Figure Skating

[anniebird]

4 hours ago, choclatechip45 said:

Her name is Sky Brown. 

Are her parents color blind?

[healthnut]

You’ve got to be kidding me. 

 

 

[choclatechip45]

That seems weird. Don't most get clearance?

[kittykat]

I'm really hoping for a Sui/Han win.  All three Russian pairs are 2/3/4 and if they don't skate clean we're in danger of a podium sweep.  I know the skaters are not to blame but I am just so over Russia.  They're seven behind Norway in the overall medal count but good God I definitely don't want them to win that.

That said the NBC site does say that the team and ladies results are provisional so there's still definitely some kind of review.

[Rootbeer]

8 minutes ago, choclatechip45 said:

That seems weird. Don't most get clearance?

Yes, they do.  It's pretty routine, I wonder what happened there.

[One Imaginary Girl]

I wonder if Iggy Pop knew about "I Wanna Be Your Dog" in Trusova's program and what his reaction would be, but I kind of think he might be amused.

[healthnut]

All of these entities would have broadcast licenses that should cover this. I’d think any small potatoes artist would be thrilled to have their song played on a worldwide stage like the Olympics. Seems beyond ridiculous to me. I hope it doesn’t affect K/F tomorrow. 

[choclatechip45]

Speaking of Raf/Orser. How come Adam left Orser again? I forgot why.

[ChicksDigScars]

3 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

On a lighter note, I've only been catching the performances here and there, but caught Les Mis, Bolero, Hallelujah, and Swan Lake. What other mainstays were there that I missed?

 

Turandot. The ultimate figure skating warhorse. If you don't hear Nessun Dorma, it ain't a real skating event. 

That lawsuit is petty as fuck. We have child abuse allegations, doping, and THIS is what brings Figure Skating to court? 

Edited February 18, 2022 by ChicksDigScars

[Ohiopirate02]

1 minute ago, ChicksDigScars said:

Turandot. The ultimate figure skating warhorse. If you don't hear Nessun Dorma, it ain't a real skating event. 

Did any of the ladies skate to Carmen this year, or has Habanera been permanently shelved?

[HartofDixie]

https://nypost.com/2022/02/18/heavy-young-heathens-sues-nbc-figure-skaters-alexa-knierim-brandon-frazier-over-winter-olympics-song-use

[annzeepark914]

12 minutes ago, HartofDixie said:

https://nypost.com/2022/02/18/heavy-young-heathens-sues-nbc-figure-skaters-alexa-knierim-brandon-frazier-over-winter-olympics-song-use

In their lawsuit, the heathens say they don't want K/F to use their music any more. Does this affect the skaters' future use of the heathens' version of House of the Rising Sun at World's? I'm so weary of skate world controversy.

[Avaleigh]

1 hour ago, choclatechip45 said:

Speaking of Plushenko I noticed he hasn't criticized Eteri which makes me wonder if he is doping his students as well. 

Could be. If nothing else, he probably isn't supportive of a narrative that he perceives to be anti Russian. He probably sees Kamila as being a victim of the Western media in addition to being a victim of Eteri's.

[legaleagle53]

4 minutes ago, Avaleigh said:

Could be. If nothing else, he probably isn't supportive of a narrative that he perceives to be anti Russian. He probably sees Kamila as being a victim of the Western media in addition to being a victim of Eteri's.

And he probably agrees with Sasha that she, not Anna, should have won gold for having the more technically difficult program. Remember his hissy fit over the fact that Evan Lysacek beat hin for Gold in 2010 without doing even a single quad?

[Hana Chan]

4 minutes ago, Avaleigh said:

Could be. If nothing else, he probably isn't supportive of a narrative that he perceives to be anti Russian. He probably sees Kamila as being a victim of the Western media in addition to being a victim of Eteri's.

Or that since Eteri is the only conduit for skaters to reach the Grand Prix/Worlds/Olympics, it's probably not a good idea to cross her. Especially since the top government officials in Russia have been expressing nothing but support for her and her methods.

[KittenPokerCheater]

Does anyone know where one can watch the Ladies' medal ceremony?  I went on peacock but couldn't find anything.

(Not the ones with the pandas, the one where they get the actual medals).

[emmawoodhouse]

25 minutes ago, HartofDixie said:

https://nypost.com/2022/02/18/heavy-young-heathens-sues-nbc-figure-skaters-alexa-knierim-brandon-frazier-over-winter-olympics-song-use

They seem to be quite litigious. 

[jrzy]

17 hours ago, LexieLily said:

This Olympic gold medalist that no one on her team seems to care about is breaking my heart.

