Figure Skating

Yawn about the rape allegations. Tell us about which current and former male skaters have great asses. Links preferred.

Christine Brennan is still on at the ISU for not explaining why they put Russia ahead of Canada for the team bronze after Valieva was disqualified. Total silence from the ISU. And it doesn't make sense because the rules are very clear - one that when a skater is disqualified, the other skaters move up a rank and two, that they get an extra point for ranking place.

[quote]"Rule 353: Disqualified Competitors will lose their placements and be officially noted in the intermediate and final results as disqualified (DSQ). Competitors having finished the competition and who initially placed lower than the disqualified Competitor(s) will move up accordingly in their placement(s)."

And

[quote]"Teams are awarded 10 to 1 team points for the first team segment (1st place = 10 points; 10th place = 1 point)."

Other than that the ISU have their face up in Russia's ass as usual..

Gracie Gold is bisexual and had a girlfriend. That makes her friendship with Taylor Swift extra-interesting...

She talks about her first girlfriend 'Ellen' (not her real name). Was told her coming out needed to be handled 'delicately' due to 'public palatability'.

But she has a boyfriend called James now...

She bound her chest for later competitions and eventually had breast reduction surgery which had a positive effect on her life and training. She struggled with dieting and used laxatives.

At the 2017 US Nationals Kiss and Cry booth, she swore and snapped at Frank twice. When he asked her whether she wanted her jacket for the interview, she told him to 'throw it in the trash for all I care.' Frank got up in front of the press and dumped her jacket in the bin before leaving. Shortly after, he made the press statement that he would no longer be coaching Gracie. They don't have much contact after that - awhile later she messages him to say she's thinking of him after Denis Ten's death, he amicably messages back.

She discusses how critical Tara and Johnny's commentary was becoming, particularly at 2016 Skate America which was infamously vicious and over the top - one of them said something along the lines of 'Grow up and skate.'

Discusses her parents turbulent relationship. Her mother, a nurse, had a drinking problem and her dad, an anaesthesiologist, had a prescription pill problem, had his license suspended after dodging a drug test. He also had numerous affairs on Gracie's mother.

She trained with a coach in Springfield she called "Cruella" - I wonder who that is!

Already a long existing Figure Skating thread here:

Absolutely no one cares about Gracie Gold. Win something and we'll care.

[quote]Absolutely no one cares

Factually untrue because I do - I find it interesting. Fuck you then. You don't like this gossip.

Scott Hamilton chooses not to treat his brain tumor.

Whenever I want a good laugh I re-read raging heterosexualist Scott Hamilton's autobiography from the 1990's.

He had the ladies lining up......

Can someone drop a clue about who the rapist might be? Is it someone still active in skating?

The straight guy, R9

It’s a coin toss 🤷🏻‍♂️

r10 it was Jason Brown.

👻

America's Sweetheart, Nicole Bobek, charged with drug dealing.

I can't believe that we went from Peggy Fleming, Jo Jo Starbuck and Dorothy Hamill to this trailer trash.

Nicole was so much more fun than dull Michele Kwan. Kwan would talk about French verbs, and Bobek would roll her eyes. Just don't leave her alone in your house, or give her your security code.

R7, I wish Scott Hamilton well, but I've always been disappointed that he's a Republican.

He is far worse than a Republican, R16. One of the biggest, nastiest homophobes in sport. The things he's done to blackball and hold down gay male skaters. Team tumor.

What is the Straight White Hope Michael Weiss up to nowadays? Is he still bald?

Dropped!

And no one west of Moscow cared…

Nor east either

Russians are figure skating. This ban is a disaster

R22, the Russians cheat & engage in doping. Have you not been following the fallout from the 2022 Olympics scandal?

Nicole Bobek got her act together. She has a 4 year old son she adores (based on her Instagram page).

Shouldn't we be posting on the longer existing Figure Skating thread?

The other thread has turned into a shrine to Paul Poirer.

I cannot get excited about skating anymore. I’m glad that American mens’ skating is improving, but none of them are interesting enough to me.

Scott Hamilton claims to be straight?

Oh, my sides!

Here's what Hamilton had to say about Trump:

[quote]I met Donald Trump many years ago when he took over the construction of the Wollman Rink in Central Park. I liked him then and have been around him on several other occasions. He is a great guy! Easy to talk to, generous and genuine to how he presents himself publicly. His kids are great! That says a lot about him. I did “Apprentice” because it sounded like a lot of fun. I can’t really talk about anything until it airs. I can tell you that each episode is now two hours long. That should tell you that the stories each week will be compelling.

He's straight

R29, I wonder what Hamilton would say about Trump now?

Scott Hamilton is what happens when Shriners Kids get a little talent and a little power.

Tell us about which current and former male skaters have great asses. Links preferred.

Why don’t you start, Lazy Boy?

Broken record R32 posted the same thing in R1. You need to go jack off to some porn or Google image skaters.

What happened to the YouTube video of Brian Joubert training in his underwear? Now, that is a great ass…

R32, here is Paul Poirier's great ass:

R32, here is Guillaume Cizeron's great ass:

Bad dye job and a fivehead…nope.

Botox face…yuk

Johnny Weir's tight ass.

No thanks—

That ass hasn't been tight since grade school.

Johnny is gross.

He’s great a commentary —I’ll give him that.

Eric Radford's ass:

My sexuality is Saulius Ambrulevicius's crotch in leather pants.

Gracie Gold trying pair skating with a hot as fuck guy. Somebody thought he might be Danylo Siianytsia.

Found it! Joubert’s behind in all of its Gallic glory…

Sometimes I like Johnny’s commentary, but sometimes it lacks punch. I really really miss Dick Button. I think he no longer commentating is the biggest reason I no longer have that much interest in skating.

R47, whoever the guy is, he's too short for her. Too bad.

R48, please post a direct photo link.

Anonymous was always trashy. I remember her being interviewed and gushing about going out drinking now she was old enough. Tanya-adjacent.

Oh dear^^.

I NEVER ICE SKATED, NEVER WANTED TO,HATE WATCHING,HATE HEARING OTHERS TALK OF THIS CRAP, HATE OLYMPIC ICE SKATE SHIT- Love this DL platform because I can hate-skate!

Paul Poirier training for next week's Worlds:

AP saying that WADA wants powers to target coaches, doctors and other entourage of athletes who test positive:

"The doping case of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva left a “very unpleasant” taste with the World Anti-Doping Agency, which is unhappy that the teenager was the only one punished with a ban while her coaches and entourage have not been sanctioned.

WADA now wants anti-doping rules to be updated before the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy to give more powers to investigate athlete entourages, officials said at the anti-doping body's annual conference Tuesday.

“It is clear that the taste of this case is very unpleasant when you see that there was a choice made to sacrifice an athlete rather than indicating who actually helped her dope,” WADA director general Olivier Niggli said."

That would be great r56, but I'm not holding my breath.

Looks like CBC Sports has finally agreed to broadcast the World Championships on Canadian television later this week. There appear to be TV broadcasts scheduled for Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday on the main CBC Network:

Sad last days

I thought once Ottavio Cinquanta left the ISU that things would get better as far as television coverage went…guess not.

Don’t they have any extra tv equipment in Montreal? Is the CBC that off?

Actually this is a good amount of figure skating coverage for CBC these days. More than last year, I think. 4 or 5 days of coverage is not bad.

Where is everybody at?

Crying for Adam Siao Him Fa's epic meltdown right now R63. He Kevined it!

On USA Network this afternoon and evening.

Pairs long program......

40 year old cosmetics shopgirl from Chicago wins pairs gold..for Canada!

I'm watching on Peacock and resenting it. I hate Peacock so much.

The men's short was incredible-not spoiling.

I'm going to Boston next year.

What’s to spoil? It already took place. TOP FOUR:

JPN

JPN

USA

USA

Boyang Jin is one of the saddest stories in figure skating. So promising, a sort of 'quad king' when he hit the scene, and then he fell apart.

