Figure Skating

[Growsonwalls]

1 minute ago, BitterApple said:

Did either of the Not!Russians congratulate Osmond? I noticed Katelyn standing off to the side while they were hugging and they just rushed off without giving her a second glance.

I think Katelyn was besieged by well-wishers (I saw many girls go up to her). Med looked like she was rushing off for a real ugly cry and Alina looked like she didn't know what to do exactly that she won gold medal and there's tears everywhere around her.

[methadonna]

25 minutes ago, Bama said:

I hate that they have to wait to get their medals.

I watched them do the hockey medal ceremony right after the final women’s hockey game, and my first thought was, “Does this mean they don’t get the cute stuffies?”

[Chaser]

2 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

I actually preferred Med, but I understand Zag stacked her program, so I can't say the judging was unfair. I do feel horribly that both girls looked like they were about to have a nervous breakdown after the score was announced. I don't know what that coach is doing to these kids, but I think Chernobyl is less of a toxic environment.

I'm thrilled for Osmond and I agree it's time for Kostner to hang it up. 

I truly didn't care who won going into the free skate. Now I'm generally sad Med didn't win. I think the difference for me was I felt Med wanted it more. She just looked so crushed.

[superdeluxe]

37 minutes ago, elle said:

To end with a Carmen, with a touch of Wagner - here is the Hey!Arnold opera clip where Helga takes over.

Best episode ever.

[SeanC]

Gabrielle and Kaetlyn are pretty much a microcosm of the agony and the ecstasy of the Olympics.  Gabby, who always had a lower ceiling than Kaetlyn but was thought by some to be more consistent (especially after the team competition, which Kaetlyn stumbled a bit in while Gabby aced it), just had pretty much a skater's worst nightmare.  Everything went wrong.  For Kaetlyn, everything finally came together; I'm pretty sure her personal best overall score is now 12-13 points above what it was before.

Also, Kaetlyn's win makes this the best Olympics ever for the Canadian figure skating team by any conceivable metric.  It already was as far as medal quality (we've never had two gold medals before), but 4 total medals eclipses 2014 (3 silver) and 1988 (2 silver, 1 bronze).  And now most of the team is retiring.  Ah, well, we've got Stephen Gogolev waiting in the wings.

Edited February 23, 2018 by SeanC

[stealinghome]

10 minutes ago, Chaser said:

I truly didn't care who won going into the free skate. Now I'm generally sad Med didn't win. I think the difference for me was I felt Med wanted it more. She just looked so crushed.

Yeah, this is where I am--I realized by the end of the night that I was low-key pulling for Med when I felt disappointed she got silver. I just felt there was so much more emotion and artistry in her skate. Zag isn't nearly as boring a skater as Bradie Tennell, don't get me wrong, but compared to Med she did feel a bit like a rote jumping machine, and I appreciated that Med's program wasn't two minutes of skating around followed by two minutes of jumping.

[Growsonwalls]

You could kind of tell that Med knew that this was her one chance. Her body is already showing the signs of over-training. She never was a super-powerful skater even without injuries. Now it's going to be even harder especially with the Eteri-machine system they have going in Russian.

I kind of want her to come back in 2022 because I think her presentation and overall grace are special but I could certainly understand if she doesn't. Sounds like a miserable life the Russian singles skating girls have. 

[Chaser]

My favorites from each event:

Team Event:  Mirai

Men's: Nathan's Free 

Pairs: Aljona/Bruno's Free

Dance: The Shibutani's Paradise

Ladies: Kaetlyn's Swan

Edited February 23, 2018 by Chaser

[ChicksDigScars]

Are we snarking the Exhibition? And will we be back in the regular skating thread for World's? I'm hoping that the Olympic Channel will cover it. We've had shitty coverage of World's the past few years, but the Olympic Channel has been Skateapalooza this season. Crossing my fingers....

[Growsonwalls]

Ashley Wagner liked this tweet:

Uh not very classy considering all the U.S. ladies had one rough miserable night. 

I also thought it was rude of Bradie Tennell and Nathan Chen to be so glued to their phones the whole time while sitting in those chairs. I didn't see the other competitors doing that in any discipline. Sure they had loved ones sending well-wishes too.

