Figure Skating

[Mellowyellow]

I just watched both their programs again! They are so good! 

On second viewing I really like Alina's slightly crazy program with the red tutu! It was entertaining and a lot of fun.

Do they get extra marks for arms in the air while they jump? I think it looks pretty.

[Bill1978]

19 minutes ago, Mellowyellow said:

Do they get extra marks for arms in the air while they jump? I think it looks pretty.

Pretty sure the commentator hear in Australia kept mentioning something about arms in air gets more points. But I could have heard wrong as I tryto tune out the commentator during the performance.

[NUguy514]

6 hours ago, Jeddah said:

“Her goal is to skate clean.” Well, yes. I think they all have that goal, Tara.

No joke, I said the same exact thing to my television when Tara ditzed that.

5 hours ago, SeanC said:

Same.  Zagitova's PCS should have been lower.

And Med's TES should have been (muuuuuch) lower, so it all balances out.

Seriously, though, Med didn't get called for her very obvious flutz, she also kind of lipped one of her flips, and she takes so much time to do the second (and third) jumps in her combinations because she just doesn't have good jumping technique; as I've already posted, her technique on her jumps is terrible, and that alone deservedly (IMO) kept her from the gold.  Also, I think her artistry is really over-praised; honestly, there wasn't much difference between her cheesy Anna Karenina and Sakamoto's cheesy Amélie from a presentational standpoint.  I think she thought she won after she finished (and why wouldn't she given past precedent), but she got Kwan'd.

Zag looked to me like she was freaking the fuck out before she started her skate (so did Med, although slightly less so), so I actually wasn't surprised when she bagged on the loop initially.  When she nailed that combo the second time, though, you could just see her relax; it was so clutch, and I actually shouted a "Fuck yeah!" at my TV when she nailed it.  It's hilarious that she didn't win the FS outright (even though they tied, Med actually won the FS because her PCS was higher), but at least she won the gold; she is just a stratospherically better skater technically than Med.  Given the Russian assembly line, I'm sure she won't stick around, but she deserved this gold among this competition. Hands down.

I would've loved Osmond and Miyahara to have been the other medalists because both were so wonderful, but I'll settle for just one of them.  I'm really impressed with Osmond.

I was rooting for Mirai, but she did what she came to PyeongChang to do: nail her program in the team event and get that medal!  Her triple axel will be one of my favorite moments of these Games.  Karen is lovely to watch, but she has a LOT of work to do.  Bradie was...a skater who skated in this competition. *shrug

I snarked to my best friend that Gabrielle Daleman should get -100 points for choosing "Carmen" and "Rhapsody in Blue" for her two programs, but her meltdown was...paaaaaaaainful to watch.  Gracious.

After some time to let it settle, I'd swap Javi and Shoma, in addition to maybe not having Med on the podium (but at least she didn't get the gold).  Overall, though, I have very few quibbles with the figure skating medals this Olympics, which is an extremely refreshing change after the general horror of Sochi (the ladies' outcome, specifically – still not over it).

[Quickbeam]

Just waking up...for all the age talk, Kostner in 5th, not bad!

[alexa]

Thanks for all of the discussion. I saw the last six skaters through your eyes—catching up this morning. 

[specialj67]

1 hour ago, Mellowyellow said:

Do they get extra marks for arms in the air while they jump? I think it looks pretty.

Yes. When done well, like Alina does it, it raises the difficulty of the jump because it moves the skater’s center of balance higher up than they’re used to. And it looks quite nice and balletic. However, other skaters like Evgenia, and Maria Sotskova, sort of throw their arm barely over their head in such a way that you can tell it’s not really pulling their torso up and changing their balance that much. It’s also less aesthetically pleasing (my opinion) because it looks like they’re kinda just sweeping their hand over their head. But, the way the rules are currently, an arm over the head is an arm over the head and pretty much automatically gets the skater more points, regardless of how awkward it may look.

[Mellowyellow]

1 minute ago, specialj67 said:

Yes. When done well, like Alina does it, it raises the difficulty of the jump because it moves the skater’s center of balance higher up than they’re used to. And it looks quite nice and balletic. However, other skaters like Evgenia, and Maria Sotskova, sort of throw their arm barely over their head in such a way that you can tell it’s not really pulling their torso up and changing their balance that much. It’s also less aesthetically pleasing (my opinion) because it looks like they’re kinda just sweeping their hand over their head. But, the way the rules are currently, an arm over the head is an arm over the head and pretty much automatically gets the skater more points, regardless of how awkward it may look.

