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I watched the women's figure skating tonight. I'm never disappointed when I watch it, it never fails to entertain me.
Anyway, I've seen Irina Slutskaya skate a few times since the 2002 olympics (and once or twice before that), so no surprise that she was excellent again tonight. I've never seen a performance by her that wasn't flawless (or close to it).
Sasha Cohen was amazing tonight, I thought. I was very impressed. The only other time I'd ever seen her was 2002. A very beautiful girl too.
I was also really impressed by the tiny little Japanese girl. I thought she deserved a better score than what she got, but I'm not qualified to make that sort of decision . Her timing with her music was impeccable, but I'm not sure how much that counts for.
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Sasha's performance I thought was better than Irina's because it was better choreographed and her showmanship is better. I really think they shouldn't be as close in the scores as they are.
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I agree, Belle. As much as I like Irina Slutskaya, I thought Sasha Cohen was considerably better tonight.
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I thought there was just something special about Slutskaya's performance tonight. I have never seen her skate before (this is the first year I have ever watched the Olympics) but I was thoroughly impressed with how much I liked her show. I also have to give her credit for defying the norms by wearing pants instead of a skirt.
Yes, Cohen gave a flawless and what appeared to be an effortless program, I don't deny that. I'm just of the opinion that Slutskaya had some amazing spark and performed with passion that really appealed to me.
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Xav, I have to agree with you about the last Japanese girl to skate. I thought she deserved better scores.
Sasha Cohen was magnificent.
I was surprised to see Slutskaya in a body suit, she has never done that before. I didn't think it was that flattering a style on her. The last skater I recall wearing a body suit was Debi Thomas (can't remember what year that was).
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I forgot to mention how much I love Emily Hughes. I am the newest member of her fanclub. I saw one of her other performances and along with tonight's, she is now my favorite skater. That girl loves to skate and she makes sure the entire audience knows it. She makes me happy when I watch her perform.
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quote: I was surprised to see Slutskaya in a body suit, she has never done that before. I didn't think it was that flattering a style on her. The last skater I recall wearing a body suit was Debi Thomas (can't remember what year that was).
Apparently this was changed by the International Skating Union sometime within the last year.
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The lady skaters can wear pants now, Ela. I guess that means trousers or tights. Men have to wear pants, not tights. That hasn't changed.
I found several sites on the internet saying they made the old rule after Katarina Witt wore a skimpy outfit in 1988. It was the Katarina Rule.
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So, we (Australia) qualified first in the women's aerial! Two in the top 12 isn't bad. It would be great if we could get the gold again.
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quote:Originally posted by Theaca: The lady skaters can wear pants now, Ela. I guess that means trousers or tights. Men have to wear pants, not tights. That hasn't changed.
I found several sites on the internet saying they made the old rule after Katarina Witt wore a skimpy outfit in 1988. It was the Katarina Rule.
I had no idea that there was any change in rules. I seem to remember some woman skater, I think Debi Thomas, wearing a body suit similar to Slutskaya's at the Olympics, but that would have been the same year as the Witt incident you mention.
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Well, I'm glad you all remember seeing someone in a bodysuit in the Olympics before because I do too... When they mentioned the rule change allowing them I was confused.
IIRC, Suraya Bonali wore them. I think she was French.
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So did Irina and Sasha really skate better than Emmy Meissner? I didn't stay up to watch them, but Emmy's performance (and her triple triple combo) were wonderful. Was it just a lack of showmanship or experience that put her behind those two in the scores? Otherwise, I thought her performance was lovely and I'm bummed that she's so far back now.
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Well, no one even expected her to be a contender, so the fact that she is in fifth actually is pretty good. I wish she'd done better than fifth, personally, but it was her very first time. I have a feeling we'll see more of her in the future.
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Okay, maybe it was Surya Bonaly, that could be it. Boy, she was a great skater, I loved watching her. Posts: 5771 | Registered: Nov 2000
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I missed the Emmy Meissner skate. I forgot to tape NBC before I left for a meeting last night.
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I think that Kimmie Meissner suffered, in part, from the luck of the draw that made her only the second skater in the first group. According to Bob Costas last night, she'll be in the final group (4 groups of 6 each) to skate on Thursday night, skating second to last (Irina Slutskaya skates last; Sasha Cohen fifth to last - Emily Hughes will skate third in group 3 which means 10th to last).
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quote:Originally posted by Ela: Okay, maybe it was Surya Bonaly, that could be it. Boy, she was a great skater, I loved watching her.
