(And who I will not be cheering for).
This is not a prediction of who will place where. I don’t really care. This is just a list of the peeps I’ve been following, and I’m so excited they’ve made it to this most grand figure skating stage. Also, this is good if you wanted to know about some amazing skaters from around the globe who AREN’T always in US the headlines. I invite you to cheer them on with me!
I’ve been following women’s elite skating since 2010, fascinated by the legendary rivalry between South Korea’s Yuna Kim and Japan’s Mao Asada. Those days are long gone and figure skating has changed a lot since, but women’s singles is definitely the event I know the most about, so that’s what gets the most attention here. This is also focusing on the individual event, not the team event, though of course I’ll watch that happily too.
First, a few things about how figure skating is scored (If you didn’t know and want to know):
Every skater receives two scores: the technical and “components.” The sum of these is their final score. They skate two programs: The short program (~2 min, 3 jumps) establishes the starting order for the long or free skate (~4 min, 7 jumps), where the bloodbath really happens. They say you can’t win a competition with a short program, but you can lose it.
The technical content is the sum of all the “technical elements” points gained—i.e. jumps and spins. Each jump and spin has a “base value” number of points associated with it. These elements can also earn bonus points based on how well they are done (called GOE, or grade of execution). They can also lose points if done poorly. There are six major jumps: salchow, toe loop, loop, flip, lutz, and axel. In elite skating, these are usually double or triple jumps, sometimes in combination. The lutz is the second to hardest of these—you’ll hear many skaters attempting the “triple lutz, triple toe” combo for the points. The axel is the hardest jump, because it is the only jump you enter forwards and land backwards (all others, you enter backwards and land backwards). Thus, the axel requires an extra half rotation to complete. So, a double axel is actually 2.5 rotations, and a triple axel, 3.5. An ultra-c element is a “top scoring element.” In the woman’s competition, these include the elusive triple axel, and quads. The triple axel is the most elusive because it requires exquisite technique, while a quad is more, faster revolutions. So you will sometimes see skaters who can muscle through quads, but cannot land a triple axel.
“Popping a jump” means bailing out of it, and doing fewer rotations than intended. Occasionally this is done on purpose if the skater senses they did not get enough height to go with the intended plan. But other times, it is a psychological stop, a neuron misfiring, a split second action potential too late, stopping the rotation, and landing instead of finishing the jump. It is the worst mistake a skater can make—yes, even worse than falling! A fall is a mandatory 1 point deduction and you’ll lose some GOE as long as you completed the rotations. A “popped jump” means losing ALL THE POINTS you’d get for completing the jump, or at minimum a downgrade. It’s very sad to watch.
Under rotations of your jumps can also cost you points.
“Components” is the artistic side of the program, and where the dark side of skating shows up because it is so subjective. Included in the components score are lists of attributes skaters should have—ie, solid edge work, musicality, using knees and good technique, etc. scored between 1-10. Here you will see rated the step sequences, the story-telling, the transitions, and all the skills of the skater (outside jumps and spins) that inspire you and make you cry with their artistry. These scores should be obvious, but in reality, it is very garbled with political motivations. I warned you. Prepare to be frustrated about this.
Okay, now to the peeps.
Women’s individual event
I will be cheering for (in no order whatsoever):
I first saw Olga on the senior circuit at Worlds, 2021. It was still in the dark place for figure skating—the competition in Stockholm was held without spectators and under strict COVID regulations. Olga was earlier in the competition, as the later spots are loosely reserved for the more senior skaters. Into this dark era came this teen in the yellowest, happiest, sunniest dress—and she skated to match. Her skating skills are under-appreciated and I love the creativity she can bring to the ice. She’s struggled a little bit this season with consistency and the unfortunate toe-pick curse here and there. But look for that sunny, performance quality and state of the art skating skills.
I couldn’t find footage of that sunny short program, but here is her long program from the same event:
I root for Loena because she has been a dark horse this whole season and with her short program can sometimes even fight her way into medal contention. She has solid technique, and has gotten more consistent with it over the years—you know me, I love a skater that shoots for longevity over titles. Even though I think her free program is a touch…”problematic”…and boring, I hate what’s going on in figure skating more, and I will cheer for Loena to disrupt it.
