Because of this, I have decided to take a hiatus from True/Slant for a bit while I focus on my final exams and settling into my winter schedule. It’s been wonderful sharing my opinions and views on the skating world and its members, and although this break is needed, I hope to return to blogging before the Olympics.

I have really appreciated all your feedback and interest in my writing, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the skating season has in store for us. So far this season has brought with it many surprises, like Kim Yu-Na’s struggles last weekend at Skate America and Evgeni Plushenko’s strong return to competitive skating in Moscow. If the past six weeks are any indication of what’s to come, the next few months are sure to be jam packed with excitement.

While I’m gone, please feel free to email me at Jeki815@gmail.com if you have any story ideas that you’d like me to address once my school schedule calms down a bit, or if you’d like to offer any feedback on the blog.

Thank you for being such a great audience, and I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and holiday season!

MEN

Evgeni Plushenko

The biggest story in the men’s event has been the victorious return of 2006 Olympic gold medalist Evgeni Plushenko. Plushenko was terrific at his season opener three weeks ago in Moscow. Picking up exactly where he left off before his retirement four years ago, Plushenko currently holds the highest total score of any man this season.

Although Plushenko was amazing in Moscow, he was only slotted for one event so we won’t see him in December’s Grand Prix final. Because Plushenko has a few months before his next competition, he should use this time to focus on keeping up the momentum from his first event and working on the few areas of his skating that need improvement, namely the speed and position of his spins.

Like Plushenko, Japan’s Nobunari Oda has had a fantastic start to his Olympic season. Winning both his events and securing himself a spot in the Grand Prix Final, Oda’s displayed an entirely new look this season. In his “Charlie Chaplin” free program, he shows increased personality and enthusiasm, which have been greatly enjoyed by fans and rewarded by the judges. Along with intricate and exciting choreography, Oda’s jumps have been very consistent this season. After such a strong start, the question now is whether or not Oda has peaked too soon. If I were him, I’d take a few days off, regroup, and start slowly training for the Grand Prix final. He has everything he’ll need to do well in Vancouver, and for Oda, it’s all about keeping up this high level of skating for the next few months.

Oda’s second win on the series came against reigning world champion Evan Lysacek. Lysacek skated with impressive speed and command in the debut of his short program at the Cup of China but was hit with a downgrade on his triple flip and had a scratchy landing on his second triple axel in his long, leaving him to settle for the silver medal. Cup of China was a good first outing for the two-time U.S. champion, but when watching his long program, it’s easy to see how formulaic Lysacek’s skating has become. Over the past few seasons, the choreography and construction of his programs have looked very similar, and when compared to Oda, Lysacek’s packaging comes across as somewhat weak. Look to see if Lysacek has worked on the security on his landings and adding a little bit more excitement to his long program this week when he competes in his second event, Skate America.

Jeremy Abbott

The two skaters who will act as Lysacek’s biggest threat this January at the U.S. Championships are Jeremy Abbott and Johnny Weir. Abbott was incredible in his short program last weekend in Nagano, but after a error-filled long program, slipped to finish fifth overall. Abbott’s progress over the summer was evident in his short, but the biggest downfall of his skating has always been his inconsistency. Like Abbot, Weir’s biggest clutch has always been his inability to skate clean programs under pressure, but Weir seemed more focused and competitive than Abbott last weekend, winning the silver medal. Weir and Abbott both have the ability and opportunity to act as the dark horse in Vancouver, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see either one of them on the podium.

That said, neither Abbott nor Weir have a consistent quad, and if five-time world medalist Brian Joubert is able to build upon the momentum after his win last weekend in Nagano, he will be a major threat in February. Joubert rebounded after a tough outing a month earlier in Paris, and he has the potential to sneak in and surprise by winning Olympic gold. Outside of Plushenko, Joubert has the most solid quad and speed of any of the men.

It should be noted two-time world champion Stephane Lambiel didn’t compete on the series but could be a potential medalist in Vancouver. We’ll have to wait until Europeans to see how he looks heading into the Games and what progress he’s made on his triple axel. The success on his triple axel will be paramount to Lambiel’s success in Vancouver. Along with the Lambiel, Tomas Verner has shown the potential to land on the Olympic podium as has Japan’s Takahiko Kozuka.

LADIES

There is no question that reigning world champion Yu-Na Kim is in a class of her own among the ladies. In her season opener, Kim blew the field away, setting a new world record of total points in the ladies‘ event with a score of 210.03. There seems to be little lacking in Kim’s skating: She’s fast, consistent, and beautifully packaged. At this point, the only thing Kim needs to be worried about is preventing any injuries and the off chance that she completely implodes under Olympic pressure. She seems so solid–mentally and physically–but like Oda, Kim needs to watch peaking too soon.

Beyond Kim, it’s shaping up to be quite the fight among the top Japanese ladies. Reigning world bronze medalist Miki Ando won both her Grand Prix events and at this point is serving as Kim‘s biggest threat this season. Although Ando struggled on a few of her jumps in both her events and seemed particularly sloppy last weekend in Nagano, this season she’s shown signs of improvement, particularly in her spins and her ability to fight through her programs. For Ando, right now it’s all about skating consistently and staying focused. With her teammate, Mao Asada, struggling this season, an Olympic silver medal isn’t out of Ando’s grasp.

