Figure Skating

[Enero]

23 minutes ago, galaxygirl76 said:

I think (she?) needs help...

They all do. It’s not just scary that this person is writing such a blog in truth and not jest, though jest would be too much too, but that there are readers who believe what’s being written. ? 

Look at the comments below that entry. Scary. 

[Cindyluwho]

34 minutes ago, Growsonwalls said:

Ok so if anyone wants to read perhaps the best blog entry of all time about the secret baby:

http://dubemoir.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-thought-about-little-moir.html

Wow...I don't know what to say. That blogger is disturbed!

[Growsonwalls]

Here's another gem, another post deeply concerned about how "Toddler Moir" will grow up with parents who lock her in the basement:

http://dubemoir.blogspot.com/2013/08/i-feel-bad-for-toddler-moir.html

[legaleagle53]

Love him or hate him, you have to admit, Adam Rippon at least has a sense of humor:

[BitterApple]

Okay, those bloggers scare the shit out of me and give me Kathy Bates in Misery vibes. But here's my question: if Tessa and Scott were a couple and/or had a child, why would there be any need to keep it a secret? Gordeeva and Grinkov did it in the 90s and it wasn't career-ending or scandalous. 

[Daisy]

1 hour ago, helsinkibaby said:

For me, I thought the free dance in Sochi could have gone either way, depending on how each skated on the day and I have no issues with Meryl and Charlie winning that with how they skated. 

 

As for the short, what’s quoted above is pretty much how I remember feeling. I thought that Tessa and Scott should have won that portion and while I’d never hold myself up as an ice dance expert (I can barely recognise an edge!) there were several experts - the Eurosport commentators, IIRC, definitely Robin Cousins, Petri Kokko who invented the Finnstep!) all went on record as saying that Tessa and Scott should have been in first. The ubers then took that to mean that the fix was in and ran with that idea. Me, I disagree with the SD placement but not their final standings. 

 

I think had Tessa + Scott been scored correctly in the SD and Charlie + Meryl won, I think a lot of the "OMG THEY WUZ ROBBED! FIXED" would have null. because C/M's free dance was really pretty. but i also remember reading that T/S's routines were underscored a lot that season as well - it was puzzling that they didnt make tweaks to compensate. 

[CarbonCopy]

3 hours ago, cleo said:

I really believe when they say they are just friends, although I do wonder what will happen now if they retire and the impact it will have on their relationship. After spending so much intense time together for so many years, it may be hard to separate

I believe Scott when he said they are doing their jobs. And the endless shipping proves they are good at it. But it also shows how society has to turn every connection into a sexual/romantic love. For me, I think it’s incredible to think of people forging a relationship of love and trust and it is not about having sex and getting married and having kids. Like Mulder and Scully before they were ruined, heh. That kind of relationship is more rare than the other kind, but people just want to put everything in this little box that fits their understanding of how men and women should relate. 

I also believe them when they say they're not dating.  However, I do think he does have feelings for her.  I know they're acting but they're not THAT good.  I've seen sometimes the way he looks at her like a man in love (when they're off the ice) and it's very sweet.  She's more reserved and closed off.  Can't get a good read from her.

Edited February 20, 2018 by CarbonCopy

[displayname]

11 hours ago, Mellowyellow said:

Yuna debacle where that awful jumping girl (who looked awful on ice) won.

XD

[vibeology]

33 minutes ago, LadyKenobi said:

Oh! And guys! Don’t worry if you miss the hideous MR soundtrack—we get to hear exactly the same cuts all over again when Karen Chen skates!

Enjoy it while you can. I have a feeling that The Greatest Showman is about to become the movie musical everyone wants to skate to starting next season.

[HartofDixie]

22 minutes ago, LadyKenobi said:

D/Ws “My Fair Lady” and FD from 2014 were still head and shoulders over anything I saw the past couple days. They are so classy on and off the ice. Great leaders.