I saw Madeline live at Skate Canada this year, and I’m so happy she’s punched her ticket to the Olympics! She has such a lyrical and emotive quality to her skating, and I hope she has longevity in mind, so that we will also see her in 2026. When asked what her skating goals are this year, she said: “to not get Covid.” At least someone has their priorities right.
This is Kaori-san’s second Olympics. Back in 2018, when I first saw her, she skated the most endearing program to the Amélie soundtrack. And Kaori-san is endearing, full of a charm that you don’t often see in skating. But over the last few years, her skating narrative has changed. While she is still charming and endearing off the ice, her on ice personality has shifted from cute to powerful. Last year, she skated to the Matrix (earning the name Kaorix, and winning the “meme of the year” award when she almost took off the judges’ heads in her spiral sequence—I’m not kidding, here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcBTl0HJKHY
This year, it is Gladiator and Divergent, emphasizing “strength and beauty must go together.” By far, Kaori-san is the most powerful skater in this contest. No woman skates faster. She is one of the few who earns her place on the podium not with high-scoring ultra-c elements, but with “classic” elements done with flawless technique and speed. (We will leave the argument about her lutz edge to those with the capacity to judge it). This year, Kaori-san was the ONLY non-Russian woman to make the international Grand Prix Final, though Omicron cancelled the competition.
Kaori-san wins Japanese Nationals and becomes a 2-time Olympian:
Everyone knows Wakaba-san should have been there in PyeongChang in 2018, but wasn’t. In a heartbreaking moment that demonstrates the horrible reality of figure skating, that all your dreams can crumble in a split-second, she popped a jump at nationals, and lost her chance. That same year she came in second at Worlds, where she promptly began bawling at the end of the program. As the announcer sums it up “Because that perfect program was meant for the Olympics, not Worlds.” Wakaba-san promised she wouldn’t give up from her dream of being an Olympian. These last four years, she has trained like crazy and added the beloved holy grail, the triple axel, to her repertoire. Every time she skates, you can see her heart glowing on her sparkly, rhinestoned sleeves. This year has been the culmination of a lot of blood and a lot of sweat—a program to the soundtrack from the Lion King that if this doesn’t move you to tears, I don’t know what kind of heart you have. The moment she realized she was going to Beijing 2022, every figure skating fan who has followed her since 2018 was right there sobbing with her. I predict that if she skates it clean, this will be the performance of the woman’s free program that most people in the audience remember.
The free skate where Wakaba-san finally became an Olympian, and this reaction is EVERYTHING.
I saw Mana-san live at Skate Canada this year, and it was the first time I’ve watched her skate. During the warm up, she was practicing a triple axel, over and over and over. Nailed it, nailed it, nailed it. During the short program? She fell apart on every jump! Oh no! It’s okay–she nailed it in her free program in epic fashion (shown here). She should be a force if the nerves don’t get to her. I love her free program to Yoshiki’s Miracle—it’s so epic! But every time I watch her warm up, I’m like—don’t do a million jumps. Save it, girl. Save it.
I’ve been a Mariah Bell fan it seems like forever. Her programs have always left me going—wow. That was gorgeous. Her lines, her footwork, her musicality are just second to none! OMG, this is what skating is! There was just one problem: nerves (I’m guessing?). Under the bright lights, her jumps never seemed to land when it mattered most, leaving us Mariah fans frustrated that the system didn’t award more for artistry and skating skills, so that she could be given credit she deserved.
Then something happened at Worlds 2019 (I remember this clearly because I was at a conference, and after giving a talk, I immediately made a beeline to my room so I could see what was happening). During a practice session prior to the competition, Mariah was skating through her program. The blade of her skate cut her then training buddy, Eunsoo Lim of South Korea, on the leg. Now, anyone who knew anything about figure skating watched the footage of this practice and was like—it was an accident. Blades are sharp. This shit happens in rinks all over the country every day. Mariah’s music was playing, giving her automatic right of way. Shut up, move on. But the world exploded across every possible social media platform that it was a racist attack, started sending Mariah death threats, and labeling her “Tonya 2.0” (which has a ton of problems on its own). (I don’t blame Eunsoo for being pissed about having a cut leg going into a competition, but I remember not liking how much she fed the flames and let all this happen, essentially throwing her training buddy under the bus. I mean, pissed for sure, but death threats?)
