Figure Skating

[absnow54]

1 hour ago, perkie1968 said:

Didn't the rule used to be that you had to have a parent from that second country in order to be allowed to skate for that country?  Has that changed?  Can anyone skate for any country now?  

For the Olympics you have to become a citizen, but there are other ways to do that beside having a parent from a second country (see: Tanith Belbin) And as @Good Queen Jane said, the ISU is less strict about country shopping. For example, I think Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomeranko wouldn't have qualified for the 2022 Olympics (if they had made the cut) even though they competed internationally for the US, because Carreira is Canadian and doesn't have US citizenship yet. 

[healthnut]

One year anniversary of team event and still no medals and still no end in sight. A story from Christine Brennan:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/brennan/2023/02/07/olympic-team-skaters-no-medals-beijing-kamila-valieva-drug-test/11205158002/

it’s still mind boggling to me that the American media hasn’t risen more of a stink about this  

 

[Lady Whistleup]

Roman Kostomarov is on ECMO and got both his feet amputated.

[SuprSuprElevated]

6 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Roman Kostomarov is on ECMO and got both his feet amputated.

From the horse's bear's mouth, so to speak:

tass.com/sport

[Lady Whistleup]

Katia Gordeeva posted a rather sad picture on IG and she's usually very private and tactful, so I suspect his situation is deteriorating quickly:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoZuQggLSXg/

The b&w picture is really ominous

[CeeBeeGee]

Oh my God

How do you go from pneumonia to double foot amputation? Isn't pneumonia the lungs?

How unbelievably horrible.

[annzeepark914]

48 minutes ago, CeeBeeGee said:

Oh my God

How do you go from pneumonia to double foot amputation? Isn't pneumonia the lungs?

How unbelievably horrible.

I think he has sepsis. A neighbor recently died from sepsis. What a horror for someone whose feet brought him to the top of the Olympic podium. 

[absnow54]

55 minutes ago, CeeBeeGee said:

How do you go from pneumonia to double foot amputation? Isn't pneumonia the lungs?

It sounds like it's because he was on ECMO for a long duration. It's where blood is pumped through a machine, bypassing the heart and lungs, and in the process, reduces circulation to the limbs. Without circulation, the tissue starts to rot. They explain it a bit in the TASS article posted earlier:

Kostomarov was hooked up to an ECMO (Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) medical apparatus. He was switched off from the ECMO machine on January 24 but he was still facing a threat of sepsis and problems with blood circulation.

"Unfortunately, both feet had to be amputated," the source said. "The surgery went smoothly and the patient is recovering."

His choreographer is adament it wasn't COVID, but his father suspects it is.

Edited February 8, 2023 by absnow54

[Notabug]

1 hour ago, CeeBeeGee said:

Oh my God

How do you go from pneumonia to double foot amputation? Isn't pneumonia the lungs?

How unbelievably horrible.

There are some bacteria that cause infections that microembolize, meaning tiny pieces of infected tissue break off and end up blocking tiny capillaries and this can lead to loss of limbs.  There are forms of bacterial meningitis that are best known for this, but it could happen from pneumonia, too. 

From what I read, he has been sick for weeks and carried on performing and trying various folk remedies before going to the hospital.  This may have been part of the reason he has gotten so sick.

It is also possible for some infections such as COVID to affect the circulation which leads to the formation of blood clots which can also block blood vessels going to various body parts causing them to die from lack of oxygen.  I've got a friend who is on dialysis because she got COVID and threw multiple thrombi into the blood vessels feeding her kidneys, causing them to fail.

ECMO is a very last ditch treatment and only used in patients who would not survive otherwise. Essentially, it takes the place of both the heart and the lungs, putting oxygen into the blood and cirulating  it through the body using an external pump. In order to do this, the blood needs to be completely anticoagulated so that it can flow through the machine without clotting.  This tends to lead to problems with bleeding into various body parts, not clotting.  Less than a third of people sick enough to need ECMO make it out of the hospital alive.

ECMO has been commonly used in the last few years to treat young COVID patients who are at death's door.  It seems he has been on ECMO since January 24.  Big generalization, but, by around 3 weeks on ECMO, the outcome becomes clear; he either improves significantly or never will.  Sounds like the latter outcome is most likely in his case.

