Who makes your list of improbable Olympians? Not the ones who seemed unlikely because we didn't really expect them to come back out of retirement, but the athletes who really surprised. Athletes you wouldn't have predicted to qualify a year or two ago even if you had known they planned to skate.
A few from my list:
I was just reading Khaliavin's post about heading to the Olympics and thinking how extraordinary it is that he and Sara are going to the Olympic Games. A couple of years ago, both athletes' competitive careers looked to be in serious peril, with Monko & Khaliavin having to forfeit their top 24 GP standing and pull out mid-season due to her serious injury and Hurtado & Diaz shocking their fans by calling it quits on their partnership.
Hurtado & Khaliavin are far from the only longshots headed for Pyeongchang.
Zagorsky & Guerreiro are going. A few years ago, she couldn't even get out of France. Even this season--and after Ilinykh & Zhiganshin's dissolution--the odds were heavily against Z&G getting to the Olympics. Only two dance spots available in Russia. There was always a chance that Sinitsina & Katsalapov might
. But Stepanova & Bukin out as well. Against the odds.
Bradie Tennell. Last year she was out with injury & missed the entire early season. Ninth at the U.S. Championships. A seventh place finish at Junior Worlds wasn't bad but it didn't exactly scream next year's U.S. Champion. I remember arguing that she had a shot of making the team, but she certainly wasn't a member of my prediction list. Two years ago, she was 11th at Junior Worlds. And finished 11th at her one JGP. Off to the Olympics.
Hanul Kim. After a respectable, but not spectacular JGP season last year, Hanul Kim finished 8th at Korean Nationals. She didn't make the cut to qualify for the Junior World Team and didn't finish high enough to earn a Grand Prix invitation. With the likes of Soyoun Park, Nahyun Kim, Sohyun An, and Dabin Choi ranked above her at home, the odds were looking not-so-hot. Then Dabin broke through with a 5th place finish at 4CCs and snagged a top-ten finish at Worlds. Two spots, and Hanul got the rest of the job done.
A few from my list:
I was just reading Khaliavin's post about heading to the Olympics and thinking how extraordinary it is that he and Sara are going to the Olympic Games. A couple of years ago, both athletes' competitive careers looked to be in serious peril, with Monko & Khaliavin having to forfeit their top 24 GP standing and pull out mid-season due to her serious injury and Hurtado & Diaz shocking their fans by calling it quits on their partnership.
Hurtado & Khaliavin are far from the only longshots headed for Pyeongchang.
Zagorsky & Guerreiro are going. A few years ago, she couldn't even get out of France. Even this season--and after Ilinykh & Zhiganshin's dissolution--the odds were heavily against Z&G getting to the Olympics. Only two dance spots available in Russia. There was always a chance that Sinitsina & Katsalapov might
. But Stepanova & Bukin out as well. Against the odds.Bradie Tennell. Last year she was out with injury & missed the entire early season. Ninth at the U.S. Championships. A seventh place finish at Junior Worlds wasn't bad but it didn't exactly scream next year's U.S. Champion. I remember arguing that she had a shot of making the team, but she certainly wasn't a member of my prediction list. Two years ago, she was 11th at Junior Worlds. And finished 11th at her one JGP. Off to the Olympics.
Hanul Kim. After a respectable, but not spectacular JGP season last year, Hanul Kim finished 8th at Korean Nationals. She didn't make the cut to qualify for the Junior World Team and didn't finish high enough to earn a Grand Prix invitation. With the likes of Soyoun Park, Nahyun Kim, Sohyun An, and Dabin Choi ranked above her at home, the odds were looking not-so-hot. Then Dabin broke through with a 5th place finish at 4CCs and snagged a top-ten finish at Worlds. Two spots, and Hanul got the rest of the job done.
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