Special Event: 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics
February 3, 2022 3:35 PM - Subscribe

The Winter Olympics are starting - Here's a space for folks who are interested to watch and talk about the sports and the ceremonies!

(Note - It's fine to talk about the politics/current events side of things, but if someone wants a really extended discussion of that, better to make a post on Metafilter/the blue. The Fanfare post is meant mainly for people who are watching the sports or ceremonies to be able to talk about them.)

If there's a lot of activity we can spin up separate threads per sport or per event, but I figured we can start off with one main thread and see how many folks are watching.
posted by LobsterMitten (108 comments total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
So far, I have missed catching all the curling events live. Due to the time difference, they're on early but I'm just not quite up early enough. Curling is the best sport.

I used to be such a super fan of women's figure skating so I sort of feel bad that the latest group of men are way more interesting. But they're way more interesting. I know it's only the team event and the short program but I'm staying up to see Nathan Chen skate.

I am still iffy on holding Olympics on an ongoing pandemic & you know ... China ... but I also like the winter Olympics a lot so ...
posted by edencosmic at 6:38 PM on February 3, 2022 [2 favorites]


I'm surprisingly engrossed in seeing these early preliminary rounds! Nathan Chen and Shoma Uno were breathtaking in the men's short program in the team event.
posted by Salieri at 8:12 PM on February 3, 2022


Spent the whole evening annoyed that I couldn't find anywhere to stream the opening ceremony. Realized about 30 minutes ago that the ceremony is not until tomorrow.
posted by jordemort at 9:16 PM on February 3, 2022 [2 favorites]


I went ahead and signed up for Peacock premium for a month, because I remember being annoyed trying to find things in the last summer Olympics and I'm hoping this will help. I am sure the NBC corporate umbrella will still have things I want to watch annoyingly out of reach, but at least I can watch the opening ceremony live.
posted by the primroses were over at 3:30 AM on February 4, 2022


China chose the most boring possible music for the Parade of Nations.

Maybe they are trying to be the adults in the room after Japan chose a Rape of Nanking-denying composer (the Dragon Quest guy) for theirs.
posted by The genius who rejected Anno's budget proposal. at 4:45 AM on February 4, 2022 [3 favorites]


Colombia's athlete uniforms are rad.
posted by The genius who rejected Anno's budget proposal. at 5:03 AM on February 4, 2022


I love the Italian flag poncho coats.
posted by the primroses were over at 5:25 AM on February 4, 2022 [1 favorite]


I think it might be time to consider banning the use of the song "Imagine" from Olympic opening ceremonies.
posted by the primroses were over at 6:01 AM on February 4, 2022 [7 favorites]


"And no religion, too" Yeah I'm sure the Chinese Communist Party would love that.
posted by The genius who rejected Anno's budget proposal. at 6:03 AM on February 4, 2022 [1 favorite]


We watched the miniseries "Meddling" about the judging corruption during the 2002 Salt Lake City pairs figure-skating. I had actually forgotten all about it!

The series was well-produced -- very cinematic.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:43 AM on February 4, 2022 [2 favorites]


Likes: The 3D ice cube ring reveal, and the opening glowing bamboo formation.

Also Armani's somewhat Papal outfit for the Italian team

Dislike: The low carbon torch lighting.
posted by polymodus at 9:44 PM on February 4, 2022


I found this opening ceremony boring. Do yourselves a favor and find a video of the 1992 Summer Olympics opening ceremony: that's one to remember!
posted by mightshould at 3:20 AM on February 5, 2022 [1 favorite]


We are not generally olympics fans, save for a small handful of events. Peacock helps us quite well, especially thanks to the replays. We’ve been watching curling the last couple of days. We await the start of luge, bobsled, and skeleton.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:10 AM on February 5, 2022


Mixed doubles curling round robin matches have been neat and I like the team figure skating event - it's cool to see the athletes from the different disciplines get to cheer each other on. I'm going to watch the biathlon mixed relay while I do some menu planning for the week.

$5 for Peacock has been a good investment for me - I can replay whole events that aired in the middle of the night with zero cut aways for talking heads or human interest stories.

For purposes of this thread, are we assuming results discussion is fair game once an event has happened, or avoiding things that might be spoilers for viewers watching on a delay?
posted by the primroses were over at 8:41 AM on February 5, 2022 [1 favorite]


We watched the miniseries "Meddling" about the judging corruption during the 2002 Salt Lake City pairs figure-skating.

