Figure Skating

[KittenPokerCheater]

I absolutely loved her Matrix program.  This isn't as exciting to me.  But she is a tremendous and fast skater.  I really like her.

[scarynikki12]

Wonderful skate from Sakamoto. I would love to see her win silver in the individual.

[ouinason]

I liked it.  She looked a little nervous when she got on the ice, but she owned it pretty well and did great.

[Lady Whistleup]

Kamila doesn't actually have to skate hard jumps to win. I wonder if she'll water down her program.

[absnow54]

Sakamoto is a gorgeous skater. 

[Jeddah]

I hope Kaori breaks up the potential Russian sweep in the individual events.

[Lady Whistleup]

Eteri looks absolutely terrifying on the boards.

[BitterApple]

With the exception of the Chinese skater, it's been a solid night for the women. Not sure I agree with the Canadian girl scoring higher than Karen, but whatever.

[Rootbeer]

  On 2/7/2022 at 4:12 AM, absnow54 said:

Sakamoto is a gorgeous skater. 

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She really is, such strength and power in her skating and, yet, she is graceful and lyrical, too,

[Lady Whistleup]

I like how curvy Kamila is. She's definitely not the typical waif-like teen.

[Chaser]

Oh lord Bolero

[Lady Whistleup]

Holy shit this is awesome.

[Chaser]

  On 2/7/2022 at 4:14 AM, Lady Whistleup said:

I like how curvy Kamila is. She's definitely not the typical waif-like teen.

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Curvy?

[Thumper]

Wow, Kamila looks so young in that first closeup.  
Don’t like her costume, though.

Edited February 7, 2022 by Thumper

[KittenPokerCheater]

  On 2/7/2022 at 4:14 AM, Lady Whistleup said:

I like how curvy Kamila is. She's definitely not the typical waif-like teen

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You and I have very different definitions of what curvy is.  

But wow, she skates to well.

But someone needs to retire Bolero for a few seasons.  

Edited February 7, 2022 by KittenPokerCheater

[Lady Whistleup]

Oops. She is human after all.

[Souris]

Wowzers. Awful costume though.

[Lady Whistleup]

  On 2/7/2022 at 4:16 AM, Chaser said:

Curvy?

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Yeah she has nice curves. I like it.

[Minneapple]

  On 2/7/2022 at 4:13 AM, Lady Whistleup said:

Eteri looks absolutely terrifying on the boards.

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During the last Olympics I said she looked like she was going to stab Alina at some point.

[Rootbeer]

  On 2/7/2022 at 4:15 AM, Chaser said:

Oh lord Bolero

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Makes it easier for Johnny to build his commentary to a crescendo of praise for her.  She is really quite talented, but he can shut his yap anytime.

[GeminiDancer]

Now that I've seen how much Kamila pre-rotates her jumps, I can't unsee it. And it makes it hard for me to root for her.

And she doesn't have the capability to match the intensity of Bolero either.

[EllenB]

The red breastplate or whatever is grossly distracting on spins and jumps.

[Lady Whistleup]

  On 2/7/2022 at 4:18 AM, GeminiDancer said:

Now that I've seen how much Kamila pre-rotates her jumps, I can't unsee it. And it makes it hard for me to root for her.

And she doesn't have the capability to match the intensity of Bolero either.

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It's not really pre-rotation. It's the Russian style of "curved" jumping. I think Frank Carroll mentioned this once -- that Americans are trained to jump in a straight line and Russians in a curve.

[BlackberryJam]

She's probably an A cup but we are so used to no cup at all.

She is an amazing skater, and this program is good, but I struggle feeling it because she is so young.

Eteri is going to beat her with a ruler. RUN, KAMILA RUN.

[Lady Whistleup]

Aww she looks crushed. 

[BitterApple]

I liked Kamila's short program better than the long. 

[SophiaD]

Oh, man, she looks incredibly relieved and stressed out at the same time.  

Her jumps are astonishing.  I disagree that the fall was the only mistake, though.  Some of the elements are kind of sloppy.  But her jumps are so outstanding, it doesn't matter.  

[twoods]

That technical score. Yowzers. She jumps so effortlessly. I’m sure she gets hate because people are sick of talking about her but she’s so freaking good and just 15. She looked so sad after that skate even if she still did very well. 

Edited February 7, 2022 by twoods

[Souris]

Oh. There’s a snake on her back.

[cmahorror]

In my opinion, Valiyeva is missing the artistry we saw last night from her. It looked like two different skaters out there.

Seriously, I actually needed to double check and make sure it wasn't a different skater from the short program - that is how great a difference I saw between last night and tonight.

But congrats on the quads - too bad they came at the expense of her artistry.

[Rootbeer]

  On 2/7/2022 at 4:21 AM, Souris said:

Oh. There’s a snake on her back.

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That's just Eteri.

[scarynikki12]

I'm sad that Valiyeva looks disappointed after that skate and wish her coaches had hugged her in triumph. She landed two quads and should be celebrating. Still muscled the jumps in her combinations but we know she's coached to do that so that won't come up. Since her coaches aren't being supportive I hope her teammates give her love and celebration.

[emma675]

Kamila is human after all. Her arms and kegs are so long (kind of coltish like lots of 15 year olds are), her jumps and spins look elongated and beautiful. She has the absolute worst costumes, though.

I worry about her and the Chinese skater, though. That's too much pressure for many teen girls to handle and I hope they both realize how amazing their accomplishments are and are proud of themselves. 

