U.S. Men 2021-22 season news & updates

[Allskate]

I look forward to Ilia/Yuma competitions; I hope they stay strong and agile and prove worthy of my fantasies.

I'm really looking forward to watching them both develop technically and artistically. Kagiyama gets so much height and finishes his rotations so quickly. I wouldn't be surprised to see him be the first to land a quint. And the quad god seems intent on those quad/quads combos, so I wouldn't be surprised if he does one in competition very soon.

 

[olympic]

^When I look in the future, I try not to predict but instead, attempt to take it competition by competition because of 2 words I remember from my teen years used in the context of future world beater - Tiffany Chin

 

[VGThuy]

Luckily for Kagiyama, his father is actually his coach and a former Olympian himself so he probably knows what he’s doing. He gave Kagiyama glorious textbook skating skills and an excellent foundation already.

 

[AYS]

Luckily for Kagiyama, his father is actually his coach and a former Olympian himself so he probably knows what he’s doing. He gave Kagiyama glorious textbook skating skills and an excellent foundation already.

He shares this parental situation with Malinin, although maybe the foundation they've given Malinin are more in the jump area (but he's no slouch in spin and SS).

It is quite amazing how much glorious knees and edges are so often a characteristic of Japanese skaters in general (not all but many), but Kagiyama truly takes it to another level.

Apropos of nothing in this discussion, I just noticed that Malinin and I share a birthday.

 

[nickp]

I am rooting for Ilia Malinin at the world championships and I can’t wait for that event

 

[WOULDACOULDARETURNS]

Nah, that was back in the 90s. I was a jumping bean and even landed 3Lzs once in a blue moon in practice (the Lz was actually my best jump), never landed a fully rotated 3S or 3Lo though. However, I never tested past Novice and never made it out of Regionals because I couldn't spin for s***. Never had a true sit spin, and for some reason I always had trouble with forward spins instead of back spins.

 

[WOULDACOULDARETURNS]

Nah, that was back in the 90s. I was a jumping bean and even landed 3Lzs once in a blue moon in practice (the Lz was actually my best jump), never landed a fully rotated 3S or 3Lo though. However, I never tested past Novice and never made it out of Regionals because I couldn't spin for s***. Never had a true sit spin, and for some reason I always had trouble with forward spins instead of back spins.

You could still kick butt in Adult competition, if you aren’t already doing so. There are many former kid skaters competing these days, which is cool to see.

 

[CantALoop]

You could still kick butt in Adult competition, if you aren’t already doing so. There are many former kid skaters competing these days, which is cool to see.

I thought of it, but I don't have enough seniority to bounce off in the middle of the school year, and there's only one skating rink (still closed) in my state. But muscle memory is still there - I still had all my single jumps (except A) when I last skated on ice three years ago despite not touching ice for almost 2 years or seriously training two decades ago.

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

Amazing video of past US gold medalists welcoming Nathan to the club

U.S. Figure Skating on Instagram: "Nathan, welcome to the gold medal club 🥇💖 @nathanwchen x #WinterOlympics"

11K likes, 138 comments - usfigureskating on February 10, 2022: "Nathan, welcome to the gold medal club 🥇💖 @nathanwchen x #WinterOlympics".

www.instagram.com

Welp, that made me cry. I loved it. Legends all, especially our first American Olympic champions in the ladies and men's event, Dr. Tenley Albright and Mr. Dick Button. It is poignant that every one of our Olympic champions are still with us.

That video is a precious keepsake because it is likely the last one where all of our Olympic champions are in one, congratulating the newest member of the Gold Club.

I also can't help but wonder if, were it not for the tragedy of the 1961 Worlds team, perhaps we would have had a 1964 Olympic champion or two.

Uncle Dick is frail, but still hearty enough to give our newest Olympic champion a shout out. I noticed that Nathan placed a heart ❤ right next to Uncle Dick's name, in his Insta Story. Nathan may not know it, but he too has reached legend status!

Congratulations Nathan. You soared to the top of Mount Olympus. ⛸⛸

 

[Frau Muller]

Isn’t Dr. Tenley a total joy in her salute to Nathan? Straight from the heart…almost dancing…what a joyful soul!

They are all great but Dr. Tenley really got to me!

 

[Allskate]

Uncle Dick is frail, but still hearty enough to give our newest Olympic champion a shout out.

That chuckle from Dick Button made me smile. The whole video was beautiful.

 

[AYS]

It’s a wonderful video.

I’m happy to have a chance to see Uncle Dick again. I wish him all the love.

 

[livetoskate]

It's pretty amazing that US Figure Skating was able to gather all those videos from so many people so quickly. I hope it gets saved on their website or somewhere so more people can see it.

 

[Allskate]

It's pretty amazing that US Figure Skating was able to gather all those videos from so many people so quickly. I hope it gets saved on their website or somewhere so more people can see it.

