Article by Eleana Guron Graphics by Rianna Alania
April 21, 2022
When the anime “Yuri on ice” was released in 2016, figure skating gained even more popularity among younger audiences, myself included. I used to be active on Tumblr and Instagram, Fangirling over my favorite Athletes, but all of that stopped after the 2018 Pyeonchang Olympics since I was busy with college entrance examinations at that time.
Now with the recently concluded Olympic Season with the Beijing Winter Olympics last February and the World Figure Skating Championships last month, my interest in the sport has been rekindled by doing some catching up on my favorite skaters after 4 years. Therefore, I present to you some of the highlights of possibly the messiest and most dramatic olympics in the history of figure skating
The Messiest Ladies’ Event in the History of the Olympics
After an undeserving gold at the Ladies’ event and widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs during the 2014 Winter Olympics, Russia has managed to disappoint us once again despite the 5 Olympic bans imposed.
15-year-old Kamilla Valieva, who is the favorite to win gold after a successful stint during the team event, was found to have traces of Trimetazidine - a heart medication that also enhances endurance from a urine sample collected during the Russian National Championships where she won gold. However, the International Testing Agency has allowed her to compete because she is a “protected individual” as she is still a minor.
Skating under immense pressure and scrutiny from the press, coaches, and former champions took a toll on Valieva during the free skate, as she did not land on four of her most crucial jumps leading to a 4th place finish. Being the last one to skate, the following moments before the medal ceremony were described as “chilling” by the head of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach - as Valieva was sobbing while waiting for her scores in the Kiss & Cry, her coach, Eteri Turberiditze scolded her saying “Why did you let it go? Explain to me why? Why did you stop fighting?!”
Meanwhile, there’s Alexandra “Sasha” Trusova, Valieva’s teammate who’s also under the tutelage of Turberiditze was having an emotional outburst as she complains about the judges giving her low scores for the five quadruple jumps she successfully landed which led her to a silver medal. Their other teammate, Anna Scherbakova who won gold sat there, empty and emotionless, and couldn’t properly celebrate her win as there were too many tears being shed as the bronze medalist, Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto cried tears of joy.
I am not surprised but it’s such a shame that the adults surrounding Valieva, Trusova, and Scherbakova had ruined their Olympic experience that could harm their mental health as the 3 are only minors, literal developing teenagers. Added by the fact that they may never compete again, as the International Skating Union has banned Russians from competing because of the situation going on in Ukraine. I hope these “adults” such as Eteri Turbiriditze and even Vladimir Putin wake up from their thirst for greed and power before karma gets to them.
Catching up with old friends
Overshadowed by the drama that the Ladies’ event gave us, let us now put our focus on the feel-good moments of this year’s Winter Olympics.
Quad King and possibly America’s newest asian heartthrob, Nathan Chen, has won the gold medal for the Men’s Event. I saw this coming considering his track record from the last 3 World Championships where he both won gold. The only thing that I didn’t like was his costume and choreography for his free skate, which didn’t get to show his artistry, unlike his past programs. However, Chen wasn’t able to compete in the World Championships this year, as he suffered with injury during practice. Nevertheless, I am really happy about his win as he finally managed to redeem himself as he failed to get to the podium during the 2018 Olympics.
Speaking of heartthrobs, Mexico’s Donavan Carillo and South Korea’s Junhwan Cha have managed to charm the entire Fandom (and maybe, even the whole world) with their good looks and musicality.
Carillo, who is the first-ever Figure Skater to represent Mexico in the Olympics after 30 years, really reminded me of another figure skater, our very own national athlete, Michael Christian Martinez who competed during the last two Olympics. Both of them come from Tropical Countries where winter sports are not popular as the only rinks available are the ones in shopping malls and have difficulty training due to lack of funding. Another parallel I see between the both of them is that they are both known for their musicality, as Carillo is known for his charisma and playfulness on the ice while Martinez is known for his elegant step sequences and spins. Sadly for Michael, he wasn’t able to qualify for this year’s Olympics due to an injury. Carillo also had to withdraw from Worlds due to his skates getting lost at the airport. Hopefully, the future is bright for Carillo as I see a huge potential and talent in him considering his good track record in the Grand Prix series.