You would think getting death threats would make one curl up and hide, but somehow after this, the complete opposite happened; Mariah’s grit triumphed over her nerves and she suddenly began to skate clean skate, after clean skate, after clean skate. Her appearances at competitions leapt to the top. And finally, after a decade of skating at the elite level, she won US nationals and is Olympian. At 25, she’s one of the oldest to grace figure skating’s biggest stage. Finally. Getting. Well-deserved. Recognition. I don’t care where she ends up, I’m just so happy she gets to go.
(Oh. Eunsoo finished 9th at Korean nationals, and did not qualify for Beijing).
I will also cheer for USA’s other skaters, Karen Chen and Alysa Liu. This is Karen’s second Olympics. She had a rough outing in PyeongChang 2018, so I’m sure she’s hoping to make more of this event (and her free program to Butterfly Lovers Concerto is state-of-the art). Karen also has one of the best spiral sequences in the industry. Also Alysa Liu, the youngest of the trio, is the only one armed with an ultra-c triple axel (though it’s been failing her lately). Alysa has the biggest potential of the USA ladies to score high. I just hope she loves what she’s doing, and is doing this for herself.
Just because her free program is mind-blowing. And it’s a tribute to the great South Korean legend, Yuna Kim. You Young has a gorgeous triple axel in her arsenal. She could be a real force to reckon with. Now, she just has to keep her head in the game and not let the nerves get to her, as what happened at Europeans. Just forget about Europeans, You Young! You got this!
I mean, check this out:
Because you can’t NOT like Ekaterina! No one can literally act on ice quite like her. She can mime on ice! Given my way, she would have been on the podium at Europeans this year for this program:
Her technical content will never be enough to win anything in this field. But she has no problem being 100% herself under the big lights, and I love her for it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU3QqPZsGBg
Men’s individual event
I don’t follow men’s skating the same way I’ve followed women’s skating —for whatever reason, it leaves me feeling less moved and less in awe. Don’t ask why this is the case, with the guys jumping regular quads. That said, I will give a shout out to:
Because, at least in men’s skating, he’s the goat *shrug*. So without going all Fanyu, or throwing Winnie the Pooh bears at him (it’s a thing), naturally I’m going to cheer for the goat. I mean, this man inspired a whole anime series (if you ever wondered where Yuri on Ice came from?) He is going for his THIRD Olympic gold here in Beijing, and what that says about longevity is already enough to make me applaud. He is also (so it is said) going to attempt a QUAD AXEL (4.5 revolutions). This jump has never been successfully landed in a competition. Me, I’m a little more like—okay, Yuzu-san, you’re an amazing skater already, just skate with that artistic beauty you’re known for and don’t kill yourself with a quad axel. The figure skating world needs you, and the Fanyus would explode if you got hurt. But, you do you. You are two time Olympic champion, only you know the boundaries. I’m here for it.
The goat wins second Olympic gold in 2018. Can he get a third??
Although Jason Brown has struggled with the quads, only Jason Brown can skate a Jason Brown program. You know what I mean after you’ve seen it. There’s some who are upset that Jason, being an older skater with less technical content, was given a place on the Olympic team instead of a younger skater who could have possibly gotten the USA if not on the podium, then a lot closer to it. I support sending Jason, and the message of longevity. The younger skaters will still have their chance. Plus, Jason’s Sinnerman short program I saw live at Skate Canada, and this alone deserves an Olympic moment. Disappointing that this is the only footage I can find of it:
I am not cheering for Nathen Chen. I’m sorry. He gets so much hype, and yes, he can jump many quads. But in my humble opinion, he is the most boring human to ever strap blades to their feet. How boring can you be with literal blades on your feet?
He started this season with a broken toe, and, against his wishes, was forced to compete with it anyway. It was rough. Those were some of the worst falls I’ve ever seen. He has battled back from that rough place, and with this skate at Europeans, secured not only a spot at the Olympics, but an eternal place in our hearts.
