Go figure, American skaters take tumble
GANGNEUNG, South Korea — One by one, the best in American figure skating fell to the ice, their Olympic hopes dashed in the opening seconds of their short programs at the Pyeongchang Games.
It was emblematic of the state of U.S. figure skating.
Sure, Nathan Chen did rebound from a dismal short program to have the highest-scoring free skate in the men’s Olympic program. The Shibutani siblings, Maia and Alex, won ice dance bronze. The U.S. squad even managed to hold off Italy and Japan to win bronze in the team event.
But for the every-fouryear fan, figure skating begins and ends with the women, and there was no doubt during Wednesday’s short program that the U.S. has fallen well behind its rivals.
Bradie Tennell went down first. Mirai Nagasu went down later. And when Karen Chen hit the deck, the Americans were left with their worst short program showing in any Olympics.
Alina Zagitova won the competition, becoming the first Russian gold medalist at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
The 15-year-old Zagitova edged her friend and training partner Evgenia Medvedeva to end the gold drought for the Olympic Athletes from Russia.
Zagitova and Medvedeva tied in the free skate, a rare occurrence, but Zagitova had won the short program Wednesday, so she got gold.
Kaetlyn Osmond won bronze, giving Canada four overall medals Netherlands France OA Russia Austria Switzerland South Korea Japan Sweden Italy China Czech Republic Britain Finland Belarus Slovakia Australia Poland New Zealand Spain Hungary Ukraine Slovenia Kazakhstan Latvia Liechtenstein in figure skating.
But for the Americans, why did everything go wrong?
Where are this generation’s Peggy Fleming, Kristi Yamaguchi and Tara Lipinski?
Some would argue the decline began when Kwan, one of the most popular Olympians ever, began to withdraw from the competitive scene in the mid-2000s. The sport was left without a clear American face at a time when more extreme sports, such as snowboarding, were ballooning in popularity.
Many kids were choosing the snow over the ice, and a decade later, Chloe Kim is gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated with her gold medal from the women’s halfpipe.
“It’s tough to find that talent, that wants to dedicate themselves and challenge themselves to everyone in the world,” said Fleming, who won gold at the 1968 Grenoble Games. “It’s not for everyone.”
CURLING FOR GOLD: