- Joined
- Aug 27, 2003
Fascinating to read the predictions. I'm getting so excited about the competition and can't wait till it starts! I feel like, especially with the ladies, the field is wide open and anything could happen. I don't by any means feel Irina has the gold locked up--although she undeniably has a huge advantage with Worlds in Moscow, she'll have to skate much better than at Russians and Europeans, and OgreMage is right that she spent an awful lot of political capital at Europeans.
I can't really make any predictions, because the fact is I was totally wrong with my predictions for last year's Worlds. (I thought Shizuka would come in around sixth or eighth--and she won!)
But I do have some hunches. I think that:
--Michelle will do better than some people expect
--Joannie is a real threat to medal and possibly even win (especially if everyone else tanks)
--Sasha will not be a huge factor
--Miki may be the top-scoring Japanese lady, ahead of Shizuka
If I had to go out on a limb and make a totally wild guess, I might guess the following:
--Joannie
--Michelle
--Miki
I know it would be a huge upset for Joannie to win the gold, but she has the following in her favor:
--A fairly dependable triple/triple
--The ability, proven this season, to land a 6-triple program
--Arguably the best program and choreography of all the ladies
--Relatively low pressure and expectation
--A lot of ambition, plus momentum from a strong season
As with Shizuka last year, all that *could* potentially set the stage for a win. It's a real long shot, but every now and then someone does come out of nowhere to win Worlds. Think Oksana in 1993, Tara in 1997, even Shizuka last year. None of them were expected to win. So you never know.
Whatever happens, I think it will be a great competition!!
I can't really make any predictions, because the fact is I was totally wrong with my predictions for last year's Worlds. (I thought Shizuka would come in around sixth or eighth--and she won!)
But I do have some hunches. I think that:
--Michelle will do better than some people expect
--Joannie is a real threat to medal and possibly even win (especially if everyone else tanks)
--Sasha will not be a huge factor
--Miki may be the top-scoring Japanese lady, ahead of Shizuka
If I had to go out on a limb and make a totally wild guess, I might guess the following:
--Joannie
--Michelle
--Miki
I know it would be a huge upset for Joannie to win the gold, but she has the following in her favor:
--A fairly dependable triple/triple
--The ability, proven this season, to land a 6-triple program
--Arguably the best program and choreography of all the ladies
--Relatively low pressure and expectation
--A lot of ambition, plus momentum from a strong season
As with Shizuka last year, all that *could* potentially set the stage for a win. It's a real long shot, but every now and then someone does come out of nowhere to win Worlds. Think Oksana in 1993, Tara in 1997, even Shizuka last year. None of them were expected to win. So you never know.
Whatever happens, I think it will be a great competition!!