I really dislike any olympic event that involves judging. I appreciate the great athleticism of the participants, but I wish there was a workable way to compete without relying on the vagaries of judges.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:07 AM on February 5, 2022 [1 favorite]


<insert rant about boring nationalistic coverage>

Susi did fantastic, placed a personal best here's her run, Cole makes a fantastic showing at 17th, on and on, lets show susi again, then at the end a brief mention that it was won by one of those generic european countries.
posted by sammyo at 9:15 AM on February 5, 2022


It's so good to see Shoma Uno back to form. Stephane Lambiel has been great for him.

Respect to Knierim/Frazier, who didn't get to US Nationals because Frazier was very sick with COVID... and then they went to Beijing and did THAT in the teams short program.

And I am always here for Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier understanding the assignment... and deciding they refuse to go along with it. I liked Piper's pantsuit a bit better, though, I admit. They got robbed in the judging.
posted by humbug at 10:32 AM on February 5, 2022 [1 favorite]


Why isn't snowball fights an event?
posted by adept256 at 1:04 PM on February 5, 2022 [8 favorites]


insert rant about boring nationalistic coverage

What’s been nice about the Peacock coverage (at least the events I’ve watched) has been the decidedly non-nationalistic atmosphere. I’ve noticed they’re getting a lot of coverage from something called OBS, with a lot of obviously-not-from-the-US presenters. It’s just the event straight-up.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:35 PM on February 5, 2022 [5 favorites]


I am watching the Czech-US round robin mixed doubles curling match, and the Czech team is a married couple. My boyfriend thinks our relationship could survive this dynamic, but he is overly optimistic.

Agreed that watching the whole events via Peacock nicely avoids much of the worst jingoism of the NBC primetime broadcast.
posted by the primroses were over at 6:35 PM on February 5, 2022 [1 favorite]


Got to see what Johnny Weir was wearing, a big part of the Winter Olympics for me. He and Tara did not disappoint.
posted by theora55 at 6:53 PM on February 5, 2022 [2 favorites]


I am watching the Czech-US round robin mixed doubles curling match, and the Czech team is a married couple.

Norway’s mixed-doubles team is a married couple, as well. They’re kind of cute in that you could tell they were trying not to show any PDA during the match. He did slip in a quick pat on her butt after she threw a particularly good stone.

One fun aspect of the OBS feed Peacock uses is that it is unedited. And, the players are miked. “Fuck” is a universal expression of frustration, apparently.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:30 AM on February 6, 2022 [4 favorites]


Men's luge wrapped up today - the track is definitely testing the slider's driving skills over their sled tech, and it's been a lot of fun to watch (despite the male announcer, who does not have a lot of luge expertise.) I'm very biased, but the US team seemed to have the most fun, and that just makes spectating that much more enjoyable. They've had such a tough, weird season this year and I'm so happy that it ended on a high note for them.
posted by Sparky Buttons at 10:25 AM on February 6, 2022 [2 favorites]


I have done a complete 180 on Johnny Weir.

Hearing what a smart commentator he is -- as is Ms. Lipinski! -- and how much clearer his commentary is than what we used to hear, made me care about figure skating. He has smart things to say about skaters & their routine, about the sport, and about the Olympics as a whole: just awesome to listen to.
posted by wenestvedt at 10:49 AM on February 6, 2022 [6 favorites]


If you have a cable subscription, you can use it to log in to nbcolympics.com and get the on-air coverage and OBS feeds from there as well. Does anyone know if there's anything that Peakcock has that nbcolympics.com doesn't? The website for Peacock isn't particularly clear on that front.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 10:50 AM on February 6, 2022 [1 favorite]


Commercials: I dislike the Matthew McConnaghey hot air balloon and the dinosaurs for the next Jurassic Park movie, and I'm going to be seeing them again and again.
posted by theora55 at 11:16 AM on February 6, 2022 [1 favorite]


IIRC, Johnny and Tara at some point should be wearing outfits designed by one of the Project Runway winners.
posted by Melismata at 11:34 AM on February 6, 2022 [3 favorites]


Here in Helsinki I watched the first half of the 30km men’s cross country skiing with my six-year-old son this morning, and we were quite happy to find out that Iivo Niskanen got bronze.

I have very fond memories of waking up at seven in the morning on a Sunday four years ago and see Niskanen win gold in the 50km race.

Four years ago my son was two, so this’ll be the first Winter Olympics he’ll have any memories of. Growing up in Iceland, I enjoyed the Winter Olympics, but it was never anything that had anything to do with Iceland, as we’re generally not very good at winter sports. But the Finns excel, so the Winter Olympics are a big fucking deal here, and it’s fun that my son can see himself in it.

