Sochi 2014: Opining on the Ladies Event- The Good, The Bad, and Mao Asada

What an emotionally draining two weeks this has been! I don't know about you, but the Sochi Winter Games has taken me to all different emotional highs and lows- especially the last 48 hours. Let's just get to it okay? There's so much to talk about and I'm on an Asada-induced nirvana that I just want to plough through this crap. And believe me, there is a ton and a half of bullshit to get through, and this is going to be a LONG post.

Let's begin with, OBVIOUSLY, the ultimate Champion of the Games (yes, with a capital C)- Japan's Mao Asada. On Wednesday night, Mao Asada went into the short program as a major gold medal contender. However, the next two and a half minutes were to be the worst  of her skating career. She fell on a downgraded triple axel, underrotated a triple flip, and nulled a planned triple loop combination. It was just *BAM*. Silence fell, not only in the Iceberg Palace, but also in the Ventura household. Four years after losing to Kim, Asada found herself in 16th place. 

All of the sudden, all that hard work- all the pain of relearning her jumps, losing her mother, the success since Vancouver- it all came to nothing. She held it all in at the Kiss and Cry, and when the night finished, Asada lost any hope of ever medalling at Sochi. 

Today however, was a different story. 

Skating to Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto 2, Mao went into the free skate with no pressure, no tension, no nothing- and boy did it pay off. She landed EIGHT triples (and yes, ALL the triple jumps) including her signature triple axel and a triple flip-triple loop! She breezed through her programme with grace, maturity, and performed like the CHAMPION that she is. She got a couple of URs, but even so- she received a personal best of 142.71, and realised her dream of skating the perfect performance at the Olympics. The breakdown of emotion after her final element was just so moving, that nothing else mattered. We'll get to the scores in a minute, but for now- let's all pay our respects to the great Mao Asada, who performed with incredible grace under pressure and did her country proud, despite what any Japanese ex-PM thinks (shame on you Yoshiro Mori!.) There are moments in life when all the method, all the scores, the numbers, the politicking, the stakes, and all rationalisation go out the window- and this was one of those moments. Those four minutes will stand as a momentous event in the history of figure skating. 

Moving forward....here are my thoughts on the rest of the competition (I know... had to sit through two more groups!)

THE GOOD

CAROLINA KOSTER (ITA) finally medalled at an Olympic Games! Third time really was the charm for this statuesque Italian. She broke her unlucky streak by skating two clean programs, and just exuded so much artistry and grace- she really should have won the Gold medal. In fact, I am baffled at how the judges stomached giving her an 8.71 in Transitions? Yes, she is technically inferior to the rest of the field but if there was one thing she could rely on, it was her second mark, which remained in the mid- to low-9s! What the hell? In any case, apart from Mao- Carolina was the only other skater who skated like a star tonight- full of personality, gumption and pure joy. If she was to retire today, her performance at Sochi was nothing short of a spectacular swan song. 

GRACIE GOLD (USA) again proved that her move to Frank Carroll was the best thing she ever could have done to move her career forward. Despite the fall on the flip, her debut on the Olympic stage was impressive, and nearly as amazing at Mirai's in Vancouver. In all honesty, Gracie is not my cup of tea at all, but you have to give credit to the girl who managed to keep her nerve and look at the bigger picture. Gold now ensured that the US ladies still remain in the conversation of world podiums- and you never now. A gold medal for the US Golden Girl may very well be around the corner. Try saying 'gold' again.

ASHLEY WAGNER (USA), the Queen of figure skating memes comes out of Sochi at 7th place, the best placement she could have ever hoped for. However, good for her for leaving it all on the ice and really sticking her middle finger to her critics. She remained firm on her feet! Mirai would probably have never placed as high as Ashley, and so the gamble paid off in more ways than one. She probably doesn't have another Olympics in her but if she plans to continue- then she should stick with Rafael and make sure to get rid of those double-footed landings once and for all. 

THE BLAH

YU NA KIM (KOR), The Queen of figure skating won a silver medal here in Sochi, which really was more of a parting gift. Today she skated like a shadow of her Vancouver self- she was tentative, she was slow, she was uninspired and she was well below par of her World Record standard. However, despite all this- she still landed her gorgeous jumps and reminded the World that 'IT' doesn't just fade easily. She phoned in two programs, and lost the bid to join the ranks of Sonja Henie and Katarina Witt. 

THE REST OF THE FIELD- Was it just me or was this Olympics the worst ever? I don't remember much of Salt Lake City, and I can barely recall Torino, but compared to Vancouver- Sochi's Games lacked fire. The skaters were very uninspiring and the judging was very seedy. The rest of the field came out looking very mediocre indeed. Perhaps maybe a shout out to Kanako Murakami and Akiko Suzuki of Japan who did the best that they could, Zijun Li of China who showed tremendous promise, and Polina Edmunds of USA who came 9th at the Games in her senior debut.

THE BAD (Now, I'm not being mean here, nor biased against but...)

ADELINA SOTNIKOVA (RUS). WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. FUCK? She may have been great, technically- but in what world does Adelina-wave-at-the-audience-during-a-spiral beat Carolina Kostner's component scores and nearly catch Yu Na Kim's World Record (her total score tonight was 224.59- where did THAT come from?) She is unpolished, her choreography is next to ugly, and her skating skills are nowhere near as good as Mao Asada's. The judges awarded her with high 9s! I'm guessing that after the shocking defeat of the Russian hockey team- the federation just wanted to give Putin another gold medal just to keep their heads. Kudos to her for coming out of Julia's shadow (we'll get to that in a minute) but seriously! Adelina now sits as the first ever Russian lady figure skater to win an Olympic Gold, and ironically enough- she is the worst of them all. 
EDIT: I do want to say, it is the system that I don't agree with. Adelina skated cleanly twice, and that deserves recognition. However, I do not agree with her gold medal. 

YULIA LIPNITSKAYA (RUS) What a shame. I guess in the end, age proved to be Yulia/Julia's downfall. Perhaps the pressure was simply too much. She is after all only FIFTEEN. After being touted as the shining beacon of hope for Russian figure skating, Julia's star diminished as soon as it shot. She finished 5th here at Sochi, and not a bad placement for her- but she peaked too early at the Team Event. She fell in both of her programs, and the judges seemed eager to bring her back to earth- big time. What is it going to be for Julia? After failing to perform and losing her chance at gold, will she continue and try again? If puberty will be kind to her, she may very well have numerous World Championships and another Olympics in her, but that remains to be seen.

OVERALL, I feel like Mao Asada made the Games worth watching. Little girls will watch her free skate for many years and see that this is what the Olympic spirit is about. The ability to bounce back after a disaster, overcoming the mind games and just leaving everything out on the ice, makes Asada the real Champion of Sochi. She may not have medalled this time, but she has earned far more than she could have ever wished for. She skated the most difficult program with all the triples, including an Axel, a Lutz, a Flip a Salchow, a Toe, and a Loop (as she had intended to do so) and the spirit she gave cements her legacy as one of the greatest figure skaters of all time.