I thought among all the terrible and sad things happening,  that had to be the saddest. 

[specialj67]

6 minutes ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

Does anyone know where one can watch the Ladies' medal ceremony?  I went on peacock but couldn't find anything.

(Not the ones with the pandas, the one where they get the actual medals).

In the Peacock app, in the Figure Skating section of the Olympics, scroll down to Highlights. I saw a 4-5 min. video of the medal ceremony—you may need to scroll a bit to find it, Anna is in the screen grab wearing her gold medal. Kaori hopping up on the podium was so charming. And holy cow, I had no idea Alexandra’s hair was so long.

[Hana Chan]

25 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

In their lawsuit, the heathens say they don't want K/F to use their music any more. Does this affect the skaters' future use of the heathens' version of House of the Rising Sun at World's? I'm so weary of skate world controversy.

It's not like they haven't been using this song all season for their program. The only reason that I can think of them suing while the Olympics are going on is publicity. And if K/F already had the rights to use the song for their programs, this lawsuit will be tossed pretty quickly.

[choclatechip45]

24 minutes ago, Hana Chan said:

Or that since Eteri is the only conduit for skaters to reach the Grand Prix/Worlds/Olympics, it's probably not a good idea to cross her. Especially since the top government officials in Russia have been expressing nothing but support for her and her methods.

That's never stopped Plushenko before. They got into it during the pandemic when Sasha left Eteri to go train with him. 

[Maelstrom]

Still catching up on both this thread and last night's broadcast of the ladies' free (like that table where all the skaters leave their points, my DVR is overflowing right now) but in the meantime...

20 hours ago, ShellsandCheese said:

And I suppose [J&T] are angry at the Russians now, so I'm supposed to just forget all the over the top tongue bathing they've been giving to the Russian girls for the last few girls........

Yes. I am glad they're finally calling shit like it is, but their endless tongue baths are a huge part of why I haven't watched any Russian skaters apart from Eliza T for years. At FCC, Ashley mentioned the Russian quad squad once, in direct reference to scores typical for women. Compare with any pre-doping broadcast of ladies' skating, where Johnny gushes about them at least half a dozen times (and that's with my generous use of the fast forward button). Enough is enough.

18 hours ago, Sarahsmile416 said:

She probably files her fangs with them 

No way. Gold is too soft, she'd probably need titanium. Maybe she adds them to her Smaug-horde of medals and little girls' dreams.

8 hours ago, Hana Chan said:

I've been doing a lot of thinking over the past few days on what might be done to fix figure skating...

Hana Chan, I'm officially putting you in charge of the ISU. Clearly you have a much better grasp of the sport than the people currently in charge.

[Lady Whistleup]

1 hour ago, choclatechip45 said:

Speaking of Raf/Orser. How come Adam left Orser again? I forgot why.

Not much was ever said. But Adam Rippon was someone who struggled with jump consistency, and Orser isn't much of a technical specialist.

[peachmangosteen]

5 hours ago, Minneapple said:

They see themselves as the victims and the West as the big bad bullies. They'll be spinning Kamila losing as her not being able to withstand the pressure of the Western media being SUPER SUPER MEAN to her. 

The lady that was consoling Kamila after her free skate (I have no idea who she was and I'd never seen her before) was pretty much saying that very thing.

The pairs short was a nice, easy watch after that shit show that was the ladies free. Although, I'd have the team that's in 3rd in 2nd if not 1st personally.

[KittenPokerCheater]

I don't think I have sene this posted here, but I thought it offers a good perspective by Gracie Gold.

https://www.thecut.com/2022/02/america-olympic-medals-womens-singles-skating.html?fbclid=IwAR06PUxTCoG5g742bjzFItYzO8T0LpqbjQs4ZzcMuazl-LDv7SiP877ZvgU

[Cherpumple]

14 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

Anyone know what those stuffed animal things were the Russian girls had?  They looked to have an opening on the top and Anna’s seemed to have something holding papers(?) on the bottom.

I think they're tissue boxes. I've seen lots of other skaters with them (I think Yuzuru's is a Pooh bear, of course) because the skaters often blow their noses right before their programs.

[choclatechip45]

24 minutes ago, Cherpumple said:

I think they're tissue boxes. I've seen lots of other skaters with them (I think Yuzuru's is a Pooh bear, of course) because the skaters often blow their noses right before their programs.

That's how the whole pooh bear thing started!!

Yes they are tissue boxes I think the fan clubs buy them for the Russian girls they also got puppies too. 

