2026 U.S. Nationals Senior Men Free Skate | Page 21 | Golden Skate

2026 U.S. Nationals Senior Men Free Skate

Sjs5572 said:
Also, Torgashev should have scored even higher tonight. He deserved 90 PCS for that program. However, they were leaving room for Maxim, Jason, and Tomoki.
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I think if Jason had anything resembling a good skate, they would have given him the nod, because I certainly agree Andrew was held down in PCS, and I can't think of any other reason than to provide a gap for the others - especially Jason who would have struggled to close the gap technically.

If we're being completely honest, Jason was granted all sorts of favors for that short program, so it's not like the judges wouldn't have continued to support him.

Sport is sport. You take the good with the bad. But I really hate to see a skater of his many accomplishments wrap up his Nationals career the way Jason did. * I'm assuming this was, in fact, his final Nationals performance. *
 
Did anyone record Torgashev's free skate? I missed the men's FS but his is the only one I'd really like to see. If not, where can I watch the replays? Does Peacock work outside the US?
 
I was in the audience. Here are a few thoughts:

Jacob was quite nice and clean, but I wasn't overly impressed. I think he has a lot of great things in place, and I think he needs to "bake" a bit more, so that is not a knock, just a sense that he will improve and wow me in the future. Today, he simply got my nod for doing well.

Liam was sublime in the short program (I was in the arena then, too), but this vehicle and performance included repetitive music, going through the motions, and some issues. I do not agree with it being the 6th best free skate.

Max is getting loads of pity points, and I have enjoyed a lot of his past skating, but this performance and technical display were overmarked for my taste.

Andrew was absolutely on. He has terrific speed, and he has every reason to be proud of what he did.

Jason was so far off the mark that even his usual magic in terms of spins, musical connection, and reaching out to the audience were diminished. He was propped up in the short, but no stretching would let the judges put that near the top 3. It's a shame that he couldn't pull out a stronger showing.

Tomoki lacked the spark of his short program, and I expected that since his track record is not nailing long programs, but I thought he would have slid into 2nd behind Andrew and then 3rd behind Ilia. Did he get called for underrotations? If not, I'm not really seeing what put him in 5th.

Ilia was okay, but his short was quite a bit more engaging.

I hope whoever advances to Milan does well.
 
Sjs5572 said:
Well, Torgashev could score anywhere from 135 to 190. He definitely has the highest ceiling, sans Ilia. I could see him placing anywhere from first to fifth.
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No way in hell Torgashev beats the Japanese man (Kagiyama or Sato) in the team event. I would hate to imagine how terrible the Japanese would have to skate to lose to Andrew. He also would not beat a clean Grassl or Shaidorov. If he’s clean like tonight, he could beat Gogolev. He would most likely be 4th or 5th in the team event FS.
 
I think they should just send the top three here to the Olympics. Of course Malinin goes, and there's little to choose between the other contenders. Who you absolutely do not send is Jason. Sorry fans, but he's shown nothing this season to say he's ready for a major comp, and that that's going to change any time soon. So just make it simple and send the top three.
 
enzofv said:
Did anyone record Torgashev's free skate? I missed the men's FS but his is the only one I'd really like to see. If not, where can I watch the replays? Does Peacock work outside the US?
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I don’t think so, but YouTube will often have something up within a few days.
 
I adore Jason. He has done more to improve and to better the sport of figure skating than any number of skaters I have watched in my whole long life.

He had a disaster skate. Of course I am gutted for him. He will not be chosen for the team. As my friend @TontoK points out, Father Time comes for us all, and this year he has not been himself. But the last quad of Jason has been an unexpected bonus for us as skating fans, and I will remember that and not the disaster skate.

Now for the rest.

Andrew, who of course I also love. Dear god in heaven, Andrew, why couldn't you do that the rest of the season? When you are on, you are 🔥. Particularly with these programs you love (and it's pretty obvious which ones you love)

Ilia was saving himself. Smart guy.

So thrilled to see Jacob Sanchez skate so well. How he has matured. No, he's not soup yet but I love happy tears.

