2026 Olympics: Women's Free Skate

[Zora]

According to Jackie Wong she’s going to go to Worlds.

I wonder if she’ll experiment there…. Do something wacky!

I really hope she competes with different programs.. The stories of both of her programs are already told, it's enough at this point.

 

[TallyT]

According to Jackie Wong she’s going to go to Worlds.

I wonder if she’ll experiment there…. Do something wacky!

Or maybe not. She has GPF and Olys so may decide to shoot for the triple crown. It's up to her.

Who knows maybe she’ll start something. Simone Biles’ shows are pretty big.

Err, Simone is on a whole different level and is/was for years GOAT. Alysa is nowhere near that level of stardom yet. But maybe SOI ticket sales will jump a bit.

Nancy Kerrigan was very upset in 1994.

And behaved appallingly, yes.

Adding to the sad silvers... Patrick Chan in 2014 was devastated, you can see it in his eyes om the flower ceremony.

 

[nguyhm]

Alusa is the only double Olympic champion in figure skating at these Olympic Games!

And Kaori is the double silver medalist

 

[TallyT]

I hear ya. I love her skating so much and I’m like a PCS numpty! Honestly unless they’re super atrocious I don’t really notice it half the time. But Mone is a marvel in my eyes

That said she did good!!!!!! Didn’t fall and skated beautifully at one of the most high pressure events in the world. I just love her as Juliet! She’s a glorious Juliet!

May this coming quad be hers.

 

[zocki]

Hi everyone
I’ve been following figure skating for over 10 years (though I don’t usually post much), but after today’s event I felt like sharing my thoughts.
First of all, congratulations to Alisa — she skated well and delivered when it mattered. Huge respect to her.
That said… I can’t help feeling a bit sad about the overall level we’re seeing right now. I know this might be controversial, but to me the technical standard feels significantly lower than what we were used to a few years ago.
I think we can all agree that Adeliia didn’t have her best skate, and she probably wasn’t the strongest Russian option going into these Games, especially considering her recent injury. But beyond individual skaters, what strikes me most is the bigger picture. If I try to think of a comparable major event in terms of technical content, I almost have to go back to around 2014.
Between 2016 and 2022, the depth in Russian skating alone was incredible — multiple quads, consistent triple Axels, difficult jump variations, arms-overhead positions, speed, attack… Even programs that weren’t perfect still had huge technical ambition. Today, it feels like that intensity and complexity just aren’t there in the same way.
Even watching the recent Russian domestic competitions, you could see layouts with much higher base value than what we saw here. Plus, I truly belive that son Medeveva's programs had way more artistry and complexity that the ones that we show today.
It’s not about criticizing the current skaters, they’re talented, but from a technical standpoint, it feels like the bar has dropped.
Maybe this is just a transitional period for the sport, but as a long-time fan it does make me a bit nostalgic for that 2016–2022 peak.
Curious to hear how others feel about it!

I agree. The level of women's figure skating today is no better than it was in the 1990s or early 2010s. The Russian women took this sport to a new level, reaching its peak in Beijing in 2022.
Since their exclusion, the sport has regressed and other nations have been unable to catch up. In four years' time, the Russians will be back with three women competing and new heights will be reached once again. By then at the latest, it will be clear to everyone that the sport has evolved and that you have to move with the times if you want to keep up.

 

[Jontor]

Alysa's skating quality was more "juniorish" than Ami's.

Ami also had better extension in her spiral, more extension in general throughout the program, and a 3A.


This is such a bullshit statement in so many ways. She has a difficult turn leading into the loop.

There's nothing wrong with crossovers and smiles in the first place, when it's done with the music. Expression and musicality is important and Ami surprisingly excelled in that area. She clearly felt the music and was relaying it, and there was more to her choreo than just crossovers and smiles anyway. She had very nice open body positions, with a significant amount of detail in the arm and hand positions, and long curved edges. Skating is not supposed to be about doing random "difficult" turns in the choreography for no reason.

And what is Alysa's program if you're trying to say this about Ami's program? LOL. She absolutely does not have complex choreo, if you're trying to judge on the ridiculous metric of counting turns in a program. This is beyond hypocritical. Alysa does two rocker turns in the entire program in terms of "difficult turns" outside of the step sequence, and she does them with very little speed, noticeably slowing down and breaking performance before her second 3Flip in order to incorporate that turn. This is not a net positive for a program.

Well, I have to say these programs Alysa have suits her like a glove. And she sells them brilliantly. And maybe that's why she kept them for this season as that Lady Gaga program didn't hit as much.

Yes, maybe this is her absolute peak, and she will never get these scores again with other programs (we'll see), but I must say I felt she was the right winner tonight. She never misses a jump and have step-outs, technically she is rock solid in what she does (no matter of what level that is).

 

[moonvine]

I don’t think it’s fair to frame this as “where it should be” for female skaters.
Saying that the technical bar between 2014–2022 “never should have been set” sounds, honestly, a bit paternalistic to me. Those skaters did set it. They trained for it, landed the elements, and expanded what was technically possible in women’s skating.

