2026 Olympics Team Event - Strategy, Predictions & Discussion

[Vagabond]

If Brown is such a weak link, why is he such a lock for the team? I thought the whole point of him being a lock was that he was needed for the TE.

I think the two concepts of "lock for the team" and "needed for the Team Event" need to be uncoupled.

Brown's been a "lock" because he's the only American man other Malinin who has, up to now, seemed assured of making the cut in the Men's event and likely to make the top ten. He's earned scores of 245+ in international competition much more often than all the American men other than Malinin combined. It's an added plus that even without any quadruple jumps, he can still score well in the Free Skating. (He was fourth in it at Worlds last season, which suggests that he could finish in the top two three in the Team Event Men's Free Skating.)

All of the above assumes a lot of things, including that he fully rotates and lands his triple axels. If he doesn't, he might not even finish in the top three at Nationals, at which point FSU will explode.

 

[Karen-W]

I think the two concepts of "lock for the team" and "needed for the Team Event" need to be uncoupled.

Brown's been a "lock" because he's the only American man other Malinin who has, up to now, seemed assured of making the cut in the Men's event and likely to make the top ten. He's earned scores of 245+ in international competition much more often than all the American men other than Malinin combined. It's an added plus that even without any quadruple jumps, he can still score well in the Free Skating. (He was fourth in it at Worlds last season, which suggests that he could finish in the top two three in the Team Event Men's Free Skating.)

All of the above assumes a lot of things, including that he fully rotates and lands his triple axels. If he doesn't, he might not even finish in the top three at Nationals, at which point FSU will explode.

I think that's a fair assessment of the situation with Jason. Provided his 3A is in good shape, yes, he should be the 2nd man for the Team Event; but if it's not, then it might make more sense to go with the 3rd man on the team. I haven't really sat down and looked at the FS scores for the other US men who might make the team but it's entirely possible that someone else might very well have a higher average FS score over the course of the season.