Replay Lounge 2026 Olympics | Pairs
- Thread starter gsk8
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Replay Lounge Pairs
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- Jan 17, 2022
I'm grateful this is a discipline I'm not really invested in and it went well overall, so my poor heart could relax a bit.
But damn, Riku and Ryuichi were amazing. Definitely an Olympic moment.
But damn, Riku and Ryuichi were amazing. Definitely an Olympic moment.
- Joined
- May 25, 2014
It really was!
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2014
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2014
I just watched a replay of M/K. How did they manage that gorgeous skating with such awful music?
Sorry to sound so crabby. "Gladiator" never did anything for me and the shift to Bocelli seemed...IDK...way extra.
Sorry to sound so crabby. "Gladiator" never did anything for me and the shift to Bocelli seemed...IDK...way extra.
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2012
I thought the Pairs free was very, very good. While I was hoping for Minerva and Nikita to stay on top, the Japanese would not be denied. They skated their hearts out and more than deserved the gold medal. Two thoughts on the US Pairs; the first is, what does Ellie Kam have to do to land her jumps? It's a rare day when she does and while she did it in the team competition and the short, Danny is a saint for keeping that smile plastered on his face while she pushes their programs down the drain on a very consistent basis. Very discouraging. The second thought is - I'm SO proud of Spencer and Emily and the job they did today. It was a joy to watch them.
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2014
Either woman lands or not lands depends very much on how man throws her. IMHO Danny, even though he may the best in other parts of skating, in throwing department he is not the best (at all).
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It was a great pairs event, and Riku and Ryuichi were just amazing! I was trying to follow in the competition thread, but got overwhelmed with the messaging...LOL...lots of pairs fans today! Everyone in the top five had to skate perfect to get on the podium, which is an accomplishment in of itself! Congrats to the two US teams, as they skated as well as they could against some stiff competition. However, placements like that in worlds will only qualify one pair team in worlds next year if I remember my rules correctly? 
I just think that USFSA needs to INVEST back into the pairs discipline like they did with the Ice Dance program. Last event...the ladies...up next! I am anticipating a furiously paced competition thread 
!
I just think that USFSA needs to INVEST back into the pairs discipline like they did with the Ice Dance program. Last event...the ladies...up next! I am anticipating a furiously paced competition thread !
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2019
It was a decisive victory, and congrats on it to the Japanese team. They repeated their stellar performance from FS in teams. I only wish H/V had the same clutch. It's the second time this season they have a short that puts them ahead, then they can't capitalize on it in the free. Lots of mistakes by everyone else as well except P/S, who I hope will overcome PCS deficit in the next couple of seasons. Overall, was okay, with traditional judging bias.
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- Joined
- Aug 12, 2014
That's not correct. A total of 13 ( such as 6th and 7th as we had last year with Efimova/Mitrofanov and Kam/O'Shea) results in 3 teams qualified for the next worlds. These two teams today, Chan/Howe and Kam/O'Shea, placing 7th and 8th, made a total of 15, so that would definitely be two pairs sent the next year, if it were the Olympics finish which counted, which it is not.It was a great pairs event, and Riku and Ryuichi were just amazing! I was trying to follow in the competition thread, but got overwhelmed with the messaging...LOL...lots of pairs fans today! Everyone in the top five had to skate perfect to get on the podium, which is an accomplishment in of itself! Congrats to the two US teams, as they skated as well as they could against some stiff competition. However, placements like that in worlds will only qualify one pair team in worlds next year if I remember my rules correctly?
However, something to remember is that we have other teams going to worlds this year. Especially Efimova and Mitrofanov.
Right. We have three pairs. McBeath and Parkman will join them, along with Kam and O’Shea.
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
I suspected that was what was meant when one of the Canadian commentators called it a "very artistic" spiral.
Thanks for the confirmation...
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2015
a few thoughts.
I see suggestions of Sui Han switching for double lutzes etc... I wonder, quite honestly, when was the last time they trained those jumps
. In any case, they are now officially really retired. I thank them for their beautiful performances and programs over the years.
Riku and Ryuichi They certainly kept their best skate ever for the Olympics. I think Ryuichi will also retire after this. I don't know if Riku will continue. In any case, Japan has a great pairs coming up and the future looks bright for them.
Georgians both programs with some mistakes. That death spiral should be invalid. Her head doesn't go below her knee and it's so ugly.
I'm not fine with them winning silver but whatever. I hope Salomé (Georgian judge) will be suspended for life after giving that program pretty much the same score as she gave the Japanese. Like... seriously ? You already got suspended before. LOL... I understand that the ISU just picks the federation and then, the federation will choose which judge is going to be "performing" at the Olympics... However, for a previously suspended judge, they should be allowed to only officiate in minor championships... not the Olympics nor worlds. And then people do not trust the system ? LOL no wonder why.