Though, actually, a large part of the time we were watching was spend trying to catch glimpses of Snorri Einarsson, Iceland’s best ever men’s cross country skier. He ended up placing 29th, which is the highest place an Icelander has ever reached in cross country skiing. So that was a lot of fun too.
posted by Kattullus at 11:54 AM on February 6, 2022 [3 favorites]


Kattullus, I watched the end of that race. I am from Minnesota where cross-country skiing is popular, and one of the American women is from there.

The end of the men's race was amazing -- and I cheered for that Finn!
posted by wenestvedt at 4:04 AM on February 7, 2022 [1 favorite]


I’m happy we shelled out the $5 for Peacock, and simultaneously annoyed that there is zero thought to when commercials are wedged in. Even during replays, commercials overlap the action. Commenters are getting cut off mid-sentence, commercials during the Big Air qualifiers were dropping while competitors were on the hill or just before results were announced. It’s maddening. NBC has been covering this for far too long, it’s time to let someone else run the show!
posted by caution live frogs at 4:48 AM on February 7, 2022 [3 favorites]


We watched some of the figure skating on NBC broadcast last night, my wife loves watching the couples skate.

But, an innocent question + bonus rant: Who picks the music? Does it have to be approved by the IOC? I'm guessing no because the Americans skating to something that sounded like the opening of Space Pants doesn't fit the list. And they still skate to Ravel's Bolero?

Please, Team USA. Hire Reznor and Ross to write something beautiful and moving and let's put the Beatles instrumentals on the shelf for good.
posted by JoeZydeco at 6:59 AM on February 7, 2022 [2 favorites]


During the Parade of Nations I found the Canadian kit the most interesting, in that there was visual consistency even while the athletes made their own choices in how to wear the convertible parkas.

Did take me a while to figure out what it was that some were wearing around their necks, though - turns out they're the bottom part of the parka that can be detached to wear as a scarf or neck pillow.
posted by needled at 7:08 AM on February 7, 2022 [1 favorite]


Speaking of kit, the Canadian women's hockey team was able to play a game of hockey - and win - while wearing N95s.

Delays, masks, and lineup changes: Adaptability a key theme for Canadian women's hockey team

Puck drop was delayed by just over an hour, with the official reason given by the technical delegate being "safety and security concerns." Canada had reportedly refused to play without receiving morning COVID-19 test results from the ROC team, which has had numerous players sidelined by the virus.

Both sides ultimately agreed to play wearing respirator masks until the test results became available.

[...]

The Canadians put 49 shots on goal, outshooting the ROC by a 23-3 margin in the second period alone. Players were dogged around the net, with plenty of the attempts coming from rebounds and scrambles in tight.

The occasional disjointed sequence was perhaps attributable to not only the opponent's persistence, but also the masks' impact on peripheral vision.

"Maybe you lost a puck or two at your feet, but we don't want to use it as an excuse," Jenner said. "We want to come out and play a good, solid game. We had a couple of shifts we definitely want back but mentally we did a really good job adapting."

posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:21 AM on February 7, 2022 [4 favorites]




Count me as another who forked over $5 for a month of Peacock and is glad they did. And is also annoyed at the random timing of the commercials.

Also I was watching women's Big Air on Peacock yesterday and noticed that the commentators were almost always using they pronouns for the individual skiers, or otherwise avoiding gender by using names or saying "this athlete."
posted by expialidocious at 12:41 PM on February 7, 2022 [2 favorites]


I'm very proud of my fellow countrywoman : Dutch speedskater Ireen Wüst is the 1st athlete to win individual gold at 5 Olympics.
posted by Pendragon at 2:10 PM on February 7, 2022 [6 favorites]


But, an innocent question + bonus rant: Who picks the music? Does it have to be approved by the IOC? I'm guessing no because the Americans skating to something that sounded like the opening of Space Pants doesn't fit the list.

I will hear nothing against alien space goddess Madison Chock!

Seriously, though, I'm super proud of the US ice dance teams for winning their divisions in the team competition. I've really grown to appreciate ice dance for both the technical precision and the occasional campy weirdness. Both Madison Hubbell and Madison Chock were giving some serious FACE during their performances, and I just ate it up. I love that in the same competition you can have Janet Jackson followed by classical music followed by space insanity.
posted by Salieri at 4:26 PM on February 7, 2022 [2 favorites]


DONOVAN CARRILLO, gentlebeings. He is a precious cinnamon roll and I am taking no questions.

