U.S. Men 2021-22 season news & updates

[Rukia]

I really hope Nathan has stayed far away!

CBC showed some practice clips. Happy to see Nathan wearing an N95.

He's been doing all his practices masked the entire time. The only time he takes it off is in actual competition.

 

[bouncingpom]

Vincent has just shared a video message about having to withdraw from the Men's event: https://www.instagram.com/p/CZrh0jbgDYU/

That was heartbreaking. I’m in tears for him now.

 

[BittyBug]

Vincent has just shared a video message about having to withdraw from the Men's event: https://www.instagram.com/p/CZrh0jbgDYU/

That was very difficult to watch. My heart breaks for him.

 

[baramin]

Absolutely horrible for Vincent. At least he had the chance to compete here, and he skated a good competition in 2018, so when the future Vincent he mentions in his video looks back, he'll have a lot to be proud of when it comes to his Olympic experiences.

Fingers crossed this doesn't spread beyond him--not just for the sake of NChen/the dancers, but for people like Mariah, who are looking at likely their only chance to skate on this stage. What an unfortunately stressful turn for their silver medal victory to take.

 

[VGThuy]

I’m so heartbroken for him and he’s been through the ringer. I hope after the initial heartbreak that he sees that he has had an Olympic career that he should be proud of. His LP placement, far from his best but not close to his worst, helped garner a silver medal for the US, and he is in the history books as being the first skater to land a quad Lutz at the Olympics and placing 6th at his Olympic debut. I hope he doesn’t see the last four years preparing for Beijing as worthless as he has had many great performances with a World bronze medal to show for it. Sure he’s had some serious bumps along the way but the way he came back from them early this season is a testament to his character and resilience. He sure faced a lot of naysayers and negativity but they can never take away anything he has accomplished. They can comment on the Internet but he’s the one putting himself out there and forcing it to happen through daily hard work, pushing his body though rigorous training, and with discipline while getting into Brown. He should be proud of himself and I’m going to celebrate his Olympic silver medal once I too get over this disappointment.

 

[gatorinfl]

I have never been a huge Vincent fan, but this is so sad. I’m glad that he will get the team Silver. When he beat Nathan at Skate America, he was on top of the world. Now this. Not being a scientist, to me these PCR tests seem to have flaws. Where did Vincent get the virus when he’s been in the Olympic bubble? Same thought for Keegan Messing when he was so super careful before leaving Canada. I’m glad that Keegan will be able to Skate.

 

[Rukia]

I’m so heartbroken for him and he’s been through the ringer. I hope after the initial heartbreak that he sees that he has had an Olympic career that he should be proud of. His LP placement, far from his best but not close to his worst, helped garner a silver medal for the US, and he is in the history books as being the first skater to land a quad Lutz at the Olympics and placing 6th at his Olympic debut. I hope he doesn’t see the last four years preparing for Beijing as worthless as he has had many great performances with a World bronze medal to show for it. Sure he’s had some serious bumps along the way but the way he came back from them early this season is a testament to his character and resilience. He sure faced a lot of naysayers and negativity but they can never take away anything he has accomplished. They can comment on the Internet but he’s the one putting himself out there and forcing it to happen through daily hard work, pushing his body though rigorous training, and with discipline while getting into Brown. He should be proud of himself and I’m going to celebrate his Olympic silver medal once I too get over this disappointment.

I hope that given some time and perspective he'll see that while he didn't have the ideal Olympics of his dreams, he did win a silver medal. That's an incredible accomplishment that few can claim. I hope he gets negative tests and gets to party and enjoy his experience as an Olympic silver medalist.

 

[skateboy]

Not being a scientist, to me these PCR tests seem to have flaws. Where did Vincent get the virus when he’s been in the Olympic bubble?

Same here. It does seem very random...

 

[Anita18]

I have never been a huge Vincent fan, but this is so sad. I’m glad that he will get the team Silver. When he beat Nathan at Skate America, he was on top of the world. Now this. Not being a scientist, to me these PCR tests seem to have flaws. Where did Vincent get the virus when he’s been in the Olympic bubble? Same thought for Keegan Messing when he was so super careful before leaving Canada. I’m glad that Keegan will be able to Skate.

I'm not sure if how long they've been in the Olympic bubble, but there have been (very rare) cases of le crud that pop up after 2, even 3 weeks of incubation after quarantine. PCR tests are VERY sensitive though. You can have a low viral load, too low to transmit, and be considered positive on a PCR. That's why the US is relying on antigen tests more and more. They're less sensitive, but actually more accurate when informing someone if they're actually able to give it to someone else.

