Ladies go for Gold! Free Skate

[ladysarahchatto]

Irina looked really puffy in the face to me. I am not making excuses for her, but she didn't look well. I hope she isn't having some kind of flare up.

I loved Emily's energy! You go girl!

Well, at least my 30 year streak of picking the wrong lady to win the OGM is intact! :yes:

BTW, I am in the US and, FWIW, I care about how Sasha does. Why wouldn't I care? She's representing our country and I am proud that we have such wonderful skaters to show off to the world. Sasha gives more in beauty, than several of the other skaters combined. I wish she could have skated her best, but she didn't give up. It's not the easiest thing to do.

As an American I too am VERY proud of Sasha's efforts at these Games. She should have been further ahead on component points after the SP imo, and skated like a Champion that night. She's a human being, not a robot and she gave it her best in the LP. She came back like a boxer after she went down and gave it a good fight to the end. Kudos to Sasha. The same for Irina, with all the personal problems she has had to deal with (and is still dealing with) she's a great Champion for Russia and I am sure she will be given a wonderful reception back home.All the ladies at this glorious event ROCKED OUT and they made up for the Men's competition which for me was an anticlimax. I hated watching them fighting for a Silver when Gold was so far out of reach. The Olympics are sports grandest stage, the most enobled of all sporting events. It comes just once every four years and what a four years it has been!

 

[ladysarahchatto]

The constant attempts to put down both Michelle and Sasha around here are pathetic.

Agreed. :thumbsup:

The Irina fluffy they are showing now on NBC..



It is amazing this young woman came back and had so much success with so much going on-her mom, her own health. All the pettiness of some people over gold, silver, or bronze medals. These are medals. Life, good health, and happiness are so much more important. I am so happy for Irina to come back and medal again at her third Olympics to add to her silver in 2002.

They just said 'Sasha Cohen has a wrap' around her thigh. Oh boy. I hope this doesn't knock her out of Worlds.

Kudos to Sasha for fighting back for Silver. Good for her.

 

[Gwendolyn]

I'm saying that, in general, Americans are going to be disappointed that Sasha fell twice and didn't get gold and that, in light of that, most of them won't care if she ended up bronze or silver.

Personally, I'd prefer she got the bronze if it would save us from whining from Russians like after 2002.

But if you and others disagree, that's fine.

Not that I agree with it, but I have to say that I saw on CNN in one morning, one of the anchors was talking about the medal count in Torino and how Norway (??? can't remember which country) was ahead of the US, but the US had more "gold" and then she said (and I kid you not, these are her almost exact words) "let's face it, only gold matters." :frown2:

 

[ladysarahchatto]

The Georgian girl (I cant' spell her name! sorry!) she is skating to music with vocals-I didnt' know that was allowed in singles skating?? Very pretty, haunting music but I thought vocals were only allowed in Ice Dancing (which I don't like btw-too exhibition style for me).

I love Sasha's burgundy costume with the gold embroidery. Very beautiful. You can see it in her eyes-like Scott said 'there's doubt'.

SPECTACULAR Comeback by Sasha! Well done!

As Scott said her gift is Artistry-SO true! And I agree with Sandra's comment 'the difference between Sasha and everyone else is everyone else skates to Romeo & Juliet..Sasha IS Juliet. Right on.

Her choreo, artistry, musicality, expression..all there start to finish. And I love that she landed her triple/double combo after the two minute mark for bonus, and final triple sal at the end. She fought for it! That's why the judges rewarded her.

Her Silver was well deserved.

I don't care for Shiz's Turandot-don't care for the music but what a beautiful skater! And SO athletic! The whole package!

Well deserved Gold!

Fumie's spirals, spins, and choreo just were not there. They were all mediocre compared to Sasha and Shiz and I think she doubled some jumps.

 

[kyla2]

Ladies

Congratulations to Shizuka-her gold is well deserved. She skated beautifully. It is the only winter Olympic medal Japan got this year so I am very happy for her and her country. She will certainly be a super star when she goes home. I absolutely love Fumie because she skates with her heart. I think Dick Button was way too hard on her in his commentary. I knew Sasha was in trouble when I saw her warm up. I prayed she could pull it out and in many respects she did. I am proud of her for fighting for the rest of the program. It got her the silver. I think I feel worst for Irina. I really wanted her to do better than bronze because she has worked so hard and suffered so much personally. Truthfully, I don't think she looks well. I know she is heartbroken. This has been one tough Olympics for many skaters, most especially Michelle. I will be glad when it is over. Perhaps Worlds will be better.

