2026 Olys Mens FS PBP - Habemus Pop-am

[made_in_canada]

Just tell them all about Denis Ten and by the time you finish the story, they'll be crying and think this was the best result in the history of the Olympics. You won't even need to talk about scores.

That’s basically what happened in my house when my husband was asking me about it

 

[MacMadame]

Wiki always updates fast. It's fun to be the first one to get an update done

(it wasn't me)

I was thinking of doing it and boom, it was updated.

Trying to decide whether this or the women's meltdown in '22 was harder to watch. I think '22 wins. Eteri was involved, and things are always worse when Eteri is involved.

I don't think anything will top that. Though Ilya's skate was much worse than Valieva's IIRC.

 

[Wyliefan]

I know, but I was thinking more about the general atmosphere and all the heartbreak afterward.

 

[overedge]

I'm on a hiring committee at work and spent all morning doing interviews. I got to see a teeny bit of the men's competition around noon my time, and then had to go to a therapy appointment in the early afternoon. After the appointment I opened my phone and HOLY SH*T WHAT DID I MISS. I'm going to be doing a LOT of catching up tonight.

 

[Kateri]

I'm on a hiring committee at work and spent all morning doing interviews. I got to see a teeny bit of the men's competition around noon my time, and then had to go to a therapy appointment in the early afternoon. After the appointment I opened my phone and HOLY SH*T WHAT DID I MISS. I'm going to be doing a LOT of catching up tonight.

Shoulda scheduled the therapy for after you watch.

 

[Badams]

I seriously so happy for Shairodov and for Kazakhstan. Nobody predicted this. Honestly. I've been saying for 2 years that if it's not ilia, it's definitely Yuma. What an incredible result today.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I do think that as soon as he popped the 4A he sh

And I had said to myself, and even commented here as soon as all the skaters before him skated, there was no need to do a quad axle, all I needed to do was a mediocre program, and he would win.

 

[overedge]

Shoulda scheduled the therapy for after you watch.

You know, that was one of the first things that crossed my mind after I saw the results

 

[JoannaLouise]

I'm watching the NBC Primetime coverage right now, just because I kind of want to see if I feel any different about the performances now that I won't be watching with any preconceived ideas about how each of them "should" skate.

I'm much more impressed with Shun Sato tonight than I was this afternoon. He was so electric in the team event, and when his performance today wasn't quite as good, I initially felt disappointed. But watching him again tonight, I'm appreciating his (almost) clean skate a lot more.

 

[puglover]

Well, Ilia knew he didn't need the quad axel and he could win it playing it safe but I don't think that is the mindset of a champion.

 

[Skaterbob]

Well, Ilia knew he didn't need the quad axel and he could win it playing it safe but I don't think that is the mindset of a champion.

Agreed that he knew. He was skating against himself and got lost in that fight a bit and took himself out of the competition.

 

[Mozart]

It was nice to see Misha share the moment with Oksana Ten and Urmanov

 

[BaileyCatts]

What would a Sochi parallel even be, Olympic Champion Ami Nakai?

I think Ami is the darkhorse here and could upend that whole podium.

 

[MacMadame]

I think Ami is the darkhorse here and could upend that whole podium.

What about the "neutral" skater most of us have never seen?

 

[BaileyCatts]

What about the "neutral" skater most of us have never seen?

Well, I've never seen her skate so I'm not counting her in my predictions.

 

[skateboy]

The casualness of everyone (NBC) that Ilia would win was crazy.

I remember that everyone here on FSU had christened Patrick Chan in advance as the gold medalist for Sochi 2014. So many threads on who would win silver and bronze. NOBODY expected a different outcome.

And then Hanyu won with a really weak free skate. Chan's was even worse.

 

[MacMadame]

Well, I've never seen her skate so I'm not counting her in my predictions.

Do tell... I watch neither Juniors nor Russian domestic competitions so her getting to go to the Olympics is the first I've heard of her.

ETA never mind. We're in the wrong thread for it.

 

[Ross H]

Wow, what an event. Shocking doesn't even begin to cover it - not just Ilia but so many others. Who would have thought Cha and Gogolev would both end up less than 2 points off the podium? I'm sad for Yuma too because that program is so gorgeous, but something about it isn't working for him.

I wonder if Ilia's comments about Beijing are some kind of defense mechanism because he truly doesn't know what happened and/or he needs time to process it. Whatever the case, I hope he's getting all the support he needs from the people he needs it from, whether that's his parents, friends, family, therapist, sports psychologist, so on. The weight of expectation can be so much.

The narrative going into Worlds and into the next quad will be fascinating.

 

[Moto Guzzi]

I'm watching on NBC now and am glad I watched this earlier. The feed is terrible, at least on DISH, with constant loss of sound and picture.

 

[Bonesfan]

Agreed. That entire Olympics had interviews with Nathan, Brian Boitano, Scott Hamilton all saying they needed their first Olympics to work out the nerves.

Yuma (age 18), Yuzuru (age 19), and Shoma (age 20) would beg to differ.

