Mariah Bell cheer thread: Rise Up

[nguyhm]

I'm hoping (and praying) that Mariah will be selected for the Team Event. Any news on that would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Sylvia]

@nguyhm, nothing official yet but I don't think that will be the case (refer to "Qualification to Team Competition at the Beijing Olympics" thread in GSD).

Mariah has not been posting much on social media since she arrived in Beijing, but here's Adam's TikTok with her at the practice rink converted into an Instagram reel : https://www.instagram.com/reel/CZhHO09lXgM/

This article today, based on other sources, is free to read:

Mariah Bell relishes ‘old’ title ahead of Olympic figure skating debut

Figure skater Mariah Bell is considered "old" in her sport, but she's seizing the opportunity in Beijing to deliver a message to female athletes everywhere.

sports.yahoo.com

LA Times column by Helene Elliott (behind paywall):

Figure skater Mariah Bell proud she never gave up on Olympic dream

Mariah Bell's enduring passion for her sport sees her make the Olympics for the first time when most figure skaters her age are going into retirement.

www.latimes.com

ETA this photo & quote from the mixed zone on Feb. 3rd: https://twitter.com/LynnRutherford/status/1489153953053163520

Mariah Bell said triple-triples are "definitely" planned: "Flip-toe is feeling good, lutz-toe is feeling good. I've tried to up my number of them & they're feeling great. I've been working on nicer landings on flip & lutz alone, that helps make nice combos."

Danielle Earl's practice photos: https://twitter.com/DanielleEPhoto/status/1489012501933133835
Same 4 photos are posted on Earl's IG: https://www.instagram.com/p/CZfhjTlrg9s/

ETA on Feb. 4th that Mariah & Jason appeared on the TODAY Show after walking in the opening ceremony:

Team USA figure skaters Jason Brown and Mariah Bell talk Olympic prep, opening ceremony

Team USA figure skaters Jason Brown and Mariah Bell join TODAY live to discuss the figure skating competition ahead and the “surreal” feeling of walking in the opening ceremony. When asked about teammate Nathan Chen, Brown says, “He bests himself every single time. He just keeps getting better…...

www.today.com

 

[Sylvia]

LET'S GO MARIAH!!!

USA Today Sports' 4-minute video: https://twitter.com/usatodaysports/status/1494115630533906434

 

[Allskate]

LET'S GO MARIAH!!!

USA Today Sports' 4-minute video: https://twitter.com/usatodaysports/status/1494115630533906434

I love her perspective and attitude. She is such a great ambassador for the sport.

And "Hallelujah" is such a gorgeous program. In some ways, I see it as embodying her attitude. She has had difficult times in her career, but she appreciates what she has and has held on to the hope of better times and worked hard to make them a wonderful reality. That's how I feel when I see the choreography and performance in this program, especially the final choreographic sequence and spin. I know she has been struggling with the 3/3 in practice (and maybe the 3S?), but I hope she has a wonderful skate and a great time in her Olympic long program.

 

[Sylvia]

"Look at you now. You’re an Olympian.” (includes young skater Mariah footage ): https://twitter.com/PlayersTribune/status/1494012450441609218

 

[Allskate]

USA Today Sports' 4-minute video: https://twitter.com/usatodaysports/status/1494115630533906434

I needed to watch this again today to try to cleanse some of the bad taste from watching today's competition. This video is a balm. For me, Mariah's free skate was one of the highlights in a very, very sad competition.

I couldn't help but notice that NBC did not do a puff piece on Mariah or the other Americans. I guess that, if you aren't doing quads and contending for a medal, you just aren't worth it. Not that I love it when the networks chack skaters for puff pieces, but I thought it was telling.

Mariah talked about how grateful she is that she has been skating in good environments and how she has people to love her and value her regardless of skating and that she has a life she values outside of skating. That resonates even more today.

Katarina Witt was just on Olympic Ice talking about how sad the situation is today with how the top finishers in women's/girl's skating are in terrible environments and burst onto the scene and then flame out so quickly. She yearned for more complete skaters and for careers like Mariah's where we watch a skater over the years.

Me, I will take a Mariah Bell over any of the adolescent girls any day. Not just because I can't look at the Russian girls without thinking of their abusive system but because I find Mariah's skating much more beautiful, even when those girls are landing their jumps.

 

[semogal]

Beautiful skate for Mariah. She skated with such joy. My favorite moment was when she turned around for once last look at the Olympic arena as she exited the ice. It made me cry. I am so happy that she got to live her Olympic dream.

 

[Allskate]

My favorite moment was when she turned around for once last look at the Olympic arena as she exited the ice.

