2014 Sochi Tag

This week in Nice, France, the best skaters on the planet will compete in the 2012 ISU World Figure Skating Championships. With only two years until the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, both the skaters competing and the countries they represent are lining up their top skaters to establish pre-Olympic dominance. For Team USA, the stakes are high, having qualified only two athletes in the Men, Women, and Pairs events. The skaters must finish high enough in the competition to qualify a full roster of three skaters for next years critical pre-Olympic year Worlds in 2013.

With the 2014 Sochi Russia Olympics nearing, the Russian figure skaters are lined up in the Junior division and set to make their Senior debuts in 2013. The "wunderkids" as they are referred to include World Junior Champion Julia Lipnitskaia, who isn't competing in Nice because she isn't age eligible. Next year she, along with several other top Russian teens including Elizaveta Tuktamisheva, are set to take the international skating world by storm with their incredible flexibility and triple-triple jump combinations.

For skaters like US National Champion Ashley Wagner and former US Champion Alissa Czisny, both in their 20's, this presents a possible "now or never" approach to this year's Worlds. Neither have consistent triple-triples and each are nearing the end of long careers in the senior division. The same can be said for Italy's Carolina Kostner, now 25 and competing in her 10th Senior Worlds. If Wagner and Czisny can earn a total placement of 13, Team USA will get to send 3 athletes to London, Ontario for next years 2013 World Figure Skating Championships. However, if they don't, next years Worlds could be filled with so many top Russian contenders that making the podium could be next to impossible. Additionally, with US Junior Champion Gracie Gold set to enter the Seniors next year, either Czisny or Wagner could get shut out of competing on the US World team without a third spot available.
Picks: 1st: Asada, 2nd: Wagner, 3rd: Kostner (wild card: Akiko Suzuki)