Daisuke Takahashi

Two Golds for Japan at Worlds

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Just got home this evening from a weekend in SoCal. I am pretty wiped, and will have to save photos and update on the trip for another day when I have more energy.

This past week was the 2010 World Figure Skating Championships in Torino, Italy. It seems almost cruel to make these figure skaters compete when they are still reeling from the Winter Olympics that ended less than a month ago, but I suppose such is the demanding schedule of an athlete. I didn’t get to watch the men’s and ladies’ programs due to the fact that I was busy on the evenings before my trip and was in Southern California during the ladies’ skates, but I kept up to date on the results via online news on my phone. 😉

It was a pleasant surprise that Daisuke Takahashi and Mao Asada were both able to take home golds for Japan.

Daisuke Takahashi, 2010 World Champion © 2010 Universal Sports

Daisuke Takahashi became the first Japanese man to medal at the Winter Olympics this year, and he became the first to win the men’s world title this time. As I mentioned before, he has been my favorite male figure skater for a while, and it was really inspiring to see him do so well and finally be able to take home the gold after suffering a career-threatening knee injury. He only had surgery just last year and was able to overcome the injury and make such an incredible comeback! I am really happy for his win.

Mao Asada, 2010 World Champion, © 2010 Universal Sports

Mao Asada, who was forced to settle for silver at the Olympics also made a strong comeback this time and regained the title of World Champion (she had previously won the title two years ago, in 2008). Her long-time rival Kim Yu-na suffered an unfortunate fall and an uncharacteristic shaky performance, which opened up the room for Mao to grasp the title. Although Mao’s scores were below her season’s best, I am sure that the title gave her a feeling of accomplishment after training very hard this season. It’s no consolation for her dissatisfaction with her own performance at the Olympics, but she has said that she feels rewarded for her efforts in challenging and pushing herself. She noted that Daisuke Takahashi’s win from a couple days ago inspired her to win another gold for their country, and with the World Championships scheduled to be held in Japan next year, she feels that they were able to set a good starting point for the following season.

Also, the Chicago Tribune reports at the end of their article that Mao is looking for a new coach to replace Tatiana Tarasova, who she has been with for the past two seasons. I think I echo the same sentiment as a lot of other Mao Asada fans when I say that I am happy to hear this. Not that Tarasova was a bad coach — I do believe that Mao needed to improve on her expression during her programs, but since she has been with Tarasova, her programs have been very dark, heavy, even plodding at times, and the style does not seem to fit Mao at all. I hope that whoever coach Mao switches to will bring her back to the lighter skating style that she is better suited and known for, while still improving her emotional expression on the ice. Tarasova is a legendary coach, but it would also be better for Mao to no longer have a long-distance coach, since Tarasova was mostly in Russia while Mao trained in Japan.

But for now, I hope that both these skaters, as well as Kim Yu-na and Mirai Nagasu and all the other skaters who came fresh off the Olympics to compete at Worlds, can go on home and get some well-deserved rest after this busy season. I’ll miss seeing these stars on the ice, especially since this was one of the most exciting seasons for figure skating that I’ve ever witnessed, but it’s time they took some time off to shift their focus and just enjoy life off the ice for a while.

Hooked on the Olympics

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Since the Winter Olympics in Vancouver kicked off a week ago, I’ve been glued to the television almost every evening, engrossed in the athletes’ quests for the gold and catching up on the highlights and recaps of medal events that I missed during the workday. Figure skating is always hands down my favorite sport to watch at the winter Olympics, and in past years, it was pretty much all I watched. But this year, I’ve been paying a lot more attention to the other sports as well — every competition is exhilarating to watch, and I just can’t seem to get enough. I continue to hungrily take in all the reports from NBC, and even if I’m doing something else (like our taxes…), I have the TV on in the background, so I can passively tune into the Olympics coverage.

There are so many amazing medal contenders and it’s such an inspiration to watch them, see their skills in action, and hear their stories. Here are some of my personal heroes thusfar in the Olympics this year… whether they win gold or not, they are stars in book. 🙂

U.S. alpine skier Lindsey Vonn. I was amazed that despite her reportedly excruciating injury on her shin, she still competed and went on to win gold in the downhill on Wednesday. She was first in the downhill on Thursday’s super-combined, but unfortunately crashed during the slalom portion. We’ll still get to see how she does in the Super G, but I’m already so happy for her! She was so set on taking home the gold, and she was able to achieve it.