Akiko Suzuki

Along with Ando, Japan’s Akiko Suzuki is a skater to keep an eye on. Suzuki blew the field away at her first event in Beijing, skating both her programs cleanly and grabbing her first win on the Grand Prix. Where Ando has a tendency to struggle under pressure, Suzuki seems to rise to the competitive occasion, generally skating solid programs with an immense amount of confidence. Still, Suzuki lacks Ando’s speed on her spins and can look slightly sloppy in her choreography. Although these are areas she needs to work on if she wants to contend for an Olympic medal, Suzuki’s consistency will carry her far. And after watching reigning world silver medalist Joannie Rochette struggle with her jumps two weeks ago in Beijing, it was clear how important skating consistently under pressure can be.

For Rochette, who moved up from seventh after the short program to win the bronze medal at the Cup of China, this Olympic season is off to a rocky start. While her new programs look strong, Rochette will have to keep her nerves in check when facing the magnitude and pressure of this year‘s events. She’s one of the most polished and technically-sound ladies competing today, and hopefully she’ll leave her struggles in Beijing behind her when she performs in her second Grand Prix next weekend.

Unfortunately, Rochette isn‘t the only lady we’ve seen struggle this season. After two lackluster skates in Paris and fifth-place finish in Moscow, 2008 world champion Mao Asada’s hopes of making the Grand Prix final were crushed. Asada has a lot of ground to make up over the next few months. She needs to work on improving her confidence, consistency, and mental training. If Asada were to win an Olympic medal, it would be viewed as a huge victory after such a rough start to her season. There is still hope for Asada to make this a reality, but it will take a lot of work and a change of focus.

Although we’re used to seeing the U.S. ladies in the mix for Olympic medals, the American women haven‘t been very strong on the Grand Prix and probably won’t contend for any Olympic hardware. Because of this, the main excitement for U.S. fans won’t necessarily be what happens at the Games, but rather how the competition plays out this January in Spokane. There, we’ll see five contenders duke it out for only two spots on the U.S. Olympic team.

After the first round of Grand Prix events, Ashley Wagner looks to be the safest bet to make the U.S. team. Wagner is the only U.S. lady to stand on the podium so far on the Grand Prix, winning the silver medal at the Rostelecom Cup and the bronze last weekend in Japan. Although there is still an opportunity for the other U.S. ladies to improve upon their first events, the season hasn’t started off as hoped for many of the U.S. ladies.

With four Grand Prixs down and only two to go, now the focus shifts to who shows improvement after their first event and stands out in the second half of this series. A lot can change in the next few months, with injuries and illness always playing an unfortunate role. For skaters like Oda, Plushenko, and Ando, the next few weeks are about resting and keeping their energy up for the rest of the season. For Rochette, Nagasu, and Flatt, the focus should be on improving upon their first outings and learning from early mistakes.

And the most important thing for all skaters–particularly Oda and Kim–to remember?

This season is a marathon not a sprint.

Sasha Cohen

On Monday morning, Sasha Cohen announced her withdrawal from this week’s Skate America. Cohen has been battling tendinitis in her right calf and was absent at her first event of the season, Trophee Bompard. Over the past few weeks, Cohen’s reportedly been rehabilitating her injury and recently announced her decision to train with former coach John Nicks in Aliso Viejo, California.

Cohen’s withdrawal from Skate America was predicted by nearly everyone in the skating world. Cohen’s critics have chosen to believe that this injury is acting as a convenient excuse for a skater who isn’t prepared to face international competition and never planned on competing in her fall events. Cohen’s fans, on the other hand, see this injury as a side effect of her extensive training for this important Olympic season. Unfortunately, after two withdrawals it’s realistic to think that even the most loyal Sasha fans have to see this week’s announcement as something that doesn’t portend well for Cohen’s chances at Nationals.

Assuming the critics are wrong and Cohen’s injury is justifiable, one can’t assume that after dealing with such a serious injury, Cohen is going to have a great showing in January. An injury like tendinitis needs time to heal, and the best medicine for such a strain is to take a substantial amount of time away from the ice. It doesn’t appear that Cohen‘s done this (and if she has, she shouldn‘t have waited until today to announce her withdrawal), and with the season in full swing, Cohen doesn’t have time to significantly pause her on-ice training.

Tendinitis, of all things, doesn’t guarantee Cohen will be 100% by the time Nationals rolls around. Tendinitis isn’t like a clean fracture. With an injury like tendinitis, pain is persistent and doesn’t come with a set timeline for recovery. Cohen’s not going to be a serious threat to medal if her calf is hurting every time she takes off and lands a jump. A sore calf will cause a skater to tweak their technique in order to avoid pain. When taking off for a triple lutz or flip, a ton of pressure is put on a skater’s calf when they pick in. If they are in any way wary of putting pressure on that part of their leg, they may avoid picking in with the force needed to get the height and rotation on the jump. In recent Grand Prixs, we’ve seen even the slightest underrotations have really hurt a skater’s score. Adding to this, Cohen’s injury comes on her landing leg, and the force generated in the air puts a ton of pressure on the ankle and lower leg once a skater hits the ice. Cohen’s been known to two-foot landings in the past, and with the potential for pain on both her landing and takeoff, mistakes become far more likely.

Cohen has said that the main reason behind her two withdrawals was that the tendinitis has limited her ability to train triple flip and lutzes. Unfortunately, these are two of the most important and difficult jumps for Cohen, serving as her biggest opponents in Torino when she missed both in her long program. Cohen’s often struggled with an inside edge takeoff on her triple lutz, and under the current judging system it’s imperative that Cohen fix that error if she wants to contend for Olympic gold. However, when facing limited training on her triple lutz, it’s unlikely improvements will be made.