Re figure-skating music: it's more circumscribed in ice dance than the other disciplines, particularly in the rhythm dance where there are specific dance styles required. Early in the season, judges are not shy if they think an ice dance team's music is off, and teams absolutely will rescore their programs. That aside, there's not much control. I could wish for a "warhorse: do not skate to" list that would contain Phantom of the please please please no more Opera, Les Miz, Nessun dorma, basically all of Tchaikovsky, anything sung by Josh Groban or Andrea Bocelli... you get the picture.
posted by humbug at 7:12 PM on February 7, 2022 [8 favorites]


The Canada-USA game is being played at full intensity right now, and it's only the first period. I'm watching it on the front page of cbc.ca.
posted by clawsoon at 8:21 PM on February 7, 2022


NATHAN CHEN!!!!!
posted by praemunire at 9:38 PM on February 7, 2022 [5 favorites]


Holy CRAP this men's short program. Adam Siao Him Fa with the step sequence magic! Jin Boyang with the comeback! Nathan Chen with the monster scores! Donovan Carrillo with the everything!

And JASON FREAKING BROWN bringing the technique and artistry and emotion, closing it out with the perfect skate and making the final group for the free skate! I'm so freaking happy for him. He'll never make a podium without quads, but he's been my favorite skater for a while and I just want him to have a good Olympics that he can celebrate.

Such a shame about Yuzuru Hanyu's popped first jump. The rest of his program was exquisite. The Japanese men are all so strong.

And poor Vincent Zhou. I hope he's got good people looking out for him. I'm so glad he was able to contribute to the team medal, at least.
posted by Salieri at 10:19 PM on February 7, 2022 [8 favorites]


That was an absolutely magnificent men's SP, though of course I am gutted for Vincent and shocked at Yuzu popping his 4sal.

I want to recognize Excellence in Skating to the Nearly Unskatable Composer
Vivaldi -- Shoma Uno just gets it, and the sport owes Stephane Lambiel a lot for pulling Shoma out of his slump a couple years back. (Also Shoma and Stephane are ridiculously cute in the kiss-and-cry.)

Hunky Deniss, Cat-Knees Keegan, Matteo of the Lovely Sleeves, Kevin Aymoz breaking 90 after the coals his fed raked him over all season -- there may never be a more brilliant men's field. What an absolute delight of a competition. Medals for all!
posted by humbug at 5:29 AM on February 8, 2022 [3 favorites]


clawsoon: "The Canada-USA game is being played at full intensity right now, and it's only the first period. I'm watching it on the front page of cbc.ca."

I stayed up until 1 AM watching that game. Canada's goalie played out of her mind. I can't believe the US didn't win that one, outshooting Canada something like 52-25? And this game was essentially meaningless, both teams advance no matter what. The rivalry is real.
posted by caution live frogs at 12:24 PM on February 8, 2022 [4 favorites]


I got myself a VPN so I can watch endless Canadian coverage of every single biathlon event. It is my happy place.
posted by ikahime at 4:46 PM on February 8, 2022 [3 favorites]


Watching the women's luge, and they are all pressing a button and wait for a light as they exit their run after they've finished. One canadian got an orange light and was definitely annoyed. Does anyone know what that button is for, have they said?
posted by cgg at 7:50 PM on February 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


Why are they doing Big Air in front of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant?
posted by The genius who rejected Anno's budget proposal. at 8:26 PM on February 8, 2022 [4 favorites]


Pretty cool to see these guys in Big Air throwing out their hardest tricks and crashing spectacularly in an attempt to win rather than playing it safe(r) for a second or third place. Go big or go home, I guess. Considering I'd die just trying to ski backward like they do during their setup, I'm impressed. Congrats to Birk Ruud!

And can all of the cameras and commentators leave Mikaela Shiffrin alone? Dang.
posted by Salieri at 8:43 PM on February 8, 2022 [2 favorites]


Watching the women's luge, and they are all pressing a button and wait for a light as they exit their run after they've finished. One canadian got an orange light and was definitely annoyed. Does anyone know what that button is for, have they said?

The button is to indicate that the track is clear. Once they hit it, the next person at the top has 30 sec to start - you can sometimes hear the little chime that indicates that. (They get themselves on-deck while the previous person is going). Fun fact - that chime sounds the same on all luge tracks. I don't know what the orange light means, my guess is that it means theres something wrong with a sensor on the track or something like that.

During the relay event, the button is above them in the finish chute, and they have to reach up and slap it, and then their teammate tries to get off the handles ASAP. It's really fun to watch.
posted by Sparky Buttons at 9:38 PM on February 8, 2022 [3 favorites]


What a dominant performance by Italy in mixed doubles curling. Undefeated throughout, and winning the gold. Constantini was lights-out amazing.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:45 PM on February 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


I have been doing some work for the Starksboro (VT) public library and we're all pretty chuffed about RCS and his silver in one of those skiing things.
posted by jessamyn at 7:35 PM on February 9, 2022 [3 favorites]


I have to say, those powder-blue shirts are not doing the US men’s curling team any favors. They look like a fast-food crew goofing around on break. And then there’s the ballcaps...
posted by Thorzdad at 7:10 PM on February 10, 2022


Mikaela Shiffrin’s hat, with the spider and the flag and the pompon. Also, I can’t do that; let’s celebrate good runs.
posted by endoftheparty at 7:55 PM on February 10, 2022


gooooooooooooooooal
posted by clawsoon at 9:04 PM on February 10, 2022


We watched the miniseries "Meddling" about the judging corruption during the 2002 Salt Lake City pairs figure-skating. I had actually forgotten all about it!