Sport has always evolved through athletes pushing boundaries.

If someone doesn’t enjoy quads in women’s skating, that’s totally valid, skating is subjective and we all value different things. But calling that entire era “sad” dismisses a generation of athletes who changed the technical landscape of the sport.

For me, it’s not about glorifying difficulty for the sake of it. It’s about acknowledging that the level of technical ambition during that period was historically high. Whether that model was sustainable is a legitimate debate. But pretending it didn’t represent a peak in technical content doesn’t really reflect what we objectively saw on the ice.

If they can do it without abusing drugs let them do it.

What’s done with assistance of chemical substances shouldn’t count.

 

[AsadaFanBoy]

People being haters bc their faves either couldn't compete or didn't win.

Bestie, love that for you but let it go.

 

[Karoltyna]

I don’t think it’s fair to frame this as “where it should be” for female skaters.
Saying that the technical bar between 2014–2022 “never should have been set” sounds, honestly, a bit paternalistic to me. Those skaters did set it. They trained for it, landed the elements, and expanded what was technically possible in women’s skating.

Sport has always evolved through athletes pushing boundaries.

If someone doesn’t enjoy quads in women’s skating, that’s totally valid, skating is subjective and we all value different things. But calling that entire era “sad” dismisses a generation of athletes who changed the technical landscape of the sport.

For me, it’s not about glorifying difficulty for the sake of it. It’s about acknowledging that the level of technical ambition during that period was historically high. Whether that model was sustainable is a legitimate debate. But pretending it didn’t represent a peak in technical content doesn’t really reflect what we objectively saw on the ice.

I do enjoy quads, I don't enjoy what they do to women's body. If I like a skater, I want them to have long career and be able to move without pain after they retire and this is not the case for at least some of female skaters who performed multiple quads. This is my boundry I'm not ok to push. I'm very happy with how figure skating is now, but if skating takes the the same route it took after 2014, I will do the same thing I did back then and will stop following. Simple.

 

[AdelaAlba]

If they can do it without abusing drugs let them do it.

What’s done with assistance of chemical substances shouldn’t count.

None of them tested positive ever, except for Kamila.
Do not make excuses for worse performance.

 

[moonvine]

Err, Simone is on a whole different level and is/was for years GOAT. Alysa is nowhere near that level of stardom yet. But maybe SOI ticket sales will jump a bit.

Maybe she will be. Time will tell. I dunno how regular SOI sales are but meet and greet tickets have been sold out within an 8 hour radius of me since January.

I only go to shows for meet and greet so won’t be going.

 

[moonvine]

None of them tested positive ever, except for Kamila.
Do not make excuses for worse performance.

It’s known.

 

[yelyoh]

And Kaori is the double silver medalist

I think the last time it was bronze.

 

[AsadaFanBoy]

I think the last time it was bronze.

She won silver in the team event. She has two silvers.

 

[Karoltyna]

I think the last time it was bronze.

She has silver from TE (ROBBED!!!!!!!!)

 

[TontoK]

Well, this didn't turn out like I thought it would, or like I might have wished, but it is a deserving podium, and they are correctly placed.

I can't be mad at that.

I will say this for Alysa Liu, a year and a bit ago, I rolled my eyes at the prospect of her comeback. Since then, she's won World's, the GPF, and now the Olympics. I'll remember that the next time I hear of a comeback.

 

[jenaj]

I agree. The level of women's figure skating today is no better than it was in the 1990s or early 2010s. The Russian women took this sport to a new level, reaching its peak in Beijing in 2022.
Since their exclusion, the sport has regressed and other nations have been unable to catch up. In four years' time, the Russians will be back with three women competing and new heights will be reached once again. By then at the latest, it will be clear to everyone that the sport has evolved and that you have to move with the times if you want to keep up.

If only the Russians were here. Oh, wait...

 

[TallyT]

I'll remember that the next time I hear of a comeback.

And Cizeron. But then also remember Keegan and the Shibs.

 

[Oreo]

Alysa well deserved the win today. Her father must be incredibly proud of her, but he needs to wash her mouth out with soap for letting loose with the f word as she was coming off the ice and talking to the skating camera guy. This was on the live venue feed, so maybe that'll get edited out on all the various feeds.

 

[flakyy]

I think the podium was correct today and the event enjoyable overall because there were not many falls; on the other hand the technical level was not so high, a lot of tiny errors ... two 3-3 combos should be a given for a high placement by now; well, the technical level has regressed significantly, thinking of what Kim was already able to do in 2010 and Arakawa in 2004. Would have loved to see Glenn coming out on top today ... because she has a 3A and has both artistry and jumping ability. Couldn't help to get back to 2022 ... Sherbakova was even better than I remembered her programs in comparison to what was skated today. Very fast and fierce ... no doubt in her eyes. The short was a wonderful program. The 3A were special ... even the Eteri camp cannot repeat this. Petrosian is clearly not in good shape - but was not so very far away. That alone says a lot about the overall level.