Ahh thanks! I saw Alina do it on some jumps with both arms up together on top of her head and wondered how on earth she wasn't stacking it.

Upon rewatching I do wonder if Russia can churn out another skating baby with the same technical ability. It is one thing to jump but to also have the guts, the mental stability to not meltdown and go splat, decent presentation skills. She pretty much has it all imo.

[Enero]

6 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

I think all the silver medalists have been pretty miserable this games. 

Sui/Han - were good sports, but obviously upset

Uno - looked shellshocked

Papadakis/Cizeron - crying, upset

Med - crying, upset

Alina sitting alone with that doll kind of made me mindful of how young these girls are, and not to be too harsh/snarky on them. At the end of the day they're just little kids really, and probably nice girls. Med especially looks very sweet and fun.

 

Poor Uno always looks shellshocked. ? 

So with Alina winning at 15 there’s a chance she could come back for at least two more Olympics and break Witt’s record of winning back to back OGMs. 

Edited February 23, 2018 by Enero

[healthnut]

Weird Mirai interview, very uncharacteristic, almost like the quotes were taken out of context:

Mirai says she was auditioning for DWTS

[alexa]

I will hopefully see a recast of the skating after the Olympics to see what I missed in figure skating.  However in the meantime, I feel disappointed that none of the American women seemed to have any fight in them for the individual event.  You would think at least one of them would have had a wow performance will all of the pressure off given they were so far back--so to see what they brought just feels very meh.  I am all for them wanting to do well for the team event, but if doing the team event is going to make them rest on their laurels, then I don't like that.  I want them to have something to fight for.  The US men fought for their individual event as well, and I really appreciated their good showings.

8 minutes ago, healthnut said:

Weird Mirai interview, very uncharacteristic, almost like the quotes were taken out of context:

Mirai says she was auditioning for DWTS

If that interview is remotely true, I have lost a lot of respect for Mirai.  There were others fighting for that spot on the Olympics, and if you care so little, that just sucks.  I don't really care about her achievement on the team event anymore, frankly.  And to be honest she hasn't earned nearly enough in figure skating to have that kind of attitude.  

I was just reading another article on USA Today that stated Karen said her issue was that she couldn't be with her mom all of the time.  Seriously people?  We have one that wants to be on DWTS and thinks she is a star, and the other that went to the Olympics and couldn't handle being without her mom.  So I have to think Ashley is really a bit upset at this point--not that there were guarantees she would do well, but at least she acts like an adult to some degree and definitely cares about her placement.

Edited February 23, 2018 by alexa

[SimoneS]

7 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

I think all the silver medalists have been pretty miserable this games. 

Sui/Han - were good sports, but obviously upset

Uno - looked shellshocked

Papadakis/Cizeron - crying, upset

Med - crying, upset

Alina sitting alone with that doll kind of made me mindful of how young these girls are, and not to be too harsh/snarky on them. At the end of the day they're just little kids really, and probably nice girls. Med especially looks very sweet and fun.

This is exactly why I make a point of calling those girls and young women by their names and try not to be to harsh about their performances. I never want to forget they are just talented, but ordinary young girls and women working relentlessly to follow their dreams. This is why I didn't get into the "not Russian" snark.

[Chaser]

That Mirai interview is awful. US Ladies/Pairs Figure Skating is in need of a shot in the arm. 

Thank goodness for the Shibutanis showing up in the Ice Dance (and the other US Teams - mistakes were made but at least they cared). And Nathan Chen and Vincent Zhou giving some hope in the Long Program. 

[Enero]

1 hour ago, healthnut said:

Weird Mirai interview, very uncharacteristic, almost like the quotes were taken out of context:

Mirai says she was auditioning for DWTS

Yeah. I don't believe this article at all due to the fact that it was poorly written and as you said looks as if a bunch of her quotes were just dropped in it and used to create a story. 

[absnow54]

Re: If Ashley had been named to the Olympic Team instead

Ashley takes a page out of Adam Rippon's forget the high scoring technical elements, just skate so it looks good playbook, but still under rotates and two foots all of her jumps. She gets an inflated component score because the judges seem to give a bonus to the skaters they recognize who also already have medals (see Patrick Chan and Carolina Kostner. Ashley's bonus is lower though, because her medal was from the Team Event.) She still ends up around 10th place. *Insert lots of put upon faces so that the audience thinks that she was scored unfairly when she wasn't*

Cut to interview with Andrea Joyce where Ashley reminds us that she likes to be the underdog and her free skate is her better program anyway. *Insert brought to you by Toyota smile*

Free skate, Ashley again two foots and under rotates her jumps. She probably doubles out some triples too. She smiles at the end as if none of those mistakes happened. Her component score is much better than the other Americans, but her technical score is on par with the earlier skaters. She maybe places ahead of Bradie and gets 9th. Ladies Figure Skating in America is saved!

