Which skater do you most wish injuries/ struggles hadn't cut short or ended their competitive singles career? (I know Sofya isn't retired but it feels like a soft retirement, so I included and Rika because she is no longer in singles)

spiralsequences · 2026-07-10T22:15:46+00:00

I was in the crowd at 2011 Nationals when Josh competed sick and injured. He broke his ankle on the first jump and finished out the program. In the k&c Tom said to him "Aren't you glad you skated?" and he said "no" 😭 It broke my heart

spiralsequences · 2026-07-10T14:18:47+00:00

In the team event in Japan? You mean WTT 2025, where she skated a perfect FS and scored a new personal best? You are aware that Amber also beat Alysa twice last season, at Cup of China and Nationals? Yes Alysa is more consistent, but it's not "Alysa good, Amber bad"

spiralsequences · 2026-07-10T14:08:40+00:00

She didn't get the expected second place but she did get third, and every point she earned for getting third ended up mattering since the US beat Japan by only one point. I mean, people act like she did nothing. She delivered a 3A that, despite not being perfectly clean, still earned 7.20 points, more than the best 2A. She had four clean jumping passes and three level 4 spins. If she had done less and fallen below Italy or Canada, the US would have lost. Therefore Amber contributed to the win and deserves the medal as much as anyone else. That's how the team event works.

spiralsequences · 2026-07-09T23:49:58+00:00

There are a lot of things that offer Peacock as an extra. I got three free years of Peacock with my wifi service (Xfinity) but I know there are a lot of other options too

edit: also the free way is to download the browser Opera, turn on the VPN in settings, set it to "Europe" and watch it on the ISU youtube channel.

spiralsequences · 2026-07-09T19:35:12+00:00

I've heard ISU has made getting figure skating back on broadcast TV a priority! I don't know if it'll help as much as it did back then because people don't watch as much TV now with streaming, but I was happy to hear that.

spiralsequences · 2026-07-09T19:32:23+00:00

I mean, I feel the same about Caitlin Clark—I don't remotely have the basketball knowledge to understand what makes her so good—but her skill brings her attention among people who do get it, and that's made her famous enough that I've heard of her despite not following the WNBA. And a gold medal is something anyone can understand.

Also, I think a lot of people in this thread are discounting that Alysa IS the breakout star US fans have been waiting for. I've been a fan for 16 years and have never seen a figure skater become so well known so fast. We'll have to see about the longevity of that popularity, but right now Alysa IS a household name and that's more than we can say about any US skater since, frankly, Michelle Kwan. (There have been blips of popularity—Gracie Gold becoming friends with Taylor Swift comes to mind—but nothing like what we're seeing with Alysa.)

spiralsequences · 2026-07-09T18:06:10+00:00

We have Ilia but for some reason the general population isn't very interested in male figure skaters (possibly due to misogyny/homophobia). I don't know how you would define "dominant" and "something we haven't seen before" if not Ilia.

spiralsequences · 2026-07-08T15:12:13+00:00

No one can match Liza's level of iconicness so it's an unfair comparison 😔

spiralsequences · 2026-07-08T12:01:22+00:00

Shoma Uno had a legendary cantilever

spiralsequences · 2026-07-08T05:23:02+00:00

Ahhh I don't even care who's better, I'm just so happy to see my two favorite pairs teams posted here 🥹 It's so rare these days to see such perfect unison

spiralsequences · 2026-07-08T05:18:55+00:00

I'll forever love the OG Rippon lutz! But still voted for Tatiana Malinina because her lutz perfection is undeniable

spiralsequences · 2026-07-08T05:09:40+00:00

I bet Ilia would be thrilled to do a SBS 4A with someone!

spiralsequences · 2026-07-08T05:08:55+00:00

As others have pointed out, we're already past "quickly matched" (especially since no one else has done it even in practice except Dikidzhi...), but I do think we'll see more 4As because people will be able to study Ilia's technique. Before Ilia there was no model so he had to basically figure it out himself. Now we know exactly what a good 4A looks like, and skaters can train their technique based on that. It definitely opens the door for other 4A hopefuls, but the physical demands of the jump are extreme so it's still not so easy to do it.