 

[puglover]

I watched the NBC coverage tonight with Tara and Johnny and was very pleasantly surprised. Obviously, they were unprepared for the results but I was impressed with the sensitivity they gave it.

 

[manhn]

Tons of people thought Hanyu would win! He was in the lead after the short. Didn’t he also win GPF?

Are there people who regret participating in an Olympics? Did Kurt wish he didn’t go in 1988? I would expect athletes would want to qualify for more Olympics than less.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

Ilya looked halfway through the program empty, as he lost his energy/power. I don't know if it was mentally or physically. I hope he has a good support network around him.
The whole world was excecting extraordinary things, betting on by how much points he'll win not on placements. Next time I hope for less media frenzy.

Ilia has been very clear that the issue was mental and not physical

Trying to decide whether this or the women's meltdown in '22 was harder to watch. I think '22 wins. Eteri was involved, and things are always worse when Eteri is involved.

This was a shocking result and a sad moment for Ilia. But nothing compares to 2022. For one thing, Ilia stepped right out of the K&C and hugged Misha. Yuma celebrated his teammate who shared the podium with him.

Today was some bad performances. 2022 was like a horrible indictment of an entire system. I’ll never forget the image of Anna, having just won Olympic gold, sitting alone and holding her stuffed tissue box.

 

[skatfan]

How even the former skaters felt - video of Elladj Balde and a couple of other Canadian former figure skaters watching today’s men’s the last 3 men

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUtyJn-DsDJ/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

 

[terisa]

Yuma (age 18), Yuzuru (age 19), and Shoma (age 20) would beg to differ.

But I think the Japanese skaters are used to the crowds of press, and more of the publicity fuss. American skaters only see that level of interest around the Olympics.

 

[Vash01]

Ilya looked halfway through the program empty, as he lost his energy/power. I don't know if it was mentally or physically. I hope he has a good support network around him.
The whole world was excecting extraordinary things, betting on by how much points he'll win not on placements. Next time I hope for less media frenzy.

The Japanese media hounded Midori Ito at the 1992 Olympics. The pressure was so much that she fell on a 3Lz in the SP. she did fight back in the LP and won the silver. Still it was a huge disappointment.

I don’t know if it was the Olympic pressure and expectations that got to Malinin.

 

[Simone411]

I remember Ilia saying that it was so different being at the Olympics. He did his best to do his free skate during the team event even though he messed up with his quad axel. We've seen him do it so many times like at the Grand Prix Finals and The Nationals.

However, this was the Olympics and the whole world actually expected and knew he would do it. Well, Ilia is only human just like all of us.

We thought he was perfect including me and I should know better, but no one on this earth is perfect. I'm so sorry for Ilia, but it overwhelmed him being at the Olympics and knowing that the U.S. and several around the world were watching and expecting him to win.

We've seen it many times. The ones favored to win don't for one reason or another. I know and realize that several skaters have been disappointed including Chock & Bate when everyone thought they would win Gold but ended up with silver.

Just because some win the Silver or even bronze doesn't make them any less important. They're still winners even if it means being second best or the third best in the world. They're still Olympians, and I can think of so many, but it would be a list a mile long especially with how many years I watched Figure Skating.

Y'all, I'm getting pretty old. I joined FSU 19 years ago, and that was in 2007. I was 49 when I joined, and in September, I will be 68. I'm not afraid to say how old I am. I feel I've been blessed with a wonderful life even through the good and bad. I've practically done everything on my bucket list, and I feel so lucky to still be alive to watch Figure Skating!

 

[Vash01]

I seriously so happy for Shairodov and for Kazakhstan. Nobody predicted this. Honestly. I've been saying for 2 years that if it's not ilia, it's definitely Yuma. What an incredible result today.

Unexpected results make sports more interesting to watch - generally speaking.

 

[kwanfan1818]

I got home and watched the Venue Feed replay through my fingers. I didn't realize until a few skaters in that the Venue Feed tile is only the last two groups.

There are two skates I watched several times: Cha's and Shaidorov's. I wished Cha had captured that extra bit to take bronze, but alas. When he's on, Shaidorov's jumps are so, so pretty. And I liked his music a lot. Shaidorov is such a worthy champion with a fantastic skate. He had one biffed element, and for the rest, only one 0 mark, with all other marks positive. I'm just sorry they couldn't have come up with a few extra points for him to break 200 in the FS.

The medalists' flags were three suns!

As an uber, I felt compelled to watch Kagiyama. Like an uber, I was in denial about how bad his FS music arrangement is, thinking he just wasn't skating it well enough but he would get there. But, no, no, no: it sounded dated, not like when Puccini wrote it dated, but like it was written for Torino in 2006. I love him, but after reading the PBP here, I was shocked he remained on the podium, even with an SP margin, and that was after meltdowns by Grassl and Siao Him Fa. I do wonder what happens from here for him.

I'm just sad for Malinin.

I went back to watch a handful of skaters on the USA feed that had the first two groups. I just don't know how you all without the Venue Feed didn't break windows and launch projectiles having to listen to that bunch.

 

[Braulio]

So Japan has the potential of finishing this Games as the winner with 6 medals including 2 golds