Whenever an athlete is dealing with an injury, the setbacks they experience go beyond the physical limitations presented by the injury. There’s also the unfortunate hit in confidence that an athlete has to contend with. Anyone in Cohen’s position would have to be extremely confident in their abilities in order to come back after a four-year absence and believe they have what it takes to make a third Olympic team. Cohen’s errors in past competitions have shown that self-confidence and focus aren‘t her strengths as a competitor. Without the constant repetition and runthroughs needed to feel secure before a big event, it’s expected that Cohen’s confidence will be even more diluted as she begins her quest to win a second Olympic medal.

Along with this, even if Cohen is fully recovered by Nationals and her injury isn’t as debilitating as it appears, making her season debut in January isn’t optimal. In September, Cohen said she was planning to use the Grand Prix as “practice” before Nationals, viewing the U.S. Championships as her true test this season. Debuting two new programs for the first time in front of a panel of judges is never easy. For this reason, many skaters choose to compete in local competitions during the summer months, so they can get any jitters and mistakes out of the way before events that really count. Without the mileage of two Grand Prix events, Cohen doesn’t have that luxury. She will have to show up in Spokane as ready and confident as skaters who’ve had numerous runthroughs and performances under their belts this season.

When you take all of these variables into consideration, even accepting that Cohen’s injury is authentic, you have to see that someone projecting Cohen as the frontrunner at Nationals and a potential Olympic medalist is making an emotional and fanatical claim and isn’t doing it based on empirical evidence. If I were to say that there’s a new skater whose been away from competitive skating for almost four years, has missed her fall competitions because of an injury and is coming to Nationals with two new programs and a history of inconsistency, would you expect this person to be a threat? Probably not.

Sasha Cohen may prove us all wrong, but with all these unfortunate hurdles to overcome, Cohen’s comeback may be over before it even began.

Brian Joubert

After Friday’s short program at the NHK Trophy, the international judges seem to be sending a clear message: They want to see Brian Joubert on the podium in Vancouver.

The five-time world medalist, who skated much better than at his Grand Prix opener four weeks ago, is currently standing in first place over the strong field of men. After earning himself a short program score of 85.35 points, Joubert is almost two and a half points above reigning U.S. national champion Jeremy Abbott and seven points above three-time U.S. champ Johnny Weir.

With such an impressive score, one would think that Joubert’s skating was head and shoulders above Abbott’s and Weir’s. In reality, while Joubert had a great technical performance, it seems as though his presentation score was inflated to the detriment of two much more artistic skaters.

While Joubert landed a huge quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop combination in his short program, making him the strongest jumper of the evening, Joubert’s spins–particularly his combination spin–were noticeably slower than the two Americans’, and he lacked the polish and choreography that both Abbott and Weir displayed. This is why it’s puzzling to see how the strength of Joubert’s second mark was the catalyst behind his win.

Abbott, who recently switched coaches after a rocky showing at last season’s World Championships, was easily the best skater of the night. His new short program is incredibly fluid, captivating, and dynamic. Where Joubert relies on mugging and pointing to the audience as choreography, Abbott genuinely interprets the music. Abbott’s edges are noticeably deeper than Joubert‘s, and his jump entrances are far less telegraphed. However, despite these strengths and a solid short program, skated with speed and the best choreography seen by any man this season, Abbott was marked lower than Joubert in his second mark. This leaves us to wonder what event the judges were judging.

The presentation mark is subjective. It always has been. Still, it’s incredibly difficult to grasp how the panel could find Joubert’s skating skills better than Abbott’s. Joubert’s program was exciting and a fan-favorite, but that doesn’t equate to having the best choreography or interpretation of the music; instead, it just means Joubert knows how to entice an audience of young women. With the subjectivity of the second mark, results like today’s can call into question the use of favoritism.

While skating has always been given a bad rep for sketchy judging, this use of favoritism isn’t unique to the skating world. In basketball, there are the “Jordan Rules,” a term for star players getting calls in their favor. Stars are not called for traveling as frequently and get foul calls more often. In baseball, umpires seem to give bigger strike zones to star pitchers, and well-known batters like Alex Rodriguez appear to receive smaller strike zones. All of these rules, to some degree, are constructed to give a bit of favoritism to the stars of the these sports. Brian Joubert is clearly a star of the skating world. So the question is, are there “Joubert Rules” in skating?

Joubert isn’t the only skater who has received a boost from the judges. Two weeks ago at the Cup of China we saw Kiira Korpi held up in the ladies’ event. Korpi didn’t have the strongest technical content in her programs and clearly wasn’t the most artistic skater of the field, but she still managed to take home the silver medal. This favoritism also came into play at the World Championships last season, where 2008 world silver medalist Carolina Kostner was held up based on the strength of her second mark.

These “star rules” may be a fact of sports, and to some degree it’s what comes with having humans act as enforcers, but it’s frustrating when we see results like today‘s. It indicates that the judges are coming in to these events with pre-assigned favorites and are judging based on something other than what’s actually taking place on the ice.

Joubert is a great skater. But his skating skills, choreography, and artistry are not in the same league as Jeremy Abbott’s. It’s disheartening to see these results, and I’m sure it’s frustrating for skaters like Abbott and Weir who were artistically superior to Joubert at this event. Our job as fans is to call out these discrepancies for what they are in the hopes that “star rules” are eventually phased out. Unfortunately, I don’t see this happening before February.