Love these programs!

[displayname]

19 minutes ago, HartofDixie said:

Love these programs!

 

I actually don't like their Scheherezade, the last section is too slow for the music, and they slowed down the music right at the end to do the lifts, which don't really match the music too well.

Edited February 20, 2018 by fan94

[Athena]

Hey all, we'd appreciate you focusing the discussion on the skaters and not their fans. Snarking about other fans is how forums get trolls and flame wars. Thank you. 

[herbz]

2 hours ago, helsinkibaby said:

For me, I thought the free dance in Sochi could have gone either way, depending on how each skated on the day and I have no issues with Meryl and Charlie winning that with how they skated. 

 

As for the short, what’s quoted above is pretty much how I remember feeling. I thought that Tessa and Scott should have won that portion and while I’d never hold myself up as an ice dance expert (I can barely recognise an edge!) there were several experts - the Eurosport commentators, IIRC, definitely Robin Cousins, Petri Kokko who invented the Finnstep!) all went on record as saying that Tessa and Scott should have been in first. The ubers then took that to mean that the fix was in and ran with that idea. Me, I disagree with the SD placement but not their final standings. 

This is pretty much exactly right- I broke down the Sochi SD judging mess in the earliest pages of this thread. Virtue and Moir were quite obviously underscored for the best short dance of the competition. I also don't believe it would have affected the final standings, but it seems a bit unfair psychologically to have to go into the second part of the competition knowing you've got to try and make up a 2 point deficit that shouldn't have existed in the first place. 

What *really* made people cry fix was that underscoring combined with a pre-Olympic report in L'Equipe citing a Russian whistleblower claiming that the Russian and American federations had come to an agreement to help each other out in the team event and dance respectively. That's why so much noise was made by Canada, because that dodgy SD scoring suddenly gave that report credence when most people had previously dismissed it. 

Meryl and Charlie would have rightfully won anyway on the strength of the FD. Avoidable circumstances gave the regrettable impression that the judges didn't believe they could do it without help and that's not fair to any of the athletes involved.

Edited February 20, 2018 by herbz

[Mindthinkr]

Since there were a lot of good guesses re: last night’s medal winners...who do y’all have picked for the top three tonight? Winner? (Yes, I’m aware that it’s only the short program but I want your opinions before the ladies begin to skate.) 

[cpcathy]

Watched the Scheherezade routine, it was all right. Am I being an old fogie, or does anyone else miss the ice dance style of old, i.e., the eighties, Torvill and Dean style. I hate that you have to have these spins and twizzles, the rules are really making the programs quite boring.

[displayname]

5 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

Since there were a lot of good guesses re: last night’s medal winners...who do y’all have picked for the top three tonight? Winner? (Yes, I’m aware that it’s only the short program but I want your opinions before the ladies begin to skate.) 

Zag, Med, Osmond

 

SP only.

Edited February 20, 2018 by fan94

[Moxie Cat]

11 minutes ago, herbz said:

but it seems a bit unfair psychologically to have to go into the second part of the competition knowing you've got to try and make up a 2 point deficit that shouldn't have existed in the first place. 

I feel like the Shibs actually dealt with this last night, with an underscored SP. They just got lucky with H/D's mistakes.

It seems to me that the judging panel entered this competition expecting to award "this year's" anointed ice dancers, P/C and H/D (with a grudging silver to V/M) but circumstances conspired to make that impossible. Maybe the universe figured out things out in the end.

[absnow54]

Since there were a lot of good guesses re: last night’s medal winners...who do y’all have picked for the top three tonight? Winner? (Yes, I’m aware that it’s only the short program but I want your opinions before the ladies begin to skate.)

I think if Mirai can land the triple axel, she might sneak in for third. The only way Russia won't go one-two on the podium is if one has a Yulia meltdown, or the IOC grows a pair and bans OAR from the rest of the competition after the curling doping. Carolina Kostner had a pretty strong short program, so I think she'll go number three tonight, but slip out of podium position during the free skate. The Canadians are also strong contenders.

