2014 Olympics Mens Free Skate

[louisa05]

Oh, I didn't know that!

NBC had an online story about the Filipino skater who is the Philippines' only Olympian at these games. Apparently, he has asthma too, which is why he pursued figure skating instead of outdoor sports. I guess asthma is worse outside?

That would depend on what your triggers are; everyone's are different. I assume that Hanyu has exercise-induced asthma. If one has only allergic asthma triggered by things like pollen or grass, an indoor sport would be a better choice. I have both. Cold air makes my breathing worse, so an ice rink would not be ideal! I admire Hanyu for persevering through it the way he does. It is also common for tension or stress to make it worse, so competition may be harder for him than training.

 

[merinheart]

Actually the situation for Jason played out very similar to Skate America. He comes in as an unexpected entry (he was an alternate for Lysacek at SA; he was a dark horse for the Olympic spot), focuses on skating a clean program, gets a personal best in the SP (he beat his SP PB at Skate America by 14 points) ends up in the final group unexpectedly, then gets hopped up and makes mistakes.

That's exactly what I thought. And we found out (thanks to the lovely NY Times story) that it was after Skate America that he and Kori reassessed his performance and created that "mental checklist". Result -> 3rd place at TEB. Now if only a similar situation could happen once again at Worlds...

Re. Jeremy going to Worlds: I don't think that's for anyone to say but him. I'm not done watching his beautiful skating and hope he *does* give the Worlds a go. Jason has many years ahead of him. Plus he needs to work on 3axel and quad.

Jeremy had his multiples opportunities already, most of which he has not delivered. I'm happy that he had a good skate today but he's fooling himself if he thinks he had some miracle breakthrough after that performance. He was able to deliver in his free skate today because he was no longer in medal contention. What happens when he gets to Worlds where he is once again asked to do well for team USA? Well, past history shows that it won't go well. His quotes afterwards only further validates my opinion that he has not learned much from this Olympic experience. As long as he continues having a victim mentality, he will continue to fail. I know USFSA can't force Jeremy to drop out of Worlds but I certainly wouldn't be opposed to them having a serious conversation with him.

 

[moonkat]

People are never going to be happy with the judging.
Seriously seems like the casual observer just counts the falls.
Last olympic, people were complaining about the lack of quads, or was that just Russia.

Anyways, I am dissatisfied with Hanyu and Chan fs as well, but I am rather satisfied
with the podium position.
Hanyu and Chan seem to be on another level.
I still think Chan should have won, because he is the well-rounded skate.
Hanyu has amazing jumps and spins, but his posture needs work.

Still, dealing with pressure is seems to be half if not ( 99.9999% kidding) of the battle. And, Hanyu is more of a fighter. Other than the 4S, Hanyu seemed quite consistent coming into the Olympics compared to Chan. So in the end, I think Hanyu gold medal is well deserved.

 

[FlattFan]

So we were right. He would have medalled with an easier jump set-up but he was too perfectionist/ambitious/proud* for it

*delete as appropriate

He skated after Javier, too. He should know that he doesn't need the 4T at that point!!!!
I'm at peace with the results.

 

[gmyers]

People are never going to be happy with the judging.
Seriously seems like the casual observer just counts the falls.
Last olympic, people were complaining about the lack of quads, or was that just Russia.

Anyways, I am dissatisfied with Hanyu and Chan fs as well, but I am rather satisfied
with the podium position.
Hanyu and Chan seem to be on another level.
I still think Chan should have won, because he is the well-rounded skate.
Hanyu has amazing jumps and spins, but his posture needs work.

Still, dealing with pressure is seems to be half if not ( 99.9999% kidding) of the battle. And, Hanyu is more of a fighter. Other than the 4S, Hanyu seemed quite consistent coming into the Olympics compared to Chan. So in the end, I think Hanyu gold medal is well deserved.

Totally correct. Even with mistakes! It's not a cleanest wins contest!

 

[Tonichelle]

Like a hot potato.
It's like they were both afraid of winning so they just decided to let the other one take it. This event should've had 2 silvers and no gold.

or one of those trying to be humble games of:
"You deserve it more."
"Naw, buddy, that's okay, you deserve it more."
"No, I'm serious, you deserve it more."
"No, you do."
"No, you."
"No, you."

And by the end the rest of us just want it to end because OMG... what a waste.

 

[jenaj]

I can't wait to hear what Dick Button thinks about this competition when he posts on his Twitter later today.

 

[MaiKatze]

So we were right. He would have medalled with an easier jump set-up but he was too perfectionist/ambitious/proud* for it

*delete as appropriate

Daisuke in a nutshell. But he already has a Olympic Bronze Medal. Might've thought "Nah, don't need another!"

