, he had some trouble with the thin Colorado air at last year's Skate America and did not perform as well as he can. Todd Eldredge is making his full time return to the regular eligible track this year and a 5 time Skate America winner. The jury is out as to how he will perform overall, but Eldredge is a quality skater who is consistent. That should get him on the podium here, but probably not the gold position. The third spot on the podium can come from a range of skaters. Alexander Abt has medaled here before and has shown both signs of brilliance and inconsistency. Tim Geobel landed 3 quads at this event last year, but this year is going through a lot of changes including coaches and getting some technique tweaking. Geobel, like Eldredge, is a wait and see. Geobel could medal here or be toward the bottom of the pack. Regardless, he is on the right track and will improve nicely this year.

Zhenghin Guo, whose jumps are right on but lacks some presentation skills, is right in the hunt purely due to jump prowess, which is considerable.

PREDICTIONS

GOLD--Alexei Yagudin(RUS) SILVER--Todd Eldredge(USA) BRONZE--Alexander Abt(RUS) Also in the medal hunt:-Geobel, Guo

PAIRS

The entries(as of October 21): Jamie Sale and David Pelletier (CAN) Jacinthe Lariviere and Lenny Faustino (CAN) Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao (CHN) Mariana Kautz and Norman Jeschke (GER) Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin (RUS) Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman (USA) Tiffany Scott and Philip Dulebohn (USA) This is a very small field, but with some good pairs in it. It should be a good tight race for podium spots. Jamie Sale and David Pelletier won this event last year in brilliant fashion and could very well do it again. They can be inconsistent in their side by side jumps, but overall this pair is top notch. Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao are a powerful team with great jumps and pair elements. They can have problems with their spins and are not quite yet at the top in terms of presentation. With the jump inconsistency with Sale/Pelletier, Shen and Zhao are in as good a position as Sale/Pelletier to take the title. Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman look to have made great improvements during the summer and looked very good at their first competition of the year(a USFSA pro/am). Historically they have had problems with the side by side jumps and throw jumps. If Ina and Zimmerman can land the jump elements, a podium finish is definitely in their reach.

Totmianina and Marinin are also strong jumpers who have the ability to medal but have had some inconsistency problems.

PREDICTIONS

GOLD--Sale/Pelletier(CAN) SILVER--Zhen/Zhao(CHN) BRONZE--Ina/Zimmerman(USA) Also in the medal hunt:--Totmianina/Marinin(RUS)

ICE DANCE

The entries(as of October 21): Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz (CAN) Alia Ouabdelsselam and Benjamin Delmas (FRA) Veronique Delobel and Olivier Chapuis (FRA) Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovsky (ISR) Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio (ITA) Nakako Tsuzuki and Rinat Farkhoutdinov (JPN) Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas (LTU) Anastassia Grebeukina and Vitaly Novikov (RUS) Nina Ulanova and Alexander Pavlov (RUS) Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev (USA) Beata Handra and Charles Sinek (USA)

The ice dance event will be quite good! The reigning World silver medalists, Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio are the favorites here. With the placements in ice dance now having some movement, there could be some competition for the top medal, although it is unlikely. The bronze medalists from worlds, Margarita Drobiazko and Polivas Vanagas, who until last year were a high quality yet overlooked team, should be in silver contention.

It is the bronze position that can get interesting. Skate America marks the return of Canadians Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraazt, who sat out a good portion of last year with injury problems. Before having to withdraw from the winter's events, Bourne and Kraatz were not having a good year, consistently getting beaten by teams who in previous years had placed below them. Now, Bourne and Kraazt are with a new coach(Tatiana Tarasova, who has had major success with ice dancers) and have new programs that are reportedly more dramatic and technically more difficult. It remains to be seen if Tarasova has worked her magic on this team. The Isrealis Chait and Sakhnovsky, 5th at worlds last year, could be the team who gets the bronze this time around. They are a solid team who have improved every year. It should be a good fight between the Canadians and Isrealis for the last medal position. It all depends on how Bourne and Kraatz fare. Lang and Tchernyshev, another improving team, could also be long shot contenders for bronze particularly if Bourne and Kraatz don't deliver the goods in Colorado Springs.

PREDICTIONS

GOLD--Fusar-Poli/Margaglio(ITA) SILVER--Drobiazko/Vanagas(LTU) BRONZE--Chait/Sakhnovsky(ISR) Also in the medal hunt: --Bourne/Kraazt, Lang/Tchernyshev(long shot)

Article courtesy of esportfans.com