Edited February 8, 2023 by Notabug

[NUguy514]

1 hour ago, absnow54 said:

His choreographer is adament it wasn't COVID, but his father suspects it is.

My first thought was that it's COVID, not pneumonia.  One of my best friends from high school (who had comorbidities) died from COVID in October of 2020; it affected her respiratory system, of course, but eventually started to affect her kidneys, and she essentially went into sepsis and died.  This sounds like what's happening to Kostomarov, and it's beyond devastating.

[absnow54]

54 minutes ago, Notabug said:

ECMO has been commonly used in the last few years to treat young COVID patients who are at death's door.  It seems he has been on ECMO since January 24.  Big generalization, but, by around 3 weeks on ECMO, the outcome becomes clear; he either improves significantly or never will.  Sounds like the latter outcome is most likely in his case.

I reread the article and he's actually off ECMO. He was put on it January 10 and taken off it on January 24. The doctors claim "he's improving" and it sounds like he's conscious, but they also said he may lose his arms too. It still doesn't sound great.

[Lady Whistleup]

This actually sounds like classic covid. Nick Cordero also had his feet amputated before he passed away.

How horrible.

[HartofDixie]

Four Continents begins tomorrow 

http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2223/fc2023/

[annzeepark914]

I didn't get Peacock so I don't think I'll see any skating until Friday. May everyone have a safe & beautiful skate!

[Avaleigh]

I'm watching Peacock's live feed of the ladies short. No joke, immediately as I got on a girl was skating to Hallelujah. *sigh* This piece has 100% replaced any warhorse I previously had issue with. I welcome the others in comparison. 

I like to watch the earlier groups to see if anyone has a spark. Sometimes even if a person doesn't have all of the jumps, or maybe the speed or skating skills aren't quite there, you still see that they have certain presence. The it factor, superior edge quality, gorgeous spins, etc even at a young age. So far it's been disappointment after disappointment. 

Of the current group, Sofia didn't have a good skate, but at least she didn't seem miserable out there. She looked like she was having fun. Both of the Canadians were average. Everyone else was pretty forgettable. 

[Avaleigh]

Isabeau was very good. Hopefully she stays strong. 

Annoyed that Amber wasn't clean. Her overall program is my favorite, but it seems like she always has at least one mistake.

Yelim brought her A game. Fingers crossed she's perfect in the long.

I thought Bradie's program here was even stronger than at nationals.

I like that this is a very close competition. The top six are all within striking distance. 

[annzeepark914]

Wolfkosten & Chen have split.

[honeywest]

That was the best I’ve ever seen Jimmy Ma skate.

[Salacious Kitty]

55 minutes ago, honeywest said:

That was the best I’ve ever seen Jimmy Ma skate.

He was FIRE! 

[absnow54]

14 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Wolfkosten & Chen have split.

That's too bad, but I kind of expected it after Nationals. Wofkosten seemed to be skating at a different level. I think she could be a real contender with the right partner. 

[honeywest]

What happened to Isabeau?

[Avaleigh]

9 minutes ago, honeywest said:

What happened to Isabeau?

Wondering the same thing. 

Very happy for Haein Lee. Wish Yelim had been clean. 

A few of Bradie's jumps looked suspect. 

Amber was disappointing. A fall on the salchow--that's like her easiest jump. 

At least three of the ladies skated to Phantom of the Opera, so nothing new there.

Looking forward to seeing where Rinka is in two years.

[Lady Whistleup]

She apparently fell sick and had to withdraw.

The 4CC's ladies was a real splatfest with some ladies visibly tiring from the altitude. But I liked Haien Lee, she's adorable. Yelim Kim fell apart the last quarter of her free skate.

Edited February 11, 2023 by Lady Whistleup

[Salacious Kitty]

I missed the warm-up for the final group, so I don't know if Isabeau came out for it. I caught them coning off the ice, and hot mike caught Amber saying something like "What's going on?"

So something was definitely up. 

Edited February 11, 2023 by Salacious Kitty

[absnow54]

7 hours ago, Avaleigh said:

A few of Bradie's jumps looked suspect.

She got called on under rotation and in the quarter for 4 of her 7 passes. The judges are going to be watching her like hawks during Worlds. 

