2022 Winter Olympics (Beijing) 2/4/2022

[Zorba]

Didn't realize Figure skating was so popular with you guys...

I actually started figure skating lessons in January. It's pretty fun. I wanted my 5 yo to get get better at skating, so I put her in lessons, and decided my wife and I might as well go at the same time.

 

[Torn Mind]

U.S finishes fourth in the team event. No medals for Shiffrin.

 

[brianmanahan]

U.S finishes fourth in the team event. No medals for Shiffrin.

4th place should get like an honorable mention ribbon or something

 

[Torn Mind]

Finland gets gold in hockey. Their first ever.

 

[Muse]

There was an obvious bad judge score on snowboard halfpipe, but the guy still won anyways so it didn't affect the results.

Yeah, that was Ayumu Hirano, who killed it on Run 2, but the American judge gave him an 89, so he stayed in 2nd. I LOVED how the commentator (Todd Richards, I believe) called that "highway robbery!"). His 3rd run gave him the Gold Medal, which he totally deserved (from his 2nd run as well). Nobody in the world can approach what Ayumu's doing, ever has. He's a little guy, which helps. They call Shaun White the GOAT, but he's not, except for his medals.

We Need to Talk About the Snowboarding Judges Who Disrespected Ayumu Hirano

Were the judges as unreasonable as NBC made them seem?

slate.com

“As far as I’m concerned, the judges just grenaded all their credibility,” said Richards, who at this point was so discombobulated that he forgot to express himself in puzzle analogies. “I’ve been doing this for so long. So long. I know what a good run looks like. I know the ingredients of a winning run. I know when I see the best run that’s ever been done in the halfpipe. Try to tell me where you’re deducting from this run. It’s unbelievable that this is even happening. It’s a travesty, to be completely honest with you. I am irate right now.” Way to raise the Todds’ blood pressure, you jerks!

 

[manly]

The wild finish to the Olympic women’s figure skating final

Kamila Valieva, Russian score inflation, and a teammate’s full-blown temper tantrum.

www.vox.com

Vox has a good explainer of the women's free skate. Former U.S. Olympian Polina Edmunds states that the two Russian medalists systematically get inflated scores in not just the subjective PCS, but even a bit for pre-rotated jumping.

The NYT did a breakdown of how the jumping is tallied across the field, and Trusova had roughly a 30 point margin on all the non-Russian competitors. As long as she doesn't fall down, that's an impossible margin to make up (if you don't have your own quad jumps).

 

[ultimatebob]

Wow... Norway kicked the world's ass this year.

 

[Torn Mind]

Finland skier suffers frozen penis in Olympics mass start race

Finland’s Remi Lindholm needed a heat pack at the end of his race to thaw out a particularly sensitive body part at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

nypost.com

Sometimes Finnishing is indeed tough.

 

[brianmanahan]

Sometimes Finnishing is indeed tough.

it might be tougher for him now

 

[dullard]

If we disagree on how the duo presented their opinions the last five days, so be it. But I appreciate you linking to sources!

They were always negative on her being able to skate and about her "defense", you had that part correct. I just thought it was a bit more of a nuanced argument that they tried to make, threading the line between blaming a minor and blaming the system around her.

I personally think that it was correct to let her skate until two things happen: (1) she fully tests positive which for some reason hasn't happened yet and (2) they rule on what to do about the likely positive test. #2 is how most legal systems work: let things play out and correct the problem later. The problem is that (A) some adult got her access to the medicine, (B) some adult chose not to test her fully and (C) some adult didn't report it to the Olympic committee until it was too late to have her day in court. Had she actually been fully tested, and tested positive, then she should not have skated.

 

[dullard]

I've assumed those were microphones, I think they've been there since the beginning of the games.

That makes sense.

I actually started figure skating lessons in January. It's pretty fun. I wanted my 5 yo to get get better at skating, so I put her in lessons, and decided my wife and I might as well go at the same time.

I started figure skating lessons just before the pandemic hit and the lessons were cancelled. I agree that it is quite fun. I started going skating again this winter at outdoor rinks and frozen lakes. I hope to get back into lessons soon because for the life of me, I can't get the 2 foot turn from forward to backward (but backward to forward is no problem).

I'm actually quite happy with my progress otherwise, the last time I skated I could for the first time choose to turn left, right, or go straight on a single foot for as long as I wanted.

Does your 5 year old have confidence? I've been taking my 5 year old niece skating and she has the skills but no confidence yet.

 

[Zorba]

That makes sense.

I started figure skating lessons just before the pandemic hit and the lessons were cancelled. I agree that it is quite fun. I started going skating again this winter at outdoor rinks and frozen lakes. I hope to get back into lessons soon because for the life of me, I can't get the 2 foot turn from forward to backward (but backward to forward is no problem).

I'm actually quite happy with my progress otherwise, the last time I skated I could for the first time choose to turn left, right, or go straight on a single foot for as long as I wanted.

Does your 5 year old have confidence? I've been taking my 5 year old niece skating and she has the skills but no confidence yet.

Two foot turns clicked with me pretty quick, but my wife had really been struggling with them. I am trying to make them look smoother, though,

I'm really trying to get two foot spins, I'm about 50/50 on them right now. I think my biggest issue is I don't set up my upper body right and so I go off balance. Also trying to get backwards cross overs.

