Here’s what I’m thinking for the singles’ podiums at Worlds
this week...
LADIES
GOLD: Elizaveta
Tuktamysheva (RUS)
SILVER: Elena
Radionova (RUS)
BRONZE: Ashley Wagner
(USA
DARK HORSE: Polina
Edmunds (USA
Call them Liza and Lena , call them
Tukta and Radio, or even call them The One With the Drapey Dress and The One
With the Bench-Pressable Dress... just don’t call them anything less than the
favorites for leading a 1-2 Worlds finish this year. They may be teenagers, but
they have OWNED this season. As usual, I’m picking Tukta for the title ahead of
Radio because she’s the more mature & complete skater of the two, though it
might be a toss-up depending on whether Tukta is helped—or harmed—by a triple
axel attempt.
As for Wagner... I’m going to go ahead and put her in third.
She’s certainly going for it, so it seems the least I can do! And to be honest,
I wanted to put both Edmunds and Gracie
Gold as the dark horses, but for such a big event I thought I should go
with just one of them. I picked Edmunds based on her 4CC breakthrough, but if
Gold shines brightest, I won’t be surprised.
Who could be the most interesting to watch here? I’m keeping
my eyes peeled for Li Zijun—the sole lady representing China in this Shanghai
Worlds—and 26 year-old Kiira Korpi, who has not competed at Worlds since 2011
(where she came in 9th, her highest placement to date).
MEN
GOLD: Yuzuru Hanyu
(JPN)
SILVER: Denis Ten
(KAZ)
BRONZE: Javier
Fernandez (ESP)
DARK HORSE: Sergei
Voronov (RUS)
As certain as I feel about the ladies, well, take that and
put it in a blender when it comes to the men. Gold could go to any one of these
guys I’ve put as a podium pick... or maybe even someone I haven’t listed here.
It all depends:
A) Can Fernandez rise above a fairly sloppy season when it
matters most?
B) Is D.Ten capable of another performance this year like
the one he gave at 4CC?
C) Is Hanyu HEALTHY and TRAINED enough to deliver the goods
(again)?
I guess I came up with this prediction by saying that even
if all the above answers are YES... I’d have the same guess.
And I’ve got Voronov as the DH because he’s having the Best
Year Ever, so why not?
Some American man will finish 5th. Another will
finish 8th. The other will end up 17th. There. That's as far as I'll go!
Most interesting to watch?? How about Song Nan, who hasn’t
competed all season (even 4CC) and must be here for the home country
hospitality... yep, I’ll go with that.
Again, if you’re on Twitter, look for me... live-tweeting as
much as I can (@KLBSt8ofSk8)!
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