Sui Wenjing (front) and Han Cong of China, short program
As I have said endlessly, I am OBSESSED with this short program. It is....SO good. They set a new world record with their score here (and they needed it, to win this thing). I also need to share that I read somewhere -- maybe Reddit? Maybe the New York Times?? Maybe the great figure-skating newsletter The General Anxieties of M? -- that Chinese social media calls them "Bucket of Scallion." Okay, I looked this up, it was the NYT, and they said: "On Weibo, the Chinese social media platform, Sui and Han are known collectively as Bucket of Scallion. The name dates to when they were teenagers, and Sui said her body was shaped like a barrel. Since Cong’s name sounds similar to the Mandarin word for scallion, fans put them together." She does not look like a barrel to me, but they are amazing together and I could watch this routine forever. (I am also entertained to know that Chinese social media calls Eteri Tutberidze "Instant Noodle Sister" because of her hair. (Reddit has a post about all of the Chinese nicknames for figure skaters that is very interesting. The comments are very good and interesting, too.)
Sui Wenjing (R) /Han Cong of China, free skate
They nailed a quad twist and they needed it, because she made the same tiny error on their side-by-side jumps that she made in the previous Olympics, which lost it for them, and then at the end of this, she SOBBED because she thought she lost it for them again? And then they sobbed when they won and I really thought she was going to pass out. EVERYONE was stressed (including me and also Tara and Johnny). I'm so happy for them; these routines are GORGEOUS. This one is to a medley of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and it is transfixing. They have a lift that made me exclaim aloud.
Evgenia Tarasova (L) /Vladimir Morozov of ROC, short program
I believe they are an Eteri-coached team, although there was a Jude Lawish guy with them in the kiss and cry after the long program. Anyway, this program starts with him lifting her as if she were a mannequin but it is sadly NOT a routine about the movie Mannequin. Despite this terrible oversight, it IS quite good.
Evgenia Tarasova (L) /Vladimir Morozov of ROC, free skate
This long program sort of put me in a trance but not in a really good way? But they're clearly beautiful skaters, and they also both cried at the end, which is really sweet. (They could NOT watch the scores come in at the end. I felt for them.)
Anastasia Mishina (R) and Aleksandr Galliamov of Russia, short program
I continue to really dislike this program. It is so corny and dated-feeling to me. Having said that, they're coached by FAMOUS coach Tamara Moskvina -- who is 80 -- and I wonder what she thinks of this entire doping scandal. (I suspect she is happy to stay out of this narrative, but I have heard she snubbed Eteri after the competition.)
Anastasia Mishina & Aleksandr Galliamov, free skate
They are the current World and European champs and they are technically excellent, obviously, but I find them bloodless and cheesy, and I realized during this long program that they hardly ever look each other in the eye. They feel SO disconnected from each other to me -- not like lovers or friends or even people who know one another. It honestly would be better if it felt like they hated each other. Tara compared their skate to going to a department store, and Johnny said they had no heart, so I feel like at least I'm not alone on this island.
Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii of Russia, short program
This was skated to "Swan Lake," so I guess they're the Black Swans. (My notes here just read, "he looks SNAZZY.) I also noticed that their post-routine bows took like considerably more time than anyone else's, which made me laugh.
Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii of Russia, free skate
Johnny said he felt this program felt a little forced, and I tend to agree. My notes said that it was a little messy and I thought that fourth seemed like a high placement for them, but I would be interested to hear from those of you who have more expertise than I. ( As of yet the IOC does not allowed random American dingdongs to have a role in scoring the Olympics.) I DO think her costume is gorgeous.
Peng Cheng (front) /Jin Yang of China, short program
I think this short program is SO good. Johnny said, "This team skates in a sweet whisper, but their tech elements are like fireworks," which is poetic. Their costumes are lovely.
Peng Cheng (L) /Jin Yang of China, free skate
And I love this routine.
Alexa Knierim (L) /Brandon Frazier of the United States, short program
They nailed this program in the team competition and they DID IT AGAIN! It was thrilling! (My one note was that I actually think he is a notably better skater than she is, which (a) might not be true and (b) which is unusual for me to think about the man in the pair.)
Alexa Knierim (L) /Brandon Frazier of the United States, free skate
Their long program is BEAUTIFUL, and I love their costumes. All of these skaters should be proud of themselves, but I am so delighted with Team USA.
Riku Miura & Ryuichi Kihara of Japan, short program
Let me just share my notes here, typos and all: "god please stop skating to Hallelujah but these lifts are insane and they're so pretty. I am a stan for the skaters of Japan." I stand by all of this! Team Japan is so great! They ARE so pretty and they have insane lifts! I DO need people to stop skating to Hallelujah!
Riku Miura & Ryuichi Kihara of Japan, free skate
I was only able to watch NBC's prime time broadcast of the long programs, so I did not see this one, but I assume they did well and continued to be stan-worthy!
Ashley Cain-Gribble (L) /Timothy Leduc of the United States, short program
These two are great! Timothy is the first openly non-binary athlete to compete in the Winter Olympics and uses they/them pronouns. They and Ashley have the greatest chemistry to me -- they clearly ADORE each other in a non-romantic way, and have just very good vibes together. The two of them also NAILED this skate, and got well over their personal best scores. I like that Timothy sort of looks like their costume is a salute to Steve Jobs.
Ashley Cain-Gribble (L) /Timothy Leduc of the United States, free skate
I also think that these costumes are very cool; Tara and Johnny said this team is trying to do performances that aren't designed to necessarily be romantic, and that is cool and creative. (There was a tweet going around during the team competition where someone was wondering why none of these routines are about friends who robbed a bank, and I support that.) She had a rough go, but we did learn during this program that Timothy's boyfriend is VERY cute and was wearing amazing red patent leather boots to watch this program.
Karina Safina and Luka Berulava, of Georgia, short program
I didn't see either of these skates but I learned in the team competition that I love Team Georgia and think they're great so I am going to continue to believe that, because I do not believe they skated around like giving people the finger the whole time or anything else off-putting. (Honestly, that might also be amazing, under the right circumstances.)
Karina Safina and Luka Berulava, of Georgia, free skate
This photo is amazing! How did they even do this?!
Kirsten Moore-Towers (L) /Michael Marinaro of Canada, short program
They are great, but HE fell when he threw her on one of the jumps and she also fell in the same jump, which is unusual. His body language at the end of this skate was very VERY very bummed.
Kirsten Moore-Towers (L) /Michael Marinaro of Canada, free skate
I like this trend of women wearing sparkly tiaras for these skates. Let's see more JEWELS in skating, please!