Dream Podiums

I have recently found myself envisioning all sorts of increasingly unfeasible situations whereby Plushenko and Lysacek simultaneously enter self-destruct mode and drop, drop, drop, leaving my boy Lambiel to take the gold with any number of my many male favourites in second and third, or where the Kerrs give the performances of their lives and defy all expectation by landing on the podium. All of these things are entirely unlikely, obviously, but either way, here are my dream podiums:

Pairs
Gold - Shen / Zhao
Silver - Savchenko / Szolkowy
Bronze - Kawaguchi / Smirnov

Pairs is the discipline I am least concerned about, as it were, so I used a considerable about of fact and logic in this, hence why S/Z are at the top. I'm not even sure that I've seen any of the S/Z's performances from this season (or ever) but their story makes me want to root for them anyway, and I can't see them doing anything but winning, given their track record this season. That said, I would love S/S to take gold, because I adore them, and wherever they end up, I really hope that they can finish up a rough season on a high. I picked K/S for bronze because I thought they had a real magic about them in Tallinn, and because I kind of love Alexander Smirnov. Honorable mentions (i.e teams that I would be just as pleased to see on the podium) to Mukhortova/Trankov, who I liked way more than I thought I would at Euros, Volosozhar/Morosov, and Dubé/Davison. I haven't seen much/any of the other Chinese teams but I know that P/T are pretty likely to wind up there. It's highly unlikely that they'll end up on the podium, but I'd also love to see Langlois/Hay, Sergejeva/Glebov, Morand/Dorsaz and, of course, Kemp/King, skate perfectly.

Dance
Gold - Virtue/Moir
Silver - Davis/White
Bronze - Kerr/Kerr

I put V/M over D/W purely because it'd be a home gold for them; in reality, I'd be equally happy for either of those two teams to get gold. I know that the Kerrs basically have zero chance of getting that bronze medal, although I'd be delirious with joy if they did, so my more logical pick for bronze would be Delobel/Schoenfelder (only slightly more logical, since they've barely [at all?] competed all season - I am seriously rooting for these two over Domnina/Shabalin). Other teams I'd be happy to see on the podium are Khoklova/Novitski and Pechalat/Bourzat, and I'd also like Coomes/Buckland and Cappellini/Lanotte to place as well as they possibly can. I like that this event has no clear front-runner; I just really hope that DomShabs don't pull a Euros on us all and win gold despite two non-first-place finishes.

Ladies
Gold - Mao Asada
Silver - Yu-na Kim
Bronze - Carolina Kostner

Okay. Initially, I put Yu-na in gold, but that is just too predictable. The part of me that lives for figure skating drama would love Mao to skate the skate(s) of her life and take gold from Yu-na, particularly after the season she's had. Bronze was a toss-up between Carolina, Joannie Rochette and Rachael Flatt. I'd actually be equally happy for any of these three three take the medal. I'm also hoping that Laura Lepisto, Elene Gedevanishvili, Kiira Korpi, Miriam Ziegler and Cheltzie Lee do well. In reality, I'm of little doubt that Kim will take gold, hopefully with Asada behind her, but really, silver and bronze are pretty much anyone's game between Asada, Ando, Rochette, and maybe even Suzuki, Flatt or, at a push, Nagasu.

Men
Gold - Stéphane Lambiel
Silver - Jeremy Abbott
Bronze - Brian Joubert

Oh, I agonised over this. Ideally, I'd really like it if they decided to give out three gold medals, one for each of the above, leaving Johnny Weir to take silver and Tomas Verner to take bronze, but that's just not going to happen. Of course, there's also all but no way that we'll ever see the above podium; I can't see that Plushenko will be anywhere but gold (silver at worst, I imagine), and there is always Lysacek, whom I really can't stand, but who will probably end up somewhere on the podium regardless of my opinions of him. I think that Lysacek is about the only skater that I wouldn't want to beat Plush. Anyway, I am doing my best to get Lambiel to the gold medal using sheer willpower. I love, love, love Jeremy (although I'd be scared that, if he medalled, he would retire), and Joubert has fast become a sentimental favourite of mine. Given that two of his biggest rivals have totally screwed him over by returning, I think he deserves a break. If this trio of gold medals can't happen, I'd be almost as happy to see Weir or Verner with bronze (actually, I'd be happy to see Verner skate two clean programs, wherever he places), and I'm also rooting for Contesti and Brezina. I'm aware that I haven't even factored in the Japanese guys, who don't really excite me but obviously, have just as much/more of a chance than some of those I've mentioned, and of course there's Chan, who I find almost as obnoxious as Lysacek. Never mind top three - the top twelve is going to be hard enough to crack in Vancouver. It is going to be quite the competition, and I for one cannot wait!

xxx