Figure Skating Thread

[starrydreamer]

There used to be one way back in the day but I searched the board and couldn't find it, so we can just start anew.

US Nationals are going on now. After the ladies' short program, Bradie Tennell leads, with Mirai Nagasu second, and defending champ Karen Chen third. Ashley Wagner is fifth. Their long program is tonight. I'm really hoping Mirai Nagasu holds it together and does well to win one of the three Olympic spots. None of the US ladies had a decent Grand Prix season, with none in the final, and all will be long shots to win gold.

On the men's side, however, Nathan Chen won the Grand Prix final and is well in the lead after the short program. It's kind of a wild scramble behind him - there's Adam Rippon, Jason Brown, a surprising Grant Hochstein, and Vincent Zhou (who was highly touted and had apparently the most difficult program but didn't do his jumps very well). In the Grand Prix final, Rippon finished 5th and Brown 6th.

For ice dancing, which begins tonight, the Shibutanis are favored to win. Behind them are Hubbell/Donohue and Chock/Bates. Those couples finished third, fourth, and fifth in the Grand Prix final.

I don't follow pairs at all, so I have no idea what's going on there. Anyone want to fill me in?

Meanwhile, in other countries, in ice dance, Virtue/Moir (my favorite) and Cizeron/Papadakis of France have quite the rivalry going on. It'll be interesting who comes out on top at the Olympics.

[starrydreamer]

Tennell is the new US champ. Second was Nagasu and third was Karen Chen. Ashley Wagner finished fourth, then promptly had a fit about the artistic component of her score. She was clearly angling to get on the team and leapfrog Chen, but she's really had a couple of subpar years, and Chen finished better than her at World's last season.

Tennell was so clean and confident, but I hope she steps up her artistic game because she's almost like watching a robot. It was so so nice to see Nagasu cry tears of joy after a program where she didn't fall once.

The men skate their long programs tonight. It'll be fun to see how many quads Nathan Chen does. The US hasn't really had a man who can technically compete internationally since Evan Lysacheck, so he's fun to watch.

[BaroqueAgain1]

There's a fair amount of TV coverage today, although fans of the men may be out of luck if they don't have NBC's cable sports channel. Pairs' free skate is on NBC from 1 - 3 PM Pacific, and the men's fee skate is on NBCSN from 5 - 8 PM Pacific.

[lurkey mclurker]

I read this thread and it was a case of when fandoms collide... Have you seen the Japanese anime Yuri On Ice?

I will be at hockey tonight but I'll catch the programs on YouTube when they're up.

[starrydreamer]

There's a fair amount of TV coverage today, although fans of the men may be out of luck if they don't have NBC's cable sports channel. Pairs' free skate is on NBC from 1 - 3 PM Pacific, and the men's fee skate is on NBCSN from 5 - 8 PM Pacific.

Bummer that the men don't warrant prime time on NBC. But I'm very thankful for my MIL's cable log in.

[BaroqueAgain1]

Nathan Chen is a sleek beast of a skater. FIVE quads in his program!?
I'm thinking gold in South Korea.

[starrydreamer]

Nathan Chen is a sleek beast of a skater. FIVE quads in his program!?
I'm thinking gold in South Korea.

He's certainly the favorite. I love watching him.

Ross Miner's long program was something to behold, but alas, they left him off the Olympic team. The team is Chen, Vincent Zhou, and Adam Rippon. I would be disgruntled but you can't argue that Miner's international resume isn't good at all. Plus, I really enjoyed Rippon's long program - the opening song is a favorite classical song of mine (it was played at the end of The Theory of Everything). Hopefully, he stops popping jumps.

[BaroqueAgain1]

Is there such a thing as an Also Eligible for the team? Maybe Ross could be an alternate in case one of the top three can't compete?

[Tessablue]

I'm behind on a lot of this, but are Hanyu and Medvedeva still in doubt for the Olympics? It would be a huge shame if either doesn't go, I don't have much interest in the American skaters aside from Mirai Nagasu.

[Catalina]

I'm behind on a lot of this, but are Hanyu and Medvedeva still in doubt for the Olympics? It would be a huge shame if either doesn't go, I don't have much interest in the American skaters aside from Mirai Nagasu.

The various countries can't just send however many skaters they think would have a chance. There is a limited number of berths, and a quota set by the Olympic Committee as to how many skaters a country can send. Based on, I believe, on how well each country did in the most recent world championships and certain other qualifying events.