- Joined
- Nov 12, 2009
The "Future" of Figure Skating: 2014 Olympic Podium Threats (Ladies)
So there is a thread like this for the men so I thought we should make one for the up-and-coming ladies of figure skating!
So obviously we have Mirai, who has kicked off her good international results with a 4th place finish at the Olympics. If she stays with Frank, I think she will only continue to get better in these coming years, especially with all the angst and growthspurt behind her now. Keep it up .
Next, there is the battle of the mini-Yunas : Min-Jung Kwak vs Christina Gao. They are a month apart in age (Kwak just turned 16 and Gao turns 16 in a few days) and I think they both have tremendous potential and if Kwak ends up training with Orser full time (she is in Toronto now with Yuna training with Orser until Worlds :agree I think she could be great. Right now Gao is a better jumper, her 3t-3t is amazing and I think next season she will go for 3f-3t because her flip is PERFECT, but Kwak has better spins and spirals. They have very similar body types (a lot like Yuna when she was younger) and if they stay with Orser, they will likely be making a big splash in senior international events as soon as next year!
Then there are the Russians. Ksenia Makarova is looking good for now and there are so many young Russian girls with big jumps. The three going to junior worlds this year are Polina Agafonova, Anna Ovcharova, and Polina Shelepen.
Agafonova didn't make the JGPF but won the junior Russian title this year, she is 13 and little, but has 3-3 combinations (sometimes UR though) and great spins. She reminds me of a Russian Mirai at that age http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54Htdg-doGc (love the layback!).
Ovcharova was 5th at the JGPF and has been doing even better recently, coming in 5th at senior Russian nationals and 2nd at junior Russian nationals. She is a breath of fresh air and has great choreography, footwork, and spins. She gets really into her programs and is very animated and musical, really fun to watch :agree:. Jump technique is not the smoothest, but she can do flip and lutz without edge call and rotates all her jumps. She turns 14 next week but is already pretty tall, grew a lot last year so is probably through the worst of the big growth spurt and should be able to keep her jumps. She is working on 3-3s and will likely do them next year on the JGP or SGP circuit.
Shelepen won both her JGP events and was 2nd at the JGPF. She has a 3lz-3t, 3sal-3t, and a 2a-3t. Recently she has been struggling a bit (3rd at Russian junior nats) and has had some troubles with her jumps. Her basic skating needs work and her jump technique is not the best, but she has a lot of potential. She is 14 and a complete beanpole now, though a decent height, so the thing with her will be if she can keep her difficult jumps when and if she grows/fills out. She should be a podium threat in Sochi if she can continue to do those jumps.
Kanako Murakami - the next big Japanese star. She won the JGPF and both her JGP events, won junior nationals in Japan and was 5th in the senior division. Most polished of the junior ladies as of now, got significantly higher PCS than everyone else at the JGPF. She has a 3t-3t that is sometimes UR but she has great speed for such a tiny girl and is flexible and expressive. Technique is pretty sound except for a flutz. She turned 15 last fall and will likely make her debut on the senior GP circuit next year where Yukari and Fumie are retiring.
So I'm sure there are more up and comers that I forgot so please share there names and your outlook on how all these young skaters are likely to faire in the future!
So there is a thread like this for the men so I thought we should make one for the up-and-coming ladies of figure skating!
So obviously we have Mirai, who has kicked off her good international results with a 4th place finish at the Olympics. If she stays with Frank, I think she will only continue to get better in these coming years, especially with all the angst and growthspurt behind her now. Keep it up .
Next, there is the battle of the mini-Yunas : Min-Jung Kwak vs Christina Gao. They are a month apart in age (Kwak just turned 16 and Gao turns 16 in a few days) and I think they both have tremendous potential and if Kwak ends up training with Orser full time (she is in Toronto now with Yuna training with Orser until Worlds :agree I think she could be great. Right now Gao is a better jumper, her 3t-3t is amazing and I think next season she will go for 3f-3t because her flip is PERFECT, but Kwak has better spins and spirals. They have very similar body types (a lot like Yuna when she was younger) and if they stay with Orser, they will likely be making a big splash in senior international events as soon as next year!
Then there are the Russians. Ksenia Makarova is looking good for now and there are so many young Russian girls with big jumps. The three going to junior worlds this year are Polina Agafonova, Anna Ovcharova, and Polina Shelepen.
Agafonova didn't make the JGPF but won the junior Russian title this year, she is 13 and little, but has 3-3 combinations (sometimes UR though) and great spins. She reminds me of a Russian Mirai at that age http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54Htdg-doGc (love the layback!).
Ovcharova was 5th at the JGPF and has been doing even better recently, coming in 5th at senior Russian nationals and 2nd at junior Russian nationals. She is a breath of fresh air and has great choreography, footwork, and spins. She gets really into her programs and is very animated and musical, really fun to watch :agree:. Jump technique is not the smoothest, but she can do flip and lutz without edge call and rotates all her jumps. She turns 14 next week but is already pretty tall, grew a lot last year so is probably through the worst of the big growth spurt and should be able to keep her jumps. She is working on 3-3s and will likely do them next year on the JGP or SGP circuit.
Shelepen won both her JGP events and was 2nd at the JGPF. She has a 3lz-3t, 3sal-3t, and a 2a-3t. Recently she has been struggling a bit (3rd at Russian junior nats) and has had some troubles with her jumps. Her basic skating needs work and her jump technique is not the best, but she has a lot of potential. She is 14 and a complete beanpole now, though a decent height, so the thing with her will be if she can keep her difficult jumps when and if she grows/fills out. She should be a podium threat in Sochi if she can continue to do those jumps.
Kanako Murakami - the next big Japanese star. She won the JGPF and both her JGP events, won junior nationals in Japan and was 5th in the senior division. Most polished of the junior ladies as of now, got significantly higher PCS than everyone else at the JGPF. She has a 3t-3t that is sometimes UR but she has great speed for such a tiny girl and is flexible and expressive. Technique is pretty sound except for a flutz. She turned 15 last fall and will likely make her debut on the senior GP circuit next year where Yukari and Fumie are retiring.
So I'm sure there are more up and comers that I forgot so please share there names and your outlook on how all these young skaters are likely to faire in the future!
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