Who is under the heaviest Oly pressures?

[BlackAxel]

Yu-Na = in simple words, she has been listed as the "One to Beat." I do have to admit that she has been vulnerable and this has been shown at SA and the GPF.

Evan = he is the real true hope that the US can get a gold medal at Vancouver. But I have to commend him on his constinency at the past competitions, but he really needs the quad to be considered a true threat at the Olympics

MAO = too much pressure has been placed upon her and it seems that a considerable amount comes from just her. She needs to get her jumps together and stop relying solely on the triple axel. It's a shame that this is happening to such a beautiful and graceful skater :no:

Joannie = no doubt, just look at her past competitions. No matter what when the Olympics takes place in your home country, stress and pressure will ensue.

Domnina/Shabalin = pure and simple, they are Russian and Russians almost always wins the ice dance competition. It will be intresting as to how they fare in their next competition afer Maxim's recovery.

Belbin/Agosto = I have my own thoughts as to the no-show by them at GPF. If the rumors are true that they are pulling out of Nationals, this would show how are they are scared of losing to the younger teams D/W and V/M

 

[jennylovskt]

In pairs, S/Z

In ladies, YuNa Kim

In dance, don't know. Maybe V/M?

In men, I agree with the people who say Joubert and Chan.

Joubert has set up his goal to win this time's OGM. He didn't medal last time, and this is his last Olympics. He has put a huge pressure on himself which I don't think it's good for his skating.

Chan has been crowned as the next best thing in men. The home country has put a heavy weight on him to get on the Olympic podium. You can imagine the outside and the inside pressure. However, the desaster SC performance has eased some of them. People has realized the first time that the best hopeful could falter like that.

To compare Joubert and Chan, I would say that Joubert has more pressure.

Lysacek doesn't have much pressure at least from himself and the skating fans, if not from the medias. He has reached the highest point that he might be realistically hoping for. The Olympic gold would be a gift if he could really get it. I don't think deep down he really, truly believe that he could. The best he could hope for is an Olympic podium finish. If he gets a medal at the game, he would have completed his medal-hunt career. If he doesn't, he has already had the World Champion title to sleep on. He really is at a good position. And so does Plushenko. JMO.

 

[schiele]

Lysacek doesn't have much pressure at least from himself and the skating fans, if not from the medias. He has reached the highest point that he might be realistically hoping for. The Olympic gold would be a gift if he could really get it. I don't think deep down he really, truly believe that he could. The best he could hope for is an Olympic podium finish. If he gets a medal at the game, he would have completed his medal-hunt career. If he doesn't, he has already had the World Champion title to sleep on. He really is at a good position. And so does Plushenko. JMO.

I find this rather interesting because after this last GPF I really believe Lysacek is one of the top contenders for OGM. He has been under all different kinds of pressures and he has remained truly consistent. Can we say the same about others without the obvious Plushenko? And as I recall, he had the best comeback in 06 OG, where Joubert bombed beyond belief.. So without any added pressure and good consistency, he must be thinking he's really up to the game..

 

[Layfan]

I find this rather interesting because after this last GPF I really believe Lysacek is one of the top contenders for OGM. He has been under all different kinds of pressures and he has remained truly consistent. Can we say the same about others without the obvious Plushenko? And as I recall, he had the best comeback in 06 OG, where Joubert bombed beyond belief.. So without any added pressure and good consistency, he must be thinking he's really up to the game..

I agree. I don't see how anyone can think a podium finish is some kind of reach for Evan. I think he would be extremely disappointed to finish off the podium at the Olympics. However, I also agree he is not under the same kind of pressure as Kim Yuna who is the runaway favorite. If Evan has an amazing skate, it will not be considered a failure for him no matter what happens. I'm sure Evan understands more than anyone else the stiff competition he faces. But that doesn't mean he doesn't think about winning....

 

[Buttercup]

I find this rather interesting because after this last GPF I really believe Lysacek is one of the top contenders for OGM. He has been under all different kinds of pressures and he has remained truly consistent. Can we say the same about others without the obvious Plushenko? And as I recall, he had the best comeback in 06 OG, where Joubert bombed beyond belief.. So without any added pressure and good consistency, he must be thinking he's really up to the game..

Now I'll do my "think positive" post: Joubert, for all that he occasionally has issues, has only missed two podiums since the last Olympics, and is the only skater in all four disciplines who has medalled at Worlds and Euros/4CC every year since Torino. On top of that, he is the only medal contender in the men's who at one time or another has defeated each of the other contenders. So I'm hoping that despite all the pressure, he'll live up to that track record.

