I gotta admit, my enthusiasm for figure skating has waned over the years. I remember in the 90s, when guys like Elvis Stojko and Kurt Browning were reving things up with flips and triple salchow's. Kristi Yamaguchi and Emanuel Sandhu (who has since moved on to dance) were igniting heated flair and passion to every arabesque movement.
Then the dark side of figure skating reared its ugly head. Who can forget about the heinous assault orchestrated by former world champion Tonya Harding on Nancy Kerrigan? And then there was the Machiavellian scandal involving pairs skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier during the Salt Lake games. Bribery, deceit, malice...figure skating isn't all twirls and ribbons, folks.
However, there is hope on the horizon. Some young blood has been injected into this dying sport. One young man to definitely keep an eye on is 19 year Ottawa native Patrick Chan. Equal parts skill and finesse, look for him to bring home a medal at the Vancouver games.
Another medal hopeful is 17 year old Rachael Flatt from Colorado. Flatt made her international debut in 2007, winning the international challenge cup that year.
All in all, the newfound fresh talent that has been added to this year's Olympic roster has piqued my interest enough to keep a track on some of the sport's proteges. And for a guy who has essentially ignored the sport for the last 10 years, that's something to Triple Axel over...
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