Daily Olympic Bytes by IDC

Brought to you daily by Anne Calder & Daphne Backman

Final Bytes from Anne & Daphne

Beginning with the Team Event and all the way through the free dance, competitors demonstrated the beauty, the athleticism, and the finesse of ice dancing. We didn’t want to end our coverage without a final salute to all of the teams. The list below includes teams whose performances were not previously highlighted in our recaps.

• Spain’s Sara Hurtado & Kirill Khaliavin danced a personal best to Don Quixote. When injury forced Khaliavin’s partner, also his wife, to retire in 2016, she suggested Hurtado as a partner. They finished 12th in their Olympic debut.
• After Skate America in November, Canadians Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier exchanged their Perry Mason themed free dance for a James Bond medley. It paid off with an eighth place finish and a season best score in Pyeongchang.
• Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri represent Italy, but Guignard was born in France. Their ethereal skate to Exogenesis Symphony Part III by Muse secured them 10th place.
• Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje of Canada returned to their signature piece, “Je suis malade” by Lara Fabian, and finished in seventh place. Weaver said, “It’s just what we dream of – competing how you know you can and most importantly letting your soul out. That’s what we did today. No matter the number, the score, the levels, it’s about what we love to do in our hearts.”
• Poland’s Natalia Kaliszek & Maksym Spodyriev danced a fast-paced medley of Roaring Twenties songs, including a selection from The Great Gatsby”.  They are coached by two-time Olympian Sylwia Nowak-Trębacka.
• Yura Min & Alexander Gamelin were born in the USA, but represent Korea. Their free dance using a local folk song, “Arirang” and performed by So Hyang is their tribute to Korea.
• Penny Coomes & Nicholas Buckland were still hampered by Coomes’ knee injury, but finished 11th with their reworked Muse medley choreographed by Christopher Dean.
• Kana Muramoto & Chris Reed danced to the traditional music of Japanese composer, Ryuichi Sakamoto to place 15th in their Olympic debut as a team. Reed previously competed with his sister.
• Germany’s Kavita Lorenz & Joti Polizoakis interpreted the Pride and Prejudice soundtrack with beautiful seamless moves and finished 16th in their Olympic debut.
• Alisa Agafonova & Alper Ucar of Turkey will retire after the 2018 World Championships. They danced a medley of musical selections and finished in 19th place.
• Tiffany Zagorski & Jonathan Guerreiro were added to the Olympic Athletes from Russia’s invited list just prior to the beginning of the Games. Their beautiful interpretation of Muse’s Exogenesis Symphony, Parts II and III was rewarded with a 13th place finish.
• France’s Marie-Jade Lauriault & Romain LeGac danced to a medley by Queen and finished 17th in their Olympic debut. The married couple train in Montreal, Canada.
• Lucie Mysliveckova & Lukas Csolley of Slovakia danced to a Cabaret medley sung by Lisa Minnelli. The team trains in Italy with 2002 Olympic bronze medalist Barbara Fusar-Poli.
• China’s Shiyue Wang & Xinyu Liu did not qualify for the free dance, but have had a successful season so far including a silver medal at the International Cup of Nice. Their free dance is “Over My Shoulder” and “Happy Ending” by Mika.
• Alexandra Nazarova & Maxim Nikitin of Ukraine finished 21st in the short dance, so we missed their fun loving and energetic free dance to a Pirates of the Caribbean medley.
• Cortney Mansourova & Michal Ceska of the Czech Republic recently moved to the USA to train with Igor Shpilband. Unfortunately, the Olympic audience missed their Godfather free program.
• Adel Tankova & Ronald Zilberberg representing Israel planned to skate to a Prince of Egypt medley, but did not qualify for the free dance. Tankova is a former pairs skater.

Adel Tankova & Ronald Zilberberg of Israel
Photo by Robin Ritoss

Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje of Canada
Photo by Robin Ritoss

Highlights from Day 14:  Thursday, February 22

The Ladies free program was the final Olympic figure skating competition. After the short program, two Olympic Athletes from Russia were sitting atop the leaderboard with a Canadian in third place. Anticipation of the showdown between two teenagers, who also share the same coach and training facility, made headlines across the skating world.

