Pic of the Week

He wowed the socks off me at the recent Japan Open competition and he may just do the same at Skate Canada!

Adam Rippon is armed with some confidence this season. After winning the Four Continents Cup last season (video below), he went on to finish in the top six at World's. Now armed with two solid programs he's looking to make his mark this season.

It won't be easy...he faces stiff competition at this event from both Nobunari Oda and Patrick Chan who plans to add the quad into his program this season.

This is the first season where Adam is looked at as one of the top men in the world and a certifiable contender. On Adam's Official Website he says his "number one goal for this season is show maturity, consistent, clean, and passionate skating every time I go out to compete." I hope he achieves his goal!

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I feel like Carolina Kostner is the pink elephant in the middle of the NHK room. Figuratively not literally of course.

She's a veteran of the sport, she's a two-time World Medalist, three-time European Champion, and has a sprinkling of medals from various Grand Prix events (including Grand Prix Finals), and yet no one is talking about her winning this weekends NHK Trophy in Nagoya, Japan.

The last two seasons have been rough for Carolina. After taking the Silver Medal at the 2008 World Championships betwixt Mao Asada and Kim Yu-Na, she had a disastrous 09-9 season that culminated in a 12th place finish at Worlds where she skated a free skate where she failed to land a single clean triple. At that point she left coach Michael Huth, moved to L.A., and began working with Christa Fassi and Frank Carroll.

Despite the coaching change, her rocky road continued. Two six place finishes in her Grand Prix events left her out of the Grand Prix Final and then she lost the Italian Championships to Valentina Marchei, and with only one Italian berth at the Olympics in Vancouver (due in large part to her poor performance in L.A.), she was in Jeopardy of not even making it to the Olympics.

The skating stars aligned somewhat for Carolina and after one of the weakest set of skates from the top ladies at the 2010 European Championships, Carolina managed to take the European title and earn a trip to Vancouver. But disaster struck again and Carolina Kostner finished an unimaginable 16th in Vancouver. She saved face a bit by placing 6th at the World Championships at home in Torino, but the damage was done.

So, Carolina enters NHK with, I think, no one expecting much from her. Fans, judges, media. She is far more decorated than many of the girls getting better press than her: Ashley Wagner, Rachael Flatt, and Kanako Murakami to name a few. She quietly left Frank Carroll this spring and returned to Micahel Huth, perhaps looking for familiarity.

I think Carolina must land on the podium at this competition or she might as well hang up the skates. It's do or die for her career.

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Wamp wamp. Oh Evan Bates...

Oh boo! The last thing a skater wants to hear is that they have an Achilles Tendon injury. That's not an easy thing to come back from.

But don't loose hope...the same thing happened to Hongbo Zhao...he went on with partner Xue Shen to win an Olympic Bronze Medal, another World Title, and of course an Olympic Gold Medal.

Six months the doctor says he has to be off the ice. Do the math...if you start counting from today, he makes his return to the ice March 30th...three days after the conclusion of the World Championships in Tokyo. Bummer.

So basically it's the end of the season for Evan and Emily, and it never even started. "It’s very disappointing," Bates told the Detroit Free Press. "We had just made this coaching change, and we were getting a lot of positive feedback and looking forward to this season. Nothing I can do now except sit here."

And just sitting in Ice Dance is never a good thing when you have lots of teams already nipping at your heels including Maia and Alex Shibutani, Chock and Zuerlein, and Madison and Keiffer Hubbell.

At least Evan is being positive; "We’ll be stronger for it."

Oh better days...

UPDATE: Evan updated his Twitter followers this morning: "I had surgery to repair my achilles yesterday and docs said it was extremely successful. Thanks to all who have messaged me their support!"

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Ah Bliss!

How could Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao celebrate a marriage and an Olympic Gold Medal, and say thank you to your fans all at once? Put on an ice show and invite some of the world's best to join you!

Shen and Zhao even went so far as to recreate a wedding ceremony on the ice...gown and all! Easily the cutest couple on ice in a long time (Sorry Jenni and Todd).

The "wedding" Artistry on Ice also included Stephane Lambiel, Mao Asada, Evgeny Plushenko, Alexei Yagudin, Qing Pang & Jian Tong, and Johnny Weir.

How many people showed up at Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing for their wedding on ice? Full house, 20,000.

Pic of the Week

Next week the Junior Grand Prix will continue with its next stop in Romania. Alexei Mishin never seems to run out of talent to teach and one of his students seems destined for success...