 

[schiele]

Now I'll do my "think positive" post: Joubert, for all that he occasionally has issues, has only missed two podiums since the last Olympics, and is the only skater in all four disciplines who has medalled at Worlds and Euros/4CC every year since Torino. On top of that, he is the only medal contender in the men's who at one time or another has defeated each of the other contenders. So I'm hoping that despite all the pressure, he'll live up to that track record.

B, Im doing the same thinking but not saying it aloud in case I jinx it..

 

[Bennett]

I don't know what to think about Evan. At GPF, he was clearly the judges' greatest favorite along with Takahashi. Evan is also WC. But it doesn't look like too many skating fans consider him as the favorite. I also doubt if the media cares about men's field well enough to give him a lot of pressures. Johnny was followed 4 yrs ago, but it was a lot to do with his off-ice remarks etc. So where would pressures be coming from for Evan? Of course, he has the OM potential, but that's what everyone has in men's deep field.

 

[schiele]

I don't know what to think about Evan. At GPF, he was clearly the judges' greatest favorite along with Takahashi. Evan is also WC. But it doesn't look like too many skating fans consider him as the favorite. I also doubt if the media cares about men's field well enough to give him a lot of pressures. Johnny was followed 4 yrs ago, but it was a lot to do with his off-ice remarks etc. So where would pressures be coming from for Evan? Of course, he has the OM potential, but that's what everyone has in men's deep field.

Bennett, I totally agree with you.. I am not suggesting he's under pressure. To the contrary, he's a front runner with very little outside pressure. The biggest pressure he must be feeling probably comes from himself up until the games. Hence, I disagree with putting him under the heaviest pressure list but also disagree with discarding him from the top contenders for OGM list as well.
Of course the pressure they must be feeling during the actual event must be a whole lotta different story..

 

[mycelticblessing]

Yeah, I meant Kostner. But she may be always under pressures. I thought that Olympics were a bad experience for her, but after seeing all the inconsistency throughout the seasons, I changed my mind. She and Verner are kind of similar.

That's true. The both of them are pretty scary to watch because you'll never know what happens. Hopefully, they'll manage to turn their Olympic seasons for the better at Europeans.

 

[jennylovskt]

I find this rather interesting because after this last GPF I really believe Lysacek is one of the top contenders for OGM. He has been under all different kinds of pressures and he has remained truly consistent. Can we say the same about others without the obvious Plushenko? And as I recall, he had the best comeback in 06 OG, where Joubert bombed beyond belief.. So without any added pressure and good consistency, he must be thinking he's really up to the game..

I don't think that Lysacek has given himself the burden of winning the OGM. This in turn has been bringing him the ease. His goal is to skate his best which I think is the best strategy and mind set for any skaters and for any kinds of competitions. This allows him to put the winning and losing aside and concerntrate on his every steps which has been the source of his consistency.

His 06 Olympics LP performance, I think, was actually an example of not having much pressure. He went to Olympics as the less favorite of the two from USA (Johnny Weir was the favorite.) He got sick and skated a desastrous SP. Everyone including the media had written him off after the SP. He determined to skate the best he could in LP even if it meant that he might fall on his face. (He said so himself afterwards.) He did it. It brought him up to the fourth finish over all. God, did I sound like an uber of his?

Yes, he is one of the front runners (more so than I am willing to admit.) because of his track record of high PCS scores and his consistency, not because of his "amazing" skating skills or his "charming" artistry.

 

[Bennett]

How Oda would do.... depends on how he manages the pressures. He is already getting stiff. I do not have an impression that either he, Dai, or Jeremy would be strong under pressures. Unlike Plushy. Johnny could be stronger under pressures, but I am more worried about his stamina than pressures. No idea how Evan would handle pressures.

 

[Ladskater]

Team Canada, it's in our home country.

 

[chuckm]

Belbin/Agosto = I have my own thoughts as to the no-show by them at GPF. If the rumors are true that they are pulling out of Nationals, this would show how are they are scared of losing to the younger teams D/W and V/M

Why on earth would they even think of pulling out of Nationals? They need to do Nationals to make the Olympic team. Dental surgery in early December won't be a good enough excuse to get a medical bye in mid-January.

If they don't do Nationals, there will be no Olympics for them.

 

[mycelticblessing]

Why on earth would they even think of pulling out of Nationals? They need to do Nationals to make the Olympic team. Dental surgery in early December won't be a good enough excuse to get a medical bye in mid-January.

If they don't do Nationals, there will be no Olympics for them.

I doubt they'd pull out of nationals too. However, I think even if they do pull out, i'm pretty sure they'd still be on the Olympic team. They've got a great chance at making the podium, if not winning the Gold.

 

[life684]

It must be shen/zhao, considering this is their last olympics and they are the only team that looks like lock for olympic gold. That said, i still hate their LP, i wish they would change it.