• Eighteen year-old Evgenia Medvedeva had amassed every ladies gold medal for two years. A foot injury kept her off-ice for several weeks and out of the Grand Prix Final. In mid-January, she placed second at Europeans – her first loss since moving up to seniors.
• Almost a year ago, fifteen year-old Alina Zagitova won the 2017 World Junior Championships and last fall began a barnstorming tour through her first senior season. She won a Challenger B, two Grand Prix’s, the GPF and Europeans before arriving in Pyeongchang.
• The stage was set for the Olympic Athletes from Russia to win their first 2018 Olympic gold medal. Alina Zagitova already had a 1.31 advantage after her short program victory. The teenagers both earned the same scores for their free programs – 156.65, but Medvedeva broke the tie with a higher PCS score.
• Medvedeva won the free program, but was unable to overtake her teammate’s lead. The situation was reminiscent of 15-year-old Tara Lipinski’s win over the favored Michelle Kwan twenty years ago in Nagano, before Medvedeva and Zagitova were born. Ironically, Lipinski called the event from Gangneung Arena for the television audiences.
• The International Judging System rewards a 10% bonus to singles skaters for jumping passes done after the halfway mark in the program. The original intent of the added bonus was to discourage front loading programs when fresh legs are less tired and to create a more balanced presentation.
• All of Zagitova’s jumps earn the 10% bonus due to their placement after the midway mark. She also does the most difficult combination jump – 3Lz+3Lo.
• Kaetlyn Osmond skated a mature presentation of The Black Swan. The Canadian added bronze to her Team Event gold medal earned earlier in the Olympic competitions after finishing 13th in 2014 at Sochi.
• In her fourth Olympics, Italy’s Carolina Kostner captivated the audience with her effortless interpretation of Claude Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. The 31 year old scored the second highest PCS, less than two points behind Evgenia Medvedeva.
• The 2010 Olympic gold medalist, Yuna Kim, watched in the audience as Korea’s Dabin Choi and Hanul Kim skated personal best performances. Yuna Kim lit the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony.
• Maria Sotskova, an Olympic Athlete from Russia, redeemed herself with an 8th place finish after placing 12th in the short program.
• Satoko Miyahara earned a personal best for her light and lyrical interpretation of Puccini’s Madam Butterfly. She placed fourth in her Olympic debut. All three of the four-time Japanese National Champion’s marks surpassed her previous scores.
• Alexia Paganini, who finished 21st. was born in Greenwich, USA but represents Switzerland, her father’s homeland. She trains in Hackensack, USA alongside Nicole Rajicova who skates for Slovakia, and placed 14th.
• Finland’s Emmi Peltonen was born in Nashville, USA when her father played for the NHL Predators. He is a four-time Olympic medalist in ice hockey. Peltonen trains part time in Los Angeles with Rafael
• Belgium’s Loena Hendrickx was 20th after the short program. Her free program to “Differente” by Gotan Project was 14th. She finished 16th.
• The USA Ladies finished 9th, 10th and 11th, the same positions, though not the same order, as they held after the short programs. It was disappointing as it marked the first time an American woman failed to finish in the top six in any Olympics since World War II.

Canada’s Kaetlyn Osmond claimed the bronze medal.
Photo by Robin Ritoss

Evgenia Medvedeva skates her short program.
Photo by Robin Ritoss

Highlights from Day 12:  Tuesday, February 20

There are no bytes today due to it being Free Dance day!  Check out our recap.

Highlights from Day 11:  Monday, February 19

There are no bytes today due to it being Short Dance day!  Check out our recap.

Highlights from Day 10:  Sunday, February 18

There are no bytes today as there are no figure skating events.

Highlights from Day 9:  Saturday, February 17

Tonight during the free programs, fans witnessed a gamut of emotion – from failure to redemption, from injuries to comebacks, from previous disappointment to euphoria, plus history making performances. The 2018 Men’s Olympic event will be talked about in skating circles forever.

• Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu won back-to-back Olympic figure skating gold medals, the first since the USA’s Dick Button in 1948 and 1952. Hanyu’s victory is even more impressive when taken into account that an ankle injury kept him off the ice for three months immediately prior to Pyeongchang.
• In 2002, Alexei Yagudin and Evgeny Plushenko stood atop the Salt Lake City podium as Russian gold and silver medalists. Four Olympiads later In Pyeongchang, Yuzuru Hanyu and Shoma Uno joined them in accomplishing the same feat for Japan.
• Shoma Uno fell on his opening quad loop, but bounced up quickly and without hesitation jumped into a quad flip. He struggled midway through the program, but with the grit and determination of a true Olympic warrior, he pushed through to the end.
• Javier Fernandez won Spain’s first Olympic medal after a disappointing fifth place finish in 2014. Ironically, both competitions involved lost Salchow points. In Sochi, he missed the podium when he turned a Salchow into a triple, then repeated the jump. Tonight he doubled down the quad Salchow, lost nine base points and turned silver into bronze.
• After his disastrous short program, American Nathan Chen hit the ice with fire in his belly. One by one he checked off six quads – five successfully – and won the free skate. His vault from 17th place to fifth was historic as were his five registered quads.
• The 2017 World Junior Champion, Vincent Zhou of the United States, attempted five quads and moved from twelfth to sixth. After his final spin, he emotionally fell across the Olympic rings and sobbed. The seventeen-year-old had just scored two personal bests in two programs in two days.
• The USA’s Adam Rippon again skated a quad-less program, but his arsenal of clean triple jumps landed him in 10th. He and Nathan Chan earned bronze medals in the Team Event. 
• China’s Boyang Jin withdrew from the GPF after competing in the 2017 Grand Prix Series with two sprained ankles caused by loose boot laces. Two months later, he finished fourth at the Olympics, less than eight points off the podium.
• Patrick Chan skated to “Hallelujah” then left the competitive ice for (as we assume) the final time. His 17-year career that began in 2001 with a Canadian Juvenile bronze medal includes three World and Four Continent Championships, two GPF Championships and ten National Championships. Chan won silver in Sochi. He also has two team medals – silver in 2014 and gold in 2018.
• Canada’s Patrick Chan, Olympic Athletes from Russia’s Mikhail Kolyada and Italy’s Matteo Rizzo skated in both rounds of the Team Event and two individual competitions.

Timothy Goebel – The original Quadmaster of the U.S. 

• Twenty years ago at the 1998 Junior World Championships, Timothy Goebel was the first American skater to land a quad jump of any kind. He was also the first skater in the world to land a quad Salchow.
• In 1999 at Skate America in Colorado Springs, Timothy Goebel was the first to land three quad Salchow in one program.
• At the 2002 Olympics, Timothy Goebel was the first skater to successfully land a quad Salchow in combination.
• Timothy Goebel was the first man in the world to land six quads in a single competition.
• Timothy Goebel landed 76 quads in his career.

Highlights from Day 8:  Friday, February 16

Tonight at the Gangneung Arena the men took to the Olympic ice for their short programs, which included three jumps, three spins, and a step sequence. Of the 30 skaters who performed in the short program competition, only 24 will move on to take the ice in the free skate.

After the topsy-turvy competition, tomorrow’s headline might read like the familiar opening of ABC’s Wide World of Sports…

“The thrill of victory… and the agony of defeat…the human drama of athletic competition”

• Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu is in Pyeongchang to defend his 2014 Olympic title. He has been MIA since injuring an ankle in November. Tonight he hit the ice with confident defiance and methodically checked off his three difficult jumping passes that account for over 44 of his 63.18 technical points. 
• Hanyu has earned Japanese rock star status with a huge entourage of photographers, journalists and fans that trace his every step. Reminiscent of the 1960’s ‘Beatlemania’ fandom, passionate young females follow the skater to competitions all over the world, tossing gifts and Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals on the ice. Some even dress in Pooh costumes.
• An animated Charlie Chaplin routine by Spain’s Javier Fernandez put him four points behind his training mate.
• In third place with all positive GOEs, Japan’s Shoma Uno told the press he was unhappy with his program. He skated appropriately to “Winter” from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
• China’s Boyang Jin appeared fully recovered from the ankle injuries that plagued him earlier this season. Jin’s technical content was second overall (60.27), but both Fernandez and Uno posted PCS marks that were 3 plus points higher, so Jin settled for fourth.  
• Dmitri Aliev, the 18-year old European silver medalist, finished fifth after landing two quads and a triple axel and receiving technical marks close to the those received by the top four.  Aliev, who won the silver medal at the European Championships last month, has an eight point lead over Patrick Chan of Canada who landed in sixth after a fall on his triple axel.
• American Adam Rippon is the only one in the top ten not to attempt a quad. His clean skate was rewarded with seventh place. 
• Vincent Zhou, the youngest member of the USA delegation, skated third and immediately landed the first quad Lutz in Olympic history. Zhou finished the evening in 12th. 
• Nathan Chen, the young American phenom, had a disappointing performance earning negative GOE’s for all three of his jumping passes. He found himself in unfamiliar territory at the end of the evening. The U.S. National Champion finished 17th and has a lot of ground to make up.
• Adam Rippon and Nathan Chen train together with Rafael Arutunian in the Los Angeles area. Rippon is the oldest of six children while Nathan is the youngest of five. It is a perfect set up for a big brother – little brother relationship.
• Keegan Messing was born in Alaska, but holds dual American-Canadian citizenship. In 2014, he began skating for Canada, his mother’s birthplace. He finished tonight in 10th.
• Other performances of note include Michal Brezina (Czech Republic), Misha Ge (Uzbekistan), and Jorik Hendrickx (Belgium).  As Hendrickx took the ice for his performance, the camera panned to a nervous Loena Hendrickx, Jorik’s younger sister who also qualified for the Olympics.  
• The 2014 Olympic bronze medalist, Kazakhstan’s Denis Ten, nursed a ligament ankle injury all season, but he wanted desperately to compete in South Korea. Ten is the great-grandson of Min Keung Ho, a famous general who fought for Korean independence. His statue and memorial is just 35 miles from PyeongChang. Ten competed tonight, but unfortunately did not qualify for the free skate.