That said, I think Tomoki and Max will go to Milan. But what do I know. ;)
 
museksk8r said:
No way in hell Torgashev beats the Japanese man (Kagiyama or Sato) in the team event. I would hate to imagine how terrible the Japanese would have to skate to lose to Andrew. He also would not beat a clean Grassl or Shaidorov. If he’s clean like tonight, he could beat Gogolev. He would most likely be 4th or 5th in the team event FS.
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OK, I agree he likely won't beat the Japanese without their entry committing a few errors; however Shairdorov is not in TE and Grassl might choose to only skate the sp in the TE. Rizzo or an injured Memola are beatable by Torg.
 
Sjs5572 said:
OK, I agree he likely won't beat the Japanese without their entry committing a few errors; however Shairdorov is not in TE and Grassl might choose to only skate the sp in the TE. Rizzo or an injured Memola are beatable by Torg.
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Sorry; goodness, it is late here and I am suffering from a little brain fog. I meant to say a clean Egadze, not Shaidorov.
 
My review from the arena!

- Torgashev was on FIRE. That was the skate he needed after a rough season. After the 4T fall in the SP, I thought his chances for Olympic team were gone, but the rest of the SP was really quite good so I was glad he wasn't too far back. His jumps tonight were all high quality, and he can clearly SKATE.

- Jacob: I wasn't as impressed with him in the SP, but he was everything in the FS. Incredible 3A+3T to start. He skates with a lot of flow and glide, and seeing the thrilled emotion on his face during his choreo sequence at the end is what Nationals is all about. I was so pleased for him. I can see him being the next Camden-like skater for the US men.

- Ilia - Honestly, that was a clutch performance given how TERRIBLE his morning practice went and even the 6 min warmup was NOT good. The opening 4F was spectacular. I don't think he'd done a 4Lz all day, and after skipping the solo 4Lz, he just nails it in the 2nd half of the program for a combo? Dude. That takes a special level of confidence and self-belief. He did what he needed to do, which was not splat by going for too much in uncomfortable boots.

- Jason. :( After the first four jumping passes, there really wasn't much to say. There was a little glimmer of hope that he could end well, but then the fall on the last one kind of killed that too. This doesn't take away Jason's phenomenal skating and how much joy he's given audiences year after year.

- Tomoki's underrotations are obvious in real time, and even when he's landing jumps, they are not effortless and don't get nearly as much glide as Andrew/Jacob/Max. The people around me thought his program was depressing and didn't like his music. That said, him, Jacob, and Max were only within 2 points of each other in the end so it was all very close.

- Max: Super super proud of him. It wasn't flawless, but what he did show was high quality. The opening 4S was a highlight. I'd love for him to be on the team.
 
Well after a good night's sleep (a long nap really) I say send the Ilya guy to the Olympics and hope for the best :). I think despite his poor showings at two consecutive Worlds (hey he did make the FS last time), send Andrew. That third spot? I think Tomoki. Yes Max was two points ahead of him at Nats but TH has just had a better season. It's all about the team event and I think Andrew or Tomoki just have a better shot at doing the SP and doing better than Max who has no track record of international success. Whoever gets sent to Olys out of those three, one should be sent to Worlds instead. It's the fair thing to do. And he should also go to 4CC along with Jacob and Liam. Jr Worlds? Patrick and Lucius or Caleb.
 
enzofv said:
Did anyone record Torgashev's free skate? I missed the men's FS but his is the only one I'd really like to see. If not, where can I watch the replays? Does Peacock work outside the US?
Click to expand...
Try US Figure Skating YouTube..
They did put up some individual skates from Nationals.. not many.
EDT: video provided above 👏
 
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I will always remember when USFS didn't send Ilia Malinin at the 2022 Olympic Games.
I was not happy about this decision, he was truly the future of the sport since 2022.
Jason Brown making the team there was a gift, Ilia should have go instead of him.
So, I hope that this time, Jason will not get a body of work pass. He didn't deserve it this time.
I would give to Jason Brown just 4CC this time.
 
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