Skate of Mind

A LOT of the internet this week has been dedicated to the ongoing issue of Kamila Valieva and her participation in the Ladies Figure Skating event at these Olympics. I think an interesting case study for us to consider is East Germany's sports programs of the 60's and 70's. East Germany, a nation formed in 1949 and defunct since 1990 began gaining recognition as a sports powerhouse in the 1960's and 1970's. This was common among Communist nations-it was seen as a way of establishing an esprit de corps if you like, or a feeling of national pride among the populace of a new country. The USSR funded sports programs through the government, providing housing and training etc. for its athletes, and it's therefore not much of a surprise that they owned gold medals in nearly every discipline at the Olympics. East Germany, or the GDR as it was known, formed a very similar system and began to dominate almost immediately. Despite it's smaller comparative population, i...

 Here we all are. Women's short program done and we're all feeling...weird? Angry? Sad? Some combination of the 3 plus a lot of other feelings about it. So let's break it down. Before I get into my own feelings (MANY) about how things are going let's discus what has ACTUALLY happened.  First is that around the time of Russian Nationals in December, Valieva's sample was sent off to Sweden for testing. However according to different sources, this sample was not labeled as a priority and/or there was also a COVID outbreak that swamped the labs. It's possible either or both of those is true and the cause for the delayed results. Nevertheless, after the team event it came to light that Valieva had tested positive for doping in that December sample. Some time later, we found out exactly what drug she tested positive for-trimetazidine. It's a heart medication, and some cockamamie story about her grandfather takes it and they drank from the same water glass (honestl...

Ladies' singles Sigh. There is so much to say about the ladies event. Something I didn't think I'd say given that I haven't followed this discipline beyond glancing at finishing places in the last 4 years. As to Valieva -amazing as everyone expected I think. Her Bolero choice for the FS really did not work for me this time out and not just because of the mistake. I think its more clear in the FS that as good as she is technically, she has SO much untapped potential in her expression, in her PCS (even though she's wildly overrated by the judges in PCS). Because her music and choreography are just...ok at the moment. And I just feel in my bones that with a different coaching staff she could be even better (and yes I think the fact that she made history in the FS and finished looking sad and upset afterward tells us everything we need to know about skating with Eteri and her current situation).  The Japanese women were great ( Sakamoto's FS music is THE WORST but e...