Jaunted Winter Olympics Embed: Watching The Pretty Wonders On Ice

February 25, 2010 at 3:55 PM | by TuijaSeipell | Comments (0)

The 2010 Winter Olympics are finally here and the Jaunted Embeds are on the scene. All throughout the games we are going to be providing you first-hand observations and tips from a Vancouver local. Tuija Seipell is a Vancouver-based writer and a dual citizen of both Finland and Canada--so she is bound to get a medal or two right? You can follow her on Twitter here, or just follow the Vancouver 2010 Olympics tag.

Yesterday I was at the women�s figure skating morning training session at the Pacific Coliseum and it was quite amazing to see all of the best skaters in the world working on their routines at the same time! Much like the men's training session, the competitors came on ice in four groups. Each group starts with a short warm-up and then each athlete�s music is played.

Some skated through their entire program, some did just some key jumps while others, including Canada�s Joannie Rochette whose mother died suddenly on Sunday, did not jump much at all but went through their program�s other parts.

The morning�s last group brought out the stars. Reigning world champion, South Korea�s Kim Yu-Na, who is first before today�s long program, took to ice with energy and determination. Kim looks like she�s meant to fly, not remain stuck on the ice. She jumps off the ice like a little bird! Her coach is Canada�s Brian Orser so Canadians are cheering for her, too.

Current second-place holder, Japan�s Mao Asada, also skated in the last group, as did Rochette, whose every move brought out cheers of support from the audience. The group also included USA�s 16-year-old Mirai Nagasu and 17-year-old Rachael Flatt.

Japan�s Miki Ando, also in the last group, is now my favorite. She was totally in the zone with her exquisite arm and hand work and stunning jumps. I also like Nagasu. She resembled a tiny music-box ballerina in her turquoise sequined costume and flexibility. If she is this good at 16, what will she be like in six or eight years?

I had to cheer almost all the time during the entire three-hour training session: For the Canadians and Finns, of course, and being so polite, for our neighbors the Americans and the Swedes and the Estonians, and then my additional favorites of Kim and Ando. Tonight will be an exciting night of figure skating! Check out the details here.

[All photos: Tuija Seipell/Ted Topping]

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