Winter Olympics 2026

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Ilia’s arrogance did him in.

Wasn't he heard saying after his performance waiting for his results that only if they had let him go to Beijing in 2022, he would be on that podium?

Yes, you heard right.

And as he is local, let’s just say that my reference to his arrogance is from direct knowledge of who he is.

New poster.
One doesn’t need deep insight to notice that he is unfortunately full of himself, which is not the end of the world for a 21 yo but I am surprised his parents don’t keep him in check.
He invented his own nickname, put it on a t shirt and wears it. He skates to his own inspirational quotes.
It’s normal for a young person to feel that their thoughts and feelings are more significant and novel than they are, but there needs to be an adult to tell them it’s ridiculous.

At the same time, he was extremely gracious to the gold medal winner, going to him immediately and congratulating/embracing him, and in his interviews afterward.

+1 He's full of himself and overconfident, yes. But he's also kind and self-aware. He never says anything rude or unkind about his competition. After he lost, he said in interviews immediately after that I had been a mental problem, he had been on overwhelmed by the Olympic atmosphere, and that he had been too confident.

The only petty thing he said was the comment about "them" not sending him to Beijing in the kiss & cry, but I think it is reasonable, in recognizing how the mental side impacted him, to wish he'd had the trial run on another olympics. Sports structured around Olympic cycles can be brutal -- you look at the calendar and realize you are at the mercy of your physical peak coinciding with an event that occurs only once every 4 years.

Chock & Bates were asked about coming back for the next olympics to see if they can get an individual gold. Bates was kind of sarcastic in his response -- why not aim for Salt Lake in 8 years of we're hoping for things? They are 32 and 36.

Ilia is not in that position yet but with his quads -- who knows how 4 or 8 years will impact his skill set. This was his year, and he blew it with nerves. And he knows it.

I agree with this take. And there’s been something in the coverage where I sensed some resentment or slight dislike, so it makes sense.

I’m not faulting him for Quad God. It started when he was 13 - he didn’t have control over that. But since then it could/should have been moderated.

If he had been slightly less flashy I think using his own voice in the program could have been a nod to how important the mental part of the process is.

I took absolutely no joy in watching that long program. It was painful. I hope he’s back in ‘30.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chloe Kim what a crash out

I would not say that. She still did very well and the girl she mentored and asked to come to the US to train with her won the gold.

I read an interview with her recently and she said she's already got a retirement date in mind. She's been doing this literally her whole life--the article talked about how she slept for 2-3 nights at a time in the airport when she was a little kid to go to competitions, and was homeschooled from middle school onward, all with the goal of making her star. She qualified for the Olympics at age 13 (but was too young to go according the rules) and was financially responsible for supporting her family as a teenager.

The Sports Illustrated story made me sad. Imagine being a 13 year old expected to support your family, live full time on the road, and become the greatest ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This Japanese guy bawling his eyes out is giving me life.

They skated really well, but yes, someone needs to pass him a Kleenex.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ilia’s arrogance did him in.

Wasn't he heard saying after his performance waiting for his results that only if they had let him go to Beijing in 2022, he would be on that podium?

How so?

NP. Because, theoretically, he would have gotten his nerves and Olympic inexperience over with, and then his second games would have been fruitful. See also: Nathan Chen Olympics 1 vs. Nathan Chen Olympics 2.

It was a controversial decision at the time in 2022 to send Jason Brown instead of Ilia. That said, Jason Brown performed well and was decently ranked. It’s impossible to say what could have or would have happened. I love Jason Brown and was glad he was on the team in 2022; Ilia did not perform well at that Worlds just a few weeks later.

Anyway, I wish Ilia all the best and hope he continues to mature, as a person and as an athlete. I feel for him, to have skated so well to help USA win team gold and then to fall so short in the individual event.

They underutilized him last Olympics and overextended him this time. As a result, he was instrumental in securing gold for the team and was left with nothing in individual event.

They had absolutely no business putting their A team into the team event. He burned it all there and there was nothing left for the individual event. They should either hold the team event after the individual meet or explicitly slot a different set of skaters into the team event. You cannot expect top level runthroughs of the same program so frequently.

He’s an overhyped bum

Let’s see your fat ass even get upright in skates.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I'm happy for the kid from Kazakhstan though!

Me too! He was so shocked - he had no expectation of winning gold!

Same! It reminded me a little of Lillehammer, when the favored veterans all stumbled (Browning, Boitano, and Petrenko) and Alexei Urmanov pulled off a stunning upset. The planets had to align just right.

And Alexei Urmanov is Mikhail Shaidorov‘s coach. He trains with him in Sochi.

Not a political post, but as someone who loves figure skating, the Russian influence on the sport was everywhere at the 2026 men's Olympic event, even with the ban. So many in men's singles had Russian roots or training:

Mikhail Shaidorov (Kazakhstan – 1st) – Trainsin Russia with Alexei Urmanov in Sochi and speaks Russian.

Stephen Gogolev (Canada – 5th) – Has dual Canadian and Russian citizenship, started skating in Russia as a kid before moving to Canada.

Petr Gumennik (Russia – 6th) – Russian competing as a neutral athlete.

Ilia Malinin (USA – 8th) – His parents Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov were Olympic figure skaters from Uzbekistan/former Soviet Union.

Andrew Torgashev (USA – 12th) – Parents were Russian figure skaters who toured with ice shows before settling in the US.

Maxim Naumov (USA – 20th) – His parents Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were the 1994 World Champions in pairs for Russia.

Vladimir Samoylov (Poland – competed) – Born in Moscow, trained in the Russian system before switching to Poland.

I know many of these skaters have left Russia or represent other countries, but the technical foundation and coaching tradition of Russian figure skating still clearly influences the sport.