The debate about the new judging system has now become a debate about the growing oversimplification of skating routines. After two days of watching the ladies’ event at the Cup of China, questions of whether or not the current judging system is best for our sport continue to arise. In an event that was marred with mistakes, it was the downgrading of some subtle mistakes that spoke the loudest.

In last Friday’s short program, American Mirai Nagasu skated with impressive command and speed, winning the event. Nagasu wasn’t a favorite heading into Beijing, but the speed of her spins, stretch of her spirals, and strength of her jumps helped secure Nagasu a victory in the first phase of the competition.

The long program, however, held a different story for the 2008 U.S. champ. Taking the ice as the last lady to perform, Nagasu fell on a planned triple loop late in her program, and, while she stood up on the rest of her elements and skated with her usual speed and a greater sophistication than we‘ve seen from her in the past, Nagasu dropped to fifth place in the standings. The reason for her plunge? Nagasu received credit for only two of her seven jumping passes. The rest were downgraded.

If last weekend’s event were judged using the 6.0 judging system, Nagasu probably would have been on the podium in Beijing. To the blind eye, the majority of her triple jumps looked rotated. She didn’t have a lot of speed on her landings, but the downgrades that she was penalized for wouldn’t have killed her score if it weren’t for the use of slow motion replay and points subtracted for such mistakes under the current system. This killed Nagasu’s chances for a medal and left her with a lot of homework as she heads to her second event on the Grand Prix, Skate Canada.

When a skater makes mistakes, they should be penalized. Slow motion replays are a great addition to skating events and have helped to promote accuracy in judging. However, some of Nagasu’s jumps didn’t look any more or less rotated than those performed in her short program–even after watching them in slow motion–and it’s worrisome that when such calls are taken into play, skaters may abandon attempting difficult triple jumps and combinations so as not to risk the potential for lost points.

In last Saturday‘s long program, Finland’s Kiira Korpi won the silver medal with a free skate marred with bigger mistakes and simpler jumps than Nagasu’s. Only landing three clean triples and popping two more, Korpi didn’t attempt a triple flip and failed to rotate a triple lutz in her long program. Despite the lack of technical content in her long program, Korpi scored significantly higher than Nagasu in both marks, calling into question which direction the sport is going. Watching Nagasu and Korpi’s skates back-to-back, Nagasu seemed to have trumped Korpi’s performance so much so that the average skating fan would have had trouble deciphering where Nagasu went wrong.

It’s understandable that the judges would deduct for mistakes. But what is so difficult for skating fans–and even me–to fully grasp is how the judges arrive at their scores and why certain mistakes are weighed more heavily than others. When looking at the protocol following the event, the numerical values assigned to jumps and trying to decipher what led the panel to downgrade certain elements can become so puzzling that fans and even skaters are easily confused.

It still seems like the judges, and now the technical specialists, have the ability to promote certain skaters and knock other skaters down. If a skater underrotates their jumps, they should take a hit from the judges, but the extent to which certain mistakes are weighed seems askew.

While there isn’t going to be a significant change in this system, it’s disconcerting that the wrong things in the sport seem to be rewarded. Underrotations need to be taken into consideration, but for many skaters this will only serve to oversimply their programs, ultimately robbing skating of the drama that comes from truly difficult and risky routines in the interest of avoiding downgrades and lost points.

We can’t go back to the 6.0 system, but it was obvious after watching last weekend’s event that the current system won‘t suffice in its current form either.

Dan Zhang & Hao Zhang

Will Zhang & Zhang hold off Shen & Zhao?

For years, Dan Zhang & Hao Zhang stood in the shadows of their Chinese teammates, Xue Shen & Hongbo Zhao. Zhang & Zhang watched Shen & Zhao win two world titles, before capitalizing on an injury Zhao suffered before the 2006 Olympic Games, sneaking in to win an Olympic silver medal. Their victory over their training mates in Torino was short-lived, however, when a healthy Shen & Zhao went on to win the world title a year later. In the years that followed, Shen & Zhao retired from the sport, got married, and Zhang & Zhang took over as one of the most competitive and formidable pair teams in the world.

This week, in a script reminiscent of Plushenko’s in Moscow, three-time world champions Xue Shen & Hongo Zhao will make their return to competitive skating on home ice. For Zhang & Zhang, the Cup of China will provide an opportunity to overtake their teammates and show that being the more conditioned pair–having spent the past two years in rigorous competition–now makes them the team to chase.

Although Zhang & Zhang lack Shen & Zhao’s maturity and polish, their technical abilities, particularly Dan’s air position on their split-triple-twist and the height on their throws, are arguably the best in the world. That said, Zhang & Zhang will have a tough time holding off the two-time Olympic bronze medalists if Shen & Zhao skate with the passion and consistency they displayed before retirement.

My bet? Shen & Zhao will probably show up in similar fashion to that of Plushenko last week and will blow the field away in Beijing, leaving Zhang & Zhang back in their previous role: as the second Chinese pair team waiting in the wings.

Can Mirai Nagasu leave her past behind?

Mirai Nagasu is coming off of a tough season. After winning the national title in 2008–at only 14–Nagasu struggled with inconsistency, injuries, and a growth spurt last season. She skated poorly on the Grand Prix and finished a disappointing 5th at the ‘09 U.S. Championships. Since then, Nagasu’s changed coaches, appears to have grown into her body, and she has completely reworked her jump technique. This week Nagasu will have to prove that last season’s hiccups are behind her, particularly now that she doesn’t have excuses of youth, injuries, and naivety to fall back on.

