memae

And also every performance ever of LGC. I don't care that he never quite got a perfect one down. That program was phenomenal. I think for me, I'd swap Olympics Chopin for 4CC. Seimei was truly the performance of the Olympics because you could tell how much he was fighting for it. And not only is 4CC Chopin at its very best, it brings a kind of serenity or peacefulness with it, just knowing that whatever rough patch he was going through (and honestly I think there were a few things going on for our poor bunny), he'd found himself again. And I think 2013 GPF PW needs an honorable mention. I think it was that performance that made Patrick Chan realise that the Olympic gold really might not be his for the taking. Everything finally came together for Yuzu then and I think it was the first time he truly delivered on all the talk about him being the future of skating, etc. Everyone could see the potential in him but I don't think people were expecting him to get there for another season or so even though everyone knew it was coming. But then BAM at the GPF he showed up and did that in the short program. I wonder how much the odds (the legit ones for bets) on Patrick Chan winning the OGM changed after Yuzu delivered that SP performance.

I just watched the two IG live interviews Nathan did recently (one is with Jean-Luc and Kaitlin). He's a very chill and humble guy. Such a shame we are missing out on any pics and clips of him hanging out and performing with Yuzu at the cancelled ice show.

He's probably responsible for at least 80% of their traffic

Naw his hair is so flat! The terrible effect of not being able to zoom around a rink to fluff it up

Maybe. They're all the perfect age for a giant growth spurt or a good dose of hormones. And who knows what toll all this quad jumping has taken on their bodies by now. I really like watching all three of them so I hope they stick around but it's very possible they might not.

Shoma could rise up under Lambiel to be a threat for the gold if the other two have a wobble here and there (I don't even mean falls so much as shaky landings and negative GOE) and he has one of his dazzling everything-goes-right moments. It's too early to tell how that coaching arrangement is going to work for him though. I can't really think of anyone else rising up in juniors or seniors. Even 2 years out from Sochi, baby Yuzuru looked like he was a very promising contender for gold. I guess there's Artur Danielian, who is quietly going from strength to strength and who knows what 2 more years could bring for him. Daniel Grassl might stop underrotating and then he'll have a stack of quads ready to go. Yuma and Shun are also ones to watch. But at this point it seems like the extra years Nathan and Yuzuru have on them are an advantage rather than a disadvantage. Aside from the fact that they're not at risk of any troublesome growth spurts in the near future, they both just keep getting better and better. They're stronger in ways that those younger guys are not and it kind of seems like that's getting more and more important in men's skating whereas ladies' is going the other way. Who even knows what'll be happening in ladies' skating by then. We might have a whole new set of Russian girls by then.

The only detail missing is Keegan's hockey skates lol

At this point though, there's not much more Nathan can do to max out his programs. Even if his performance ability improves, his scores can't get much higher there. Yuzuru has the WR in the short program with a 4T3T and a 4S, without putting the combination last. Nathan isn't far behind him but he's already got a 4Lz in there and he's got his combination last. Then looking at the free program - again, Yuzuru has more room to up the technical load than Nathan. Basically, I don't think Yuzuru is going to write himself off for the next Olympics. He's still one of two strong contenders for Beijing and I feel like that's enough of a possibility for him. He wasn't the favourite last time - injured, off ice all that time, Nathan already landing 2000 quads in a program - but he won. He's always had to truly compete for his titles so I think Beijing is still on the cards for him even though Nathan will probably be the favourite.

Big agree. He spent most of 2 seasons wandering, and Chopin brought him home to himself at 4CC. There was that little glimpse of pride and that he'd been reassured in his ability at SC when he just looked around while he kneeled on the ice after Origin but 4CC Chopin was more than just him proving to himself he can still deliver like that. 4CC Chopin was him finding himself and being able to skate for himself in a way I don't think he really has before.

The surprise for me is that Jason and Yuzu are pretty much the same height and pretty much the same age. TCC twins! And Roman is just a bit taller than Bruno Massot! Like I knew Roman was tall, but Bruno has always just been this like gentle giant of figure skating to me. I actually thought Samarin was the tallest, just based on how he seems so lanky when he jumps. But 2 1/2 inches is a significant difference in height.

