The Olympic Favorite Curse

This is a telling of how every Olympics the favorite to win has been cheated out of the medal by destiny. This is now almost a twisted tradition. Which begs the question: what will the next Olympics hold in store for us? Milano Cortina 2026 uh oh
Twittter: / ggcncobtsbp
Patreon: / paolala
Merch: bonfire.com/store/paola-la-merch/
yuna kim fancma sochi gala: • [Fan cam] Yuna Kim Ex ...

[@bridgetbinion8494]

I love the Italian commentators getting pissy when Kim Yuna didn't get her gold medal.

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

Germans too! Katarina Witt was v upset commentating on German TV. She won Olympic gold in 1984 and 1988!

[@bridgetbinion8494]

I admit, I got pissy too.

[@emilyau8023]

That's how you know something is off. When outside of your country calls out cheating

[@bridgetbinion8494]

@@emilyau8023 there are even Russians that disagree with this.

[@richj24]

@@dronesclubhighjinksKatrina Witt is a legend

[@chaeryoungswife2474]

How ironic that while Sotnikova holds the medal, every figure skating fan acknowledges that Yuna was the true winner

[@TheEmmaSmith]

western mentality: when a Russian wins, it has to be doping or cheating

[@chaeryoungswife2474]

@@TheEmmaSmith lmao have you seen sotnikova’s technique?? Yuna’s jumps are almost always technically perfect. Even if Sotnikova did have harder jumps that Yuna, she didn’t execute them nearly as well as Yuna

[@TheEmmaSmith]

@@chaeryoungswife2474 yes and there she did the skate of her life while Yuna downgraded her program comparing to when she won gold. Simple. 😘

[@chaeryoungswife2474]

@@TheEmmaSmith The skate of her life consisted of poor jumping technique and less-then-average choreography…it’s a good thing I’ve never watched the rest of her skates.

[@TheEmmaSmith]

@@chaeryoungswife2474 yet, it was enough to get gold 🥳

[@luzcalderon7808]

I swear women's figure skating can be made into a show as intense as the fisrt seasons of Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad. It could be called Ice Queens

[@paolala]

yesss!! i want it sooo much

[@luzcalderon7808]

@@paolala Let's write it!! Eteri will be the villain everybody loves to hate

[@dmuchawieclatawiec]

I love your idea.

[@Nadia1989]

More like Madoka Magica

[@FanyLI]

@@luzcalderon7808it would be reductive to make her the sole villain or the main one (it also smells of misogyny on your part, that you ignore the many males involved in facilitating the system that abuses children and condones sexual abuse, many of these males in positions of power over Eteri herself), she is awful herself, but realistically she is just another “evil” figure among many in the sport, and at the end of the day while there’s a ton of horrible and abusive coaches, the real villains are behind the scenes, the ones in actual power in the sport.

[@IvyroseGullwhacker]

Honestly the fact that Scherbakova, Trusova, and Valieva's gut-wrenching reactions were all filmed and broadcast for the world to see makes me sick. I want to shove my hand in the camera and say "Get the hell out of here, she is a crying child. Go away."

[@user-po5ec1cz2z]

They're not children when you're supposed to be competing with adults! They deserve the shame!

[@ardius9777]

@@user-po5ec1cz2z This is why they should really raise the age bar to 18. Physique aside, the mental maturity should really also be taken into account

[@preyslaydisplay]

exactly!! how do people not get a twist in their stomach watching those poor kids break down after so much stress and pressure....

[@marcaronincheese]

@@user-po5ec1cz2z being an olympic-level athlete doesn't speed run child psychology and development, it's like when you see a former disney star spiralling out. it all comes around, no one's exempt.

[@19Rena96]

@@marcaronincheese easy solution to be more child friendly: Don't let children compete with adults!

[@Mooooooooooooooooooooooooo]

Adelina hugging that judge right after her win ON CAMERA will always be such a surreal moment

[@alperry02]

That's wild.

[@iceescape]

Thanks for giving me the gold despite me not performing well! Nepotism and corruption at its highest.

[@ToePick]

The more times I see this clip, the more I agree with Surya Bonaly for turning her back on the judges in Nagano.

[@Yuhon100]

The judge hug her after she saw her backstage that shows that this judge is about to give her the gold medal no matter how well or not she skates after judging her. Remember this judge Alla S. is married to the Russian Figure Skating President.

[@zah936]

​@@Yuhon100how TF are these people judges?

[@laney4286]

"And they were roommates" has the same energy as "And he did this at my birthday dinner"

[@johannaagnesarpas5864]

Better: she annouced x at MY wedding

[@bencaspar]

Right in front of her salad. Rude!

[@FrozenKizz]

I felt so bad for yuna Kim. Her Performance was brilliant.

[@TheEmmaSmith]

Still, Adelina Sotnikova was superior.

[@channah3001]

@@TheEmmaSmithyuna deserved the gold

[@TheEmmaSmith]

@@channah3001 not with that performance, she was out of shape.

[@channah3001]

@@TheEmmaSmith adeliya had a step-out… yuna was technically and artistically better and that’s a fact

[@TheEmmaSmith]

@@channah3001 yeah of course, that is why the professional judges gave her silver

[@adapienkowska2605]

I think the problem with Sotnikova was that she made mistakes and scored higher (by a lot) than she ever scored in her career.

