SKATE AMERICA 2019: Previews & Predictions

Skate America is in Las Vegas this year, so... cue the "what are the odds" banter!

Except that I don't do odds. I just make my semi-informed predictions, try to provide some information you might not know already, and get on my merry way to Twitter. So let's get to it!

PAIRS (Starts at 4PM Eastern Time Friday)

GOLD: Peng/Jin (CHN)

SILVER: Cain-Gribble/LeDuc (USA)

BRONZE: Pavliuchenko/Khodykin (RUS)

They were silver medalists everywhere they went on the GP circuit last season, including the GP Final… then finished 4^th at Worlds. I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say gold is within reach at Peng/Jin’s first visit to SkAM. And while my silver/bronze guesses may be reversed in reality, I’m going with Americans in America with hopes that CGLD (my nickname for newlywed Cain-Gribble and her partner) will build on last year’s momentum and improve on last year’s bronze finish here.

EYES ON: Zoe Jones (and partner Christopher Boyadji) of the UK. Because as long as there are people—in this case, a woman—competing at the highest level of this sport in their 30s—in this case, THIRTY-NINE—I’m gonna sing praises all day long.

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MEN (Starts at 5:26 PM Eastern Time Friday)

GOLD: Nathan Chen (USA)

SILVER: Dmitri Aliev (RUS)

BRONZE: Jason Brown (USA)

While I don’t know that Chen will bring his full-on “A” game this early (he left a little of it behind when competing the Japan Open a few weeks ago), I think he’ll still walk away with his third consecutive SkAM victory. Aliev has yet to win a GP medal, but he’s had a great start to the season with gold & silver medals at his two “B” events. Could be his time. Brown, meanwhile, hasn’t been at SkAM in 3 years… so I’m really pulling for him to resume his GP medal-winning ways (though from what I’m hearing, he’s still not solid on his quad salchow).

EYES ON: Keegan Messing (CAN). If Brown can’t get to the podium, I hope Messing can. When I watched his SP to Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” early in the season I was taken by how grown he seemed, as if his newlywed status had manifested itself on the ice somehow. But since then, Messing had to endure a dreadful loss as his younger brother was killed in a motorcycle accident. Keegan doesn’t strike me as someone who wears his broken heart on his sleeve, but as a young man in mourning, I can’t help but root extra hard for all the additional growing he has to do right now.

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DANCE (Starts at 10:05 PM Eastern Time Friday)

GOLD: Hubbell/Donohue (USA)

SILVER: Stepanova/Bukin (RUS)

BRONZE: Zahorski/Guerreiro (RUS)

With the notable exception of 4 Continents (where they finished a surprising 4^th behind a surging Chock/Bates), H/D were living their best dance life last season as Romeo & Juliet. This year, they went to the more modern tragic love story found in last year’s A Star is Born OST. (If you know anything about that film, you likely know the “Star is Born” story in itself is anything but modern, but I digress.) They won here last year; I don’t know of a reason to doubt them this time around.

EYES ON: Smart/Diaz (ESP) when they bring Grease to the Rhythm Dance… complete with “Sandy” in the now-legendary black better-shape-up wear of the final scene. 
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LADIES (Starts at Midnight Eastern Time Saturday)

GOLD: Anna Shcherbakova (RUS)

SILVER: Elizaveta Tuktumysheva (RUS)

BRONZE: Kaori Sakamoto (JPN)

If you caught my post earlier in the week about Russia’s “A” Team, you know that “Shcherbet” is my nickname for the phenom GP rookie who debuts at SkAM this weekend. And that she’s got a quad lutz in her arsenal. And that her FS dress appears to change colors mid-program like a warp-speed mood ring of the ‘70s. SkAM is Shcherbet’s first big test in the senior-level frozen waters, and while I think she has plenty of artistic development to do (like most 15 year-olds in this sport), the content of her program will likely be strong enough to surpass her slightly more seasoned competitors—including teammate Tuktumysheva, who still brings a triple axel or two to the party.

EYES ON: Karen Chen (USA), who had to sacrifice most of last season to injuries. Now 20 years old and (presumably) healthy, Chen is now balancing training with life as a student at Cornell University. Her preseason included a 4^th at Canada’s Autumn Classic. The highest placement she’s received at a GP event was 5^th, back in 2015.