He was supposed to go work with Brian Orser in Toronto, and it was never clear why he didn't. I think he said he had a girlfriend he didn't want to leave and turned down the offer (from the Chinese govt to pay for it). Soon after, Brian and Tracy were flying to China periodically to work with the whole Chinese team (I think that ended - because of Covid?)

Anyway, the next rumor was China wanted him in Ice Dance and he said no (??) something like that. Oh so many twists and turns, but I got the idea he didn't cooperate with the Chinese officials and they shit on him because of that, and he sort of spiralled down.

Then in the last couple years, he DID start working with Brian... oh I'll just cut and paste from wikipedia if anybody else is interested:

2022-2023 season: After the Beijing Olympics, Jin's parents didn't want him to continue skating, but he personally wanted to continue.[131] He interviewed that he wished to "represent China and let everyone know that there is still a person fighting in men's singles" for "the next four years". He also felt the responsibility to encourage more children to participate in figure skating and make more people love the sport.[15] It was announced that Jin's new coaches would be Brian Orser and Tracy Wilson,[132] after he'd been unable to go for face-to-face coaching with them previously.[133] He was assigned to the 2022 Skate Canada International and 2022 NHK Trophy as his Grand Prix events of the season, however, he withdrew from both events, citing injury... he competed at the 2023 Four Continents Championships, placing fourth in the short program. He revealed that he had continued to struggle with injury and health concerns, including two bouts of COVID in recent months, but that he was enthusiastic about how his new coaching team was managing the situation, calling this "a brand new start." ...

oh you can take it from there at wiki yourself... just a headcase and a lot of unlucky physical problems I guess.

oh and all that got triggered by him not even qualifying for the Free Skate and finishing 39th of 40 in the short program today. Sorry to go on and on.

Boyang has 2 world medals and he's had a pretty long career despite all the setbacks. I wouldn't say it's "one of the saddest stories" in a sport rife with abuse and injuries, or lives cut short (Denis Ten, Sergei Grinkov, Chris Reed, etc.)

Happy to see Minerva Haase and Nikita Volodin get the bronze in the Pairs last night. They are very easy on the eye.

The Japanese couple very nearly stole the gold from the Canadians with the final skate. I think Deanna would've imploded if she'd lost - Boy, she's even more competitive than Meaghan Duhamel.

IT IS A SPOILER if you post RESULTS before the event is shown on national US TV! Not some 2:00 a.m. livestream!

Well. At least now I have fair warning to stay off DL during the Olympics. Because of some IGNORANT posters.

There’s this thing called the internet. It has real time results. The ISU website gives detailed result info in real time. That post came many hours after the event. Get real.

Oh FFS many of us aren't in the US. It's now over 12 hours since the event.

DEAL WITH IT

R72 I'm so happy for the Japanese pair. It was too long ago that it looked like they were finished. He had a bad back or something. Anyway, they're adorable!

{quote} We need a general thread for figure skating news and discussion.

Here we disagree.

Wel, I couldn’t find anything current so I commented here.

🤷🏻‍♀️

Kaori three-peats. Levito gets silver.

Levito is so beautiful on the ice. Well deserved silver. It's a shame her jumping has issues. Kaori expectedly gets her third.

Madison and Evan did an amazing job and their choice of song, Eclipse, was perfect. Such a pleasure to watch.

Chock / Bates win gold!

Yay! They were truly beautiful!

Piper & Paul best skate of the night.

By far.

Too little too late. They couldn’t catch up.

Shapo thrashes Sissypants!

Wrong sport, sport.

Well, they both did very well! Considering how new they are to figure skating.

Men's Free Skate on NBC at 8 p.m. tonight.

I almost never watch figure skating except during the Olympics, but I watched the last few of the men - the giant Italian Memola, who surprised me at how nimble he was at 6'5", and then Jason Brown, who I enjoyed and usually don't - I know he's supposed to be sublime but seems sort of stiff/butt stuck too far out... oh I don't know, not my style and he doesn't do quads, though his triple axles were very nice... he did his job, ended up 5th and secured 3 spots for America next worlds. Then Lukas Britschgi who did fine, finished fourth, congrats Switzerland.

Then I had to watch my favorite, Shoma Uno, bomb. Oh well, at 26, guess he's worn out but he torques that knee so bad when he lands - I think it's ok that he retires as 2 time world champ and multiple Olympic medals, before he destroys himself. Then Yuma Kagiyama who the drag-queen-styled Johnny Weir (as usual) and chatterbox Tara Lipinski orgasmed over - he's oh I guess but please fix that acne. And the GOD of the evening indeed, quadgod Ilia Malinen, landed a perfect quad axel and five other quads, including two quad lutzes! I didn't even mind his choreo sequence, thought it was energetic and snappy, and of course, as everybody exults, soooo masculine! Which sort of means adhd I think.

The third American, Camden Pulkinen, disappointed, ending up 20th of 24. And both of Canada's boys were hopeless, gorgeous Roman Sadovsky finishing 22nd and Wesley Chiu was 16th. How the mighty have fallen. Their only woman, Maddie Schizas, finished in 18th place, so other than ice dance, I guess they well and truly suck. We've all been there.

Sorry to go on and on, but I won't be doing this often - probably never again. It's too hard to find the damn schedule and I don't really care that much, since the scrumptious Takahashi and Hanyu retired, but it was fun, as a one off.

I want to eat Evan Bates's ass.

The men's free skate is worth watching. Or at least Ilia Malinin's routine, with its gazillion quads.

Lapinski and Weir called it a historic moment in skating, and it felt like it.

Oh I messed up - Britschgi was 4th in the free skate but 6th over all. One of the big stories was Adam Siao Him Fa rising from 19th in the short program to second in the free skate - and he got the Bronze. I didn't see him skate but apparently he did a back flip despite the 2 point deduction. Made me fondly remember Surya Bonaly who landed her back flip on one fucking foot!! Loved that woman!

and so... goodnight Gracie.

Speaking of edible male skaters - Estionia's Aleksandr Selevko - 9th in the Free and 11th overall.

Malinin's free skate.

And the Frenchman who came back from 19th in the short program to win Bronze. He still had a two point deduction for the illegal back flip.

It was fun to watch when they finally got to it after showing the women's routines all over again.....even though no one asked for it!

Ice skating is so hard. How do those big meaty hockey players do it? I used to go to a rink at the mall to hang with friends at highschool and I could never go beyond going in a straight line and using the wall to stop myself. Figure skating impressed the fuck out of me. There would always be like some chinese 9 year old jumping and spinning around at the mall rink and it just blows me away.

WHET Cha Jun Hwan?

R99 He's had a rough season. Lots of injuries leading to extended periods out. Also, he split with his coaching set-up in the off-season. The two things combined just seemed to sap his confidence.

His programmes and basic skills are all still there - he just seemed to be unable to engage fully with them, and build any momentum competition to competition. It seemed to be for every step forward, he'd then take a step back.

He chacked! He’s a chacker.

The 19th to 3rd has to be a record in the sport.

He can thank Jason Brown, etc….the gap in SP scores between the top 3 and the field left plenty of room for someone to jump over someone like Brown (then in fourth) whose technical components are so low; plus, several skaters plotted. Take a look at detailed results and you can see how he was able to leapfrog so many.

Plotzed, not plotted.

Thank you, R100. I thought he was very good. And most likely gay.

Cha Jun Hwan on " King of Masked Singer." Great legs.

Cha is too femme for me. I’m partial to Aleksander Selevko…just the right balance of masculinity and artistry. I hope he can add another quad or two next season. He has everything else.

The Kazakh guy, Mikhail Shaidorov, is also very cute. I am a sucker for the dramatic skaters.

I am amused by all of the media outlets proclaiming that Ilia is the " first man to land a quad axel," as if a woman has done it.

