Thanks, @thumper1, I would have been surprised if they hadn’t mentioned it. I guess not everyone pays close attention to what the commentators say, which I can understand at times!
@ski_racer Why skaters don’t get dizzy …
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-don-t-figure-skaters-get-dizzy-when-they-spin/
It seems they started giving more points at the end because skaters were doing all the jumps at the beginning. Now, they’re doing them all at the end. Maybe a better solution would be to force them to complete a certain number in the first half and a certain number in the second half.
I like Zagitova - she is quite a little spitfire. But, both of her programs were basically the same, using the ballet theme to cover up her lack of artistry. I much prefer Medvedeva. Actually, I like Maria Sotskova (sp?) best - she looks so graceful just gliding across the ice effortlessly.
It’s a fair bonus to give jumps in the second half when your legs are tired. Zagitova has much more zippy jumps than Medvedeva. I think being able to throw all the jumps at the end, with that kind of lightness is incredible.
Wonder how they get along outside of the rink?
I’d bet they were best friends until Alina started winning - they share the same coaching team, same ice and one is 3 yrs junior. That’s all great until the shift occurs and the master is behind the younger one.
Jessie Diggins has been picked to carry the US flag in the closing ceremonies. So proud of her!
Great choice!
@amandakayak - from what I read, there is a new crop of skaters being trained by the same coach that are too young to compete in the “big league” yet. So it is not just these two…
Jessie’s various reactions have been totally priceless. When she crossed the line in 1st in the relay. When they interviewed her afterwards (talking about being happy it was a team gold because of how much she loves her team). Today on the Today Show talking about being humbled by being selected to carry the flag in the closing ceremony with a look of total joy on her face. Wonderful Olympics for her and very bright future going forward.
Well, for a sport like nordic, this is all the attention they will get for 4 years. So I’m sure she is soaking it in! She is on Twitter, Instagram, and FB, of course, if anyone wants to follow her.
Z did NOT beat M in the free skate. It was a tie. Zagitova won because M messed up a bit in the short program. There is nothing unfair in that.
Ice skating is like gymnastics in that part of the scoring how difficult the moves you attempt are. The rule is that you get a 10% bonus for jumps in the second half. Z took advantage of that. You can say it’s a silly rule, but it’s not unfair. Everyone knows the rule. In theory “everyone” could do it. Reality is that most skaters are too tired to do it.
If jumps didn’t matter Karolina Costner (sp?) should have won a medal. But they DO matter. Z’s possible point total was higher than M’s possible point total because she did more difficult jumps and did them in the second half. M came closer to the highest score possible with the program she skated than A came to her highest score possible. They tied.
The short skate decided it.
The scoring is more transparent and fair than it was back in the 70s/80s.
I agree the scoring is fair because everyone knows the rules. Not doing much the first 2 minutes or so is basically another warm-up if you happen to be one of the last skaters, so I don’t agree that putting ALL of the jumps at the end makes a skater any more tired if they aren’t exerting any energy for 2 minutes.
I just think that all it did was turn a potentially boring second-half skate into a boring first-half skate.
Oh no, Canada. Germany’s Marco Sturm outcoached the Canadian hockey coach, and now the Germans will play for the gold medal and the Canadians won’t.
I agree with tutumom2001. The reason that there is a bonus for jumps in the second half of the program is that the skaters are presumably more tired then. But if the first half is practically tantamount to a warm-up, that doesn’t hold.
In my view, there was a great differential in the quality of the programs skated by Medvedeva and Zagitova in the long program. I think that the component of the score that is tied to aesthetics was incorrectly low for Medvedeva. There is interesting commentary (I think by Christine Brennan) on how much Zagitova’s score has risen in international competition while she is skating the same program.
I don’t think it was unfair–anyone can take advantage of the rules, however they are set up. I expect to see that in the future the rules will be changed to require balance between the first and second halves of the long program. Or perhaps that there is no bonus for jumps executed until a certain total number have been executed, no matter where they fall in the program.
I say good for Germany. They are ranked 8th and have played well enough to squeak into the Gold Medal game. One OT win, one SO win, and a one goal game against Canada. Good for them. I think that the Russians with Kovalchuk and Datszuk may be their undoing but you never know! I still think it’s a shame that that idiot Bettman didn’t allow the NHL guys to play.
3rd period of the Germany/Canada hockey game was exciting to watch. Canada made a great effort to come back but fell one goal short.
This is a good analysis of the women’s figure skating gold and silver medal performances, with detailed point-score breakdowns: https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/2/23/17043540/evgenia-medvedeva-alina-zagitova-olympics-figure-skating
Worst Olympian? No, best Olympian!
https://sports.yahoo.com/liz-swaney-worst-olympian-actually-might-best-012747577.html
You have to give this woman some credit for perseverance. 