[Jeddah]

1 hour ago, healthnut said:

Weird Mirai interview, very uncharacteristic, almost like the quotes were taken out of context:

Mirai says she was auditioning for DWTS

Yeah, I think the reporter just didn’t get Mirai’s sense of humor. The “I’m a star” comment was more a comment about the name of DWTS than a diva moment.

She mentioned the Shibs, Adam, and herself because they all skated the last night. I think she was using “saved” to say they held onto the bronze. She’s pretty clearly not saying she singlehandedly won the bronze medal for the team.

Edited February 23, 2018 by Jeddah

[Tanichka]

Didn't watch due to the horrible coverage of the short program, I was glad to see Kaetlyn Osmond get a bronze.  Not sure how Kostner finished so high up.

[specialj67]

I just heard a feature on NPR’s Morning Edition about last night’s results. You know it’s either notably good (Zagitova) or bad (US women) when they devote an entire feature piece to it. And they used tape of Tom Z. saying that the US is still, like, years behind Russia in terms of pushing the technical envelope in the girls/women’s field. And that it could take up to a decade to catch up at this point?!

[Conotocarious]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/gold-medalist-figure-skater-yuzuru-hanyu-impressively-bad-speed-skating-041459505.html

 

i thought this video was cute. 

 

Incidentally, I did that at the rink last week and I think I fractured my rib.

[Mellowyellow]

Oh that was so cute! He looked so happy even when he stacked it!

I saw a lot of cute pics of him and Evgenia on her Instagram page. Evgenia is really into anime/japanese stuff it seems! 

[Cindyluwho]

3 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

Just waking up...for all the age talk, Kostner in 5th, not bad!

Her free skate was highly over scored, IMHO.

[absnow54]

And they used tape of Tom Z. saying that the US is still, like, years behind Russia in terms of pushing the technical envelope in the girls/women’s field. And that it could take up to a decade to catch up at this point?!

Johnny and Tara were saying that Russian Juniors at this point are doing quads in the ladies program. You have to start training quads at a very young age (which is why most of the "older" men have a really hard time adding them in) so ten years seems realistic.

[Snow Apple]

I haven't really paid attention to skating for years and had no idea Russia was cranking them out and quickly putting them out to pasture.

Back in the day, the women were in two or three Olympics. Now I keep hearing this may be the only shot for the 18 and 15(!) year olds. How sad and horrifying.

[aemom]

4 minutes ago, absnow54 said:

Johnny and Tara were saying that Russian Juniors at this point are doing quads in the ladies program. You have to start training quads at a very young age (which is why most of the "older" men have a really hard time adding them in) so ten years seems realistic.

Maybe this is the next "big jump" in ladies figure skating.  I still remember that at the 1988 Olympics, only Midori Ito and Elizabeth Manley did a 3L.  Ito came to Worlds the next year and blew everyone out of the water with her Lutzes and everything else - especially since most women were doing 3T2D in the short as their combo.

After that, 3L2T became de rigeur in the short if you were going to be on the podium.  It really hasn't changed must since then with the exception of some triple-triple combos and the occasional skater with a 3A.  If the young girls are starting with quads now, that will really shake everything up

[Tanichka]

I think they should raise the age to 17, then there is a level of maturity.

[leopardprint]

37 minutes ago, Conotocarious said:

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/gold-medalist-figure-skater-yuzuru-hanyu-impressively-bad-speed-skating-041459505.html

 

i thought this video was cute. 

 

Incidentally, I did that at the rink last week and I think I fractured my rib.

Hanyu seems to be a bit of a goof ball, lol, there’s also a video of him crawling behind Shoma Uno to avoid being in his interview shot. I do like the concern trolling in the article about his ankle, he won two golds, let him live!

As far as that Mirai interview, I think the interviewer either didn’t get her sense of humor/she was being sarcastic or it was massively out of context. This is the lady who said she “took an L” after her short program so I think humor is how she deals with difficult situations. 