Edited February 7, 2022 by emma675d

[Lady Whistleup]

Is she really crying over the fall? Aww. I feel bad. That's so much pressure for a 15 year old. 

I also really hope there's not a lot of vile Islamophobia on social media if she wins. I already saw a really vile tweet.

[Jeddah]

  On 2/7/2022 at 4:17 AM, Lady Whistleup said:

Yeah she has nice curves. I like it.

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She just made history at the Olympics and then I come here read comments like this. So disappointing. Focus on her accomplishments, not her body.

[GeminiDancer]

  On 2/7/2022 at 4:19 AM, Lady Whistleup said:

It's not really pre-rotation. It's the Russian style of "curved" jumping. I think Frank Carroll mentioned this once -- that Americans are trained to jump in a straight line and Russians in a curve.

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Is that why her torso begins to rotate just before the toe pick hits the ice? It just reads so off to me.

I will say, at least it wasn't Trusova in the long. It's a travesty that she can have two falls and still medal.

[Sarahsmile416]

  On 2/7/2022 at 4:21 AM, cmahorror said:

In my opinion, Valiyeva is missing the artistry we saw last night from her. It looked like two different skaters out there.

Seriously, I actually needed to double check and make sure it wasn't a different skater from the short program - that is how great a difference I saw between last night and tonight.

But congrats on the quads - too bad they came at the expense of her artistry.

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Agreed - she is spectacular, no doubt about it - but after last night’s and some of her other skates I’ve seen, this was not her best.  Just kind of color by number….complete with the uninspired music choice 

[Lady Whistleup]

  On 2/7/2022 at 4:23 AM, GeminiDancer said:

Is that why her torso begins to rotate just before the toe pick hits the ice? It just reads so off to me.

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Yeah. Russians are trained to jump in a curve. That's why their torsos tilt before they jump. 

I also read that Gracie Gold was trained by her Russian coaches to jump in a curve, and Frank Carroll insisted she go back to the straight line method, and her jumps never recovered.

[KittenPokerCheater]

  On 2/7/2022 at 4:21 AM, Souris said:

Oh. There’s a snake on her back.

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I was wondering what that was.

ROC won a gold medal, and a lot of them look so sad still.  

[BitterApple]

  On 2/7/2022 at 4:21 AM, cmahorror said:

In my opinion, Valiyeva is missing the artistry we saw last night from her. It looked like two different skaters out there.

Seriously, I actually needed to double check and make sure it wasn't a different skater from the short program - that is how great a difference I saw between last night and tonight.

But congrats on the quads - too bad they came at the expense of her artistry.

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I agree. It felt like she was barrelling through the artistic elements to put all her energy into the jumps. Still a great performance but not as balanced as the other night. 

[Lady Whistleup]

  On 2/7/2022 at 4:23 AM, Jeddah said:

She just made history at the Olympics and then I come here read comments like this. So disappointing. Focus on her accomplishments, not her body.

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I meant it in a nice way -- that she's not this petite, waif-like skater, but taller and curvier.

[scarynikki12]

I agree that Valiyeva wasn't connecting to the music but I'm not surprised. She has shit coaches who make her feel bad for one mistake in a massively accomplished program and is skating in a time where artistry really doesn't matter outside of Ice Dancing so she doesn't need to connect to the music.

[Jillibean]

Did C/B take out that part of the lift where she slipped a bit at Nationals, the one where she stands on his thigh? I didn't see it here but maybe I just missed it?

[Jeddah]

  On 2/7/2022 at 4:26 AM, Lady Whistleup said:

I meant it in a nice way -- that she's not this petite, waif-like skater, but taller and curvier.

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Even if you did mean it in a nice way, it’s still discussing a woman’s (or girl’s) body instead of her accomplishments. She is an athlete. Her strength is what matters, not her curves. Why objectify her like that?

[ouinason]

I hate her coaches.  She's gonna need all the therapy.

[BlackberryJam]

  On 2/7/2022 at 4:25 AM, KittenPokerCheater said:

I was wondering what that was.

ROC won a gold medal, and a lot of them look so sad still.  

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Yeah...I worry so much about their training conditions and their punishments for not being perfect.

Valieva and Zhu should bond and then escape.

 

Edited February 7, 2022 by BlackberryJam

[galaxygirl76]

  On 2/7/2022 at 4:29 AM, ouinason said:

I hate her coaches.  She's gonna need all the therapy.

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They all do. Eteri sucks.

[GeminiDancer]

  On 2/7/2022 at 4:25 AM, Lady Whistleup said:

Yeah. Russians are trained to jump in a curve. That's why their torsos tilt before they jump. 

I also read that Gracie Gold was trained by her Russian coaches to jump in a curve, and Frank Carroll insisted she go back to the straight line method, and her jumps never recovered.

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I can't help but think that the technique is going to mess with her hips. I'll be impressed if she's around in two seasons.

[Lady Whistleup]

Her coaches suck. I felt so bad for her -- after landing two quads and one 3A, she's a puddle of tears in the K&C because of a fall that doesn't even matter. 

I'm worried that this sort of harsh coaching will make her yet another one-and-done. A shame because she's an incredible skater.

[annzeepark914]

  On 2/7/2022 at 4:28 AM, Jillibean said:

Did C/B take out that part of the lift where she slipped a bit at Nationals, the one where she stands on his thigh? I didn't see it here but maybe I just missed it?

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That's what I was waiting for, as that gorgeous lift is my favorite part of this program. I wondered if the camera angle was hiding it.