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 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, 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.