American snowboarder and skateboarder Shaun White won the gold in men’s half-pipe. His victory was already clear before his final run, and he topped off his winning lap with a Double McTwist 1260 and two flips with three spins. The confidence he exudes, his flawless execution and his unbelievable jumps and flips are what earned him the gold. Only 23 years old, he’s already done so much for the sport of snowboarding. There’s no doubt he’s one of the biggest shining stars this Olympics.

Shani Davis, American speed skater, won the 1,000-meter men’s speed skating event and as his blade crossed the finish line, he became the first man to win two consecutive gold medals in the event. Winning the gold once is accomplishment enough, but to win two back-to-back is an awesome feat!

Apolo Anton Ohno. Does he even need an introduction? A short track speed skater for the U.S. and a six-time medalist in the Winter Olympics, he’s been the reigning US champion since 2001 after winning the men’s national title twelve times! He’s currently tied with Bonnie Blair for most medals won by an American at the Winter Games, and this year, he has his sights set on adding another medal to his name to break that record.

Onto my favorite sport of the Olympics — figure skating! I was very excited to watch American figure skater Evan Lysachek win the gold last night as the men’s figure skating event completed its long program. He skated so well! Lysachek is the first American male figure skater to win the gold since Brian Boitano did in 1988.

I personally was rooting for Japanese figure skater Daisuke Takahashi — probably Japan’s favorite in male figure skating this Olympics, he was  definitely up there as a potential gold medalist. Due to a slip during his long program, he let that chance slip away but still was able to garner the bronze medal and make history, becoming the first male Japanese medalist in the event.

One of Japan’s other medal contenders for men’s figure skating, Takahiko Kozuka. Only 20 years old, he placed 8th last night and still has a ways to go before being able to win a medal at the Winter Games, but he’s definitely got the potential. Watching him skate last night, I noticed that he has a true grace and fluidity to his movements on the ice. The other skaters have a strong, powerful presence while skating but he seems to weightlessly glide. He’s definitely one to watch in the years to come.

And the ladies! I can’t wait until Tuesday, when the women’s figure skating programs kick off. I respect and love watching all the ladies in this category, so I will probably be happy with whoever wins, but among my top personal favorite is Mao Asada, currently ranked 3rd in the world by the ISU. Whether she will win the gold this Olympics is uncertain, but I have loved her since I first noticed her on the figure skating scene. She is just so adorable! Asada nailed her triple axle at age 12, and has passion and drive, as well as accuracy and grace. I hope that she will at least go home with a medal. 🙂

Japan’s Miki Ando is my other personal favorite, and she has also shown a lot of promise this season. The first and only female skater to successfully complete a quadruple jump in competition, she is still ranked 7th in the world by the ISU. I’m interested in whether she or Asada will perform better during the Winter Games this year. It would be very exciting if she can follow in Shizuka Arakawa’s footsteps and win a gold for Japan again.

The third female figure skater from the Japanese Olympic team is Akiko Suzuki. I actually have not followed her as closely as Asada and Ando, so I haven’t really formed an opinion yet about her, but she completes the trio of ladies that are headlining Japan’s female figure skating this year. I’m curious to see how she will perform.

Korea’s Yuna Kim is a formidable contender for the gold this year, and it looks like she is the favorite for ladies figure skating this Olympics, with a lot of people predicting that she will be the one to come out on top this year. She’s the reigning world champion and is currently ranked #1 in the world by the ISU. I love watching her skate — she rarely ever slips on the ice and her performances are near flawless, doing it all with that pretty smile. The predictions that she will take home the gold this year may come true, but it won’t necessarily be easy, looking at the other contenders in the mix.

I was surprised that 16-year old Mirai Nagasu made it onto the U.S. team this time around. She’s still pretty young and probably has some years to go before she will be able to boast an Olympic medal, but she’s definitely an up and coming star. She is a Japanese American from Southern California. (So many talented Japanese and Japanese American figure skating ladies these days!)

For the pairs figure skating that ended earlier this week, I couldn’t be happier for China’s Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo winning the gold! During their eighteen years of skating together, the married couple had won numerous medals and titles, winning two bronze medals in past Olympics, but the gold had always evaded them. They went into retirement in 2007, but came out of retirement this Olympics in hopes that they could try for gold once again. And they succeeded! They made history by becoming the first Chinese skaters to win the gold medal in any figure skating category. What a story! I was so inspired by this pair — they are definitely some of my favorites among the athletes in Vancouver this year.

With over a week left to go in the Olympics, there are a lot more events to be held and medals to be won. The excitement of the Winter Games only comes around once every four years, so I will continue to be attached to the sofa for the next nine days, soaking in every moment of Olympic glory.