She was good. I remember her being a very athletic skater and being criticized for it. Guess she was ahead of her time...
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As far as I know, women have always had to wear a skirted costume at the Olympics and that has only just changed. I do vaguely remember Kristi Yamaguchi having a skirt put on one of her outfits when she was competing in the Olympics after having gone pro.
Otherwise, if you remember someone wearing a pantsuit at the Olympics it was probably in an exhibition skate - where anything goes.
Also, I think the Katarina Witt rule had something to do with extraneous items on a costume (like feathers) that could fall off and pose a hazard on the ice.
I really liked both Slutskaya's and Cohen's programs last night and I have no problem with them being essentially in a dead heat.
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I'm with Risuena on the skating. Should be a fabulous free programme tomorrow.
We lost in the curling, sadly . Played fantastically against top-ranked Finland - equal going into the last end, but then their skip played an incredible draw to win by one. It got very nerve-wracking.
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Our women will be contending for bronze as well, amira. I am extremely glad that our men's curling team made it to the gold medal game though! Uusipaavalniemi is going to give us a run for it, definitely, but I think we have a chance. So long as we don't lose by one heartbreaking inch again.
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That was a really disappointing hockey game for Canada. All the announcers say that team Canada can't be accused of not putting forth enough of an effort, but I disagree. Their performance was pathetic. Shutout 3 times! Awful.
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Alright, so, Sasha Cohen gets the Silver, but bravo to Kimmie and Emily for landing in the top seven. Strong showing this year from the women.
The Alpine team this year has been a dismal disappointment, with only Ted Ligety's surprise gold to show, when at least 10 medals were expected to be won. The women have been shut out, and though there are still two more events to go, tomorrow's women's giant slalom, and saturday's men's slalom, there is only a small hope for medals there. Many think that the hype and sponsorship behind Miller and Rahlves is partially to blame. The team isn't deep at all, with only two people to pin that much hope on for victory. As for the women, Mancuso underperformed, and Kildow was hurt, which knocked out all hope there too. They need to go back to the drawing board.
There's only three days of Olympic action left.
Tomorrow is the medal matches for curling. The US men will face off against Britain in a rematch, this time for the bronze. The US Men weren't supposed to win the first time they beat Britain, so this game is anybody's guess.
Also, the end of men's speedskating with the 10,000M. This is Chad Hedrick's last chance for another medal, and his chances aren't bad. Fellow American Charles Ryan Leveille Cox will skate with him in a rather small field of contenders.
As I said before, Alpine skiing continues with the giant slalom for the women, and the first two runs of the four man bobsled.
Things are really winding down. America sits second in the medal count behind Germany by four medals. They have a chance at a curling medal, maybe two speedskating/shorttrack medals, maybe a skiing medal, and possibly something in bobsled, but it's starting to really narrow out. Looks like America won't finish on top, but they've already had a fantastic showing at these Winter Olympics.
I'll update tomorrow and Saturday then do a closing report and summary on Sunday.
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I'm glad Sasha managed to get her silver medal, but I can't believe she missed her two fist jumps. That cost her the gold.
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Sasha may have fell twice, but she rebounded beautifully and had amazing choreography. She was rightly placed in front of Irina Slutskaya.
Shizuka deserved to win the gold medal and I am really happy for her, but her program was very uninspiring. Compared to the previous winners, it was not as technically difficult; I would have expected the winner to land more than 5 triples.
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Besides, the type of triple matters too. Someone can land three triple flips, and three double lutzes are worth just as much, that's how it works with the new point system. Everything has a value, and has more value in the latter half of the program. Doinge a double lutz double flip combination near the end of of the program is worth more than a triple flip triple toe combination at the very beginning.
But also, Sasha got a LOT of points for her artistry and her spiral sequences, which everyone pretty much agrees that she is the best in the world at.
Dick could probably explain it better than I could, being a commentator for NBC and all. Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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I can't count the times I've politely asked Dick to shut up in the last two weeks. He just doesn't listen.
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Basically, I expected more from the gold medalist. Tara Lipinski and Sarah Hughes both landed triple-triple combinations when they won in 1998 and 2002. Usually those winning championships where the field is deep and talented land 7 triples. And I already know how the new skating system works. I also think it's ridiculous that you get points for full rotation even when you fall. Falling ruins the flow and artistry of the program most of the time, and it's unfair to those who can stay on their feet.
