Irina Slutskaya will win in Torino

[SkateFan4Life]

IMHO, Irina Slutskaya will win the Olympic gold medal if she stays on her feet and presents two clean programs. She seems to be the judge's favorite, and as a European who will be competing in an Olympics held in Europe, she will have a sort of home-court advantage. Her artistry leaves something to be desired, but she's one fierce, determined competitor, and she unleashes triples with a lot of speed, power, and confidence. As the defending World Champion, she is the favorite, as far as I'm concerned.

Remember that Irina nearly won the gold medal in Salt Lake City. Two of the judges awarded her 5.9 for technical merit, which was way too high (IMHO), as she made several errors in her long program. However, those judges were from Europe, and they love Irina. Things may be different now, but I believe the judges will bend over backwards to give her the gold medal. This will be her third Olympics, and, well, at the age of 27, it may well be her last.

[Vicky458]

I agree. That has already been decided

[R.D.]

YES SHE WILL. MARK MY WORDS





But on another note, maybe we really are counting our chickens before they are hatched. I think the Cop proves that nothing is set in stone. But I think the winner will be someone with high technical content. But I can't see Irina not winning the OGM. I'll be SHOCKED if she doesn't win. (and I hope to be shocked, too)

[wvgal57]

Actually, Irina never made any errors in her freeskate at Salt Lake City. She had a slight bend at the waist on her 3flip but otherwise her program had no errors. Her short program was absolutely flawless and was placed second to a flawed Kwan.

The 5.9's were not out of line at all, she didn't fall and she didn't underrotate any jumps.

She was actually held down in the freeskate for technical merit.

Edited to Add: I'm not counting anything before the final minute on the ice in Turino. Sarah and Tara both showed that anyone with a truly inspired performance can win.

The Olympics is not a crowning achievement award and in some ways the ones with the most pressure don't seem to fair so well. The ones with less pressure usually win. I'm personally happy to see Irina still out there competing and as I'm not as worried about her leaving her career with a gold Olympic medal as leaving with the satisfaction she is currently obtaining with her skating.

[BronzeisGolden]

Irina has had a great season so far, but that doesn't necessarily mean the Olympic Gold is hers. She was receiving very high marks in her competitions before SLC and to many was the frontrunner, but that didn't help her much at the Olympics in 2002. She still has to deliver in Turin....and before that, at COR, the GPF and Europeans. As many have said, she is being given great marks by the judges b/c she is simply skating much better than anyone else in these competitions. In Turin, she will be competing against all of the big names....and with the enormous pressure of being the Olympic favorite most likely. I am not so inclined to count Arakawa, Cohen or Kwan out. They are all fabulous skaters that can and have bested Slutskaya in the past. She isn't invincible. No one is. Now....if she has subpar performances for the remainder of the season and undeservedly and consistently receives high scores I will begin to worry. But, she has earned every victory so far. The others will just have to bring their best.....and I am hoping they will. Besides...we haven't even seen Kwan yet! Who knows what she will do.

[R.D.]

Edited to Add: I'm not counting anything before the final minute on the ice in Turino. Sarah and Tara both showed that anyone with a truly inspired performance can win.

Remember that it wasn't just an inspired performance. Both programs were PACKED with tech content. Hughes even had TWO 3-3's in her program!

The Olympics is not a crowning achievement award and in some ways the ones with the most pressure don't seem to fair so well. The ones with less pressure usually win.

I sure hope this Olympics won't be a crowning achievement award- for Irina, that is. But here's something that works against Irina big time- the pressure. She will be under ENORMOUS pressure in Torino. She'll be the Olympic favorite of ANY country. But, as skating in Moscow proved, she can deal with it. Pressure can work for or against you. Let's see how she does under that light.

As for the Americans, with Kwan a ? at this point, Cohen will have the pressure of being the American favorite. We all know how she does under such circumstances. Heck, when she's NOT under pressure I've seen her turn in a few "cautious" performances as well. I think that alone keeps the OGM out of reach for her.

Irina has had a great season so far, but that doesn't necessarily mean the Olympic Gold is hers. She was receiving very high marks in her competitions before SLC and to many was the frontrunner, but that didn't help her much at the Olympics in 2002. She still has to deliver in Turin....and before that, at COR, the GPF and Europeans. As many have said, she is being given great marks by the judges b/c she is simply skating much better than anyone else in these competitions. In Turin, she will be competing against all of the big names....and with the enormous pressure of being the Olympic favorite most likely. I am not so inclined to count Arakawa, Cohen or Kwan out. They are all fabulous skaters that can and have bested Slutskaya in the past. She isn't invincible. No one is.

