COLORADO SPRINGS — For much of her 2 minutes and 50 seconds on the ice last March, Chaochih Liu of Colorado Springs had one question permeating her concentration while trying to make the Chinese Taipei Olympic team.
Do those rows of seats in the Staples Center go up forever?
By the time she got that question answered — no, it’s just another ice rink — she had fallen in her short program at the world championships. She finished 28th, six off the last spot needed to make her national team.
Friday and Saturday at the Nebelhorn Trophy, a senior Grand Prix event in Oberstdorf, Germany, the Iowa-born daughter of Taiwanese parents gets a second and last chance to make the 2010 Olympics.
If she finishes in the top six out of 40 skaters, she’ll go to the Vancouver Olympics. Oberstdorf’s ice arena holds only about 3,000, a sixth of the 18,000 seats that fill the Staples Center.
“That’s probably the biggest arena I’ve been in so far,” Liu said after a recent practice session at the World Arena’s cozy practice rink. “Now it’s a lot easier. It’s a lot more comfortable.”
Oberstdorf’s arena is similar in size to the one in Sofia, Bulgaria, where she finished 17th at last year’s junior worlds.
“I think Chaochih will feel like she’s skating in a rink, and not in an arena,” her coach Eddie Shipstad said.
Finishing in the top six out of 40 isn’t as imposing as it sounds. While part of the senior Grand Prix circuit, it’s also designed to fill open entries for smaller countries such as Chinese Taipei.
While Americans Rachael Flatt, Brandon Mroz and Ryan Bradley, all of the Broadmoor Skating Club, are entered in the competition. Liu will also compete against ladies from the likes of Mexico, Australia and Azerbaijan.
At worlds, the Cheyenne Mountain High School junior finished in the top six after you take away the top 22 who won’t be her competition this weekend.
“I still believe (her chances) are excellent, that she has all the skills that it takes to be in the top six,” Shipstad said.
John Henderson: 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com
