Women's FS - 2022 Olympics: Thoughts?

[whatif]

Lol, i cant actually believe that both Weir and Rippon come to Anna insta to congratulate her, after what they both were screaming about Russians all week.
They really don't know what is shame. It seems they took any opportunity to PR themselves. At least people in comment section speak with them as they deserved.

That's a misrepresentation of what they said. They never blamed any individual skater or screamed about every Russian or Russians, besides pointing out that it is unfair for Valieva to compete here and she should not be competing at all. And judging by what happened, she should have seat this one out.
They only commented about Russian officials and the coaches.

 

[DancingCactus]

The last group was definitely dramatic.

A pity that Wakaba underpeformed a bit, but she still landed that 3A, so good.

Watching Trusova skate was fascinating and atrocoius at the same time. I would have bet everything that she'd land on her ass at least once, but she held it together...barely. But seeing this program semi-clean (still, with ugly landings and stepouts) really drives home the fact that this is not a program. It's a soulless string of jumps, they don't even depend that she has anything artistic to offer.anymore And by that I don't mean "she's not like a princess". Wakaba or Kaori are also modern skaters who are not like little fairy tale girls, but they have a different kind of artistry, expression and well thought-out programs nevertheless. Whereas with watching Trusova just now I felt an almost physical revulsion (I can't find a better word to describe it). She is gutsy, but that can't be all.

Shcherbakova...after watching her come back from the botched SP at Europeans, I kind of had a feeling she might be the one coming out on top here. I still don't like her jumps and lower body movement, but she has balls of steel and an elegant upper body and expression. Also, I really hope she gets to enjoy her victory and won't get dragged down by all the drama around her.

Valieva...I said if before, they should have just made her withdraw. That was painful to watch and it could have been avoided. I did expect her to get nervous and make mistakes, but that was a complete meltdown and they should not have made her go through this.

Kaori I was nervous because what are you going to do after a performance like Trusova's, where you know you can't beat it and everyone is still flabberghasted? Apparently, all you can do is skate the maybe best program of the night and really show them what FS should be all about. I'm so happy she got on the podium and she deserved it. And she was so happy during the flower ceremony! A ray of light in this shitshow of a competition.

Other than that I was impressed by Alysa Liu, although I think that program is quite junior-ish in it's movements. But she looked very enthusiastic doing it, so it worked. Young You was also very good. I was bored by the first two groups though, in Men you get to see more interesting programs in the lower groups than in Women apparently.

 

[OS]

What I don't get is how can one not be sympathetic with Trusova. For goodness sake! The girl did 5 QUADS IN LADIES at the Olympics Final! One quad is already incredible, but FIVE?!! Pity about the 3A but that was designed for combo!! It is a monumental and historic achievement however she did it. It is still a sporting event at end of the day. no? Instead, now we are blaming her for daring to show she is upset rather than be celebrating on what she did.

How can one even equate this achievement purely in terms of rotation points differences under the already outdated COP system makes no sense, when the COP was never designed to reward ladies for quads in the first place? I think she had been rewarded the quads bonus in PCS that you often see given to the men's quadsful but half-empty programs, so I can understand her PCS boost in that respect.

COP should have room to allow people to pick a strategy to maximize their strength. One should be allowed to make these choices even when it may suffer in other areas. Just like when Carolina Kostner can choose to compete through PCS (when PCS made sense before the Russian hostage takeover since 2013-2014), you'd likely to see her picking slower but interesting pacing rhythmic music with likely lower technical content so she can focus on fully delivering the choreographic performances and going clean for extra PCS boost. Yuzu, Nathan, Plushenko's quadsful programs have all suffered when they choose to focus on jumps, so it is quite natural part of the sport. There shouldn't be a template formula for success if the judges reward things properly.

In any case, something is seriously screwed up with COP in practice, particularly the tendency for judges to prejudge and subconsciously earmark skaters for pre-ranking and benchmarking their scoring potential based on inflated scoring events put up by powerfeds. We have seen a number of great ladies given their career-best today going relatively clean but not nearly given an equal amount of inflation or clean bonus had they been skating for a power federation like Russia or the US. Yet skaters who had been pre-anointed as potential podium skaters can go splatt and still get their PCS cushion however they skate. There are many unfair aspects to this sport, but this has to be the most unfair of all. No matter what the ladies did on the day, going clean or going splatt, under the current judging system, they rarely make big differences in the scoring range other than 1 or 2 placement differences despite their performance saying otherwise on the day. And of course you have the judging selection and anonymity issue, but enough of that.