Have a look at this clip of outrageously biased and I believe outright corrupt judging by American judge Jonas Brewer in the snow board half pipe event in giving Ayumu Hirano an 89 for a run that was otherwise consensus 96 or better.

Commenters seem to believe Brewer was attempting to leave room for American Shaun White to capture the gold.

Which certainly would have led to bigger endorsement deals.
posted by jamjam at 9:22 PM on February 10, 2022 [3 favorites]


As you can imagine Finnish media and social media have been a total Iivofest today. Sadly I missed Niskanen's race, but managed to turn on the TV just in time to see him interviewed totally exhausted. This is his third gold medal, his first coming in 2014 and the second in 2018, which puts him in pretty elite company as having won three gold medals across three different games.
posted by Kattullus at 4:32 AM on February 11, 2022


There's a horrendous mess spinning up in women's figure skating. Because it can never be uncomplicated. Fairly current story here.
posted by humbug at 6:25 AM on February 11, 2022 [1 favorite]


~We watched the miniseries "Meddling" about the judging corruption during the 2002 Salt Lake City pairs figure-skating. I had actually forgotten all about it!

~Have a look at this clip of outrageously biased and I believe outright corrupt judging by American judge Jonas Brewer in the snow board half pipe event in giving Ayumu Hirano an 89 for a run that was otherwise consensus 96 or better.


I pretty much avoid any events that involve judging. It’s just too ambiguous a system. The athleticism of the participants isn’t in question. I just don’t think athletic results shouldn’t depend on style points.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:32 AM on February 11, 2022


Big skating fan here. Vox has a really good explainer about how this problem with one skater is actually a problem with the entire Russian system of training and coach Eteri Tutberidze in particular.

TL;DR: For years the Russian system has been chewing up young girls and spitting them out. One after another these girls (they're not women!) are starved and overtrained (and most likely doped) until they reach a top level, at which point they spend 12-18 months winning competitions before they're seriously injured and retire. It's an endless stream of kids who are exploited during a small window when they're strong+tiny and end up destroying their bodies.
posted by BlahLaLa at 12:24 PM on February 11, 2022 [7 favorites]


This opinion piece in the Washington Post also discusses the problems with the Tutberidze training regimen and the damage it can do. (In particular, it mentions shoddy technique such as pre-rotating jumps that can do long-term damage to developing bodies.)

Why the quad revolution in women’s figure skating is a tragedy

This isn't an inevitability of how the sport "has" to be, and there is an opportunity to change things for the better in the future. After all, it's not like the scoring rules have been delivered from on high and written on a stone tablet and can never be changed. I think of the ways in which women's artistic gymnastics has changed for the better over the last few decades. Not that it's perfect now, but the judging and scoring has evolved over the years in terms of the skills it values. A lot of people probably once thought of gymnastics the same way as they do about skating - that it's a sport for tiny young teenagers only, and the arrival of puberty is the first step to an early retirement. Changes in scoring and changes to training mean that we regularly see world-class athletes competing well into their twenties (and beyond, if you're Chusovitina!). Gymnastics has evolved back into a sport for adults, not just children. Skating needs to do the same if it's going to survive as a women's sport.

I don't know that I agree that only the very youngest/lightest women are capable of doing quads. I don't think we've yet seen a training program that prioritizes both strength and longevity and overall health rather than winning medals at every competition (although I'm sure there are individual coaches who try to do exactly that). I'm hoping that this latest indictment of abusive training practices will lead to scoring and judging changes that deprioritize the number of rotations an athlete is capable of in favor of the other skills that are part of the sport.
posted by Salieri at 2:21 PM on February 11, 2022 [5 favorites]


I read the Vox piece and a few others (including a hot take opinion on the WSJ if I recall) and what I don't like is this narrative that it's the structure or it's the exploitive training system that's the problem.