I am SO goddamned tired of some of the reactions from certain figure skating fans to Ilia's dominating victory. Yeah, he doesn't have a ballet dancer's lines, but he put his all into that performance and his jumps are so fucking far ahead of everyone else. And to be honest, since it's a sport, "ice is slippery", etc. that's how it should be in terms of scoring, too. Some of these fuckers would put Jason Brown on the podium if they were judges.

The real judges left him off the podium. Again.

Does Ilia do conventional jump combos? His freeskate seemed to be mostly quad singles or quad half loop triple sequences.

Yes—as it is required by the ISU rules for the FS.

Yes, Ilia can put on a performance. He gives 100% - it's not like he is just some wooden Max Aaron or Timothy Goebel type. There is room for different styles. Besides, he is still only 19 and still maturing. I find him more exciting than Nathan, personally.

Less Jason Brown please......or maybe even NONE.

I absolutely do not knock Malinin's very impressive jump skills, but I wish he had more artistry. He's improving, but between -- again, his very impressive -- jumps there's just a lot of arm flailing and thrashing. Like Nathan Chen -- about whom I felt exactly the same -- he's winning by racking up technical points. And, per the COP rules (ugh...), that's fair and legal. Have we ever seen Malinin skate slowly, lyrically? I'm guessing we haven't and instead we always get a cat-on-cocaine performance.

Ilia says that he admires Evgeny Plushenko. That should tell you something about his artistry. Plush skated like he was having seizures.

R115 Are his greatest days ahead? I think so. He hits 600 foot home runs. Now, can he wave at the crowd as he circles the bases.

He is a god. I want to cum inside him. Team Ilia.

Who makes the Olympic team besides Ilya? I can’t see Brown being selected in 2026 even if they get 3 spots.

Ilya reminds me more of Yagudin than Plushenko.

And yet the furor here when a new movie's ending is revealed.

I thought Ilia was spectacular. Nathan was always brilliant and more, IMO, imaginative. But Ilia here was close to perfection.

I hope I'm around in 2025 to see the "Stars on Ice" US tour!

AKA the Stars on Ice with their legs in the air tour.....right, Jason?

How has Jason lasted this long without a quad? I guess it’s a testament to his other strengths as a skater…

Who was the last American woman skater who realistically had a chance of winning worlds?

We got back home from attending the Worlds in Montreal and I will now get around to posting a few thoughts:

* Ilia Malinin is not my favorite skater artistically, but he deserves credit where it is due. He was perfect technically and landed the quad axel just a few feet in front of where my partner and I were sitting in the 2nd row. I stood up and gave him a standing ovation with the rest of the crowd.

* It was a shame that Shoma Uno had an off night and fell off the podium. But at least his Japanese teammate Yuma Kagiyama was there to step up and get on the podium.

* Adam Siao Him Fa had a great redemption in the Long Program and I liked the way he did the backflip even though it is illegal. He got a lot of cheers for that.

* Jason Brown was really popular with the audience and was beautiful artistically, although he did pop one of his jumps.

* It was a shame that Roman Sadovksy imploded again. He was probably the tallest skater and had one of the nicest asses in the Men's field from where I was sitting. But if he doesn't get his consistency together soon he should probably stop competing.

* Madeline Schizas of Canada will probably also have to stop competing unless she can also get her consistency together.

* R84 is right -- DL fave Paul Poirier & Piper Gilles were great and gave Chock & Bates a run for their money. Piper & Paul finished 1st in the Free Dance with their "Wuthering Heights" program to win the Silver. They had a happy reaction in the Kiss & Cry:

Lucky you to be there, r125!

I had the good fortune to see a "Stars on Ice" show that featured Nathan Chen, who did a quad right in front of me (seat on rink floor level)!

R126, it's amazing to think that what Nathan Chen accomplished technically only a few years ago has already been surpassed by Ilia Malinin.

[quote]so other than ice dance, I guess they well and truly suck. We've all been there.

R90, don't forget that Canada won the Pairs title, so they are strong in Pairs too, not just Dance.

Ilia showing some nips.

Nip, little butt, and pit.

[quote]We need a general thread for figure skating news...

I plan to drop this into my day-to-day casual conversations.

Ilia really has nice nipples.

Paul Poitier is really handsome.

Agreed, R132. Paul Poirier is handsome. Glad that he & his partner won the Silver.

Paul has done some hot modelling pics:

R135, He looks like a modern Dionysus there.

They got a lot of star power for this one. Tomorrow night for those in that area (Fairfav, VA):

Featuring: Ilia Malinin, Chock/Bates, Stellato-Dudex/Deschamps, and Isabeau Levito. (that's the 2024 world champions for Men, Ice Dance, Pairs, and silver medalist for ladies). Also, Keegan Messing, Donovan Carrillo, Bratti/Sommerville, Polina Edmunds, Tkachenko/Kiliakov, Sebastian Mendez (acrobatic figure skater). and Sarah Everhardt. And hosted by Gracie Gold!

Tomorrow night, April 19th @ 8 PM at ION arena in Leesburg, VA (sorry, I thought it was Fairfax).

BTW, make sure to let the instagram reel play through to see a pic of Sebastian's chest LOL. So slutty!

Leesburg!

R140, Never fight uphill, me boys!

Frank Carroll is dead to me.

RIP, Frank. He was good at his job, but also a cunt. Often seems to be the way with the greats.

Grand Prix assignments are out. Jason Brown is on them. I'm getting tired of that guy.

More on the ISU Fall season.

Ilia and Jason together are so far listed only for Halifax. (See the PDF for Scheduled Men.)

Happy to see Paul Poirier (& Piper Gilles) is competing again this season. 🍑

And the Japanese pair! I thought they were retiring due to injuries.

Why won’t Jason retire? Isn’t he like thirty years old?

1.) Because he's still being chosen for competitions.

2.) 29.

Jason is the connecting thread between Old-School Elegance and New-School Quads.

Bates and Chock get married.

How did Meryl Davis get an attractive man like Fedor Andreev?

R150, I don't know. They've been married for 5 years now. Don't seem to have any kids.

Why didn’t he marry Tanith Belbin? They made a very attractive couple.

Female Korean skater Haein Lee in trouble, may be suspended? She's 19 but had a 16 year old boyfriend - quelle horreur!!

From the link:

"Last week, a committee organized by The Korea Skating Union ordered provisional suspensions for Lee Hae In and a fellow female figure skater, Yoo Young, after it was found that the two had consumed alcohol without permission multiple times during a national team training camp in Italy. The committee's investigation further discovered that while intoxicated in their dorm, Lee Hae In and Yoo Young had sexually harassed a younger male figure skating representative..."

US team skaters to receive gold in Paris.

R154, thanks for posting. According to that article, they still have to decide whether to give Canada or Russia the Bronze.

New photo of Paul Poirier: 🍑

Amber Glenn pulled it out at the Lombardia Trophy!

Canadian ice dancer Nikolaj Sorensen has been banned for a minimum of six years for “sexual maltreatment”

Skate America begins later today from Allen, Texas.

Peacock and E! are doing most of the TV coverage.

NBC TV will broadcast the Men's Event on Sunday Oct 20 from 12-2 PM ET.

CBC will have TV Coverage of Skate Canada this Saturday and Sunday.

(NBC will also have Skate Canada TV coverage on Sunday afternoon).

Paul Poirier showing his assets during Piper & Paul's 1st place Rhythm Dance today: 🍑

Ice dance is such a fucking joke these days. I guess it always has been, but still.

I keep reading about all these young American ice dancers being secretly married to their imported Russian partners. It sounds like a scandal waiting to blow up. And one of them is accused of raping another ice dancer - this is separate from the Nikolaj Sorensen case. What is going on?

Nice to see Cha Jun-Hwan back on the ice.

NBC has some TV coverage of the Grand Prix of France at 12:00 - 1:30 PM ET later today.

R163, I'd marry the Russian guys. They're hot.

I have not been following skating the last few seasons. Are the Russians still banned? Will they be able to skate at the next Olys?