 

[Tahuu]

Happy for Anna. What a mentally strong and artistically refined champion. Sad for Sasha. She made history with 5 quads but couldn't win. Will need to improve her components and have better short programs. Mad that someone needed to dope or made Kamila take that heart cocktail containing banned substance. She is an extraordinary skater.

 

[CellarDweller]

Ashley Wagner is being interviewed, I hope someone can grab it and post it.

 

[alexocfp]

Sasha was already told by Plushenko that she needed to work on musical interpretation and performance, and that it would be advisable to limit the quads. Sasha didn't listen, and instead went back to Eteri and kept on doing what she had been doing since the JGP. But senior skaters are expected to deliver performance, and Sasha couldn't care less about that. Her eyes were glued steadfastly to the ice throughout the entire FS. None of her jumps, spins or transitions (a Danny G leg lift and a hydroplane move) were timed to the music. As it was, her PCS score were way too high for what she did on the ice; fortunately, they were way below Anna's and Kaori's. Sasha's skating skills are limited to jumps and she is lacking in just about every other category (spins, bladework) and her performance and interpretation skills are nil. She just doesn't have what it takes to be Olympic champion.

Sasha is a souped up sports car that can go 400, but the engine can blow up before it reaches the finish line. Haha

Champbakova is a touring car that does 300, but will get to the finish line come hell or high water.

 

[kan01]

Sasha was already told by Plushenko that she needed to work on musical interpretation and performance, and that it would be advisable to limit the quads. Sasha didn't listen, and instead went back to Eteri and kept on doing what she had been doing since the JGP. But senior skaters are expected to deliver performance, and Sasha couldn't care less about that. Her eyes were glued steadfastly to the ice throughout the entire FS. None of her jumps, spins or transitions (a Danny G leg lift and a hydroplane move) were timed to the music. As it was, her PCS score were way too high for what she did on the ice; fortunately, they were way below Anna's and Kaori's. Sasha's skating skills are limited to jumps and she is lacking in just about every other category (spins, bladework) and her performance and interpretation skills are nil. She just doesn't have what it takes to be Olympic champion.

But when she was with Plushenko she showed improvement PCS wise. Her short that year was beautiful. And her short this year is not bad either. Doing 5 quads takes a lot of attention out of everything else. She could win the next Olympics if she keeps her quads. But she needs another coach. Under Plushenko her quad technique was the best she's ever shown.

 

[4everchan]

But when she was with Plushenko she showed improvement PCS wise. Her short that year was beautiful. And her short this year is not bad either. Doing 5 quads takes a lot of attention out of everything else. She could win the next Olympics if she keeps her quads. But she needs another coach. Under Plushenko her quad technique was the best she's ever shown.

I am not sure any of these 3 girls will be there in 4 years.

 

[icetug]

you know what lacrimosa means right? it certainly won not only gold but tainted the whole event

In my country, on every anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin death, Mozart's Requiem is played, so of course I know the meaning of Lacrimosa. I was glad Nathan had given up the Lacrimosa FS. It's a beautiful melody, but to me it's ominous.

 

[kan01]

I am not sure any of these 3 girls will be there in 4 years.

That's why I said if she keeps her quads. She needs a good coach! Out of the three she has the most chance of going four more years. She's very athletic and seems more resilient due to her muscular build.

 

[kan01]

Well, if this event and surrounding scandal doesn't convince the powers that be to raise the senior age, nothing will.

 

[cheerknithanson]

I know I’ll be in for a treat when I watch the replay tonight when I get home.....

 

[Fluture]

I haven‘t commented on anything so far but I will now. And I don‘t care if I get a warning for it or whatever, it needs to be said.

Anna, Sasha and Kamila are three incredibly talented girls who were all failed massively by the adults around them.

Anna had the skate of her life today. You can say what you want about edges and traveling spins and URs but this girl shows up and does her job no matter what. Unbelievable grit and determination in such a tiny human being. I know many have continuously counted her out (myself included at times), so maybe today is the result of that. She may have many flaws in her technique but she performs every second of every program and I respect that. Just… well done, girl!

