2022 U.S. Nationals: Senior Men's Free Skate

[norwegianfairytale]

1. No one knows

2. Immediately after the men’s victory ceremony but will combine gala with more country concert.

3. Ben said it would be streamed but I just lost my feed.

My feed went right to the womens SP in the group Gracie skated in so i´m going to take it as a sign that I should rewatch Gracies amazing performance again instead of a country concert

 

[pianistliz]

Happy to see Nathan make uncharacteristic mistakes and be able to laugh them off. I think he's much more mentally prepared for these Olympics, and I'm glad to see it. Really sad for Vincent, I'm a fan of his and adore his skating when he's on. Jason is just pure magic and did such a great job letting the exhaustion and craziness of this week roll off his back....an extra day of travel, driving after flying, coach couldn't be with him last-minute, etc. Crazy impressed by Ilia, I def think he and Yuma are my two new-gen to watch going forward. And now that I've seen nationals and have been introduced to Ilia and Kao (and Shun earlier this year), I think I'll tune in for this year's junior worlds for the first time.

I feel the US has four outstanding men who all deserve in their own way to be at the Olympics. I desperately want Jason on the team since this will likely be his last shot, he is superb at what he does, and he was just a baby 8 years ago when he had his Olympic experience. But I'm also very attracted to Ilia's attitude and follow-through, and he definitely has that higher scoring potential. But Jason has the body of work, so technically they should give the spot to him anyway, right? I also can't imagine his iconic programs not at the Olympics...they are Olympic-worthy programs if I've ever seen them. I'm so glad I'm not deciding, and I so wish they could all go.

 

[Weathergal]

Saying that Vincent should go over Jason simply because of the medal/podium place he could get as opposed to Jason, in particular, just doesn't make sense to me. Obviously even Nathan is not perfect by any means. But Nathan and Jason have proven themselves far steadier over the course of years than Vincent, who is way more up and down. Yes, he got the third Olympic spot at Nebelhorn, but it was the spot he lost by not even making it to the free skate at Worlds. And he semi-imploded at Nationals. I just don't think that "reliability" is a reason to put him on the team.

 

[RatedPG]

I'm actually rooting for Yuzuru to get his third Olympic gold. But dunno about that quad axel talk...

Yes. That would be awesome for the history books. But, he is so stubborn with that 4A. Hanyu should focus on 4Lo to have a legit four quad layout in the free skate and no 3A to 3A combo too. His triple axel is his best jump and he should jump the axels separately. One with Loop combo. I’d rather him make history with 3A 3Lo and clean layout. If he skates cleanly, he will have a high TES score and high PCS score that would be difficult to surpass in the big stage and then he can see where the cards fall. Remember, Patrick faltered and Chen faltered in the last two Olympics and Hanyu won by being as close to his full potential as possible. That technical layout of four quads can only be beaten by clean Zhou, Uno and Chen, who all posses 5 quads in the free skate. But, my feeling is that they won’t deliver in the big stage. Zhou will falter in one of the two programs, like he did at Nationals in the free skate. Uno will REP one of his two quads or leave out a combo all together or one with just a double toe. Chen, is his biggest threat. But, with Chen’s layout in SP, with combo at the end, I can see him faltering with that decision or faltering on one of his two 4Fs in the free skate like he did here. Or both. But, my gut tells me Hanyu will place in top three after SP and then go with 4A, which will screw the rest of his program and then fall out of the podium with Chen, Uno and Kagiyama grabbing the bronze medal and me being furious with his decision. I guess we will see what happens. JPN versus USA showdown.

 

[slider11]

If Brown does not make the team it is because Zhou was overscored

 

[TontoK]

I´m worried for him testing positive. I hate to say this but his forehead looked wet before he started his FS, and he wasn´t skating right after warm up and the same at the medal ceremony. I hope it´s just my imagination or it´s just normal reaction after warming up. But I dunno, just got a bad feeling. I hope i´m totally wrong and that Jason will be fine and selected for OG.

To me, he looked really nervous before he skated.

I'm sure he had seen Ilia's practices and he knew what could happen. Anybody in his position would be nervous.

 

[Mista Ekko]

They actually picked Adam over Ross. There was no doubt that Vincent was going to be on the team that year.

Actually Adam and Jason were the ones who made the GPF that year with Nathan
So they were kinda the projected 3 before Nationals

They could've pushed Vincent out (for Miner) as he was 3rd but they wanted to cultivate him

 

[yume]

AOT new episode just came out so i can't enjoy this drama as much as i should.
The team should be Chen-Zhou-Malinin for me but they will send Brown over the kid.

 

[*~RussianBleux~*]

How do you count on Vincent in the team event at this point?

And Ilia could come in last in the free. He is not getting these big scores from the ISU.

Is Nathan going to do both?

 

[labgoat]

Well, the free program scores are used to break ties in skating. I want to. Cheer for Vincent but, you add this to him missing the free program at worlds, and I give the 3rd spot to Jason. He helped us get it, and I think he deserves to go.

I keep thinking about Vincent: He missed the cut at Worlds, he won back the spot we lost at Nebelhorn, then won Skate America, finished lower at his next Grand Prix, no GPF, and now has this freeskate. This looks like a downward trend the closer we get to Olympics. Yes he has higher scoring potential, but do I trust him?

 

[moonvine]

Thoughts from the arena: (1) I'm really happy that I finally decided to come to Nationals--every part of the experience has been positive, (2) It was lovely to see the Hall of Fame ceremony. I didn't know I would find it so moving, (3) I hope people remember all of those years when we had no men doing quads consistently and be patient with the women.

