Students cheer on Bay Area figure skater

If you have walked into the Logitech Sharks Ice at San Jose ice arena, chances are you will have seen Archbishop Mitty sophomore and 2014 Sochi figure skater Polina Edmunds practicing in the public skating rink. 

Edmunds, who has grown up in skates, was the 2013 National Champion at the junior level last year. This year she will be competing in the 2014 Winter Olympics, which began Feb. 7 and will end Feb. 23. 

Edmunds will have some tough competition. Russia, Japan and Korea will be sending strong competitors, including 15-year-old 2014 European champion Julia Lipnitskaia, 2010 Olympic champion Yuna Kim and 2010 Olympic silver medalist Mao Asada. 

The American Olympic team also includes National champion Gracie Gold and former National Champion Ashley Wagner.

At 15, Edmunds will be trying to follow in the footsteps of 1998 U.S. Olympic champion Tara Lipinski, the youngest female figure skater to win Olympic gold.

Edmunds will also be the first Olympic figure skater from San Jose since Kristi Yamaguchi in 1992, as well as the first National winner from San Jose since Rudy Galindo in 1996.

Galindo, who choreographs Edmunds’s show programs,  believes that Edmunds will do well for her age and skill level at the Olympics. 

"I think Polina will skate well and I predict top 10 for her, which is amazing considering the strong field," Galindo said. 

Junior Arathi Sabada watches figure skating all year. 

“I think that [Edmunds] skated really well at Nationals and that she'll do well at the Olympics,” Sabada said. “I like her jumps. She gets a lot of height.”

It is definitely true that Edmunds gets a lot of height when jumping. I’ve been skating for more than 10 years, and I have never seen any other skater jump with such ease. 

She’s also incredibly determined and aggressive in skating. During freestyle sessions, she is the one skater gliding circles around everyone else. 

When I used to skate on the afternoon freestyle sessions at Logitech, Polina and either her mother Nina Edmunds or her coach David Glynn was always there. Her coach yells at her frequently and loudly, but not nearly as much as her mother scolds her. And the unique thing about Polina is that she yells right back.

With the amount of time Polina spends on ice, it isn’t surprising that she has made it to the Olympics. It is amazing that she has time to go to school, unlike many other skaters, who are homeschooled in order to spend more time practicing. 

It is also fitting that she will be competing in the Sochi Olympics in her mother’s home country, Russia. 

I think Polina will do well at the Olympics. Her jumps and spins are incredibly consistent, and she has proven herself good at performing under pressure. No matter what place she gets at Sochi, she will have accomplished a fantastic feat: she will be an Olympian at the age of 15.