[specialj67]

Even with the falls and Yelim kinda falling off toward the end of her LP, the caliber of skating the top 2 groups of women/girls delivered was such a step up from Euros this year. And that’s without Kaori and Mai! Very impressed by all of the Japanese skaters, Haein really putting it together to win, and like 90% of Yelim’s performance in this competition. Her SP this season is one of my faves. I’d love it if she medaled at Worlds next month.

Edited February 11, 2023 by specialj67

[AuntieDiane6]

Watching Four Continents Ladies Final on E!.

WHY did the powers that be insert the inane Andrea Joyce into the performance part of the show?  

She's no Terry Gannon.  And I hate her idiotic comments and trivia and how she ONLY talks to Johnny.  

And she sounds like an idiot when she proclaims, all THREE US skaters in the final... and we can see Isabeau is not there.  

 

 

[annzeepark914]

Well, it's Superbowl weekend so I bet Terry wanted to enjoy that.

[ML89]

2 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Well, it's Superbowl weekend so I bet Terry wanted to enjoy that.

Terry’s at the Waste Management Open in Arizona - he always works that golf tournament. He was at the Pebble Beach Pro Am last week. I’m pretty sure he’ll be back for Worlds. Wish he’d do a basketball game again - a few years ago he did several Atlantic 10 games for NBC as play by play and it was really fun to hear him in his original game. 

[annzeepark914]

I was living in Raleigh when he played for NC State. He filmed a PSA for the local animal shelter which touched my heart. Several years after he started commentating for figure skating, he said that when he'd get ribbed by pro athletes (some of whom he played ball with) he'd tell them how getting to know and learn about what figure skaters went through to keep physically fit changed his mind about figure skating.

[Notabug]

18 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

I missed the warm-up for the final group, so I don't know if Isabeau came out for it. I caught them coning off the ice, and hot mike caught Amber saying something like "What's going on?"

So something was definitely up. 

Isabeau never came out for the warm-up.  Several minutes into the first skater's program, they said she wasn't feeling well and had withdrawn from the competition.  No further clarification.

[absnow54]

8 minutes ago, Notabug said:

Isabeau never came out for the warm-up.  Several minutes into the first skater's program, they said she wasn't feeling well and had withdrawn from the competition.  No further clarification.

They didn’t announce it until Amber Glenn was on the ice, which was 2 skaters before Isabeau was supposed to go on. They seemed to wait until the very last moment to call it. It’s too bad, there’s a good chance she would have made the podium. 

[justmehere]

Wow, men in the pairs FS and now men's - so many struggling with altitude and some looking like they can barely finish for being out of breath. Getting a bit scary. 

[annzeepark914]

9 minutes ago, justmehere said:

Wow, men in the pairs FS and now men's - so many struggling with altitude and some looking like they can barely finish for being out of breath. Getting a bit scary. 

Why the heck do they *still* hold competitions in Colorado? It isn't fair to these athletes (especially for the men in pairs & ice dance).

[Enero]

I caught the last flight of ladies competing in Four Continents. Despite a couple of skaters having falls I think the skates were overall strong. I enjoyed Kim Ye-lim the most. Beautiful skating loved her choreography. Haein Lee was did very well. Nice skate and well deserved win but I thought she looked to skate a lot slower than the other ladies. 

Chaeyeon Kim has a lot of skill. If she develops good artistry I think she has the potential to be a force in the sport. I also enjoyed Amber Glenn. She was my second favorite of the night. Too bad she had those mistakes. She really has a wonderful presence on the ice. Bradie Tennell looked good. It’s amazing that she’s come back so strong after being out two years with an injury. I hope she will continue to improve.

[wintrygal]

So happy for Keegan!  What a great competition for him, he can sure get the audience going.   That was worth staying up late to watch the live stream, something I never do. 

Holy smokes tho, thought some of them were going to collapse on the ice, they were so winded, especially Boyang Jim, he was actually unsteady coming off the ice, nice to see him back and he did pretty good.  