[Chit Chat]

18 minutes ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

I don't think I have seen  this posted here, but I thought it offers a good perspective by Gracie Gold.

Thanks for the link!  That was a very enlightening article by Gracie.   

Johnny's comment was that for the Russian skaters, doing quads is their way out of there (I think that's how he worded it.)  I really don't want to see the sport become all about the quads.  Some of these ladies can't do them, and some of the ones who can have no artistry.  Honestly, I wasn't all that impressed with Trusova's performance.  Yes, she did some difficult jumps, but the overall performance just didn't wow me.  I hated the music she skated to, so that didn't really pull me into her performance either. 

Like some others have said, maybe we should have separate categories for ladie's figure skating:  Artistic with no quads (triples max.); and Athletic with quads and whatever the hell else they want to throw in there.   It's like having Rhythm dance for pairs, a more artistic form of skating, and then pairs skating where you can throw your partner into the air and across the rink!!  I love both kinds of pair skating.  

[Lugal]

1 hour ago, Maelstrom said:

No way. Gold is too soft, she'd probably need titanium. Maybe she adds them to her Smaug-horde of medals and little girls' dreams.

 

[choclatechip45]

Very well written article by Gracie. I do think it is understandable if casual fans want to know why the US women aren't dominant anymore, however there is a difference between being curious and being a jerk because they didn't medal. 

[legaleagle53]

19 minutes ago, ChitChat said:

Like some others have said, maybe we should have separate categories for ladie's figure skating:  Artistic with no quads (triples max.); and Athletic with quads and whatever the hell else they want to throw in there.   It's like having Rhythm dance for pairs, a more artistic form of skating, and then pairs skating where you can throw your partner into the air and across the rink!!  I love both kinds of pair skating.  

Pairs figure skating and ice dancing are two separate and distinct disciplines within figure skating. I mean, I get what you're saying, but your example is inaccurate as an analogy to what you're proposing.

[sweeks]

53 minutes ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

I don't think I have sene this posted here, but I thought it offers a good perspective by Gracie Gold.

https://www.thecut.com/2022/02/america-olympic-medals-womens-singles-skating.html?fbclid=IwAR06PUxTCoG5g742bjzFItYzO8T0LpqbjQs4ZzcMuazl-LDv7SiP877ZvgU

Thank you for sharing this! I appreciated getting Grace's perspective, especially since her wisdom is hard won. The question of "Should we even want to be competitive with the Russians if it means following their troubling blueprint for success?" stood out to me, and the answer, for me at least, is a resounding "No."

[Moxie Cat]

Delurking briefly for a group FYI: USA network is apparently airing the skating gala 3:30-5:45 AM (EST) in the wee hours of Sunday morning (i.e., 3:30 AM Sunday). I missed it in 2018 because I relied on NBC, which only showed random (and far-spaced) clips of a few skaters. Not this time! Consult your own guides but this was the Directv info.

[healthnut]

IMO, Fran has the best content on the rise of the Russian women and what’s happened to ladies figure skating. Both videos are about an hour long but well worth it.

 

[Enero]

8 hours ago, Sarahsmile416 said:

 Upon looking at his Wikipedia, it seems he coached Michelle Kwan for a time too, which I had no idea about.  I have to wonder how and even if she came out of all of this unscathed.  

I seem to recall she went to RAF to improve her jump technique. I don’t believe he ever coached her as in going with her to competitions etc. Michelle had pretty solid jump technique but she knew she needed a consistent 3/3 and perhaps one that was more difficult than the 3T/3T she did early in her career, to stay competitive. 

Speaking of technique, I saw some footage of Anna’s skate…Yikes! Her jump technique is pretty bad. My back was hurting just watching her twist herself into those quads. SMH.

2 hours ago, Hana Chan said:

Or that since Eteri is the only conduit for skaters to reach the Grand Prix/Worlds/Olympics, it's probably not a good idea to cross her. Especially since the top government officials in Russia have been expressing nothing but support for her and her methods.

This is what I was going to say, Plushenko has to live in Russia and work in those FS circles after commenting. So he’s not going to say anything that could potentially get him ostracized from the community . 

[Chit Chat]

25 minutes ago, Enero said:

Speaking of technique, I saw some footage of Anna’s skate…Yikes! Her jump technique is pretty bad. My back was hurting just watching her twist herself into those quads.

I know that I'm supposed to be impressed with that particular skill, but if you can't make the whole routine flow without it looking like you're just going from jump to jump, then I don't see the point of it.  Granted, she looked more polished artistically than Trusova, but I really wasn't all that impressed with her overall performance.  YMMV.  