Pairs event
Vanessa James / Eric Radford (Canada)
Really, I’m cheering for Vanessa. And how could I not? She’s one of three (three!) Black women in all of elite figure skating (please tell me if there are more), and the only one who will be at these Olympic Games. I’ve been cheering for Vanessa for years—her strength, lines, and skating skills are incredible. She also has to carry a heavy “diversity burden”–that is, constantly being interviewed about race. Still, she gives so much to others and is truthfully just an amazing soul. Unfortunately, she gets a lot of hate. No doubt the melanin subconsciously has something to do with it. Many implicate her in the scandal surrounding her former partner, Morgan Cipres. Of course, there’s no evidence that she was involved, people just automatically tie her to it, forcing her to announce retirement in 2020. But she wasn’t finished skating. She paired up with another retiree, Eric Radford. They have been skating together FOR LESS THAN A YEAR, and have qualified for the Olympics. Are they going to podium? Probably not. They’ve had successes this year on the Grand Prix circuit, but the competition is probably too steep at this point. Do they care? Nah. They are totally in this because they both love skating. Meanwhile, people legit hate Vanessa for coming back. I mean, wtf people? If she were white, they’d see the crimes of her partner ruined her career at its peak. Please don’t fall into the hate trap, whatever you hear, it’s so dumb. Send Vanessa and Eric some love for just doing what they love, they deserve it.
Not the greatest footage, but it’s what I could find.
Ashley Cain-Gribble / Timothy LeDuc (USA)
We call them AshTim. And they are a one of a kind pairs team. They represent everything good about pairs skating—equality, mutual respect, and support. They are redefining what a pairs team looks like. Most pairs teams have a taller, muscular guy with a petite woman. This makes the woman easier to throw, pick up, lift for 30 seconds at a time, move around in the crazy-dangerous maneuvers a pairs team does. Instead, Ash and Tim are of equal height and strength, and Ash lands her throws and jumps with superior technique. It is usually the woman who demonstrates crazy flexibility as the guy just picks her up. Instead, Tim is equally flexible as Ash and they waltz around the rink doing side-by-side split jumps and split-spins. They have a new style that relies on sharp, precise lines, matching for every second of their program. It is mesmerizing to watch, and I dare you not to cry. Beyond that, the grit: In a regional competition in 2018, Tim fumbled getting Ash out of a difficult lift, and Ash fell on the top of her head, losing consciousness. (There’s footage of it on youtube. It’s horrific.) A solid concussion later, Ash thinks to herself: we’re going to win nationals. Just a few months later, they win nationals, with the same difficult dismount that resulted in a concussion not long before. That’s what grit is.
Also: Tim is the first openly non-binary athlete to compete in the Games. Diversity matters. You guys are simply amazing.
AshTim win their second national title and become Olympians:
I will also cheer for our other team, Alexa Knierim / Brandon Frazier I just don’t know them as well.
Sui Wenjing / Han Cong (China)
I don’t know a lot about them, but I saw them live at Skate Canada and they were amazing! And I love their coaches, who were my favorite pairs team for a long time before they retired. So I’m cheering for Sui and Han. They could very well find themselves on the podium if they keep it together. Shoot. They could top the podium.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHXOvDfT10g
Who am I not cheering for?
In two words: Eteri Tutberidze
I’ll restrain myself, because there are others who have written essays or posted video essays about this person. Such as here:
But here is my restrained version:
Eteri Tutberidze is a Russian figure skating coach. In fact, she is THE most prominent figure skating coach in the world. If you watch any figure skating at the Olympics, you will see her face A LOT.
You will see her in the pairs event, in the ice dance event, in the men’s event, and above and all else, the woman’s event (so, pretty much every figure skating event there is). Soon she’ll force her way into coaching bobsledding and cross-country skiing (okay, the image of Eteri in a bobsled with a Gucci helmet is making my day better, I’ll admit it.) But it is in the field of woman’s figure skating that she has forced the stake of her indelible presence through all of our throats.
I do not like Eteri Tutberidze. There are very few people in this world I blatantly do not like. Eteri Tutberidze is one of them.
