Figure Skating

[annzeepark914]

Isabeau's LP was so light & elegant that one could forget how athletic an effort it was. The look of joy on her face at the end was perfect! 

[iMonrey]

Just finished watching the pairs final. Miura and Kihara skate with such amazing speed. I think I probably would have given it to them over Stellato-Dudek & Deschamps but I'm still happy for them. Really liked Hocke & Kunkel too, wish they had place higher than 5th.

Teams from Russia skating for other countries. Seems like a bit of cheat to me, but I don't make the rules.

Something I noticed just now is that pairs don't do side by side spins in the long program anymore. I wonder why. Probably something to do with points I guess but it seems like an important element for pairs. 

[annzeepark914]

Side by side spins? I've noticed in the past few years how few pairs teams are perfectly synchronized.  They're probably spending more practice time on the lifts & side by side jumps these days.

[iMonrey]

13 hours ago, Avaleigh said:

Amber...I just want her to realize one day that she can do this.

Can she? When? How many chances does she need? How many years have people been talking about her "potential" only to see it unrealized season after season? I knew she'd blow it. She always does. She only won Nationals because Isabeau fell all over the place. She actually had a better free skate here than she did at Nationals. It speaks to what a weak field of ladies' singles we have in the US. 

[meep.meep]

Amber did well enough to help earn the US three spots for next year, so the federation should be happy with her.  It's so sad to see her land the hardest jump, and then fall apart on the rest of the program.

[annzeepark914]

Wow! I'm still on a skating fan viewer's high after Gilles/Poirier's FD. That music is so haunting but beautiful, and their skating was the best I've ever seen from this team. They should do more programs like this. Loved Fear/Gibson's "Rocky" FD. Now, on to Men's.

[honeywest]

Gilles and Poirier’s “Wuthering Heights” is my favorite free dance of the season, and I’m so glad to see them move up to silver.

[Avaleigh]

Wow, Adam!! I really enjoyed that. Such a fiery second half. He definitely brought it. I hope he's able to have that same energy level next season. 

Piper and Paul were amazing. I'm a huge Chock and Bates fan, but I'm glad Piper and Paul won the long.

[Good Queen Jane]

Very glad to see Donovan do so well. He’s had such a series of unfortunate events. I hope he’s able to stay around through the 2026 Olympics. 

[Avaleigh]

38 minutes ago, Good Queen Jane said:

Very glad to see Donovan do so well. He’s had such a series of unfortunate events. I hope he’s able to stay around through the 2026 Olympics. 

I don't follow Donovan--did he have an injury? I think he's really improved the past three years. 

As far as the skating countries that don't get as much attention, I feel Italy and Estonia both have a nice group of skaters right now. Georgia is basically Russia lite, but collectively they seem like they'll be competitive in the team event. 

[Good Queen Jane]

7 minutes ago, Avaleigh said:

I don't follow Donovan--did he have an injury? I think he's really improved the past three years

He had ankle surgery in December, 2022 and didn’t compete in Worlds last year.

Was not happy to see Eteri. Wish they banned coaches as well as the country.

[Linderhill]

that skate by Ilia was incredible!  I loved his reaction at the end of the skate.

[annzeepark914]

Yay!! Ilia did it🎉. A fun, exciting moment in figure skating history and we watched it 😁

[Avaleigh]

Ilia was awesome! Hopefully the world takes notice and some young people will be inspired enough to give skating a try.

Adam jumped from 19th to third! I never thought he'd finish on the podium. Proud of him for not giving up.

[CeeBeeGee]

I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by Ilia's free skate! God, he's incredible! I can't believe he made one of those combinations--in the second half, I believe!--even harder! So proud of him and all the other medalists (go, C/B!!!!!). What a great Worlds!

(And I didn't miss the dopers one bit. I feel bad for the kids that don't know what they're getting into and whose coaches pushed them into it but that stuff has to be punished. And yes, I know the reason they're banned is because of the war. Still.)

[Salacious Kitty]

Ilia! Holy shit, that was awesome. 

I was out and missed Adam's skate. Congratulations to him for the massive move up the standings. 

And despite the fall, Yuma was lovely. He's got it all. 

[Mirabelle]

It ended up not being a factor but imagine if Adam missed out on the podium by less than two points. I wonder if Adam is still going to include the backflip if he thinks the podium is out of reach. 

[Souris]

That skate by Ilia was AMAZEBALLS!! It is insane how easy he makes those quads look. I was in awe. It was like I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

I need to go back and see the skate of the guy who went from 19th to bronze. That is also amazeballs.

