Grand Prix of Figure Skating season hits the ground running
Pj Kwong | CBC Sports | Posted: October 19, 2017 9:00 AM | Last Updated: October 19, 2017
Olympic favourites Hanyu, Medvedeva both competing at opener in Moscow
Talk about starting with a bang.
The favourites to win Olympic gold in both the men's and women's singles events are competing this week at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating's season opener in Moscow.
I'm talking, of course, about defending Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan and Russian teenage superstar and two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva.
Here's what to expect from those two stars, along with the other top contenders in each event, as the Rostelecom Cup begins Friday.
CBCSports.ca is live streaming every short and free program from Russia, beginning Friday at 7 a.m. ET. The Rostelecom Cup will also be featured on the season premiere of Road to the Olympic Games on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on CBC Television.
Men: Hanyu aims higher
Hanyu has already been busy, taking a world-record-setting short program from two years ago and making enough changes to break his own mark at the Autumn Classic in Montreal in September.
How did those changes come about?
Hanyu's choreographer, 2006 Olympic bronze medallist Jeffrey Buttle of Canada, calls the 22-year-old skater "smart" and "amazing" while acknowledging "there was a bit of pressure to make [the short program] better and not just the same.
"You want to make it fresh," Buttle says. "There are some nuggets in the program, though, that when we were going back and re-visiting it, I was just like, I can't see this any other way and I don't want to change this part. But technically he wants to up the ante, so obviously some changes needed to be made."
Despite not always being consistent in competition, Hanyu's bag of tricks, including the extraordinary speed and power that I saw in practice last week, should give him enough to hold off the competition in Moscow.
Ladies: Can Medvedeva be beaten?
Medvedeva has not been defeated since the Rostelecom Cup in 2015. Her remarkable winning streak includes two Grand Prix Final titles, a junior world title and two senior world titles. The 17-year-old Russian is as smart as she is consistent as a competitor. Those two qualities give her the edge in any field.
Sentimental favourite and 2014 Olympic bronze medallist Carolina Kostner is more than Medvedeva's equal artistically. On a good day, she could pose a real threat. I say "a good day" because of the Italian's uneven performances in competition. Make no mistake, though — when those good days happen they are well worth the wait. Kostner's ability to translate music to movement on the ice can be breathtaking.
Pairs: Russians go toe-to-toe
There is no doubt in my mind that the pairs team of Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov will be duking it out for gold in Moscow with fellow Russians Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov.
Tarasova and Morozov took home the world bronze medal last season and represent the very best of Russia's classical pairs style.
Meanwhile, 2014 Olympic silver medallists Stolbova and Klimov have missed lots of time over the last two years recovering from injuries. They know that re-establishing themselves as front-runners starts with a stellar result this week.
Dance: Gilles and Poirier get fresh
In the ice dance event, the favourites on paper are the American brother-sister duo of Maia and Alex Shibutani, who have reached the podium at the last two world championships. Their first of three medals at worlds came back in 2011, in their first trip to that event, and they've earned a special place in my heart for their tenacity to wade through four seasons on the outside before getting back on the podium.
If you do nothing else, keep an eye on Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, who are taking the opportunity in this Olympic season to unveil more original programs. Their free dance offers a fresh take on a Perry Mason-esque femme-fatale-and-gumshoe storyline. I love it.
Pj's gold-medal picks
Men: Yuzuru Hanyu (Japan)
Ladies: Evgenia Medvedeva (Russia)
Pairs: Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov (Russia)
Dance: Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani (United States)