women's figure skating

tigger

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What are your thoughts on the Women's figure skating controversy? The Russians said they are going to protest, saying that Irina Slutskayaâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s should've deserved the Gold medal, too? According to MSNBC, the International Skating Federation turned down the Russians' protest. Now, I didn't watch it last night, but from video tapes, Sarah Hughes did a great job skating.

I don't think the Russians' deserved the gold medal in the pairs competion. The girl almost tripped when she landed. I'm glad the Canadians got their gold medal ..... they did deserve it.
 

sfell

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I am so happy for Sarah Hughes! She skated an awesome program that none of the other girls even came close to matching. She deserves that gold medal. I feel sorry for Michelle but last night she was very rigid and didn't show the emotion like she did in the short program, she just didn't do it. I'm kinda baffled by the Russian girl, I think the only reason she beat Michelle was because Michelle actually fell and she didn't. I don't know what the Russian have to complain about. Irina got lower presentation scores than she has in the past year but she deserved them. Her presentation was better in her short program than in the free skate. The judges were totally fair in this outcome.
 

alicat613

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Regarding the pairs, it was Canada's gold, all the way. They skated beautifully and energetically and were so much fun to watch. The Russians were boring and made mistakes. But there was some judging issues, and that's not the skaters' faults so I think they did the right thing in giving out two sets of golds.

But for the ladies skating, the Russians are trying to use the pairs decision as a precedent, thinking if they whine and make threats of leaving (which they rescinded after seeing it wouldn't work), they might get a gold for their girl too. The Russians need to relax. Hughes was absolutely phenomenal. She was the first woman (at 16!) to land those jump combinations in competition, her routine was by far the most difficult AND the most artistic, and she made no mistakes. That Russian girl was stiff, wobbly and dull. She didn't even deserve the silver, IMO. It should have been all three Americans. I think Cohen was awesome as well, too bad she (and so many others fell).
 

hissy

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No relaxation at all, she wanted the gold so badly she blew it. The Russian skater did not have the finese that Hughes showed, they concentrate more on technical than artistic and it showed. Sarah won it hands down, and I am thrilled for her. I loved her reaction when the cameraman clued her in that she won the gold! The Russians are being poor sports is all.
 

liman

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Sarah Hughes had a fantastic performace last night! She definitely earned the gold. As for the Russians, you can't win them all...and everyone needs to accept the judges decision. Besides her performance did not command a gold medal. I think the decision was fair.
 

imagyne

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I watched the competition last night, and while I only stayed up long enought o watch watch Sarah Hughes, I thought that she had the best performance I had ever seen. After seeing the tapes of the Russian, there is no way that she skated better than Hughes, and I dont see how the IOC will find that she did. As for Michelle, while I haven't seen her performance, I think she put too much pressure on herself after the 3rd in Nagano, to win the gold here.


*smiles*
Ken
 

cooie

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My son kept trying to engage me in conversation while Sarah Hughes was skating, and was getting very frustrated because my attention was wandering away. Finally I had to tell him, "You're going to have to wait. I have to watch this. This girl is phenomenal. She is so graceful and makes it look so effortless."

I was so happy that she won, and I certainly thought she deserved it hands down. I know nothing about iceskating, so I could be wrong, but her performance looked flawless to me. Not so the other two girls. They both either fell or nearly fell, and they both lacked grace and looked like they were working too hard at it.

Congratulations, Sarah!
 

jeanie g.

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I am a big Michelle Kwan fan, but her performances have not been consistent since she started college. I am a teacher, so I am certainly not suggesting she shouldn't get an education. College simply takes a great deal of time and dedication, as does figure skating. I was afraid Michelle would lose this one. The degree of difficulty just wasn't equal to Sarah's.

Irina is very athletic, and is well known for her jumps, but has never been considered as artistic as Michelle. Presentation is extremely important, more important than the technical marks, according to the commentators.

Sarah had it all together. Good for her. I am very disappointed for Michelle, but fair is fair. There has been too much favoritism and suspicion surrounding figure skating. It's about time it came to the attention of the officials. Bravo to the Canadian pair; the Russians were just not up to their usual excellence; the fall and, sadly, the rather boring program did them in. It's a shame that something like this had to happen to bring attention to a long-standing scandal.
 

dtolle

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I am also a Michelle Kwan fan, but I agree that Sarah Hughes skated better, cleaner, and a much more difficult program. Kudos to her, she did wonderfully.
I really felt for Michelle though. She looked so disappointed and sad, I could hardly keep from crying myself!
Even if she did not win though, she is a magnificent skater who has won a lot of hearts over the past decade. I hope she continues to skate, I enjoy watching her. And there is always the olympics of 2006, right???

Congrats to Sarah Hughes for a beautiful performance.
 

alicat613

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I too feel bad for Michelle, but she really needs to step it up!
One, she fired her coach a ways back, and I think she needs that support, not that I'm an expert. Even her exhibition skate was dull. She skated cleanly, but it wasn't interesting to watch or fun. Sarah Hughes skated twice spectacularly and the two pairs Gold winners were incredible. She just hasn't shown that level of skating in a while.
 

adymarie

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I think Sarah Hughes was lucky that she could go into the competetion without the kind of pressure Kwan had. Kwan was the gold medal fav & I think the stress was showing. She also went thru too many changes in the 6 mths prior to the event. She canged both her coach (who was with her for 9 years) and her choreographer. Supposedly her coach was released as he did not like all the time she was spending with her boyfrienf, a Florida Panther's hockey player. Hughes skated like she loves what she does & deserved the medal. The Russian are just sucking on sour grapes!
 
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