It is a busy week in US Figure Skating with Skate America this weekend and sectionals occuring this week! I'll be doing my best to post previews, summaries, recaps and results throughout the week. If there is something you would like me to make sure to cover please leave a comment letting me know.
The men's competition will come down to Takahashi, Oda and Rippon. None of the other skaters have scores that come close to these three competitors. All three have medaled already on the Grand Prix circuit and are looking for another medal and a shot at the Grand Prix Final. I think Takahashi will continue to get stronger here and Rippon will be strengthened by the home crowd. He is planning on making a few changes to his program which could leave him open for errors. Three points separate these skaters this season and whoever skates cleanest will walk away with the Gold medal. For team USA, it will be interesting to see if Stephen Carriere can regain his place among the best U.S. skaters or if he will continue his downward slide after his disastrous finish at nationals last year. Mahbanoozadeh is a younger skater who came up with Rippon but his scores on the senior circuit haven't kept up with Rippon's. He struggles with consistency and he'll need a good skate here to keep his name on the radar for up and coming U.S. skaters.
Podium Predictions:
Gold: Takahashi
Silver: Oda
Bronze: Rippn
My USFSA Fantasy team is:
A) Takahashi
B) Van der Perren
C) Song
Information on all the competitors is below.
Viktor Pfeifer, AUT: He placed 21st at the Olympics, 20th at Worlds and 17th at Europeans. He received personal best scores in the free skate at the Olympics and in the short program and total score at Europeans. This is his Grand Prix debut.
Kevin Van der Perren, BEL: He placed 17th at the Olympics, 8th at Worlds and 11th at Europeans. He is the two-time European bronze medalist (2007, 2009). He placed 5th and 11th at his two Grand Prix assignments last season. He began his season with an 8th place finish at Cup of China. He is married to Jenna McCorkell who competes for Great Britain.
Shawn Sawyer, CAN: Sawyer placed 7th at Four Continents with a personal best score in the free skate. He placed 8th at his first Grand Prix assignment last season before winning silver at Skate America. He finished 5th at the NHK Trophy earlier this season.
Nan Song, CHN: Song placed 6th at the Four Continents Championships with personal bests in the short program and total score. He is the reigning World Junior silver medalist after a personal best score in the free skate. He won silver at last year's Junior Grand Prix Final. This is his Grand Prix debut.
Daisuke Murakami, JPN: He finished 9th at his Grand Prix debut last season at the NHK Trophy. He is ranked 19th in Japan.
Nobunari Oda, JPN: He finished 7th at the Olympics and 28th at the World Championships after problems with jumps in his short program kept him from qualifying for the free skate. He is the 2006 Four Continents Champion and the 2005 World Junior Champion. He won both his Grand Prix assignments last season in Paris and Beijing and won silver at the Grand Prix Final with a personal best short program score. He won silver at Skate Canada earlier this season.
Daisuke Takahashi, JPN: He won bronze at the Olympics with a personal best short program score. He is the reigning world champion. He has previously won gold and bronze at the Four Continents Championships and silver at the World Championships. He placed 4th at the NHK Trophy last season before winning silver at Skate Canada and qualifying for the Grand Prix Final where he placed 5th. He won the NHK Trophy this season.
Denis Ten, KAZ: Ten placed 11th at the Olympics and 13th at the World Championships with a personal best short program. He finished 10th at Four Continents. He finished 7th and 10th at his Grand Prix assignments last season. He finished 12th at the NHK Trophy earlier this season. He changed coaches to Frank Carroll in the offseason.
Adrian Schultheiss, SWE: He placed 15th at the Olympics and 9th at the World Championships with all personal best scores. He finished 12th at Europeans. He finished 6th and 7th at his two Grand Prix assignments last season. He began this season with a 10th place finish at the NHK Trophy.
Stephen Carriere, USA: Carriere is 2007 World Junior Champion. He finished 6th and 8th at his two Grand Prix assignments last season.
Armin Mahbanoozadeh, USA: He placed 10th at the World Junior Championships. He finished 11th and 9th at his two Grand Prix assignments last season.
Adam Rippon, USA: He placed 6th at the World Championships with a personal best short program score and is the reigning Four Continents champion with a personal best free skate score. He won bronze at Trophee Eric Bompard last season and placed 6th at NHK Trophy. He won bronze at Skate Canada two weeks ago with a personal best total score. He is known for his signature "Rippon Lutz" performed with both arms over his head.
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