Artur Arturovich Dmitriev or Artur Jr. as most call him makes his Junior Grand Prix debut next week. Yes, if you are wondering, Artur is the son of two-time Olympic Champion Artur Dmitriev (1992 with Natalia Mishkutenok and 1998 with Oksana Kazakova). Mom, Tatiana Druchinina, who was a former gymnast, is his choreographer. Dad, I think (read: I hope!) stays out of the way...wouldn't want any of that father pressure applied.

My guess is Artur applies some of that pressure upon himself...it can't be easing following in Olympic Gold footsteps. But the young Russian has some talent. His second place junior finish at Russian Nationals last season earned him a ticket to the Junior World Championships where he finished a decent 7th...not too shabby for your first major international outing. You can see in the video of his free skate at Junior Worlds he has some jumping ability (including a quad he made look easy!) and some moments of believability that he can be great.

At 18 years of age he needs to kick it in to gear. He's approaching an age when many male skaters start to hit their stride and he's just now making a Junior Grand Prix debut. There is time...just not a whole lot to spare. But, 21 years of age the time Sochi 2014 rolls into his home country...seems about perfect, eh?

Artur Jr., the next big thing out of Russia?

Pics of the Week

It is finally here, the beginning of the Junior Grand Prix. I sent some some good luck tweets off and the skaters are hitting the practice ice as I type this.

Two very promising stars are competing in Courchevel. Polina Shelepen of Russia, who won both her Junior Grand Prix events and finished second at the Junior Grand Prix Final last season and American Jason Brown, the reigning U.S. Junior Champion.

Polina Shelepen is one of Russia's most promising up and coming skaters and this girl has a plan! Last month she spoke with Golden Skate's Tatjana Flade about her Junior debut last season and her goals. "I guess I can say that I fulfilled my plan to 50 percent. At the beginning of the season, I more or less did everything, then I wasn't in top shape towards the end. I think I have grown again and needed some time to adjust. But I really like being at the big competitions and enjoyed the Junior Grand Prix."

At just 15, she would have liked to have made her senior debut this season but will again compete in the Junior Ranks. Her coach Eteri Tutberidze explained, "We would have liked to move up to seniors in order to save time. Polina's job isn't so much to achieve certain placements, but to improve her overall skating. It is a process. The placements now aren't so important. It is important where we will finish in figure skating in ten or more years."

Olympic Champion in Sochi? Who knows...

Back on home soil Jason Brown is quickly moving up the ranks and he is doing so with some flair. I've had my eye on this guy since 2007 when he won at the U.S. Junior Championships (Juvenile Title) and he has steadily improved since. He medaled as an intermediate, as a novice, and won last season as a Junior. Also, I have to support the local skaters...chalk one up for Illinois! I remember watching his Short Program to "Hey Pachuco" at Nationals and thinking 'look at this kid go!' Then he did a complete 180 in the Free Skate performing to the "Pas de Deux" from The Nutcracker showing his versatility. I was impressed.

He makes his Junior Grand Prix this week in France and I have a feeling he is going to do well. He succeeds at everything he does and is an all around amazing guy. If you look at his Ice Network profile you see this huge list of amazing things he does including volunteering with the City Skate Outreach Program in Chicago and supporting Chicago Cares. He even turned his Bar Mitzvah into a charity project. That's awesome. And like Polina...he's only 15.

And I have to give Jason final props on his favorite show..."Glee". He's my kind of people!

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Coaching Changes are abound! Several of my blogging contemporaries have filled you in on Samuelson and Bates' intention to train with the power duo Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva. We also caught wind a couple of weeks ago that Denis Ten will make the move to L.A. to train with Frank Carroll.

Nobunari Oda, too, it seems is making a switch too...or rather a return. Oda is going back to Lee Barkell", who coached him as a young'in and was Oda's coach as he debuted on the Senior level.

This season has been a complete head scratcher as far as Nobunari is concerned. Brilliant start at Trophy Eric Bompard and continued great performances all the way through until his Olympic Free Skate where he had to stop mid program, breaking that great Charlie Chaplin character and ending with an uninspiring finish. Then at worlds he popped every single jump in his short and failed to even qualify for the free skate...ouch.

Sometimes you just need a change. It's hard to say that Morozov, who coached Oda the past several seasons, is at fault with this poor season finish. Up until that Olympic Free Skate Oda was on a roll. I think it is just a shake-up that one has to go through to refocus themselves...get out of the comfort zone if you will.

He has his sights set on Sochi, fully committing himself to compete for the next four years training in both Japan and Canada. Time will tell if Oda can finally put all the pieces together.