Nagasu will face some stiff competition in Beijing. Along with world silver medalist Joannie Rochette and two strong Japanese ladies, Nagasu will go head-to-head with her American teammate, Rachael Flatt. Flatt placed an impressive 5th at the World Championships last season, and she excels in her ability to skate consistency under pressure and rise to the competitive occasion.

Nagasu will have to emulate Flatt’s consistency and show that she’s learned from last season if she wants to embrace her new role as a more competitive, mature skater. If she does this, there’s a good chance she’ll not only beat Flatt, but Nagasu may also be looking at an upset.

Evan Lysacek

Can Evan Lysacek handle the pressure?

Like Mirai Nagasu, Evan Lysacek had a tough time on the Grand Prix last fall. He struggled with downgrades on his triple axels and failed to quality for the Grand Prix final.

Despite his early-season setbacks, Lysacek concluded the ‘09 season by winning his first world title last March, making him the one to beat heading into this Olympic season. Being the chased is a new role for Lysacek, and this weekend we’ll see how he responds to the pressure that comes from being the best in the world.

Lysacek’s toughest competition in Beijing will be Japan’s Nobunari Oda. Oda began his season with a win two weeks ago in Paris, which will undoubtedly give him confidence heading to China. Oda’s new programs are strong, but he lacks Lysacek’s passion and ability to connect with an audience. It will come down to which man makes the least mistakes this weekend, and my money‘s on Lysacek to take the win.

The Cup of China will probably be a mix of strong and weak performances. There’s a frontrunner in each discipline, but beyond those key players, the field is pretty open and medals are up for grabs. This availability creates a great opportunity for a skater like Mirai Nagasu to make her mark as a contender for Vancouver–particularly when all eyes and pressure will be on Joannie Rochette. As for Lysacek and Zhang & Zhang, this week the emphasis is on making a statement and setting themselves up as contenders for Olympic gold.

Ultimately, skating is a sport of adjustments: tweaking your body mid-air to land a jump, adjusting your focus after a pop, remaining flexible in a volatile environment. And along with these adjustments comes the necessity for a skater to evolve as their career progresses. This weekend we’ll see whether or not some of the biggest names in the sport have it in them to change with their circumstances.

Johnny Weir

Johnny Weir’s had a rough week. It seemed like he came to last weekend’s Rostelecom Cup with something to prove. After a tough time at the ‘09 Nationals, where he missed the podium for the first time in five years, Weir spent the past few months pondering whether or not to stay in and compete for one more Olympic season.

After a lot of soul searching and a pep talk from his mom, Weir decided to give competitive figure skating one more try. I’m sure he came to Moscow last week with the hopes of regaining his place as a force on the Grand Prix, but unfortunately the script he wrote for the event didn‘t run as planned.

It must have been disheartening for Weir to open his Olympic season with two mistakes in his short program and multiple stumbles in his long. Although his new programs looked strong, and he skated with more speed than we’ve seen from him in the past, I’m sure Weir’s fourth-place finish left him feeling very deflated.

At this point, Johnny Weir has two choices. He can either let last weekend’s disappointment overtake him and kill his confidence, or Weir can leave those performances in the past and fight through the rest of his season. We all know what option he wants to choose, but it’s going to take some work.

Here’s what he should do.

Weir needs to fix the technique on his triple axel. During the past few events, his triple axel has become increasingly dangerous. Instead of stepping up in to the jump with his hips square and making the jump travel in a straight line, his takeoff has become too circular. Because of this, it’s been hard for Weir to stay over his skating hip, his air position is too loose, and the landing is completely out of his control. Keep the jump linear. This will take some tweaking, and it may be frustrating for him to rework his technique, but it’s worth it. Weir’s axel has always been one of his stronger triples, and he’ll need to regain the consistency on it if he wants to contend for a fourth national title and a medal at his next Grand Prix event, the NHK Trophy.

Johnny Weir via AP

That said, if Weir ends up missing his axel or any other jump in a future event, he can’t get bogged down in that mistake. If you miss something, move on. The jump is over. It’s in the past. Trying to make up for or getting stuck in a past mistake will cause a skater to lose their focus. It seemed like this happened to Weir last weekend in Moscow. He allowed the pops on the triple axels in his long to lead to a downward spiral. He has to learn from what happened there. Next time, Weir should focus on taking one thing at a time, and go into each element like it‘s the first jump in his program. He has to leave the past in the past.

Like missed jumps, this thinking can be applied to missed opportunities and past failures. Those events are done. Weir can’t make up for them by skating well in future events. It doesn’t work like that. Everyone has a bad season, but it seems like Weir’s become so focused on making up for last season that it’s started to weigh on him. It’s okay to have a few bad outings, and it‘s okay that he didn‘t make the world team last year. He’s an athlete; sometimes things don‘t go as planned. But what isn’t okay is carrying the shame from those failures with him to future events. Just move on.

Part of learning how to move on from the past is learning to keep things simple. It seems like Weir’s putting too much energy into designing his costumes and the stories he’s trying to tell on the ice, and it’s causing him to forget about what’s focal. He’s also been filming his reality show over the past few months, and I’m sure it’s fun, but it can present a distraction. Right now, that stuff doesn’t matter. For the next few months, Weir’s focus should be on landing his jumps and skating strong programs. That is what’s important.