[Rootbeer]

2 hours ago, choclatechip45 said:

That's never stopped Plushenko before. They got into it during the pandemic when Sasha left Eteri to go train with him. 

Isn't the story going 'round that the reason that Sasha came back to Eteri was because it was made very clear to her (and Plushenko) that she had no chance to make the Russian national team?  That the fix was in and that only Eteri's skaters would be competing at that level.  So, maybe Sasha went to Plushenko; but they both learned a lesson and he's not going to cross Eteri again.  Supposedly that is the major reason that virtually all of the Russian skaters who've left Eteri have eventually returned to her.  I could see Eteri doing this and it certainly fits with history in that every Russian top female skater has been coached by Eteri for the past decade or so.  Nobody else has a chance, I think.  So, Plushenko settles for training lesser skaters, maybe sends along his best girls to Eteri, maybe gets compensated for his efforts and all he has to do is keep quiet.

Edited February 19, 2022 by Rootbeer

[Chit Chat]

1 hour ago, legaleagle53 said:

I mean, I get what you're saying, but your example is inaccurate as an analogy to what you're proposing.

My post was more of a tongue in cheek proposal to the future of figure skating.  ;)    I worry about the future of the ladies' program if the main criteria are whether one can do a quad or not.  Not every skater is capable of doing them, and I'm sure it's discouraging to them knowing that they probably won't be a contender for the podium without them (with the occasional exception, like Sakamoto).   I know that sports evolve over time and people adapt, but again, some people just can't do quads.  I hate to see the sport go solely that direction. 

[wanderingstar]

2 hours ago, ChitChat said:

I really don't want to see the sport become all about the quads. 

I used to adore figure skating, but this is the main reason I stopped watching it after the 2010 Olympics. The jumps weren't the reason I was drawn to the sport.

ETA: Thomas Bach can fuck right off. He has shown time and time again that he doesn't care about athletes' wellbeing, so his comments ring very hollow.

Edited February 19, 2022 by Gillian Rosh

[ShellsandCheese]

30 minutes ago, Gillian Rosh said:

I used to adore figure skating, but this is the main reason I stopped watching it after the 2010 Olympics. The jumps weren't the reason I was drawn to the sport.

That sucks. There are still some great skaters out there, even if they don’t win. I think Japan and Korea have been producing lovely skaters lately. 

While I can appreciate Gracie’s perspective, I mostly disagree with her conclusion. The American ladies are not only behind the Russians but the Japanese and Koreans too. So there’s more to American ladies problems than just, well Russians are abusive and we don’t want to do that so we will never win again. Like there’s a spectrum. For starters US Figure Skating needs to figure out a way to eliminate cost barriers and other barriers to the sport - gasp, maybe try to see what things are being done elsewhere and see what can be learned. 

Edited February 19, 2022 by ShellsandCheese

[Hana Chan]

I'm rewatching a few of the best routines from last night (and man, did the Korean and Japanese ladies shine) and I can't help from draw a contrast between most of the women and the Russian girls. Alyssa Liu is 16, a year younger than the top two finishers, but she's got a maturing women's body She has curves and breasts and hips. She's in exceptional physical condition, but she looks like the budding young woman that she is.

Trusova, and Shcherbakova are a year older and look like boyish twigs in comparison. They don't look naturally slender and lithe. They look starved. They look so painfully (not naturally) thin. They're not able to do quads because they're stronger or in better condition - they do it because they probably weight as much as a healthy 12 year old. And the more I see it, the angrier I get over how they've been mentally, physically and probably medically abused.

And I can understand Trusova's outburst because she knows that her expiration date is rapidly approaching. We know that there are younger girls at Eteri's rink ready to move into seniors and this was her one shot at the gold medal. Last year was probably the best year for her physically, and now she's already nearly past her prime. I'm  not a fan of her style of skating but it's so sad to see.

[Lady Whistleup]

What I have read is that the American method of straight-line entry into jumps is good for learning triples but not triple/triples or quads. We bitch about the Russian "pre-rotation" but the truth is most of the skaters with consistent quads among MEN also does the Russian curved pre-rotation entry. Nathan and Yuzuru both have a very curved entry into jumps. Vincent Zhou is an exception. He does have a very straight entry into jumps.

Edited February 19, 2022 by Lady Whistleup

[legaleagle53]

That was a beautiful short program by Knierim and Frasier.

This pairs competition is just the palate cleanser I needed after yesterday's drama in the women's competition!

