Figure Skating - Men's

Well, I guess I have to write something about the Men's Figure Skating event...  The short program day was far more interesting than the free program.  In the short programs, Yuzuru Hanyu set a world record, scoring over 101 points for his short program.  It was nearly flawless.

Patrick Chan also had a very good short program, with only a step-out on his triple axel that you could really complain about, and scored 97 points.  Unfortunately, that single element accounted for the entire difference in their scores (Hanyu got 11 points for his 3A and Chan only 7, after GOE taken into account).

The rest of the field just could not keep up.  However, only 3.5 points separated 3rd from 11th, setting up a dog fight for the bronze medal in the free program.

Jeremy Abbott of the US, took a horrendous fall on his first jump (a quad toe) and crashed hard into the ice, sliding into the boards.  He lay on the ice in obvious pain for several seconds.  I was sure he was going to have to withdraw, or go talk to the referee, but he got up, and picked up his program, and then skating brilliantly (under the circumstances).  I was very impressed.  True grit and courage were on display.

Abbot crashes hard to the ice in short

Today, during the free skate event, it seemed to me that everybody was skating very tight, and there were so many mistakes, it was almost like nobody wanted the bronze medal.  Dennis Ten, 9th after the short, had the best free skate among the bronze medal contenders and jumped all the way up to capture the medal.

The showdown between Hanyu and Chan was a big let down.  Neither had a very good skate.  Hanyu went first, and had two falls, leaving the door wide open for Chan.  Chan, however, was unable to capitalize and although he did not fall, he made small errors on many elements and ended up finishing 2nd.

Patrick Chan's free program

Daisuke Takahashi, who finished 5th at Japanese Nationals showed that they were correct in sending him to the Olympics, and finished a respectable 6th.  In what is probably his last Olympics, I thought it was a little ironic, and a little sad, that he skated to "Yesterday" by the Beatles.

Jason Brown of the USA, and in his first season as a Senior, looked like he had the most fun of anybody out there and skated his Riverdance routine to a top ten finish.  Very respectable!  Once he picks up a quad or two, he will be hard to stop.

Overall, I was disappointed today.  Not in Patrick, but that nobody really nailed their programs.  It was a very sloppy day, and not the way you want to see the Olympic Figure Skating gold awarded.