My 5 yo was pretty confident just being on skates, standing and being pulled around before we started lessons, but she couldn't self propel at all. After 11 classes she can get around the rink pretty fast on her own. I'll race her where she is going forwards and I go backwards and she'll beat me over half a length. She is just starting to try backwards. Overall, I'd say she is very confident in it and doesn't get that upset about falling. Lessons for her were worth every penny.

I don't know how common this is, but we get the public session after lessons free, so it's a really good time to work on everything we just learned.

 

[dullard]

I'm really trying to get two foot spins, I'm about 50/50 on them right now. I think my biggest issue is I don't set up my upper body right and so I go off balance. Also trying to get backwards cross overs.

I don't know how common this is, but we get the public session after lessons free, so it's a really good time to work on everything we just learned.

Sounds like you are about a level past me. I haven't yet had any lessons on crossovers, but I sometimes try forward ones with varying success.

Skating outside doesn't help me either much since the ice is drastically different from day to day. The ice may have large deep cracks, might have frozen bumps protruding where snow stuck, might be mushy if too warm, the lake actually tilts slightly where wind froze it thicker on one side than the other, Zambonis are rarely used (don't exist on lakes), the ice might be marshmallowy if it froze too quick, etc. The last one is hardest to explain. But it just is really sticky and slow. I can tell why the Beijing speed skaters complained about the ice being slow with the rink's new refrigerant method. The rink used captured CO2 instead of hydrofluorocarbons, but the CO2 cools the ice much faster making the ice a completely different feeling and really hard to skate quickly. You basically skate through a crust of ice instead of skating on top of ice.

Of all activities that I've tried learning, the most important thing by far is to practice on your own. In my classes, the people who practice learned twice if not three times as fast as those who only came to classes. At least with the two skating rinks that I took lessons at, there were another set of lessons right afterwards, so we'd have to leave, eat lunch, and come back for a paid public skate.

 

[Zorba]

Sounds like you are about a level past me. I haven't yet had any lessons on crossovers, but I sometimes try forward ones with varying success.

Skating outside doesn't help me either much since the ice is drastically different from day to day. The ice may have large deep cracks, might have frozen bumps protruding where snow stuck, might be mushy if too warm, the lake actually tilts slightly where wind froze it thicker on one side than the other, Zambonis are rarely used (don't exist on lakes), the ice might be marshmallowy if it froze too quick, etc. The last one is hardest to explain. But it just is really sticky and slow. I can tell why the Beijing speed skaters complained about the ice being slow with the rink's new refrigerant method. The rink used captured CO2 instead of hydrofluorocarbons, but the CO2 cools the ice much faster making the ice a completely different feeling and really hard to skate quickly. You basically skate through a crust of ice instead of skating on top of ice.

Of all activities that I've tried learning, the most important thing by far is to practice on your own. In my classes, the people who practice learned twice if not three times as fast as those who only came to classes. At least with the two skating rinks that I took lessons at, there were another set of lessons right afterwards, so we'd have to leave, eat lunch, and come back for a paid public skate.

I had some help. I roller bladed a lot as a kid so somethings, like forward cross overs were already muscle memory for me.

I've never skated on lake ice, but I can imagine it's very different than prepared ice.

The really nice thing about the free public session is it almost pays for the lessons, if we just did that session anyways (which we wouldn't), so it makes the whole thing feel like a better value.

 

[Torn Mind]

it might be tougher for him now

The price of going hardcore with Queen Elsa is becoming....
Coldmember.

 

[Muse]

That's a great video.

I wonder if that works for quad roller skates, that's what I do. Used to be an ice rink <1/4 miles from me for decades but it closed 15 years ago. Don't know of any others. Haven't skated ice since a kid but I've got thousands of miles on quads in the last 30 years.

 

[quikah]

That's a great video.

I wonder if that works for quad roller skates, that's what I do. Used to be an ice rink <1/4 miles from me for decades but it closed 15 years ago. Don't know of any others. Haven't skated ice since a kid but I've got thousands of miles on quads in the last 30 years.

There are places in Oakland, Fremont and San Jose. Guess Oakland is close to you? Oakland Ice Center there are links to the other 2 there also. Been to the San Jose one, it is huge, very nice facility.

 

[dullard]

That's a great video.

I wonder if that works for quad roller skates, that's what I do. Used to be an ice rink <1/4 miles from me for decades but it closed 15 years ago. Don't know of any others. Haven't skated ice since a kid but I've got thousands of miles on quads in the last 30 years.

I don't really know anything about roller skates, so I don't know. From what I have heard, ice skating is far more similar to inline roller skates. Similar enough that the concepts translate but not similar enough that you can just instantly do it. You do really need to practice the moves all over again in the new sport. But, maybe that video will work for quads.

 

[manly]

Russia to lose 2022 gold to U.S. after Valieva DQ

Two years after the Beijing Games, Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has been disqualified, meaning Russia will forfeit the 2022 Olympic gold medal to the U.S., which finished second.

www.espn.com

Verdict rendered, Valiyeva DQ’d and hit with the ban stick. Her competitive career is effectively over.

U.S. officially awarded Gold in the team event.

 

[WilliamM2]

Finally, I can sleep at night.