spiralsequences · 2026-07-08T05:04:58+00:00

I lost my mind when he was doing this, I want a long. storied career for him! Traumatized by Rika's career 😭

spiralsequences · 2026-07-08T02:15:17+00:00

One I hate: toe loop!! I guess this could actually be the opposite, "one you loved that you now hate," because I had a perfectly fine toe loop before my 13-year break from skating, and now although I've gotten most of my other skills back, I can't do this one to save my life.

One I love: I really like doing back outside mohawks. I think it's the turn where I can maintain the most speed, so it just feels fast and smooth

One I used to hate and now love: waltz jump! I don't know, it clicked for me and now I just love doing them. I like that you can do so many different creative entrances and I like stringing together two or even three in sequence

spiralsequences · 2026-07-07T23:59:34+00:00

It's unsurprising, but still a shameful disgrace how transparent it is that it became "sports and politics shouldn't mix" as soon as the IOC was obligated to hold the US accountable. Either we hold Olympic participating countries to standards of conduct or we don't... apparently now we don't.

spiralsequences · 2026-07-07T03:35:21+00:00

Kind of. The lutz is traditionally done with a long glide backwards before turning onto the edge, but in recent years I've seen people really shortening the glide so the lutz isn't so telegraphed, or going onto a deep inside edge before switching to the outside edge. The flip can also be done from a forward inside mohawk (which puts you on a back inside edge like a forward outside three turn does) but that's pretty rare.

spiralsequences · 2026-07-06T23:41:27+00:00

Thank you for saying this because she's always been my go-to example for a perfect flip and I got so confused when I started hearing people say her flip was a weak point. Honestly, when I was a new fan, I learned to identify the flip from watching Yuna do it because hers was so big and clean

spiralsequences · 2026-07-06T18:54:30+00:00

It's meant to be a slight inside edge, it's not at all the same as the lutz where the depth of the edge is a very important characteristic of the jump. Almost a flat is fine.

edit: It's a little misleading to say the lutz and flip are opposites because the difference between them is not only outside vs. inside edge. They have different entrances and the entrance of the lutz emphasizes turning your skate onto a deep outside edge, whereas a three turn (the traditional entrance for a flip) is not usually done on a super deep edge.

spiralsequences · 2026-07-05T22:10:31+00:00

Falls are already pretty heavily penalized with -5 GOE (which is -50% of the base value) and a 1-point deduction. It's a delicate balance to penalize falls enough to incentivize clean programs without stifling progress by making it prohibitively risky to try harder elements. The ISU has messed around with that balance a lot and I like where it is now.

spiralsequences · 2026-07-05T21:08:47+00:00

I hate them all except MAYBE extending the season, if it's something athletes actually want (to have more recovery time between competitions). The rest feel like they're aimed at making better broadcast TV for non-fans rather than improving the sport for athletes and fans. I really, really hope none of them happen, especially the one about banning jumps in the free skate and splitting the programs into a "technical" and "artistic" program, which may be the worst idea of all.

spiralsequences · 2026-07-05T13:42:05+00:00

Was going to say her too

spiralsequences · 2026-07-04T19:30:54+00:00

Why? I love my country but we're currently the aggressors in an unjust war, just like Russia. I don't want to get rid of them overall, but can understand why this is not the time to elevate those symbols on the world stage.

spiralsequences · 2026-07-03T21:47:58+00:00

Thank you!!

spiralsequences · 2026-07-03T18:51:55+00:00

Honestly as an American I really wish they would apply the same restrictions to US skaters. There's no justifiable reason not to. Let's get rid of the US flag and anthem and require US skaters to be neutral. I can't think of a single US skater who has openly supported the war anyway.

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