Youngsters’ rivalry in spotlight: Meissner, Asada set to go
Posted on Sunday, October 22nd, 2006 at 6:38 pmA post-Olympic year usually is when young, unheralded skaters grab the spotlight. Kimmie Meissner and Mao Asada didn’t bother to wait.
The teenagers got a nice jump on making headlines last season when Asada won the Grand Prix finals over Irina Slutskaya and other more renowned and experienced women. Then Meissner took the world championships.
Let their rivalry, perhaps spiced by triple axels, begin as Skate America opens the season Thursday in Hartford.
“I’ve been competing with her in the junior ranks, I really like her, she’s very competitive,” the 17-year-old Meissner said. “I would always hang out with the Japanese skaters and try to figure out what they were saying and they would try to figure out what I was saying. It was a lot of fun.
“She’s a great athlete and I look forward to competing with her.”
Asada was 15 when she won the Grand Prix final, then she landed two triple axels in the Japanese national championships. But she was too young to skate at the 2004 Turin Olympics or the world championships, so much of the skating public was unable to see the rising star.
She will be in Hartford for the first of six Grand Prix meets leading to the final in St. Petersburg, Russia, in December.
“I experienced many things throughout last season, so I hope it really helps for this season,” said Asada, who is being coached by Rafael Arutunian, who last worked with Michelle Kwan. “I think I can show what I have done through practice so far.”
The Meissner-Asada matchup is the most intriguing story in women’s skating now that Kwan, Slutskaya and Olympic bronze medalist Sasha Cohen aren’t planning Grand Prix appearances. None is expected to compete this season.
And the triple axel adds spice to the budding rivalry. Asada is likely to try the 3-revolution jump every time she laces up her skates, and Meissner has been hitting it consistently in practices after skipping it last season to concentrate on overall improvement.
The most improvement came at worlds, where she surged to the gold medal with a spectacular free skate.
“I definitely carried that high through the shows and the summer,” said Meissner, a senior at Fallston (Md.) High School. “I had maybe one week where I took a breath and came down, and now I am really geared up and training, although I still think about it and how it felt at worlds in Calgary. It’s made me look forward to this season.”
Other Olympians entered in women’s competition at Skate America are American Emily Hughes, Switzerland’s Sarah Meier, Australia’s Joanne Carter, Japan’s Miki Ando, Canada’s Mira Leung and Finland’s Kiira Korpi. Another talented young American, Katy Taylor, also will skate, as will Asada’s sister, Mai.
Two-time world bronze medalist Evan Lysacek and Japan’s Nobunari Oda are the top men at Hartford. They’ll get an early start on the season and eventually figure to meet up with two-time world champion Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland, three-time American champion Johnny Weir, Brian Joubert of France, Daisuke Takahashi of Japan and Turin bronze medalist Jeffrey Buttle of Canada.
Just as Meissner did at Calgary, Lysacek finished off last season with his best performance, a free skate that lifted him to the bronze medal at worlds. He has kept the same “Carmen” free skate, at least for the Grand Prix portion of the season.
“Last year I had a lot of injuries and illness and a lot of weird things going on, and I was putting tons of pressure on myself,” Lysacek said. “I was going into the season as the only U.S. man with a world medal, but I felt I needed to prove myself over and over again.
“Now, I’ve felt that I have two consecutive world medals and a good showing at the Olympics (fourth). I enjoyed it. I am trying to take every opportunity as it comes to me with open arms and kind of enjoy every minute. Elite athletes’ careers aren’t that long.
“So I’m trying to experiment with new styles and fashions, new designs. I’m trying new stuff because now is the time to do it and establish my identity before the pressure of 2010 kicks in.”
America’s most accomplished skating couple, Olympic silver medal ice dancers Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, won’t get their season started until Cup of China next month. They will be a top contender for the podium wherever they compete, with the first U.S. ice dance gold at the world championships a possibility.
“We certainly achieved a lot of our goals last year and really needed to reconsider our mental approach for the next four years, and not be overwhelmed in training four more years at that speed,” Belbin said. “We’ll focus on skating for ourselves a little more and for our own personal satisfaction.
“We just want to entertain and do the programs we want to do.”
That will include a “Singin’ in the Rain” free dance this season that Agosto calls “total fun.”
China’s world champion pairs, Pang Qing and Tong Jian, will face veteran Americans Rena Inoue and John Baldwin Jr. at Skate America.
Associated Press