[HartofDixie]

Before Evgenia’s score came up Johnny was pulling for her while Tara was going with Alina.  If Alina was a couple of weeks younger I wonder if Tara would have been so supportive of the skater about to take the youngest gold medal winner title from her?

[Mumbles]

Quote

I liked how after Med landed some jumps she went through to a choreographed move. 

The commitment to choreography is what separates the last group of skaters from the rest. I was watching Gabrielle Daleman skate to Rhapsody in Blue, and it looked like her skating was totally disconnected from the music. It was if she was skating at a public rink and that music was being played in the background speakers. True she had a tough night, but still, jeez, keep it together for the step sequence at least.

[SeanC]

3 minutes ago, Mumbles said:

The commitment to choreography is what separates the last group of skaters from the rest. I was watching Gabrielle Daleman skate to Rhapsody in Blue, and it looked like her skating was totally disconnected from the music. It was if she was skating at a public rink and that music was being played in the background speakers. True she had a tough night, but still, jeez, keep it together for the step sequence at least.

By the time time she got to the step sequence the whole thing had already totally derailed.

[alexa]

Well, SI is reporting similar re: Mirai, and their article is a little cleaner and more specific:

 

https://www.si.com/olympics/2018/02/23/2018-winter-olympics-mirai-nagasu-figure-skating-team-usa

[mtlchick]

4 minutes ago, alexa said:

Well, SI is reporting similar re: Mirai, and their article is a little cleaner and more specific:

 

https://www.si.com/olympics/2018/02/23/2018-winter-olympics-mirai-nagasu-figure-skating-team-usa

I feel like I'm getting punked reading this.  If anything, it only made feel worse for Daleman saying she dragged her family here.

 

But Mirai? You landed a triple axel.  Cool.  But I sort of hope the DWTS team are reading this and saying "Well we were considering asking you but you know what? We got other options." 

[anniebird]

9 hours ago, ChicksDigScars said:

World's are in Milan? Look for them to put her on the podium no matter what she does. 

Will all the judges be Italian?

[alexa]

3 minutes ago, mtlchick said:

I feel like I'm getting punked reading this.  If anything, it only made feel worse for Daleman saying she dragged her family here.

 

But Mirai? You landed a triple axel.  Cool.  But I sort of hope the DWTS team are reading this and saying "Well we were considering asking you but you know what? We got other options." 

And unfortunately, she is going to be remembered more for this than the triple axel.  Once you have put your foot in your mouth and get a little cocky, you are no longer a darling.  She knows better, even if she was not fully meaning all that has been quoted--she knows you have to be careful what you say.  And to have received a spot on the Olympics, and then act like you don't care about the individual event is just crap.  I would have rather had a lower level skater come in and give it their all than to have someone receive a bronze team medal and say screw the individual event/I want to be a star, take me DWTS.

[displayname]

1 hour ago, absnow54 said:

Re: If Ashley had been named to the Olympic Team instead

Ashley takes a page out of Adam Rippon's forget the high scoring technical elements, just skate so it looks good playbook, but still under rotates and two foots all of her jumps. She gets an inflated component score because the judges seem to give a bonus to the skaters they recognize who also already have medals (see Patrick Chan and Carolina Kostner. Ashley's bonus is lower though, because her medal was from the Team Event.) She still ends up around 10th place. *Insert lots of put upon faces so that the audience thinks that she was scored unfairly when she wasn't*

Cut to interview with Andrea Joyce where Ashley reminds us that she likes to be the underdog and her free skate is her better program anyway. *Insert brought to you by Toyota smile*

Free skate, Ashley again two foots and under rotates her jumps. She probably doubles out some triples too. She smiles at the end as if none of those mistakes happened. Her component score is much better than the other Americans, but her technical score is on par with the earlier skaters. She maybe places ahead of Bradie and gets 9th. Ladies Figure Skating in America is saved!

Don't forget "words hurt" when "some trolls" criticize her for her "skating".

[displayname]

Favs:

 

S/H SP

Yuzu/Javi  SP and LP

Boyang SP

Shoma LP

V/M and the Shibs' existence

Alina's 3Lz-3Lo after missing it (probably the best one she's done ever)

46 minutes ago, Tanichka said:

I think they should raise the age to 17, then there is a level of maturity.

Have you watched Adelina Sotnikova skate?