[annzeepark914]

Has any skater ever made such a huge leap in standings as Adam did tonight? 19th to the podium & a Bronze medal. Two amazing guys on ice!

[specialj67]

18 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Has any skater ever made such a huge leap in standings as Adam did tonight? 19th to the podium & a Bronze medal. Two amazing guys on ice!

It reminds me of Nathan Chen’s 2018 Olympic free skate, but this time with a medal as a result!

[Mirabelle]

Nope, Adam holds the record for biggest leap in standings. 

[SophiaD]

I don't think I've ever seen a program like Ilia's.  That was remarkable.  He completely nailed all of those quads and his artistry is coming along brilliantly.  

I'm just glad I was able to witness that.  

[KittenPokerCheater]

Well, I guess we know who is going to win the Gold in the Olympics in two years…

Congrats to Adam for his stunning comeback.  I wonder if he would have taken Silver had his short program not been such a disaster.  I really like his skating.

Also, time to cancel my peacock subscription.

 

[iMonrey]

14 hours ago, Avaleigh said:

Adam jumped from 19th to third!

And NBC didn't even show it. Is it on Peacock?

Ilia was amazing, I was on the edge of my seat through the whole thing. I had a feeling Shoma was going to be in trouble, you could see him popping jumps and looking tense in the warmup. Yuma is amazing too but there is something slightly frantic about the way he skates, it's almost like he's going too fast.

2 hours ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

Well, I guess we know who is going to win the Gold in the Olympics in two years…

Don't jinx it. A lot can happen in two years, especially in a sport like this. All those quads are going to take a toll on his body. 

[annzeepark914]

You'd think NBC would've shown Adam's skate-from-hell, 19th to the podium--an athletic achievement just made for TV, right? But no. I guess this was their way of thumbing their noses at those of us who won't pay for Peacock. Unbelievable 🤬. I sure do miss the days when ABC covered skating. Better camera work and better coverage. ABC would've have loved playing Adam's LP over & over...a Wide World of Sports miracle type of coverage. What was that show's motto?

[honeywest]

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/22/science/ice-skating-brain.html?searchResultPosition=1

[Maelstrom]

51 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

You'd think NBC would've shown Adam's skate-from-hell, 19th to the podium--an athletic achievement just made for TV, right? But no. I guess this was their way of thumbing their noses at those of us who won't pay for Peacock. Unbelievable 🤬. I sure do miss the days when ABC covered skating. Better camera work and better coverage. ABC would've have loved playing Adam's LP over & over...a Wide World of Sports miracle type of coverage. What was that show's motto?

I haven't gotten to watch the men yet - did they not show Adam's LP on broadcast?

[annzeepark914]

46 minutes ago, Maelstrom said:

I haven't gotten to watch the men yet - did they not show Adam's LP on broadcast?

Nope. Last night they had two hours (bless their hearts) to cover Men's LP. The first half hour, they showed some SP's of men's & a couple of the women's LP's. And C/B's FD. To me, this shows their lack of interest in this sport. They could've made it an exciting 4 minutes, a sort of "wait'll ya see this!" moment of unforgettable athletic determination. 

Just found Adam's LP - link is below.  It looked much better on my phone than on my laptop.

Edited March 24 by annzeepark914

[Maelstrom]

Wow. 🤯🤬 And NBC expects me to give them *more* money to reward their fucking terrible coverage? Keep dreamin'. Sounds like I'll have to fire up the VPN.

[annzeepark914]

 

I've tried to copy & paste the link from YouTube but it's not happening. Look up Worlds 2024 on YT and it's there 

[Salacious Kitty]

1 hour ago, annzeepark914 said:

 

I've tried to copy & paste the link from YouTube but it's not happening. Look up Worlds 2024 on YT and it's there 

It works just fine. Lovely skate. 

And NBC spent a whole fucking HOUR on filler. They only showed the last group live. Abysmal coverage.

[KittenPokerCheater]

The ons is slightly clearer, just in case anyone wants to check this too.  I still can't believe he leaped from 19th to third.

 

[SeanC]

On 3/22/2024 at 10:40 PM, iMonrey said:

Something I noticed just now is that pairs don't do side by side spins in the long program anymore. I wonder why. Probably something to do with points I guess but it seems like an important element for pairs. 

The 2018 rules changes cut time from the men's and pairs free programs so that they're the same length as women and dance, and as a result each lost an element; for men in was the eighth jumping pass (they now do seven, like the women) and for pairs it was the side-by-side spins.