2018 Olympic Champions Aljiona Savchenko & Bruno Massot embrace after their free skate.
Photo by Robin Ritoss

Valentina Marchei & Ondrej Hotarek celebrate after a great short program.
Photo by Robin Ritoss

Highlights from Day 5:  Tuesday, February 13

There were no figure skating events held today.

Team Canada celebrates at the flower ceremony.
Photo by Robin Ritoss

Highlights from Day 3:  Saturday, February 11

HIGHLIGHTS FROM DAY 3:  SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11

After taking off a day for the Opening Ceremony, the Team Event continued with the dance and ladies short programs. The order of placement after the first night was: Canada, United States, Japan, Olympic Athletes from Russia, Israel, China, Italy, Germany, South Korea, and France.  

• All the dance teams skated the same Rhumba pattern, two different step sequences, a lift, and a set of twizzles.
• The technical specialist was very strict, particularly in the Rhumba pattern. 
  • In the Rhumba pattern, no dance team received a level 4, and Anna Cappelini & Luca Lanotte earned the only level 3. Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir, Maia & Alex Shibutani, Ekaterina Bobrova & Dmitry Soloviev, Kavita Lorenz & Joti Polizoakis, and Yura Min & Alex Gamelin were awarded level 2. The rest of the competitors got level 1.
  • No one earned credit for the first key point of the Rhumba, which is the lady’s steps in the difficult Rhumba choctaw. 
• Two-time Olympic medalists Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir topped the leaderboard with an upbeat Latin dance to music by the Rolling Stones, Eagles, and Santana. They were the only team to top 80 points.
• While the Shibutanis’ dance was not technically up to par for them, it was enough to hold off the Russian team of Ekaterina Bobrova & Dmitry Soloviev by .70 and get the nine points awarded to second place.
• Yura Min had a costume malfunction that affected the team’s third twizzle, which reduced the twizzle sequence to level 1 and lowered the score in their Olympic debut representing the host country of South Korea.
• The ladies were the final discipline to skate their short programs, and the audience was loud.
• Russia’s Evgenia Medvedeva was the last to skate, but earned the highest score – 81.06, which was a new world record. Over half her points came from placing all her jumps after the mid-point of the program so she could garner a 10% bonus for each one.
• Carolina Kostner, who turned 31 on the first day of the 2018 Olympics, helped improve Italy’s score with a second-place skate.
• Kaetlyn Osmond added 8 points to help Canada’s lead with a third-place program that had the audience clapping along to Edith Piaf’s classic songs.
• Satoko Miyahara snagged fourth place and seven points by .01 over Bradie Tennell and helped secure Japan’s qualification in the free skate.
• The U.S. National Champion, Bradie Tennell, had the second highest TES—just four points behind Medvedeva. She earned six points for her fifth-place finish.
• South Korea’s Dabin Choi skated a beautiful program and earned a standing ovation from the home audience.
• The first round ended with the following teams qualifying to skate their free programs: Canada (35), Olympic Athletes from Russia (31), United States (29), Japan (26), and Italy (26).
• Later in the evening, the pairs free skate began the second round with Canada’s Meagan Duhamel & Eric Radford claiming the top spot.
• The Italian pairs team of Valentina Marchei & Ondrej Hotarek had an Olympic moment when they nailed every element in their performance and passed their personal best score by 5.5 points. They finished second and, coupled with Kostner’s placement in the ladies short program, vaulted Team Italy into medal contention. 

Malaysia’s Julian Yee carries his country’s flag in the opening ceremonies.
Photo by Robin Ritoss

Alexa Scimeca Knierim & Chris Knierim (USA)
Photo by Robin Ritoss