Official 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games thread!

[declansdad]

I'm curious how everyone else feels about athletes switching countries in order to compete. I don't know, something just doesn't sit right with me.

Take the South Korean speedskater. He is now a Russian citizen and skates for the Russian team (and brought them a gold medal). There have been a number of mentions of athletes who previously competed for one country and now compete for another.

I hadn't realized how common it was either. Not a big fan unless there was a legitimate reason for moving, not simply to compete.

I see there is a older couple that were supposed to ski for Dominica (I think) that pretty much just bought there way in.

 

[Planogirl]

I see nothing wrong with moving to compete if that is what someone wants. People move to other countries for other jobs of all sorts and in reality being an Olympic athlete could be seen as another reason. I can't imagine doing it but it must mean a lot to those athletes that do this.

 

[cabanafrau]

I see nothing wrong with moving to compete if that is what someone wants. People move to other countries for other jobs of all sorts and in reality being an Olympic athlete could be seen as another reason. I can't imagine doing it but it must mean a lot to those athletes that do this.

That's all well and fine, but quite frankly when a 48 year old former hedge fund manager is marching at the head of a 2-person delegation from Dominca, a country with no snow to ski on DH and I looked at each other right away and started talking about how we were seeing bits of the worldwide financial meltdown running for glory right there. I ain't rooting for that.

I'll put down my real, hard earned cash in a gofundme for some grocery bagger from Mexico who has worked their tail off to be a world class speed skater or something before I'll ever root for some big money midlife crisis to buy his way in, for him and his wife.

 

[Planogirl]

That's all well and fine, but quite frankly when a 48 year old former hedge fund manager is marching at the head of a 2-person delegation from Dominca, a country with no snow to ski on DH and I looked at each other right away and started talking about how we were seeing bits of the worldwide financial meltdown running for glory right there. I ain't rooting for that.

I'll put down my real, hard earned cash in a gofundme for some grocery bagger from Mexico who has worked their tail off to be a world class speed skater or something before I'll ever root for some big money midlife crisis to buy his way in, for him and his wife.

That's a bit of an extreme case and hopefully very rare. I don't like to see that either to be honest.

 

[NaLisa]

Several commentators in ice dancing said that Davis and White's 2.5 point margin from the short program was going to be extremely difficult to make up for any team, even one as talented as Virtue and Moir.

Both teams skated well. But they are very different - Virtue/Moir are the more "artistic", while Davis/White are more "technical".

And the new scoring system appears to favor the technical side, with points being earned for specific elements.

I felt that Davis and White were cleaner, faster, and sharper than anyone else in their execution.

But some people felt that the scoring in the short program was unfair, that the Canadians were shortchanged in their score. The creator of the Finn Step thought the Canadians were better than the Americans.

Finland’s Petri Kokko said in one tweet, ``I don’t understand the judging in #icedancing. @Virtue_Moir should be leading in my honest opinion.'' He earlier tweeted: ``Hope @Virtue_Moir wins. Americans timing off in the #finnstep and restrained even otherwise.''

Not saying I agree, just that it was about more than the free skate.

 

[mommasita]

If you read through the four articles linked there is not one statement from the Canadian pair complaining about fixed or bad judging. As for their coach, they said they felt she wasn't always there for them but understood why she spent more time with the US pair. Where is the sour grapes? How are they sore losers?

Neither of the two pairs have commented on these allegations that I know of and have been gracious in their interviews.

I agree. How can you say they are not a good example, when they haven't even commented on it? They would not engage in anything.. They can't control the media or anyone else..

 

[cabanafrau]

That's a bit of an extreme case and hopefully very rare. I don't like to see that either to be honest.

Actually we started talking about it because during the parade of nations there were at least a handful of cases like that. Another country has a "son of european aristocracy" competing for another nation. I guess I want to be a pie eyed optimist for the Olympics and see it all come down to grit, hardwork and determination. Nobody burst my bubble, I like my bubble and want to float there as much as possible.

 

[Jennasis]

Ice skating judging is subjective (like the horse shows I ride in. Coach at, and judge). I have shown in front of judges who loved me and ones who wouldn't give me the time of day. Nature of the beast.

If Ice skaters have a beef with subjective judging, I suggest they try speed skating instead.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

But some people felt that the scoring in the short program was unfair, that the Canadians were shortchanged in their score. The creator of the Finn Step thought the Canadians were better than the Americans.

