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Post by Admin on Feb 20, 2014 23:21:44 GMT
Reigning Olympic champion Yuna Kim skated two flawless routines in her short and free program, but lost on the judges scorecard to 17-year-old Adeline Sotnikova, who also skated two nearly-flawless routines and, oh yeah, just happens to hail from Russia. A Russian scoring an upset win in Russia was bound to send up distress signals no matter the circumstances, but especially when the victory is over Kim, the closest thing figure skating has to a queen. NBCSN’s figure skating announcers, Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski, didn’t offer much criticism when Kim’s score was announced and Sotnikova was revealed to be the winner. But after Sotnikova’s scores came out earlier in the program, Weir alluded to a potential home-ice advantage. But Weir backtracked later, saying he agreed with the podium “100%.” Lipinski said Sotnikova deserved to win because she skated with the most heart. Or did she skate with the most fan support, which gave the impression she had the most heart?
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Post by Admin on Feb 23, 2014 0:19:46 GMT
This is a screenshot from the nbcolympics.com replay of the bronze-medal performance of Italy’s Carolina Kostner. We’ve circled a woman sitting at a bank of computers on the edge of the ice. Fast forward 40 minutes. The scores of Yuna Kim were just announced and Russian skater Adelina Sotnikova has been crowned gold medalist of the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Immediately after realizing she had won the marquee event of the Games, the 18-year-old skater sped through the bowels of the Iceberg Skating Palace, receiving warm congratulations and dozens of hugs from people assembled throughout the halls. One of those people in the hall was the woman from the picture above. She could be seen walking into the frame as Sotnikova was receiving another hug, a few minutes after her celebration began. After waiting for a few seconds, the woman approached Sotnikova. She offered a few words before the two shared a warm embrace. Ordinarily, a woman with good seats hugging a gold medalist wouldn’t merit much attention. Those good seats were the judging area, however, as the woman in the pictures is judge Alla Shekhovtseva of Russia.
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Post by Admin on Mar 11, 2014 5:47:39 GMT
A flawless performance by Adelina Sotnikova has won Russia a largely unexpected gold in the women’s individual figure skating event. Sotnikova’s victory made her the first female Russian skater to receive Olympic gold in this category. The 17-year-old Sotnikova came second after the short program but scored a total of 224.59 after the free skate. Many onlookers enjoyed the artful free-flowing style of Kim and wondered why her technical score was lower. The sports section of the LA Times suggested that Solikova won due to favorable judging. The next day, three past figure skating medal winners were interviewed on American TV. Elvis Stoyko, Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski all stated that Solnikova won fairly due to her higher base values. It should not have taken a day to explain the scores. If the public had seen posted Difficulty, Execution and Artistry scores, they would have realized immediately that Sotnikova had selected a higher Difficulty than Kim by about five points. Her Execution of that program was nearly the same as for Kim and their Artistry was judged to be equal. It would not have been at all questionable when the Russian gained five points from the free skate, overcoming her small deficit from the short program, thus earning the gold medal. Kostner chose a program with higher Difficulty than Kim; but her Execution was lower and her Artistry was slightly lower than for Kim. That explains why she won bronze.
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Post by Admin on Mar 11, 2014 23:37:07 GMT
Why did Russia’s Adelina Sotnikova overtake South Korea’s Kim Yu-na to become the Olympic champion in the ladies’ figure skating? The answer is simple. Because Sotnikova’s free dance was technically more complicated than Kim’s. Here is a look at how she did it. Kim and Sotnikova ran almost neck-and-neck after the short program event with Kim leading and Sotnikova second, but the gap was a mere 0.24 points. In the free dance, Sotnikova skated a program of such technical brilliance that Kim couldn’t match it, according to the New York Times. Her program was worth a lot more points than Kim's, which means she could afford a minor bobble and still win. In fact, her technical scores were so much higher than Kim's, she might have been able to fall once and still win. Sotnikova blew Kim away with her combinations. Sotnikova's three combination jumps added up to 27.48 points, with Kim's adding up to 22.64 points – a massive 4.84 point gap. Over all the other elements of the program – single jumps, spins, and footwork – Kim managed to claw back 0.90 points. But the damage was done, considering she came into the free skate only 0.28 points ahead of Sotnikova. An Olympic education. Тhе Central Sports Club Army is one of Russia's most prestigious sporting schools. Adelina Sotnikova is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2014 Olympic champion. She is the first Russian to win the Olympic gold medal in ladies' singles figure skating. Sotnikova put two of her combination jumps after the two-minute mark. Kim did only one. That might seem like a small thing, but Sotnikova took a risk that she could land them even as she fatigued, and in the end, that risk offset the cost of the step out on her last combination. As a result, Sotnikova's "base technical score" – the cumulative mark for all the elements she executed, with no "judging" involved – was 61.43 points. Kim's was 57.49.
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Post by Admin on Mar 13, 2014 14:54:49 GMT
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