[CeeBeeGee]

23 hours ago, SophiaD said:

I don't think I've ever seen a program like Ilia's.  That was remarkable.  He completely nailed all of those quads and his artistry is coming along brilliantly.  

I'm just glad I was able to witness that.  

YES. I feel privileged! I was standing in front of the TV just awestruck, utterly engaged.

 

11 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Don't jinx it. A lot can happen in two years, especially in a sport like this. All those quads are going to take a toll on his body. 

A part of me wants to get a Stars on Ice ticket if he's on the bill but then I realized--it's because I want to see the 4A in person. But it's not worth it for Ilia to throw such a difficult jump for an exhibition tour. Stay safe and healthy, Ilia!

[alexa]

17 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

You'd think NBC would've shown Adam's skate-from-hell, 19th to the podium--an athletic achievement just made for TV, right? But no. I guess this was their way of thumbing their noses at those of us who won't pay for Peacock. Unbelievable 🤬. I sure do miss the days when ABC covered skating. Better camera work and better coverage. ABC would've have loved playing Adam's LP over & over...a Wide World of Sports miracle type of coverage. What was that show's motto?

I found it weird too.  I found it on YouTube but could not believe they skipped that one.

Edited March 25 by alexa

[Good Queen Jane]

I wonder if NBC had its own cameras at Montreal. Peacock shows the ISU World feed (with their wonderful commentators) and covers all competitors, but if NBC just uses the ISU cameras, they might not have had the time or the rights to edit the feed to show Adam's free skate (which took place a little over an hour before.) Even if they had their own cameras, they may not have been filming the Not Ready for Primetime skaters in the first two groups. At Nationals, the NBC camera crews usually don't even show up until the "name" skaters are scheduled.

Adam's free skate is why I always watch the earlier groups. There are often fantastic performances from little known skaters. They may never make it close to the medal podium, but there are some great innovators out there. It's well worth spending the money to watch them on Peacock.

[iMonrey]

If we take up a collection, do you suppose we could enforce a moratorium on Johnny using the words "marshmallow knees" and "sprinkles?"

Also, what the hell was he talking about when he was calling specific jumps 1620 or 1530 or whatever the hell he was going on about? I assume it's some sort of sports analogy I'm not familiar with.

[ML89]

8 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

If we take up a collection, do you suppose we could enforce a moratorium on Johnny using the words "marshmallow knees" and "sprinkles?"

Also, what the hell was he talking about when he was calling specific jumps 1620 or 1530 or whatever the hell he was going on about? I assume it's some sort of sports analogy I'm not familiar with.

He was referencing skateboard/snowboard terminology - those sports call their rotational jumps by reference to 360 degree multiples instead of just single/double/triple rotation.

Edited March 25 by ML89
spelling!

[Tippi]

This was a very good Worlds competition.  I thought the medalists in each category skated diverse and enjoyable programs.  Can't quibble about the results, each was a deserving winner.

What can I say about Ilia's skate that hasn't already been said?  It was just mind blowingly phenomenal.  Quad God for sure! Major props to him for doing this under pressure.  Where does he go from here?  Unimaginable to think of what more he can do technically.  A quad-quad combo is probably on tap.

I was very glad to see Isabeau put out two excellent programs and win the silver.  Her beautiful balletic style is so lovely to watch!  I noticed that her tech score in the long program dropped from around 74 in the boxes prejudging to 68 after.  Far be it from Johnny or Tara to explain that, so I am thinking she got hammered in GOE and/or judge discretion on what to take off for edge calls on the lutzes.  I wish Raf could help her with her jump technique, she's got everything else down pat.

 

[annzeepark914]

1 hour ago, ML89 said:

He was referencing skateboard/snowboard terminology - those sports call their rotational jumps by reference to 360 degree multiples instead of just single/double/triple rotation.

Sheesh. Figure skating is not skateboard or snowboard and JW shouldn't be using those sports' terminologies. As commentators, he and Tara need to be carefully explaining what skaters are accomplishing, what mistakes they're making, so that viewers have a better idea what the scores are reflecting. Not all viewers are familiar with scoring, what GOE's are, etc , and throwing in these other terms is confusing.

[ChicksDigScars]

On 3/23/2024 at 8:52 PM, Avaleigh said:

As far as the skating countries that don't get as much attention, I feel Italy and Estonia both have a nice group of skaters right now. Georgia is basically Russia lite, but collectively they seem like they'll be competitive in the team event. 