[specialj67]

Keegan was def. the performance of the night last night. Would have been cool if he could have pulled off a win…put back-to-back, I do slightly prefer the cheesy-ness of his “Home” program to Kao Miura’s LP. But I can’t be mad at Miura’s win. Outside of the U.S. skaters and Boyang Jin, there were a lot of pretty good performances in the top 2 groups.
 

regarding the U.S. men, I really like Liam Kapeikis—I don’t know if it’s his posture or just how he uses his arms or what, but I think he creates some beautiful pictures on the ice. There were a couple of nice moments when he’s doing a spread eagle that feel pleasantly throwback-y, in a similar way to what Keegan does in his choreo sequence. I hope he can figure out how to get through an LP in competition cleanly.

[Avaleigh]

16 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Why the heck do they *still* hold competitions in Colorado? It isn't fair to these athletes (especially for the men in pairs & ice dance).

Is anyone old enough to remember when they had a competition in Sun Valley that was televised for a couple of years back in the 90s? It was the most nonsensical thing. I don't anyone had a great skate because of the altitude issue. They just liked to have the competition because it looked cool to see skaters in an outdoor rink.  But just ruthless for the skaters and they all looked past being out of breath. I think the last time it was televised was 1996 or so. 

[annzeepark914]

OK... it's a rainy Sunday afternoon (where's our February snow?😥). So to cheer myself up, I started reading my list of Buttonisms (& envisioning him in his tux as he sat rink side, commentating on some event).

"It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that triple" ('88 Olympics, Joanne Conway, who skated to Ellington...and fell on her combo).

"There's not enough death in that spiral".

"This program could use a little more swan and a little less lake".

"There's no shizzle in that twizzle".

On being cut from covering World's, "It's not the first dinner party I wasn't invited to & it won't be the last".

[honeywest]

Jin had to lie down on the ice, then looked dizzy and disoriented when he stood up. Takahashi had to sit down before making it to the kiss-and-cry bench. Lagha looked ill throughout. Caroline Green looked winded going into the last step sequence. (But what great results, and what a great reception, for Keegan Messing in his last U.S. competition!)

[specialj67]

Man, watching that final group in the dance event—you’d think it was the world championships! Makes me even more excited for the actual world championships next month.

[SeanC]

2 hours ago, specialj67 said:

Man, watching that final group in the dance event—you’d think it was the world championships! Makes me even more excited for the actual world championships next month.

Though ironically, half the teams in the final group will not be at the World Championships.

[KittenPokerCheater]

I wonder why Isabeau didn't skate.  Did she get injured?  Does anyone know what happened?

Also, I hope NBC will actually show some of the ice dancing from 4CC.

[annzeepark914]

1 hour ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

I wonder why Isabeau didn't skate.  Did she get injured?  Does anyone know what happened?

Also, I hope NBC will actually show some of the ice dancing from 4CC.

She was ill. I never heard what she had. No idea if anything will be shown on the 19th. I might watch to see if they show some of FD. 

 

 

Edited February 13, 2023 by annzeepark914

[annzeepark914]

On 2/11/2023 at 4:15 PM, ML89 said:

Terry’s at the Waste Management Open in Arizona - he always works that golf tournament. 

What a name for a tournament (or any other kind of gathering)! When I think of waste management, I'm envisioning the water/sewage treatment plant my college biology class toured back in the day. People kept talking about the roof garden. When our tour finally ended up on the roof of the plant, there were a lot of vats or deep things with sludge in them. We didn't stay up there long 🤢.

[Lady Whistleup]

Apparently Roman's health has taken a turn for the worse.

[Maelstrom]

A heads-up for anyone relying on cable: NBC's highlight reel of 4CC is supposed to air tomorrow afternoon but my satellite guide has last year's date and location listed - I'm assuming this is an error, so I manually set it to record. Guess I'll find out tomorrow! Would really love to watch the ice dance, so fingers crossed.

[CeeBeeGee]

47 minutes ago, Maelstrom said:

A heads-up for anyone relying on cable: NBC's highlight reel of 4CC is supposed to air tomorrow afternoon but my satellite guide has last year's date and location listed - I'm assuming this is an error, so I manually set it to record. Guess I'll find out tomorrow! Would really love to watch the ice dance, so fingers crossed.

Yeah, my cable guide says it's the 4cc but then it says from "Talinn, Estonia." :/

[Lady Whistleup]

Bruno Massot says he has PTSD from skating with Aljona:

[annzeepark914]

Wow. Whew! And she was lucky she got him as a partner and won Olympic Gold and then World's Gold. Maybe that's why her former partner retired.