Brian and Scott mentioned on one of the Olympic Ice episodes that the American Olympic gold medalists had a group text going during the men's event. I wouldn't be surprised if they decided then and there - or even before - to do this.

 

[skatingguy]

Brian and Scott mentioned on one of the Olympic Ice episodes that the American Olympic gold medalists had a group text going during the men's event. I wouldn't be surprised if they decided then and there - or even before - to do this.

Interesting - I would have assumed that it was something that USFS coordinated.

 

[Allskate]

Interesting - I would have assumed that it was something that USFS coordinated.

They might have. But, I can also see one of the younger gold medalists putting this together so quickly.

In any event, that must have been a fun group text! And it's a really lovely video.

 

[Barbara Manatee]

How fun is that? It really is a club!

 

[AYS]

Interesting - I would have assumed that it was something that USFS coordinated.

I suspected from how they started and finished it that Meryl and Charlie spearheaded it. They’re also the youngest of the bunch and therefore the most tech savvy.

 

[euterpe]

Just learned that JW in Bulgaria has been cancelled. There is a possibility it will be moved to another venue in May, but that hasn't been confirmed. Ilia was planning to go to both JW and Worlds; now he'll be doing just Challenge Cup (to get the SP minimum) and Worlds.

 

[Vagabond]

Interesting - I would have assumed that it was something that USFS coordinated.

They might have. But, I can also see one of the younger gold medalists putting this together so quickly.

Never, ever underestimate the Jenkins brothers and Tenley Albright.

 

[VGThuy]

That whole special club of American Olympic gold medalists made me look up American Olympic silver medalists who lost gold to another American and I found out they were Ronnie Robertson who lost out to Hayes Alan Jenkins in 1956 and Michelle Kwan in 1998.

 

[skatingguy]

That whole special club of American Olympic gold medalists made me look up American Olympic silver medalists who lost gold to another American and I found out they were Ronnie Robertson who lost out to Hayes Alan Jenkins in 1956 and Michelle Kwan in 1998.

Robbie Robertson got a contract after he retired for two years with Ice Capades for $100,000. He retired in 1956. That's more than a million dollars in today's money.

 

[missing]

Here's a video of Ronnie Robertson showing off his skating skills (in particular his spins) on the Mickey Mouse Club. He starts at about the halfway mark of the video.

Robertson had a long relationship with actor Tab Hunter, who was himself a trained figure skater.

 

[concorde]

Any update in Vincent?has he made it out of quarentine? Fingers crossed he has.

 

[Karen-W]

Any update in Vincent?has he made it out of quarentine? Fingers crossed he has.

I haven't seen anything from Vincent on IG the past couple of days since he congratulated the Men's medalists and Jason on their free skates. Tom Z has returned to the States already.

 

[AYS]

That whole special club of American Olympic gold medalists made me look up American Olympic silver medalists who lost gold to another American and I found out they were Ronnie Robertson who lost out to Hayes Alan Jenkins in 1956 and Michelle Kwan in 1998.

Also Carol Heiss behind Albright, but she moved into the club the next Olympics.

 

[VGThuy]

Also Carol Heiss behind Albright, but she moved into the club the next Olympics.

That’s why I initially didn’t include her because she’s part of the club even though I should have with the way I worded my post.

 

[CantALoop]

That chuckle from Dick Button made me smile. The whole video was beautiful.

I’m happy to have a chance to see Uncle Dick again. I wish him all the love.

I was elated to see his cameo given how we haven't seen him for years, also a bit choked up because of how frail he looked (but understandable, he's 92 years old). Mr. Cantaloop said he watched a program where Scott Hamilton said that Dick Button wanted to watch Nathan but fell asleep (don't blame, Mr. Button can do whatever he wants, especially at his age!)

In light of that, I think it's amazing how he was always so energetic and witty with his commentary - when he was doing those broadcasts and interviews, I had no idea he was doing that well into his 60s and 70s! I feel sad for the generations who will grow up not knowing what "first-rate" and "rusty hoot" are. He was an iconic skating meme machine before the Internet knew what memes were.

 

[olympic]

I think he was commentating in the 1960-4 Olympic cycle

 

[Allskate]

Mr. Cantaloop said he watched a program where Scott Hamilton said that Dick Button wanted to watch Nathan but fell asleep (don't blame, Mr. Button can do whatever he wants, especially at his age!)

I'm on the West Coast and tried to watch the RD live but fell asleep. And I don't have Dick's age as an excuse.

I still can't watch a layback spin without thinking of Dick. And I always notice when Johnny Weir says that something will stand a skater in good stead because I'm almost certain he got that from Dick's commentary. What I liked most about Dick's commentary is that you could tell just how much he loved figure skating.