From a logistical standpoint, I understand why spacing Grand Prix events out would be easier for skaters and organizers, but from a fan perspective, it was nice knowing the competition was coming at the end of each week, rather than remembering a schedule. 🤔

The salchow is the worst triple, unless it’s part of a 3S-3Lo combo, which is the most visually pleasing of the triple-triple combos (but sadly rarely used). Which is to say, I’m filled with contradictions. #figureskating

Interestingly (given recent discourse), Rika Kihira discussed trying out the two different salchow techniques in an interview in 2018. Full article here (Japanese): sports.yahoo.co.jp/column/detai...

I don’t know, man, did Daisuke Takahashi struggle with lifts because he’s not very tall, or did he struggle with lifts because he started competing in ice dance in his mid-thirties?

What are the chances Japan can, through a mix of politicking and improved performance, get to more than one ice dance spot by 2030? Low, right? …How many ID splits/retirements are the other countries looking at? 😩

It’s interesting—Marin and Shoma are two very talented skaters who I’d assumed were both probably very happy to leave competition behind them, but it must feel different when you’re not going it alone! The Japanese ice dance field continues to… escalate quickly. 😳

Marin Honda and Shoma Uno have officially announced their intention to return to competition as an ice dance team, aiming for the Olympics. FYI, they post practice clips here: www.instagram.com/shomarin_mem... news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/b3d...

Quan Ye, hear me out: Moa Iwano (This is just my own far-fetched fantasy, not a hint at legitimate info, to be clear. 😘) #figureskating

To come back from 5th to win is amazing… to come back from 5th to win by an almost 10-point margin is pretty bad ass!

Nagaoka/Moriguchi’s DNQ here will just make it all the more impressive when they win gold in 2030. I’ll not be considering other possibilities at this time, thank you. 😌

Are these Olympics knocking down the gold medal favorites in other sports, or is it just figure skating?

A smaller-fed skater came from behind with a program featuring a 3A1Eu4S to win gold against all predictions! Media: “But the predicted winner, a grown man and experienced competitor, did NOT throw a tantrum upon losing! So who’s the REAL hero of the day?? #Inspiration” 🙄

“The competition was on Friday the 13th! So it was bad luck!” 🤨 I mean, not if you’re Mikhail Shaidorov. Or Shun Sato. They skated great frees under huge pressure to earn their medals. (I’d say the outcome is still fairly disappointing for Yuma, but certainly not bad.)

Spicy take? 🫣 Yes, congratulating the winner after a devastating skate is good sportsmanship, but it’s also a pretty standard gesture, given the proximity of the K&C to the leaders’ area. It’s a nice, classy moment, but not a “heartwarming, prince among men!!” thing to me…

Not trying to be mean, but I’ve been skeptical of how a certain skater’s team has been managing his image for a while… Not the skater’s fault, but on a bad day, the branding can really bite you on the butt and make things look even worse. Maybe reconsider that part of the team?

I think Yuma’s more excited for Shun than he is for himself!

Thank you to my baby for waking me up at 5:30 am so I could watch the final group of men, because if I’d woken up to these results, I’d have thought I was still asleep.

Shaidorov really recovered his mojo at just the right moment!

ISU: Remember that thing that happened at an event that was NOT the Olympics but resembled something that DID happen at the Olympics?? 😀 Remember that?? The thing we can show you??

Got to be awkward sitting in the leader’s chair knowing you’ve just secured an Olympic medal but not wanting to look elated when your competitor has just flopped…

I remember when Jun was 15 (?) and was first skater out in the short at home Olympics (did great)—time flies! (Or maybe not when you do as many competitions as him.)

Riku and Ryuichi coming in clutch! Great news for Team Japan. #milanocortina

I’m still recovering from the heat attack I had watching the Georgian team’s lift. 🫣

Almost every ice dance team in this competition look like they could be characters in Blades of Glory—ISU, why have you done this discipline so dirty??? 😭

Am I getting old? I’m not sure I can get behind straight-up booty shorts on the ice. 🤔 Then again, it’s no more than you see when a skirt blows up, so…? 🤷‍♀️

Enjoying what might be the only Olympic skating that I can see live this time. Middle of the night competition viewing just doesn’t work out the same with an eleven-month-old at home! 😭

It would be very nice if the men’s programs could go this well at the Olympics too! #4CCfigure

If retired athletes giving color commentary are held to the same conflict of interest standards as journalists, how can anyone whose former coaches, rivals, or training mates are in the sport be allowed to commentate? BTW, Johnny Weir commentated on a tribute program to himself!

If the USFS sends the men’s podium to the Olympics (and they very well might), the Russian skating media is going to be extra insufferable, isn’t it?

Ice dance at a domestic event? The judges can find all kinds of ways to cook those scores if they want to. …Emphasis on the “if they want to.” 😶

Honestly, I’m more curious to hear the 4CC and WC assignments (especially WC first alternates) at this point, since OG spots have become pretty obvious based on the nationals placements. #JPNnationals

Good recovery by Mao Shimada after the 4T attempt fall (for a moment I was afraid she’d hurt her arm). It must feel a little strange to be fighting for gold at pre-OG Nationals when you’re not eligible to go. #JPNnationals

Happy to see Mone bounce back from the free skate at the GPF!

Rinka Watanabe showed a huge amount of grit here! #JPNnationals

Yuna! 😭🌟 It’s bittersweet, but I’m glad she had her late-career moment in the sun after injuries and setbacks. #JPNnationals

Wakaba putting up an amazing fight! 😭🌟 #JPNnationals

Mai Mihara in her final nationals skate! 😭

Japan’s team event lineup isn’t as clear as in past years—they previously split men and women, since they only had one spot each in pairs and dance. But this time they could potentially use one of the splits for pairs. I’m guessing they’ll still split singles, but not 100%.🤔

The Olympic team isn’t announced until tomorrow, but I think it’s clear that the former Kanto trio will almost certainly be the ones. #JapanNationals

Tatsuya Tsuboi has announced he is retiring after this season. This will leave only Saki Miyake among the current Sysmex skaters, as teammates Kaori Sakamoto and Mai Mihara are also retiring. hochi.news/articles/202...

I’m glad to see the junior ice dance teams have the opportunity to skate in front of the senior nationals audience. …Don’t think it makes up for the federation not using all their available ice dance spots on the junior Grand Prix, though (I don’t know what was up with that…).

Although there’s little intrigue regarding the Olympic spots, I’m still nearly as excited for the ice dance and pairs competitions at Japanese nationals, because I want to see all the newer teams’ progress! RD and pairs SP are today.

I’m afraid whatever fairly slim chance Rion had at an OG spot has gone… An evening full of heartbreaks!

Ok, I’m regretting that I wasn’t willing to deal with the childcare logistics necessary to attend Nationals this year… but maybe I’d have gotten too emotional anyway! #JPNnats

Go, Wakaba, go!

Rinka Watanabe is really bringing the fight this season! 💪 #JPNnats

Oh, dear. Absolute disaster for Hana Yoshida. 😓

Mayuko Oka! 🤩 She’s really emerging as the total package! #JPNnats

I’m much less bothered by jump errors than I am by watching guys just hemorrhaging points on spins, like… come on…. #JPNnats

Lots of ups and downs in the first three groups of men—Shuntaro Asaga turning his popped lutz into a double-triple combo was pretty clutch. I am hoping we’ll see a big jump in the scores for the last two groups, as we still have no one in the 80s or higher. #JPNnats