But China is notorious for having a zero crud policy. Which means isolating people as soon as they show even a smidge of virus on a PCR, whether they're contagious or not. It's unfortunately part of the deal with these Olympics.

Gutted for Vincent.

I'm also somewhat concerned about the other athletes, BUT if everyone was vaccinated, boosted, and masked around him, transmission is not a done deal. I just saw the pic of Nathan doing full runthroughts in an N-95. Good man.

 

[Andrea82]

Where did Vincent get the virus when he’s been in the Olympic bubble?

because new people continue to come in in the bubble? Some (set for later events) arrived only a few days ago. Yes, they passed the tests on arrival but they may have been in the incubation period and so entered the bubble "infected".

 

[Orm Irian]

I wonder if that was left to the ISU whereas the organisers control everything else.

More likely it was at the behest of the broadcaster. Makes it easier to get each team into one shot and is also an easier camera set-up.

Absolutely gutted for Vincent, and I hope he's okay and gets through iso with no difficulties.

 

[misskarne]

Absolutely awful for Vincent. To have come this close to have it snatched away...terrible. I hope USFS is able to hook him up with a good psychologist or other mental health support because this is the sort of blow even the best coping methods would struggle to handle.

I also hope he doesn't have to spend long in those isolation hotels, either. They won't help.

 

[Lacey]

Absolutely awful for Vincent. To have come this close to have it snatched away...terrible. I hope USFS is able to hook him up with a good psychologist or other mental health support because this is the sort of blow even the best coping methods would struggle to handle.

I also hope he doesn't have to spend long in those isolation hotels, either. They won't help.

Vincent already sounded so isolated from trying to prevent getting ****** prior to the games so he said he hadn't seen family for a long time before the Os. I am concerned for his emotional health, he sounded frightened. And if one is up there alone that's no help. It sounds better now if he was able to use internet to make his speech today and the rooms have curtains and seem better than small and dirty, so we'll see. Somehow I wish China or each participating country had been able to have had a person to bring things to the isolated person, like food and some kind of personal contact. The other question is how does he get out and home, will there be people there to help him when he tests negative?

 

[Rukia]

Vincent already sounded so isolated from trying to prevent getting ****** prior to the games so he said he hadn't seen family for a long time before the Os. I am concerned for his emotional health, he sounded frightened. And if one is up there alone that's no help. It sounds better now if he was able to use internet to make his speech today and the rooms have curtains and seem better than small and dirty, so we'll see. Somehow I wish China or each participating country had been able to have had a person to bring things to the isolated person, like food and some kind of personal contact. The other question is how does he get out and home, will there be people there to help him when he tests negative?

They can get things, but I think it's difficult. I know that the US bobsledder in isolation managed to get some weights brought in so she could work out.

 

[DreamSkates]

Please send Vincent a note via his website. https://govincentzhou.com/profile-4/

 

[Spun Silver]

Sounds like those isolation hotels are a disaster.

Olympians in tears over poor living conditions, lack of food at Winter Games

Complaints from athletes and officials are pouring in about the alleged poor living conditions, dining options, isolating rooms, and debilitating weather conditions, according to social media posts…

nypost.com

 

[livetoskate]

Sounds like those isolation hotels are a disaster.

Olympians in tears over poor living conditions, lack of food at Winter Games

Complaints from athletes and officials are pouring in about the alleged poor living conditions, dining options, isolating rooms, and debilitating weather conditions, according to social media posts…

nypost.com

Sounds awful. I saw in another article that an athlete was only given some pasta, small piece of charred meat with orange sauce and no fresh fruit or vegetables. These are top athletes who need good nutrition and the ability to exercise. I hope they get TV and internet access, and the ability to communicate with their coaches and family. It will make China look even worse if the athletes are being mistreated.

 

[Sylvia]

Bringing over 2 links from Nathan's fan thread:

Lester Holt's extended interview with Nathan (24 mins.) was uploaded to NBC News' YT account on Feb. 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anmc8fU_nQY

Nathan-focused article by Lynn Rutherford (Feb. 7): https://www.teamusa.org/News/2022/F...ter-Games-With-A-Little-Help-from-His-Friends

Chen, Frazier, Bates and Baker are sharing an apartment in the Olympic Village.
“Evan Bates is a really good guitar player, I’m sure he will teach me something,” Chen said. “It’s kind of nice to have something that keeps me preoccupied.”
They may have to find another guitar. Bates, the 2022 U.S. ice dance champion with Madison Chock, who was also part of the silver-medal-winning U.S. team, didn’t bring his to Beijing.
“Nathan is noodling away in the room. He’s a more devoted musician than I am,” Bates said.