[stealinghome]

2 minutes ago, Growsonwalls said:

You could kind of tell that Med knew that this was her one chance. Her body is already showing the signs of over-training. She never was a super-powerful skater even without injuries. Now it's going to be even harder especially with the Eteri-machine system they have going in Russian.

I kind of want her to come back in 2022 because I think her presentation and overall grace are special but I could certainly understand if she doesn't. Sounds like a miserable life the Russian singles skating girls have. 

I agree with this too. Even before Med skated, I already felt that Zag was/is way more likely to come back in 2022, and everyone knows it.

[shizzle]

1 minute ago, Growsonwalls said:

You could kind of tell that Med knew that this was her one chance. Her body is already showing the signs of over-training. She never was a super-powerful skater even without injuries. Now it's going to be even harder especially with the Eteri-machine system they have going in Russian.

I kind of want her to come back in 2022 because I think her presentation and overall grace are special but I could certainly understand if she doesn't. Sounds like a miserable life the Russian singles skating girls have. 

I wonder if Med will try for 2022...what if there's more Alina Zagitovas waiting in line? It would be sad really, if this was her one shot at Olympic glory.

[basiltherat]

Well, the Russians finish was Tara vs. Michelle 2.0 -- Jumps over artistry.

Do you think Med would have won if she would have backloaded ALL her jumps like Zag did?

Congratulations Kaetlyn, Japanese skaters and South Korean skaters.  

[displayname]

Just now, shizzle said:

I wonder if Med will try for 2022...what if there's more Alina Zagitovas waiting in line? It would be sad really, if this was her one shot at Olympic glory.

1) Her jumps are almost gone. 2) There are, with 100% more quads.

1 minute ago, basiltherat said:

Do you think Med would have won if she would have backloaded ALL her jumps like Zag did?

 

Zag had the better jumps, better combo, better program. Med doesn't have Zag's jumps. So, no.

[Souris]

3 minutes ago, Chaser said:

My favorites from each event:

Team Event:  Mirai

Men's: Nathan's Free 

Pairs: Aljona/Bruno's Free

Dance: The Shibutani's Paradise

Ladies: Kaetlyn's Swan

Exactly my faves too!

I enjoyed Osmond's skate the most, though I knew she didn't have a shot for anything but bronze. Good for her! I didn't really have a preference between the two Russians*, so I didn't particularly care which won. I did feel quite sad that Zagitova had to celebrate by herself for such an extended period of time. I realize Coachie Dearest would concentrate on Medvedeva (the one who didn't win), but surely there was SOMEBODY else in the Russian* entourage who could have gone to Zagitova right then.

So sad none of the U.S. women could put down a strong program. Sigh. If Bradie is our Next Great Hope, we're in trouble. Hopefully somebody awesome will pop out of the juniors before the next Olympics.

[displayname]

3 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

Ashley Wagner liked this tweet:

Uh not very classy considering all the U.S. ladies had one rough miserable night. 

I also thought it was rude of Bradie Tennell and Nathan Chen to be so glued to their phones the whole time while sitting in those chairs. I didn't see the other competitors doing that in any discipline. Sure they had loved ones sending well-wishes too.

Ashley Wagner showed her ridiculous attitude during the men's event, when she didn't like a guy's program and pretty much tweeted that she hoped the person after him would beat him, because he didn't deserve to be on the podium.

 

When called out, Ashley Wagner tweeted something about "words hurting", showing an utter lack of awareness.

 

It's time we stopped caring about Ashley Wagner's existence.

Edited February 23, 2018 by fan94

[healthnut]

Tara’s Op-ed piece on why US lags behind

[displayname]

7 minutes ago, stealinghome said:

I agree with this too. Even before Med skated, I already felt that Zag was/is way more likely to come back in 2022, and everyone knows it.

Neither will come back. Russia screwed over the only lady who deserved to win two back-to-back OGMs, also the only lady who could, back in 2014. Now they have a machine to produce WCs every year, and forget about them the next year.

[Omeletsmom]

37 minutes ago, Jaded said:

I hadn't really watched the Olympic Ice episodes online that Kristi, Charlie and Ben have been hosting. Seeing Charlie with his natural color hair was a bit of a shock for me since I hadn't seen him with it I don't think. He looks like a lawyer or accountant.?

Is that what it is?  The first time I saw one of those segments, I was wondering what he had done to his hair.  It's also odd that he and Ben are sitting so far apart.  They both look like kids wearing Dad's suit.

[Mellowyellow]

2 minutes ago, Souris said:

I did feel quite sad that Zagitova had to celebrate by herself for such an extended period of time. I realize Coachie Dearest would concentrate on Medvedeva (the one who didn't win), but surely there was SOMEBODY else in the Russian* entourage who could have gone to Zagitova right then.

It was sad but she handled herself incredibly well for a 15yr old who just won gold with a heartbroken team mate in the midst. I probably wouldn't have fared as well at 15.

[Dots And Stripes]

6 minutes ago, Souris said:

 

So sad none of the U.S. women could put down a strong program. Sigh. If Bradie is our Next Great Hope, we're in trouble. Hopefully somebody awesome will pop out of the juniors before the next Olympics.

For context, Katelyn Osmond was 13th at the Olympics 4 years ago. It’s possible Karen or Bradie could continue to move up in international competitions.

[displayname]

38 minutes ago, sab85 said:

I have a free room in Chicago both Medvedeva and Zag are welcome to come hang out and get away from their scary coach. There will be ice cream and anime. And they will be close enough to train with Bradie Tennell and teach her...something.

XD

[Growsonwalls]

3 minutes ago, Mellowyellow said:

It was sad but she handled herself incredibly well for a 15yr old who just won gold with a heartbroken team mate in the midst. I probably wouldn't have fared as well at 15.

And for context ... she definitely handled this better than, uh, Tara Lipinski. 

I'm sure the brutality of Eteri's training methods makes them bond in a way that no one else will really understand. 

As for the U.S. ladies I don't see any of them coming back. Mirai I think was a sentimental favorite. I don't see Bradie going up unless she improves her presentation skills. And Karen Chen? Well, she needs to work so much on technique. 

Edited February 23, 2018 by Growsonwalls

[Thumper]

8 minutes ago, healthnut said:

Tara’s Op-ed piece on why US lags behind

This bugs me.  It may be true, but comes across as Tara tooting her own horn.    I don't follow figure skating from year to year.  Perhaps I am in Tara-Johnny overload.

[displayname]

1 hour ago, PoshSprinkles said:

And no edge calls will be made. Sigh. 

There wasn't one? In Zagi's? She doesn't get deep edges on her lutz, but her edges are correct.

 

There are several other issues you can rag her on though.

[gingerella]

13 minutes ago, basiltherat said:

Well, the Russians finish was Tara vs. Michelle 2.0 -- Jumps over artistry.

Do you think Med would have won if she would have backloaded ALL her jumps like Zag did?

Congratulations Kaetlyn, Japanese skaters and South Korean skaters.  

Yup. And I thought Michelle Kwan was robbed back then and I feel the same for Med now. Zag is a jumping machine but her style bores me to tears. Med, OTOH, mesmerizes me with her artistry and just as good jumps. I don't know what the judges are seeing...but hey, that's nothing new in skating, right?

Speaking of, when are Worlds?

[Mellowyellow]

3 minutes ago, fan94 said:

Neither will come back. Russia screwed over the only lady who deserved to win two back-to-back OGMs, also the only lady who could, back in 2014. Now they have a machine to produce WCs every year, and forget about them the next year.

I do wonder what will happen to them after this. I'm consoling myself in the fact that Med seems well balanced based on the articles I've read. Hopefully she'll find something for herself!

[displayname]

1 hour ago, Dots And Stripes said:

Tara said Medvedeva won the free skate portion, but the scores I'm seeing say they tied the free skate.

PCS trumps in ties. Fairly certain.

[Growsonwalls]

Med's interview:

https://www.sports.ru/figure-skating/1060546702.html

She says she's not retiring.

[displayname]

1 minute ago, Growsonwalls said:

Med's interview:

https://www.sports.ru/figure-skating/1060546702.html

She says she's not retiring.

I hope her jumps hold up then. The sheer amount of muscling she needs to do to get up into the air tells a different story.

1 hour ago, twoods said:

Them hugging is making me tear up. What good sportsmanship. 

They're kind of like sisters, I think.

[displayname]

1 hour ago, PoshSprinkles said:

I bet the Golden Skate forum is having a server meltdown right about now. 

Oh yeah.

[Mellowyellow]

5 minutes ago, fan94 said:

I hope her jumps hold up then. The sheer amount of muscling she needs to do to get up into the air tells a different story.