[choclatechip45]

2 hours ago, Enero said:

I seem to recall she went to RAF to improve her jump technique. I don’t believe he ever coached her as in going with her to competitions etc. Michelle had pretty solid jump technique but she knew she needed a consistent 3/3 and perhaps one that was more difficult than the 3T/3T she did early in her career, to stay competitive. 

Speaking of technique, I saw some footage of Anna’s skate…Yikes! Her jump technique is pretty bad. My back was hurting just watching her twist herself into those quads. SMH.

This is what I was going to say, Plushenko has to live in Russia and work in those FS circles after commenting. So he’s not going to say anything that could potentially get him ostracized from the community . 

I found this on twitter a photo of Raf and Michelle when she won a national championship so 2005.

 

Edited February 19, 2022 by choclatechip45

[legaleagle53]

Something else I've noticed as I've been watching the pairs competition is how slowly so many of these pairs are skating. I'm starting to see what everyone is talking about with regard to speed as a deciding factor between the lower-tier teams and the medal contenders.

[Minneapple]

I disagree with Gracie to an extent. What the Americans really need to do is make a push to clean up the sport. I mean if the alternative is just sitting back and smiling pretty while the Russians cheat their way to championships — fuck that. I would like to see American women win medals again. I would like to see the Japanese and Korean skaters rewarded for their beautiful, artistic and technically pleasing programs. But that won’t happen until the doping and judging issues end.

[Lady Whistleup]

25 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

Something else I've noticed as I've been watching the pairs competition is how slowly so many of these pairs are skating. I'm starting to see what everyone is talking about with regard to speed as a deciding factor between the lower-tier teams and the medal contenders.

Speed is especially noticeable with pairs and ice dance and a separating between the top teams and the back of the pack teams. It's easier to synchronize movements if you take it slower.

Many times you'll notice American pairs like Knierem/Frazier have lovely qualities, but they don't have the speed of the top teams.

[ShellsandCheese]

44 minutes ago, Minneapple said:

I disagree with Gracie to an extent. What the Americans really need to do is make a push to clean up the sport. I mean if the alternative is just sitting back and smiling pretty while the Russians cheat their way to championships — fuck that. I would like to see American women win medals again. I would like to see the Japanese and Korean skaters rewarded for their beautiful, artistic and technically pleasing programs. But that won’t happen until the doping and judging issues end.

American women have been struggling since Sasha Cohen and since before the Russians started winning - and the Russians aren’t nearly as dominant  as people think. They’ve won the last three OGM, which has happened over a span of 8 years; since 2014 when Adelina won Olympic gold Russian women have won five world championships and two of these were Medvedeva.

Prior to Tuk winning at World’s in 2015, they hadn’t won at Worlds since 2005. I find it frustrating that now folks want to blame the Russians for the American womens overall poor performance in international competition since 2006 (last American world champion Kimmie Meissner). Because the facts and American skaters placements don’t support that and it gives US Figure Skating an out. Instead of trying to figure out what can be done to improve - folks now just want to throw their hands up and be like wah wah wah we can’t win because the Russians are cheaters. 

The US women’s gymnastics team on the other hand has been a total beast and crazy dominant by comparison and the only people you hear complaining are non-Americans….wonder why that is? 

Edited February 19, 2022 by ShellsandCheese

[scarynikki12]

One nice thing about US pairs skating is that we're never expected to make the podium so the skaters often are able to just have fun and it can make for enjoyable programs. The two short programs the US pairs put out are exactly that. Unless we have an implosion the best they can each hope for is a top ten finish so why not go out and enjoy the moment?

Also Timothy's boyfriend is adorable.

[Minneapple]

18 minutes ago, ShellsandCheese said:

American women have been struggling since Sasha Cohen and since before the Russians started winning - and the Russians aren’t nearly as dominant  as people think. They’ve won the last three OGM, which has happened over a span of 8 years; since 2014 when Adelina won Olympic gold Russian women have won five world championships and two of these were Medvedeva.

Prior to Tuk winning at World’s in 2015, they hadn’t won at Worlds since 2005. I find it frustrating that now folks want to blame the Russians for the American womens overall poor performance in international competition since 2006 (last American world champion Kimmie Meissner). Because the facts and American skaters placements don’t support that and it gives US Figure Skating an out. Instead of trying to figure out what can be done to improve - folks now just want to throw their hands up and be like wah wah wah we can’t win because the Russians are cheaters.

Well, I didn't necessarily mean that the US would automatically start winning if stuff is cleaned up. Definitely the Korean and Japanese skaters would benefit first. The point is that nobody should throw their hands up and say, well the Russians are cheaters but our girls look happy and well-fed out there! It's a sport so the goal should be to win.