[vibeology]

27 minutes ago, alexa said:

Well, SI is reporting similar re: Mirai, and their article is a little cleaner and more specific:

 

https://www.si.com/olympics/2018/02/23/2018-winter-olympics-mirai-nagasu-figure-skating-team-usa

Yeah, that is bad. Like, was she drunk? I'm all for holding on to the positive of the medal she did win, but she threw half of Team USA under the bus and Daleman too who was already heartbroken about her bad skate. It's one thing to be able to put a bad skate behind you but that doesn't mean you should be so glib. I've always been a big fan but this is disappointing.

[Mellowyellow]

2 minutes ago, fan94 said:

Alina's 3Lz-3Lo after missing it (probably the best one she's done ever)

Did she make the call not to do it the first time?

I am curious if it's obvious to the skater that they've missed it and shouldn't do it or would some still try it and splat because they shouldn't have done it?

I hope that makes sense!

[displayname]

Just now, Mellowyellow said:

Did she make the call not to do it the first time?

I am curious if it's obvious to the skater that they've missed it and shouldn't do it or would some still try it and splat because they shouldn't have done it?

I hope that makes sense!

She had a tentative landing, so decided to not fall by doing it.

[Enero]

11 minutes ago, fan94 said:

Favs:

 

S/H SP

Yuzu/Javi  SP and LP

Boyang SP

Shoma LP

V/M and the Shibs' existence

Alina's 3Lz-3Lo after missing it (probably the best one she's done ever)

I'm close to agreeing. :) 

Favorites:

Mens:
Yuzi  - SP/LP

Javi  - SP

Boyang - SP

Shoma - LP

Pairs:

Sui/Han - SP

Aliona/Bruno - LP

Dance (of the top 5):

Tessa/Scott - LD

Shibutanas - LD

Ladies (of the top 5):

Miyahara - SP

Osmond - SP

Edited February 23, 2018 by Enero

[Mellowyellow]

Just now, fan94 said:

She had a tentative landing, so decided to not fall by doing it.

I don't understand how anyone can have the sanity make that call in the middle of an Olympic skate and then do the combo later. 

I would have blindly gone for it, splatted and bawled on ice. Lol that's why I sit at home and watch them on TV!

These athletes are incredible!

[Tanichka]

9 minutes ago, vibeology said:

Yeah, that is bad. Like, was she drunk? I'm all for holding on to the positive of the medal she did win, but she threw half of Team USA under the bus and Daleman too who was already heartbroken about her bad skate. It's one thing to be able to put a bad skate behind you but that doesn't mean you should be so glib. I've always been a big fan but this is disappointing.

Strange.  This is why athletes shouldn’t talk!

[Good Queen Jane]

9 hours 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....

Here's the NBC TV schedule for Worlds. Most of the live coverage will be on the Olympics Channel and be in the afternoon ET what with the time difference in Milan.

[absnow54]

Alina sitting alone with that doll kind of made me mindful of how young these girls are, and not to be too harsh/snarky on them. At the end of the day they're just little kids really, and probably nice girls. Med especially looks very sweet and fun.

When they kept on replaying the clip of Alina doing a never ending triple combo at practice, the commentators kept saying it was to intimidate her competitors, but the way she went bounding towards her coaches after the fact to tell them how many she did, it looked more like a little girl seeking approval from her parents. I felt bad for both the Russians, because the commentary seemed to be "this is the peak of their lives, after today they'll no longer be useful because there's an endless supply on reserve set to replace them."

[displayname]

9 minutes ago, absnow54 said:

When they kept on replaying the clip of Alina doing a never ending triple combo at practice, the commentators kept saying it was to intimidate her competitors, but the way she went bounding towards her coaches after the fact to tell them how many she did, it looked more like a little girl seeking approval from her parents. I felt bad for both the Russians, because the commentary seemed to be "this is the peak of their lives, after today they'll no longer be useful because there's an endless supply on reserve set to replace them."

So many, that the third one is never even mentioned. :/

[absnow54]

Yeah, that is bad. Like, was she drunk? I'm all for holding on to the positive of the medal she did win, but she threw half of Team USA under the bus and Daleman too who was already heartbroken about her bad skate. It's one thing to be able to put a bad skate behind you but that doesn't mean you should be so glib. I've always been a big fan but this is disappointing.

The team event is making the US team so complacent, because of the size of their program relative to the rest of the world, they're almost guaranteed a bronze. Mirai referring to Daleman as a gold medalist, is technically correct, but Gabby obviously didn't take that medal and decide that her Olympics had been accomplished, but I guess it's different for them, since Gaby came in third at World's last year and was in contention for the podium, while Mirai was a very long shot dependent entirely on her 3A.

