Gracie, on the other hand, has an outside shot of medaling. I keep thinking of Kwan's 1995 to 1996 transition and if Gold can pull that off she can do well in Sochi. She really needs to do nothing on the technical side; her jump difficulty and quality are among the very best. If she can skate clean and improve her artistry, there's no reason she can't beat a 4 triple LP by Carolina or Mao.
I hope Gold can find a good choreographer and have that transition. But Kwan was with Frank Carroll and Laurie Nichol and that combination of talent/drive/politicking is rare.