It's hard to say what Nathalie and Fabian will do, as they have been in senior for many years and are not that young (he's 28, she's 25), so both would be in their 30s at Sochi. Also, Nathalie has expressed some frustration with the judging system, which she feels is not conducive to creativity. I imagine they'll stay on at least to medal at Worlds but I'm not sure they will be around for another full Olympic cycle.pista04 said:Pechalat/Bourzat could very well make runs at gold, potentially even a worlds championship. Eyes will definitely remain on teams like Carron/Jost
Mine will be a bit more vague...
Ladies: For the ladies, it depends on who does end up leaving. If we lose Kim, Asada and Rochette (which, is very doubtful, especially because Kim and Asada are still not "old" and could attempt Sochi) I believe that it will be another age of the Americans. Zhang, Flatt, Nagasu, and Wagner will have a lot of pressure if they continue to improve, while Europeans like Lepisto will be in the game as well. I do think, however, that by Sochi, we will be talking about the rising Russian stars, like Sotnikova and Tuktamisheva, and if they can adapt. Luckily, I also think they will take the place of where Zhang and Flatt are today: the young stars who could potentially steal a medal.
Pairs: I believe that, atleast for a while, the Chinese dominance will slowly fade out, and the unstoppable ones may become Kawaguchi/Smirnov if they remain on the ice, with Murkhotova/Trankov and Volosozhar/Morozov there, but I do think that Duhamel/Bunton actually make a run at the podiums, just as Dube/Davison had, and who I have a really good feeling about. However, I think the American stars will be battling to podium contenders, so we'll see a lot more of McLaughlin/Brubaker and Denney/Barret. Who knows, after the Russian skaters move on, it could be an American era of pairs.
gold12345 said:I think Kim or Asada will retire if they win Olympic gold.
I think Yukiko Fujisawa is going to be the next star from Japan after Mao Asada. The girl is simply awesome! Murakami is wonderful too, but her jumps worry me a bit.I keep an eye on Kanako Murakami, Yukiko Fujisawa, Mari Suzuki, Tuktamisheva, Polina Shelepen (sp?)
Totally agree on Keegan Messing, Toni!