There are a lot of stories of redemption in the ladies’ event at the 2020 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships. As with the men’s event, not all of the medalists from the top countries are here, but that doesn’t make the competition any less exciting. We live in a skating world where Japan, South Korea, and the United States all have a good amount of depth in the ladies’ event - there will be some great skating coming up this week.
Four Continents predictions
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GOLD Rika Kihira JPN - As the new Japanese champion, Kihira has reaffirmed her status as the leading woman in Japanese skating. But after an almost flawless first senior season last year, this season has had its challenges - and it all started with an injury that she’s been dealing with that has kept her from being at full force (namely, the lack of a triple lutz) for most of this season. Whether or not the lutz is back, it’s likely that her goal her is to try to put down a clean quad salchow, which she debuted at Grand Prix Final in December. She’s the odds-on favorite here, and it will be important for her to set herself up well for the podium battle at Worlds.
SILVER Young You KOR - She just won her fourth Korean title and the Youth Olympics, and she has shown some real promise in her first season on the senior level. Having a trusty triple axel doesn’t hurt either, though it hasn’t been 100% consistent. For her to give Kihira a run at gold and stave off the likes of Tennell, Higuichi, and Sakamoto, she will need to hit at least one of those in this competition. You’s overall skating has improved so much over the past season - she has proven and will continue to show that she is one of the best in the world.
BRONZE Bradie Tennell USA - Coming in third at US Nationals and earning her spot on the World team, Tennell was not satisfied with her performance in the free skate, which has proven to be a bit of a gauntlet this season so far. With two more weeks under her belt, and hopefully a healed elbow, she comes in with a great shot at the podium. It will be necessary for her to capitalize on her short program, which has been the best material of her career. And if she can figure out her free skate in Seoul, she has the chance to grab the biggest individual medal of her career so far.
4. Wakaba Higuchi JPN - Will the triple axel appear this week from Higuchi? She’s been teasing us with it in practice for a couple of seasons now, and based on how she looked at Japan Nationals, we might be seeing Higuchi back to her best again after struggling with injury. The short has been good to her this season; it’s a matter of consistency in the free.
5. Kaori Sakamoto JPN - After getting sixth at Japan Nationals, Four Continents will be her chance to end the championship season on a high note. She comes in possibly with an upgrade - we saw her attempt a quad toe in a domestic event just days ago. But this season has been super uneven for her with mistakes that have kept her from the podium at both of her Grand Prix events.
6. Yelim Kim KOR - Bronze at Korean Nationals early last month, Kim has displayed some solid skating this season, though she has yet to but down a clean competition internationally. She was eighth last year at Four Continents.
7. Karen Chen USA - Her fourth-place finish at US Nationals two weeks ago was somewhat unexpected, considering we really didn’t know what to expect from her in the first place. But the training time that she’s had in Colorado Springs in the weeks leading up to Nationals proved useful. She could surprise this week.
8. Eunsoo Lim KOR - A disappointing seventh-place finish at Nationals kept her from being named to the World team, so Four Continents will be a place for Lim to salvage her season. It just hasn’t quite worked out for her this season. The inconsistency of her takeoffs has kept her from skating the way that we’ve seen her skate over the past few seasons.
9. Amber Glenn USA - Though she finished a career-high fifth at US Nationals, she was certainly far from satisfied with her showing there, especially in the free skate. The short program has always been her strong point, so she is really looking to redeem herself with a good free here.
10. Emily Bausback CAN - The new Canadian champion wants to prove that her win last month was no fluke, and that she deserves one of the two Worlds spots for the Canadian women. She makes her debut at Four Continents this week.