Mao Asada has had two terrible outings this season at Japan Open and NHK Trophy. She has nothing to lose at this competition as she has no hope of making the Final and could really go out there and attack her programs. When her triple axel is on the rest of her program goes well but when she misses the triple axel the rest of the program suffers. If she skates to her full potential, she should easily best the field here. Alissa Czisny is coming off a surprise win at Skate Canada and is working on her mental game after a coaching change in the off-season. If she can stay on her feet, she delivers beautiful spins and footwork and really racks up the program components and should be able to medal and a medal of any color will qualify her for the Grand Prix Final. Mirai Nagasu won the short program at her first event but fell apart in the free skate, which seems to be a pattern for her. If she can either place lower in the short or keep her head together for the free, she should be able to medal here. If these three skaters have consistency problems, Cynthia Phaneuf, Kiira Korpi, and Haruka Imai could all grab a medal.
My podium predictions are:
Gold: Alissa Czisny
Silver: Mao Asada
Bronze: Mirai Nagasu
My USFSA Fantasy Team is:
A) Alissa Czisny
B) Cynthia Phaneuf
C) Sarah Hecken
Information on all the skaters is below.
Cynthia Phaneuf, CAN: Phaneuf finished 12th at the Olympics and 5th at Worlds with a personal best free skate and total score. She is the 2004 Four Continents silver medalist. She finished 6th and 7th at her two Grand Prix assignments last season. She finished 4th at Skate Canada earlier this season.
Kiira Korpi, FIN: Korpi finished 11th at the Olympics with a personal best free skate, 19th at Worlds and 4th at Europeans with a personal best short program and total score. She is the 2007 European bronze medalist. She finished 8th at her first Grand Prix assignment last year before winning silver at Cup of China. She finished 4th at NHK Trophy earlier this season.
Candice Didier, FRA: Didier finished 4th at her last Grand Prix assignment in 2008.
Lena Marrocco, FRA: Marrocco finished 11th at World Juniors last season. She finished 9th at her Junior Grand Prix assignment last season. She finished 10th at her Grand Prix debut at NHK Trophy.
Mae Berenice Meite, FRA: She finished 12th at the World Junior Championships. She finished 6th and 13th at her two Junior Grand Prix assignments last season. She finished 8th at her Grand Prix debut at Skate America.
Sarah Hecken, GER: Hecken finished 18th at the Olympics, 12th at Worlds with personal best scores across the board and 16th at Europeans. She finished 8th and 9th at her two Grand Prix assignments last season.
Mao Asada, JPN: Asada won silver at the Olympics with a personal best total score and is the reigning World and Four Continents Champion. She is the 2007 World silver medalist and 2008 World Champion. She is the 2008 Four Continents Champion and 2009 bronze medalist. She won the World Junior title in 2005 and took silver in 2006. She won silver in Paris last season before placing 5th at her second assignment. She finished 8th at NHK Trophy earlier this season.
Haruka Imai, JPN: Imai finished 5th at Four Continents with personal best short and total scores. She finished 5th at her Grand Prix debut at Skate Canada with a personal best free skate.
Fumie Suguri, JPN: She is the 2005 Four Continents Champion. She won silver at Worlds in 2006. She finished 7th and 4th at her two Grand Prix assignments last season. She finished 9th at Skate Canada earlier this season.
Sonia Lafuente, ESP: She placed 22nd at the Olympics with personal best scores, 20th at the World Championships and 17th at Europeans. She finished 13th at her Junior Grand Prix assignment last season. She finished 10th at her Grand Prix debut at Skate Canada with a personal best free skate.
Alissa Czisny, USA: Czisny finished 4th at her first Grand Prix assignment last season before winning the silver at Skate Canada. She won her first Grand Prix assignment this season, Skate Canada, with personal best free and total scores.
Mirai Nagasu, USA: Nagasu placed 4th at her Olympic debut with personal bests in the free skate and total score. She placed 7th at the World Championships after a personal best short program. She is the 2007 Grand Prix Final champion, 2007 US Junior Champion and 2008 US Senior Champion. She won a silver and bronze medal at the World Junior Championships. She placed 5th at Cup of China and 4th at Skate Canada last season. She finished 4th at Cup of China earlier this season.
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