Also, even if Adeliia Petrosian lands a quad and triple axel in the women's event, will she podium, or will the judges give her a low enough component score to keep her out of the top 3? Her actual skating is much more entertaining than Kaori Sakamoto (I think she's so boring, personally, and prefer the other Japanese women to her).

And Adeliia Petrosian was robbed in the short program. I would have had her in 2nd. Unfortunately, she didn't do the triple axel, but her jumps, spins, skating, and artistry were otherwise the best, but they used the component score to keep her off the podium.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm happy for the kid from Kazakhstan though!

Me too! He was so shocked - he had no expectation of winning gold!

Same! It reminded me a little of Lillehammer, when the favored veterans all stumbled (Browning, Boitano, and Petrenko) and Alexei Urmanov pulled off a stunning upset. The planets had to align just right.

And Alexei Urmanov is Mikhail Shaidorov‘s coach. He trains with him in Sochi.

Not a political post, but as someone who loves figure skating, the Russian influence on the sport was everywhere at the 2026 men's Olympic event, even with the ban. So many in men's singles had Russian roots or training:

Mikhail Shaidorov (Kazakhstan – 1st) – Trainsin Russia with Alexei Urmanov in Sochi and speaks Russian.

Stephen Gogolev (Canada – 5th) – Has dual Canadian and Russian citizenship, started skating in Russia as a kid before moving to Canada.

Petr Gumennik (Russia – 6th) – Russian competing as a neutral athlete.

Ilia Malinin (USA – 8th) – His parents Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov were Olympic figure skaters from Uzbekistan/former Soviet Union.

Andrew Torgashev (USA – 12th) – Parents were Russian figure skaters who toured with ice shows before settling in the US.

Maxim Naumov (USA – 20th) – His parents Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were the 1994 World Champions in pairs for Russia.

Vladimir Samoylov (Poland – competed) – Born in Moscow, trained in the Russian system before switching to Poland.

I know many of these skaters have left Russia or represent other countries, but the technical foundation and coaching tradition of Russian figure skating still clearly influences the sport.

Also, even if Adeliia Petrosian lands a quad and triple axel in the women's event, will she podium, or will the judges give her a low enough component score to keep her out of the top 3? Her actual skating is much more entertaining than Kaori Sakamoto (I think she's so boring, personally, and prefer the other Japanese women to her).

And Adeliia Petrosian was robbed in the short program. I would have had her in 2nd. Unfortunately, she didn't do the triple axel, but her jumps, spins, skating, and artistry were otherwise the best, but they used the component score to keep her off the podium.

There was hinkiness with her coaches just like Gummenik's music. The coaches, in addition to the athletes, had to pass political neutrality tests. She did not even bother to submit her main coach, the controversial Eteri Tutberidze (who is allowed to be here coaching skaters from other countries, just not Russia), but her secondary coach Daniil Gleikhengauz was mysteriously denied for no apparent reason. She traveled to the Olympics with some official, no coach, then suddenly two days ago they decided Gleikhengauz was neutral after all and let him come.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone think that Adela skating to Michael Jackson’s They Don’t Care About Us is a statement?

[Anonymous]

*Adelia

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ilia’s arrogance did him in.

Wasn't he heard saying after his performance waiting for his results that only if they had let him go to Beijing in 2022, he would be on that podium?

Yes, you heard right.

And as he is local, let’s just say that my reference to his arrogance is from direct knowledge of who he is.

New poster.
One doesn’t need deep insight to notice that he is unfortunately full of himself, which is not the end of the world for a 21 yo but I am surprised his parents don’t keep him in check.
He invented his own nickname, put it on a t shirt and wears it. He skates to his own inspirational quotes.
It’s normal for a young person to feel that their thoughts and feelings are more significant and novel than they are, but there needs to be an adult to tell them it’s ridiculous.

At the same time, he was extremely gracious to the gold medal winner, going to him immediately and congratulating/embracing him, and in his interviews afterward.

I liked how someone joked it was because he himself really needed a hug. I find it believable

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone think that Adela skating to Michael Jackson’s They Don’t Care About Us is a statement?

Yes boo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ilia’s arrogance did him in.

Wasn't he heard saying after his performance waiting for his results that only if they had let him go to Beijing in 2022, he would be on that podium?

Yes, you heard right.

And as he is local, let’s just say that my reference to his arrogance is from direct knowledge of who he is.

New poster.
One doesn’t need deep insight to notice that he is unfortunately full of himself, which is not the end of the world for a 21 yo but I am surprised his parents don’t keep him in check.
He invented his own nickname, put it on a t shirt and wears it. He skates to his own inspirational quotes.
It’s normal for a young person to feel that their thoughts and feelings are more significant and novel than they are, but there needs to be an adult to tell them it’s ridiculous.

At the same time, he was extremely gracious to the gold medal winner, going to him immediately and congratulating/embracing him, and in his interviews afterward.

I liked how someone joked it was because he himself really needed a hug. I find it believable

Yeah it’s this

[Anonymous]

U.S. cross country skiing is on the up. Men just silvered the team sprint. Nice work!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone think that Adela skating to Michael Jackson’s They Don’t Care About Us is a statement?

What's the statement?

[Anonymous]

Petrosian had the Michael Jackson program since the 2023-2024 season, before she was selected. I'm inclined to think she was just comfortable with it and its a crowd pleaser for the Olympics.

[Anonymous]

I love Alysa Liu and I hope she does very well in the free skate. I’m glad she’s going back to her Donna Summer program! It’s so joyful and fits her personality beautifully. Her World’s gold was a magic moment and I don’t even care if she medals, I just want that joyous, free, breezy vibe for her again. Just wonderful. I love all the American women on this team, and how supportive they are of one another. The Japanese ladies also are incredibly talented and gracious.