[Growsonwalls]

I feel the judges were ready to hand it to P/C but that for whatever reason P/C came to this Olympics oddly underprepared. The SP dress AFAIK was a last minute thing -- don't know what happened to the previous ones. The FD had a lot less content than their FD's of previous years. They let the embarrassment in the SP rattle them in a way I wouldn't have expected.

I expect in four years they'll be way stronger. I'm sort of glad they won the silver because that means they'll probably work on the things they need to improve and be a better version of themselves in the next quad. A blessing in disguise. 

[herbz]

25 minutes ago, Moxie Cat said:

I feel like the Shibs actually dealt with this last night, with an underscored SP. They just got lucky with H/D's mistakes.

It seems to me that the judging panel entered this competition expecting to award "this year's" anointed ice dancers, P/C and H/D (with a grudging silver to V/M) but circumstances conspired to make that impossible. Maybe the universe figured out things out in the end.

Yes, looking at the PCS many of the judges tried quite hard to give it to P/C. Tbh, if France instead of Canada had been on that FD panel they might have succeeded, and then we'd be in trouble. It was only a flawless technical performance from V/M, by far their best all season, that meant their levels were such that they couldn't be denied. That audience would have caused a riot anyway as they were so obviously on their side by the end of the twizzle sequence. V/M were asked about the SD scoring in an interview last night and while they tiptoed (someone's been media trained since Sochi :P) around the subject they basically admitted they'd looked at the protocols and knew from the PCS it was an uphill battle. I have to admire them for pulling it off under that sort of pressure. The Shibs were in a very similar position and also rose to the occasion magnificently.

The universe works in funny ways, I guess! I'm starting to wonder if I should be worried about the Ladies, because what's an Olympics without a figure skating scandal? 

Edited February 20, 2018 by herbz

[stealinghome]

6 minutes ago, Growsonwalls said:

I feel the judges were ready to hand it to P/C but that for whatever reason P/C came to this Olympics oddly underprepared. The SP dress AFAIK was a last minute thing -- don't know what happened to the previous ones. 

Didn’t the announcers say that several teams busted out new outfits for the Olympics? I think that’s *such* a bad idea, and poor P/C show exactly why! It would be like, I don’t know, a soccer player waiting until the World Cup final to play in a new style/pair of cleats they’d tried on once for two minutes. To me, the biggest competition of your life just seems like it would not be the time to try out something new gear-wise.

[displayname]

7 minutes ago, herbz said:

The universe works in funny ways, I guess! I'm starting to wonder if I should be worried about the Ladies, because what's an Olympics without a figure skating scandal? 

What scandal would the ladies be?

[herbz]

14 minutes ago, Growsonwalls said:

I feel the judges were ready to hand it to P/C but that for whatever reason P/C came to this Olympics oddly underprepared. The SP dress AFAIK was a last minute thing -- don't know what happened to the previous ones. The FD had a lot less content than their FD's of previous years. They let the embarrassment in the SP rattle them in a way I wouldn't have expected.

I expect in four years they'll be way stronger. I'm sort of glad they won the silver because that means they'll probably work on the things they need to improve and be a better version of themselves in the next quad. A blessing in disguise. 

I think not doing the Team Event was their biggest error in judgement. V/M got a dress run and managed to iron out every single tech call they'd missed in the TE. Kurt Browning said that dress had been causing issues in practice and that they were sewing it up in the warm up- that's really something that could've been dealt with earlier if they didn't arrive so late.

1 minute ago, fan94 said:

What scandal would the ladies be?

No clue tbh, I'm just unused to there being no controversy over podium finishes! 

Edited February 20, 2018 by herbz

[displayname]

2 minutes ago, herbz said:

No clue tbh, I'm just unused to there being no controversy over podium finishes! 