Finland’s Petri Kokko said in one tweet, ``I don’t understand the judging in #icedancing. @Virtue_Moir should be leading in my honest opinion.'' He earlier tweeted: ``Hope @Virtue_Moir wins. Americans timing off in the #finnstep and restrained even otherwise.''

Not saying I agree, just that it was about more than the free skate.

I understand he is the creator of the step, but that is still one person's opinion on one part of the dance.

The Russians also felt they were underscored in the short program. It's hard when you don't think you got what you deserved, but I also think there is a little bitterness that the Americans won. They also won the ice dancing portion of the team competition, so it's not like this came out of nowhere.

 

[NaLisa]

That's all well and fine, but quite frankly when a 48 year old former hedge fund manager is marching at the head of a 2-person delegation from Dominca, a country with no snow to ski on DH and I looked at each other right away and started talking about how we were seeing bits of the worldwide financial meltdown running for glory right there. I ain't rooting for that.

I'll put down my real, hard earned cash in a gofundme for some grocery bagger from Mexico who has worked their tail off to be a world class speed skater or something before I'll ever root for some big money midlife crisis to buy his way in, for him and his wife.

But kharma found them. He got a bad bacterial infection after drinking brown water and she broke her nose in a skiing crash. Plus, an old story about potential tax fraud resurfaced.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/olympics/bondy-olympics-taxing-x-c-couple-article-1.1617111

 

[declansdad]

I understand he is the creator of the step, but that is still one person's opinion on one part of the dance.

The Russians also felt they were underscored in the short program. It's hard when you don't think you got what you deserved, but I also think there is a little bitterness that the Americans won. They also won the ice dancing portion of the team competition, so it's not like this came out of nowhere.

Seems like there is always bitterness in any of these sports that rely on judges to select a winner. I enjoy watching them but I prefer sports where the outcome is decided by the play not judges.

 

[SkaGoat]

Virtue & Moir had a small reality series this year, not knowing a lot about ice dancing I was stunned they share a coach with the Americans. They even had to live and train in Michigan because that's where Davis & White trained.

In the series at least, the coach was not there a lot, and at the major competition (Paris) featured on the show, she was with White & Davis a lot more than Tessa & Scott. If you're Marina Zoueva you hitch your wagon to the Americans because that will lead you to making more money in the future.

They weren't using the coach as an excuse, they were asked if they had any problems with their coach coaching the competition, and answered truthfully, you can't really expect any more from them than that. In fact, in the full quote they end up praising her...

"We were both pretty blunt with her in the fall and even leading up to the Olympics," Moir told reporters Tuesday. "We weren't happy and we felt like sometimes she wasn't in our corner. She handled that tremendously well. She poured her heart into our choreography."

So basically they told her the situation wasn't working, and she changed how she was handling them... what would we think if Mike Babcock coached both the USA and Canadian Mens hockey teams.

Who's to say Zoueva didn't want the US to win more than the Canadians, because it would mean she'd make more money.

People put stock in the conspiracy theory from L'equipe because 1. They were right about Lance Armstrong doping 2. Both Team Figure skating, and Ice Dancing finished the way they said they would.

 

[NaLisa]

Virtue & Moir had a small reality series this year, not knowing a lot about ice dancing I was stunned they share a coach with the Americans. They even had to live and train in Michigan because that's where Davis & White trained.

In the series at least, the coach was not there a lot, and at the major competition (Paris) featured on the show, she was with White & Davis a lot more than Tessa & Scott. If you're Marina Zoueva you hitch your wagon to the Americans because that will lead you to making more money in the future.

They weren't using the coach as an excuse, they were asked if they had any problems with their coach coaching the competition, and answered truthfully, you can't really expect any more from them than that. In fact, in the full quote they end up praising her...

"We were both pretty blunt with her in the fall and even leading up to the Olympics," Moir told reporters Tuesday. "We weren't happy and we felt like sometimes she wasn't in our corner. She handled that tremendously well. She poured her heart into our choreography."

So basically they told her the situation wasn't working, and she changed how she was handling them... what would we think if Mike Babcock coached both the USA and Canadian Mens hockey teams.

Who's to say Zoueva didn't want the US to win more than the Canadians, because it would mean she'd make more money.

People put stock in the conspiracy theory from L'equipe because 1. They were right about Lance Armstrong doping 2. Both Team Figure skating, and Ice Dancing finished the way they said they would.

Thanks for sharing that insight. To be fair, I've been reading the conspiracy theories from Canadian newspapers, not from the athletes themselves. As you said, they've been gracious, and now knowing a bit of the history with their coach, I can understand their comments.

