Tag: figure skating

Olympic Update – Women’s Hockey Final + Figure Skating (Women’s Free Skate)

Tonight’s Olympic action brings us the women’s hockey final and the women’s figure skating free skate.

In women’s hockey, the bronze medal game was between Finland and Sweden. Finland took that game by a score of 3-2. The gold medal game was between Canada and Team USA. This was possibly the closest game either team has had all tournament. In the end Canada proved the better team, winning by a score of 2-0.

In figure skating, Canada received a bronze medal with an elegant performance by Joannie Rochette. I spoke before about the support of the crowd after the loss of her mother. This support continued tonight, and, I think, contributed to her win. This will be one of those moments she will never forget. I’m sure it was bittersweet for her, but hopefully she can find some sunshine through the rain. The other medals went to Mao Asada of Japan (silver) and Yu-Na Kim of South Korea (gold). This was not only the first gold medal for South Korea in this event, but the first medal the country has ever received for figure skating.

That’s all for tonight, folks. More to come tomorrow.

Johnny Weir Speaks Out

Johnny Weir has responded after comments made questioning his gender and the example he sets for future skaters.

I thought his response showed a lot of class for a number of reasons. First of all, even though he was obviously offended by the comments made, he did not ask for an apology for himself. Rather, he wanted one for others who may have been hurt by these remarks. He also spoke of his belief in free speech, which, in my opinion, is what we call “taking the high road”. After all, it is hard to say that someone who speaks ill of us has every right to do so. I am proud of his reaction and think, contrary to belief by some, he has proven himself an excellent role model for future skaters. Bravo!

I end this with one final quote, which Weir shared during the press conference. “Out of ugly I think the most important thing to do in life is to make something beautiful.” If the world could follow this same philosophy, oh what a beautiful place that would be.

Olympic Update – Figure Skating (Women’s Short Program)

The highlight for tonight’s Olympic action was the women’s short program for figure skating. Especially worth note are two skaters who performed towards the end of the night. The first is a Canadian skater, Joannie Rochette. Even though she found out her mother died on Sunday, she still showed up for practice and performed her short program tonight. The crowd was inspirational, cheering her on every step of the way. I found myself routing for her over the American skaters even. She finished third tonight, giving her a good chance at a medal.

The other spotlight for tonight shines on the 17-year-old American skater, Rachael Flatt. As I watched her perform her short program I couldn’t help but think “17 and full of spunk”. Her program was both sassy and fun, proving she is someone the other skaters should watch out for. She finished fifth tonight, making her far from out of the race for a medal.

The top three skaters at the end of the night were Yu-Na Kim of South Korea, Mao Asada of Japan, and Rochette.

The total medal count at this point is 7 gold, 9 silver, and 10 bronze for a total of 26 medals for Team USA.

More to come tomorrow.

Olympic Update – Figure Skating (Men’s Free Skate)

The highlight for tonight in Olympic news includes three more medals for Team USA. The first two went to Hannah Teter and Kelly Clark, who got Silver and Bronze respectively for Women’s Halfpipe. The gold went to Torah Bright of Australia. Also tonight was the men’s free skate, where Evan Lysacek, the reining world champion, took gold. The world champ traditionally does win gold at the Olympics, and this was no exception. Silver went to Yevgeny Plushenko of Russia and bronze went to Daisuke Takahashi of Japan. The only thing I was unhappy about with the free skate results was that Johnny Weir was placed 6th, even though I thought he had an outstanding program and deserved at least a bronze medal. I believe, and NBC commentators agreed, that he was underscored. At the end of the day the total medal count was 17: 5 gold, 5 silver, and 7 bronze. The next highest after the U.S. is Germany with 11. More to come tomorrow.

Olympic Update – Figure Skating (Men’s Short Program)

Tonight’s Olympic action brought us the men’s short program for figure skating. Overall the performances were much better than the pairs from the previous night, in my opinion. There were a few falls by some of the skaters, but mostly it was consistently good skating all the way. My top moments came from two of the Americans. The first was Johnny Weir, who didn’t score very well but showed a lot of spunk and won over my heart as he danced and strutted across the ice. The second was Jeremy Abbott skating to “A Day In The Life” by the Beatles. He also didn’t score that well but put on a good show all the same. The top three skaters at the end of the short program were Plushenko of Russia, Lysacek of America, and Takahashi of Japan. We will have to wait to see who gets the gold. The final medal count for Team USA at the end of the day was 8: 2 gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze, putting us in second place for the total medal count. Germany has the most medals now with 9: 3 gold, 4 silver, and 2 bronze. More to come tomorrow.

Olympic Update – Figure Skating (Pairs) + Snowboarding

Today’s Olympic action included another gold medal for Team USA and some intense snowboarding action. Two Americans made it to the finals in Snowboard Cross: Seth Wescott and Nate Holland. Wescott was able to overtake the other three competitors for Team USA’s second Olympic gold medal. Also tonight was the end of the figure skating pairs competition. The top two pairs in this event were both from China, and both had an impressive display to offer. There was also supposed to be speed skating tonight but it was delayed due to unsafe conditions with the ice. At the end of the day the total medal count for Team USA was 8, including 2 gold medals, 2 silver, and 4 bronze. More Olympic action continues tomorrow with figure skating singles short program and the speed skating race that was delayed from tonight.