They're kind of like sisters, I think.

Can you explain what you mean by this?

Do they damage their bodies to the point where they can't jump anymore? Or is it that overtime you've notice her jumps get worse and worse?

I only really watch every 4 years and YouTube bits of the other competitions so I don't know much aside from the fact that splatting is bad and certain outines look pretty to me. ?

[displayname]

7 minutes ago, Mellowyellow said:

Can you explain what you mean by this?

Do they damage their bodies to the point where they can't jump anymore? Or is it that overtime you've notice her jumps get worse and worse?

I only really watch every 4 years and YouTube bits of the other competitions so I don't know much aside from the fact that splatting is bad and certain outines look pretty to me. ?

Medvedeva muscles her jumps. She doesn't "jump" into them -- watch how Yuna jumps, and watch how Med jumps. Yuna has practically no effort to get into her jumps, where Med kind of drags her body into it. She has other issues too.

I don't think her jumps will last as she grows older. Her technique is kind of based on being able to fling her weight upwards, instead of using her speed and technique to vault her up. She's really thin. If you notice Yuna, Mao, Carolina, they have athletic bodies. They didn't need to muscle their jumps. 

This is my speculation (and I'm not an expert). Medvedeva was somehow able to get more flow out of jumps this season, so maybe she's on a good path now. However, there are other problems which don't give her the best height, either. Even TSL was talking about her jump-based issues, and I think they've made me see more and more problems with her jumps.

 

A very easy way to spot her bad technique is to look at her 2A: no height, speed, distance. Anything. Her loop is OK, and her salchow is OK.

Edited February 23, 2018 by fan94

[Mellowyellow]

Ahh thank you for that @fan94! I'll check out some clips and see if I can spot it!

[displayname]

(this is just for teh lulz BTW)

Edited February 23, 2018 by fan94

[methadonna]

10 minutes ago, fan94 said:

(this if just for teh lulz BTW)

Am I a bad person for coveting her coat? Even though it’s Evilteri? And I live in Florida?

[Minneapple]

20 minutes ago, fan94 said:

(this is just for teh lulz BTW)

This needs to be a Caption Contest.

"When you win the gold medal but Mommy can't wait to tell you how awesome your sister is."

[caracas1914]

2 hours ago, Mumbles said:

Psychologists say that bronze medalists are happier than silver medalists, because silvers always think how close they came to winning gold, but bronze medalists are thrilled they won a medal at all. 

Tell that to Debbie Thomas.

[methadonna]

3 minutes ago, Minneapple said:

This needs to be a Caption Contest.

"When you win the gold medal but Mommy can't wait to tell you how awesome your sister is."

If it had to be done (it didn’t), I think we know who should have skated to Cinderellla.

:

Eteri [dumps 10lb sack of birdseed on the rink]: Sure, you can skate in the gala, just as soon as you finish picking up each of these seeds.

In Olympic Athletes of Russia, coach medals you.

[Cherpumple]

Between ending her program and receiving her scores, I think I saw at least 20 different emotions on Medvedeva's face. What a roller coaster! I feel so bad for her, and it broke my heart to hear that she said "I did everything I could possibly do" after her score came up. I really think Zagitova's sudden rise so close to the Olympics messed up her mental game.

I really hate the "winner's circle" room they've set up. Aside from the pairs competition, it's just ended up being awkward or downright uncomfortable, especially tonight. With the camera shot so tight on Zagitova I had no idea how the other two in the room were reacting, and was genuinely perplexed to not see either of them congratulate her after the final scores were announced. So odd. It made me really miss seeing the skaters whooping it up with their coaches; my favorite reaction was probably Sarah Hughes, who literally fell to the ground with shock as her coach was cheering at her side. No matter what you thought of the results, no one can deny that we were seeing a moment of pure joy.

I'm glad that the top flight of women were so strong- no splatfest! I enjoy all of them and appreciated their different styles, but I think Kaetlyn may be my new overall favorite.

Could Yuna have looked any more bored sitting the stands? She smiled once after the second South Korean, but otherwise looked like she would rather be anywhere but there.

[ZootSuitWyatt]

10 minutes ago, caracas1914 said:

Tell that to Debbie Thomas.

