Which of the men do you see becoming "it" by Sochi

[bek]

Evan was not that consistent a skater either himself back in 2006. He pretty much never did 2 clean programs. The only times he did clean longs are when he had screwed up the short. There was no reason to believe he was suddenly going to morph into that at that point in time.

I think there was plenty of reason to believe that a guy who managed to medal at his first Worlds, was probably going to turn out to be a pretty good competitor.

[judgejudy27]

I think there was plenty of reason to believe that a guy who managed to medal at his first Worlds, was probably going to turn out to be a pretty good competitor. Its not like he medaled with 2 falls ala Jeff.

All I said was back in 2006 there was pretty much nobody who would have called him to be the next Olympic Champion at that point. Spin it however you want but in reality if a poll was held at that point he would have gotten almost no votes. So given that it seems almost pointless to consider who the next mens Olympic Champion is going to be now.

[kwanfan1818]

So given that it seems almost pointless to consider who the next mens Olympic Champion is going to be now.

Or perhaps the point is to distinguish between who we want to be Olympic Champion and who would be Olympic Champion

[judgejudy27]

Or perhaps the point is to distinguish between who we want to be Olympic Champion and who would be Olympic Champion

It will probably be someone no suspects at this point yet again. Nobody would have picked Kulik to win the 98 Olympic Gold in 94. Virtually nobody would have picked Evan for gold in 2010 in 2006. In 92 maybe some considered Urmanov for 94, but before the Olympics itself nobody gave him much hope of even a medal.

[bek]

My thread though wasn't meant to be a who will be the Olympic champion in Sochi, because I truly don't think we can predict that right now. There are two many unforeseen things. Kulik is a great example of this, nobody would have predicted him because he wasn't even on the Senior scene at this time if I recall...

I do think though we can kind of predict who is going to be successful in the next couple of years, and who will still be in the "hunt" (baring injuries) by Sochi.

I.e for me everyone talks about Adam Rippon, and I agree that he's got great qualities.. But I'm not sure if I really believe that Adam is going to be a world champion someday because for me at this part, Adam still doesn't even have a consistent triple axel....I was impressed with him delivering the triple axels at junior worlds and Four Continents though...

When I mentioned Brezina it was more of all the young stars, I have this feeling that he while he may be the one most ready to break out quickly. Because he's the best jumper of all the young stars, and maybe one of the stronger ones mentally. That's a dangerous combination.

[Doubletoe]

Definitely Brezina, Rippon and Hanyu. I am also excited to see how Denis Ten develops because is so young and already shows so much potential! I am also big fan of Javier Fernandez and I hope he starts getting the PCS he deserves!

[mia joy]

Because he's the best jumper of all the young stars, and maybe one of the stronger ones mentally.

I wouldn't judge on his mental strengh too soon, though. Being a young discovery, a sensation is easy, but being a favourite everyone is counting on is very different. Take Joubert's quote that winning the 2004 Euros over Plush was easier than any other he won after that. It's easy to shine when you're new and nobody puts neither big pressure, nor huge expectations on you. So, yeah, let's see how he deals with his new status of the star. Of course, I hope he can take it all and make the best of it, but as I said, don't be so sure he's so mentally strong as there hasn't been too much pressure on him yet.

[blue_idealist]

I forgot about Rippon when I posted before.. although I think he could be overrated.. usaully the really hyped person doesn't end up doing what people think they will do (Zhang, Emily Hughes, etc., I know those are all ladies examples though)

[Markulliz]

Ten, Amodio, Borodulin

[WildRose]

I saw Adam Rippon skate live for the first time at Stars on Ice a couple of weeks ago. I enjoyed his skate, and his enthusiasm, but in comparison to the rest of the cast, he seemed slow. I'm sure that's something he'll be working on, but I think he may need to pick it up a notch if he's going to play with the big boys.