2026 Olys Mens FS PBP - Habemus Pop-am

[marshallpond]

Your brain isn't fully developed until you're 25.

4 years to go then as Ilia was 21 in December

Am in Austria now and the commentators are saying that it's just too much pressure, too much build up and that's not reflective of the brilliance he has displayed. The failed attempt at supposedly that quad axel was the start. The lady commentator is just heartbroken and nearly in tears

 

[skatingguy]

Stephen Gogolev finished 2nd in the free skate at the Winter Olympics.

 

[Wyliefan]

I hope Nathan gets him on the phone soon, if he hasn't already. He knows what this is like.

 

[VGThuy]

I know the Men’s event can be messy, but….

 

[Maximillian]

This is such a pattern with US Olympic stars. Nathan, Mikaela Shiffrin, Simone Biles, Maroney. It's just too much.

I wouldn't include Biles in this group. In her first Olympics in 2016 she won 4 gold medals. She had the "twisties" in 2020, but I don't think that had anything to do with the pressure of the event, that's just a thing that occurs with gymnasts. Then she came back and won three more golds in Paris.

 

[VGThuy]

I'm not sure having competed in 2022 would have made any difference. IMO I think coming in with crazy hype is the bigger challenge. We saw it with Simone Biles in 2021, which was her 2nd Olympics. This is Yuma's 2nd Olympics but he came in with much bigger expectations, and struggled a lot more. You can wuzrobbed the 2022 Olympic team as much as you want (and some of you have been for 4 long years), but do you honestly think that having already competed in a pressure packed team event that this was just Olympic jitters? Or maybe was it the fact that he's been massively hyped, already pretty much handled the gold medal and therefore focusing on breaking records and doing a 7 quad layout instead of just trying to win?

Yeah. Kwan and Simone had more pressure on their second Olympics and performed as if they were feeling that pressure. They were fine at their first Olympics.

 

[MacMadame]

I have the wiki page with all the Olympic figure skating medals and they just updated it for 2026. That was fast.

 

[ilovepaydays]

I can't believe how calm and even-tempered Shaidorov seems. I've seen more emotion after a Kevin Aymoz FS that didn't even win a medal. That must just be his temperament, and in a way, not being overly excitable is a great quality to have in a sport where you face this much pressure. It would be interesting to see how he performs when he is considered a favorite to win.

It may just not have fully hit him yet. Let’s be honest, he likely thought going into this that if he was clean, then maybe he could get a bronze if Adam had a meltdown. And that’s it.

 

[cygnus]

What a forgettable event for the men. Fluke champion and nothing legendary worth watching in the decades to come.
Congrats to the medalists.

On the contrary, it's one of the most memorable. Years from now people will be saying "Remember that year when....."

 

[Theatregirl1122]

Now I feel old.

(Manfred Schnelldorfer for me but the first one I really remember is John Curry.)

I don't think the first skater I watched win an OGM is ever going to coach a skater to Olympic Gold.

I just can't see Tara going that way...

 

[peibeck]

He has been very classy so far, aside from the cameras catching his frustration right in the second he stepped off the ice. I hope he is able to grow from this and not let it crush him.

It's the moments the camera isn't in your face and you're alone with your thoughts that are very different and what I'm talking about.

Regardless, he, Adam, and to a lesser extent even Yuma will probably be having a lot of inner reflection going on for awhile.

 

[YourBorneo]

I do think that as soon as he popped the 4A he should have done a 3Lo instead of going for the 4Lo, which has been his nemesis for quite awhile. Had he done that, I think he would have gotten back on track and been fine for the rest of the program - or maybe not, but probably at least enough to have held on for a medal.

Yes, I think the team needed to build in some mental checks at certain parts of his free, and some contingency plans to save him from the disaster we just witnessed.
If you’re going for 4A and pop, then move to Plan B in the jump content… the pressure of doing all 7 quads falls away with that pop so focus on getting points on the board.
By barreling ahead with Plan A alone… He needed to be perfect on everything in the bonus after a disaster first half and I don’t think he had the confidence or stamina to pull it off by that point. The train had jumped the tracks, metaphorically speaking.

 

[rfisher]

Kazakhstan's problem is money. I read an interview with Urmanov when he first agreed to coach Shaidorov. Mrs. Ten had worked really hard to find funding. He actually coached for less money because he felt he had more freedom than he did in Russia. The pressure on coaches is the same as for the athletes. He'd had a string of skaters who were all mid-level and neither he nor the RusFed were happy and he felt Shaidorov had the innate talent to succeed, but I suspect this result was beyond all of their wildest dreams. But, he knows how to win when nobody thinks you can.