The only scandal I can think of is if Med finishes ahead of Zag even if they're both clean.

5 minutes ago, herbz said:

I think not doing the Team Event was their biggest error in judgement. V/M got a dress run and managed to iron out every single tech call they'd missed in the TE. Kurt Browning said that dress had been causing issues in practice and that they were sewing it up in the warm up- that's really something that could've been dealt with earlier if they didn't arrive so late.

5 minutes ago, fan94 said:

That and V/M and shibs got the crowd on their side with the team event. 

 

They played it well.

[herbz]

11 minutes ago, fan94 said:

The only scandal I can think of is if Med finishes ahead of Zag even if they're both clean.

That and V/M and shibs got the crowd on their side with the team event. 

 

They played it well.

Yeah, the difference in crowd interest was really noticeable whenever V/M and the Shibs came on. V/M's free and the Shibs twizzles in particular they went a bit bonkers over. My commentators were waxing lyrical about P/C's ability to transfix an audience, but the response seemed quite muted. If they'd built up a presence with them before and had the confidence to enter the TE believing that their programs would beat V/M (the judges would have gone there!) it might have been a different story. Who knows? I don't think it could have hurt them to participate though.

Edited February 20, 2018 by herbz

[Jeddah]

19 minutes ago, Growsonwalls said:

I feel the judges were ready to hand it to P/C but that for whatever reason P/C came to this Olympics oddly underprepared. The SP dress AFAIK was a last minute thing -- don't know what happened to the previous ones. The FD had a lot less content than their FD's of previous years. They let the embarrassment in the SP rattle them in a way I wouldn't have expected.

I expect in four years they'll be way stronger. I'm sort of glad they won the silver because that means they'll probably work on the things they need to improve and be a better version of themselves in the next quad. A blessing in disguise. 

That looks like the same SP dress she’s worn all season. I know he had a different costume. When did she have a different dress?

Virtue and Moir seemed to have different costumes every time they performed!

I didn’t think P/C looked unprepared at all. They won the free dance. They kept going strong in the SD in spite of a big distraction. I don’t think an unprepared team could have done either of those things.

[HartofDixie]

51 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

Since there were a lot of good guesses re: last night’s medal winners...who do y’all have picked for the top three tonight? Winner? (Yes, I’m aware that it’s only the short program but I want your opinions before the ladies begin to skate.) 

I'm going with Zagitova/Med/Osmond for top 3 short but anything is possible!

38 minutes ago, absnow54 said:

I think if Mirai can land the triple axel, she might sneak in for third. The only way Russia won't go one-two on the podium is if one has a Yulia meltdown, or the IOC grows a pair and bans OAR from the rest of the competition after the curling doping. Carolina Kostner had a pretty strong short program, so I think she'll go number three tonight, but slip out of podium position during the free skate. The Canadians are also strong contenders.

The big question will be if she decides to throw it in her short.  At this point why not??  She's already made history and has a team medal so she has nothing to lose.

[Vera]

The audience had already seen V/M and the Shibs programs. They knew what to expect. Both teams also have a very accessible FD. V/M with those gorgeously timed twizzles and those lifts and the Shibs with those twizzles, the crowd knew where to clap and were there to root for them. 

P/C, have an FD that I think peaked earlier in the season artistically. They are a little like the Mona Lisa for me. I'm told it's impressive, but I just don't see it (was so disappointed when I visited the Louvre). Personally, when I think of Moonlight Sonata, I think of G/G. I think MS is a piece of music that you have to look and skate precise. All through their footwork sequences, I noticed that while they lift their arms or legs, they aren't in unison, they end in different places. They place their spins in the Presto section, which takes me straight out of the performance.

H/D don't have accessible music. I like the choreo but the music is snooze-worthy. They weren't going to have the crowd with it.

8 minutes ago, Jeddah said:

Virtue and Moir seemed to have different costumes every time they performed!