Not as long a there’s a war going on.

Is John Zimmerman still banned from coaching?

R167 - Russians are still banned for the current season. I don't think there's been a final decision on the 2025/6 season and the subsequent Olympics.

^ let's hope they are banned until 2030.

The sport is better without them. They won’t return under any current circumstances.

Wonder how Russia feels about the best Russian skater in the world being an American.

Jason Brown seems to be struggling a bit on the Grand Prix. 8th at Skate Canada and 7th at NHK Trophy.

R174 Jason seems to have forgotten how to execute an Axel. The artistry is still there but I think these programmes aren't serving him well. With Torgashev looking strong: 3rd at GP De France and 4th at NHK, Jason might be scrapping for the final team spot at Nationals.

Jason should just step aside and give a younger skater the opportunity to get to international championships. His time has passed; just retire gracefully.

Jaspn definitely needs to join an ice show. Or become a coach.

I just feel like figure skating is nothing without Russians 🤷‍♀️

R176, it will be interesting to see how Jason performs at Nationals. Up until now he has usually been able to skate consistently and with strong artistry, despite not doing the quad. That has enabled him to remain on the U.S. Men's team. If he starts to falter more, perhaps the U.S. Figure Skating Association will have second thoughts about him.

Time for grandpa to retire.

He has skated in what? 3 Olympics already? Yeah sorry Jason it's a SPORT and an art, and if you can't keep up with the technical side you are just wasting time. His last Olympic appointment cost Ilia a shot at the Games, and that was scandalous enough.

Solo ice dance is a thing now...he should try that.

Jason reminds me of Japanese skater Fumie Suguri. My girl was thirty years old and still competing with girls half her age. I’m guessing that one of the Japanese Federation’s biggies must’ve given her a talking to.

Jason needs to be put out to pasture.

He still is a beautiful skater, but the sport has passed him by.

The sport passed him by a decade ago.

NBC TV is broadcasting some of the Grand Prix of Finland later this afternoon at 4-6 PM ET.

Adam Siao Him Fa of France has withdrawn from this week's GP Final because of an ankle injury.

Deanna Stellato-Dudek & Maxime Deschamps of Canada have also withdrawn from the GP Final because of an illness suffered by Max.

Definitely the right decision from Adam. He's looked shaky with that injury all season - bigger fish to fry later in the season with the Euros and Worlds.

An American sweep of gold in the GP Final in three out of four categories. The divine Miss Amber landed glorious triple axels in both the short program and the long, at 25 years old! The ever divine Madison Chock in ice dance, and the quadgod Ilia Malinin attempte SEVEN quads (fell on one), including his unique quad axel.

And where are the American fans?? Women's were five out of six Japanese!

Here's her beautiful 3A at the start of her long program.

Ilia's amazing 7 quad program with a bonus back flip.

Con graduations to our lady of figure skating for winning the gran prix! So proud to be an American where at least I know we have a gran prix champion! God bless the USFSA!

[quote]I really really miss Dick Button.

R49 he's 95 years old, he doesn't even know where his nose is.

R191 - was it really 'amazing'? It was certainly massively ambitious, but a total mess in execution - I think nearly all his quads were judged to have been under-rotated and he ended up with a lower overall score than Yuma, and a lower tach score than Shun Sato, in the Free Skate.

Good point. I guess I can't get over anybody being able to do a quad axel, when Yuzuru Hanyu made it sound like he was Captain Ahab chasing Moby Dick. And then to try 6 more! But yeah, he wasn't that clean and told the French interviewer afterwards his goal was to be cleaner.

BTW, I think Alexandra Trusova did 5 quads at the Olympics and still lost. I guess hers weren't clean enough, or she wasn't the chosen one to get gold by Eteri's group and her bought-and-paid-for judges.

I can’t believe that Brian Joubert is 40 this year. I hope he is aging well.

R196, yeah, Brian Joubert turned 40 a few months ago. I wonder if he has a romantic partner? Some years back he sued an ex-girlfriend for suggesting he was gay. Wonder what the story is with him these days?

Great Grand Prix final for USA.

Ilia is always fun to watch. I look forward to continue watching his domination.

So glad for Amber. Her reactions in the K&C are always a joy to see.

Chock and Bates have a really good FD, but their rhythm dance is still a mess with too many music cuts. But the judges reward it so I doubt we'll see much more significant editing.

I was hoping Fear/Gibson would come in 2nd for ice dance after Mr. Hot Canadian Ass and his lady took themselves out of contention for any color of medal in the rhythm dance and provided an opportunity for others, but 3rd is good enough. He's a much stronger skater than she is and she keeps making mistakes that cost them, but I like their rhythm dance this season more than the others. Plus, they get an absurd amount of hate online because people are jealous of her family's wealth, so I want them to do well.

Pairs... well, it was an event. I have to confess that while I watch EVERY segment of every major competition that I can, I hardly ever remember anything from pairs. I think the last pairs team I truly enjoyed was Klimov/Stolbova. Yikes.

R198, yeah, Ilia is always exciting to watch, even though he wasn't at his best in the Long Program. He's still the biggest figure skating star on the planet right now, although he didn't win the Long Program. Luckily for him Yuma Kagiyama wasn't at his best either.

Chock & Bates are a solid enough team, but sometimes I think there is something missing that prevents them from making it into the all-time Ice Dance Hall of greats like Torvill & Dean, Virtue & Moir, Davis & White, Papdakis & Cizeron, etc.

Fear & Gibson have had some fun programs over the past few seasons, but I think up until now the judges haven't really considered them contenders for the World podium. Gilles & Poirier's fall gave them an opening. I hope Piper & Paul can regroup in 2025. In the meantime, here's some photos of Paul in jeans from his latest photo shoot:

R197, he is still single? I remember the gay rumors but he really does seem heterosexual to me. But nothing surprises me anymore.

R202, yeah, Joubert said in an interview earlier this year that he is still unmarried with no kids. He is 40 now, so who knows if he is just a cautious straight guy or if he is in the closet.

Here is an excerpt::

Q: How are things in your personal life? Do you have a girlfriend or wife?

Brian Joubert: No, I’m single.

Q: Why?

Brian Joubert: For me, work is a priority in life. I coach, put a lot of effort into it. So far, I haven’t found a woman who would be ready to accept this.

Q: What kind of women do you like?

Brian Joubert: I don’t have a specific type. I rely on my inner feelings and sensations. Of course, she must be smart and have a good sense of humor. Before I definitely appealed to women, but now – I don’t know.

Q: Do you want a family?

Brian Joubert: Yes. But I will be ready to create it only with a suitable girl whom I will love. If this does not happen, I am ready to remain without a family.

Brian Joubert seems like a MESS. He got investigated by the French Federation after accusations of abuse - verbal and physical - from the families of previous skaters he coached.

If you look at footage from the kiss and cry of Lea Serna - the last significant skater he coached - in the last season he coached her, she looks utterly miserable. He got cleared by the Federation - but they have previous for hushing up scandals (Morgan Cipres and the nudes to the underage skater). Very few skaters he's coached seem to stay with him him for long.

Yeah, for someone so devoted to being a coach, you would think he would have at least one decent skater by now. I remember he coached Adam for a while, but Adam became much more successful after he left.

Brian always seemed like a real mama's boy and I remember he had a whole menagerie of animals back in the day. Maybe he is on the spectrum.

Joubert suffered from some life threatening illness when he was a child and almost died. He did lose a kidney. Was it Williams Syndrome? That also has an effect on one’s mental health.

Of all male athletes, figure skaters have the hottest, most fuckable asses.

Anyone going to Boston? I am.

To the Top at R207, what are your favorite figure skating asses? Who would you most like to Top?

Brian Joubert may have a lot of issues, as documented above, but he had a nice ass when he was at his physical peak:

Although my favorite figure skating ass is still Paul Poirier:

Lithuanian ice dancer, Saulius Ambrulevicius's ass in leather pants is my jam.