Germans or those we call miniki (I read monokini the first time I saw this term and I cannot unsee it but whatever) I have to say that I was a bit confused with them not getting silver despite the mistakes on the jumps. Those mistakes would be around 7 points... They had a 5 point lead... it's not like the Georgians were perfect and the Germans have much better skating skills... Their program was one note but yeah. I thought they would end up in silver but of course.... I bet Salomé was at play
Hungarians : the second best performance of the night. He is very elegant. Nice lines. She's very sweet. Strong elements. If they want medals, they will need real programs. Snooze fest after snooze fest. I like them but it's just not enough for the big awards.
Sui Han : much better than I expected them to skate after their disastrous short in the Team Event. Beautiful costumes and programs. However, they just cannot compete without jumps anymore. Even in their prime, the triple salchow was always a Hail Mary. It was nice seeing them again but I am not sure it was the best of ideas. The young Chinese team wouldn't have placed high but would have gained very important experience. Looking at what happened to the young Japanese team this time around, it may have been a good thing to give the new generation a shot.
Lia and Trennt : I expected this wouldn't go well. I cannot imagine they slept very easily after their brilliant short from yesterday (BTW, they should have been second for their offering yesterday). I knew things went wrong because I had seen the scores before the skate but it had started quite okay. That fall on the salchow for Trennt sealed the deal but that weird mistake on the death spiral was too much to hold on to a higher rank. Both Canadian teams got random mistakes boo.... I didn't do the maths but I wonder how much higher they would have been with a skate similar to the team event ? 6th ? Still, 8th at the Olympics is not bad. I really hope they continue. I have the feeling Trennt has had enough. I am not sure who would be a good partner for Lia if Trennt retired... and I feel that she's not done. She just started pairs in 2022.... That's an amazing achievement.
Max and Deanna : Well, they kept on their feet. Too bad about the sequence. I expected them to go for double salchows. It's the element that is giving them the most trouble and without proper training, forget it. So wise move here. The rest of the program was really good and I loved how happy they looked at the end of it. Deanna will need more rest. It seems clear to me from what she's mentioned that her injury will need more time to heal and that they got the OK because the Olympics for a 42 years needed to happen now... I hope we see them at worlds but considering it's very soon, I wouldn't be surprised if they w/d.. I don't think Max wants to skate another four years. I think Deanna will not skate without Max. I don't think she has time to get into a new partnership and worse, represent another country with the delays of a release. So Deanna will need to seduce Max into take things one season at a time if she wants to keep going like she's mentioned before.
I said this in another thread :
Deanna dreamt of an Olympic medal.
Sometimes, our dreams get adjusted but are not less meaningful
They succeeded their dreams but in two steps.
World champions in 2024, at home... Such a special moment.
Making it to the Olympics despite a what seems relatively spooky injury.
I was very sad after the lift mistake in the short because they had managed to get through the jump and throw without too much damage.
But perhaps being so low in the standings without any chance of a medal allowed them to skate a free program without too much anxiety. They looked happy at the end of all of this and that's gold. I have been following Max for longer than Deanna's hiatus of figure skating. So this was special to me, with all the adversity he's known in his career. Whatever his decision is, I bow to him. I doubt many people had World champion Maxime Deschamps on their bingo card when he was struggling to find the right partner... I also doubt that he expected to add another 6-7 years to his career, when he met Deanna, just when he was about to retire after unsuccessful partnerships.
Merci Max ! Thank you Deanna !
I see suggestions of Sui Han switching for double lutzes etc... I wonder, quite honestly, when was the last time they trained those jumps
. In any case, they are now officially really retired. I thank them for their beautiful performances and programs over the years.Riku and Ryuichi They certainly kept their best skate ever for the Olympics. I think Ryuichi will also retire after this. I don't know if Riku will continue. In any case, Japan has a great pairs coming up and the future looks bright for them.
Georgians both programs with some mistakes. That death spiral should be invalid. Her head doesn't go below her knee and it's so ugly.