Pic of the Week

This Pic of the Week comes courtesy of Tim David, the creator, director, and producer of One Step Closer which was a figure skating exhibition to benefit the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS.

The picture is, of course, Angela Maxwell, on of the up and coming stars in U.S. Figure Skating. She performed in One Step Closer and here is a cool stro-motion look at her back flip.

I love Angela...she has a lot of spunk! Take a look at this interview Susan at Lifeskate did with Angela earlier in the season.

Pic of the Week

There is a sunny end to most stormy times. This rings true for Mao Asada.

She began the season as the co-favorite for Olympic Gold and over the course of the season nearly self-imploded.

But she clawed back! Someone on FormSpring asked me what I liked about Mao Asada as a person...I love that she has a never quit mentality. She pulled herself together to win Japanese Nationals. Then she came from behind to win the Four Continents Cup.

By the time the Olympics rolled around we almost believed again that she could challenge Kim Yu-Na who was, by this point, the overwhelming favorite. She wasn't able to catch her but she gave it a good shot (and three triple axels in the process!) especially considering the rough patch she went through.

The clouds broke in Torino at the World Championships when she came back out on top. And you could see, quite literally, the stress come off her shoulders.

Now the reigning World Champion is bumping elbows with Emperor Akihito at the spring garden party at Akasaka Imperial Garden in Tokyo. She's even made it into the Guinness World Record Book! Talk about zero to hero.

Looking forward to next season, apparently a new coach is in the works (whew!). Hopefully we've seen the last of Maoasova Asadakova. In a Quick Poll, by a slim margin respondents thought Nikolai Morozov was the best choice for Asada. I'm going to go on record and officially disagree with that choice...I say avoid the Russian style for now. I have to admit I love the irony a choice like Brian Orser would represent (In Vancouver he did call her 'fiesty')...could go a long way towards to rival fan faction burying the hatchet but I'm not holding my breath.

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Oh Johnny...

He is the master at keeping himself in the skating world headlines. This week, it's tweets about a possible upcoming book, a fresh round round of Evan snubs, and more on his vision of a yet to be created 'Spectacular' at Madison Square Garden featuring Lady GaGa. He's never boring, that's for sure.

First, the book tweet is causing quite the stir among literary circles on Twitter. I think should this book ever come about, it be a hit and could seriously up his celebrity cred.

Second, Johnny called his vision of a show with Lady GaGa (Elton John too!) a "Spectacular" taping some of his favorite skaters to be in it (Yu-Na Kim and Sasha Cohen making the list of possible performers).

Who doesn't make the list of possible attendees...Evan Lysacek. Johnny told Michelle Ruiz of the New York Magazine Daily Intel Blog, "Evan is fine as a person. We've been competitors for years and years and years and that's kinda the forefront to us being people to each other. I think he worked very hard and he deserved that Olympic gold medal and he does a good job. He does his work. But as a person I don't really know him that well and we've never really made the effort to be nice to each other." Ruiz asked Johnny if he watched Evan on Dancing with the Stars..."No. And I won't." To cap it all off, he tweeted a good luck message to Nicole Scherzinger yesterday.

Book writing, skating spectaculars, glitz and glamour...I get the idea that we will NOT be seeing Johnny on competitive ice again. But somehow, the thought of him as more a performer vs competitor is more appealing to me.

Thanks Doreen, Jill, Ice Mom for the updates!

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It was such a rocky road from the outset. But I thought they had finally put themselves on the right path this season...I thought Oleg's money collection jar finally had them liking each other and not screaming at one another. I thought Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov had finally figured it out...I thought wrong.

Yes, it's splitsville for the #2 Russian duo. Sadly, it comes after one of their most successful seasons together as a team, even if it didn't include an Olympic Medal...or a top six at the Olympics...or a World Medal.

Their career has been like the throw triple salchow they did in their free skate at World's this season. Maria landed it beautifully...trouble is Maxim went splat on his face after he threw her. Beauty mixed with disaster.

Maxim has made the big split, not only leaving Maria...but leaving coach Oleg Vasiliev as well. Maria will stick with Oleg. Both are looking for new partners.

Hey Max...I hear Tatiana Volosozhar is free? Perhaps Evgeny Plushenko could embark on a new career as a pairs skater and team with Maria. Wouldn't that be something? We could call it the "Blonde Ambition World Tour." Wait...that's been taken.

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As we approach the World Figure Skating Championships, the one competitor I have serious questions about is this guy...Brian Joubert.