As a pro-structuralist, I absolutely agree that these things are exploitive and so forth. I watch the Olympics with the background knowledge of exploitation, of PED use, and a meat-grinder system generating athletes as a given. But you don't use the fact that structures or adults are bad to explain away a person's agency and responsibility to not cheat. Students in high school aren't supposed to cheat their way through exams, and it is serious matter if that happens. We don't explain that away by saying, well actually it's just a problem with the culture, or the parents, or the bad school system, so we only focus on fixing the culture, not the remedying the specific actions of the student. Both approaches are actually needed.
posted by polymodus at 2:44 PM on February 11, 2022 [1 favorite]


There's always so much pressure on athletes, especially in countries and programs where winning is so tied to nationalism and prestige, but I think one of the serious problems with child athletes is the huge power imbalance between them and their coaches and training program. In polymodus's metaphor, it's like being a kid at the only school in your country - an extremely prestigious school, what's more - where the teachers and principals can punish you and even kick you out for not cheating, and at the same time you're constantly told to trust them and that they have your best interests in mind.
posted by trig at 5:29 PM on February 11, 2022 [5 favorites]


Folks, if child athletes deserves a full FPP that is totally cool but I'd like to not have this thread become that FPP if at all possible.
posted by jessamyn at 5:56 PM on February 11, 2022 [3 favorites]


Back to the athletics...way to go Lindsey Jacobellis (36) and Nick Baumgartner (40) taking gold at the mixed team showboard cross event! It's great to see athletes who have amazing careers winning Olympic medals that had eluded them. Nick in particular seemed absolutely crushed to have not made it through his individual event and didn't expect to be in the team event, so this was a nice bit of redemption for him. It was so great to see the video of his family cheering him on from back home.

And a double gold for Lindsey! So stellar.
posted by Salieri at 9:25 PM on February 11, 2022 [5 favorites]


See, while I don't necessarily mind the international coverage, I wish a _little_ bit more effort was put into it - trim out some of the dead time, put some effort into putting up a leaderboard, etc. Instead you're just sort of in this weird competitive liminal space where occasionally things are happening, but you don't know who's winning unless if you're keeping notes yourself. Feh.

And while I like Peacock's access, I can't figure out why I can watch some previously concluded events and can't watch others. Harumph.
posted by Kyol at 6:49 AM on February 14, 2022


Erin Jackson becomes first U.S. black woman to win a speedskating medal!
posted by praemunire at 7:46 AM on February 14, 2022 [4 favorites]


Students in high school aren't supposed to cheat their way through exams, and it is serious matter if that happens. We don't explain that away

I would compare this to the cheating scandal in Atlanta where teachers were reading the answers to students from the front of the class.

Correct me if I’m wrong but if she medals, isn’t that kind of worse case scenario for the sport? Whether the medal is removed later or not?
posted by bq at 8:17 AM on February 16, 2022 [1 favorite]


Karen Chen's mom sews her competition dresses for her! I can't even imagine!
posted by praemunire at 10:18 AM on February 16, 2022 [3 favorites]


And Karen Chen is reliably the best-dressed woman on the ice. Go Hsiu-Hui Tseng! (And I wish she'd take over costuming Nathan-no-relation...)
posted by humbug at 2:10 PM on February 16, 2022 [2 favorites]


I had planned to do a fpp on the best rivalry in sports, the women's hockey rivalry between Canada and the United States, on the occasion of the gold medal game.
It would have highlighted their different ways to the final (the US losing captain Brianna Decker in the first game and having a couple of close games or at least periods, Canada just lighting everyone else the fuck up) and their results in previous encounters (last 3 world championships and 2 Olympics finals all went to overtime) and the round robin game between the teams (Canada won, but the US looked dominant especially at even strength). Unfortunately, I had to do work instead.
Anyways, I'm super looking forward to the game. The Athletic has had good profiles of Canadians Erin Ambrose (last player cut in 2018, had a crisis of self doubt, now quarterbacks the power play) and Sarah Fillier (a mere 21, making her Olympic debut with two goals in her first game and 8 in the tournament so far - the next generation arriving).
Ps: Go Canada 🍁 🏒 🥇
posted by Superilla at 5:57 PM on February 16, 2022 [4 favorites]


gooooooooooooooooooooo Canada
posted by clawsoon at 8:13 PM on February 16, 2022


gooooooooooooooooooal
posted by clawsoon at 8:20 PM on February 16, 2022


Oooooooooofffffffsides. :(
posted by Superilla at 8:22 PM on February 16, 2022


no goal. :(
posted by clawsoon at 8:22 PM on February 16, 2022


goooooooooooooooal
posted by clawsoon at 8:24 PM on February 16, 2022


[fingers crossed fingers crossed]
posted by clawsoon at 8:24 PM on February 16, 2022


I'm not a hockey person, but after watching the last Canadian women's game, I'm here for this because it's exciting.