I'm not fine with them winning silver but whatever. I hope Salomé (Georgian judge) will be suspended for life after giving that program pretty much the same score as she gave the Japanese. Like... seriously ? You already got suspended before
. LOL... I understand that the ISU just picks the federation and then, the federation will choose which judge is going to be "performing" at the Olympics... However, for a previously suspended judge, they should be allowed to only officiate in minor championships... not the Olympics nor worlds. And then people do not trust the system ? LOL no wonder why.Germans or those we call miniki (I read monokini the first time I saw this term and I cannot unsee it but whatever) I have to say that I was a bit confused with them not getting silver despite the mistakes on the jumps. Those mistakes would be around 7 points... They had a 5 point lead... it's not like the Georgians were perfect and the Germans have much better skating skills... Their program was one note but yeah. I thought they would end up in silver but of course.... I bet Salomé was at play
Hungarians : the second best performance of the night. He is very elegant. Nice lines. She's very sweet. Strong elements. If they want medals, they will need real programs. Snooze fest after snooze fest. I like them but it's just not enough for the big awards.
Sui Han : much better than I expected them to skate after their disastrous short in the Team Event. Beautiful costumes and programs. However, they just cannot compete without jumps anymore. Even in their prime, the triple salchow was always a Hail Mary. It was nice seeing them again but I am not sure it was the best of ideas. The young Chinese team wouldn't have placed high but would have gained very important experience. Looking at what happened to the young Japanese team this time around, it may have been a good thing to give the new generation a shot.
Lia and Trennt : I expected this wouldn't go well. I cannot imagine they slept very easily after their brilliant short from yesterday (BTW, they should have been second for their offering yesterday). I knew things went wrong because I had seen the scores before the skate but it had started quite okay. That fall on the salchow for Trennt sealed the deal but that weird mistake on the death spiral was too much to hold on to a higher rank. Both Canadian teams got random mistakes boo.... I didn't do the maths but I wonder how much higher they would have been with a skate similar to the team event ? 6th ? Still, 8th at the Olympics is not bad. I really hope they continue. I have the feeling Trennt has had enough. I am not sure who would be a good partner for Lia if Trennt retired... and I feel that she's not done. She just started pairs in 2022.... That's an amazing achievement.
Max and Deanna : Well, they kept on their feet. Too bad about the sequence. I expected them to go for double salchows. It's the element that is giving them the most trouble and without proper training, forget it. So wise move here. The rest of the program was really good and I loved how happy they looked at the end of it. Deanna will need more rest. It seems clear to me from what she's mentioned that her injury will need more time to heal and that they got the OK because the Olympics for a 42 years needed to happen now... I hope we see them at worlds but considering it's very soon, I wouldn't be surprised if they w/d.. I don't think Max wants to skate another four years. I think Deanna will not skate without Max. I don't think she has time to get into a new partnership and worse, represent another country with the delays of a release. So Deanna will need to seduce Max into take things one season at a time if she wants to keep going like she's mentioned before.
I said this in another thread :
Deanna dreamt of an Olympic medal.
Sometimes, our dreams get adjusted but are not less meaningful
They succeeded their dreams but in two steps.
World champions in 2024, at home... Such a special moment.
Making it to the Olympics despite a what seems relatively spooky injury.
I was very sad after the lift mistake in the short because they had managed to get through the jump and throw without too much damage.
But perhaps being so low in the standings without any chance of a medal allowed them to skate a free program without too much anxiety. They looked happy at the end of all of this and that's gold. I have been following Max for longer than Deanna's hiatus of figure skating. So this was special to me, with all the adversity he's known in his career. Whatever his decision is, I bow to him. I doubt many people had World champion Maxime Deschamps on their bingo card when he was struggling to find the right partner... I also doubt that he expected to add another 6-7 years to his career, when he met Deanna, just when he was about to retire after unsuccessful partnerships.
Merci Max ! Thank you Deanna !
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2008
Something I haven't seen anyone talk about is how Riku Miura double-footed her 3Sal landing, and yet they received a ton of +GOE on that element. It's ridiculous they were given a world record score.
It depends on how you define "her head". The very top of her head is below her kneecap, but most of her head isn't. Something that needs to be addressed better in the rules.
The rules also definitely need to be updated to specify that the leg needs to hit a certain minimum angle to the ice for the element to be credited. Objectively what they did should not be credited as a death spiral, and even when credited in the current rules it definitely deserved lower GOE.
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2025
As a huuuuuuuge pairs fan I had a great time! 
Deanna, you amaze me..and probably scare me also... good thing Maxime is so calm. Great that the Olympic dream has happened, even if not as they expected at the start of the season
The Italian teams have delighted the homecrowd, and me, which is good for ALL
Sui&Han, boy am I glad that they survived!
Honestly ended up higher than I expected. Enjoy a well earned (2nd) retirement
Lia and Trennt are going to be the best standard bearer for Canadian pairs in the next quad!
Poor Maria and Alexei, forever 4th with always good skates...best result at the Olympics for Hungarian Pairs since the last Olympics in Cortina in '56.
