2018 Olympics live reports

We don't have this one yet, do we? Looking at team event's first day with 147 pages I am sure that live experiences will be lost should I post into main threads. I felt overwhelmed even to start reading the team thread.

Hence, I will post here about what I see in the rink and, well, in Korea in general as we plan to travel as well with a guide who was presented as "having Russian language (limited)". Hope, limited will mean a bit more than "Spasibo, Davai-davai!, Khorosho, Da, Nyet, and Molodets!"

And I invite all GSers who will be there despite all odds (cost, fears, etc.) to post here their first hand impressions.

So far, my wife and I are still in Moscow packing our "Russia" jackets, Russian flag, and some other stuff we might need during 2 weeks we plan to spend in Korea.

I've just been to the official practice today. The rink is quite large and some B and C seats are located higher up. A seats are good enough though. Stairs upwards are quite steep, anyone going up and down needs to be extra careful.
The arena is not cold, but outside is a bit windy and chilly. Temperature will drop tonight, so please keep warm if you're coming early.

I'm travelling with friend and we spot Johnny and Tara in interview on our way back!

Yes!! Would love to hear live reports from those of you lucky enough to go to the Olympics. Doesn't even have to be about figure skating. Just thoughts about PyeongChang would be welcome . Please have fun and stay warm!

So, our first day in Olympic Korea.

We arrived to the brand new Terminal 2 in Incheon. It is very big and nice. No lines at the passport control (unlike occasional nightmares in Moscow airports). Fast luggage service, efficient customs. One thing which perplexed me was why they do X-ray only of the hand luggage neglecting the checked luggage. Overall half an hour after the landing and we were in the car heading East. The road was nice and easy. I liked the landscapes especially at first.

I cannot say that the Olympics is in the air. There were a couple of volunteers at the airport. There were some signs along the road. I expected more but maybe it was like that during the opening days. So, the road was easy but without jams it took us exactly 3 hours to get to Gangneung. I am sure regular daily commuting from Seoul would be too taxing for me.

Finally, we got to Golden Tulip. The house is impressive especially as you getting closer and closer.
http://uploads.ru/94pow.jpg
But as you get inside it is immediately clear that it is still work in progress. In fact, it was positioned before as a 5 star hotel but now on their site they themselves took one start off.

The room is small and basic. That’s our room which cost same as a villa on Zanzibar or a beach house on Seychelles.
http://uploads.ru/2VY0Q.jpg
And Cosport last October wanted us to pay for that 4 times more! One really bizarre thing is the metal entrance door. There is some voltage on it. The guy who helped us with the luggage forewarned us but I, of course, forgot and next time was hit by an electrical charge. Nothing serious – just weird.

There are 2 restaurants – on the 1st and on the 20th floor. There is a big mess in their upper restaurant. First of all, the staff speak English as if they started to learn it a month ago. May be that’s why I and my wife ordered 2 fish of the day but they brought only one. And that proved to be good because when I tried it I immediately felt like I was in the middle of the fire in the jungles. Of course, neither menu nor the waitress said that the dish was mega hot and spicy. Another situation dealt with my ordering a wine. I wanted something easy and simple and I ordered a bottle of the wine from Purkari Moldova – supposedly the best that country produces. The waitress was out for 10 minutes than returned with “sorry, we don’t have it”. Then I ordered a bottle of Australian shiraz. Another 10 minutes and another sorry. I decided not to try the fate more and ordered beer. They were nice and did not charge us for the beer. Finally, because we were still hungry we went to the first floor where we ordered a plate of fish and chips which was big and tasty. Now that we have to spend 14 nights in this hotel and there are quite limited choices in Gangneung there will be a question where to go for dinner.

There are many official people in the hotel. And to serve them the special center has been created in the lobby. They for example arrange shuttles. Unfortunately, they do not serve every day spectators like my wife and I. It means that we shall call the taxi tomorrow: it is not exactly the walking distance to the park. The wind is quite strong. Those who tried to get to the Olympic park on foot seriously covered their faces – we saw them from the taxi.

But this all is just small nuisance. It was hard to expect perfection. The main thing is we are here and tomorrow we shall go to our first competition – the FS team final. I hope to beat the jet lag as I have not slept for the last 28 hours.

Wow 14 day vacation at the Olympics. So jealous.

[email protected] said:

We don't have this one yet, do we? Looking at team event's first day with 147 pages I am sure that live experiences will be lost should I post into main threads. I felt overwhelmed even to start reading the team thread.

Hence, I will post here about what I see in the rink and, well, in Korea in general as we plan to travel as well with a guide who was presented as "having Russian language (limited)". Hope, limited will mean a bit more than "Spasibo, Davai-davai!, Khorosho, Da, Nyet, and Molodets!"

And I invite all GSers who will be there despite all odds (cost, fears, etc.) to post here their first hand impressions.

So far, my wife and I are still in Moscow packing our "Russia" jackets, Russian flag, and some other stuff we might need during 2 weeks we plan to spend in Korea.

Click to expand...

I read it here https://twitter.com/ifsmagazine/status/962678325993881600

"To tell you the truth, they're rude and ruined the sports. Everyone in the venue criticized their attitude and the way they bothered skaters during the warmup and performance! Shame on you OAR! & recognize why UR NOT Russians but OAR here in"

Is this true? I don't believe it but I can ask you so I did it...

plushyfan said:

I read it here https://twitter.com/ifsmagazine/status/962678325993881600

"To tell you the truth, they're rude and ruined the sports. Everyone in the venue criticized their attitude and the way they bothered skaters during the warmup and performance! Shame on you OAR! & recognize why UR NOT Russians but OAR here in"

Is this true? I don't believe it but I can ask you so I did it...

Click to expand...

I would be very surprised if that would be not a truth. It happened to me to be in Russia for a few month as a graduate student (it was many years ago) and i was deeply surprised by Russian arrogance towards anyone and anything. Though, deeply in the heart, every individual Russian/person is truly a nice and wonderful; so it is sort of contradiction between implanted attitude/ideology and a real heart.

samkrut, thanks so much for writing about your experiences in such lovely detail! It is almost as good as being there myself. Such reports are especially precious to me because I will never be able to afford to attend an Olympics.

[email protected] said:

We don't have this one yet, do we? Looking at team event's first day with 147 pages I am sure that live experiences will be lost should I post into main threads. I felt overwhelmed even to start reading the team thread.

Hence, I will post here about what I see in the rink and, well, in Korea in general as we plan to travel as well with a guide who was presented as "having Russian language (limited)". Hope, limited will mean a bit more than "Spasibo, Davai-davai!, Khorosho, Da, Nyet, and Molodets!"

And I invite all GSers who will be there despite all odds (cost, fears, etc.) to post here their first hand impressions.

So far, my wife and I are still in Moscow packing our "Russia" jackets, Russian flag, and some other stuff we might need during 2 weeks we plan to spend in Korea.

Click to expand...

omg I know what all those Russian words mean!!! AHHHHH!!!

plushyfan said:

I read it here https://twitter.com/ifsmagazine/status/962678325993881600

"To tell you the truth, they're rude and ruined the sports. Everyone in the venue criticized their attitude and the way they bothered skaters during the warmup and performance! Shame on you OAR! & recognize why UR NOT Russians but OAR here in"

Is this true? I don't believe it but I can ask you so I did it...

Click to expand...

it's not.
it was written by one of Yuna's fans, who always writes mucks about Russians.:sarcasm:

Attended the team event in person today and I finally understand why Patrick and Kostner get such high PCS -- their flow and speed truly stands out. Zagitova had a lot of presence on ice and Mirai was wonderful (did notice her StSq was quite slow in person though, but that 3A!!)

Our first day, finally!

We put on the uniform. For some esoteric reason my wife attached sticky darts to her face and looked like the guy from Hellraiser.
http://uploads.ru/0Nvts.jpg

Five minute drive by taxi, ten minute walk and we are at the gate. Security control was fast and easy same as the entrance to the rink. The seats were OK – better than we have at Megasport in Moscow or Yubileyny in St. Petersburg – the distance between the seats and rows is quite comfortable. We were right a top of the exit for the skaters – not the best place to watch but tolerable.

The crowd was in general quiet vs. what I get used to. The biggest support was to the Americans. Carolina showed her best FS in the last 2 years. I expected that the crowd go berserk like it was in Moscow. It did not happen. The same was after Alina’s skating. Outside “the Russian power group” it was not hostile but still undeservedly quiet.

The “Russian power group”. I took a picture of them during the ceremony when some of them already left.
http://uploads.ru/wR2fy.jpg
They indeed were loud during the warm-ups and before and after performances of the Russian skaters. They cheered, they sang songs. But they were not inappropriate with may be one exception: loud cheering for B/S when C/L were waiting for their scores. They clapped to every performance of every skater and pair. Moreover, they stood up after every performance. They never shouted Ra-sse-yaa. So, whoever writes that they were a disgrace would write the same about anything which bears a tag “Russia”.

There were occasional spectators who showed their support to the “Russian cause” by wearing the Russian uniform like this Japanese guy who was sitting in front of us.
http://uploads.ru/nA2js.jpg
There was also a decorated Korean who was properly equipped from the colored boots to the hat. But as I said the majority were quite reserved before and after skating of the Russian team.

The bar ran out of hotdogs and coffee by the first break. So I took a sausage with tea. And now after 5 hours I am lying in bed writing this with 38 degree fever. Hope, it won’t be serious as tomorrow we start a 2 day intensive sightseeing program.

The big challenge is to get to the hotel by taxi. There are no taxis waiting outside – we were suggested to go to the train station. We decided to walk back. The weather is nice – so that 40 minute walk was a pleasure as I did not have fever by then.
http://uploads.ru/7YTLn.jpg
But next time we shall make arrangements with the hotel. For the price we are paying I am sure it won’t be a problem.

My wife took a picture of cranes sitting on ice.
http://uploads.ru/0R4kG.jpg

So, I wish myself good luck to get well by morning. In the next post I will share my impressions about the skaters.

plushyfan said:

I read it here https://twitter.com/ifsmagazine/status/962678325993881600

"To tell you the truth, they're rude and ruined the sports. Everyone in the venue criticized their attitude and the way they bothered skaters during the warmup and performance! Shame on you OAR! & recognize why UR NOT Russians but OAR here in"

Is this true? I don't believe it but I can ask you so I did it...

Click to expand...

It's a lie. I don't know what "bother the skaters" means. Yes, the "Russian power group" cheered loudly during the warm ups. But they were silent during the performances. And they gave SO after every program.

withwings said:

I would be very surprised if that would be not a truth. It happened to me to be in Russia for a few month as a graduate student (it was many years ago) and i was deeply surprised by Russian arrogance towards anyone and anything. Though, deeply in the heart, every individual Russian/person is truly a nice and wonderful; so it is sort of contradiction between implanted attitude/ideology and a real heart.

Click to expand...

Yes, you might be one of those people who tend to degenerate the whole nation based on some random encounters - I have no idea what personal experiences you had "many years ago". You might ask those people who were here quite recently about "Russian arrogance towards anyone and anything". LadyB, for example.

It can happen to any of us. I used to think that the French are arrogant after a couple of conversations in Paris hotels. Like I was asked: "your English is so good, why have not you learned to speak French?" It took me some years and some wisdom to understand that those cases are not what French people as a nation are about.

Has anyone heard why they give people fluffy tigers instead of medals?

I found the Russian group to be very respectful - they gave standing ovations to many different skaters and were enthusiastically clapping for all countries.

Lester said:

Has anyone heard why they give people fluffy tigers instead of medals?

Click to expand...

Medals will be given during a separate ceremony tonight at 7 p.m. It was the same in Sochi.

Lester said:

Has anyone heard why they give people fluffy tigers instead of medals?

Click to expand...

I actually prefer the giving of tiger plushies. I think the flowers are a waste if you think about it. Besides, they are cute! I wished they customized them for each sport though....

So, my “biased” impressions.

Men

There was Patrick and everybody else. I have never seen him live and frankly speaking have been less and less impressed especially recently. But now it was clear as the sky in Gangneung today – he is a genius. He really flies over the ice. And he nailed the quads. A deserved win.

I had had negativity towards Kolyada and a lot of “whatifs” – what if he had jumped a nice clean rippon 3 Lz instead of the quad where he has the same success rate as Adam last season (well, just a bit better)? He might have nailed the combo and 3A after that and get above 90. Russia would be still in contention for gold after the short. What if Aliev skated instead of him and T/M skated the long – D/R did that. Etc. But in the end of the day despite all the pressure he might have had he performed quite decently albeit with a planned 4Lz fall. And he was relieved and was the most enthusiastic of all the Russian team.

Adam was a pleasure to watch. The quality of execution was there. And I thought that he would go above Mikha despite the lack of quads. But neither Adam nor Mikha are Patrick.

Rizzo and Tanaka are the skaters from a different league, sorry.

Ladies,

Mirai’s 3A was truly impressive. I have not checked the protocols on if they found UR. But it looked like a clean monster jump. I think it played a role in her score about which she was quite happy. The rest of her skating was OK but I felt that she was always thinking about her next jump at the expense of getting into the image.

Kaori’s skating skills are OK – we had a debate on that. But her jumps are just OK as well – there was nothing special about them, nothing to talk about like Mirai’s 3A or Polina’s T 3Lz. We were sitting right next to the place where she did her first jump. Something went wrong because it was a clear pain in her face after it – she cannot hide bad emotions and has to work on that. The moment in the middle is truly awkward. It is worse than Polina’s T drawing on the air which I find awkward as well. This part is long and weird. In general it was a decent skating without major visible errors so that with her SB of 142 I expected something similar (although I personally would put her just behind Mirai). She was quite disappointed by the actual score whatever lead to it.

Gabby was much happier after she finished the program than after she heard the scores. I was surprised as well because it was a clean program – at least it looked clean. Then reputation and stuff but… I was sitting on the opposite side and my judgement may be blurred. Her signature 3T-3T looked good but not Wow! how Adelina’s 3T-3T in Sochi looked to me. Her speed is another myth. May be she was different today than usually but she was not faster than others. In fact, the fastest skaters I saw so far was Alaine – she was like a meteor – sad she had troubles controlling her speed. Then comes Anna P. I have not seen yet Kaetlyn live, though. All in all a good program for Daleman - in the future she might more difficult combos and to backload more for higher scores.

Carolina looked better today than in Moscow – much better. Again, I was sitting at the opposite side and did not see her opening lutz. From the distance it looked fine. And she did not fall which made it possible for her to be inside the music through the whole program. And she was faster than Gabby. What happened? In Moscow she would have got more than 140 for that. Is it a signal that the judges won’t inflate her here Saitama and Moscow wise?

Finally Alina. I saw DQ several times live and dozens of times on video. Today was the best of them all. She has brought it to perfection. Exquisite preciseness, hitting all the notes – she had problems with that in Moscow. With all due respect to Caro Alina’s performance was on a different level. And 20+ point margin the judges gave her to the next competitor is fully justifiable – she was that good! Sad that the audience did not appreciate that. I would even call “nasty” this lazy applause and gluing their bottoms to the chairs.

Medvedeva or Zagitova? – this is the question. After what the team event showed if neither of them wins that would be one big shocker.