Their rhythm dance to Aerosmith last season was a trip...

You might hate him but, back in the day, Johnny Weir displayed a fine ass.............

R212, here is a naked photo of Johnny Weir's ass:

Guillaume Cizeron:

Eric Radford:

Guillaume for the win. (Did he and Papadakis retire? That would be an artistic loss.)

Nothing special about Weir’s rear.

[quote]Zurich, Switzerland - Olympic ice dancing champions Gabriella Papadakis and Madison Hubbell announced Saturday they will team up as a same-sex couple at a figure skating gala early next year.

[quote]Papadakis (29) said this "world first" aimed to "show that our sport can be more inclusive, more modern and more courageous." "We also want to break with certain stereotypes around expectations towards women in sport: to always be feminine, frail, even fragile."

R216, according to posts on forums like FSU, Papadakis and Cizeron are no longer on good terms with each other.

FSU…I remember that site. The Brits who ran it were insane.

The 2025 Canadian Nationals are now concluded.

ICE DANCE -- DL fave Paul Poirier & partner Piper Gilles won their 4th National title. Marjorie Lajoie & Zachary Lagha also skated well and won silver.

PAIRS -- World Champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek & Maxime Deschamps won the National title. She recently got Canadian citizenship in time for next year's Olympics. Not a bad career so far for this Chicago girl.

MEN -- Big-butted & tall Roman Sadovsky finally won back his Men's Title.

WOMEN -- Madeline Schizas won back the Women's Title.

US Nationals are this week on NBC and USA Network (check your local listings). Who should we be looking for? Other than more people to fill the empty seats in the arena.

R222, from what I can tell, here is the NBC TV coverage:

Fri, Jan 24 - 8 PM ET (Women)

Sat, Jan 25 - 2:30 PM ET (Dance)

Sun, Jan 26 - 4:00 PM ET (Men)

So what do the dancers say to each other while being introduced before the warmup? "Fuck this up and you'll be picking rhinestones out of your ass"?

Someone here must know.

I watched the Pairs short program and was singularly unimpressed. A couple of hands down, but no disasters. Why is everyone's music so dreary and unmemorable? Never mind their choreography, the order of elements of which is so calcified at this point -- Skate around for a bit, then triple twist, then side by side jumps, some random flailing about, a throw, a couple of overhead lifts, a spin or two and fini. Can they not change it up somehow? SIgh...

Pretty sure Terry "Terrence" Gannon is now dying his starting-to-thin hair.

What the hell does that current leader have on her front teeth??

How tacky can you get?

Amber was definitely better than Tennell.

[quote]I watched the Pairs short program and was singularly unimpressed.

Pairs is the U.S.'s weakest discipline, so that's not a huge surprise.

Glad Amber won.

Such a beautiful 3A. Who else even has one? Mao Shimada? Does she still have her quad?

WORLDS Team USA: Amber Glenn, Isabeau Levito*, Alysa Liu (alt 1 Sarah Everhardt; 2 Bradie Tennell; 3 Starr Andrews) *Pending Return to Play Protocol

Four Continents: Sarah Everhardt, Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu (at 1 Bradie Tennell; 2 Starr Andrews; 3 Sonja Hilmer)

I would have thought they'd let Bradie go to this, and maybe even Starr?

Holy Moses! How fucking annoying and LOUD is that announcer in the arena???

Someone needs to tell her to shut the fuck up!!

Can’t the network mute her voice?

I don’t think I’ve ever heard that before in competitions.

I was just going to write that, R233. The most obnoxious voice I've ever heard at a skating event. High. shrill voice, shouting into the microphone. Has to annoy the skaters trying to concentrate. She's unnecessary, since they already have a PA announcer, but she's trying to give it the same atmosphere as an NBA arena.

Good lord, what a hot mess 🥴

First place by a big margin to not even qualifying for Worlds in a second. Wow.

Malinin short program earlier today.

[R233]. I am in the arena and it isn’t that loud in person. It is super awkward though because she does random crowd interviews and it is always some kid that got free tickets and has no idea what is going on.

Omg, people, remember the name Lia Cho.

This girl will be an Olympic champion one day. She's only 12....I am just stunned by her performance.

R238, her voice is blaring over the tv and it is so unpleasant, as are the voices of most young women with high pitched voices when they scream into a mic.

Suspense was on the other night.

Thanks R241, I was wondering whatever had become of Katarina Witt.

In January 2013, Witt appeared on German TV in her first leading role, playing a figure skater who is pursued by a stalker. The made-for-television movie, The Stalker, thus has autobiographical elements, as Witt herself had been stalked in the United States 20 years earlier.

She talks about her film "Kati-A cure that stays" in October 2024 on her Instagram (and she judged Dancing on Ice in England starting in 2012. Calls herself an "entrepreneur" in her Insta bio.

It's too bad that Jason Brown had to withdraw from Nationals, but it will be interesting to see whether he returns to competition or whether it may be difficult to get back to where he was.

[quote]Two-time Olympian Jason Brown withdrew before this week’s Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships, citing “a series of challenges adjusting to an equipment change.” “I find myself unable to train and compete at a level I demand of myself,” was posted on Brown’s social media. “I’m working with my team to resolve this and return to competition soon.”

I'm watching the men now. How depressing to have Nationals in a half-empty arena in freaking Wichita. And the sponsors: Prevagen, AmLactin, Discount Tire, a cancer center. Not exactly glamorous.

The crowd size is disgraceful; Wichita organizers must feel humiliated. However, so far, it seems that Little Miss Annoying Voice is not in attendance, unless she shows up only for the top six.

I just can't believe how few people are in attendance. One thing is for sure - Wichita has seen its last nationals.

Andrew Torgashev has perky nipples thrusting against the very thin material of his shirt.

So sheer you can see the trashy back tats!

I vote on posture alone.

I love Andrew's skating.

I love Andrew's tits.

I wonder why they ventured so far west. They should stick to the upper east coast. We don’t have access to ice rinks in the west, therefore ice skating not really a thing, except for the west coast.

Plus if it was live the damn football games were on.

How has attendance a previous nationals from the last few years been?

It wasn't his best skate, but I was glad to see twinky Camden Pulkinen make the podium. I hope he will be named to the World Team.

WORLDS Jason Brown* Ilia Malinin Andrew Torgashev

Alternate 1: Camden Pulkinen Alternate 2: Maxim Naumov Alternate 3: Jimmy Ma

*Pending Return to Play Protocol

2025 Four Continents Championships Maxim Naumov Camden Pulkinen Andrew Torgashev

Alternate 1: Jimmy Ma Alternate 2: Tomoki Hiwatashi Alternate 3: Daniel Martynov

And I just finished TSL's (youtube's The Skating Lesson) recap of Worlds and they said Amber had already pulled out of Four Continents and they're sending Bradie instead.

[quote]How has attendance a previous nationals from the last few years been?

Just to compare - Malinin's performance in Columbus last year. Start at 2:46:37

This year.

If it turned one little Kansan onto figure skating ⛸, it will have been worthwhile.

I guess a gal's gotta eat, but seeing Gabriella Papadakis as a commentator just made me miss seeing her skate with Guillaume Cizeron. Apparently, they're on the outs, and I'm sorry to hear that. Their skating was so beautiful and inventive, and they almost always chose music to match. Le sigh...

Do you think Michael Parsons is cute? I was glad to see him & his partner get onto the Ice Dance podium.

In real life he's cute; on DL, he's hideous.

I think Parson's very cute and almost always enjoy his and his partner's choreography and music (I loved their Martha Graham-ish piece a couple of seasons ago).

I finished my recording of the men's free skate last night. Didn't even bother watching Malinin. I take absolutely nothing away from his jumping talents, but I wish his artistry would improve more and he'd stop gaming the system by racking up points by doing multiple quads. Yes, you can win that way (the scoring system needs to overhauled), but it's ultimately boring (to me), despite Tara and Miss Weir kvelling about it. I did enjoy Andrew Torgashev's program, though, and how nice that it was to Scheherazade and not some emo/techno coffeehouse whining.