Adding to this, trying to present a certain image or be the most outrageous on the ice isn‘t going to win it for him. What it comes down to is whether or not he delivers when it counts. If Weir can try to skate for himself, it will help with this. At the end of the day, the mistakes are on him. He can’t lose sight that this is his career, not anyone elses‘. Johnny’s the one who has to live with his performances and who gets up every morning and makes it to practice. Johnny’s the one who has to put in the work and push himself through those tough long program runthroughs. Not his fans, not his friends or parents, and not his coaches. He is responsible for his performances. Weir’s support system wants him to do well, but they’re not the ones out there competing. If he puts their expectations out of his mind and skates for himself, the pressure of competition won’t seem as daunting. Weir will only have to answer to himself.

After a rough skate it’s natural that Weir’s confidence would take a hit, but he has to learn to block out any doubts. Weir needs to skate with the conviction of someone who deserves to be on the podium. I’m sure last weekend’s event was tough, but he has to brush himself off and get back to work. Johnny Weir is one of the most talented skaters in the world and has been doing these elements for the past ten years. With the amount of training he’s put in, he owes it to himself to come out fighting in Japan. Weir should spend the next two weeks working on his triple axel technique, forgetting about last weekend’s errors, and reminding himself that he is responsible for his skating. If he does that, he will be fine this season.

And remember, Johnny: It’s just figure skating.

Tatiana Tarasova & Mao Asada

Mao Asada’s troubles in Paris have followed her to Moscow.

After skating to a disappointing second place at last weekend’s Trophee Bompard, Asada came to Moscow looking for redemption. So far, she hasn’t found it.

Asada’s biggest hurdle to overcome today was the popped triple axel that marred her performance seven days ago. Unfortunately, today’s short program played out almost identically to last week’s. Asada, this time in a new dress, opened her program by once again popping out of her triple axel. While she was able to rebound and complete her remaining elements with polish and ease, Asada’s mistake on her axel proved costly. The 2008 world champion is currently sitting in 6th place.

Although Asada has never been an extremely consistent competitor, her performances at recent events have fallen below average for her. Part of the reason behind this may be because her coach, Tatiana Tarasova, has decided that Asada’s golden ticket this season is her triple axel and has added the axel to Asada’s short program. The truth is, Asada’s axel is no where near the level of consistency needed for success in a short program.

Tarasova is an extremely accomplished coach and appears to be a strong motivator who truly cares about her students. But, Tarasova is best known as a dance coach, not a technical coach, and at times her star can overpower her student’s. While watching Tarasova on warmup, it seems as if she’s resorted to willing Asada to land her axel, which obviously isn’t going to work, and having Asada attempt the axel in her short amounts to sacrificing the gold at every event she tries it in.

Asada’s recent troubles are incredibly disheartening because she is one of the most talented skaters in history. Her spins, stroking, spirals, and footwork are well above the field in Moscow. Because of these strengths, Asada is only six points out of the lead, keeping her in contention for tomorrow‘s long program. Unfortunately, there’s a good chance that her confidence may be shot after today‘s skate, and tomorrow won‘t yield the results she and Tarasova are hoping for.

Once this event is over, Asada needs to seriously reassess her coaching situation. While I wouldn’t normally recommend a skater switch coaches mid-season–especially during an Olympic season–Asada has proven that she does more than okay after a coaching change and even without a coach by her side. When Asada won her world title, she did what Michelle Kwan tried in 2002: She coached herself to victory. This season, however, I don’t see the self-coaching method working for her, and if Asada chooses to leave Tarasova, she will need a technically-sound coach to help her through the remaining months.

As it stands now, it appears there’s a major problem, and having Asada try the axel today was a bad coaching decision. Tarasova may have had the winning formula for many past champions, but that formula isn’t working for Asada.

Evgeni Plushenko

The Grand Prix travels to Moscow this week for the second of six events, the Rostelecom Cup. This week, all eyes will be on the men, as 2006 Olympic gold medalist Evgeni Plushenko makes his comeback to competitive skating on home ice. Plushenko hasn’t competed internationally since the ‘06 Games, but he appears to be in surprisingly good shape and ready to step into the shark pit that is men’s figure skating. In addition to Plushenko’s return, there are a few stories to look out for in Moscow that could change the complexion in Vancouver.

MEN

Unfortunately, news broke last week that reigning world silver medalist Patrick Chan has suffered a tear in his left calf muscle and has withdrawn from this week‘s event. Chan was a frontrunner coming into Moscow and has the goods needed to stand on the podium in Vancouver. He says he still plans to compete in his second event, Skate Canada, and hopefully his injury won‘t affect the rest of his season. Chan is a wonderfully artistic skater and, before his withdrawal, was my pick to win this event.

With Chan out, there is no doubt that the other men in the field are breathing a sigh of relief. Although Plushenko was recently awarded the “highest score ever in figure skating,” the judging appeared incredibly inflated and most didn’t think his score reflected his performance. Still, it won’t be easy for Plushenko to regain his spot as the number one male skater in the world. After spending four years away from competition, the physical and mental demands that come with this pressure-packed season might prove too much for the former world and Olympic champion. That said, Plushenko has the hunger and raw talent needed to get the job done, and with Chan out, he’ll probably take the crown in Moscow.