Which made her reaction at winning all the more sad - sitting all alone while chaos was unfolding next to her. I don‘t blame her teammates for any of this, neither was at fault, but poor Anna… this is not what an Olympic Gold moment is supposed to be like. You have to remember - this is the culmination of all her hard work, of the suffering, of the abuse she endured. She‘s the one who won it all, who got the coveted prize. And for what? For this?

Sasha: Well, she‘s a history maker. I don‘t think anybody expected her to do what she did today. Yes, there‘s nothing but jumps in her programs but she finally landed them all and at the biggest stage possible.

It‘s so devastating to see her so crushed at winning silver. These girls are being told from childhood on that everything but gold is a failure, they have this instilled belief that they only matter when they stand on top of the podium and that is just so, so wrong. To everybody who criticized her “poor sportsmanship“ today: A sincere f*** off. It‘s so easy to criticize someone‘s behaviour while sitting at home on the couch without having the full context of the situation. As a reminder: Sasha is 17. Her whole life and identity revolved around those five quads. She went through injuries and broken bones, through hours of grueling training and being yelled at by her coaches, all with the firm belief that once she landed them all, she‘d win. And then she did land them all… and still came second. That is a LOT to handle even for an adult but she‘s still so young.

17 years old in a sport where you basically leave school in childhood, where you spent your life on the rink don‘t equal 17 years in “real” life. The levels of maturity are just so different, shaped by the lack of experience and the isolation caused by elite level training. I don‘t understand how anyone could feel anything but sympathy for her.

Which brings me to…

Kamila. God. I almost couldn‘t watch. Katarina Witt sobbing on live TV afterwards just perfectly encapsulated everything. She‘s 15. She‘s a child. And she shouldn‘t even have been here. After everything that went down, she should have been withdrawn, should have been sent home. Instead, they made a spectacle out of her. Put all the pressure on her tiny shoulders and then, when she couldn‘t handle it, dared to criticize her for it.

When Kamila came off the ice, a broken shadow of a girl, Eteri Tutberidze had the audacity to scold her for it. Instead of a hug, instead of an apology, all she gave Kamila was: “Why did you give up? Why didn‘t you fight? You completely let it go after the axel.“

Anyone who can still defend this woman after everything that went down these past days should take a long hard look at their own values and how much a child‘s health is worth it to them.

Kamila is the one who will suffer the most here. She is talented and beautiful and hardworking. But because of the greed of the adults around her, none of that will ever matter. She‘ll always ask herself what could have been. She‘ll leave these Olympics traumatized.

How about that “irreparable harm“.

I hope Tutberidze‘s training environment will be seriously investigated. There‘s been records of emotional and physical abuse from these coaches for years. Now you can add doping on top of that. This camp, this system, has left behind a string of broken, disposable champions who all deserved much more than they got. Kamila is just one of them but she‘s the most heartbreaking so far. This sport needs a serious overhaul.

This is not what the Olympics are supposed to be like. Nothing about today was about the Olympic spirit. It‘s sick to watch children and teenagers suffer for gold medals. I hope every single adult who had a part in what happened today gets the punishment they deserve.

Yes, there were a lot of incredible performances apart from the Russians (particularly from Kaori, Waka, Young) and I might make a separate post for them. But the main take away today was heartbreak.

 

[4everchan]

In my country, on every anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin death, Mozart's Requiem is played, so of course I know the meaning of Lacrimosa. I was glad Nathan had given up the Lacrimosa FS. It's a beautiful melody, but to me it's ominous.

exactly... requiem is a mass to commemorate someone's passing... ominous to say the least, especially with all surrounding this event... i said it a million times i didn't want nathan to skate on the mozart at the olympics... i was right about this..

 

[kan01]

Sasha: Well, she‘s a history maker. I don‘t think anybody expected her to do what she did today. Yes, there‘s nothing but jumps in her programs but she finally landed them all and at the biggest stage possible.