 

[onodian]

Totally correct. Even with mistakes! It's not a cleanest wins contest!

That it is most certainly NOT. Just out of curiosity, how worse should they have been in order to lose gold or silver? 5 falls? Seven falls? Jumping against the wall and laying unconscious for 1:00 to 2:00?

 

[BlackPack]

That's exactly what I thought. And we found out (thanks to the lovely NY Times story) that it was after Skate America that he and Kori reassessed his performance and created that "mental checklist". Result -> 3rd place at TEB. Now if only a similar situation could happen once again at Worlds...



Jeremy had his multiples opportunities already, most of which he has not delivered. I'm happy that he had a good skate today but he's fooling himself if he thinks he had some miracle breakthrough after that performance. He was able to deliver in his free skate today because he was no longer in medal contention. What happens when he gets to Worlds where he is once again asked to do well for team USA? Well, past history shows that it won't go well. His quotes afterwards only further validates my opinion that he has not learned much from this Olympic experience. As long as he continues having a victim mentality, he will continue to fail. I know USFSA can't force Jeremy to drop out of Worlds but I certainly wouldn't be opposed to them having a serious conversation with him.

Enough Abbott. I'm an Abbott fan, but splat after splat.... and then hearing his ego-stroking, self-soothing talk. Not everything needs a lesson. Not everyone gets to medal. He did as well as someone with his melange of abilities allowed him to go - 4 US championships. Even some of the more mediocre skaters were able to grab a World medal here and there in the course of a decade or so, but he hasn't. How many opportunities is he going to waste? He doesn't have mental toughness and that is that. He's not going to improve in figure skating. He's 28. Even with his army of fans, sports therapists, coaches, he still couldn't do it. He may find other worthwhile things in life.

 

[ancaf]

1. Very sorry for Fernandez, but you must be thinking even when you skate :-
2. both, Yuzuru and Patrick ought to done ( would have attend) the FS on the team event
3. Chan lost gold not today, but in the last 2 years from inflated pcs. he can do more !
4. it was "u nwatchable" men skate tonight...
5. Maybe if Fernandez skated clean tonight, Yuzuru did the same...

 

[Ziggy]

People are never going to be happy with the judging.

Not when it's as piss poor as it currently is, no.

Between the system not being very well developed and the judges not following it well, it's hard to be happy with it.

Judging system needs to acknowledge psychological, social and cultural reality and focus on practicable and applicable methods and not just the rules. The rules are pointless if nobody follows them (for example: is it realistic to expect a judge to compute all bullet points versus all deductions for all elements in their head whilst paying attention to all the different PCS at the same time?).

I'm at peace with the results.

I'm at peace in that I can see why it came about the way it did. It doesn't mean I like it or agree with it. I feel sorry for Chan but then can't argue with Hanyu's BV. I'd much rather see Machida or even Fernandez on the podium. But then I know that the judges - just like the fans - see being "clean" as being very important and Ten more or less was. And Fernandez can only blame himself for fourth combo. Oh well... *shrug*

I can't wait to hear what Dick Button thinks about this competition when he posts on his Twitter later today.

'Takahashi's free leg position on his layback was ugly and that's why it's right that he didn't medal. I mean compare it to Michelle Kwan's for example. Kwan Kwan Kwan Kwan Kwan Kwan Kwan.'

 

[amateur]

What a shame it had to be decided that way between the top two. His accumulated little mistakes in the LP notwithstanding, I think for Patrick it really just came down to not fully owning the triple axel - step out in both programs, that was probably enough to be the difference. He made other mistakes in the LP of course, but the pressure from the 3a difficulty could have had a ripple effect on the rest. And even at that, he still would have made a decent case for himself had he not doubled that one jump (3sal?) in the sequence. Though the harder emotions undoubtedly just took a moment to sink in, I was pleased to see him end the program with a smile of sorts. I'm sure he feels he did give it his best shot.

Hanyu - deserved winner, if only based on the SP (even if the point gap had been a wee bit tighter). If you look at it this way, he was the only skater to have shown mastery in a least one of the 2 programs. Had Patrick also been clean in the SP (and he was sooo close!), then this result would be a lot harder to take.

Dennis Ten - Was glad to see him get the bronze! He was the very first of that huge group of contenders to skate, and I was thinking - "that might be it!", or at the very least "well the fight has got off to a good start! It'll be good!" - (how wrong that turned out to be!). I really enjoyed the crispness in his skating, compared to most of the other contenders, particularly compared to Fernandez the "would-be" medalist.

Fernandez - I thought he might have just done enough, it would be deservedly be quite close for the bronze. I am really NOT a fan of how the 4th combination rule is applied in COP..., so I feel for him. That said, I would rather see Ten for the Bronze. To me, Fernandez' skating relies a bit too much on personality, than on a really commanding skating skill. I don't really spend too much time going over the scores, but I would feel probably a bit overmarked on some PCS. Though he is on the right track with his skating, he's not there yet.