Her skaters sweep the podium in event after event, pulling off spectacular, practically inhuman feats. Truly, her athletes are incredible, and deserve so much respect and compassion. If the politics of the figure skating world get their way here (and covid stays its hand), they will sweep the podium of these Games as well. But respect and compassion are exactly what the Tutberidze skaters do not get.
See, the problem, the secret ingredient to the Tutberidze success that the commentators won’t tell you—her women skaters landing quads and pulling off remarkable consistency in every competition—is actually simple. The Tutberidze brand depends on two things: (1) low body weight, and (2) an improper technique that uses the back to initiate jump rotation instead of leg strength. Low body weight means: encouraging disordered eating, rules against drinking water on competition day, and shame regarding that horrible bodily process called puberty. Gasp. How dare you grow up? Improper technique means: back and hip injuries, sometimes debilitating ones, by the age of 17 or 18. The pattern is very clear. A shining skater from the Tutberidze camp bursts on the senior scene at 15, winning everything with “remarkable consistency, incredible poise, and jumping quads to boot.” Then she grows up, gains weight. The technique fails, her body retaliates, and she is forced to retire only one or two seasons after she first debuted. It doesn’t matter. There’s another younger one to take her place. Eteri herself has called her school a “factory” and her skaters, “products.” About the skater who has just fallen from glory with an agonizing injury, her throne usurped by her younger uninjured teammate now doing more quads than ever? Forgotten about, left to fend against the trauma and disordered eating alone. They are called the “disposable champions.” These are human beings! And they’re being forced through this before they have the frontal lobe to see past the temptation of the medals to the rest of their lives spent in pain.
Yet, because what Tutberize produces is exactly what the ISU wants to see (stick-thin girls performing tricks outside their capability) her skaters are rewarded with points well exceeding what they actually do on the ice—even when they lack their ultra-c elements (They call it, the “Tutberidze bonus”, and you will see it in every event she coaches in—so, all of them.)
I want well for Tutberidze’s skaters, and I admire and applaud them. I’m genuinely concerned about them. I can’t put all the hate on Tutberidze. She is certainly not the first abusive figure skating coach out there, nor the last. But she might be the first to receive so much praise (and profit) because of it. Instead of creating legendary skaters, Eteri and the Tutberidze Brand have become the legend, her skaters the means of securing it.
Want to hug:
Anna Shcherbakova (Russia) —we call her “two shrimps” because one of the Tutberidze coaches bragged (bragged!) how it was so great Anna only ate two shrimp at dinner as was full, not like other girls, who had a “food addiction.” If that statement doesn’t bother you, we’re not friends. Anna had so much vivacity when she burst on the scene in 2019. Even though she’s still rewarded huge amounts of points for her programs, she now just looks tired, broken and injured. Anna, are you okay??? We want to hug you and feed you lots and lots of shrimp!
Alexandra Trusova (Russia) — is called the “Russian Rocket” because she is the first woman to land 5 quads in a program (among many other quad-related feats). She will be attempting 5 quads here. That’s amazing! She has no artistry, and she’s known for it. I still wish they were quads done with proper technique though. And it is also baffling that she can get as many artistry points as she does for literally doing a crossover drill around the ice and jumping a quad now and then. She is also coming off a fractured foot injury from earlier this season.
Kamila Valieva (Russia) — The gold medal favorite. We call her “seal girl” only because her facial expression kind of reminds me of a seal, and the federation loves her so much, she could literally flop around the ice for 4 minutes and win Olympic Gold. She can jump quads and has a solid triple axel. She often looks flawless, but a skilled eye notices her using the wrong edge here and there, and her technique represents that of the Tutberidze camp, though disguised with almost distortion-worthy flexibility. You just know she turned 15 and thus could skate at the Games at the perfect time. Where will she be in a year from now? We can only hope still uninjured.
These three will probably be the podium. But at what cost? There is no way they will be skating four years from now, and there are already girls in the Russian junior ranks chomping at the bit for these ones to fall.
So.
ARE YOU READY FOR THE DRAMA? There will be drama, for sure. Please contact for more discussion, or if I got something wrong, I am not an expert! Happy watching skating.
Andrea L McQuate 