Torgashev's long program

R261, yeah, Papadakis did a decent job as a commentator for NBC this past weekend -- French is obviously her first language, but her English was pretty good.

Here is a recent photo for you of Guillaume Cizeron in underwear:

Any confirmation on which skaters were on the plane that collided with the helicopter in D.C.?

Lillehammer 4th place pairs Shishkova and Naumov

R267 This article names Jevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.

Maxim looks just like his dad. Can't imagine losing both of your parents and coaches so suddenly.

NBC news.

[quote]"U.S. Figure Skating can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C.," the Jan. 30 statement read. Russian world figure skating champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were also reportedly on the flight, along with their son Maxim.

[quote]It's thought that their son Maxim, 23, was also onboard the plane, the outlet reported. According to the U.S. Figure Skating team's website, Maxim Naumov competed in the recent Wichita event. He's previously represented the U.S. in singles skating.

[quote]PEOPLE also understands that American figure skater Ilia Malinin, 20, returned from the competition on Sunday, Jan. 26, but multiple young skaters were returning home at the time of the accident.

The Washington DC aircraft accident from the other day killed US figure skaters.

No shit, R273?

Did any figure skaters die in an airplane accident yesterday?

R275 - yes

Read the link at R273 R275.

[quote]Fourteen figure skaters returning home from U.S. Figure Skating’s national development camp in Wichita, Kansas, were on board the plane, according to Doug Zeghibe, CEO and executive director of the Skating Club of Boston.

[quote]"Of those 14 skaters, six skaters were from the Skating Club of Boston: two coaches, two teenage athletes and athletes’ moms," Zeghibe said.

[quote]The Kremlin also confirmed that Shishkova and Naumov were aboard. Among their students is their 23-year-old son, Maxim, a former U.S. junior champion who has finished fourth at senior nationals the past three years, narrowly missing the podium on Sunday while his parents watched at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita. Maxim Naumov flew home Monday. “He had no reason to stay at the national development camp,” Zeghibe said in a briefing inside the rink about 30 minutes south of Boston.

[quote]“Both of his parents were with him while he was competing. It’s well-known Mom was always too nervous to watch him skate," the club official said, pausing to contain his emotions. “But his dad was with him, and Dad was in the ‘kiss-and-cry’ sharing his great performance.”

R279, I'm glad that Maxim Naumov wasn't on the plane that crashed. I just watched him on the NBC coverage at US Nationals a few days ago, where he finished 4th in a close race with Camden Pulkinen who finished 3rd. Must be devastating for Maxim to lose both his parents like this. It would be understandable if he didn't go to Four Continents next month, but perhaps he will still want to compete in tribute to his parents.

I remember at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver that Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette decided to still compete, even though her mother had just died a day or two earlier.

This has been a tough day for figure skating, so here is something to cheer us up -- 2 new shirtless photos of Paul Poirier:

Halfway through the Europeans:

Germany's Hasse and Volodin convincingly won the Pairs.

The men generally 'menned' in the Mens. Another Kevin Aymoz car crash, but a solid but not spectacular skate from Adam Siao Him Fa to lead after the short programme.

Blonde Pseudo-Georgian 'Mean Girl', Anastasia Gubanova leading in the Women's... but hopefully she'll be dethroned in the Free as she was definitely overscored (missed URs) in the short.

The Ice Dance RD has just finished with the Italians, Guignard and Fabbri leading, as expected, but only 1.5 points over the French in a surprise second.

Eye-candy = surprise Men's 3rd place in the Short from Poland's Vladimir Samoilov

[quote]Eye-candy = surprise Men's 3rd place in the Short from Poland's Vladimir Samoilov

R283's fucking HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH.

I'm rooting for the Selevko bros.

Where is Terrance??

I’m impressed by Johnny and his knowledge and pronunciation of the skaters.

I’m watching live right now on E!.

^^^ Skaters’ names ^^^

Johnny speaks Russian! His ex-husband was Russian, I believe. Smart guy, despite all his other issues.

Terrence is Terry Gannon, Johnny's very patient and forbearing straight co-host with Tara. Only Johnny calls him Terrence.

The European men's podium was a shocker - Swiss boy Lukas Britschgi won, Italy's uber tall Nikolaj Memola 2nd, Adam Siao Him Fa was bronze. He doesn't seem like he's fully recovered from injury. Also shocking...Deniss Vasiljevs landing 2 quads.

So happy for Lukas - such a dynamic skater.

He had injuries last season and at the start of this which were holding him back. I thought after yesterday's disappointing short he was out of it, but that free skate was off the chain. The crowd were ROARING.

I know that, R289.

Where was he? Were Johnny and Tara actually in Slovakia, or wherever the competition was?

Lukas Britschgi is cute -- I saw him skate in person at Montreal Worlds last year. Glad to hear he did well at Europeans.

Paul Poirier & Piper Gilles beat Chock & Bates to take 1st place after the Rhythm Dance at 4 Continents:

So pleased that Piper and Paul won that RD. Chock and Bates's programme is a smug, hubristic mess.

Why has figure skating just plummeted in popularity?

Piper & Paul win the 4 Continents Championships. They were narrowly beaten by Chock & Bates in the Free Dance, but Piper & Paul win the title.

Close contest. Will be interesting to see what happens in Boston at Worlds next month, and how Guignard & Fabbri measure up. And perhaps Lajoie & Lagha, who finished 3rd at this event, may overtake Fear & Gibson?

[quote]Why has figure skating just plummeted in popularity?

I was shocked at the crowd for Nationals. More empty seats than filled ones. Who thought putting them in Wichita was a good idea?

NBC will be broadcasting some of Four Continents this afternoon (Saturday) between 1 - 3 PM EST. It may be the gala or some highlights from the event (according to Johnny Weir).

One problem is that it's nearly impossible to watch the competitions on tv.

R300, yeah, it's true that there is less TV coverage of figure skating compared to a couple of decades ago.

But at least NBC is still providing some coverage.

And CBC announced this week that it will give the Worlds in Boston some TV coverage in late March.

But hopefully there will be more next year for the Olympic season.

They need me; they really do.

Tomorrow is the Legacy on Ice show in tribute to the skaters & their families who died in the plane crash last month. It will be streamed on Peacock live and broadcast on NBC on March 30. It looks like quite a star-studded lineup.

R298 American Airlines, that’s who.

I have definitely lost interest in skating. I watch old programs from past competitions. Do I miss the glory days of US skating coverage on ABC/ESPN.

It got ruined after Tonya/nancy with all the silly tv specials and competitions they had to cash in on the publicity boost. The 2002 Olympic cheating scandal and getting rid of simple scoring helped it decline as well.

The women’s event is one of the Crown Jewels in the Winter Olympics crown. In the US, there hasn’t been an Olympic medalist in almost 20 years and the guys who won (Evan and Nathan) aren’t exactly charismatic.

Trump is demanding that the IOC allow back Russian skaters for Milano-Cortina 2026. Otherwise, all best are off for Ukraine.

bets*

I hope they completely ignore his ignorant ass.

Fuck him if true.

Watch him ruin the 2028 Olympics.

I can't imagine the emotion that will fill Maxim Naumov as he skates at the benefit.

Who?

And again I’ll ask: where is Terrance? Did he get fired?

Watching that Four Continents thing right now.

[quote]Who?

This thread is no place for the ignorant.

Eh—he wasn’t a top sister.

The big figure skating news today is that Guillaume Cizeron has now teamed up with Laurence Fournier-Beaudry.

Apparently they will skate for France, although she doesn't have citizenship yet. Maybe they are aiming for the 2030 Olympics in France?

Is Laurence F-B still dating the rapist?