Figure skating was so very dull this year - they were the best of the field for sure, but that doesn't say very much when everyone else falls or isn't mature enough presentation-wise. Shizuka was clean, but not inspiring. Plushenko's skate was not even a program, he just did everything he was supposed to do. Pairs was boring as well - I'm still bitter that Zhang and Zhang won the silver medal. They went way over the two minute time limit in continuing their skate; their win was based on sympathy, nothing else. The only bright spot was in ice dancing, which is sad because apparently it is the least watched out of figure skating disciplines. I loved Belbin and Agosto's original dance, and I hope they continue to do well on the world scene.
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Pete Fenson led the American curling team to its first curling medal ever. Bronze for the US men's curling team, and bravo too, in beating the team from Britain, where the sport was first invented.
Chad Hedrick picked up a silver medal in the 10,000M speedskate, his last event, and the last of men's speedskating on the long track.
Julia Mancuso, in what many considered a surprise upset took GOLD in the women's giant slalom. Good for her. She had the potential to do great at these games, I guess it just took this long for her to loosen up.
Bobsled is in a dicey spot. The US men finished 5th and 6th in the first run, and then 6th and 7th in the second run. Runs three and four are tomorrow, but the field ahead of them is tough. Only two tenths of a second seperate the top 7 places in the first two runs (so I guess if you add both together as you should, it's four tenths of a second). Though that doesn't look like much, it's an eternity in bobsledding. Still, a screwup from one of the top contenders, and the run of their lives from one of the US sleds could still spell a medal for the team.
Tomorrow look for the third and fourth runs of bobsledding.
The 5000M women's speedskating event in long track. US women don't really stand a chance, but I'd put my money on Cindy Klassen of Canada for the top spot.
It's a wide open field tomorrow as well in men's slalom. Ted Ligety has a good shot, and I don't even think Bode Miller will be racing. Not that it would matter anyway with the flop of a showing he's made at these Olympics.
The Czech Republic will play Russia for the bronze medal in hockey tomorrow. Which will setup the Scandinavian showdown of Sweden versus Finland in the gold medal match on Sunday. Should be two sweet games.
Finally, short track ice skating gives Apolo Anton Ohno his last two chances for Olympic gold with the 500M and the men's relay. The US men had the fastest qualifying time in the relay, but in short track, time isn't everything, and anything can happen.
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"Julia Mancuso...had the potential to do great at these games, I guess it just took this long for her to loosen up."
Nope, she finally got to perform in her ski boots with her custom orthodics -- which somehow got lost on the way to the Olympics -- in time for her last medal race. In competitive skiing, maximum performance is highly dependent on a tight connection from the feet, ankles, and lower legs to the skis in order to minimize response time in weighting&unweighting the edges for turns, in weighting&unweighting the ski surfaces to maintain&shift balance. As it was, Mancuso's handicap in her previous endeavors was the equivalent of trying to win a track race while wearing flip-flops or clown shoes.
And frankly, I am thoroughly disgusted at how NBC commentators tried to fan competitive feelings into feuds between competitors, over and over again, as well as stir up hatred against individual athletes amongst the ignorant in the viewing audience. It's bad enough listening to idiots "blah blah blah"ing through performances as if they were the attraction and not the athletes -- going so far as interviewing each other instead of covering the events -- but when they deliberately try to muck with the athletes' heads, sabotage performances, interfere with competition through hatemongering, poisoning the atmosphere of what should be Olympic conviviality, it's time to toss NBC out of the OlympicGames broadcasting business.
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It wasn't just NBC doing it. Though since all the coverage is coming through them, they sound like the worse of the lot, but the international press and the American press are all over it, it isn't just NBC. None of the other major networks would be any better at it.
And I didn't know that bit about her equipment, that really sucks that she didn't have the chance to perform at her best during the whole of the games.
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This was Sweden's most succesful wintergames ever. 7 gold medals, 2 silvers and 5 bronze. And we won gold in icehockey! Hooray!
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I think I finally figured out what I like so much about the Olympics - chance to see sports that the US couldn't care less about but have fanatically followings in other countries. Like the Dutch and speedskating, the Koreans and short-track, and the Norwegians and cross-country. It's fascinating and makes me wonder how different sports become popular in different countries.
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. Her timing with her music was impeccable, but I'm not sure how much that counts for.
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. Played fantastically against top-ranked Finland - equal going into the last end, but then their skip played an incredible draw to win by one. It got very nerve-wracking.