Machida - also deservedly to be right there for the bronze, but again, I'm glad that Ten took it. Machida skates his heart out, lots of intensity, but somehow the program does nothing for me.

Takahashi - fantastic skater, underwhelming program. He had a nice peaceful vibe to him, though.

Yan Han - I really really really like ! Such an odd combination of amazing stuff mixed with these sort of dazed, disconnected moments. Almost like he would do something really amazing, and than have to mentally recover for a few seconds from the amazingess of it, before he could get back into the program. Yet this was somehow endearing to me, not annoying. His presentation skills are very underdeveloped (understandable for his age), but it looked to me like he actually does HEAR the music very well, and I expect great things from him as he learns to project.

Jason Brown - the setup was there for some sort of fairy-tale ending to the competion and for him, but be couldn't deliver that. Well, that is very HARD to deliver, so you can't fault him for that. He seemed proud of himself and thrilled enough to have finished top 10. Bravo!

Liebers - Good job! More enjoyable than I was expecting. At least a few like him did have a good competition here.

Brezina - He's always the same! He tends to give off this vibe of not really wanting it enough. (Not to say he doesn't train really hard and all - I have no idea about that).

Jeremy Abbott - Skate of the competition. I don't watch him all that often... I know he has done better at least technincally, but he just seemed so emotionally present in this performace, it was quite moving. Beautiful.

Joubert - Style-wise, for someone who has struggled so much to find a style outside of the Matrix-type stuff, I though that program was not half bad. Content-wise, lacking of course. The little section at the end with the figures was an unexpected and sweet moment. Kurt Browning, though, was lamenting that despite its intention, it ironically drew more attention a LACK of basic skating skills on his part. He was lamenting that Brian is capable of more. Joubert was a nice presence in this competition though. Scored a little harsher than I'd expected.

 

[Chemistry66]

LOL.

Also, has anyone seen the tags for this thread (located at the bottom).

They are HILARIOUS.

Teehee

 

[fredtx121]

What a splatfest! Really disappointed in todays men's event. Kind of makes you wonder if Plushenko was in the running if he skated clean, would he win the gold?
I was really hoping for Jason Brown to skate clean. If you add the point values that he could have earned for his TES which is around another 18 points combined with his PCS, he would have had the 170 he needed to win the bronze. =/ But I am happy for Dennis Ten that he won a medal. Im also happy that Jeremy and Jason have their bronze medals as well from the Team competition.
Hanyu and Chan was really a major let down. Hanyu pulled a Sasha(ironically with the same music) but he didn't have a spark like Sasha did to close out the program. Chan chocked under pressure but I think his scores were lower then I expected. In my opinion this makes up for the gold that Denis Ten deserved last year. I wasnt happy that Patrick won last years world's with such flawed performances in the short and free.
Hopefully the ladies events are more clean and live up to expectations!!

 

[BlackPack]

Daisuke in a nutshell. But he already has a Olympic Bronze Medal. Might've thought "Nah, don't need another!"

To be honest, I didn't think Dai would have made it to Sochi and if he did, he would have been respectable but not win which is what happened. He cranked out his best with all his soul all these years. He is beloved. The best time to retire was really in 2010 after winning Worlds. After Chan and Yuz came along, and to a certain extent with D10 and Fern waiting in the wings, it was hard to stay at the top. I always think it's smart to retire at the top than during a decline.

Almost no elite skater is ever spared from injuries and surgeries with the exception of Davis and White and maybe some others I can't think of right now. Figure skating is an extremely fragile and potentially unrewarding and painful career.

 

[ucrgirl]

I am actually a bit sad for Patrick. how devastating to lose an OGM by less than a point.

 

[Kunstrijdster]

Not when it's as piss poor as it currently is, no.

Between the system not being very well developed and the judges not following it well, it's hard to be happy with it.

Judging system needs to acknowledge social and cultural reality and focus on a practicable and applicable method and not just the rules. The rules are pointless if nobody follows them.

'Takahashi's free leg position on his layback was ugly and that's why it's right that he didn't medal. I mean compare it to Michelle Kwan's for example. Kwan Kwan Kwan Kwan Kwan Kwan Kwan.'

You said it! :agree: and even got me laughing again

 

[Chemistry66]

I am actually a bit sad for Patrick. how devastating to lose an OGM by less than a point.

Lost the FS by less than a point. Lost the overall by about 4.5

 

[amateur]

I am actually a bit sad for Patrick. how devastating to lose an OGM by less than a point.

well, he actually lost it by over 4 points (because of the SP). But, yes, sad, and so close!