 

[Barbara Manatee]

US Figure Skating has snipped Vincent out of its promo photos and videos. I get it, but still... cold.

 

[livetoskate]

Please send Vincent a note via his website. https://govincentzhou.com/profile-4/

The comments on his website are from many years ago. I think he'd see comments/words of support a lot faster through his Instagram account. Thank you for telling us about his website!

 

[Karen-W]

Sounds like those isolation hotels are a disaster.

Olympians in tears over poor living conditions, lack of food at Winter Games

Complaints from athletes and officials are pouring in about the alleged poor living conditions, dining options, isolating rooms, and debilitating weather conditions, according to social media posts…

nypost.com

Sounds awful. I saw in another article that an athlete was only given some pasta, small piece of charred meat with orange sauce and no fresh fruit or vegetables. These are top athletes who need good nutrition and the ability to exercise. I hope they get TV and internet access, and the ability to communicate with their coaches and family. It will make China look even worse if the athletes are being mistreated.

I don't think this is going to be quite the world PR triumph the CCP was hoping for. Once those athletes get home, it's going to be a barrage of negative reporting. Whatever the Chinese government's internal political reasons for doing this, I think they're doing themselves a lot of damage with the rest of the world.

 

[VGThuy]

After the short program and after what happened to Vincent, I am ecstatic that the mens team included these three men! Nothing against Ilia, but Jason brought us one of the best short programs we’ve ever seen at the Olympics and Vincent deserved to compete in the team event and collect that silver medal even though he didn’t have his best skate - his ceiling there was still high comparatively.

 

[mtnskater]

Nathan you are the bomb I was so nervous before Nathan skated I could barely breathe the entire mens event. Under so much pressure and demons from the past he really delivered. Wonderful and amazing.

The Olympic judges sent a strong message they still love Jason’s brand of skating excellence. So happy for him to make the final group at his second Olympics!!!

I think Vincent would have been right up there in the final group with his beautiful Vincent program….if only. Sending positive thoughts his way tonight. He was missed.

 

[Orm Irian]

Jason was otherworldly out there today. Just beyond belief.

 

[feraina]

Jason was so amazing tonight. I’m so thrilled for him that he scored his PB at the Olympics and gets to skate in the last group! He’s in fantastic company. It’s going to be a really good last group of skaters.

Nathan Chen was so solid. He really stared down all the pressure. What a great redemption skate.

I’m happy for Shoma that he’s in medal contention. He said in the post skate press conference that this is just a step for the future. I think this means he’s planning to skate on after the Olympics! I’m delighted we’ll get to see more of Shoma regardless of this Olympics. I love his skating.

Poor boyang Jin was crying after his skate. It wasn’t all that bad. The Chinese skaters must be feeling immense pressure.

 

[Allskate]

We pretty much knew that Jason and Nathan were not close contacts of Vincent's because they were at practice yesterday as usual and Nathan attended the team event final (but wisely was not in the team box). This article discusses the contacts Nathan and Jason have had - or haven't had - with Vincent. It doesn't sound like either of them have spent much time in the same room as Vincent. Jason shares an apartment with Vincent, but hasn't shared the common space with him except in passing. Nathan is social distancing in the dining hall and his apartment and double masking except for when he takes a bit of food. And wearing one N95 mask when practicing.

‘Better safe than sorry’ — After teammate tests positive for COVID, Nathan Chen says he’s being extra careful

Utah gold medal hopeful Nathan Chen discusses USA teammate Vincent Zhou's positive COVID test.

www.sltrib.com

 

[nickp]

Nathan Chen really was amazing in that short program

 

[misskarne]

Jason was otherworldly out there today. Just beyond belief.

It is genuinely breathtaking that at a time in his career where you would expect that he might be starting to taper off, instead, he somehow continues to find a new level with every performance. Every time you think he has reached a new level, he finds another. I hope he was sincere in suggesting he might continue another couple of years. I can only imagine where he might take us.

 

[Frau Muller]

I’m thrilled for both Nathan & Jason. Last night was fantastic, despite my non-US faves Pooh and Mark Superstar under performing…c’est la vie.

 

[olympic]

OMG. US men slayed! Aren't those PBs?