I think bronze medalists are happier than silver medalists immediately after with something where there's a gold medal game/race and a bronze medal game/race (like hockey), because the bronze medalists won their final game and the silver medalists just loss. Definitely true with Canada vs. Finland last night.

[HartofDixie]

1 hour ago, ChicksDigScars said:

Are we snarking the Exhibition? And will we be back in the regular skating thread for World's? I'm hoping that the Olympic Channel will cover it. We've had shitty coverage of World's the past few years, but the Olympic Channel has been Skateapalooza this season. Crossing my fingers....

Back to regular forum after The Olympics  to discuss Worlds. Per the press conference all 3 ladies plan to go to Worlds. I’m sure things will change though but this post Olympic Worlds is going to be exciting.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_World_Figure_Skating_Championships

Edited February 23, 2018 by HartofDixie

[pennben]

30 minutes ago, Minneapple said:

This needs to be a Caption Contest.

"When you win the gold medal but Mommy can't wait to tell you how awesome your sister is."

monotone voice: "We are so very happy for you."

[caracas1914]

And the winner is .....Backloading jumps by a whisker!!

While I was rooting for Eugenia, (well I jinxed her like I always do....)  I have to admit that Zagitova didn’t give an inch.  That opening 3lutz/3loop (which was 5 jumps in practice), she couldn’t do in the first pass and to come back and add the 3 loop to her second lutz, that saved the OGM for her.  Incredibly gutsy and she could have easily cracked after that first “mistake”.    There’s a cool “assasin” air to her which is actually growing on me, in a fight  I want Alina in my corner because she would be the last person standing.

Katlyn I enjoyed but I dunno, the “Black Swan” just doesn’t seem to suit her, if that makes any sense.  She’s a flowing strong athletic skater with huge jumps, the program was a little too traditional/classic  for my taste for that kind of skater.   I would have loved a jazzy vibe to her choreography , or even a James Bond ala Yuna Kim.

Is Alina really only 20 odd days older than Tara Lipinski was at Nagano? (BTW, Tara that is what a clean 3loop looks like)   Zagitova’s seems so physically mature, with nothing of the gangly awkward look of a Brandi, or even a Michelle Kwan/Sarah Hughes/etc at that age.  

I enjoyed Sagamoto’s slightly bizarre Amelie for what it wasn’t , tragic Russian woman on a rail road track, dying swans, pixie ballerina, or yet another skater determined to make her Carmen the definitive one.

As for Evgenia, skating as Ana Karenina is only asking for tragic trouble.   Felt bad for her as the pressure on her was finally released only to just fall short.

But again, I have to respect Alina saving that 3 lutz/3loop combo.

[gatopretoNYC]

2 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

Ashley Wagner liked this tweet:

Uh not very classy considering all the U.S. ladies had one rough miserable night. 

Yeah, and Ashley, you did soooo much better coming in 7th in 2014.

[displayname]

55 minutes ago, Cherpumple said:

Could Yuna have looked any more bored sitting the stands?

Can't blame her. :P

[HartofDixie]

[displayname]

Fun Fact: If Zagitova wins worlds, she will have a career grand slam in her first year as senior.

JGPF, JWC, GPF, EUROS, OLY, WC

 

The only other person to have a grand slam is Yuna Kim.

Edited February 23, 2018 by fan94

[pennben]

2 hours ago, Thumper said:

This bugs me.  It may be true, but comes across as Tara tooting her own horn.    I don't follow figure skating from year to year.  Perhaps I am in Tara-Johnny overload.

As another 'just watch every four years' here's my impression: she's exactly right about how to compete under the current rules......so why did the US take so long to start catching up to the rules?  I contrast that to Christine Brennan, the reporter I follow during skating competitions, who seems to have no time other than to decry the rules and won't abide by anyone other than her favored skater in 2014 and now (Ashley Wagner) being put in a position to win/be defined as the one who should win.

I'm a little overly 'line in the sand' above, but honestly, how has has this argument continued for so many years? I'm guessing I'm missing something in the interim years, but if the US hasn't focused on upping point totals for skaters, how can they expect to win?

Hell, this goes back to 1998 with Lipinski....the last medal was 2006 for women's skating in the Olympics, if I'm recalling the broadcast correctly.  So what gives here?

Edited February 23, 2018 by pennben

[displayname]

New fav US man (I do like TSL, though):

 https://twitter.com/akrasnozhon/status/966900674817437696