But I think most people were predicting gold for the Americans and silver for the Canadians in ice dancing, as that's the way it's been happening for the last two years. L'equipe didn't exactly go out on a limb there. And I don't see how anyone can disagree with the results of the team competition. No doubt in my mind that the Russians were the best overall between the four disciplines, Canadians second, and Americans third.

I just wished they'd score the team competition differently, maybe using overall scores instead of points for finishing placement. The final placements were decided long before the team competition ended.

 

[cabanafrau]

In a way the whole ice dancing controversy is a blast from the past with a hilarious twist. Back when Rahkamo and Kokko were in their prime they were an anomaly in ice dance, non Russians w/ a legitimate shot at the podium. Back then the Russians had many similar complaints made against them and amongst them about scoring, coaches, etc. For a while there it also included a whole different element, where pairs/marriages were busting up and reconfiguring amongst the teams.

It's funny to see it w/ Americans and Canadians considered the favorites and dominant pairs. And to hear the technical v. artistic hashed out again.

 

[Jennasis]

Oh, well if it was on a reality show then it must be true.

 

[SkaGoat]

Oh, well if it was on a reality show then it must be true.

clearly I'm not that naive, they actually made the coach look good in the series, but, they are being filmed preparing for their short program in Paris, and the coach is nowhere to be seen but you see her go by in the background with Davis & White. It's not like Housewives of X reality show, it's these two athletes preparing for an Olympic run, there isn't any invented drama... not once during the show do they complain about their coach, or living away from their families in Michigan.

But it is a conflict of interest to have the same coach for both teams.

 

[cabanafrau]

clearly I'm not that naive, they actually made the coach look good in the series, but, they are being filmed preparing for their short program in Paris, and the coach is nowhere to be seen but you see her go by in the background with Davis & White. It's not like Housewives of X reality show, it's these two athletes preparing for an Olympic run, there isn't any invented drama... not once during the show do they complain about their coach, or living away from their families in Michigan.

But it is a conflict of interest to have the same coach for both teams.

Olympic silver medalist Brian Orser is serving as coach for at least the top two medal winners at this very Olympic games, is he not?

Top coaches generally have multiple students, vying for top prizes if they're lucky.

 

[klacey1]

I'm curious how everyone else feels about athletes switching countries in order to compete. I don't know, something just doesn't sit right with me.

Take the South Korean speedskater. He is now a Russian citizen and skates for the Russian team (and brought them a gold medal). There have been a number of mentions of athletes who previously competed for one country and now compete for another.

I agree! I thought the Viktor Ahn thing was really distasteful. He already had multiple golds.
It seemed like every other pair in ice dancing was not from the country they were representing. Just overall, I'm not a fan.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

clearly I'm not that naive, they actually made the coach look good in the series, but, they are being filmed preparing for their short program in Paris, and the coach is nowhere to be seen but you see her go by in the background with Davis & White. It's not like Housewives of X reality show, it's these two athletes preparing for an Olympic run, there isn't any invented drama... not once during the show do they complain about their coach, or living away from their families in Michigan.

But it is a conflict of interest to have the same coach for both teams.

Which didn't seem to be a problem for them when they won in 2010. If I'm reading correctly, she was coaching the Americans before she became the coach to the Canadians. And I don't recall (although it has been 4 years) anyone from the U.S. alluding to the fact that maybe she was favoring the Canadians back in 2010.

We all know you can edit a TV show to make anyone look bad. If they felt that strongly, they should have made alternate arrangements. I can't imagine that this just started up in the past year or so. They obviously stayed with her because they thought she was their best shot at repeating.

Now maybe they're just afraid their "brand" is damaged, what with the TV show and book deals. Who knows what else they would have gotten had they repeated.

 

[declansdad]

Which didn't seem to be a problem for them when they won in 2010. If I'm reading correctly, she was coaching the Americans before she became the coach to the Canadians. And I don't recall (although it has been 4 years) anyone from the U.S. alluding to the fact that maybe she was favoring the Canadians back in 2010.

We all know you can edit a TV show to make anyone look bad. If they felt that strongly, they should have made alternate arrangements. I can't imagine that this just started up in the past year or so. They obviously stayed with her because they thought she was their best shot at repeating.

Now maybe they're just afraid their "brand" is damaged, what with the TV show and book deals. Who knows what else they would have gotten had they repeated.

They haven't said anything negative about her; in fact they were quite gracious in their comments concerning her.