Correct me if I'm wrong but I got little confused with your post and searched some articles back then, and it seems Yuna mastered her triple-toe at 10, other triples sauf loop at 11, her triple loop, apparently her weakest, at the age of 12. Still not bad at all.
Yep, turned out to be really good for her health - so "still not bad at all".
Seriously, after all these little girls who were so promising at a young age and as younger teenagers (Elizabeth Kwon, Naomi Nari Nam) - and who had to stop because of injuries, or couldn't cope with the puberty-miracle (because that's what it is, a miracle - you are turning from a little girl into a beautiful young lady --- monsters can be found in Tolkien's books) - we are still talking "how cute! how adorable! how precious! such a talent!"
So I think neither of these two girls will be on the top. Who of all those former promising ladies did really fulfil the promise they showed at a young age? And I mean long-term, who did really become a long-term star? Michelle Kwan. She had one really bad season at 17 I think, and came back.
The others, like Tara Lipinski, Oksana Baiul and Sarah Hughes (and Kimmie Meissner?) had one or two great seasons and that was it. They just timed their peak well.
But the Chinese and Russian federations didn't time these two girls well, too young for Vancouver - but already 17/18 in Sochi!
It's a bit of a lottery, after the olympics the federations should look at their 12-year-old novices and juniors. The most promising 5 to 7 girls get the maximum training, home-schooling as well as ballett and gymnastics (so all of them can be this perfect combination of Michelle Kwan, Sasha Cohen and Slutskaya). The best way to ensure 1-2-3 podium sweep at the next olympics (and that's why I think the US will really take at least two medals at the ladies in 2010 - damn good timing there, Zhang and Nagasu will be 16, Flatt 17...).
These days the most interesting thing in Laidies figure skating is for me to find out who "survives" growing-up. That's why I loved Miki Ando's win last year - she was a prodigée with the quad and all (even though she started skating quite late), nobody wanted her any more after the olympics and most shockingly she started to look like a woman - and then she takes that title in front of two baby ballerinas.
She has the cutest accent too, so adorable! Oh, and yeah, her racket, and her hair, are both bigger than her. 
Kimmie Meissner was a phenom herself, being a novice champion anb with her triple axel. I wonder what Yuna Kim was like when she was Bingwa's age. Was she not a prodigy for international standard? She surely didn't get her share of hype until she beat Mao Asada.
go head to head again 