Is that who Eteri's daughter is skating for now? First Russia, then the US, and now Georgia? Keep switching countries until you land on one that needs a Dance team (which made their jump to the U.S. odd. Yes, I know she was born here, but they didn't have a prayer of breaking onto the World Team at U.S. Nationals). Switch to Pairs if you want that, honey.

What a World's!! It was loaded with great performances in each discipline. Kind of makes the Russia Stans on social media, claiming that skating was dead without Russia and no one would watch without them, eat a huge bags of d*cks. 

Edited March 25 by ChicksDigScars

[annzeepark914]

I sure haven't missed the Russians at all, that's for sure! Seeing Eteri at Worlds was nauseating enough.

[ML89]

3 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Sheesh. Figure skating is not skateboard or snowboard and JW shouldn't be using those sports' terminologies. As commentators, he and Tara need to be carefully explaining what skaters are accomplishing, what mistakes they're making, so that viewers have a better idea what the scores are reflecting. Not all viewers are familiar with scoring, what GOE's are, etc , and throwing in these other terms is confusing.

I’m guessing that he or someone thought that more young folks come over from those sports so it sounds cool for new viewers but could we get say Ben Agosto to make us an explainer on all of it? Although I watch snowboard stuff and am confused (I still don’t know how slalom works either). Sports need more explainer content, which seems to me to be a perfect thing to put on the NBC Sports website. 

[annzeepark914]

Ben Agosto would be a perfect commentator. No silly remarks. Pure objective observations with simple explanations that all viewers could understand, no matter how into fs they are. 

[ML89]

9 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Ben Agosto would be a perfect commentator. No silly remarks. Pure objective observations with simple explanations that all viewers could understand, no matter how into fs they are. 

My vote, since they did NOT take my suggestion that we should have seen Terry playing some basketball with Nathan Chen, is that they have Terry ask Ben to demo various edges and Johnny some jumps, for video. I know that they did that in those various "Ice" shows during the Olympics, and that should be posted somewhere. I think Scott or Brian or Ashley did some footwork demos. Why wasn't that extracted and posted?

Edited March 26 by ML89
adding Brian

[iMonrey]

18 hours ago, Tippi said:

I noticed that her tech score in the long program dropped from around 74 in the boxes prejudging to 68 after.  Far be it from Johnny or Tara to explain that, so I am thinking she got hammered in GOE and/or judge discretion on what to take off for edge calls on the lutzes.  I wish Raf could help her with her jump technique, she's got everything else down pat.

One thing Johnny and/or Tara did point out is that Isabeau really lunges into all of her jumps. It's something I hadn't really noticed until they pointed it out. And afterwards I couldn't unsee it. It's sort of ungainly. I don't know if that affected her technical score or not though.

[ML89]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

One thing Johnny and/or Tara did point out is that Isabeau really lunges into all of her jumps. It's something I hadn't really noticed until they pointed it out. And afterwards I couldn't unsee it. It's sort of ungainly. I don't know if that affected her technical score or not though.

I know she usually lands them, but she leans so far forward on some of those takeoffs, I keep waiting for her to pitch forward!

[justmehere]

I was so sad for Shoma. His skating is so beautiful, so fluid, and I hoped he'd at least be on the podium. Maybe the pressure of trying for a 3rd World Championship was an issue; who knows. But he was all smiles, even right after, which is amazing. I remember - I think it was 2019 - where he sat alone in the K&C after having fallen multiple times, crying. Working with Stephane has been a really positive thing for him. --It's selfish, but I hope he doesn't retire and can skate next year without pressure. 

I loved Deniss' blues FS and was dismayed when I read that he was changing it for Worlds, but his performance was amazing. It was Lion King wasn't it? Much higher energy than Hallelujah would allow.

Congrats to Jason for maintaining 5th at Worlds. 

Edit to add: Here's a translated interview with Shoma. He sounds so good and so at peace with himself:

 

Edited March 26 by justmehere

[annzeepark914]

I wanted to hear the chorale group sing a national anthem and was lucky to find this one at the medal ceremony.  Are there any other videos of them singing other national anthems?  This is really special (more so than the recorded instrumental versions).

 

[KittenPokerCheater]

@annzeepark914 that is a great video.

TSL has moved beyond a paywall for their coverage of competitions now.  They may be controversial, but I learned a lot- especially from Jonathan.  I will miss them, and hope they will change their minds.