The Russians I think are making the right decision. Olympic gold medalists get a lot of rewards including a life time stipend if they win an OGM.
Or extenuating circumstances like COVID, other medical, etc. -- but that's the crux for me. The implication of how readily the US fed was going to be bypassing Nationals results hadn't sunk in with me until this season played out.
That's what they should do! Compete as the Russian Orthodox Church. They could take on Team Vatican.small offtopic: I accidentally turned on an automatic translator into Russian on this article, and the abbreviation ROС was first translated as the Republic of China, and then as the Russian Orthodox Church
I'm confused by the selection process. Have there been any articles or statements explaining the choices, or even announcing them? Am I just out of the loop, or was the selection of Karen truly made official at the very last minute? I've found it very frustrating to keep track of the news and updates this Olympics.
I read somewhere (too much "information" has been floating around recently) that Karen was chosen shortly after Nationals. Apparently both Alysa and Mariah, both of whom had better seasons/body of work/ Olympic team selection rankings than Karen, were passed over. The fact that they both had COVID at the time the selection was made seems to be the reason. But in the end, with Vincent not performing well enough and the likelihood that our pairs team may not do as well as needed in the free skate, it doesn't really matter. The US is going to get a silver medal. Gold was always the longest of long shots.
True about Brandon--can't explain. But what other explanation is there for not going with the two skaters who by all objective criteria, and by the criteria the USFSA had published, should have been first and second choice?
Maybe, as to Karen and Mariah. Alysa had a better record than both. Maybe COVID was the tie-breaker that kept Mariah off the TE.
I personally don't know the inner workings of USFSA but others have suggested either politics or favoritism may have been involved.
Mariah gave an interview already in Beijing and said she still did not know who would be skating in the team event. Yeah, the selection process was pretty opaque and I thought she deserved to be on the team just as much as Karen.
but Schizas has been doing very well in the SP most of the times...a surprise to some... a clutch performance, yes... but her interview is clear : she was expecting to nail the SP as she has been nailing it time and after time again. Maybe it's time to give her some credit for what she can do well. She is not as strong in the LP but that could change too
To my perception, she is better than Gubanova and Karen. Her jumps are better, smoother, and with more ease. She also performs really well. She is engaging and fun to watch. She has also improved her speed a lot. Maybe it's time she is seen as a contender at the same level of Gubanova and the USA ladies...