I loved that, too. Mariah was on "Olympic Ice" today and she was asked what she remembered from her free skate. She said she remembers hearing her teammates cheer for her when she landed her last lutz and she remembers touching that Olympic Ice for the last time, which was just before she took that final look.

When they talked about her age, she noted that, if you take care of yourself, you can skate for a long time and not just until you are a teenager. Brian Boitano said that she was an inspiration to him, partly because she is a complete skater.

 

[Sylvia]

I loved that, too. Mariah was on "Olympic Ice" today and she was asked what she remembered from her free skate. She said she remembers hearing her teammates cheer for her when she landed her last lutz and she remembers touching that Olympic Ice for the last time, which was just before she took that final look.

NBC's clip: https://twitter.com/TeamUSA/status/1494491203043307539

Her fan account has a clip of Mariah coming into the K&C to hug Alysa: https://www.instagram.com/p/CaGjcZpJo2x/
Original clip: https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/1494494993641353268

I've posted 2 post-FS group interview video links in the U.S. Women's thread: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...htness-of-beijing.108769/page-68#post-6212298

ETA #TalkinOlympics clip: https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/1494764757957726220

 

[soogar]

I needed to watch this again today to try to cleanse some of the bad taste from watching today's competition. This video is a balm. For me, Mariah's free skate was one of the highlights in a very, very sad competition.



Me, I will take a Mariah Bell over any of the adolescent girls any day. Not just because I can't look at the Russian girls without thinking of their abusive system but because I find Mariah's skating much more beautiful, even when those girls are landing their jumps.

All of this and I wish Mariah was showcased in the team event.

 

[Plusdinfo]

Mariah has the "it" factor. So many of the skaters in front of her the past six or so years have not had it. The series of long programs at these Olympics really made that even clearer to me. Mariah's skate had soul, polish, AND joy. Sadly, that's a rare combo in her discipline these days.

 

[Scott512]

All of this and I wish Mariah was showcased in the team event.

They need to redo the team event and the rules especially in the world of C19. They need to put it after the individual events and it can be an even more fun event to close out the Olympics along with the gold medal hockey game. And every team In the team event finals should have 2 use 2 skaters per discipline. If a country wants to use the same skaters for both skates and each discipline that's fine if another country wants to split all the disciplines up for 2 different skaters that's fine. But it's not fine that the US national champion Mariah Bell did not skate in the team event. That makes no sense and it's not right or fair.

Where does Mariah go from here? I assume she's going to skate another couple of years since she just keeps getting better and better. that free skate of hers is amazing.

 

[Sylvia]

Mariah's home! She just shared Danielle Montalbano Brezina's Instagram story.

Mariah posted this 2 days ago (before the closing ceremony): https://www.instagram.com/p/CaLY-E8h4nM/

I am so grateful for this experience I had the moment I have dreamed of since I was a little girl. The event was clouded by controversy, my heart goes out to all that were affected. To my teammates who did not get their medals ceremony, I am so sorry. To Kamila, I am sorry for the situation you were put in. And to all the ladies in the event, I am sorry our efforts seemed to be overlooked. I am so lucky that I was led by adults who valued integrity my whole career, they helped me reach this point. I just finished the Olympics. A ride I will never forget

Loena Hendrickx gave her some hearts and Rohene Ward posted this in reply:

Well said boo!!!! You are a true CHAMPION!!! In a class of your own! What an incredible role model you are for sooo many young women in the world today!! You should be so proud of yourself! #integrity #dignity #inspiring

Her roommates in the Olympic Village suite (Room 402) were Kaitlin Hawayek, Madi Hubbell and Alexa Knierim.

Forgot to post that she was added to her FIRST Stars on Ice tour back on Jan. 25:

2022 STARS ON ICE TOUR WILL FEATURE TOP PERFORMERS FROM U.S. OLYMPIC FIGURE SKATING TEAM

Stars on Ice 2022 Tour

www.starsonice.com

 

[Sylvia]

TeamUSA.org article FOR MARIAH BELL, TAKING THE LONG ROAD IS A HEALTHIER, MORE SUCCESSFUL ROUTE by Lynn Rutherford (Feb. 24): https://www.teamusa.org/News/2022/F...ong-Road-Is-A-Healthier-More-Successful-Route

Bell credits her long-term thinking to her parents, Kendra and Andrew Bell, who supported — but never pushed — her skating career and that of her older sister Morgan, who competed as a senior at three U.S. championships.
“What they wanted for us was not to be national champions or Olympians,” she said. “That would be amazing, but what they cared about was the people we became, what our work ethic was, were we kind, were we positive influences in society? … I think they did this perfectly. I want them to write a book.”

