Beijing Olympics

[Above the Title]

Guess now is as good a time as any to start this thread. Team figure skating starts Thursday BEFORE the opening ceremony.

[Above the Title]

To be fair, I should probably post my figure skating predix before it starts tomorrow.

Team
G - Russian Olympic Committee
S - Japan
B - USA

Men's
G - Nathan Chen (USA)
S - Yuzuru Hanyu (JAP)
B - Shoma Uno (JAP)

Ladies
G - Kamila Valieva (ROC)
S - Anna Shcherbakova (ROC)
B - Alexandra Trusova (ROC)

Pairs
G - Mishina/Galliamov (ROC)
S - Sui/Han (CHN)
B - Tarasova/Morozov (ROC)

Dance
G - Papadakis/Cizeron (FRA)
S - Sinitsina/Katsapalov (ROC)
B - Chock/Bates (USA)
(OK, I know the bronze slot for ice dance will be heavily contested. Hubbell/Donahue (USA) and Gilles/Poirier (CAN) are also as likely, or maybe more likely, than Chock/Bates. But coming off Nationals momentum and that I WANT THEM TO MEDAL, I am putting it into the universe.)

[misplaced validity]

It's kind of wild to me this is starting tomorrow. 1. Because Covid. 2. Because China. 3. Because I've heard very little hype or discussion about it.

[NUguy514]

(02-03-2022 09:14 AM)misplaced validity Wrote:  It's kind of wild to me this is starting tomorrow. 1. Because Covid. 2. Because China. 3. Because I've heard very little hype or discussion about it.

Yeah, I'm a gigantic Olympics fan, and I feel like no one is talking about these Olympics. For me, part of it is also that I'm so over the corruption of the IOC (Peng Shuai is FINE, the human rights abuses in China are FINE, pay no attention to the kickbacks!) that it makes it hard to get excited about these Games. I'll still watch everything, though.

(02-03-2022 08:51 AM)Above the Title Wrote:  B - Chock/Bates (USA)
(OK, I know the bronze slot for ice dance will be heavily contested. Hubbell/Donahue (USA) and Gilles/Poirier (CAN) are also as likely, or maybe more likely, than Chock/Bates. But coming off Nationals momentum and that I WANT THEM TO MEDAL, I am putting it into the universe.)

SAMESAMESAMESAMESAME

[Above the Title]

I'm a huge Olympics fan but as a society, we are moving beyond this particular iteration of the Olympic movement. Too many times the host country is guilty of heinous human rights violations and even if they're not, the building of the venues using slave labor, the displacement of individuals and uptick in homelessness as a result of the giant structures, the economies going broke after the tourists leave...the Olympics themselves are human rights violations in some aspects. My vote is to create permanent structures in Athens and always host them there, or at least for the Summer Olympics. I don't think it's regularly cold enough for Winter.

As for no hype, besides Covid and China...the last Olympics finished six months ago. Hard to garner any enthusiasm.

[teppo2]

Also, the lack of attendees reallllly makes things feel off when you’re watching. I’m still watching everything but not having a crowd reacting feels so wrong.

[Culturegeek]

(02-03-2022 08:51 AM)Above the Title Wrote:  Dance
G - Papadakis/Cizeron (FRA)
S - Sinitsina/Katsapalov (ROC)
B - Chock/Bates (USA)
(OK, I know the bronze slot for ice dance will be heavily contested. Hubbell/Donahue (USA) and Gilles/Poirier (CAN) are also as likely, or maybe more likely, than Chock/Bates. But coming off Nationals momentum and that I WANT THEM TO MEDAL, I am putting it into the universe.)

Both American teams outscored S/K in the team event. I'm not the biggest H/D fan, but if both C/B and H/D beat S/K in the individual ice dance competition, I will be very happy.

Heck, if C/B win, I'd be happier, but whatevs.