Three-time U.S. national champion Johnny Weir will be joining Plushenko in his quest for a title on the series this week in Russia. Like Plushenko, Weir didn’t compete at last season’s World Championships, after finishing a disappointing 5th at the U.S. Championships. Weir has two new programs, choreographed by David Wilson, and he’s been adamant about his desire to debut a new look to his skating this year.

For Weir, this week is all about starting off on the right foot. He has been rocky on the Grand Prix in the past, and when Weir doesn’t perform well early in the season, it’s generally an indication of troubles to come in later months. Let’s hope his struggles last January were left in Cleveland, and he’ll start the season off with a bang.

Along with Weir and Plushenko, other contenders for the podium in Moscow are Japan’s Takahiko Kozuka and America’s Brandon Mroz. Kozuka was the surprise of last season’s Grand Prix, winning Skate America and bringing home silver at the Grand Prix Final. He is an extremely lyrical skater and if clean, has the potential to steal gold this week.

Brandon Mroz won the silver medal at last season’s U.S. Championships and earned himself a top-ten finish at the World Championships last March. Mroz’s biggest downfalls are his lack of consistency and connection to his choreography, but he has great jump technique and solid spins.

PAIRS

As we’ll see in the ladies’ event, the pair title will likely come down to a battle between two teams. Reigning world bronze medalists Yuko Kavaguti & Alexander Smirnov have a tough fight on their hands with former world champions Qing Pang & Jian Tong in the mix. Although Kavaguti & Smirnov lack Pang & Tong’s experience and are slightly frenetic on the ice, they skate with excitement and have fairly good consistency on their side-by-side jumps. Kavaguti & Smirnov’s innovative lifts and youth will probably give them the win, but it will really come down to which team makes the least mistakes.

Keep an eye on reigning two-time U.S. national champions Keanua McLaughlin & Rockne Brubaker. Barring any injuries, McLaughlin & Brubaker have never come home empty handed from a Grand Prix event, and they generally give solid performances. The pair made a coaching change this past spring, and their new coach, John Nicks, will likely give this team a more refined look, helping their PCS. McLaughlin & Brubaker’s downfall comes in McLaughlin’s inconsistency on her side-by-side triple jumps. Hopefully Nicks has worked on McLaughlin’s technique and keeping her nerves in check. If he has, McLaughlin & Brubaker will probably win bronze this week and have the potential to upset.

DANCE

The biggest story of the dance event is the last minute withdrawal of reigning world champions Oksana Domnina & Maxim Shabalin. Shabalin has been plagued with a nagging knee injury, which has led him and Domnina to withdraw from multiple events in the past. Although painful, Shabalin’s injury didn’t hurt this team at the World Championship last March, and hopefully they’ll be able to overcome this early setback and come back strong in Vancouver.

While Dominina & Shabalin’s absence will make the dance event less exciting, their withdrawal is good news for Americans Meryl Davis & Charlie White. Davis & White have slowly been moving up the international ranks, placing a career-high 4th at last season’s World Championships, and they’ll have an easy time winning their second gold on the Grand Prix series this week.

Outside of Davis & White, this event will be about young talent winning Grand Prix medals in an easy field. The Italian team of Anna Cappellini & Luca Lanotte,who were 10th at Worlds last March, will likely be on the podium, as will the young Canadian team, Vanessa Crone & Paul Poirier. Crone & Poirier showed promise on the Grand Prix last season, and they have the potential to make the Grand Prix final this season.

Miki Ando

LADIES

The excitement in the ladies’ event will be found in the matchups between Miki Ando & Mao Asada and Ashley Wagoner & Alissa Czisny. For Wagner and Czisny, the Rostelecom Cup will serve as a continuation of their matchup at last season’s U.S. Championships. Czisny won the national title, but she was defeated by Wagner in the long program. Nerves and inconsistency are Czisny’s major flaws, and despite winning her first event of the season, the Nebelhorn Trophy, most of the jumps in her long program were downgraded.

As for Wagner, she’s generally pretty consistent, but she, too, has suffered from downgraded jumps in the past, and she lacks Czisny’s sophistication. Wagner is a fierce competitor, though, and has an impressive ability to fight through her mistakes. Both she and Czisny seem hungry to make their first Olympic team, and what transpires this week will give us an indication as to how they’ll fair in Spokane. My money’s on Wagner to sneak onto the podium in Moscow. She has the killer instinct that Czisny’s missing.

That said, it’s clear either Ando or Asada will likely win this weekend, and this event is critical for both women. Asada is coming off of two lackluster performances last week in Paris, and she can’t afford to lose a second event. It’s crucial that Asada proves herself in Moscow and shows that her loss to Ando last March at the World Championships was a one-time occurrence. Asada needs to land her triple axel in her short program and skate a relatively clean long program if she wants to take the title.

Ando’s bronze medal finish at the ‘09 World Championships was surprising because she had a tough time at last winter’s Japanese National Championships and Grand Prix final. Despite a string of rocky performances over the past two seasons, Ando has shown she has the goods to be the best in the world, winning a world title in 2007. Ando’s problems since winning that title have stemmed from injuries and a lack of focus, but when she‘s on, she‘s tough to beat. Ando’s showing a more elegant style this season and if her focus is in the right spot, she’s my pick for the win in Moscow.

