I'm slightly surprised that no one has started this thread yet, but does anyone have any thoughts on how the last two competitions will shake out?
What makes the JGP so interesting is that with seven competitions, in singles, it could easily end up with 7 different winners. In fact, in men this year, there will almost certainly be 7 different winners, so that guarantees that a gold medalist will not make it to the JGPF. I must admit, that as a Minkyu Seo fan, I have been trying to desperately figure out how it will be possible for him to make it to the final. While it's not an impossibility, it is looking increasingly unlikely, as he is currently ranked 5, and thus in the remaining 2 events, if more than one skater gets more than 24 points, he would become an alternate. (I
This is not an impossibility, as if people like Yudong Chen or Shunsuke Nakamura, who skated really poorly their first events but have great potential, did incredibly well and won gold at their final events, that would help to keep other skaters lower and thus keep Minkyu in.
That said, I don't like rooting against other skaters, and Minkyu still has two more years of Junior ahead of him. Missing the final this year would give him motivation to come back stronger next year. In any case, it will be exciting to see what ends up happening!
I guess I find the men to be the most interesting, as things seem more unpredictable, so does anyone else have any thoughts on the finalists?
What makes the JGP so interesting is that with seven competitions, in singles, it could easily end up with 7 different winners. In fact, in men this year, there will almost certainly be 7 different winners, so that guarantees that a gold medalist will not make it to the JGPF. I must admit, that as a Minkyu Seo fan, I have been trying to desperately figure out how it will be possible for him to make it to the final. While it's not an impossibility, it is looking increasingly unlikely, as he is currently ranked 5, and thus in the remaining 2 events, if more than one skater gets more than 24 points, he would become an alternate. (I
This is not an impossibility, as if people like Yudong Chen or Shunsuke Nakamura, who skated really poorly their first events but have great potential, did incredibly well and won gold at their final events, that would help to keep other skaters lower and thus keep Minkyu in.
That said, I don't like rooting against other skaters, and Minkyu still has two more years of Junior ahead of him. Missing the final this year would give him motivation to come back stronger next year. In any case, it will be exciting to see what ends up happening!
I guess I find the men to be the most interesting, as things seem more unpredictable, so does anyone else have any thoughts on the finalists?
Well, Rio Nakata, Francois Pitot and Hyungyeom Kim are safely through to the final, that much is clear at least. It's the other three spots that are up in the air right now. Adam Hagara has a pretty good shot, as does Juheon Lim. Beck Strommer, Daniel Martynov and Daiya Ebihara would all need at least a silver medal to beat out Minkyu Seo, and it does seem more unlikely than not that none of them will manage to do that, though with the interesting competition results we've already had this season, likelihood is nothing more than a word it seems.
