Gracie Gold Must Win Figure Skating Medal to Validate Hype
The spotlight and pressure are on American figure skater Gracie Gold. She has to perform well in Sochi at the 2014 Winter Olympics. She's been adorned as the face of her country at the games and anything less than a podium performance will be a disappointment.
Gold has appeared on the cover of several publications, like Sports Illustrated. She's also endorsing CoverGirl and Nike, as evidenced by these two recent tweets.
If a director were casting a movie about the most commercially perfect American Olympic athlete, Gold would definitely get the casting director's attention.
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Her coach, Frank Carroll, acknowledges his skater's appeal.
"I think she's incredibly elegant. She has a beautiful face, a beautiful body and she's long and she jumps high and she floats through the air . … Kind of a complete package," he told Kelly Whiteside of USA Today.
Looks will only get her so far, though.
Gold will have to continue to improve if she hopes to win a medal in Sochi. She has consistently stepped up her game over the last two years.
ESPN.com's Bonnie D. Ford set the stage for Gold back in Jan. 2013 when she pegged the then-17-year-old as a potential force in Sochi. Acknowledging the possibility of failure and Gold's resolve, Ford wrote:
"History is littered with the names of junior figure skating sensations who skidded out of the elite ranks and unlaced their boots, never to be heard from again.
Gold is quietly determined not to be one of them, and it shows in the even-tempered way she's recovered from disappointment and focused on improvement in her first season at the senior level.
A prodigious jumper, bright, bubbly and attractive, she was hailed as a potential star who could be in the conversation for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games if she was able to refine the other components of her program as well as her overall artistic performance and feel.
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Alice Cook of She's Game Sports (h/t Matt Pepin of the Boston Globe) notes that it's clear Gold has worked hard to ascend to her current standing as America's best hope for a medal.
However, it still may not be enough to earn a medal.
Realistically, winning a top podium spot is a lot to ask of Gold considering the competition. South Korea's Kim Yuna is the defending Olympic champion and the favorite in Sochi.
Kim is bidding to become the third woman to win back-to-back gold medals at the Olympics. At 23 years old, this is her last Olympic competition, so she'll be looking to leave on a high note and make some history in the process.
It's not just Kim that Gold has to worry about.
Mao Asada of Japan is considered by some to be Kim's biggest threat for the gold. Asada is the only woman set to attempt a triple axel in both the short and long programs.
If she hits it, she could be the front-runner.
All of that is speculation.
Gold could very well take the ice and put on a magical performance, while Kim and Asada could inexplicably struggle to find their marks. If that happens, Gold's Olympic success will match the hype she's received up to this point.
If not, the 18-year-old may have to look to the 2018 games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, as her opportunity for Olympic glory.
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