“For us, it was slow and steady wins the race,” Kendra said. “Every parent who has ever asked, I’ve said, ‘It’s a marathon, not a sprint.’ There are going to be bad days, and you have to take the good with the bad, and make sure that (your kids) are mentally where they need to be. Competing is cutthroat and it can be catty and it can be nasty, but it can also be very rewarding, and where you make some of your best friends.
“We just tried to always keep it, ‘Do the same thing at nationals as you do at home.’ A triple toe (jump) is a triple toe whether it is at nationals, or at home, or at the Olympics. The nerves, of course, are different, so we just tried to keep everything in perspective and keep it light.”

Mariah plans to compete at the 2022 world championships on March 21-27 in Montpellier, France. And although she has yet to announce whether she will continue her competitive career beyond this season, her age will likely not factor into her decision.
“I think it truly is a state of mind,” she said. “If you fall into the trap of, ‘I’m too old’ or whatever, then you are just setting yourself up to feel that way.”

Photos of Mariah & her fellow Olympians at the public event held at Great Park Ice earlier today:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Caf8EjLhdow/ (Anaheim Ducks account) & https://www.instagram.com/p/CafzwS4vOaw/ (Great Park Ice account)

She shared her thoughts about the Olympics on Feb. 19: https://www.instagram.com/p/CaLY-E8h4nM/

I am so grateful for this experience I had the moment I have dreamed of since I was a little girl. The event was clouded by controversy, my heart goes out to all that were affected. To my teammates who did not get their medals ceremony, I am so sorry. To Kamila, I am sorry for the situation you were put in. And to all the ladies in the event, I am sorry our efforts seemed to be overlooked. I am so lucky that I was led by adults who valued integrity my whole career, they helped me reach this point. I just finished the Olympics. A ride I will never forget

She'll make a trip to Zurich, Switzerland next week (eta that she arrived there on Monday 2/28):

Art on Ice March 3-5, 2022 Dinner Show

The Art on Ice organizers moved the tour date to 2023. In its place, they will have five dinner shows in Zurich on March 3-5, 2022. https://en.artonice.com/ https://www.artonice.com/programm-dinner-show Skaters Alexia Paganini Gabriella Papadakis & Guillaume Cizeron Vanessa James & Eric...

www.fsuniverse.net

 

[Sylvia]

Article/photos published by the Orange County Register from Great Park Ice's event yesterday:

Olympians share experience with fans in Irvine

Fans waved mini U.S. flags and held up homemade signs with the names of their favorite Olympians written with multi-colored markers.

www.ocregister.com

Thanks for sharing @marysy!
"Welcome back from the Beijing Olympics! Clips from the panel with Michal Brezina, Nathan Chen, Mariah Bell, Alexa Knierim, Brandon Frazier, Jenni Meno, and Rafael Arutyunyan" (Mariah's clip is #6): https://www.instagram.com/p/CaiEZfUPvKA/

 

[Sylvia]

I posted some links (photos, one montage clip) in the “Art on Ice” thread in GSD:

Art on Ice March 3-5, 2022 Dinner Show

The Art on Ice organizers moved the tour date to 2023. In its place, they will have five dinner shows in Zurich on March 3-5, 2022. https://en.artonice.com/ https://www.artonice.com/programm-dinner-show Skaters Alexia Paganini Gabriella Papadakis & Guillaume Cizeron Vanessa James & Eric...

www.fsuniverse.net

Pre-Worlds media call today (3/14/22):

5 tweets: https://twitter.com/fsonline/status/1503508125126696961

https://twitter.com/x/status/1503508125126696961

2 tweets:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1503504446977945602

ETA this Pilates clip from 2 days ago (ouch! ): https://www.instagram.com/tv/CbBnnMOpGgB/

 

[Allskate]

Here's an article about Mariah's short program:

With personal best in worlds short, Mariah Bell aging like a fine wine

At 25, Mariah Bell is in third place at figure skating worlds after the short program and the first U.S. woman to win a small medal in six years.

olympics.nbcsports.com

It doesn't seem to bother Mariah, but I think it's odd that neither Raf nor Adam could make the effort to accompany her to Worlds.

 

[Cachoo]

That was just beautiful today. I do love that way she has of reaching out to the audience. I think Kurakova has that same quality.

 

[Firedancer]

I’m really hoping Mariah can hang on for a spot on the podium. That was beautiful today.

 

[skatfan]

Here's an article about Mariah's short program:
It doesn't seem to bother Mariah, but I think it's odd that neither Raf nor Adam could make the effort to accompany her to Worlds.

Adam is not a regular coach and he spent three weeks being her coach in Beijing when he had other lucrative work planned. Raf was gonna be there with Nathan, but R has said he’s only traveling for Nathan.

