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TSN Figure Skating Analyst

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The World Figure Skating Championships begin March 25 in Shanghai, China and Canada is poised to win gold in both the Pairs and Ice Dance competitions.  

Canadian pairs champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford and ice dance champions Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje have dominated their disciplines this season with undefeated records and top scores across the board.

It was expected that Meagan and Eric's toughest competition at the Worlds would come from Russian Olympic pairs silver medalists Stolbova and Klimov. However, in a shocking announcement after the European Championships in January, the Russians declared that they would not be making the trip to Shanghai citing the fact that they needed to add more difficult elements to their programs and that starting the process after the Worlds would not give them adequate time to be ready for next season. Say what? Not competing this year to get ready for next year?  That is odd, at best, and makes me wonder if there is more to the story.  The fact is; Meagan and Eric have, in terms of technical difficulty, put themselves out of reach of the competition this year. The Russians, by their withdrawal, have conceded the title and gone back to the drawing board mid-season in an effort to up their degree of difficulty and get back in the game.

Meagan and Eric's ascent to the top began three years ago when they chose to play to their strengths and take advantage of their experience as former singles skaters.  They systematically went after adding side-by-side triple lutzes into both their short and free programs when no other pairs were taking that risk. Their results suffered initially but the risk started to pay off and by the end of that season came the reward when they won bronze at the 2013 Worlds.  Last year, they relentlessly went after maximizing and mastering level fours on their non-jump elements, their spins, lifts and death spirals, and this season they stepped it up once again by adding and landing the throw quad salchow and distancing themselves technically from the field.

That being said, it is not just their technical difficulty that has them undefeated this year.  It is the combination of risk, their Elvis Stojko-like ability to deliver under pressure and their crowd pleasing programs that have given them the decided advantage.  This World title is indeed theirs for the taking but of course they will not go unchallenged. It will be interesting to see what the Chinese pairs will add to their arsenal in an attempt to win gold on home ice.  They are capable and have been known to take big risks but due to injuries in previous seasons they have had to remove some of the riskier elements and may be ready to now add them back.  I would not be surprised to see at least one of the three Chinese pairs go for a quad throw in an effort to catch Meagan and Eric.

This pairs field is one of the deepest I have ever seen. It includes the engaging and recently paired Canadian silver medalists Lubov Illiushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch in their first Worlds as a team and Canada's up and coming Junior Worlds silver medalists Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau.

Turning to the Ice Dance competition in Shanghai, Canadians Kaitlin Weaver and Andrew Poje definitely have the advantage on paper but in the point's race, the Dance is setting itself up to be a much closer contest than the pairs. In a conference call the other day, Kaitlyn and Andrew said that they have never felt more prepared than they do now. Over the years they have impressed me with their ability to fine tune their material and make measurable improvements so that by the end of the season at the World Championships they are able to hit new highs and peak.  They will have to do that again this year if they are to win.   They have said that they will be pushed technically by the American team and artistically by the French.  Both teams are very strong, but the French team put up big scores recently at the Europeans, winning that title and creating momentum. I believe they will be the greatest threat to Kaitlin and Andrew.   The slightest mistake will be a game changer but playing it safe in this contest will not be enough for the win.  In the race for gold, I expect the teams to hold nothing back but a mistake - or the lack thereof - will define the outcome. Joining Kaitlin and Andrew once again this year are Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier and Alexandra Paul and Mitch Islam. Last year at the World Championships Canada had three teams finish in the top ten, which was a remarkable accomplishment and one they hope to achieve again in Shanghai.  

Canadian Men are not title contenders this year. The favourite is the reigning Olympic champion and defending World Champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan. Both the European Champion and World bronze medalist Javier Fernandez of Spain and Olympic bronze medalist and recent Four Continents champion Denis Ten of Kazakstan are expected to be his toughest competition.  Canada will be represented by Nam Nguyen and Jeremy Ten. Nam, the newly crowned Canadian champion, will be the youngest competitor in the event at 16-years of age and will try to top his 12th place finish of last year.  With his consistency, showmanship and a clean quad, Nam is capable of getting in the mix and shaking up the field.

The Russian Ladies will be trying for a sweep of the podium in Shanghai.  If they do, it will be the first time since 1991 when the American Ladies accomplished that feat.  It will be the American Ladies that are most likely to dash the hopes of Team Russia, as the U.S. have three women who are capable of being on the podium. Canadian champion Gabby Daleman is at her second Worlds and has set a goal for herself of top six, while Alaine Chartrand is in her first World Championships.  Both are looking to gain valuable experience here and would like to establish themselves as future contenders.