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The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics keep edging closer, but for Mira Leung, they're drifting further away.

Once touted as a Canadian Olympic hopeful in figure skating, Leung seems to be falling off the competitive map.

The Vancouver native is not even in contention to go to the final of the Grand Prix series next month in South Korea and the question is being asked: Will she miss the Olympics in her hometown?

Joanne McLeod gave notice in July that she would no longer coach the three-time Canadian silver medalist, known as a hard worker and tough competitor. Leung showed up with McLeod at the 2003 Canadian championships in Saskatoon as a spunky, precocious 14-year-old dressed in canary yellow. She earned a standing ovation for finishing in 14th place in her debut at the senior level.

But at her two Grand Prix events this season, Leung, 19, placed seventh at Skate America and 11th among 12 skaters at the Cup of China, where the judges marked her harshly. One judge marked her 4 out of 10 for skating skills.

At Skate America, Leung blamed McLeod, complaining that the coach kept changing her mind throughout the spring and summer about whether she wanted to continue to coach her. Leung adopted a new coach, Jennifer Jiang, a former Chinese international judge, two weeks before the event in Everett, Wash.

McLeod said Leung did not contact her for three months after the world championship in Gothenburg, Sweden, in March.

Leung said she told McLeod she wanted to take a break after the world championship.

Asked if it was true that she did not contact McLeod for three months, Leung called it a "misunderstanding."

"She knew that I was [taking a break]," Leung said.

Ted Barton, executive director of Skate Canada's British Columbia/Yukon section, expressed disapproval.

"Should Joanne have to chase her down?" Barton asked. "It's the responsibility of the athlete to come back and figure out what the plan should be. She never came back. She didn't call."

Leung said early this season, she wanted to start planning for next season, but McLeod changed her mind about being her coach.

Did Leung call McLeod? Leung said she did. "I did see her at the rink a lot, but it wasn't until ¡K starting summer training, a long time after I came back, she suddenly said, 'You know what? I changed my mind.'"

McLeod said she was concerned when Leung's skating performance took a dip before the world championship. She had finished just fourth in the long program at the Canadian championships and wasn't getting high levels of difficulty on some of her elements.

But she said she was disappointed Leung wasn't receptive to her ideas to find a new choreographer, to start training sooner in the season and to add a triple-triple combination to be able to crack the top 10 in the world. Leung had been 13th at the 2006 world championship and 14th in 2008.

She said Leung was capable of more and she had to get tougher with the plan. But then Leung didn't show up.

"It burned me so much, because I didn't want to let go," McLeod said.

"Mira went off track," Barton said. "She doesn't take anybody's information. She still believes that she can do it on her own. She needs guidance. ... It's her choice not to listen. She's had so much support and patience from everybody, but the organization has to look after other kids, too.''

After three strikes, McLeod decided Leung was out. First, the athlete and the coach have to agree to a plan and McLeod couldn't get that agreement. Second, Leung didn't show up to train.

"What happens in the business office if you don't show up for three months?" McLeod said. "I don't know if you'd have your job after that."

The third is athlete and coach have to have "the magic of belief," as McLeod puts it.

"Somehow that goes in and out a little bit with my relationship with her," McLeod said. "I find when you're trying to crack the top 10 in the world ¡K you can't blame your coach for a level that wasn't achieved. And you have to be willing to take the information that's costing you that level. You can't shut out somebody else that is trying to help you."

However, if Leung were to ask McLeod to coach her again, McLeod said she would.

"I have nothing against her," McLeod said. "I'd still put my bets on Mira. And I'll still be cheering for her."

Off the mark

Marks at Cup of China:

Mira Leung (11th place)

Short program, 40.76 points

Free program, 73.29

Total, 114.05

Kim Yu-Na (gold medalist)

Short program 63.64

Free program 128.11

Total 191.75

Record score for women's short program

Kim Yu-Na, 71.95

Record score for women's free program

Kim Yu-Na, 133.70

Record total score 205.65

Leung's best score, short program 53.01 (2008 Four Continents)

Leung's best score, free program 104.35 (2008 Four Continents)

Leung's total best score 157.36 (2008 Four Continents)