What in the world happened at the Olympics? It was like a terrible fall from grace that nobody wanted to see. I'll be the first to admit Joubert is not my 'cup of tea' but he does make a competition more exciting and was shocking to see him way down there (with Abbott too!) in 16th at the Olympics.

Yeeeeesh!

He blamed it on his personal life away from the rink, saying he was distracted and not himself.

He's seemed distracted and not himself all season. When he lost the French Masters waaaaaaaayyyyyy back at the beginning of the season to upstart Florent Amodio I smelled trouble. Poor showing at Eric Bompard Trophy, an untimely foot injury, a bad beat at Europeans from Plushenko and Lambiel, and then the Olympic fubar, has put his season, to this point, in the FAIL column. I don't think he can (or would want to) hang his season on NHK Trophy alone.

The French Federation was so worried they made him pass a test skate before they added him to the World Team.

I'm an optimist, I think he'll be in better shape at the World Championships. He's one of a dwindling list of competitors that can challenge Plushenko (if he can realistically be challenged at all) for the title. This will be the second time he will be in a position to bounce back after Olympic disappointment (he won the Silver at Worlds in 2006 after a poor showing in Torino)...can he do it again?

UPDATE: Perhaps Joubert is a Gold Medal Favorite afterall...Plushenko has withdrawn from Worlds.

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What's next?

Well, the World Championships are next for Kim Yu-Na but what about after that? Does she continue to 2014 in Sochi? Does she retire from eligible competition and "go pro?" Does she take the Shen and Zhao in-and-out route where she competes some, takes some time off, competes some more?

She'd be 27 in 2018 and PyeongChang, S. Korea is the leading Olympic Bid City (and she the bids' ambassador)...wouldn't that be something. 27 seems tough but do-able for an elite womens competitor. See Julia Sebestyen, Maria Butyrskaya, Elena Liashenko, etc.

I don't know what the future holds for Kim but it's bright!

What do you think she should do?

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What now?

The Olympics start in 9 days and they will not include Sasha Cohen...what does she do? Sure she'll be headlining Stars on Ice but is this how her competitive career ends? An almost...a so close...a glamourless end to the story?

I am the first to admit that I was one of Sasha's many detractors this season. When she made her comeback announcement I was skeptical. When she withdrew from Trophee Eric Bompard I had serious doubts. When she withdrew from Cancer.Net Skate America I all but wrote her off completely. I thought, "No way is she going to show up in Spokane...no way."

When she actually arrived in Spokane she intrigued me. When she actually showed what she was capable of in a practice session she seriously sparked my interest. When she put down her short program (video posted below), she made me a believer again.

Now that I've seen how far she has come, in such a short period of time, I want her to push a little further. She made herself competitive with the top ladies in the U.S. in just a few months, imagine a little extra time? She wont be on the Olympic Team and probably will not go to Worlds but she did manage something in her trip to Spokane. At the least she guaranteed herself a bye to next years Nationals in Greensboro and probably should she accept, a couple of Grand Prix assignments.

Sasha...I say go for it and end your story with less fizzle and a lot more bang!

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I would love to know what Amanda Dobbs' goals were heading into Nationals...

Did those goals include a top seven finish in the Senior Pairs competition? Even better, did they include a top six finish in the Senior Ladies competition?

Was one of her goals to go to the Four Continents Cup? And finally, was one of her goals to be in second after the short program at that competition ahead (ahead I say!) of the 2008 World Champ Mao Asada?

If those were her goals, than she's been highly successful. I was stunned to see Amanda Dobbs in second place as I checked the results of the Ladies Short Program at the Four Continents Cup. She's having a dream January! Realistically, it couldn't get much better.

Now the only question for Dobbs to ponder is to go pairs or go singles...but I say she's been rather successful in both.

Let me end this post by just saying...YOU GO GIRL!

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We are all holding our breath in anticipation of Sasha Cohen's Olympic comeback. The way I see it, this goes one of two ways:

1. She withdraws just prior to Nationals. We get a press conference on how the attempt alone taught her so much about herself, competitive skating, important things in life, yadda, yadda, yadda.

2. She shows up in Spokane ready and is right in the thick of it. I don't think Sasha is going to compete unless she has an equal chance of making the Olympic Team as the other top U.S. Ladies. If she puts a foot on the ice in Spokane expect her to be a contender. In a recent chat with Phil Hersh she DOUBLE confirmed she'd be in Spokane...

U.S. Nationals begins a week from Friday! How exciting!

Here's a rewind to 2006 where she won her only National Title enroute to the 2006 Torino Olympics.

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Dear Ottavio Cinquanta,

Really Speedy...really?

