Figure skaters on trading cards featuring U.S. hopefuls for Sochi Olympics

Figure skaters on trading cards featuring U.S. hopefuls for Sochi Olympics

Figure skaters on trading cards featuring U.S. hopefuls for Sochi Olympics [ETA: AND Paralympics :thumbsup:]

Did I miss a recent mention of these elsewhere on GS?

According to the link below, depicted among the one hundred "base" Topps trading cards devoted to U.S. hopefuls for all Sochi sports will be:

• Max Aaron, Jeremy Abbott, Evan Lysacek
• Christina Gao, Gracie Gold, Ashley Wagner, Agnes Zawadzki
• Meryl Davis, Maia Shibutani, Alex Shibutani, Charlie White
• John Coughlin, Caydee Denney

- "There are also 11 limited edition autographed cards by Olympic legends Bonnie Blair, Brian Boitano, Dick Button, Jim Craig, Mike Eruzione, Peggy Fleming, Scott Hamilton, Dan Jansen, Nancy Kerrigan, Picabo Street and Kristi Yamaguchi."
- "There are also special “swatch cards” with game-worn athlete patches inserted into the card. This follows a trend set more than 10 years ago in other sports (game-worn jerseys, game-used bats, etc.)"
http://olympictalk.nbcsports.com/2013/07/21/sochi-2014-winter-olympics-trading-cards-topps/ (Jul 21)

ETA:


Estimated Release Date: 11/6/2013

I'm sure the USFSA was consulted about which athletes should be picked for these cards, so it seems to be a good indication of the short list of athletes being considered for the team. I'm a bit disappointed Mirai isn't there but I suppose it is because of her poor Nationals performances the last two years.

OTOH: "Perhaps the most recognizable U.S. Winter Olympian is not on that list — Shaun White."
He is planning to compete in Sochi, so his absence from the cards suggests that inclusion or exclusion doesn't necessarily indicate anything one way or the other.

Why Lysacek? I mean, he hasn't even skated in a competition yet. Why is he on there? Abbott - not likely, but at least he was on the podium at the last Nationals.

Like Yamaguchi, Evan won a gold medal...Yama is also there as a premier athlete. Evan's in a kind of limbo, since he might (but may not) make the team.