[surreysmum]

4 hours ago, Mellowyellow said:

Do they get extra marks for arms in the air while they jump? I think it looks pretty.

Apparently it's considerably harder (makes sense - more resistance to the rotation), and yes, it gets extra points because of that. It probably gets comparatively easier if you do it consistently for every jump (as the not-Russian lady skaters do).  Presumably your body incorporates it into its muscle memory of what makes a successful jump. Back when he was one of the few who did an arm over the head (because no points...), Brian Boitano was quoted as saying that he actually found it very very difficult to do a triple Lutz in the regular position after he trained himself to do it with the arm overhead.

I personally find it an interesting and rewardable "feature" on one or two jumps, but think it's ridiculous to allow people to rack up so many extra points for the same "feature" on all their jumps.  It's kind of like Elaine Zayak repeating the same triple 5 or 6 times in a program in the early 80s because she was one of the few who had a reliable triple, and it got so much credit.  That's why we got the "Zayak" rule about limits on repeating the same jump. I hope we get a similar "hand-over-head" rule in the next amendments to the technical guidelines.  

People have varying opinions about the aesthetic quality of the hand low and curved over the head (making a sort of "spiral" effect), vs stuck high in the air like a flag. I personally don't care much - I think it looks pretty too - as long as it's not every. flipping. jump.

[vibeology]

14 minutes ago, absnow54 said:

When they kept on replaying the clip of Alina doing a never ending triple combo at practice, the commentators kept saying it was to intimidate her competitors, but the way she went bounding towards her coaches after the fact to tell them how many she did, it looked more like a little girl seeking approval from her parents. I felt bad for both the Russians, because the commentary seemed to be "this is the peak of their lives, after today they'll no longer be useful because there's an endless supply on reserve set to replace them."

Yep. Maybe it was head games but to me it really read like someone who loves skating doing something cool because she could and because it's exciting. When we get to this level its such serious business but I try to remember that these women do this because they love to skate.

[displayname]

For people thinking Med should've won: 

Look at the inside edge of her "lutz", and how she almost presses her full blade instead of her toe pick into the ice to take off. She didn't get a deduction for this and got +1.6 GOE.

[Jeddah]

39 minutes ago, alexa said:

And unfortunately, she is going to be remembered more for this than the triple axel.  Once you have put your foot in your mouth and get a little cocky, you are no longer a darling.  She knows better, even if she was not fully meaning all that has been quoted--she knows you have to be careful what you say.  And to have received a spot on the Olympics, and then act like you don't care about the individual event is just crap.  I would have rather had a lower level skater come in and give it their all than to have someone receive a bronze team medal and say screw the individual event/I want to be a star, take me DWTS.

I doubt that’s what she’ll be remembered for. This won’t be a news story after today. In the future every time an America women lands a triple axel in the Olympics the commentators are going to say “Mirai Nagasu was the first American woman to land one in the Olympics.” It will be mentioned all the time. We still hear about Kimmie Meisner’s triple axel, and I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a video of it. I don’t even know what competition it was at, but I still know she landed one. Besides the triple axel, I think Mirai will be remembered for winning Nationals when she was really young and being left off the 2014 team. I really think these comments will be a blip.

I also think it’s okay to be happy with a bronze medal in the team event, or even just to be happy to be there. She was crushed not to be there last time, but now being happy to be there isn’t enough? Patrick Chan came in focused on the team medal. Plushenko did it last Olympics. Some people just really value a team medal. 

[Ohwell]

Ooof.  So many skaters falling.  I turned away from this several times because I felt sorry for them. 

My favorite performance was from the Japanese woman Miyahara, who I thought gave a delightful performance.  I was bummed that she got booted to 4th place by that Canadian skater Osmond, who took bronze.  She was good but I thought she was boring to watch.

Didn't care at all about the Battle of the Russian Bots. 

[BitterApple]

Idk, to me, if you're not going to go into every event with the mindset that you're going to kick ass and take names, then you have no business being at the Olympics. I don't know if Marai is implying she only cared about the team event as an excuse for why she bombed in the individual or what, but that's a pretty piss-poor attitude to have, in my opinion. 

And as far as her "saving" the team, the only one who stunk was Nathan Chen. Everyone else performed beautifully, so I'm not sure where she's getting that.

OhWell, Miyahara was my favorite as well. I thought she was fantastic in both the short and the long.

Edited February 23, 2018 by BitterApple