 

She's had two SD dresses and 3 FD dresses and any number of practice outfits, cut in the style of the program outfits but without the embellishments!

Edited February 20, 2018 by Vera

[absnow54]

The only scandal I can think of is if Med finishes ahead of Zag even if they're both clean.

The other other Russian wins!

The big question will be if she decides to throw it in her short. At this point why not?? She's already made history and has a team medal so she has nothing to lose.

It was in both programs at Nationals, so I'm sure it will be here too, because, yeah, she has nothing to lose (and I don't think there's anyway she'll make the podium without it in both.)

Edited February 20, 2018 by absnow54

[RHJunkie]

1 hour ago, CarbonCopy said:

I also believe them when they say they're not dating.  However, I do think he does have feelings for her.  I know they're acting but they're not THAT good.  I've seen sometimes the way he looks at her like a man in love (when they're off the ice) and it's very sweet.  She's more reserved and closed off.  Can't get a good read from her.

I think they're is definitely love there and while I believe that they aren't dating, I wouldn't be surprised if that ever became the case. They've gone through a lot with one another and in their most challenging times throughout the years had a direct/indirect impact on one another. They did a Ted talk where they mentioned that at a young age they went to therapy to learn how to better understand each other's personalities and communicate effectively with one another. Tessa said that in all of the years they've skated together, they haven't never said so much as shut up to one another or anything remotely disrespectful toward one another. They've learned from experiences on how to improve their relationship. When Tessa had surgery before Vancouver 2010, she said that she and Scott didn't keep in contact at all and that was mainly because Scott didn't want to be a reminder to her that she wasn't able to do what she loved while he was able to skate and train. After that experience, they learned from that and kept in touch when Tessa had her second surgery post Vancouver. They have invested in their partnership in many ways like people who to invest in romantic relationships and it makes me wonder how much harder it is to date other people when in so many ways you've spent all of your life with someone who seems like an ideal partner (considerate, respectful, communicative, motivating, confidence boosting, etc.). I guess it's easier if there's really no true physical connection there but when I (and MANY would agree), see them dance, you certainly wouldn't deny there is a lot of chemistry there.

[Vera]

They talk about the surgeries more here:

 

Watch only if you can stomach Jian Ghomeshi

[Mindthinkr]

45 minutes ago, fan94 said:

What scandal would the ladies be?

What if Bradie Tennell puts in a superb skate?  I don’t know that it would be enough to beat the Russians but we’ve seen upsets before. 

Edited February 20, 2018 by Mindthinkr
Punctuation

[displayname]

12 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

What if Bradie Tennell puts in a superb skate?  I don’t know that it would be enough to beat the Russians but we’ve seen upsets before. 

 

Bradie Tennell's skating may be best described as "juniorish".

 

True for Zag (and Med to an extent, too), but they're still not skating to Cinderella.

 

The ISU won't be letting her win with Cinderella. I guess her not winning after being the only skater to not fall twice would be a scandal, though.

Edited February 20, 2018 by fan94

[HartofDixie]

12 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

What if Bradie Tennell puts in a superb skate?  I don’t know that it would be enough to beat the Russians but we’ve seen upsets before. 

 

It will be interesting to see what the judges do if she hits.  It won't be easy in the first group (& first skater).  She scored 67.01 at Skate America and 68.94 (seasons best) in the Team Event.

I feel we've forgotten about Karen Chen!  I hope all 3 do well tonight and make it into the final two groups!

Edited February 20, 2018 by HartofDixie
Karen Chen

[scarynikki12]

The backloading makes the difference. Everyone else can hit but they won’t win due to the backloading. Med and Zagi would need to fall on every jump to even the field. 

[proserpina65]

Two thoughts on last night's dance final:

I'd have been happy with either of the top two pairs winning.  They were both spectacular, albeit in very different ways.

