For figure skating fans

[juppiter]

I am excited for Sochi. I need to start getting back into this. I just wiki'd it and saw Queen Yuna won Worlds 2013. Would love to see her become the first woman since Katarina Witt to defend her title at the Olympics.

Edited March 26, 2013 by juppiter

[MissLlanviewPA]

There's really nowhere else to post these. The E! True Hollywood Story of Tonya Harding from 1999, the GSN episode of Anything to Win on her life in 2006, and her interview with Oprah in 2009.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC6SZTW4JkM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asB_rf2UCmA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6amTGmrBpA

[MissLlanviewPA]

Tonya on the Today Show in 2008.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFsuLK0AhDU

[juppiter]

Tonya <3

I love candles in the wind, and she's a textbook example of one.

[MissLlanviewPA]

A 60 Minutes piece on Tonya in 1994:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0rd9RYZ4jY\

and a local piece on her in Portland (OR) in 1993:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0rd9RYZ4jY

Edited April 4, 2013 by MissLlanviewPA

[MissLlanviewPA]

Sharp Edges is a documentary by filmmaker Sandra Luckow, who followed 15 year old Tonya Harding to her first Nationals in 1986.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GhzZOlP7MA

[VirginiaHamilton]

Speaking of Tonya Harding, a doc of the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding brouhaha is in the works: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nancy-kerrigan-tonya-harding-documentary-594415

While I'm no figure skating (or sports) fan, I'll watch this to relive the fuckery that captured my attention in the 7th grade.

[jcar03]

Olympics are coming! They are adding a team element to this years skating competition. Each eligible country selects one man, woman, pair and ice dancing team to compete in a short and long program. So skaters could win more than one medal at this years Olympics.

[juppiter]

There was a big controversy this year as Ashley Wagner failed to make the top 3 at US Nationals and was awarded a spot at the olympics anyway. A lot of people think it was racist since Mirai Nagasu placed 3rd but is not being sent.

I am not sure what to think, but I hate that Ashley has gotten so much hate when she was not the one who made the decision. Poor girl had to shut down all her social media.

[jcar03]

It's not the first time this happened. It happened in 1994 to Michelle Kwan who placed 2nd at nationals but Nancy Kerrigan was sent instead (obviously beyond Nancy's control). In 2006, it was Emily Hughes who placed third and was initially passed over for Michelle Kwan who would later withdrawal just before the games and Emily did compete. Honestly, I enjoyed Mirai skating but she is very inconsistent and Ashley's has a slightly more proven track record.

[jcar03]

Russia is guaranteed at least a silver medal in the team competition.

[I Am A Swede]

Adelina Sotnikova just became historic as the first Russian woman ever to win the olympic gold medal.

Personally I think Yuna Kim's program was more beautiful, but the Russian apparently had a higher technical score.

[lovely_m]

Even with the higher technical content, there is no way she should have won; She really should have been in third.

[BetterForgotten]

She was overlooked by her own country too, despite having a pretty decent trackrecord.

[juppiter]

Agreed. Outskated by not only Yuna Kim, but also Carolina Kostner (who would have been happy with any medal, and I am thrilled for her).

Yuna Kim will always be the real winner in my heart. But the judges decided they wanted the "upset" storyline, so that is what happened, whether deserved or not.

Of course the real highlight of this Free Skate was Mao Asada. Best performance of the night, and one of the most legendary of all time. She knew she had no chance at a medal and she still did the best free skate of her career. Just heartbreaking.

Edited February 21, 2014 by juppiter