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Women's Figure Skating Preview

The most highly anticipated event of the 20th Winter Olympics is finally here. Tonight the female figure skaters will compete in the Short Program at 7:00 pm.

Usually, the top three finishers at the 2006 U.S. Championships qualify for the Olympics. Winner Sasha Cohen, runner-up Kimmie Meissner and third place finisher Emily Hughes were readyto make the trip to Torino but then Michelle Kwan had to make things difficult. She withdrew from the U.S. Championships because of a right groin injury and then successfully petitioned for an Olympic roster spot following two performances in front of a committee on January 27th.

Two weeks later, Michelle Kwan had made her way to Torino and was all smiles at the Opening Ceremonies on February 10th. The next day, Kwan pulled out of the Olympics because of her groin. Many fans believed Kwan never really deserved an Olympic roster spot in the first place. All of her hard work to get past the Olympic red tape had been wasted.

That was (almost) exactly what Emily Hughes wanted to hear. Her father received a phone call during a sushi dinner that confirmed her Olympic acceptance as a replacement. The 17-year-old Great-Neck, NY native who got bumped from the Olympic roster was finally back in the mix to compete for her country and follow in her the footsteps of her sister.

Sarah Hughes won gold in the free skate in Salt Lake City after a spectacular performance. Her perfect performance was etched into history as one of the best performances, overshadowing highly favored Michelle Kwan.

Tonight, the American performers are staggered. Hughes with skate 15th among the 29 women competing in the short program. Kimmie Meissner will skate second overall and Sasha Cohen will be the last figure skater to perform.

Overall, Russian Irina Slutskaya is favored for tonight’s event. Showing great sportsmanship, Sarah Hughes delivered Slutskaya’s skating costume from New York, since the two often shop at the same Tania Bass designer store.

Medals will be handed out after Thursday night’s Free Skate competition. The story lines are piling up for what should be an amazing few nights of figure skating.

Posted by Marco Santini  at 9:06 AM | Permalink

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