 

[rob43]

Kyla- I'm mentally creditting Shizuka with a win, the Chinese pairs for courage and the ice dancers- the rest I will try to forget.

Argghhh-

 

[kyla2]

rob43

ITA-good post.

 

[R.D.]

Excellent turnout. Love it. Japan's only medal at the 2006 Games...and it's Gold!

I think the biggest surprise for me, however, was Slutskaya's bronze. I thought immediately after Cohen fell the second time that she took herself right out of the medals. Maybe if someone else made a mistake she would get bronze. But silver after that...wow. She did fight back after she fell, though, and that made the difference IMO. So many skaters just fall apart once they know their dream is over, and I give her high credit for keeping it together. Definitely deserved silver.

Then came Arakawa. It was a very strong performance, not outstanding like Sarah's 2002 FS or Lipinski's 98 FS, but still good enough to win. What a comeback after 9th at last year's worlds! I'm happy for her, I really am. I certainly got my wish.

I don't think I've EVER seen Irina fall on a jump. That was very unusual and I think the Olympic pressure just got to her again...like the last time. It sounds as if two of the most dominating skaters of this time- Kwan and Slutskaya- just weren't destined for Oly Gold.

closing thought- I really thought Irina would get silver because I was thinking, Sasha fell TWICE but Irina only fell once. That was another "surprise" for me. Gotta love the Olympics.

 

[STL_Blues_fan]

Any proff of the so-called Russian whining?

Personally, I'd prefer she got the bronze if it would save us from whining from Russians like after 2002.

But if you and others disagree, that's fine.

Can you please give at least a single source that indicates about Russian whining??? I just read a number of Russian articles on the ladies LP results, and not a single one of them said that Irina was rubbed.

Russians "whined" back in 2002 not because of the LP results but b/c of the short. Had Irina been placed first in the SP (and many would argue even outside of Russia that she was a winner of SP), then she would've won the Gold even if the results of the LP did not change. Ordinals made the difference. You didn't had to win every phase of the competition before the CoP came along in order to claim the gold.

Anyways,aren't you tired of all the Russia bashing? Before you accuse anybody of doing anything, please show us the evidence.

That also goes to all the anti-American, anti-Canadian, anti-Sasha, Evan, Michelle, etc... it's getting old.

Congratulations to Sasha and Shizukka!

Most of all, congratulations to Irina for her dedication to sport and perseverance. If she were a hockey player in the NHL, she would win the Jim Masterson trophy!!!

 

[Dibs]

I am so impressed with all the ladies on the podium. Shizuka was fabulous. I loved how Sasha fought back despite the possible but still slightly unconfirmed injury. She really looked as though she was limping when she got off the ice and I think Dick Button was right when he said her leg simply didn't have the strength. And my heart goes out to Irina. After everything she's been through and to come up short of her dream, but I really don't think that matters. I'll see her and Michelle Kwan both as two time Olympic medal athletes rather than the one's who couldn't land the gold. I also think Irina didn't look completely healthy. I noticed on Olympic Ice during her practice session she looked a little pale and not quite up to her speedy self. I thought she might have a rough time in the LP, and she did, but I am glad to see her on the podium. Kudos to all three.

 

[bethissoawesome]

I'm so happy for Shizuka! I hope they are still celebrating for her in Tokyo when I go there in 2 weeks. What an awesome career... the first gold at Worlds and the first Olympic gold for herself and her country. She definitely deserved her win. I couldn't be more proud of Sasha either. She could have given up after the fall on her first jumping pass... or putting her hands down on the second... but she hung in there and never gave up on her performance. She has an Olympic silver medal and the SP performance of a lifetime to take back with her. (I'd still love to see Sasha win Worlds this year because Irina had an amazing performance for 1st in 2005, and Shizuka was incredible for her 1st in 2004). Irina has two Olympic medals and it just nails the point home (now twice) that you don't have to have the OLYMPIC GOLD to be an incredible skater and a champion. I wish there was more room on the podium for Fumie though (some of Dick Button's comments about her (and others) made me cringe... I'm all in favor of Mute Dick Button on my TV remote).
Side note- I would have loved to see Miki and Carolina do better and I hope they stay in there until 2010.

 

[R.D.]

You know, even though I said I didn't like Irina and I didn't want her to win, I did feel bad for her. She seemed totally crushed on the podium and couldn't even crack a smile. It's not good to see anyone like that. It reminds me of Kwan's 2002 Olympic disappointment.

 

[Justafan]

Excellent turnout. Love it. Japan's only medal at the 2006 Games...and it's Gold!