BOOM.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:36 PM on February 16, 2022


2-0 CAN and the US took a penalty.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:39 PM on February 16, 2022


I'm not sure if Canada is playing better or USA is playing worse than in their round-robin game, but so far the number of near heart attacks is lower.
posted by clawsoon at 8:44 PM on February 16, 2022


I like to imagine that the Chinese actually installed a pipe organ and hired an organist for these games.
posted by clawsoon at 9:12 PM on February 16, 2022 [3 favorites]


Holy Toledo. Off the goalie's skate from behind.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:15 PM on February 16, 2022 [1 favorite]


First penalty for Canada... feels like they've been a lot more disciplined penalty-wise this game than they were in the round-robin game, too.
posted by clawsoon at 9:19 PM on February 16, 2022


I was going to sya that the US still hasn't sorted their special teams when Hilary Knight got that lovely short-handed goal. Nervy now, although the US can still get one more and Marie-Philip Poulin will still have three gold medal winning goals. Knock wood.
posted by Superilla at 9:49 PM on February 16, 2022


Canada getting a leeeetle relaxed...
posted by clawsoon at 9:58 PM on February 16, 2022


Desbiens est bien!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:58 PM on February 16, 2022


(Or tired. Either way, letting the Americans get some dangerous chances. Not jumping on the puck as quickly as they were in the first.)
posted by clawsoon at 9:59 PM on February 16, 2022


SO STRESSFUL.
posted by Superilla at 10:18 PM on February 16, 2022


Nothing like making the last minute of the game as interesting as possible...
posted by clawsoon at 10:19 PM on February 16, 2022


Dang.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:22 PM on February 16, 2022


woooooooooooo!
posted by clawsoon at 10:24 PM on February 16, 2022 [1 favorite]


A good game and a great win! 🍁🇨🇦🏒🥇🥇🥇🥇
posted by Superilla at 10:26 PM on February 16, 2022 [3 favorites]


Twice this week now I have stayed up late to watch a really good hockey game … but not such a good finish if you are an American. The Slovak team really earned their win against the US men. I had hope through the end of the 3rd but when it went to overtime it seemed the momentum was with the Slovaks. US women? That game hurt. Canada’s penalty kill was just brutally efficient, they kept trapping the US against the boards on zone entry, and it was pretty clear to me that dump and chase was just burning clock time with no production. Missed open net chance early in the first and two off the post later in the game, so close but just too much in the hole to catch up by end of regulation. Hats off to Canada, and let’s get more women's teams in college hockey … hockey is for everyone!
posted by caution live frogs at 5:31 AM on February 17, 2022 [1 favorite]


There were times in the tournament (though not most of the final game) when it seemed like the Americans were better than the Canadians at everything - possession, shots, passing, discipline, speed, battling in the corners, creating turnovers - everything except for putting the puck in the back of the net. We were just really good at scoring goals.

Top point-getter (and new record setter) for Canada, Sarah Nurse, is the first Black woman to play hockey for Canada at the Olympics.
posted by clawsoon at 6:06 AM on February 17, 2022 [1 favorite]


Bronze for Kaori Sakamoto! Oh, I'm thrilled; she's a wonderful skater.
posted by humbug at 6:23 AM on February 17, 2022 [5 favorites]


The USA/Great Britain mens curling semifinal was so harrowing! That was a great match.

I watched the last few skaters in the women's free skate twice -- first without the commentary and then with. The Kamila Valieva stuff is a mess but I just felt so bad for her. She clearly got in her head and just couldn't recover. However, I'm glad she didn't medal.

But all of that was such a trainwreck. Watching Alexandra Trusova have a meltdown & Anna Shcherbakova standing around looking lost and lonely was just so harrowing. I actually don't blame Trusova for how she was feeling -- I liked her free skate and yeah, she could be more artistic, but I just think she's felt so much pressure to be artistic. Shcherbakova is great but I feel like she's been so overlooked, too.

Which is the state of women's figure skating in Russia. Or, excuse me, the ROC.

I think Russia just needs to be completely banned from the Olympics. I think all they've learned is that they can dope 15-year-olds and get away with it (and I really worry for Valieva's future).

I think Eteri Tutberidze needs to be investigated and banned from the sport. That will never happen.

I used to really love women's figure skating but I've gravitated more toward the men's now. I think tonight is a good illustration of why.

But great for Sakamoto! Her performance was strong and gorgeous and she didn't deserve to be adjacent to all that drama.
posted by edencosmic at 4:55 PM on February 17, 2022 [9 favorites]


I missed the event, but just read this article about it: 'I hate this sport': Tears, anger accompany medals for Russian figure skaters
As Valieva placed fourth and left in tears, she received a message of support from 2018 silver medallist Evgenia Medvedeva.

