2026 Olys Mens FS PBP - Habemus Pop-am

I am not a superstitious person nor remotely spiritual, but the parallels with this event and the men's FS at Sochi and Denis Ten are just spooky. This should be the story the media is telling.

Now, if the women's event also has a parallel, I may have to reconsider wicca.
 
That people can name American Olympic athletes who didn't achieve what was expected of them is more a reflection that there are so many American Olympic athletes worthy of such lofty expectations. I mean, yeah yeah, ice is slippery, but it's not like it was just a bunch of Americans who thought Ilia would win. There are plenty of American Olympic athletes who easily enough matched or exceeded expectations. It kinda comes with the territory. I mean, people mention Kwan (who, skated great that year) and she lost out to, uhm, another American. What lessons are the US Media supposed to learn from something like that?
 
tangerine dream said:
That sounds like a response to a very specific question like, "Do you think you would have skated better if this wasn't your first Olympics?"
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It wasn’t. The question was whether he was aware that the others hadn’t skated well. He said he wasn’t ready for the atmosphere and then said the part about if he’d skated in Beijing it might have been different.
 
honey said:
In his CBC interview just now, Ilia himself said “maybe it would have been different story if I went to Beijing, but I don’t make those decisions”. Said he wasn’t ready for the atmosphere and that everything felt like it was happening too fast.
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I think Ilia will need more than 1 minute after the most disastrous skate of his life to process what happened and understand why it went so wrong.
 
What a shocker of an event but then again, what did we expect?? It is the freaking Olympics after all. :lol:
Congrats to Shaidorov for skating a blinder, so endearing watching his reaction. He was so respectful while Yuma and Ilia were getting their scores as well. A very tough night for the top guys.
 
Shaidorov's performance was superb. He was on fire. I could feel his determination through the TV screen. Went out there with nothing to lose.
I laughed a bit when commentator Tatsuki Machida mumbled "Something unexpected happen. He's upgraded the program"

Sato doing Shaidorov's ending pose when he realized the camera was on him. LOL.
And the explosion of emotions in the K&C when Shaidorov's scores appeared. Wonderful.

Kagiyama breaking down when he knew he secured a medal. All the pressure leaving him. Costner patting him.

Sad to see Malinin fall like that.

Shaidorov sharing a moment with Malinin was touching.

Sato covering his mouth staring at the scores in astonishment. Kagiyama telling him over and over as if assuring him that Sato had indeed won a medal. Then waving to the camera gesturing "HE (Sato) is an olympic medalist!"
Sato crying hard. (see allezfred's post below to see the video)

Medal ceremony.
Rare moment to see all the medalists happy.
Sato drinking up the moment.
Loved Shaidorov's entrance (Ta-da!)

Sato asking Kagiyama what to do before climbing up the podium.
Kagiyama somehow managed to have the stuffed mascot (Tina?) also wear the silver medal. LOL

Bonus footage
Before the medal ceremony, Sakamoto rushed to hug and congratulate Sato and Kagiyama.

Kagiyama's father/coach trying hard to avoid the cameras not to steal the skater's thunder.
 
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Barbara Manatee said:
I think Ilia will need more than 1 minute after the most disastrous skate of his life to process what happened and understand why it went so wrong.
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100% agree. I thought he handled the interview with a lot of class. Very honest. And he said much to the effect that he wasn’t sure what happened. It’s hard to face these questions so quickly. I just thought it was interesting he brought up 2022 unprompted.
 
manhn said:
That people can name American Olympic athletes who didn't achieve what was expected of them is more a reflection that there are so many American Olympic athletes worthy of such lofty expectations. I mean, yeah yeah, ice is slippery, but it's not like it was just a bunch of Americans who thought Ilia would win. There are plenty of American Olympic athletes who easily enough matched or exceeded expectations. It kinda comes with the territory. I mean, people mention Kwan (who, skated great that year) and she lost out to, uhm, another American. What lessons are the US Media supposed to learn from something like that?
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The hype contributed to the pressure, and Ilia was not prepared for it. The hype also raised the public's expectations beyond likely reality, meaning more disappointment now.
 
honey said:
In his CBC interview just now, Ilia himself said “maybe it would have been different story if I went to Beijing, but I don’t make those decisions”. Said he wasn’t ready for the atmosphere and that everything felt like it was happening too fast.
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It's amazing that at his young age he's two-times world champion. More mature skaters have had meltdowns at their second and even third Olympics.
 
All three US guys got hit with +REP penalties that cost them points and placements. Not that it mattered for the medals today, but it may in the future.

If I were the USFS, I'd encourage them to do a cost-benefit analysis on putting the quad combination second. Torgashev really should have added a double toe to his first quad, especially since the second wasn't in the bonus. After the +REP penalty in the team event, I thought Malinin would be good to do the combination first. Again, wouldn't have helped this time, but it may have made a difference if he managed his last jumping pass. Or either of the other two he popped. I really don't think US skaters appreciate the risk of the +REP penalty, while other federations seem to discourage it.
 
rfisher said:
I am not a superstitious person nor remotely spiritual, but the parallels with this event and the men's FS at Sochi and Denis Ten are just spooky. This should be the story the media is telling.

Now, if the women's event also has a parallel, I may have to reconsider wicca.
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What would a Sochi parallel even be, Olympic Champion Ami Nakai?
 
Private Citizen said:
All three US guys got hit with +REP penalties that cost them points and placements. Not that it mattered for the medals today, but it may in the future.

If I were the USFS, I'd encourage them to do a cost-benefit analysis on putting the quad combination second. Torgashev really should have added a double toe to his first quad, especially since the second wasn't in the bonus. After the +REP penalty in the team event, I thought Malinin would be good to do the combination first. Again, wouldn't have helped this time, but it may have made a difference if he managed his last jumping pass. Or either of the other two he popped.
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Yes I mention this kinda in the men SP thread. Especially for Ilia when he doesn't need to win by 40 points or w/e. Maybe it might even improve his performance of the program if he got some of the combos out of the way in the beginning.
 
skategal said:
The first sentence was something like “no not really.” Then Ilia went into the rest about time moving too fast, the atmosphere, and maybe it would be different if I went to Beijing.
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Ok, I see. I think he just probably doesn't know what to say, his brain is probably scrambled. The atmosphere in Beijing was completely different of course, there were no fans there.
 
I personally think Ilia will be ok. He has a great team around him. I think his parents can give him some prespective of their Olympics experiences. If Raf stays on his coaching team, I think he gives stability too.

I don't think having a 2022 experience would have been helpful. Nathan was the anointed one then and maybe Ilia would have seen the whole circus and learned from Nathan, I don't know. But it would not have guaranteed it. It didn't happen, you can't rewind the tape and do overs. As much as I hate the phrase - "it is what it is". Certainly what I think or who I blame about 2022, is immaterial to what happened.

What won't be helpful is the intense media pressure like Simone got after her Twistees. Very few people in the world experiences the Olympic stage to know what happens at the first blown jump. So all the Monday sports coaching doesn't help.

It might, in a few weeks or months, be useful to dissect the film, but not incessantly. I say might because I'm not a sports psychologist.

I don't want to watch today's tapes over and over again. Not because I want to block it or something, but we will see it for years to come no matter what But if it gives you enjoyment go for it.
 
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