Memorable performances:

(1) Dihn Tran: He made some spectacular saves on his jumps. It was awesome to see someone just trying that hard. This is the biggest stage for skaters like himself and he had a great day.

(2) Liam Kapeikis: This is was the first truly special performance of the session. Liam has some very nice qualities including him jump landings and his overall skating. It was a pleasure to watch him.

(3) Yaro: We were gutted for him. I think if I was watching from home I would have been sad, but you feel for the person that much more in person. What a rough year for him. I'm thrilled he had that amazing short program. The crowd loves him.

(4) Camden Pulkinen: I have never seen Camden put down two programs like this in one competition. I don't love Moulin Rouge but it was a really nice performance overall. I hope he can keep this consistency.

(5) Jason Brown: The performance of the afternoon hands down!! I love that Jason is like a rock star at Nationals. The roar that he gets is really special. I have always appreciated if not loved his Schindler's list program but today was spectacular. The way he caressed the music and made so many special moments was amazing. I don't know if it comes across on the screen but the program is a stunner in person.

It was sad to watch Vincent imploding. I will say that in person he got the benefit of the doubt. A couple more of those jumps looked questionable.

(6) Ilia Malinin: My mouth is still open! This kid is a star. If this is how he reacts to pressure he has a bright future ahead. Vincent and Jason put up scores in the high 200s--you would think that would move him. Not at all. His jumps are just so easy, with no question as to whether they are clean or not. I think his spinning was better in the short but that's really nitpicking. He will mature. The sky is the limit.

(7) Nathan Chen: I was pretty nervous for this because Ilia brought it. Overall I was really happy. He has a lot of swag with Rocketman and it makes him look like a champion. The fall on the flip didn't bother me too much. I appreciate that he's being ambitious by repeating it and I understand that he had to change the layout (but I still prefer the old one--the 3A with the music used to be a moment). Silly fall during the choreo sequence but it was actually nice to see him laugh about something instead of beat himself up over it. I think he will be ready for Beijing. The crowd was extremely appreciative.

I would not want to be on that committee. Some of it rings similar to 2018, but I think this might be tougher in some sense because it's really tempting to try to invest in Ilia. Having said that I still think it's Nathan, Vincent, and Ilia.

Glad you had a good time!

Just wait until we can have the FOFS breakfast and hang out with the skaters again. It brings it to a whole mother level.

 

[kmw227]

Saw on Twitter that they're announcing the team around 5:45 local time for anyone who's wondering.

 

[Oreo]

And anybody can have a positive test between now and the time of the chartered plane departure for Beijing, so the next three weeks is going to be super nerve wracking.

 

[jenaj]

On the NBC wrapup, both Tara and Johnny picked Nathan, Vincent, Ilia for the Olympics.

I include this NOT because I think their opinions are deciding factors, but because I wonder how much of what they broadcast is telegraphing the USFSA message.... as in, they're gathering intel behind the scenes about various scenarios and repackage that as commentary.

I don't think Tara and Johnny are expressing the official view--or even know anything about what the USFSA intends. They are just commentators expressing an opinion, like when Dick Button always picked Sasha Cohen to win over Michelle.

 

[bubblecherry]

And Jason was helped when they only gave him a Q on his overrotated 3 salchow and cheated by giving him 10's in PCS despite that being against the rules with a fall.

Its all a wash.

No. It’s not a wash. Usually I would agree that all top skaters tend to get favors from the judges and it usually ends up more or less even but NOT here.

Maybe Jason got 4 points total in favors in the scenario you present. Vincent with at least 4 URs in real time (and another Q and UR when I watched in slow motion) legitimately got 15+ points in favors. It’s not comparable.

 

[*~RussianBleux~*]

I keep thinking about Vincent: He missed the cut at Worlds, he won back the spot we lost at Nebelhorn, then won Skate America, finished lower at his next Grand Prix, no GPF, and now has this freeskate. This looks like a downward trend the closer we get to Olympics. Yes he has higher scoring potential, but do I trust him?

The answer is no. Definitely not in the team event. And we really send out Malinin there?

 

[norwegianfairytale]

Saw on Twitter that they're announcing the team around 5:45 local time for anyone who's wondering.

Can you translate that to Europe? Would that be in the middle of the night CET?

 

[Mista Ekko]

How do you count on Vincent in the team event at this point?

And Ilia could come in last in the free. He is not getting these big scores from the ISU.

Is Nathan going to do both?

On the one hand he should do both, Because the difference between Gold and Bronze could be tiny,
On the other hand, 4 programs in a week? I think they should choose Vincent to do it and hope for the best

 

[Beckaboomer]

I haven’t kept up with the posts so I don’t know what the general mood is in here, but let me tell you I am N O T happy!

Like I’m sorry, but I was there watching with my own two eyeballs. Jason should be in third place. Period.

The men’s free skate has kind of soured what has otherwise been a nice experience. Ilia was great, Nathan good until the face plant (bless him). Jason was lovely besides the requisite failed quad attempt.

 

[yume]

Saying that Vincent should go over Jason simply because of the medal/podium place he could get as opposed to Jason, in particular, just doesn't make sense to me. Obviously even Nathan is not perfect by any means. But Nathan and Jason have proven themselves far steadier over the course of years than Vincent, who is way more up and down. Yes, he got the third Olympic spot at Nebelhorn, but it was the spot he lost by not even making it to the free skate at Worlds. And he semi-imploded at Nationals. I just don't think that "reliability" is a reason to put him on the team.

Vincent did better than Brown all the season. Not just at nats.