"I am so happy that this hell is over for you," Medvedeva posted on Instagram. "I really value you and love you and I'm happy that you can relax now, little kitten. I congratulate you on the end of the Olympics and I hope that you can live calmly and breathe."
posted by clawsoon at 5:55 PM on February 17, 2022 [3 favorites]


Katarina Witt on the situation

Beyond the obvious culprits, it's hard not to be disgusted with the IOC.
posted by rhizome at 9:41 PM on February 17, 2022 [2 favorites]


Almost three hours after I watched it, I'm still stunned by the aftermath of the women's long program. I inadvertently had seen beforehand that Valieva didn't medal, but the scene that edencosmic described so well was like something from Hieronymus Bosch. I'd like to think that this was so bad that even the legendarily corrupt IOC will see the need to change.
posted by lukemeister at 10:21 PM on February 17, 2022 [3 favorites]


I feel so bad for all the Russian girls (and they are girls).
posted by praemunire at 7:28 AM on February 18, 2022 [1 favorite]


That Katarina Witt tweet is gone. What was the jist?
posted by cooker girl at 7:44 AM on February 18, 2022


She was basically bursting into tears on live TV (to the point that she started to ask the camera to cut away) talking about how cruel it was to put Valieva, a fifteen-year-old, in that position.
posted by praemunire at 8:56 AM on February 18, 2022


Yeah, she was saying that adults had failed Valieva, that her team should go to jail, that she wished her parents had removed her from the sport a few months ago, that she felt there was political pressure involved, and that Valieva had been placed in a no-win situation, broken, and turned into a shadow of herself.

Some of the coverage mentions that Thomas Bach, president of the IOC, was saying very similar things. This article has a decent description both of that and of the many ironies involved in hearing that from him of all people.

I think Eteri Tutberidze needs to be investigated and banned from the sport. That will never happen.

Whatever she is, she's not a politician. The fact that when Valieva came off the ice she was immediately greeted not with a hug but with a "why did you do that, explain it to me" seems to have given a lot of people (like Bach) something to focus on.
posted by trig at 9:37 AM on February 18, 2022 [1 favorite]


Trusova's "You knew everything!" feels like it has a lot to unpack.
posted by clawsoon at 12:31 PM on February 18, 2022 [3 favorites]


The GB/Sweden women’s curling semifinal was fantastic. So much back and forth, concluding with two of the most amazing end-concluding throws you’ll ever see. GB’s throw in the 9th end, and Sweden’s throw in the 10th which pushed the game into an 11th end. The 11th end was kind of anti-climactic, with GB having the hammer and both teams playing a game of set-a-guard/clear-a-guard.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:54 AM on February 19, 2022 [1 favorite]


A few words in praise of Wenjing Sui and Cong Han, who after getting eeked out of the gold in PyeongChang, won it over some extremely tough competition by dint of a remarkable quadruple twist (which no other pair did; there were a few embellished triple twists but that's it) and a strategically higher-base-value death spiral edge with (I may say) a very cool free-leg position for her... and, of course, their trademark grace and commitment.

If you watch them on the ice just after their free skate, I'm fairly sure they'd convinced themselves they lost, largely due to a side-by-side jump error. (I don't think they saw that Tarasova/Morozov had left a lot of grade-of-execution points on the table throughout their skate.) I'm very glad they didn't lose.

If you missed the gala, try to catch Keegan Messing (who has demonstrated impeccable sportsmanship throughout) being more Canadian than Canada. It's a short number but it's indescribably Keegan.
posted by humbug at 2:01 PM on February 20, 2022 [1 favorite]


This closing ceremony speech by the IOC prez is weird and feels like it's a face-saving exercise.
posted by rhizome at 6:58 PM on February 20, 2022 [2 favorites]


If you missed the gala, try to catch Keegan Messing (who has demonstrated impeccable sportsmanship throughout) being more Canadian than Canada.

As far as skating goes, I've only followed Hanyu up until this year, and I found Keegan Messing so charming! Even more so during the gala, with the lumberjacky getup, his backflip with Nathan Chen, and helping up the mascot.
posted by Recliner of Rage at 2:11 PM on February 21, 2022 [1 favorite]


He was so fucking Canadian it made my teeth hurt
posted by bq at 6:59 PM on February 21, 2022 [2 favorites]


I've been trying to figure out whether the final decision has been made about the Russian team figure skating medal. No luck so far. Any idea when that decision is supposed to happen? Has it happened already?
posted by clawsoon at 7:14 PM on March 1, 2022


« Older Peacemaker: Murn After Reading...   |  Resident Alien: The Wire... Newer »

You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments