2023 4CCs: Pairs | Thoughts

[gsk8]

Miura and Kihara reign at Four Continents

2023 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships Pairs’ Free Skate Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan reigned at the 2023 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships after taking the Pairs’ title. […]

www.goldenskate.com

It was kind of funny watching the teams sink or collapse to the ice after their performances due to the altitude It can definitely take a toll, that's for sure! I remember years ago seeing skaters like Yagudin sucking on an oxygen mask after competing there.

I really enjoyed watching the Canadian teams!

O'Shea wore a smile on his face the whole time that said: "I'm just happy to be here!"

 

[Fluture]

I'm very happy for all three pairs. I still can't believe Miura/Kihara are doing so well now. I remember watching them at the Worlds 2021 and being awed like: "Since when does Japan have a pair like this?!" and they've only grown since then. They've been my favorites since then and I remember being over the moon when they won silver and bronze at the GP and made the final. Now they're GPF and Four Continents Champions. Unreal.

Chan/Howe were great, too. They had such a disappointing GPF, so this was a pleasant surprise. I got worried for them when Pereira/Michaud skated so well, but they responded brilliantly. In terms of emotions, it was definitely the skate of the night.

Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps are another pair who had a pretty disappointing GPF, so I was rooting hard for them to medal here. Not a fan of their free at all (those "Egyptian hands" choreo… just why) but she's just such a star. And it's so funny (and insane) checking her Wikipedia page and her medals being like: Four Continents 2023, Junior Worlds 2000. Talk about longevity lol.

Pereira/Michaud are SO good for a team that just got together and for her being a full-on singles skater not so long ago. I hope she picks pairs because the potential is insane.

I'm also happy that several pairs are stepping up their game. The battle for the podium at Worlds will be pretty fierce with M/K, K/F, C/H, S-D/D and C/M are all in the mix. Very exciting and not at all what I expected at the beginning of the season.

That being said, I didn't think it was "funny" seeing the teams collapse after their performances. Pairs is a dangerous discipline at the best of times, which makes this pretty irresponsible. Kihara and Deschamps looked like they were about to die during their last lift and barely managed to get their partner down safely. Would it still have been funny if one of the women had been dropped on her head?

I'm glad people like Jackie Wong spoke out. It was frankly irresponsible to have these championship at this kind of altitude and then not even provide oxygen for the skaters who clearly needed it. Kihara was crawling to the K&C, in the men's FS, Boyang Jin was just lying on the ice after his program, swaying as he tried to get up. Several of the skaters were clutching their chests and most of them collapsed on the ice the moment the music stopped. After a pandemic that heavily affected the lung and hearts, sometimes even having aftereffects for those who initially had mild symptoms…. pure insanity.

 

[Jeanie19]

I'm very happy for all three pairs. I still can't believe Miura/Kihara are doing so well now. I remember watching them at the Worlds 2021 and being awed like: "Since when does Japan have a pair like this?!" and they've only grown since then. They've been my favorites since then and I remember being over the moon when they won silver and bronze at the GP and made the final. Now they're GPF and Four Continents Champions. Unreal.

Chan/Howe were great, too. They had such a disappointing GPF, so this was a pleasant surprise. I got worried for them when Pereira/Michaud skated so well, but they responded brilliantly. In terms of emotions, it was definitely the skate of the night.

Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps are another pair who had a pretty disappointing GPF, so I was rooting hard for them to medal here. Not a fan of their free at all (those "Egyptian hands" choreo… just why) but she's just such a star. And it's so funny (and insane) checking her Wikipedia page and her medals being like: Four Continents 2023, Junior Worlds 2000. Talk about longevity lol.

Pereira/Michaud are SO good for a team that just got together and for her being a full-on singles skater not so long ago. I hope she picks pairs because the potential is insane.

I'm also happy that several pairs are stepping up their game. The battle for the podium at Worlds will be pretty fierce with M/K, K/F, C/H, S-D/D and C/M are all in the mix. Very exciting and not at all what I expected at the beginning of the season.

That being said, I didn't think it was "funny" seeing the teams collapse after their performances. Pairs is a dangerous discipline at the best of times, which makes this pretty irresponsible. Kihara and Deschamps looked like they were about to die during their last lift and barely managed to get their partner down safely. Would it still have been funny if one of the women had been dropped on her head?

I'm glad people like Jackie Wong spoke out. It was frankly irresponsible to have these championship at this kind of altitude and then not even provide oxygen for the skaters who clearly needed it. Kihara was crawling to the K&C, in the men's FS, Boyang Jin was just lying on the ice after his program, swaying as he tried to get up. Several of the skaters were clutching their chests and most of them collapsed on the ice the moment the music stopped. After a pandemic that heavily affected the lung and hearts, sometimes even having aftereffects for those who initially had mild symptoms…. pure insanity.