It‘s so devastating to see her so crushed at winning silver. These girls are being told from childhood on that everything but gold is a failure, they have this instilled belief that they only matter when they stand on top of the podium and that is just so, so wrong. To everybody who criticized her “poor sportsmanship“ today: A sincere f*** off. It‘s so easy to criticize someone‘s behaviour while sitting at home on the couch without having the full context of the situation. As a reminder: Sasha is 17. Her whole life and identity revolved around those five quads. She went through injuries and broken bones, through hours of grueling training and being yelled at by her coaches, all with the firm belief that once she landed them all, she‘d win. And then she did land them all… and still came second. That is a LOT to handle even for an adult but she‘s still so young.

17 years old in a sport where you basically leave school in childhood, where you spent your life on the rink don‘t equal 17 years in “real” life. The levels of maturity are just so different, shaped by the lack of experience and the isolation caused by elite level training. I don‘t understand how anyone could feel anything but sympathy for her.

I lost it when Dudakov (?I think is his name) was trying to calm her and she hid after one of those fake walls to be alone and away and stood there for a few seconds before someone called her or I don't know what.

 

[Fluture]

I lost it when Dudakov (?I think is his name) was trying to calm her and she hid after one of those fake walls to be alone and away and stood there for a few seconds before someone called her or I don't know what.

Yes, she was trying to remove herself from the situation multiple times. But they kept shoving the cameras in her face, even as she begged them to leave her alone. I get it, it‘s the Olympics, it happens. Drama and pain sells. But how could anyone possibly blame Sasha for that?!

 

[bluemonday]

Now, even if figure skating is kicked out of the Olympics, I can't object. I don't want to see Russians in this sport, especially Eteri. Seriously.
However, I would like to praise the performances of all non-Russian skaters.

 

[fabienne1996]

i. apologize in advance if this rant gets a bit long and i really have to hold myself back because if i write how i would like to write i would get a lot of warnings for language in here .
. so i watched the fs and i am shocked, sad, more than just angry . i am disgusted, . for the people in here or on one of the other threads, that for example said that the trouble aroudn kamila isnt going to faze her because she is that strong mentally , for those who always just said oh they are mentally so strong and thats just how Russian mentally is! take a good look or mabye look a thousand times at those girls /teenagers¡ take a good look at kamila breaking down and istead of getting support has to listen to eteri almost blaming her ehy she didnt fight through , why she gave up . oh i dont knwo mabye becaause this is a 15 year old girl who in the last week has been through so much , eithout anyone beeing really there for her, and it was devastating to see the emotionless look on her face. ehy was danny g smiling ehile he held a crying kamila? take a look at sasha , her crying, take a look at anna who looked like the saddest Olympic gold winner i have ever seen. . no they are not always strong mentally they are humans, they are children/teenagers .. for the the ones who decided to let kamila skate because they feared the damage it could do. letting Kamila skate was what damaged here more than anything . and looking at their faces at everything i just hope to everything that it wasnt the last time we have seen them in competitve ice. this is why the age needs to be raised. they are not supernaturlas they are humans and as young teenagers they have their breaking points and i hope to everything there is that non of them have reached that point right now. enough is enough . anna said she feels emotional empty! ahen she won the olympics. that is what is done to those girls! so open your eyes and stop praising the adults around them. sasha was devastated also because all of them get told that only gold is worth it , like zhenya told in an interview in Canada she learned that gold is not everything, and that its ok to not alwasy be first. thats how the system they train and grow up in damages them.for kamila i just hope that when she is home she gets psychological help because this event probably has traumatised her in ways that shoudl not have happened., i hope to everything that she has a suuport system to fall back on . and for the other two i hope the same because wacthing this today i never ever wish to see something like that again. so while i sadly dont have much hope i still hope that soemthing changes , that it isnt just forgotten, that the adults around kamila are going to be looked into.

 

[Novalis]

No thoughts. Just emptiness.

And I hate that woman.

 

[el henry]

I'd say that Nathan is a good choice to emulate here if that means to improve artistic content, come back stronger and...

And find coaching that pays attention to medical issues and health, engages Shae Lynn Bourne to do choreo, and has no issue with skaters training on their own while attending school 3000 miles away.

I've said this before, I think (and I could be wrong) some folks make very incorrect assumptions about Nathan's training: that he's quadding to the death in practices, that he has some single minded focus on winning skating comps as the end-all and be-all of life, that he trains eight hours a day. I don't know where they get that from, it's not true

He is an excellent choice for Sasha to emulate