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Post by Admin on Feb 21, 2014 22:51:00 GMT
In the final chapter of her storied Olympic figure skating career, South Korea's Yuna Kim won silver -- not able to defend her shot at gold against a Russian teenager who seemingly came out of nowhere to get the top prize. Russia's Adelina Sotnikova finished with a total score of 224.59, beating Kim's score of 219.11 by 5.48 points after the free skate program. Sotnikova, 17, became the first female Russian skater to win in the category. Some pointed out that she had stepped out after landing a triple combination, and others raised questions about the anonymous judging system. Sotnikova's program had seven triple jumps, which was one more than Kim's. The final judgment split sports journalists and figure skating experts. "It's debatable, but not a robbery," wrote Chris Chase of USA Today. "Sotnikova skated well enough to win gold. She had a carefully constructed program with seven triples, five of which were in a combo. Kim had six and three, respectively. Thus, Sotnikova was going in with a higher total and made more margin for error, which she took advantage of with a minor hop after one exchange."
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Post by Admin on Feb 23, 2014 23:06:05 GMT
The Winter Olympics come to an end with a spectacular ceremony leaving us in no doubt of Russia's epic cultural history - and leaving Sochi with the last laugh. The Russian hosts of the Winter Olympics put on a spectacular show to finish this year's Games, leaving the IOC chief to declare: "Russia had delivered all it had promised". They also topped the medals table, followed by Norway and Canada in second and third place, leaving Team GB to come in 19th place. The closing ceremony's Creative Director Konstantin Ernst said he wanted to present a "European vision" of Russia, told through the eyes of a young girl, Lubov. The ceremony showcased an array of Circus performers and dancers from Russia's world-famous Bolshoi ballet. And there was even a sense of humour on display, with a nod to the technical failure during the opening ceremony which meant one of the five Olympic rings failed to light up.
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Post by Admin on Feb 25, 2014 2:15:55 GMT
1. The re-emergence of Russia Whether or not there was home cooking, Team Russia dominated figure skating, winning the team event and gold in two of the four disciplines. It's hard to believe that just a year ago, Russia struggled at the world championships, qualifying only one man and two women (out of a possible three) for the Olympics. While Evgeni Plushenko's heir has yet to come forward, Julia Lipniskaia and Adelina Sotnikova have a slew of up-and-comers nipping at their bladed heels. Don't be surprised if one or both women don't return for the 2018 Pyeongchang Games – four of the top six ladies on the junior circuit are Russian. 2. Team event triumphs The general consensus among the athletes who competed in the inaugural figure skating team event was that it was a success. "'We were looking forward to this event,'' ice dancer and Team USA captain Charlie White said. "We feel like we were out there for each other and with each other." White and his partner Meryl Davis were one of a handful of athletes who competed in both phases of the team competition and their own individual event. The extra programs didn't seem to affect Davis and White, who won the gold in ice dance. But for others – notably Evgeni Plushenko and Julia Lipnitskaia – skating in the team competition before their individual event took a physical toll. The team event will hopefully encourage countries like Japan and China – which are traditionally weaker in ice dancing – to develop that discipline and field competitive squads against powerhouses Russia, Canada and the United States. 3. The quad is here to stay Evan Lysacek won the gold in 2010 without a four-revolution jump, but eight of the top 10 men in Sochi landed at least one clean quad. The point value of the quad was increased after Vancouver to encourage more attempts; greater risk equals greater reward. But watching after skater after skater fall on it in Sochi – including gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu – begs the question if much emphasis is put on a jump. 4. Less dancing in 'ice dancing' Davis and White were deserving gold medal winners, but critics would say their style is more acrobatic than ballroom – which is what ice dancing is based on. More "traditional" teams like Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada and Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France fell short of their medal goals, getting lower marks on their skating skills and transitions marks. Ice dancing experts would say those are actually the areas where they excel. 5. Retirements will create a void in talent For many years, skaters like Evgeni Plushenko and Yuna Kim carried the skating mantle for their countries. Their retirements will leave a gap that may take years to fill. That being said, kudos to them and the likes of Carolina Kostner, Mao Asada, Brian Joubert, and Qing Pang and Jian Tong, who all skated final performances they can be proud of in Sochi.
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Post by Admin on Feb 25, 2014 23:22:04 GMT
The gold medal that went to Russian upstart Adelina Sotnikova and her acrobatic-filled program left many questioning the outcome after she defeated defending champion Yuna Kim, who delivered a near-perfect performance. “They’re absolutely opposite kind of skaters. Adelina is truly an athlete. She jumps over the moon,” American Gracie Gold, who came in fourth following Thursday’s long program, said on TODAY. “Yuna Kim has this mature grace about her and she already has an Olympic gold in her pocket. It was a very interesting mashup at this Olympics. Adelina came out on top but at another competition, it could have been Yuna, so who knows.” Ashley Wagner, who initially said the results left her “speechless” and spoke out against the judging system following her performance Thursday, clarified her remarks on TODAY. “I think that the ladies in the top three, absolutely hands down, belong in the top three. I don’t even question that,” she said. However, she called the judging rules that oversee figure skating competition “too opaque.” “It’s not clear enough to the audience and it needs to be more fan friendly so that we can get a wider fan base,” she said. “I think we need to get rid of the anonymous judging.” But Wagner stopped short of calling the judges biased, noting that she didn’t watch any of the other skaters perform so she couldn't make a comparison. “I just know I skated a really solid program,” she said. “The scores, I was pretty happy with. A little bit lower than I would have liked, but a bias against? I can’t say anything to that. I don’t think so.” Others felt differently. More than one million signatures quickly amassed on a Change.org petition that emerged immediately after the skating finals, demanding an investigation into the scores posted by the judging panel. Gold’s coach, Frank Carroll, a legend in the industry, also questioned the final call. “I don’t think the program component scores are being judged very accurately. I don’t think it takes much of an eye to know whether somebody can skate or not,” he told TODAY.com. “We’re all good skaters. We can take a look at somebody who goes around the rink and you can say, ‘Yeah, he can skate. No, they can’t skate.’ Why can’t the judges recognize that?” “Absolutely. I’m looking to make the podium in 2018,” Gold said, to cheers from the crowd. Wagner arrived at the Sochi Olympics under a cloud of controversy after U.S. skating officials placed her on the team despite failing to medal at the national competition in January. But she said she’s ready to prove herself again in the years ahead. “As soon as I stepped foot here, I was sold for four more years. I’m ready to go and fight for what I like to think is mine,” she said.
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Post by Admin on Feb 27, 2014 13:46:11 GMT
Gold medal ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White, raised in Oakland County and trained into Olympic champions in Canton, are on a media blitz today. It’s all part of cashing in on their popularity while it’s peaking. On the “Today” show this morning, Davis and White gave some brief words, then performed part of their routine on the skating rink at Rockefeller Center in New York. They said they haven’t made any decisions on their future — especially the world championships — but they did confirm that they will be part of the Stars on Ice tour, which stops at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on April 27. Tickets, which start at $30, are already available.
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