It’s likely not surprising that, after the Russian women went 1-2 at Skate America and 1-2-3 at Skate Canada, there could be yet another instance of the Russian women finishing at the top of the standings this week at 2021 Gran Premio d’Italia. As has been the case during the first two Grand Prix events, GP Italia will feature some domestic match-ups that will certainly have momentum ramifications going into the second half of the season.
2021 Gran Premio D’Italia predictions
Official hashtag: #GPItalia #GPFigure
GOLD Maiia Khromykh RUS - Does one competition suddenly make Khromykh the favorite? Her win at Budapest Trophy over Shcherbakova was something of a shock, but it also is the culmination of the progress she’s made over the past season. Her real arrival announcement came at the Russian Cup Final last season, and there’s no denying that having a two-quad free skate has given her a new-found standing in the world of women’s skating. Budapest Trophy was a minor event, though, and her Grand Prix debut this week will be the real test of how she can stand up against some of the best in the world.
SILVER Anna Shcherbakova RUS - Maybe I haven’t learned over the past couple of seasons, but Shcherbakova is one of those doubt-at-your-own-risk kinds of skaters. Just when you think she’s having a setback, she comes back to prove you wrong. Though in all reality, this prediction is less about doubting Shcherbakova and more about the numbers that are in Khromykh’s favor. Can she land that quad flip in the free skate (and will there be more than one)? She is the World champion, after all, but maybe it’s still too early in the season after her injury for her to be 100%.
BRONZE Loena Hendrickx BEL - Three years ago, when Hendrickx made her debut on the Grand Prix, I thought she had the goods to be the dark horse, but illness that season and then injuries the following season forced her from really making inroads. Last season gave her the boost that she needed heading into the Olympic season, as she took a career high fifth at Worlds in her comeback season. And she comes into GP Italia with the third highest season score of this field - and that was at her fourth place finish at Finlandia.
4. Mai Mihara JPN - Her fourth place finish at Skate Canada was the best that she’s skated since the 2018-19 season. Mihara has been battling through juvenile arthritis over the past few years - her overall strength is not as high as it used to, and it’s shown in her power on the ice. Last week’s performances showed that she’s made improvements on that end - and her jumps looked more solid than they have even earlier this season. This is her third competition in four weeks, so you wonder if fatigue might be a factor.
5. Yelim Kim KOR - Eighth at Skate America, Kim is looking to clean up some of the errors that she had there to finish her Grand Prix series strong in advance of the domestic qualifying competitions that she has on her path to a possible Olympic qualification. A strong statement here is not only important for her confidence, but also for the interested parties back home who are crunching all the numbers to figure out the Olympic spots.
6. Satoko Miyahara JPN - Seventh at Skate America, Miyahara delivered one of the stronger free skates that we’ve seen from her in the past couple of seasons. And while she’s got the strongest basics in this field (and the judges don’t seem to ever see that), her big hurdle, as always, will be the integrity of rotation in her jumps. Getting a strong start in the short program will be important for her, as that’s where she’s definitely had trouble even when her jumps are hitting in the free.
7. Sofia Samodurova RUS - It’s hard to believe it’s been three seasons since Samodurova shocked the skating world by winning the European title in her breakout year. And putting up some of her strongest numbers since then early in this season. She was third at Budapest Trophy behind Khromykh and Shcherbakova last month.
8. Eunsoo Lim KOR - It’s been a few seasons since we’ve seen Lim at her best - she’s struggled with inconsistencies in both programs, and that’s kept her from being as competitive among the Korean women as she used to be. She knows how to win a Grand Prix medal - she took bronze at Rostelecom Cup three years ago.
9. Lara Naki Gutmann ITA - Gutmann just missed qualifying Italy a spot in the women’s event at Nebelhorn Trophy a couple months ago, but she’s had some solid results internationally over the past few seasons.
10. Lucrezia Beccari ITA - Last year’s Italian bronze medalist pulled out of her home Challenge Series event, Lombardia Trophy, earlier in the season. This will be her debut on the senior Grand Prix.
11. Yi Zhu CHN - Zhu was seventh at Asian Open to start her season and she will be skating in her first Grand Prix event outside of China. In her quest for the sole Olympic spot for China, a strong showing here will be very important.
12. Nicole Schott GER - Eighth at Asian Open and 17th at Finlandia Trophy, Schott will make her return to the Grand Prix series, where her highest ever finish was seventh at Internationaux de France.