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

You're really underestimating her! I think she'll find someone.

She's going to blame USFS for pressuring him to compete in the Team Men's FS no doubt.

For myself I'm happy that he competed in the Team event because he is still an Olympic gold medal champion and got to stand at the top of the podium with his teammates at the Olympics.

 

[Augusztus]

I can't explain it, but there's a hint of Eurovision about Shaidorov's LP/music cuts, and for that, I am thrilled he won.

yes, I know, Kazakhstan is in Asia.

Genuinely loved it

 

[NinjaTurtles]

Yeah. Kwan and Simone had more pressure on their second Olympics and performed as if they were feeling that pressure. They were fine at their first Olympics.

Yeah it’s not explicitly about first Olympics, it’s relative to the amount of incoming pressure.

 

[Jammers]

I had a terrible feeling at the GPF that Ilia had his Olympic skate in the FS with those 7 quads. But still never thought he'd collapse like this with Gold on the line. All he had to do was fight like in the FS in the TE and he would still have won by nearly 20 points.

 

[Asli]

Think the whole ice dance event is going to fade away from the American media now that Christine Brennan et al have another story to write about.

Did they have the compulsory Olympic wuzrobbing/storm in a tea cup then?
So glad I didn't follow!

 

[ilovepaydays]

Yeah. Kwan and Simone had more pressure on their second Olympics and performed as if they were feeling that pressure. They were fine at their first Olympics.

Kwan had Frank Carroll with her in Nagano. That’s a HUGE difference.

 

[tangerine dream]

I wouldn't include Biles in this group. In her first Olympics in 2016 she won 4 gold medals. She had the "twisties" in 2020, but I don't think that had anything to do with the pressure of the event, that's just a thing that occurs with gymnasts. Then she came back and won three more golds in Paris.

That's true, but Simone is one of the few people who can relate to coming into the Olympics with everyone assuming you've already won the gold medal. She could help him work through the mental side of things.

 

[skateblessing]

I´m starting to think that the judges dropping Misha all season did him a huge favor of being a big underdog and not feel any pressure at all.

As much as i´m happy for Misha, i´m really heart broken for Ilia. I´m really worried about him and hope he gets the best support he can get. Hopefully Nathan can give him som advice.

 

[Cachoo]

On the contrary, it's one of the most memorable. Years from now people will be saying "Remember that year when....."

It will be the result every coach points to: Don't give up---you never know what will happen.

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

No doubt some journalists are going to make something of his "The Lost Crown" SP music.

 

[Asli]

I´m starting to think that the judges dropping Misha all season did him a huge favor of being a big underdog and not feel any pressure at all.

IMO the skaters who were lower down after the SP had the huge advantage of lower expectations.

 

[skategal]

I hope Nathan gets him on the phone soon, if he hasn't already. He knows what this is like.

Kurt said he’s going to talk to Ilia as well. Said he can relate (times 2.)

 

[Karen-W]

She's going to blame USFS for pressuring him to compete in the Team Men's FS no doubt.

For myself I'm happy that he competed in the Team event because he is still an Olympic gold medal champion and got to stand at the top of the podium with his teammates at the Olympics.

I'm not sure she'll blame the USFS for pressuring him to compete in the TE Men's FS. I think she'll go to where a lot of us, including Scott Hamilton, have already gone - blaming the USFS for leaving him off the team in Beijing.

I'm really happy he did both segments of the TE too, same with Chock/Bates. They're coming home with an Olympic gold medal and they delivered like they needed to when the team needed them for that title.

 

[VGThuy]

I wouldn't include Biles in this group. In her first Olympics in 2016 she won 4 gold medals. She had the "twisties" in 2020, but I don't think that had anything to do with the pressure of the event, that's just a thing that occurs with gymnasts. Then she came back and won three more golds in Paris.

That’s true too. Thinking about it some more, what happened to Ilia is nothing like what happened with Simone. Different parts of their career, and wildly different issues.

 

[Private Citizen]

I didn’t think Ilia was going for the 4A. He didn’t warm it up at all, and the setup looked more like a triple to me. Did he say he was going for it?

 

[Karen-W]

I didn’t think Ilia was going for the 4A. He didn’t warm it up at all, and the setup looked more like a triple to me. Did he say he was going for it?

Haven't heard anything from him in the post-comp interviews about it. Tara said he was, but she may have just been going off the planned content, which Ilia said after the TE SP he hadn't updated since the GPF in December.

 

[beckab81]

I didn’t think Ilia was going for the 4A. He didn’t warm it up at all, and the setup looked more like a triple to me. Did he say he was going for it?

During the ice resurface he said he was going for the 7 quad layout (based on the NBC reporting)