Gabriella Papadakis is not happy... she's posting Sylvia Plath poetry. LOL

I'm not terribly invested in ice dance, but look forward to having some juicy drama again. It's been boring lately.

The tribute to the skaters who were killed in the plane crash, Legacy on Ice, will be broadcast on NBC Sunday, March 30 at 1p.m. Eastern. I saw a clip where Maxim Naumov skated. Pretty heart wrenching.

Nasty, bitter queen, Dave Lease's reign of terror may finally be over. He made some particularly tasteless remarks about the skaters and their parents who died in the plane crash in a The Skating Lesson patreon video which got leaked.

The USFS released a statement on Twitter condemning him and Dave's gone into lockdown mode and fans are ripping him to shreds on Twitter and on Reddit.

Hopefully, he won't come back - he's been getting increasingly offensive and full of himself for years. Well over time for him to get taken down.

Dave has been offensive since the Aunt Joyce's Ice Cream Stand days. I never understood why skaters gave him the time of day. It's one thing to gossip anonymously and another thing to monetize being a toxic cunt, especially about underage athletes.

What on earth did he write that was so offensive?

The kids who died weren’t very talented

R323, is that what he wrote or your opinion?

He suggested that they weren't very talented, wouldn't have 'made it', and he implied that the parents and the skating authorities somehow bore responsibility for exploiting them by pushing 'unrealistic' dreams.

Very twisted thinking, and absolutely inappropriate to express at a memorial.

Here is the skate by Maxim Naumov -- over 200,000 views on the Access Hollywood YouTube channel:

The first day of competition at the World Figure Skating Championships in Boston starts today.

In terms of TV coverage, for those who don't have Peacock, NBC will be airing the Women's Free Skate on Friday Night and the Men's Free Skate on Saturday Night.

In Canada there is TV coverage on CBC on Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon.

I love this guys style, time to let go of the old school bedazzled one piece bodysuits of yore.

If you have cable and get USA Network, several events will air there as well as NBC.

Good god, old man, get off the stage, already.

🙄🙄🙄

R330 Jason?

Si, R331.

Jason Brown, the RBG of figure skating.

I recall that Fumie Suguri of Japan had to be literally pulled off the ice because she was thirty years old and insisted on remaining an eligible skater.

I don't have a problem with someone competing as long as they want, but I don't understand how Jason was given a Worlds spot when he didn't compete at US Nationals and flopped at both of his Grand Prix events. He has been coasting on past accomplishments for quite awhile and he is not a podium threat with his weak technical content.

Jason finished 5th at the last 2 worlds that’s why he’s on the team. I guess they hope he can help the USA squeeze out 3 spots for the Olympics.

Someone needs to have a conversation with Jason. Carol Heiss Jenkins did this with Tonia Kwiatkowski (sp?). After her half baked placing at the 1998 Nationals she finally decided to retire at the age of 26.

Tonia had a great showing at the 98 Worlds after Tara and Nicole Bobek opted not to compete. She didn’t medal but had one of the best skates of her career.

Vincent Zhou had the ideal retirement for a skater who’s great but overshadowed by a better skater. An Olympic and world medal to end his amateur career.

The US skaters who are behind Ilia are 3-5 years older than him.

That should be the US skaters behind Ilia are 3-5 years older than him and would be pushing 30 at the 2030 games so I wonder who will USFSA push for the next in line for the next cycle assuming Ilia stays for 2030. He can’t secure 3 spots by himself.

I'm at Worlds right now. During the ice resurfacing breaks they've been holding Boston trivia contests. Someone entered with the name 'BooEteri'.

Ladies Free is live right now if you’re a Peacock subscriber. Here’s hoping Alysa Liu can stay focused and grab a podium spot!

Live scoring.

It’s on NBC as well, that is where I’m watching.

Go Amber!!

The women are fine, but not one Trixi Schuba in the bunch!

Except for Sakamoto, they have been pretty boring.

Alyssa kicks ass.

I was at the world championships on Wednesday (a friend had tickets) and really enjoyed it. I went mostly to visit with my friend - we hadn't seen each other in a few years. She really was into it and was going all 3 nights, and had a spare ticket for that night. It was such a fun thing to witness and the tribute to the crash victims was very moving.

You posted that not very interesting story once already.

R348, yes, in the first thread I saw on this topic that had like 3 posts. Then I realized someone in that other thread helpfully linked to this much larger discussion so I thought I'd contribute to a wider audience. If there are any other skating threads please feel free to share a link and I'll post it there too.

R347

It’s nice to hear from someone who was actually there, R347. Thanks for that.

Alyssa was amazing, even with her ghetto teeth. Seriously, wtf are those?

So we have 3 spots for the Olympics now? Cool. Now if the cheating asshole Russians get banned, we might do well next year.

We’ve had sufficient.

Read it and weep

R344. Trixie Schuba!! Thank you for that trip down memory lane. And may I add Anett Pötsch into the conversation?

Jason Brown might be over the hill and denying a spot for a younger skater to get experience, but he still has a great ass.

Alysa Liu wins gold. Her dad's reaction is heartwarming.

[quote] but he still has a great ass.

In the end that's all that really matters.

R355, what's the timestamp in the video showing her father's reaction?

4:59, R357. There was such joy in her performance. And, for the MAGAts, the world champion from the US is the daughter of a Chinese immigrant, so fuck you.

Thank you, r355.

Malinin's artistry has greatly improved.

Nice view of Paul Poirier's butt in the Rhythm Dance: 🍑

[QUOTE]And, for the MAGAts, the world champion from the US is the daughter of a Chinese immigrant, so fuck you.

A Tianamin Square dissident, no less.

Interesting background info:

[quote]Liu was considered the frontrunner female recruitment prospect for China as a part of its "naturalization project" to recruit overseas athletes in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Her father, however, would not be persuaded. In March 2022, it was reported that Liu and her father (who had left China as a political refugee following his participation in the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in 1989) had been targeted in November 2021 by spies allegedly under direction of the Chinese government, in an operation to collect private information on Chinese political dissidents living in the United States. One spy posed as a U.S. Olympic Committee official and requested copies of their passports. Her father stated that the scheme was likely designed to "intimidate" him and to "silence" him from "say[ing] anything political or related to human rights violations in China"; he added that he was concerned for his daughter's safety while she was in Beijing but he agreed to let her compete after receiving assurances that the U.S. State Department would take additional precautions to protect her.

Look up butterface online—there’s Jason. Very unfortunate. La femme.

Is Jason still working with Rohene Ward?

Mon dieu, those ice dancing couples are beautiful 🫨

That dress Madison is wearing is absolutely stunning!

Art Deco perfection.

The jazz was on point as well.

Eteri’s daughter down in 10th place.

Jason Brown and his tight ass are both on the ice now. After all these years competing, you'd think he could do one quad.

R350, thank you. We didn't stay for the whole thing but I enjoyed seeing the performances. The judging was fascinating, I wondered how they did it all so quickly. It seems like certain judges must be looking only for certain things.

I should Google some of the men, i'd love to see what they look like out of the costumes.

US wins 3 of the four gold medals.

Has Gabriella Papadakis permanently replaced Tanith White as the ice dancing commentator? With Guillaume and his new partner next year is going to be fun.

The USA skaters won 3 out of 4 gold medals, but figure skating is still a dying sport in America. Why?

They make it very hard to watch full competitions, for one thing. And having Nationals and Grand Prixs in lame cities like Wichita are not going to bring in big crowds. Plus it's a rich kid sport which makes it less accessible than, say, gymnastics.

Skaters have the best butts; I don’t know why.

Very impressed by the boys. The Japanese screwed the pooch but I loved the guy from Kazakhstan.

So we did pretty well. Good stuff, good stuff.

Too bad not many were watching and commenting here.

Now they take a break until the fall? To prepare for the Olympics?

The Boston crowd was fantastic, it added so much to the performances.

[quote]The USA skaters won 3 out of 4 gold medals, but figure skating is still a dying sport in America. Why?

