Throughout the entire performance, I was just really happy to see him competing again. It’s been a long few months and I didn’t realize how much I missed his skating. I was sweating, my heart was beating hard enough to feel it echo through my chest, and I was on the edge of my seat. But at the same time, I felt a sense of calm. Part of that was the music, and part of that was how Yuzuru drew everyone into his performance and let no one doubt him. It felt like reassurance, and I couldn’t help falling into his story. I just enjoyed watching him skate.
With every successful jump, I would get excited – feeling a mix of relief, awe, and pride. He’s SAFE. He’s OK. He’s SKATING! When it finished, I had to stand up for a second to take it all in, and my hands were shaking as I set down my laptop.
The real test is tomorrow (technically “today” in my time zone) with the Free Skate, so we’ll see how he (and by that I mean his ankle) holds up. Wishing him and all the skaters all the best.
Honestly, forgetting medals, I would be SO DARN HAPPY if the skaters left PyeongChang having given an FS worthy of being called an Olympic Performance ™. Because nothing is better than giving a program that the skater feels proud of.
Jorik Hendrickx – 84.74, a very emotive performance and a solid skate
Daniel Samohin – 80.69 4T+3T good, 4S with a slight odd landing but he was clean, 3A fall. The ending was amusing – he started facing the wrong way and had to switch around to face the judges.
Michal Brezina – 85.15 – 4S+3T good if a bit muscled, 3A clean, spins are so nicely matched to the music
Jun Hwan Cha – 83.43 – YAAAAY CLEAN, 3F+3T clean but the 3F looked a bit off in the air(still fully rotated and received +GOE though), 3A very good, 3Lz good. It was a fun program!
Paul Fentz – 74.73 I loved the energy of the skate.
Misha -Ge – 83.90 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Ah. Ah, aaaahhhhhhhhh MISHA. You could tell that he felt everything. No one expresses like Misha. It was so good that I just completely didn’t even care about jumps. It was clean. Shaky landing on 3A, but he landed it, and the other triples were solid. It was just such a good skate. He leaves no detail behind. The last spin was so fast and fluid in the position changes. He uses the music so well.
Dmitry Aliyev – 98.98 The 4Lz+3T was so solid it was amazing. The jumps along with the music work well. He’s really got the character of the music down.
Patrick Chan – you are more than dust in the wind! 3A his mortal enemy. But the edges were so buttery smooth. And his opening 4T was gorgeous.
Keiji Tanaka – 80.05 – 4S bad fall sliding into the boards. He landed the 3Lz+3T, and landed the 3A. No pops, so I’ll take it!
Alexei Bychenko – 84.13 – 3A was beautiful, 4T was a bit off on the landing but held on well, 3Lz+3T good. It was such a spirited program.
Deniss Vasiljevs- 79.52 – 3Lz+3T, 3A rough fall. That last spin is such a trip I love the positions so much.
Plume de Lynx 