You know, for some reason this post put a smile on my face. It's no fun to watch if the winner is already pre-determined. I hope for everyone's sake that they bring their best to challenge Slutskaya. Because so far, she been steamrolling everybody.

[nymkfan51]

Actually, Irina never made any errors in her freeskate at Salt Lake City. She had a slight bend at the waist on her 3flip but otherwise her program had no errors..

A slight bend at the waist? She nearly did a head banger into the ice.
That was her worst performance of Tosca, IMO. She had ZERO spark or presentation.
Not to worry though ... the gold is hers in Torino ... regardless of whether she is perfect or not. Short of her imitating a zamboni, she's already won.

[R.D.]

Not to worry though ... the gold is hers in Torino ... regardless of whether she is perfect or not. Short of her imitating a zamboni, she's already won.

I concur. The Irina fans can plan the celebration ceremony right now.

[R.D.]

If, by chance, anyone's waiting in the wings to dethrone Irina, I think it will be one of the Japanese girls. It certainly won't be Cohen. I'd even say Kwan has a greater shot, but with her being injured, she very well may be rusty. But she'll be there to give that sentimental performance. She doesn't even have to medal. I'm sure the fans will be proud of her for even showing up and competing.

[SingAlto]

In the immortal words of Yogi Berra: It ain't over 'til it's over. In other words, whoda thunk that Alexei Urmanov, Sarah Hughes, and Tara Lipinski (to name a few) would be Olympic gold medalists? Plus, the Canadians were sure knocked for a loop when Orser didn't win in 1988, weren't they? They were planning the coronation months ahead of time. Nope, it ain't over 'til it's over, folks.

[Joesitz]

It seems at this point in time that Irina will win the gold as long as Mao is not going to be there.

Not sure why this Oly prediction thread is showing up on The Edge 3 months before the Olympics. There's a whole thread in the events section for the Olys.

Joe

[R.D.]

In the immortal words of Yogi Berra: It ain't over 'til it's over. In other words, whoda thunk that Alexei Urmanov, Sarah Hughes, and Tara Lipinski (to name a few) would be Olympic gold medalists? Plus, the Canadians were sure knocked for a loop when Orser didn't win in 1988, weren't they? They were planning the coronation months ahead of time. Nope, it ain't over 'til it's over, folks.

*crossing fingers*

Let's HOPE so!

[Joesitz]

*crossing fingers*

Let's HOPE so!

Hang in there RD. Sasha has a good shot at the gold in Torino.

Joe

[R.D.]

Hang in there RD. Sasha has a good shot at the gold in Torino.

Joe

I'm not so sure, actually. She may have the biggest chance of the Americans, but I think Japanese skaters like Arakawa may be more likely to top Slutskaya in the event of an upset. The way I see it, it will be an upset if anyone but Slutskaya wins.

IMO, Cohen has a few things working against her:

- her lack of a technical arsenal (her other strengths sort of make up for this, but it won't be enough if someone else lays down the 3-3s)

- the pressure of being the American favorite (or a favorite if Kwan goes)

- her cautiousness. What happened? I used to like her go-get-it attitude back in 2002. Now she's falling into that same trap so many other skaters at her level fall into: being cautious. I've said time and time again that this isn't going to win you an OGM or a World Gold. Maybe she could win the Nats title if Kwan doesn't show up.

So, I think Cohen actually is looking at Olympic bronze right now (I see two favorites). But who knows? Three months is a long time.

[Doggygirl]

I'm not so sure, actually. She may have the biggest chance of the Americans, but I think Japanese skaters like Arakawa may be more likely to top Slutskaya in the event of an upset. The way I see it, it will be an upset if anyone but Slutskaya wins.

IMO, Cohen has a few things working against her:

- her lack of a technical arsenal (her other strengths sort of make up for this, but it won't be enough if someone else lays down the 3-3s)

- the pressure of being the American favorite (or a favorite if Kwan goes)

- her cautiousness. What happened? I used to like her go-get-it attitude back in 2002. Now she's falling into that same trap so many other skaters at her level fall into: being cautious. I've said time and time again that this isn't going to win you an OGM or a World Gold. Maybe she could win the Nats title if Kwan doesn't show up.

So, I think Cohen actually is looking at Olympic bronze right now (I see two favorites). But who knows? Three months is a long time.

You need to take another look at the score sheets, especially before you comment about Sasha's technical arsenal. I won't get into spoilers, but just take a look at the top ladies LP base values for the GP events held so far this season. Who knows how any of these ladies will skate in the future. Just look at the facts in hand.

DG