The lack of response to this thread is a good indication. The championships were in the US and 3 of the 4 gold medals went to Americans, yet so few posts.

[quote] Now they take a break until the fall? To prepare for the Olympics?

There is a World Team Trophy in a few weeks. More of a commercial tournament than a serious competition.

Will the Russians be eligible to compete in the 2026 Olympics?

Is Ilia gay?

No, he's straight.

R382, sure, Jan.

Ilia's straight. No gay person would wear that monstrosity he appeared in for his short programme.

Absolutely, R384, no gay would wear something that would make him look fat.

What a gay wears on the ice.

Well that was fun.

The highlight of the competitions for me was Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck's free programme to the Dune soundtrack. Just mesmerising from start to finish.

Hopefully they will carry on beyond the Olympics when a lot of the dead wood that's locked down the top 3-5 over the past few seasons finally hang up their skates.

The Pairs event was also awesome. Absolute nail-biter between the Japanese and German couples for the top spot.

See, because of the wonky, ridiculous schedule that NBC put out, I didn’t see a single competitor from the pairs skating.

I wanted to see the ladies being thrown about and expecting to land successfully on one thin skate. 😜

Maxim Naumov skates at today's exhibition.

Him again?

You want to see Jason Brown again, R391?

No thank you.

Did Alyssa Liu rapidly improve this year? I kinda remember people writing her off a few years back?

ONLY on DL would a thread about "Figure Skating" get almost 400 posts! You girls are SO predick-table.

If her fat ass would put some work in Dorothy Hamill could probably do a quad.

[quote]ONLY on DL would a thread about "Figure Skating" get almost 400 posts! You girls are SO predick-table.

As predick-table as 1,200 posts on Sondheim.......in one day.

Nice to see full or nearly full houses in Boston after a whole lot of empty seats at other events. (And, hello to the two ladies in the front row in stars-and-stripes windbreakers. I haven't seen you in years. Weren't there five or six of you in the past?)

Please, no more Dune. Three Dune routines of skating mummies was three too many (to me).

I whizzed through my recording of the men's free because I was pretty sure the winner was a forgone conclusion (unlike the pairs free, which was a real nailbiter). I wasn't wrong, with Malinin racking up points for his quads. I do not knock him for his very impressive jumping skills, I just wish there was a lot more artistry in between them. Felt bad for Andrew Torgashev, but it just wasn't his day (thanks, for Scheherazade, though, amid all the whiny, electro coffeeshop music). Kudos to KAymoz for not crying and the Kazhakstan Kid (sorry, I've forgotten your name).

How many skaters/teams in each of the four disciplines can the US take to the Milan Games?

3 in each singles and ice dance. 2 for pairs with a chance for a 3rd spot in fall qualifying event.

R398, my friend and i went Wednesday, she is a huge fan. She said the turnout would be much better for Thursday and Friday - it wasn't empty by any means but it wasn't full. it was interesting to see all the energy even when it wasn't a full house.

Hopefully, Jason Brown will not be one of the three men selected. Fuck purely " artistic" skating. He's so popular amongst the skaters, because they know he is no threat.

MUCH prefer artistry to jump machines. I like at least a little bit of skating between the jumps.

The Ice Dance judging for the Free Dance was interesting and certainly has provoked a lot of debate.

Chock & Bates (USA) winning Gold and Gilles & Poirier (CAN) winning Silver was not a huge surprise, and both teams easily finished ahead of the rest of the field. But the judges giving the Bronze to Fear & Gibson (UK) is not to everyone's liking.

The Italian team of Guignard & Fabbri were angry at being beaten by the Brits and Charlene stormed out rather than congratulate them. She apparently had to cool off backstage for a while. Lots of people talking about that on figure skating forums like FSU & Goldenskate.

Anyway, Chock & Bates were very solid and didn't really put a foot wrong this week. I was glad to see gay hottie Paul Poirier 🍑 (& Piper Gilles) win another Silver.

[quote]MUCH prefer artistry to jump machines. I like at least a little bit of skating between the jumps.

But, he doesn't stand a remote chance of getting near the podium at the Olympics, so why not give the spot to a younger skater who can gain experience and would probably do better? He's had his chance already.

Multiple chances! To no effect.

The problem with Jason Brown is that there is no way he can medal at the world's or Olympics level. He's been to the Grand Prix final only once, in 2017. And while he has medaled at a good number of individual Grand Prix events, that color has never been gold. His golds are all from challengers series or team events.

He's a consistent skater who has helped Americans retain spots at times, but for basically his entire senior career of 10+ years it has been impossible for him to be a threat at the highest level because of his technical content. If he even had one or two types of quads, we'd be talking a very different story.

R403 The Ice Dancing judging is always suspect and ropey - there were several teams that scored significantly below their usual level for the season for no apparent reason - like the Taschlers, Lopareva and Brissaud, and the second French team: Demeugeot and Le Mercier.

Ms Chock and Master Bates will always prevai.

postcoita as well?

One has to consider how beloved Jason Brown is. The Boston crowd adored him.

Brown Frauen

R 402 here. I agree that Jason Brown, love his skating though I do, should not be chosen for the next Olympic team, or even the World team. I was merely responding to R401’s opinion of “artistic “ skating. I prefer artistry but am realistic about Jason Brown’s chances, or lack thereof.

R401, here. We are not far off, R412. I appreciate Jason Brown's skating for what it is, purely artistic. However, it now belongs in an ice show, not in competition. The fact that he hasn't kept up with the new modern standards ( for better or worse) means that he will never be competitive on a world scale. Through petition, he took a spot that rightfully should have gone to Camden Pulkinen, a much younger skater who could have used the experience, and whose future is ahead of him.

For Canadian viewers: The Worlds Exhibition Gala will be broadcast today on CBC from 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm ET.

Paul Poirier 🍑 will be wearing tight red pants in his exhibition number with Piper.

R394, Alyssa retired in 2022. Came back this year and won worlds. Fairly spectacular, I was surprised by my emotion, her story, her dad’s story, her hugging and crying with Kaori. It was a lot.

Agree with all who said the Boston crowd was fantastic. Their energy came through the TV.

NBC is broadcasting highlights from the World Championships & the Exhibition Gala on Sunday afternoon from 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm ET.

Can they find three hours worth?

Even though his style is, unfortunately, no longer in vogue, this is certainly one of the most beautiful skates in memory: Jason Brown," Schindler's List"

[quote]Skaters have the best butts; I don’t know why.

R375 Because their sport involves essentially doing alternating single-leg squats constantly.

Especially to get enough height for jumps, but even when normally skating. Look how flexed their legs are. They probably have steel quadriceps also.

R419, yeah, figure skaters are constantly using their leg and butt muscles all the time.

And even ice dancers, (who don't do jumps), have nice asses, like our fave Paul Poirier:

This guy is amazing!

R418. Holocaust on Ice?! Nein, danke.

R422, Jason Brown is Jewish so I assume the Schindler's List music is something he feels a personal connection with.

[quote]Jewish figure skater Jason Brown has competed around the world to the musical stylings of Simon and Garfunkel, “Hamilton” and Prince, but says no program has meant more to him than the one he’s taking to the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games: a free skate routine to the soundtrack of “Schindler’s List.”

[quote]“‘Schindler’s List’ is a piece of music that I wanted to skate to for so many years, but never felt like I was mature enough to skate to it the way that I envisioned I one day could,” Brown said. “To be able to do it on the Olympic stage is a huge honor. It’s a piece of music that has meant so much to me, and obviously to the community for years.”

R422, did you have the same reaction when Katarina Witt skated to the same music?

Ja!

Paul Poirier's muscular globes on display at the recent World Team Trophy:

USA wins team gold

Men's final World Team trophy.

Women's final.

Ice dancing.

Pairs.

All About Alysa

Has a decision been made yet about Russia inn the next winter Olympics?

Nyet

I'm still working on it with some friends.