They should be proud of themselves, even if the medal has not materialized
Minerva an Nikita, those nerves, those nerves, those nerves...hope they bounce back...I really wanted the silver for them
Still not a fan of Luka's, and Anastasia is not enough to offset this for me, also don't like their skating styles. But have to say they are a good technical team...
RikuRyu!!!!!!!! Well deserved, beautifull. They have been my fauvorites since Beijing, sooo hapyy for them
Sidenote: I successfully converted my mother(a lapsed FS fan, who mostly became a 4 year fan) to be a huge Team Japan fan!!! (
yes, I claim all the credit, definitely not the amazing skaters themselves)
Deanna, you amaze me..and probably scare me also... good thing Maxime is so calm. Great that the Olympic dream has happened, even if not as they expected at the start of the season
The Italian teams have delighted the homecrowd, and me, which is good for ALL
Sui&Han, boy am I glad that they survived!
Honestly ended up higher than I expected. Enjoy a well earned (2nd) retirementLia and Trennt are going to be the best standard bearer for Canadian pairs in the next quad!
Poor Maria and Alexei, forever 4th with always good skates...best result at the Olympics for Hungarian Pairs since the last Olympics in Cortina in '56.
They should be proud of themselves, even if the medal has not materializedMinerva an Nikita, those nerves, those nerves, those nerves...hope they bounce back...I really wanted the silver for them
Still not a fan of Luka's, and Anastasia is not enough to offset this for me, also don't like their skating styles. But have to say they are a good technical team...
RikuRyu!!!!!!!! Well deserved, beautifull. They have been my fauvorites since Beijing, sooo hapyy for them
Sidenote: I successfully converted my mother(a lapsed FS fan, who mostly became a 4 year fan) to be a huge Team Japan fan!!! (
yes, I claim all the credit, definitely not the amazing skaters themselves)
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2025
....And here is the medalists' press conference link....
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2018
I think you can keep some of them - it's been a curate's egg on ice so far. Let's see if the women bring it.
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2015
Generally nice competition. Pairs usually has the most logical judging among the disciplines. Riku/ Ryuichi were obviously the deserved winners. I think they were quite overscored but given how others skated it didn't end up mattering. They are the class of the field.
M/B have some great elements. I'm a huge fan of hers. Not so much of his. She's definitely making the partnership successful with her beautiful positions which distract from his issues. Still given the overall competition they deserved a medal.
H/V never do it for me artistically even when they are on but I can usually appreciate their elements. Hase's jumps weren't working today but they have such nice lifts unlike the Georgians. Volodin is a good lifter.
I thought the Hungarians deserved better. They skated two wonderful programs. Their freeskate does not have good choreo but they deserve higher GOE on some elements.
The American pairs should be proud of their Olympics. C/H coming 7th is amazing. K/O's 9th place is under expectations but they excelled in the team event.
I like H/K more than the judges do. I always think they are underscored in components. Do they have the best SS or the best lifts? Clearly not. But, they are truly performing more than most of these pairs. The audience loves them. Give them higher choreo and performance marks judges!
The C/M showed their injury here but they were great in the team event so overall they had a good Olympics given her injury. G/ A were also underscored in components imho. Like H/K performance should count for something in PCS.
Happy for the Polish team! I'm glad Deanna was able to have an Olympic experience and their skates were impressive given the injury. Lia/ Trent were great in the SP and less impressive in the FS. This has been the case all year. Not an unsurprising result.
M/B have some great elements. I'm a huge fan of hers. Not so much of his. She's definitely making the partnership successful with her beautiful positions which distract from his issues. Still given the overall competition they deserved a medal.
H/V never do it for me artistically even when they are on but I can usually appreciate their elements. Hase's jumps weren't working today but they have such nice lifts unlike the Georgians. Volodin is a good lifter.
I thought the Hungarians deserved better. They skated two wonderful programs. Their freeskate does not have good choreo but they deserve higher GOE on some elements.
The American pairs should be proud of their Olympics. C/H coming 7th is amazing. K/O's 9th place is under expectations but they excelled in the team event.
I like H/K more than the judges do. I always think they are underscored in components. Do they have the best SS or the best lifts? Clearly not. But, they are truly performing more than most of these pairs. The audience loves them. Give them higher choreo and performance marks judges!
The C/M showed their injury here but they were great in the team event so overall they had a good Olympics given her injury. G/ A were also underscored in components imho. Like H/K performance should count for something in PCS.
Happy for the Polish team! I'm glad Deanna was able to have an Olympic experience and their skates were impressive given the injury. Lia/ Trent were great in the SP and less impressive in the FS. This has been the case all year. Not an unsurprising result.