Junhwan Cha has gotten the K-pop star treatment since the 2018 Olympics until now. Appearing in different variety shows like King of Masked Singer, Running Man, Master of the house, and MMTG, Cha’s popularity is growing fast, aside from the fact that he’s rink mates with Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu and is coached by Brian Orser, Yuna Kim’s coach during the 2010 Olympics. Another reason for his rising popularity is because of the increased interest in Figure Skating by K-pop fans, specifically the fans of Enhypen as one of their members, Sunghoon used to be a competitive figure skater before becoming a trainee. However, just like Carillo, Cha had trouble with his skating boots and had to withdraw as well. Despite that, as I have been on the lookout for him since his senior debut, I am super proud of his improvement as he finished 5th during the Beijing Olympics
Japan, on the other hand, has kept its high track record in the sport. As mentioned earlier, Kaori Sakamoto was in happy tears celebrating her bronze medal. Sakamoto’s bright and cheery aura alongside her musicality and artistry while performing her free program and the moment where her teammate and longtime friend Wakaba Higuchi hugged Sakamoto to congratulate her win was perhaps one of the only redeeming highlights of the chaotic Ladies’ event. Sakamoto eventually won the World Championships this year.
Meanwhile, in the Men’s event, all 3 Japanese representatives placed consecutively behind Nathan Chen, from 4th place to the silver medal.
Starting from the Silver medal, we have newcomer Yuma Kagiyama who was all smiles as he managed to stay consistent throughout his senior debut also placing 2nd during the World Championships. I have yet to do my research on him as I have only watched both his Short and free programs during this year’s Olympics. His Father and former Olympian, Masayaku Kagiyama must have felt proud seeing his son on the podium with his very own eyes.
Shoma Uno, this year’s World Champion, has managed to defend his place on the podium by ranking third for this Olympics. After winning silver in 2018, Shoma had a pretty rough time during the following seasons as he struggled to find his footing in the sport as well as had difficulty finding a new coach. As I considered him my favorite skater, it really hurt me a lot watching him break down alone in the Kiss & Cry during the 2019 Grand Prix Internationaux de France after a bad free skate. Thankfully, after training with his eventual coach and former World Champion, Stéphane Lambiel, Uno has gotten back into his element and even improved more as he managed to finally beat Yuzuru Hanyu at the previous National Championships. I’m so proud of what has been up to in the last couple of years, overcoming his slump and falling in love again with the sport, setting up a Youtube Channel to connect with his fans (and me binge-watching everything he has uploaded in one sitting) and of course, finally becoming World Champion.
Last but not the least, The G.O.A.T of Male’s Singles Figure Skating: Yuzuru Hanyu sadly did not make the podium, finishing in 4th place. Over the last decade, Hanyu has accomplished a lot of great feats in his career, winning every major competition, landing the 1st quadruple loop jump in competition, breaking 19 world records in scoring, and back-to-back champion during the last 2 Olympics. Hanyu can retire from competing and said that he wants to skate for himself again, but Yuzu being Yuzu who always wants to outdo himself every single time, also made it clear that he has only one goal left: landing the first Quadruple Axel Jump in competition.
Ever since announcing that the said jump is included in his free skate program, the entire fandom has been bracing for their lives, calling on the deities they know, praying that he would successfully land the jump - which didn’t happen yet. Though it was nerve-wracking watching his performances for this Olympics, and we didn’t get to see the Iconic “Pooh rain” (where fans throw Winnie The Pooh merchandise on the ice after Hanyu’s Performance), Yuzu is in high-spirits after the Olympics and is content with himself, as he managed to pose cutely for a selfie with Bing Dwen Dwen, The Beijing Olympics Mascot.
Obviously, I couldn’t cover the Pairs and Ice Dance events and my other favorite Skaters as this article would be too long and would need a separate article. If you want to get introduced to the sport or you want to catch up with the “SQU4D” you can follow their social media pages to show support.
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