Figure Skating

                I know I wrote about the 2014 Winter Olympics last week, but it is honestly still what I am paying attention to most.  This is especially true with the figure skating events.  Since these are airing live, I am literally watching for hours a day.  Then at night I watch the replay.  That is a lot of time with figure skating.  I will admit, some days things feel a little long, but I enjoy what I am watching and that is what matters.    

                There has been some really exciting skating this Olympics.  Often this comes from people I do not usually see or have never seen before.  As I am able to watch each event live and see everyone who skates, I have been introduced to some really interesting people.  Two in the men’s event come to mind first.

                First is Misha Ge from Uzbekistan.  Maybe it is because he reminds me of an old friend from high school, but I really get a kick out of Mr. Ge.  He has a lot of character and looks like he is having a ton of fun out on the ice.  It feels as though his goal is to put on a show and entertain the audience no matter what, even if it means breaking the rules.

                Another skater I cheered for is Michael Christian Martinez from the Philippines.  According to the commentators, when Mr. Martinez was younger he taught himself how to do certain skills, including some, if not all, of the jumps.  I do not know for sure what he taught himself, but the fact that he was able to at all shows Mr. Martinez has great talent and determination which should be recognized.

                There are so many skaters I would like to mention from all of the disciplines.  I really like Jason Brown.  He is definitely someone I am going to look for as his career grows.  Then there was the two pairs couples from China who both had such sweet stories.  Qing Pang and Jian Tong are retiring and getting married.  Cheng Peng and Hao Zhang have a great age difference and their partnership comes off as a kind older brother guiding his younger sister.  I can’t not mention the bronze medal ice dancers, Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov.  Their Swan Lake performance is what I remember most of any.  I loved it during the team event, but during the ice dancing competition it became spectacular.  Truly, I could go on and on about different skaters, but there are far too many.  I keep thinking of new ones to mention, so I will stop where I am.  Okay, one more.  I really like the ice dancing team of Maia and Alex Shibutani.  Now I’m done.        

                To be honest, the pairs competition is something I have not paid all that much attention to over the years.  For some reason I never latched onto it.  Watching it at the Olympics this year has definitely changed that.  I don’t know if pairs skating has changed, or I have changed (maybe it’s a combination of both) but I really liked watching the pairs.  What fascinates me is the lifts.  I have gone to ballets for as long as I can remember, so I have seen lifts.  But these lifts are done on ice skates which to me makes them far more precarious.  They take so much strength and trust.  The man must be incredibly strong and the woman has to trust her partner will not drop her.  Things could go wrong so easily, but they do not and the result is beautiful.  

                The lifts are something I pay attention to in the ice dancing as well.  Lifts in this competition are different than those in the pairs.  Due to the rules, the women are not allowed to be lifted as high, but they do a lot more contorting of the body.  I do not know how the women get into some of those positions.  Ice dancing is also different in general.  There aren’t any jumps and the artistic side of skating gets a lot of attention and concentration.  The costumes are more elaborate and detailed, music is allowed to have lyrics, and the ice dancers truly get into the characters they are portraying.  It is very much a theatrical performance on ice.

                There is a good reason I have not talked about the ladies’ competition.  I have not watched it yet.  Their competition begins today.  I am excited to see which skaters I discover as many I have never had the opportunity to see.  Or if I have, I don’t know about it.  Even though I enjoy figure skating, I have a tendency to watch sporadically.  Usually it’s because I don’t know when it’s on.        

                One sad thing that happened during the Olympics was the retirement of Evgeny Plyushchenko. I have watched and cheered for him for years as I did for fellow Russian skaters Alexei Yagudin and Ilia Kulik before him. Mr. Plyuschenko has such strong and memorable performances. I watched him in the team competition and I eagerly awaited his participation in the men’s. Unfortunately during the warm-up for the short program, Mr. Plyuschenko became too injured to skate and had to withdraw. Later his retirement was announced. It was heartbreaking to see Mr. Plyuschenko wave good-bye after his withdrawal. He looked incredibly sad. I wish Mr. Plyuschenko well and thank him for all the years and performances he gave us. He is one of those people who will always be remembered and his accomplishments will never be forgotten.