Thursday, October 30, 2014

2014 SKATE CANADA: Pairs Preview

The 2014-2015 edition of the Meagan Duhamel show kicks off tomorrow. I hope she learns to point her feet for the event. The top two seem pretty clear here, but bronze is up for grabs.





Podium Predictions:
Gold: Duhamel & Radford (CAN)
Silver: Sui & Han (CHN)
Bronze: Tarasova & Morozov (RUS)

Duhamel & Radford (CAN) pretty much felt they were guaranteed an Olympic bronze last year, but then Ksenia Stolbova happened. They repeated as world bronze medalists last season, but I feel like that's not enough for Meagan. She is in it to win it for another four years cycle, but finding the perfect programs will be key. The artistic side of skating is foreign to them, but God bless her vegan diet.

Sui & Han (CHN) are looking to hit the reset button after a strong campaign the last quad ended without a trip to the Olympics. Age is no longer a concern, and if they are healthy, they could be on the verge of a world medal this season. Now that they are teamed with Bin Yao and Hongbo Zhou, their ISU standing should escalate.

Tarasova & Morozov (RUS) have two of the most famous names in the figure skating world. They placed an impressive second at the Nebelhorn Trophy after also placing second at junior worlds last season. They have an excellent opportunity to medal here if they hit their elements.

The Rest of the Field:
Jones & Reagan (CAN)-4th at 2014 US International Classic, 7th at Skate Canada Autumn Classic
Moore-Towers & Marinaro (CAN)-No competitive history
James & Cipres (FRA)-5th at 2014 Europeans, 10th at 2014 Olympics, 10th at 2014 Worlds, 4th at 2014 Nebelhorn Trohpy
Vartmann & Van Cleave (GER)-9th at 2014 Europeans, 3rd at 2014 Coup de Nice
Aaron & Settlage (USA)-5th at 2014 World Juniors, 3rd at 2014 US International Classic, 6th at 2014 Nebelhorn Trophy, 5th at 2014 Skate America 

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