Ha! I am glad I stay off fanyu Twitter reading those
I’m freaking out that Vincent Zhou tested positive for Covid. The ONLY thing I want from this Olympics is for Timothy to skate, and I know they’ve been in the team box together. (I’d bet ALL the US skaters are kind of freaking out…)
Sucks for Zhou he won’t get to compete in the individuals, but his homophobic butt already has a medal, so blah. (I’m mad Brown didn’t do the team event. Zhou is consistently blowing it. Brown would consistently do OK.)
Also, I need to figure out if our rink changed management, because it seems SO WEIRD TO ME that they have a former employee at the Olympics and haven’t said anything on their socials.
(Oh- my second Olympic wish is for Hubbell/Donahue to win…)
2 Likes
Zhou made some mistakes in the team event, but I dont think he blew it. I’m so disappointed for him that he tested positive. That team box was packed.
I just feel like all of Zhou’s career has been him making major mistakes at a big event and then coming up with excuses for it.
I do feel like it super sucks that “false positives” are basically not considered at all for these athletes, because he doesn’t HAVE two days to produce negative tests; and if it turns out he doesn’t actually have covid, he’s effed.
1 Like
I think false negatives are quite rare? But yes the whole testing scheme and “loop system” seems conceived pre-omicron.
I’m really sad for him even though he isn’t my favorite skater- like all the skaters, he worked his ass off for this for 4 years, he worked hard to get that 3rd spot back for the US at Nebelhorn after he lost it at worlds. And now even Ilia can’t sub out because Vincent already was in the team comp.
His Instagram video, he just seems so sad.
2 Likes
Keegan (CAD) made it to beijing after trying to get a negative Covid test all week.
He looks so relieved
1 Like
Socials are blocked in China, unless they have a VPN. They also might be regulated on what they can say
1 Like
This is a rule that should have been suspended in COVID times.
1 Like
No, I mean my local rink. LeDuc used to work the front desk and drive the zamboni. So I’m surprised there was never a “Congratulations on making the Olympic team” or a post to opening ceremonies wishing them luck.
I’m really surprised our rink hasn’t said anything about them. In the past they posted about them going to nationals.
1 Like
I think covid made it even harder, because they weren’t even allowed to send alternates to China, so even if they could sub, there is no time to get there. (Say if, God forbid, Brown also got sick as well.)
1 Like
I am so happy Keegan made it!
Also, it always amazes me when skaters have their guards on already before they step at least one foot off the ice. I know elite skaters are like a whole other level of super human on ice, but I would immediately forget and set that foot down and die. They’ll just power pull 10 laps of the rink…
1 Like
I have been training twizzles with a guard on. It is kinda fun but I am definitely still nervous I will forget!
Oh that makes sense! I thought you were saying they have an employee there, like as a staff. 
honestly I think rinks are generally trash at all things involving the internet and social media
Yea! And even more complicated is they were only allowed to take sanctioned “closed loop flights” for the Olympics of which there were not many
Hi!
Isabeau Levito also has such beautiful posture & lines. Reminds me a bit of Sasha Cohen, but to me she already looks like she’s a better jumper.
I don’t totally understand how component scores are determined & why Isabeau came in third at Nationals, rather than second, or even first? Her skates weren’t perfect: she under-rotated a loop in her short, and stumbled a bit in one of her jumps in the free. But it looked like Karen Chen also under-rotated a couple of her jumps, and Mariah Bell only had one triple-triple over both programs. In the past, I think, international reputation was also a factor in component scores. Input from @anomalily ?
I’m watching the Olympics figure skating using my MIL’s Sling TV subscription, which also lets me log onto NBC Olympics. If I didn’t have that, I’d probably pay the $5 for a Peacock subscription.
1 Like
I just managed to watch the rest of Vincent’s video…I really am so sad for him, even though I’m not really a fan.
Knowing that his Mom is known for being one of the hardest skating parents out there, I hope she doesn’t blame him for this… It sounds like he has been one of the most vigilant about following covid protocol.
1 Like
Even if Jason Brown had done the free skate portion of the team event, there’s no way he would have been ranked higher than Vincent Zhou without a quad. Zhou at least had the chance to win the event if he’d done his perfect best.
Why wouldn’t Team USA have their subs in ready to go in Beijing with the ongoing pandemic and all the testing going on? Does it really come down to the fact that Zhou already skated in the team event, that it’d be against the rules to sub in Ilia Malinin?
And the Japanese men are so, so good! Here is Yuma Kagiyama, their #3 skater who won the men’s free in the team event:
They haven’t even trotted out their top skater, Yuzuru Hanyu, and they didn’t need to. Hanyu has arrived in Beijing & here he is practicing quad axels:
1 Like
SO there are two scores for figure skating under the IJS system (what’s currently used at these competitions). One is the technical score, and one is the Program Component Score.
The technical scores consist of the jumps and spins and a few required connecting elements (like step sequences), which are assigned a base value and element code. The Technical Panel sends the element codes to the judges’ computers for marking. For each element, all of the judges award a mark for Grade of Execution (GOE) that is an integer between –5 and +5.
For each jump and spin, there is GOOD technique that is judgable. For jumps - it’s height, ease of jump, tightness of turn, and the strongness of landing (roughtly). There’s also GOE points assigned for “difficult variations” or “difficult entries”. So that’s why so many skaters put their arms above their head for jumps - extra points. Or go sideways with their sit spins - that’s a difficult variation.
Isabeau’s GOE is significantly lower for her jumps because of her jumping methods. She doesn’t have a lot of speed and relies on how tiny she is and the torque of the jump to make the rotation happen. She also does a “flutz” which is where a lutz is accidentally taken off on the wrong edge (making it a flip, hence the name). So she’s missing some GOE there.
Here’s her breakdown of scores from nationals. The mean of the judges scores are taken, throwing out the lowest and highest.
So, the Program Component Score, a judgement of Skating skills, performance, transitions, music choice, and costume - is where I think it’s very possible that politics played a part. Since she wasn’t old enough for the olympics or worlds, I think it’s likely that factored into this relatively subjective score because they were more likely wanting to place Mariah and Chen higher.
Here is a scoring cheat sheet: https://usfigureskating.org/sites/default/files/media-files/Scoring%20Cheat%20Sheet.pdf
2 Likes
I hope the USFSA gets him mental health counseling STAT
My understanding is they were not allowed to have them in Bejiing due to pandemic restrictions. Basically alternates to the team would only be if they were replaced before they left.
But, even if he was there, since Zhou has skated, he really cannot be replaced. That is 100% the rule.
Brown has consistently surprised me in his ability to win international medals. It’s tough to say what he would have done in the team event. I’m not a fan of Zhou, but like any skater, he has worked really really hard for this. It really really sucks.
3 Likes