2018 Pyeongchang Olympics | FIGURE SKATING | Feb 9th - 23rd

Daisy Jane

everything is gonna be okay!
Jul 2, 2009
70,212
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Yep. Timing sucks sometimes. She seems like a happy, laughing type. Wonder what this does to her. I'm sure she'll bounce back she's a fierce competitor.


Well we'll see what happens.
This is Lipinski and Kwan all over again. tech vs. art. but in this case, I think Evgenia skated tentative and not to lose, while Kaetlyn + Alina skated to win.
 
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UsernameWasTaken

Let's Go Hawks!
Feb 11, 2012
26,148
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I hate Russians...she'S not even happy with a silver and she performed so well...

Stupid stupid example for our youngsters...

Come on...she has been the world gold medalist in this event the last two years - and arguably the most dominant skater in any event over the last three seasons (below are her results)...I don't fault her for her moment of anguish. And "our youngsters"? Medvedeva herself is 18.

63uM1PY.png
 

nickp91

Registered User
Jun 29, 2011
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It's crazy to me that the US isn't in the top 3 of figure skaters. Growing up in the 90s, we dominated!
 

shortshorts

Registered User
Oct 29, 2008
12,637
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Zagitova is too young to even realize that she's won a gold medal.

Makes Medvedeva's reaction much more endearing. It's too bad I found her free skate rather bland.
 

GKJ

Global Moderator
Feb 27, 2002
185,633
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Didn't realize Emmi Peltonen was Ville's daughter. Not that I wouldn't think that, but saw her name and looked it up.
 

AshleyN

Registered User
Jan 16, 2009
143
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imo a big problem for the US re women's event is they were really slow to deal with the reality of the new scoring system domestically. The skaters who were competing in senior when the new system came in were okay because everyone was adjusting to it - but they didn't deal with it well at the development level and that created a 'trickle up' problem when the skaters got to senior.

They've gotten better now - they've introduced changes at the junior/novice level to encourage skaters to take more technical risk (and, like it or not, technical ability is what pushes skaters to the front of the pack internationally).
That's interesting, especially since it seems to be the opposite in dance which has become the USA's strongest discipline by far. I think the biggest reason why (North) American teams were able to break through decades of European dominance there (and why Davis/White -- along with Virtue/Moir -- were able to climb up the rankings so quickly despite Ice Dance being famous for its "wait your turn" mentality) was the fact that they were able to master the new system so quickly. IIRC Davis and White were actually the first team to receive all Level 4s on their elements in a program.

Although, that probably has more to do with Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva than anything coming from the national federation(s): they coached both Virtue/Moir and Davis/White, along with Belbin/Agosto, the Shibs and Chock/Bates and, at first at least, really seemed to "get" the system better than other coaches.
 
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UsernameWasTaken

Let's Go Hawks!
Feb 11, 2012
26,148
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That's interesting, especially since it seems to be the opposite in dance which has become the USA's strongest discipline by far. I think the biggest reason why (North) American teams were able to break through decades of European dominance there (and why Davis/White -- along with Virtue/Moir -- were able to climb up the rankings so quickly despite Ice Dance being famous for its "wait your turn" mentality) was the fact that they were able to master the new system so quickly. IIRC Davis and White were actually the first team to receive all Level 4s on their elements in a program.

Although, that probably has more to do with Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva than anything coming from the national federation(s): they coached both Virtue/Moir and Davis/White, along with Belbin/Agosto, the Shibs and Chock/Bates and, at first at least, really seemed to "get" the system better than other coaches.

IMO ice dance was the easiest to "corrupt" because there was little about it that leant itself to objective analysis. It's been a frustration for Canada (pre-Virtue/Moir) at the Olympic level - b/c Canada won ice dancing medals at the world championships a pretty consistent clip since the late 80s only to watch Euro countries make the podium at the Olympics.

I agree that a huge benefit from the judging system is to reduce the nonsense you used to get in ice dance - it's still not perfect, but it's much better.

I'm really interested to see how Canada's recent competitiveness in the ladies' event manifests itself at the junior level. Because the ladies event has historically been the weakest discipline for Canada there's been a trend of female skaters switching to pairs. I'm hoping that Kaetlyn/Gabby motivate younger skaters.
 
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BMann

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May 18, 2006
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Watford
Great result one and two and with Kostornaia, Trusova and Rakhanova on the way the future is bright (depending on how they get through puberty) on the womens side. I prefer Kostornaia's style but the way the judging system is run dictates routines with a focus on technical elements.

Hugely disappointed by the pairs/dance and men. There are some highly promising juniors but the loss of so many Russian coaches to North America has been detrimental.
 

AshleyN

Registered User
Jan 16, 2009
143
15
I'm really interested to see how Canada's recent competitiveness in the ladies' event manifests itself at the junior level. Because the ladies event has historically been the weakest discipline for Canada there's been a trend of female skaters switching to pairs. I'm hoping that Kaetlyn/Gabby motivate younger skaters.
Yeah, as someone who grew up at a time when Canadian ladies were lucky to get Top 10 results, seeing them have multiple medal contenders at the same time is kind of crazy. Before Joannie Rochette, I don't remember Canada ever having real medal contenders in that discipline (Liz Manley was before my time). Hopefully this isn't just a blip on the radar and Skate Canada is able to build on this.

One thing I find interesting is that even the Canadians who do find success seem to follow a different path than ladies from other countries. They tend to peak later -- Osmond is 22 and her best results have come in the last two years, Rochette's came when she was 23/24 -- and aesthetically they don't fall into the "baby ballerina" stereotype that people associate with women's skating. Personally I don't mind it -- as impressive as someone like Zagitova is, it's hard not to imagine her following the path of so many other teenage phenoms who burst onto the scene, won a big competition or two, and were barely heard from again after (see: four of the last six Olympic gold medalists). There's something kind of nice about an athlete who's able to stick around and steadily improve in a sport where women are considered past their primes once they exit their teens.
 

TheBeastCoast

Registered User
Mar 23, 2011
30,940
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Dartmouth,NS
Anybody have any info on the Gala? I have heard it being talked about but there is absolutely nothing on the CBC site about when or if it is being broadcast.
 

Cloned

Begging for Bega
Aug 25, 2003
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Yeah, as someone who grew up at a time when Canadian ladies were lucky to get Top 10 results, seeing them have multiple medal contenders at the same time is kind of crazy. Before Joannie Rochette, I don't remember Canada ever having real medal contenders in that discipline (Liz Manley was before my time). Hopefully this isn't just a blip on the radar and Skate Canada is able to build on this.

One thing I find interesting is that even the Canadians who do find success seem to follow a different path than ladies from other countries. They tend to peak later -- Osmond is 22 and her best results have come in the last two years, Rochette's came when she was 23/24 -- and aesthetically they don't fall into the "baby ballerina" stereotype that people associate with women's skating. Personally I don't mind it -- as impressive as someone like Zagitova is, it's hard not to imagine her following the path of so many other teenage phenoms who burst onto the scene, won a big competition or two, and were barely heard from again after (see: four of the last six Olympic gold medalists). There's something kind of nice about an athlete who's able to stick around and steadily improve in a sport where women are considered past their primes once they exit their teens.

Zagitova strikes me as somebody who will really struggle if she hits a growth spurt of any sort in the next 2 years.

Evgenia is more balanced and I think will be around for a while yet.

If Daleman can recover from this Olympics, she should be a medal favourite in 2022.
 

Cloned

Begging for Bega
Aug 25, 2003
78,946
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Some of these gala routines are better than the actual performance routines.
 

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