Is it really appropriate to send an e-mail to the head of a skating federation asking them to have a skater compete to raise the profile of an event so the event is more profitable?

Trying to cover your ass are you? I pray the head of the Korean skating federation flat out says "no." I take enjoyment from seeing you fail...not sure why.

I assume you sent similar notes to the skating federations of China, US, Japan, and Canada. If you didn't...well that would make you lame!

It's an Olympic Year so competitors aren't going to exhaust themselves with this very poorly timed and placed event. In an Olympic Year this event needs to be moved...I don't know where but move it somewhere...

And stop begging...it's unbecoming of an ISU President.

Pic of the Week

Domnina and Shabalin missed the fall season completely due to Maxim's pesky knee. I think that they are back in action this week in St. Petersburg at the 2010 Russian National Championships. They don't necessarily have to compete this week (having a bye to the Olympics) but it would certainly be a good idea to work off some rust prior to Europeans and the Olympics.

In Oksana and Maxim's absence (as well as Delobel and Schoenfelder), North American teams have taken control of the ice dance situation. Davis and White, Virtue and Moir, as well as Belbin and Agosto are posting high scores this season and dominated the Grand Prix Series. The reigning World Champs have some catching up to do!

But last season, they were in and out with injury and pulled through to win Worlds. So whether they compete or not this weekend I get the feeling they'll be just fine. They also have legacy on their side...Russian teams have medaled in how many of the last Olympic Ice Dance competitions...??? That's right...ALL OF THEM!

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The fall international competitions are over and we are delving deep into National Championship Season. Just last week Sarah Meier and Stéphane Lambiel were named Swiss Champs and this week seven European Nations are holding their national championships. Russia, Japan, Canada, and the U.S. are around the corner.

One of those European countries holding their Nationals this week is Finland. I look at Finland as Europe's "Canary in a Cold Mine" as far as ladies figure skating. I can't remember a point in time when women's figure skating in Europe had so few high level competitors. But Finland actually has three women that, on a good day, might put a 'wee bit of a fight' in Vancouver.

But, poor alas, Finland is in the same boat as the U.S., they only get to send to women to Vancouver. So of these three talented women: Laura Lepisto, Kiira Korpi, and Susanna Pöykiö...one is going to miss the train.

A betting person says that Lepisto looks good to make the team. She's the reigning European Champ (albeit in protest by Carolina Kostner) and has easily been the top Finn this season. She's also added this season those harder triples in her free skate. Great musicality, strong components, and clever choreography will certainly get her to Vancouver.

But what about Pöykiö and Korpi? Both have been kind of just so so this season. Korpi did pull that out of nowhere silver in Beijing this season (I mean really? Where did that come from) while Pöykiö has huffed and puffed to poor finishes (11th at Skate America...eeeek!). But Pöykiö is the only one out of the three that has Olympic experience. Correction: A blog reader correctly noted that Kiira Korpi also has Olympic experience, finishing 16th in Torino. Thanks for keeping me on my toes!

Anyway, there is an opportunity for epic Finnish skating this weekend. I'm not entirely certain that this competition will be the final deciding factor for their Olympic Team (the European Championships in Tallin might be a more useful decision maker for the Finnish Federation) but it will likely begin to bring the picture into greater focus.

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Dear Joannie Rochette,

I love your skating, your style, and the passion you exude on the ice. Please never, ever loose that.

You've come on some bad luck recently and it breaks my heart. At Cup of China you had to scrap and scrape for a bronze medal. You won Skate Canada with a free skate I know you're not happy with. At the Grand Prix Final, you struggled the whole way through and found yourself in fifth place in a field of women, given the performances, in which you frankly should have easily beaten.

I know this is so frustrating...especially with the Olympics 64 Days away on home ice.

Some have suggested (well...I suggested) that perhaps you return to last season's free skate. It's amazing, it's battle tested, you know it can compete with the best in the world (you do still have that World Silver Medal tucked somewhere...right?), and it's at the bottom of this letter!

After the Grand Prix Final you told reporters you can go home, retrain this program, and make it work. If you feel this is the best route I support you and hope you can get things together. Fingers crossed that at Canadian Nationals in London you come out and rock it!

More than any skater, I want you to have the Olympics of your life! Getting the opportunity to skate at home in the Olympics when you are in your competitive prime is not a chance afforded to many. Go for it!

Winston Churchill said, "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." Take those words to heart. I'm in your corner and rooting for you everyday.

With belief in you,

Aaron @ Axels, Loops, and Spins.