FigureSkatingMisc

Rino Matsuike, Moonlight

I don’t know, man, did Daisuke Takahashi struggle with lifts because he’s not very tall, or did he struggle with lifts because he started competing in ice dance in his mid-thirties?

What are the chances Japan can, through a mix of politicking and improved performance, get to more than one ice dance spot by 2030? Low, right? …How many ID splits/retirements are the other countries looking at? 😩

It’s interesting—Marin and Shoma are two very talented skaters who I’d assumed were both probably very happy to leave competition behind them, but it must feel different when you’re not going it alone! The Japanese ice dance field continues to… escalate quickly. 😳

Marin Honda and Shoma Uno have officially announced their intention to return to competition as an ice dance team, aiming for the Olympics. FYI, they post practice clips here: instagram.com/shomarin_memo?… news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/b3d2c…

Congratulations to Kaori Sakamoto, who announced her recent marriage at her retirement press conference today! The marriage was registered on May 5th. Her husband is someone she met at university. Kaori will begin coaching alongside her former coach, Sonoko Nakano.

Quan Ye, hear me out: Moa Iwano (This is just my own far-fetched fantasy, not a hint at legitimate info, to be clear. 😘) #figureskating

To come back from 5th to win is amazing… to come back from 5th to win by an almost 10-point margin is pretty bad ass!

Nagaoka/Moriguchi’s DNQ here will just make it all the more impressive when they win gold in 2030. I’ll not be considering other possibilities at this time, thank you. 😌

Are these Olympics knocking down the gold medal favorites in other sports, or is it just figure skating?

Denis Ten “Warriors of Kazakhstan,” Sochi 2014 gala Great athlete, one-of-a-kind artist, and by all accounts, lovely human being. 💔

@UpholdTheISUBan Bye! Good luck on improving your reading comprehension!

@figureskatingm1 Wow, you're full of asshole hot takes that are intentionally crapping all over Ilia today, aren't you?

Spicy take? 🫣 Yes, congratulating the winner after a devastating skate is good sportsmanship, but it’s also a pretty standard gesture, given the proximity of the K&C to the leaders’ area. It’s a nice, classy moment, but not a “heartwarming, prince among men!!” thing to me…

@AustinMeghanST @author_n_a I’m not hating—like I said, he behaved appropriately. It’s about the media desperately trying to spin a hero narrative out of a disappointing outcome when it’s just not necessary. I know you’re disappointed as a fan, but trying to create a victim narrative won’t help either.

@figureskatingm1 @author_n_a You’re so miserable like there’s no way you’re still hating on him … celebrate your victory for whoever you supported.

A smaller-fed skater came from behind with a program featuring a 3A1Eu4S to win gold against all predictions! Media: “But the predicted winner, a grown man and experienced competitor, did NOT throw a tantrum upon losing! So who’s the REAL hero of the day?? #Inspiration” 🙄

Lots of people arguing with me here, but I maintain that I predicted him 4-6, and that was not at all unique or unusual. Nathan had only gone to one WC and not held up well there. But US-based fans might’ve had a different experience given the media bias.

I think people sometimes misremember the 2018 games—although he’d had a strong season, Nathan Chen was not really considered the gold medal favorite (maybe by NBC?). He was 6th at 2017 WC. Some combination of Hanyu/Fernandez/Uno on the podium was pretty widely predicted.

“The competition was on Friday the 13th! So it was bad luck!” 🤨 I mean, not if you’re Mikhail Shaidorov. Or Shun Sato. They skated great frees under huge pressure to earn their medals. (I’d say the outcome is still fairly disappointing for Yuma, but certainly not bad.)

@wiegewonnen @ISU_Figure Petr Gumennik was there. He finished 6th. Nice try, though.

@ISU_Figure As everybody knows, Ilya Malinin is one of the greatest male skaters worldwide. This evening won't change it. Btw it is high time to let the Russian athletes participate, imo. Without them any gold medal is worthless anyway.

True sportmanship 🤍 #FigureSkating #ISUShowtime #Olympics #MilanoCortina2026

Bonus points if they emphasize“how young” he is. I mean, on the scale of humans in general? Absolutely. On the scale of competitive figure skaters? Not particularly. Same age as the champion, who should be the main story of the day!

Shun Sato’s coach doing laps around the rink to celebrate their Olympic bronze medal. Congrats! #milanocortina2026 #figureskating #shunsato