London Calling: 2013 Worlds Predictions: Dance and Ladies

OK, here’s what I’ve got for DANCE and LADIES—again, agonizing over who goes where...

Dance predictions:

GOLD: Virtue/Moir (CAN)

SILVER: Davis/White (USA)

BRONZE: Bobrova/Soloviev (RUS)

4^th Pechalat/Bourzat (FRA)

5^th Weaver/Poje (CAN)

6^th Cappellini/Lanotte (ITA)

7^th Ilinykh/Katsalapov (RUS)

8^th Shibutani/Shibutani (USA)

9^th Riazanova/Tkachenko (RUS)

10^th Chock/Bates (USA)

BECAUSE... I’m afraid I don’t see V/M losing to D/W in Tessa’s hometown. And if the judges are willing to cut them as much slack for a “2-part” free dance as they did at 4CC (a.k.a. Carmenus Interruptus ), I have a hard time believing they won’t somehow be rewarded for a continuous, normal FD effort. Because in what seems like a three-way race for bronze (between Bobrova/Soloviev, Pechalat/Bourzat, and Weaver/Poje), only Bob/Solo have been injury-free in recent memory... and, perhaps, better prepared. Because the Ghost of an FD from I/K seems much better received from judges than from the likes of me. Because I think Marina Zoueva is capable of “fixing” the Shib Sibs programs in a manner that at least returns them ahead of Chock/Bates (if not yet restoring them to Top Five splendor).

Ladies predictions:

GOLD: Mao Asada (JPN)

SILVER: KimYu-Na (SKOR)

BRONZE: Carolina Kostner (ITA)

4^th Akiko Suzuki (JPN)

5^th Ashley Wagner (USA)

6^th Liza Tutkamysheva (RUS)

7^th Kanako Murakami (JPN)

8^th Gracie Gold (USA)

9^th Kaitlyn Osmond (CAN)

10^th Alena Leonova (RUS)

BECAUSE... Kim’s return to competition this year means everyone behind her takes one placement step back just to break even... so this explains my philosophy behind Suzuki in 4^th and Wagner in 5^th. (Because, much as I’d love to see them both higher, I don’t have quite the same confidence in their jumps and/or technical difficulty as the top three on my list.) Because I’m choosing a more seasoned-this-season Asada to a relatively green Kim (though I think she’ll come back better than most in that position). Because everyone I have in 6^th through 9^th has technical power, but still needs a lot of refining... save for Murakami, who just hasn’t been as consistent as her teammates. Because even if Gold nails her 3/3 combos, it’s no guarantee she’ll nail the rest of the program (her triple loop and second triple lutz have been particularly vulnerable this season). And because I had to put Leonova over teammate Adelina Sotnikova, if only because her Aguilara’d free skate makes my ears think about bleeding.

That’s it!!! Let the championships BEGIN!!