Tag: Figure Skating

What’s next for figure skating after the Kamila Valieva positive drug test scandal

Figure skating is no stranger to scandal. Russian Kamila Valieva’s positive drug test is just the latest. What does figure skating need to do to recover from this?

Figure skating is no stranger to scandal. Russian Kamila Valieva’s positive drug test is just the latest. What does figure skating need to do to recover from this?

US medals in freeski slopestyle; Controversial women’s figure skating wraps up Thursday

U.S. extends medal steak in freeski slopestyle. Thursday has USA vs. Canada in gold medal women’s hockey match. Women’s figure skating also wraps up.

U.S. extends medal steak in freeski slopestyle. Thursday has USA vs. Canada in gold medal women’s hockey match. Women’s figure skating also wraps up.

Kaillie Humphries wins historic medal; Women’s figure skating begins Tuesday

U.S. wins slew of medals Monday. Women’s figure skating begins Tuesday featuring Americans Mariah Bell, Karen Chen as well as Russia’s Kamila Valieva.

U.S. wins slew of medals Monday. Women’s figure skating begins Tuesday featuring Americans Mariah Bell, Karen Chen as well as Russia’s Kamila Valieva.

Figure skater Jason Brown is emotional talking about how his parents have supported him

In his post-competition press conference, American figure skater Jason Brown talks about the positive impact his parents have on him.

In his post-competition press conference, American figure skater Jason Brown talks about the positive impact his parents have on him.

7 questions with Team USA Winter Olympians, including what winter sport they’d be terrified to try

Get to know some of Team USA’s athletes at the Beijing Olympics a little better with these fun and quirky questions.

Every four years, the spotlight shines brightly on Winter Olympians, as they become the sports world’s focus for a few weeks.

So ahead of the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, For The Win asked several Team USA athletes from different Winter Olympic sports the same questions to help fans get to know them a little better.

Talking to figure skaters Karen Chen and Mariah Bell, freestyle skiers Winter Vinecki and Colby Stevenson, curler Tabitha Peterson, speedskater Erin Jackson and biathlete Jake Brown, we asked about how they train, what they eat and what other winter sports they’d want to try (or be terrified of attempting).

These answers have been condensed and edited for clarity.

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American ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates had the most delightfully weird Olympic team free dance

Madison Chock and Evan Bates are out of this world!

You’ve never seen an ice dancing routine like this.

On Sunday night, the final events of the figure skating Team Event at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing were in full swing. Heading into the Ice Dance Free Skate, Team USA was sitting in third place behind Japan in a battle for silver. That was, until, Madison Chock and Evan Bates took to the ice for the United States in the free dance.

And folks, their routine was out of this world. Literally.

Eschewing typical figure skating norms of dancing to classical music or covers of pop songs, Chock and Bates went full outer space with an incredibly theatrical routine set to a Daft Punk medley. Even more weird — but awesome — is that in the routine, Bates is playing an astronaut and Chock… an alien.

Seriously, it was something to see.

So good! And this lift as the music swells? Just phenomenal.

Look at how happy they are after placing first too!!

It’s a performance that helped Team USA win silver in the Team Event, but we’re so looking forward to what these two can do in the individual event later in the Olympics.

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US gets first medal; Mikaela Shiffrin makes Beijing debut, figure skating medal Monday

Julia Marino won the first medal of the Beijing Games for the U.S. Monday will feature the medal for the figure skating team event.

Julia Marino won the first medal of the Beijing Games for the U.S. Monday will feature the medal for the figure skating team event.

Leslie Jones is back with incredible NSFW reactions to Winter Olympics amazingness

The best Olympic tradition, Leslie Jones’ reactions, is back for the 2022 Games.

Warning: This post contains NSFW language.

The Olympics are built on tradition. Whether it’s the parade of nations, the emotional medal ceremonies at the podium or the staple events, everyone has something they look forward to when the Games come around every two years (usually).

But one of the greatest of all these traditions, at least in recent years, comes from comedian Leslie Jones, who is back with her real-time Olympics reactions for the 2022 Beijing Games.

The former Saturday Night Live star went viral back in 2016 during the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro when she live-tweeted the events and provided her own incredible (though usually NSFW) commentary to some of the Games’ wildest moments.

Her reactions were so popular that word reached NBC, who decided to fly her to Brazil to assist with coverage —albeit it in a more FCC-friendly fashion. She did the same in 2018 in Pyeongchang, and she live-tweeted last Summer Games in Tokyo.

With Jones’ iconic commentary making its return for this year’s Winter Olympics, here are some of the best (and more publishable) reactions so far.

Warning: Many of these are still fairly NSFW, proceed with caution.

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Olympic figure skating short program vs. free skate: What’s the difference?

With four years between Winter Olympics, you may need a reminder of how some sports, like figure skating, work.

Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing are here! And, after four years, that means you may need or want a reminder about how some winter sports, like figure skating, work. That’s OK because we’re here to help.

Figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics begins Friday, Feb. 4 and, with so many different events, it runs through the entirety of the Games in Beijing.

There are five different medal events at the Olympics: men’s singles, women’s singles, pairs, ice dance and the team competition. And within each event, there are at least two portions.

Singles and pairs events each have a short program and a free skate, while the ice dance has a short dance and a free dance. For the team competition, there are eight portions with a short program/dance and a free skate/dance for each discipline.

But as your eyes are glued to the screen watching these athletes accomplish unbelievable moves on the ice, you might be wondering what exactly the difference is between figure skating’s short program and free skate. Let’s break it down.

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