2010 Olympics: South Korea's Kim Yu-Na Takes Lead in Ladies Short Program; US Skaters Rachel Flatt and Mirai Nagasu in Fifth and Sixth Place

As expected, South Korea's Kim Yu-Na took the lead in the 2010 Olympic Ladies Short Program, with Japan's Mao Asada in second, and Canada's Joannie Rochette skating through her grief into third. The two US skaters, Rachel Flatt and Mirai Nagasu are in fifth and sixth position, both earning personal best scores. I only disagreed with one placement, that of fourth place Miki Ando.

South Korea's Kim Yu-Na, the World Champion is coached by Brian Orser, and referred to as "the Queen" by the other skaters. She beautifully landed a triple/triple combination at the beginning of her program, and nailed the triple flip that she fell on in practice today. Skating a program with the highest difficulty allowed, she set out to make her countrymen, who adore her as an icon, proud, and skated with strength and sensuality, flirting with the audience. She then spiraled, spun and danced into a score of 78.50, the all time highest score for a short program, putting her in first place.

Japan's Mao Asada, Kim Yu-Na's main rival, is also under pressure from her home country to do well in her Olympic debut. She is the only skater in this competition with a triple axel, and she landed it, and all her jumps, flawlessly. Her spins lacked the speed of Mirai Nagasu, but were well executed. She had nice position on her spirals and skated a free and easy program. She claims she is "not a short program person," but her score of 73.73 belied that statement and put her in second place.

Exemplifying the spirit of an Olympian, Canada's Joannie Rochette, six-time Canadian champion and Silver Medallist at Worlds, bravely took the ice fighting back tears, two days after her mother died suddenly Sunday in Vancouver. With her visibly grief-stricken father looking on, Rochette performed a flawless program, landing her jumps cleanly, and performing her elements beautifully. Her score of 71.36 was a personal best, and put her in third place behind Kim Yu-Na and Mao Asada.

Japan's Miki Ando, two-time Japanese champion, had her opening triple combination and subsequent triple lutz downgraded when it was decided she hadn't made full rotation. An athletic skater, she performed graceful spirals, and good footwork and spins, but she lacked the flair of the preceding skaters. Her score of 64.76 was a bit high, considering her triple problems and what appeared to be a two-foot landing. Rachel Flatt's program was better and skated almost flawlessly.

USA's Rachel Flatt, the US Champion, appeared a bit tense as she took the ice. Nicknamed "The Rock," and mentored this week by Peggy Fleming, Flatt skated an almost flawless, "jivey" program to "Sing Sing." With a flirty smile, she danced into her opening triple lutz/toeloop combination. She did lose one point on a triple lutz where she just hung onto the landing, not completing the last rotation, but her beautiful choreography, saucy footwork and theatrical expression earned her a 64.64, a personal best, that put her in fifth place.

USA's Mirai Nagasu, the US Silver Medallist, skated a beautiful, precise and almost flawless program as well, earning only a one point deduction on her opening triple lutz/double toe combination, but landed the rest of her jumps cleanly, earning execution points on all her other elements. Her positions were gorgeous, and the flexibility and speed in her spins was amazing. Considered the best spinner in the competition, she seemed to gain strength and speed with her breathtaking ending combination spin, coming out of it with a bloody nose. Her score of 63.76 put her in sixth place, not too shabby for a 16-year-old's first trip to the Olympics. Nagasu's coach, Frank Carroll, also coaches Evan Lysacek.

There has been a US ladies skater on the Olympic podium every year since 1960. Our girls have a rough fight ahead of them, with the three leaders not likely to let down in the long program, which will contest on Thursday, February 26th. (Whew, I get to sleep tomorrow night!)

Sources: NBC-TV 10 Philadelphia; Ladies Short Program Results