I think the biggest surprise for me, however, was Slutskaya's bronze. I thought immediately after Cohen fell the second time that she took herself right out of the medals. Maybe if someone else made a mistake she would get bronze. But silver after that...wow. She did fight back after she fell, though, and that made the difference IMO. So many skaters just fall apart once they know their dream is over, and I give her high credit for keeping it together. Definitely deserved silver.

Then came Arakawa. It was a very strong performance, not outstanding like Sarah's 2002 FS or Lipinski's 98 FS, but still good enough to win. What a comeback after 9th at last year's worlds! I'm happy for her, I really am. I certainly got my wish.

I don't think I've EVER seen Irina fall on a jump. That was very unusual and I think the Olympic pressure just got to her again...like the last time. It sounds as if two of the most dominating skaters of this time- Kwan and Slutskaya- just weren't destined for Oly Gold.

closing thought- I really thought Irina would get silver because I was thinking, Sasha fell TWICE but Irina only fell once. That was another "surprise" for me. Gotta love the Olympics.

Sasha fell twice but her choreography was superior. Although Irina has great spins, Sasha just doesn't travel at all on hers..her feet are solidly planted, and her step sequence was spot on. Irina looked like she was just skating from element to element to me with not a lot in between but planning the next jump. If you look at the scoring, Sasha won on components and steps. Irina outscored her in jumps. You cannot even compare Irina's spirals with Sasha's...and those things not only matter but as we can see, they can tip the balance.

 

[humbaba]

This was the most solemn looking podium I've ever seen in all my years of watching skating. Irina looked crushed, Sasha looked so disappointed, and Shiza looked emotionless. Even the Japanese anthem sounded somber. Am I the only one who thought there was an aura of strangeness during the medals ceremony? Just kind of muffled and muted.

 

[R.D.]

This was the most solemn looking podium I've ever seen in all my years of watching skating. Irina looked crushed, Sasha looked so disappointed, and Shiza looked emotionless. Even the Japanese anthem sounded somber. Am I the only one who thought there was an aura of strangeness during the medals ceremony? Just kind of muffled and muted.

I actually agree with you. It was strange...understandable that Cohen and Slutskaya would be disappointed, but even stranger that Shiz showed basically NO emotion! You just won the OGM...I thought she'd at least have a glowing smile hearing her own anthem!

 

[Justafan]

This was the most solemn looking podium I've ever seen in all my years of watching skating. Irina looked crushed, Sasha looked so disappointed, and Shiza looked emotionless. Even the Japanese anthem sounded somber. Am I the only one who thought there was an aura of strangeness during the medals ceremony? Just kind of muffled and muted.

I thought Irina looked pissed! Can I say that?

 

[STL_Blues_fan]

I thought Irina looked pissed! Can I say that?

I don't think she did. Just disappointed.

but she did smile here and there, at least for the official photographs.

 

[Serena]

Although Sasha was the one I wanted to win most, this is the first time since '92 that I've been happy with the results ('92 was in fact, the only time I was happy with the results until now, as I was too young to remember '84 and '88).

Shizuka wasn't her best technically, but I enjoyed watching her the most. I wish Sasha had skated better as well, but I'm glad she didn't let her mistakes cause her to completely self-destruct. Irina... poor Irina. I like other skaters better than her, but she's still a great skater and I can't help feeling bad for her. It really is eerie that both she and the Kween got silver, then bronze. I was worried that a Kween-less ladies competition would be stale, but I was wrong- it was the most exciting of all four disciplines.

 

[Mafke]

As to the podium, my first impressions were that it hadn't yet soaked in for Arakawa (and her facial structure is such that she has to _really_ smile big before anything registers) Cohen was both disappointed (not gold) and relieved (still on the podium) and Slutskaya was clearly disappointed but not crushed, kind of c'est la vie, if you go into the LP as a favorite for gold, going through the ceremony with bronze can't be much fun but

And considering some of the differences between Japanese and (broadly speaking) western culture, I'd hesitate to speculate too much on Arakawa's behavior, maybe Japnese winners are _supposed_ to look reserved (like Sumou wrestlers who aren't supposed to show emotion in victory or defeat). I just don't know enough about Japanese culture to be able to successfully read body language or facial expression.

 

[Mafke]

... Slutskaya was clearly disappointed but not crushed, kind of c'est la vie, if you go into the LP as a favorite for gold, going through the ceremony with bronze can't be much fun but

hit 'send' too soon, let's try again:

Slutskaya was clearly disappointed but not crushed, kind of c'est la vie, if you go into the LP as a favorite for gold, going through the ceremony with bronze can't be much fun but she conducted herself with a lot of class.

that's better.