Hopefully the Rostelecom Cup will come packed with the strong level of performances we saw last week in Paris. The withdrawals this week are disappointing, but in an Olympic season, it’s smart for injured skaters to sit out the Grand Prix if it means better health and performances in February. The most pressure this week will be on Plushenko and Weir; both have something to prove. As for skaters like Davis & White, this event is all about marking themselves as a team in contention for an Olympic medal. In either case, the Rostelcom Cup is less about a perfect skate and more about developing the momentum needed to propel these skaters into Vancouver.

Yu-Na Kim via AP

The first ISU Grand Prix event of the season, Trophee Eric Bompard, took place over the weekend, and for an October competition, the level of skating was beyond expectations. Yu-Na Kim set a new world record for total points in the ladies’ event, blowing the field away and setting herself up as the one to beat heading into Vancouver. However, along with Kim’s excellence there were some indications of skaters failing to meet their potential in Paris due to a lack of focus.

In a surprising twist in the pairs’ event, one of the most blatant depictions of a lapse in focus happened to two-time world champions Aliona Savchenko & Robin Szolkowy. Perhaps feeling a tad too confident after their stellar short program, Savchenko & Szolkowy missed three elements in their long program and dropped from first to finish in third overall. Savchenko & Szolkowy are a fairly consistent team, so to see them miss numerous elements in one routine was alarming. My bet is that they’ll come back strong at their next event, Skate Canada, and their performance last Saturday isn’t an indication of future troubles.

Joining Savchenko & Szolkowy with a disappointing debut on the ‘09 Grand Prix series was reigning world bronze medalist, Brian Joubert. Joubert struggled throughout the competition and lacked the fire we’ve seen from him in previous seasons. Following his long program, Joubert said he blamed his issues at Trophee Bompard on a lack of training.

“I need to work, work, work,” he said. “I’m on the right track. But what was enough training five years ago when I was 20 is not enough today.”

Joubert hoped to land three quads in his long, but he was unsuccessful in his quest. Joubert’s troubles may be due to his lack of training, but I also think he needs to change his focus. Attempting three quads is impressive, but rather than spending so much time training his jumps, Joubert needs to work on his spins and choreography. Quads alone won’t win it for him.

Aside from Kim’s incredible outing and the disappointing performances from some of the sports’ top contenders, there were two stories from Paris that caught my eye: Caroline Zhang’s need for improvement on her PCS and Adam Rippon‘s potential to become the future face of men‘s figure skating.

Caroline Zhang

For Zhang, this past weekend was a disappointment. She finished fourth out of the ten ladies, and as she sat in the kiss-and-cry following both her performances, Zhang appeared frustrated with the judges’ marks.

Caroline Zhang is a beautiful skater. She has incredible stretch, strong choreography, and arguably the fastest spins of any lady competing today. But she skates painfully slow. Even with her near-perfect packaging and clutch consistency, her lack of ice coverage makes her look like a junior skater when compared to Yu-Na Kim or Mao Asada.

Zhang’s failure to skate with the power necessary to be a threat at key events has been a serious issue over the past few seasons. And while Zhang seems aware of this obvious flaw in her skating, addressing it in an interview following the event, improvements have yet to be made.

“There are many things I can do to improve,” Zhang said. “I want to focus on getting my jumps a lot more consistent and improve my speed for [my next event] Skate Canada. I also want to work on my triple-triple again.”

Zhang had two downgrades and a wrong edge takeoff on her triple lutz in her long program, but her technical marks in her short program weren’t too bad. Her jump technique needs to be reworked, but midseason isn’t the time to do it. Instead, she and her coach, Ming Li, should take the next month to put the pedal to the metal. Learning to skate fast is not a very hard skill to grasp. Zhang is a strong young lady, but to me it just seems that there’s been a lack of desire on her part to put in the work needed to fix this. Zhang’s biggest challenge will come in January at the U.S. Championships where she’ll attempt to win one of the two spots available on the U.S. ladies’ Olympic team. If Zhang doesn‘t show improvements in her speed and ice coverage, she may be looking at a repeat of last season.

In contrast to Zhang and Joubert‘s focal flaws, two-time world junior champion, Adam Rippon‘s, head seems to be in the right spot. In the past few months, Rippon hasn’t been discussed as a likely candidate to make the U.S. men’s Olympic team, but this past weekend may have changed that. After his performances in France, which resulted in a bronze medal, Rippon’s stock is beginning to rise.

Rippon is still fairly young and fresh on the scene, but he skates with a lot of elegance and has shown steady improvement every season. He still needs to work on the consistency on his triple axel and gaining more confidence, and my guess is winning his first medal on the Grand Prix will help with that. Although he stumbled on both his triple axels in his long program, Rippon showed impressive poise and didn’t let his mistakes color his performance.

Rippon could very well be a dark horse in the men’s event this January. All eyes will be on Abbot, Lysacek, and Weir, and the odds are that at least of one them will have a tough time handling the pressure. If Rippon keeps his head together and is able to embrace the freedom that comes with being the underdog, he may find himself on the podium in Spokane.

The season has just begun, and there is a ton of time for skaters to mature and make improvements in the coming weeks. Zhang has a little over a month to work on her speed before Skate Canada, and if Rippon delivers again in three weeks at the NHK Trophy, he could be looking at a spot in the Grand Prix final. It’s only October, but if the quality of skating we saw at Trophee Bompard is any indication of what’s in store for the next few events, my prediction is that more world records are going to be smashed, and the upsets are just beginning. What’s ultimately going to separate the wheat from the chaff at these events, though, is where the focus of these top skaters lay.