My husband asked where are the oxygen masks. If there are going to be competitions at this altitude, then there needs to be oxygen for them. Personally I hope there will never be competitions at this elevation again.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

TSL indicated that Meaghan Duhamel tweeted how the skaters should have been prepared for the altitude challenges.

We have seen numerous competitions take place in Colorado Springs. For goodness sakes, there should be protocols in place for proper fitness prep. Pull out if you aren't prepared for the challenges. Have oxygen masks ready along with blade covers at rinkside.

As fans, what do most of us know about athlete fitness and challenges presented at various venues? Is Colorado Springs the only location with the highest altitude where fs events are routinely held??? Let me remind everyone that Colorado Springs is a renowned venue location in the U.S., prominent since the early days of fs competitions held in the U.S. It is the current state-of-the-art U.S. Olympic Center rink location, with a full complement of athlete resources, including physical therapy and rehab.

A number of U.S. athletes train at this location, including Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea. Did we see Danny O'Shea breathing heavily and bent over, or laid out on the ice at the end of his performances? Nope. He trains there regularly and thus he's used to the high altitude conditions.

Was the high altitude location purposely chosen years ago to help athletes with training and fitness endurance? I don't know. I'm asking about the historic conditions and decisions that went into the development of the venues in Colorado Springs. Again, fs events have been held in CS for many years! The World championships has been held there five different times, beginning in 1957, with the last time in 1979. Other international locales for Worlds have become popular since then. Four Continents began in 1999, and the event has been held in CS four times: 2006, 2007, 2012, and this year. U.S. Nationals has taken place in CS a total of 6 times starting in 1948 with the last time there, in 1976. Other venues such as Greensboro, San Jose, Seattle, Portland, et al, have become more popular in recent years. However, domestic and local events are held there every season.

The bottom line, international events are not held in CS that often in recent years. 4CCs has been held there only four times in the 2000s. Plus, Worlds and U.S. Nationals have not been held there since the 1970s. When CS was picked for 4CCs this year, everyone should have been fully aware of what was in store in terms of endurance needs and either prepare accordingly, or withdraw.

 

[noskates]

There's another issue. Nats was 2 weeks before 4 CCs and perhaps not all of the skaters participating had the wherewithal to go straight to Colorado and spend more money on hotels, restaurants and ice time. Same with coming from out of the country. Yes it would have been nice to spend a few weeks in Colorado prior to the competition but maybe the federations didn't want to pay for it. I'm not trying to be a Pollyanna here but there's always two sides to the story. However, having oxygen should have been provided. I was worried about Boyang Jin for sure.

 

[skylark]

Again, fs events have been held in CS for many years! The World championships has been held there five different times, beginning in 1957, with the last time in 1979. Other international locales for Worlds have become popular since then. Four Continents began in 1999, and the event has been held in CS four times: 2006, 2007, 2012, and this year. U.S. Nationals has taken place in CS a total of 6 times starting in 1948 with the last time there, in 1976.

The issue is that the last ten years have seen the technical requirements (if you want to be competitive at the national and 4CC levels) of the singles and pairs disciplines go up drastically. Isn't there an obvious correlation between that and seeing the skaters run out of oxygen at the end of programs?

Even if you're only considering the 4 times 4CC has been held in Colorado Springs, the last time was 2012. think about your favorite skaters then, and what were the elements the winners performed.

 

[TallyT]

When CS was picked for 4CCs this year, everyone should have been fully aware of what was in store in terms of endurance needs and either prepare accordingly, or withdraw.

Oh yes why not, let us insist that skaters throw money away by spending extra weeks - which, in many cases they cannot because of other competitions, budget restrictions etc - in a place which suits very few of the world's competitors, is clearly unpopular with the public and was in fact chosen... why?

Instead of either choosing somewhere that suits the majority of competitors or at least having the medical necessities available when something goes wrong. Does officialdom - does Duhamel - really think that those scenes of people collapsed on the ice and gasping for breath are attractive to the viewing public?

 

[el henry]

Oh yes why not, let us insist that skaters throw money away by spending extra weeks - which, in many cases they cannot because of other competitions, budget restrictions etc - in a place which suits very few of the world's competitors, is clearly unpopular with the public and was in fact chosen... why?

Instead of either choosing somewhere that suits the majority of competitors or at least having the medical necessities available when something goes wrong. Does officialdom - does Duhamel - really think that those scenes of people collapsed on the ice and gasping for breath are attractive to the viewing public?

4CC was "chosen" because no other city stepped up to the plate on such short notice.

So maybe this experience will encourage other cities to step up?

 

[TallyT]

So maybe this experience will encourage other cities to step up?

That would be good.