US Women's Figure Skating Olympics 2022: Odds, Anticipated Events and Favorites
One of the most eclectic teams in U.S. Women's Figure Skating history will compete at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
It is a group consisting of the oldest skater the country has produced in almost a century, a 16-year-old with a chance to make some noise on the international stage and a veteran skater making her second appearance at the Games.
However, blocking their way to medals in the free and short programs is a dominant Russian Olympic Committee team that has rewritten the record books on its way to China.
When to Watch
NBC will carry coverage of the Winter Olympics, with multiple platforms on which to watch this year's Games.
Women's Singles (Short Program)
Date: Tuesday, February 15
Time: 5 a.m.
How to Watch: NBC, USA, streaming via Peacock
Women's Singles (Free Skate)
Date: Thursday, February 17
Time: 5 a.m.
How to Watch: NBC, USA, streaming via Peacock
Who to Watch
Mariah Bell
At 25, Mariah Bell is the oldest U.S. women's figure skater to appear in the Winter Games for 94 years. That she has no previous Olympic experience makes her even more of an anomaly.
Numbers and history won't matter, though, because Bell arrives in Beijing having just captured the U.S. national title following a silver and two bronze medals in previous competitions.
It was her short program that earned her the title and will be her most likely path to a medal performance in Beijing, especially in the face of oppressive competition from the Russian team.
Bell will have to lean on her experience and coach Adam Rippon to help her replicate the success she had at the U.S. championships, but she is America's most experienced and decorated singles skater.
Karen Chen
The only women's skater with previous Olympic experience, Karen Chen placed 11th in the 2018 Games.
Committed to evolving and bettering herself and her performance, she used time away from school during the COVID-19 pandemic to fine-tune her skills. The result? A bronze medal in the 2021 U.S. championships.
It was her performance at the World Championships in the same year, when she earned a bronze medal, that put Team USA in a position to have three singles skaters.
The 22-year-old may not enter this year's Games with the momentum of Bell or the buzz of Alysa Liu, but she has been on the Olympic stage before and should not be counted out as a potential dark-horse candidate to earn a medal.
Alysa Liu
Introduced to the sport at age five by her father, Alysa Liu has built a reputation as one of the finest figure skaters in the world. A COVID-19 diagnosis prevented her from competing at the U.S. championships, meaning she enters the Winter Games with a bit of uncertainty surrounding her.
The 16-year-old is also limited in terms of international competition, which could prove to be a disadvantage. Liu is no stranger to winning, though. She is a two-time U.S. national champion, having bested Bell in 2019 and 2020.
Liu also possesses a secret weapon in the form of a quadruple jump. She can also execute a triple axle and has done so in international competition, as Dan Levinson of NBC 5 in Chicago reported. Though she has not utilized the quad jump since 2020, one would assume her first Olympic games might be the perfect time to break it out in an attempt to prevent a Russian sweep in singles skating.
Odds and Favorites
Women's Singles Odds
Via Oddschecker
Kamila Valieva (1-7)
Anna Shcherbakova (13-2)
Unfortunately for Team USA, it is the ROC side that appears likely to dominate women's figure skating in Beijing.
Kamila Valieva, at just 15, has already set the highest recorded score in the women's short and free programs, as well as total score. Her 90.45 in the shot program at the European Championships is a world record and makes her the favorite to win gold in Beijing.
But just how unstoppable is she right now?
During her free skate, Valieva fell but still recorded the highest score of the day, thanks to three flawless quadruple jumps.
If anyone stands a chance of eclipsing her, it is likely to be her teammate, Anna Shcherbakova.
Like Valieva, Shcherbakova proved a resilient skater, overcoming errors in Italy and France to medal there. Also like her teammate, she looks to increase the number of quads in her routine.
"Without quads, you don't have any chances to win competitions now," she told Olympics.com. "But of course, my goal is to do not one quad [but] to work more on it and to show more quads in my program."
However, the 17-year-old will need to be flawless to finish above Valieva.