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 Thursday, September 6, 2001
Youth are on the rise
By Terry Gannon
Special to ABCSports.com
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- As we enter into this new competitive season, there are a number of key things for fans to watch throughout the year.
We have talked for the last two years about this youth movement, especially in ladies ice dance. Throughout the year, watch the younger group, now a year older, a year wiser allegedly, and presumably a year better. Can they challenge Michelle Kwan as we look ahead to the Olympics? How far have the youth come?
Two years ago, it was Naomi Nari Nam at the U.S. Nationals. Last year it was Sasha Cohen at the U.S. Nationals. Who is the new star that is going to come along that no one really knows about yet? And can this crop really begin to seriously challenge Kwan, Irina Slutskaya and Maria Butyrskaya for an Olympic gold medal, which is another year down the road?
We got a glimpse of this during the Keri Lotion Figure Skating Classic, but it remains to be seen how this will play out during the season and on the World Championship stage.
In men's figure skating, are we at the point where we have to have not just a quad, but maybe two quads in your program to win a World Championship?
| |  | | | Alexei Yagudin understands that the level of difficulty must increase to be the best. |
Last year Alexei Yagudin said, "To win the Olympics next time around a skater will have to have two or maybe three quads in your free skate to win a World Championship." We will see how this plays out.
In pairs, watch Russia's Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, who last year were forced to withdraw from the World Championships because of a positive drug test. They are still the team to beat, but has the rest of the world caught up to them?
Terry Gannon covers figure skating and college football for ABC Sports and is a frequent contributor to ABC Sports Online.
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 Michelle Kwan gracefully lands a triple lutz then moves on to her trademark spiral.
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Ryan Bradley executes a triple lutz followed by a triple toe loop.
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 Michelle Kwan is excited to win the first event of the season.
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