There's a little primary school chant here about jelly (jello) and how it 'wibble-wobbles' on a plate.

I think feelings can be a bit wibbly-wobbly though. And they can be just wobbly so I am going to go ahead and say they can be just wibbly too. It's kind of a type of onomatopoeia but the reference is to movement instead of sound and in those kinds of words in English vowels like o and aw and ow (back vowels) tend to be associated something bigger or louder (think splish vs splash or ting vs gong). So a wobble could be a big one and a wibble a little cute one or one more pleasant than a wobble. So I think it makes sense that you'd say 'wibbly' as a happy feeling. And Yuzu's happy 'why am I crying?' tears are definitely wibbly. I've been rewatching a lot of ACIs from the past few years during lockdown. I am in love with ACI debut of Otonal. It's so relaxed and the spins are to die for. I always forget by the end of a season how chill ACI programs are compared to by the time they get to the end of the season. Anyway, Otonal there also gives a great visual for a wibble vs a wobble in the combo jump - the quad has a little wibble on the landing but the triple is absolutely a wobble.

Do you guys not say wibbly-wobbly?

Oh bless him. He's so encouraging and positive just in this silly little clip. Imagine him coaching. You'd feel like you could do anything if he was the one instructing.

I just love that in that interview Brian refers to all his skaters as "the kids". He's such a dad.

I've just taken to staring longingly at my skates from across the room. I got new ones just before everything shut so I've only worn these guys a whole 3 times. I did just find my pointe shoes today while clearing out boxes of stuff I've been keeping at my parents' place. It's been years though so I don't think my ankles can handle so much as a fouette. So tempting though. Man I miss ballet. But not nearly as much as skating.

He's got more time now too for building up the stamina. Wasn't the 5-quad layout something he decided on with like 2 weeks to prepare? Who knows, maybe after ice time no one else is getting at the moment (I assume he's getting private time at Sendai since at this point he could have bought the rink by now with all the donations he's given it) and time to refocus and refresh from a whirlwind and difficult season, he'll go into the next season a step or two ahead of everyone - everyone except Keegan who (if his insta is anything to go by) is apparently on target to win the next world championship in hockey skates.

Completely understandable

I mean he can seriously jump so I bet he could get some crazy distance off walls with that leg strength.

If he had the technique down, his dives and turns would be excellent and they account for a lot.

I'm not sure at all but my guess is that there's a lot of things involved in running a show and that it was definitely insured. Insurance companies can be big jerks and all of them are scrambling at the moment so it wouldn't surprise me if she was advised to show up - as far as I know it hasn't officially been cancelled and that would mean that for insurance to cover some of the losses she's going to need to show up to at least appear to be prepared to go to work. That's how it works with film and TV production and outdoor concerts - even if the weather is storming and awful, everyone needs to show up for work even if there's no way anything is getting done, so that stipulations of the insurance policy are met.

As for Zhenya, there might have been some stuff with insurance and venue policies, etc - she might have had to make it look like she was at least prepared to go to work with the show just for it to be covered or to not breach a contract or something. There might have been a lot of financial and legal pressure on her and the silver lining of being able to get ice time might have made the decision a little easier. I imagine there's a lot more to this than Zhenya just being silly and irresponsible.

Exactly. It's kind of like Trusova was Eteri's guinea pig for the her quad training technique and now she can put it to use on girls like Kamila who are coming through with the skating skills as well as the quads. How could they have had time to work on Sasha's skating skills when all her time is devoted to developing the technique to jump different quads as well as the technique to train them. Without all the time dedicated simply to pioneering there'd be room for working on skating skills. The poor girl is pretty much an instrument in Eteri's research. I imagine their eyes are on Kamila as the one to bring home the Olympic gold - they'll use the same technique they did with Trusova to get her all the quads but they won't have to waste so much time figuring out what doesn't work so there's more time to work on everything else.

I can't begin to imagine what is would have been like to see this in person. I'd have been sobbing for hours if I was there.

Looks like there's a loop afterwards that's been snipped off the clip