She competed this last fall on the GP without a coach, she seems fine.

 

[lurkz2]

Adam is not a regular coach and he spent three weeks being her coach in Beijing when he had other lucrative work planned. Raf was gonna be there with Nathan, but R has said he’s only traveling for Nathan.

She competed this last fall on the GP without a coach, she seems fine.

Adam was with her at GP France then Vera at Rostelecom

 

[skatfan]

Adam was with her at GP France then Vera at Rostelecom

Oh gosh. I wonder how I thought that. Maybe it was a domestic competition. Thanks for the correction.

Anyway, she seems fine!

 

[azcalder]

Oh gosh. I wonder how I thought that. Maybe it was a domestic competition. Thanks for the correction.

Anyway, she seems fine!

It was the competition where she tried out her new Short Program. I think it was in Minnesota.

 

[Sylvia]

It was the competition where she tried out her new Short Program. I think it was in Minnesota.

She debuted her "A River Flows in You" SP in Henderson, Nevada (Oct. 15, 2021).

Mariah had a fun chat with Kelly Rippon yesterday: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CcJtLdslBZ-/

 

[Allskate]

Mariah had a fun chat with Kelly Rippon yesterday: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CcJtLdslBZ-/

Thank you so much for the link. This was a fantastic discussion. I really love Mariah's attitude. Of course she's older than most competitive skaters. But, I still think a lot of 25 year-olds don't have her perspective. She can understand that Morgan's journey and Morgan's happiness and pride are so similar to her own even though they chose different paths. She can see that what is "successful" at different times in her career is not dependent on the medal or even the particular performance, but is based on the challenges and the work and the specifics of that situation. At her age, I knew so many people who were focused on achieving a particular thing, whether it was a particular degree or a particular job, without enjoying the journey and without really thinking about whether they would enjoy that job but just knew that it was something they were supposed to want to achieve.

 

[Sylvia]

Mariah won the PSA's "Best Performance" award at 2022 Nationals (she previously had won this for her wonderful "Hallelujah" performance at 2020 Nationals) - the Professional Skaters Association published a press release back on April 14, 2022 ("The award is based on the "total performance" with an eye to costuming, presentation, music selection, choreography, style, and technique."):

Best Performance Ladies
Mariah Bell — Championship Ladies Free Skate Program
PSA Coaches – Rafael Arutyunyan, Adam Rippon, Vera Arutyunyan
Choreographer – Shae-Lynn Bourne
Music Selection – "Hallelujah" by k.d. lang
Costume Designer – Jan Longmire

She was presented with the PSA award before the 5/15 SOI show in St. Paul, MN, as well as PSA's Sonja Henie 'EDI' award for the second consecutive year (her photo with Nathan): https://www.instagram.com/p/Cdm7070Ondo/

Q&A with Mariah at the Hershey SOI show, published today (May 17):

After ‘fulfilling’ season, Mariah Bell is having fun in her first Stars on Ice tour – Figure Skaters Online

figureskatersonline.com

She says she will make a decision about possibly competing next season after the SOI tour is over.

ETA - Mariah's self-choreographed "Easy on Me" by Momento (video is mistitled) as performed at the Hartford, CT SOI show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN9MaKUYuSI

 

[Sylvia]

Mariah's interview with NBC Los Angeles ahead of the Anaheim SOI show this Saturday:

Mariah Bell Returns To OC For ‘Stars On Ice' Tour

Olympian Mariah Bell is back in the OC.

www.nbclosangeles.com

She will perform in Sun Valley, Idaho on July 1st : https://www.sunvalley.com/things-to-do/ice-shows/

 

[kittyjake5]

Beautiful performance!

 

[Sylvia]

Mariah's club (Rocky Mountain FSC) held a Graduating Seniors Gala yesterday in Westminster, Colorado - she shared this pic outside the rink: https://www.instagram.com/p/CecfZNqj0cy/
Mariah reunited with her former coach, Cindy Sullivan, there : https://www.instagram.com/p/Ceb-lUbP1cU/

She will join Nathan in coaching a seminar in Mexico City, June 25-27: https://www.instagram.com/p/CeJo1dHldMP/

 

[asaragena1464]

Hi everyone,
I'm new to the website but have been a figure skating fan since I first saw Dorothy Hamill. I usually lurk on this site on and off but because of Nathan winning the Olympic gold medal, my interest has picked up again. I love Mariah, too! I just saw this photo that was taken recently in Cancun.

Mariah Bell 🔔 on Instagram: "🏝"

5,901 likes, 48 comments - mariahsk8rbellJune 10, 2022 on : "🏝".

www.instagram.com