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If there’s one thing figure skating has taught me, it is that life is never certain. And also, ice is very slippery. The ladies’ event at the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships was an especially exemplary example of those life lessons.

Since the 2006-2007 season, the ladies’ division has been dominated by Yu-Na Kim of South Korea and Mao Asada of Japan. This rivalry seemed to be as solid an institution as the legendary rivalry between Alexei Yagudin and Evgeny Plushenko, the two brilliant Russian skaters who had firmly monopolized the gold and silver positions of the men’s division previously. As for Kim and Asada, the two have been heavy favourites for every major ladies title for the past few seasons. However, cracks began to show. Asada had won the Grand Prix Final title over Kim in December 2008, but ‘only’ won the bronze at the Four Continents Championship in January 2009 (Kim won the gold). But in the weeks leading up to the world championships, Kim and Asada were still the favourites for the title, even with the vulnerability Asada had shown during Four Continents and an earlier competition, the 2008 Trophee Eric Bompard. After all, Asada has been a lock on the podium of every international competition she has ever competed in as a senior skater.

All seemed well during the short program last night. Kim skated a splendid short to Camille Saint-Saens’ Danse Macabre and thoroughly trounced the competition with a massive 9-point lead over second-place finisher Joannie Rochette of Canada. Asada had finished in third place after her ethereal Clair de Lune short with a costly error by doubling her planned triple lutz, but had the most difficult technical content planned among the ladies with her two triple axels (Asada is the only lady to even attempt triple axels). Pessimists predicted that Asada would skate decently, but remain in the bronze medal position. Optimists insisted that she would overtake Rochette for the silver in the long program, given Asada’s formidable technical content. Die-hard Asada devotees hoped that Asada would make up the 10-point deficit between her and Kim and take the gold (technically possible, as Asada had done so in 2007 before).

On the night of the long program, Asada skated first in her group. She had skated decently, landing a lovely triple axel-double toe but falling on her second (under-rotated) triple axel. Her score was nothing spectacular—even disappointing by her very high standards—but seemed firmly on podium territory. Rochette skated next with a couple of errors and was placed above Asada. At this point, with Kim’s victory virtually a foregone conclusion after her commanding lead from the short program, it seemed that the podium was going to be Kim-Rochette-Asada. Not terribly shocking, given how well Rochette has been doing all season and Asada’s recent vulnerability.

But then there was Miki Ando (pictured above), also of Japan. I had previously said that Ando was a challenger for bronze, but that—in all honesty—was an optimistic and hopeful choice on my part. Ando, the 2007 World Champion, has had a career full of extremes. After finishing as high as 4th and 6th at the Worlds preceding the 2006 Olympics and generally doing very well, Ando was touted as a heavy favourite for an Olympic medal by the Japanese media. However, she had a severe meltdown and finished a devastating 15th. After being written off by most after the Olympics, Ando came roaring back on a comeback, seizing the 2007 World title right under the noses of favourites Asada and Kim. Ando struggled for the next season with pressure and confidence problems, cumulating with a shocking withdrawal during the long program at the 2008 Worlds. As for this season, Ando had skated relatively well, but most considered her at best a long outside shot for the podium given her struggles with rotating her jumps and dealing with pressure.

Ando had skated a lovely short program and was placed fourth behind Asada coming into the long program. After a tentative Rochette finished her long program, Ando skated with attack and speed, nailing all her jumps and showing much improvement on her spins, ultimately receiving an enthusiastic standing ovation. In the end, Ando placed second in the long program and third overall, winning the bronze medal in her second comeback. Congratulations to Ando for her perseverance, and for surprising nearly everyone. However, her ascent also meant that Asada was pushed into fourth place and finished off the podium at an international competition for the first time in her career.

Of course, Kim won the long program and the gold medal, winning her first world title. Her long program to Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade was very good, but to me it lacked that extra fire she had during her spectacular Danse Macabre SP. Nevertheless, it was a well-deserved win and with that, Kim establishes herself as the woman to beat at the Olympics next season. However, it would be foolish to count Asada out—Asada may have finished off the podium at this competition, but she is still the only skater to have consistently defeated Kim. All in all, Kim and Asada go into the next season with a lion’s share of the major figure skating titles between them: both have won the World Championships, the Grand Prix Final, the Four Continents Championships and the Junior World Championships at least once. The Olympics will definitely be a nail-biter. Kim looks to be the favourite, but–as the results from both the men’s and ladies’ divisions show–nothing is ever certain.

Other highlights of the night include the energetic Elene Gedevanishvili of Georgia, a firecracker of a skater who redeemed her abysmal showings at the European Championships and the Junior World Championships this season by breaking into the top 10. Rachael Flatt from the United States also did well, pulling herself up two spots and placing fifth. Alena Leonova of Russia, another energetic skater reminiscent of 2-time World Champion and Olympic medalist Irina Slutskaya, gave a good performance to pull up to seventh place and looks to be a force for the 2014 Olympics in her home country. As for meltdowns, nobody had it harder than last year’s silver medalist Carolina Kostner of Italy, who was credited with only landing one triple jump in her entire long program. Kostner, a skater known for both breathtaking speed and inconsistency, popped or doubled nearly every jump she attempted and was consequently dropped down to 12th, her lowest finish in years. Kostner is capable of challenging the likes of Kim and Asada when she is on, but she needs to work on her consistency if she wishes to return to her peak form.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 4:00 pm and is filed under Athletics & Health, Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.