I'm deeply disappointed that the Shibutanis got the bronze.  (I can't say that Hubbell & Donohue were robbed because they did make mistakes, but still . . .)  They skate with all the passion and emotion of teenage siblings forced onto the ice by their parents, you could change out their music and their skating would look exactly the same, and they got that lame Coldplay song stuck in my head.  (There are Coldplay songs I like, but Paradise is not one of them.  Neither is Fix You, actually.)

[stealinghome]

53 minutes ago, herbz said:

I think not doing the Team Event was their biggest error in judgement. V/M got a dress run and managed to iron out every single tech call they'd missed in the TE. Kurt Browning said that dress had been causing issues in practice and that they were sewing it up in the warm up- that's really something that could've been dealt with earlier if they didn't arrive so late.

It DOES feel like this year was a great advertisement for top teams participating in the team event for self-interested reasons, possibility of another medal aside. I do agree it gave V/M a slight edge over P/C and the Shibs one over H/D; it certainly didn’t seem to hurt Duhamel and Radford, Savchenko and Massot, or Shoma, and may well have helped one or more of them; and it definitely feels like it helped Rippon, Nagasu, and Tennell, regardless of where the latter two end up.

[Growsonwalls]

56 minutes ago, Jeddah said:

That looks like the same SP dress she’s worn all season. I know he had a different costume. When did she have a different dress?

Virtue and Moir seemed to have different costumes every time they performed!

I didn’t think P/C looked unprepared at all. They won the free dance. They kept going strong in the SD in spite of a big distraction. I don’t think an unprepared team could have done either of those things.

In the Grand Prix Final the dress looks different. Same design, but you can see it's more of a crop top than a one-piece and held up by thicker straps and illusion fabric:

[CeeBeeGee]

19 minutes ago, fan94 said:

Bradie Tennell's skating may be best described as "juniorish".

 

True for Zag (and Med to an extent, too), but they're still not skating to Cinderella.

 

The ISU won't be letting her win with Cinderella. I guess her not winning after being the only skater to not fall twice would be a scandal, though.

Well. So was Yulia Lipniskaia's. And Tara Lipinskis (OMG that dirndl...). Clearly it didn't hurt them that much! But they were interesting to watch in a way that (IMO) Bradie isn't. 

[Jeddah]

8 minutes ago, Growsonwalls said:

In the Grand Prix Final the dress looks different. Same design, but you can see it's more of a crop top than a one-piece and held up by thicker straps and illusion fabric:

I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on the this one. It looks like the exact same dress to me.

[kittykat]

27 minutes ago, HartofDixie said:

It will be interesting to see what the judges do if she hits.  It won't be easy in the first group (& first skater).  She scored 67.01 at Skate America and 68.94 (seasons best) in the Team Event.

I feel we've forgotten about Karen Chen!  I hope all 3 do well tonight and make it into the final two groups!

I was just about to mention Karen Chen.  Most talk is about Mirai or possibly Bradie but could Karen be a dark horse?

[Growsonwalls]

There's also way more beading around the mid-riff in the Olympic dress:

Grand Prix dress:

 

Olympic dress (tagged because it might be NSFW):

Spoiler

[Avaleigh]

In terms of predictions for the ladies tonight, IF everyone skates clean (not super likely) I'm thnking:

Alina

Evgenia

Mirai

Kaetlyn

Carolina

Maria

Gabrielle

Satoko

Bradie

Kaori

Karen

The battle for third is going to be the most interesting part of the competition because I feel like there are four or five realistic contenders. Mirai's triple axel is a real wild card here. I can't decide if she'll be properly rewarded or not. I've also never really understood why her PCS are so low in comparison to others. 

Most of us here may not like Maria's 'tanos but she's certainly being rewarded for them. 

Carolina will be propped up no matter what IMO. I've never agreed with the general consensus that she's God's gift when it comes to artistry. Her programs come across as watered down and lackluster and she's not as fast as she used to be. Her spins are average too.

