2025-26 U.S. Ice Dance News, Updates & Discussion - Backstreet Boys & Spice Girls

[SidelineSkater]

I doubt C/B are going to want to compete 4 times in 6 days. Dance was split in 2022, so there is precedent, and not doing the FD didn't hurt H/D's medal chances. Assuming Z/K go to the Olys, given that they qualified for the GPF, they can be a solid contributor to the team.

I agree they might not want to, but is it up to them? Would USFS rather spread the wealth with men and women's instead? Allowing Alysa/Amber the chance to compete for Team Gold?

 

[BittyBug]

I don't think USFS gives a rusty hoot about sharing the wealth, but rather are focused on placing as high as possible in as many events as possible. Ice Dance and Men are first up in the individual events, and since they have individual contenders in both categories, if they think those athletes would do better with a rest, they'll split dance and mens.

 

[Karen-W]

The USFS also has had the strategy, in the past, of ranking the disciplines from strongest to weakest. Going off both the Worlds 2025 results and the GPF qualifiers, women & dance are stronger than the men, and if the men were competing their individual event in the 2nd week of the Olympics, I could see them having Ilia do both segments of the TE, but the USFS and USOPC also prioritize individual medals and with dance & men being the USA's strongest gold medal possibilities, plus being in the first week, I can't see them not making the choice to split those two disciplines instead of the women, even knowing that the 2nd man, who will be doing the TE FS, is a very weak link at this point in time.

 

[kwanfan1818]

I think the strength of discipline is not necessarily by depth, but by which has the highest medal contender.

What are they going to do: leave Nathan Chen or Ilia Malinin off the team if they don't/didn't want to skate both segments of the TE, when it is/was theirs to lose? They can try to cajole Chock/Bates, who main competition is Fournier Beaudry/Cizeron, while every one of the US women's competition is three Japanese women.