[Above the Title]

I kind of feel like...Russia gets what Russia deserves? But I wish it didn't harm the wonderful athletes, who aren't at fault. But there is absolutely no reason why they should have refused to use their possible two replacements with a bench that deep. They have World medalists as pairs, the World Champion in ladies singles, Trusova warming up five quads...give somebody else a chance to skate and win a gold medal. So what did it get them? A gold, sure. But they would have had that anyway. Their World Champion pairs had a really dangerous fall on that lift. Their World Champion ice dance team got beaten on the world's biggest stage by not one but two American teams - and Katsalapov is visibly so injured they missed a lift. Their supernova ladies star fell on a quad she didn't need to do and came off the ice in tears despite winning by 30 points. Somebody on Reddit had the idea that the team event should be skated AFTER the individuals and would therefore allow the teams to designate skaters who didn't already medal and I like that in the Olympic spirit. But of course it'll never happen.

Momentum has shifted BIG TIME away from Sinitsina/Kat. We didn't get to see the French team yet but what if two Americans medal in dance???

Also...Vincent Zhou has a positive Covid test. If he's still positive today, he has to withdraw from men's singles. Really gutted for him but also scary because he was skating in that group with Kondratyak, Kagiyama, Boyang and Sandovsky two days ago.

Also also...I hope you all know me well enough to know I am never the type of make misognynistic comments about what women are wearing but we need to discuss how Valieva has the absolute worst, most ugly and overwhelming costumes. She is a 15 year old elite athlete, what's with the mounds and mounds of fabric...sparkes...criss cross...layers...multiple colors...a serpent? Is Bolero about a snake? (Also, if I never hear Bolero again in a skating competition it'll be too sonn.) This isn't to take away from her tremendous skill. She's remarkable. What she is doing technically is a marvel, and she's matching it with smooth silky strokes and actual flare. But the packaging is just so terrible. Also, she's AMAZING. But we need to chill with the GOAT talk. GOAT to me implies dominance over a long period of time. She's not even a Senior World Champion yet and, unforuntately, if history is our guide, she will burn out quickly and barely be able to walk by the time she's 21.

[misplaced validity]

(02-08-2022 01:00 AM)Above the Title Wrote:  But we need to chill with the GOAT talk. GOAT to me implies dominance over a long period of time. She's not even a Senior World Champion yet and, unforuntately, if history is our guide, she will burn out quickly and barely be able to walk by the time she's 21.

Yes, or more so I guess there are multiple schools of thought on GOAT. I think some people see GOAT as "No one else has been this good." Sure, but to that end modern athletes will always be GOAT because as humans we are bigger, stronger, faster, etc. Many current swimmers who don't medal beat the times of Mark Spitz, but that doesn't really mean they are better. I say that to echo your point that GOAT should be measured toward the end of a career.

[NUguy514]

(02-08-2022 01:00 AM)Above the Title Wrote:  Also...Vincent Zhou has a positive Covid test. If he's still positive today, he has to withdraw from men's singles. Really gutted for him but also scary because he was skating in that group with Kondratyak, Kagiyama, Boyang and Sandovsky two days ago.

The conspiracy theorist in me would believe that China manufactured a positive COVID test for one American skater as a conduit for manufacturing positive tests for ALL of the American skaters. Even if that's not what's happening (and I'm surer about that than I am that it IS what's happening), I believe absolutely that China would do anything to cheat, to punish its enemies through their athletes, to give its own athletes an advantage. It's Sochi with a different tool (COVID tests instead of PEDs, which I guess is...better?). And this is but one of the reasons I'm not enjoying the Olympics at all this time around.

Having athletes compete next to nuclear reactors also doesn't help.

Valieva is a lovely skater, although she has that weird delay when she reaches back for the triple toe in her combinations that Medvedeva had. It looks hinky. Using "Bolero" was a total mistake (no skater should ever use it, sorry), and her costume is terrible. I kept staring at the thing on the back of her dress wondering what the hell it was until she finished and I saw it was a snake. Awful. The worst thing, though, is that she falls on her third quad and looks like she's the worst failure ever. Fuck Eteri, seriously. And fuck Johnny Weir, while I'm at it, for his worship of all things Russian and for talking incessantly (Tara, too) during every skate.

Yikes, I'm in a mood, y'all!