I love Kaetlyn and Gabrielle and they're my next picks if Mirai chokes and winds up out of medal contention. I give Kaetlyn a slight edge over Gabrielle but acknowledge that she's more likely to crash and burn in comparison to Daleman. I just wish Gabrielle had a more difficult combo in the short.

I really like Satoko's programs this year but wonder if she'll have any under rotation issues.

I know Bradie won nationals but I don't see her making the top six. 

As for Alina vs. Evgenia, I prefer Alina even with the annoying ass backloading. At least her attempts at artistry don't revolve around her keeping her mouth in an O position through half of her program while she furrows her brow with an ever so delicately pained expression. I also prefer Alina's rippons over Evgenia's 'tanos. If a not!Russian has to win I'm pullin for Alina.

At least it won't be as frustrating as Adelina's win. Gah, that one frustrates me even more than Oksana beating Nancy.

Edited February 20, 2018 by Avaleigh

[Moxie Cat]

To me, the difference between Lipnitskaya, Tara, other "juniorish" young senior skaters is that most of them have much better charisma and performance ability. Bradie is like a blank slate when she's on the ice. Even less dynamic skaters who focus more on tech (like Nathan) usually come alive during gala performances, but man, Bradie was even dull at the Nationals gala. Maybe experience will build her confidence and her performance ability will improve, but I'm not sure that charisma can 100% be learned.

[Jeddah]

3 minutes ago, Growsonwalls said:

There's also way more beading around the mid-riff in the Olympic dress:

Grand Prix dress:

 

Olympic dress (tagged because it might be NSFW):

  Reveal hidden contents

Like I said, I’m just going to agree to disagree here. You have not convinced me that it was a brand new dress.

[Growsonwalls]

This is in Russian but here's a good interview with Aliona Savchenko:

https://rsport.ria.ru/winter2018_analytics/20180220/1132914981.html

Here's a good quote about how I think teams need to be when things are not going so hot:

Quote

After Bruno rolled it looked like it was ready to lie right under the filling machine right now and stay on this rink - forever rolled into the ice.

- He, of course, was in shock. I understood how hard we were going to this goal, and suddenly ... I pushed myself out on the ice: "I made a double."

- And you?

- Said: "So what? Double, so double." When we returned home, gathered the whole team, reassured Bruno, as best they could. They said: "Stop, it's all in the past.Today, there's already no, forget about it.Tomorrow will be a new day, and tomorrow you should be like a tiger." I think that we really reassured him, and he started himself on hire.

[selkie]

5 hours ago, kili said:

It works so well in other sports though. If you watch the snowboarders or free stylists, they all seem pretty happy to spend some time in the winners spot and happily congratulate the person that makes them move over. I think because in those sports, they are happy to see their friends do well and have a healthier view of competition. 

In alpine skiing, the World Cup season is pretty long and involved, and it seems like so many athletes makes friends with each other when they can figure out a common language because there is so much time spent together in the same small ski villages outside of racing. Lindsey Vonn and Sofia Goggia comes across as BFF and they're always having a great time together when both hit a podium. 

[Growsonwalls]

I think it's easier to be friends in fields that are not tainted by questionable judging or rampant doping. Alpine skiing is a great example -- you have a horrid race or you have a great race but you're racing against the clock. You didn't lose because a judge gave you level 3's on a step sequence and gave the other team level 4's. 

Sports that are tainted by rampant doping are also similarly catty and competitive. One reason Lance Armstrong finally got caught is that the U.S. Cycling teams' relationships had broken down to such an extent that no one was willing to keep anyone else's secret anymore. 

[BitterApple]

I've noticed gymnasts don't seem to be particularly friendly towards each other either, so maybe there's just more cattiness in subjective sports as opposed to the ones where you're against the clock. 

[Tanichka]

44 minutes ago, Growsonwalls said:

Grand Prix dress:

Never mind HER outfit - what is up with his?