[@ddjr6673]

And was totally over marked in her SP and Yuna undermarked (triple toe/triple toe vs Triple Lutz/Triple Toe *and* Yuna's performance - Send in the Clowns SP is a work of art)

[@ChristineTheHippie]

She was also overscored in her PCS

[@Yuhon100]

I saw that stepping out on the combination jump which was visible, and I don't expect her to score so high in her PCS, even Yuna and Carolina's artistry is better than her, and she should not medal. Home crowd advantage, huge controversy as well.

[@iceescape]

The was a clear instance of Olympic and Russian Federation corruption at play. She didn't even belong in the top 3 and they gave her gold.

[@zonedutopia]

And Yu was perfect To say yuna gave "equally astonishing" performance is a slap for yuna

[@skateata1]

I love how this was presented like a horror story 😂

[@paolala]

it is! haha

[@zonedutopia]

I imagine whole life of training and not even having a chance due to corruption is quite a mental horror to go trough

[@bisma1352]

I was thinking it was like a true crime documentary 😂

[@hagvisual]

it's because the story was criminal

[@luiscintron6568]

🤣Without trying😂

[@ashlabelle]

I would also add to the reasons why fans were pissed at Sochi, that Adelina *didn't* have a great performance. Don't get me wrong her program was challenging and she had lots of energy, but most of her jumps had very blatant technical errors. From cheated jump entries to underrotations to two-foot landings, you name it. And almost none of those mistakes were called. Meanwhile, both Yuna and Carolina performed perfect technical programs, and were underscored.

[@ChristineTheHippie]

And her PCS scores shouldn't have been higher than Yuna Kim or Carolina Kostner

[@ashlabelle]

@@ChristineTheHippie Ikr? Especially Carolina's. Her skating skills and artistry were nowhere near mature enough to be even close to Yuna or Caro.

[@ChristineTheHippie]

@@ashlabelle Agreed. Adelina should have been no higher than bronze. If you were to call her on her technical errors, I think Gracie would've likely been the bronze medalist. Mao was too far back (I so have had her win the free skate)

[@Yuhon100]

True, their artistry is better than her, all of sudden her PCS almost around what Yuna and Carolina's score.

[@ThePenkiteTV]

Mao was the true winner of the free skate, she not only had passion, energy, difficulty and style in her routine, she also delivered it clean. Yes, she isn’t a textbook jumper, but definitely super underrated gem by the judges… I remember watching these olympics, Mao was the one who originally made me fall for the sport. I had not seen the short and I was watching the long, I was so shocked such a skater was so far behind in scores together with some not impressive people. The commentator only started talking once she was done and we found out she had a fall the previous day.

[@allier1867]

btw, yuna wasn't crying because she didn't get gold. it was tears of relief. she knew then it was over and was retiring.

[@wheatstonebridge]

Oh, you know that for a fact? Did Yuna tell you this personally?

[@supernova_.17]

​@@wheatstonebridgeshe told it

[@constellation7966]

​@@wheatstonebridgeYes. She said she felt vaguely that the judges wouldn't give her a gold medal. She cried when she felt her retirement and everything was over.😢😢

[@wndlrms1420]

@@wheatstonebridge yeah she said it in an interview

[@user-sy8ij9mr1i]

⁠​⁠@@wheatstonebridgeshe literally said in her interviews that she doesn’t care about the gold metal. She cried because she felt immense relief from finally being able to retire happily and without any regrets

[@simashakeri95]

It's been nearly a decade and I am still so furiously heartbroken for Yuna.

[@ninab.4540]

Yulia had more talent if she beat Yuna it would've been more believable

[@Karamarika]

​@@ninab.4540her story is so sad. She was such an amazing skater. I was sad to see her retire early.

[@ChristineTheHippie]

Let's hope the 2026 Olympics will have a wholesome medal ceremony with three happy medalists.

[@Yuhon100]

Let's hope so too, not sure about the Russian athletes are allowed to compete or they still remain banned because of the war with their neighbor, if not we might see a Japanese, South Korean, or perhaps USA medal.

[@TheFlowMind]

@@Yuhon100 they will definitely be allowed back under neutra flag. Can you imagine the amount of pressure Russia will be doing to get them back to the Olympics?

[@ChristineTheHippie]

@@TheFlowMind and they will continue to dope,

[@user-sl7nz7fg8o]

​@@Yuhon100 if one russian girl would get to the Olympics, I hope it will be Liza Tuktamysheva. She was mercilessly robbed in 21/22.

[@Yuhon100]

@@user-sl7nz7fg8o Yes, many attempts and she couldn't make it, take for example the 2018 Olympics as the 2015 World Champion, and as the 2021 World Silver Medalist, should have secure a spot and was the alternate #1 of the depth of the Russian women's team with Kamila's positive doping test and she was left off, they should have put her on the Olympic team if they found out earlier that Kamila failed a doping test, and who knows it might be a Russian women's medal sweep in Beijing.

[@roxnn]

“at least now they can have their medal ceremony” 🥺 poor girl, she was only 15, it wasn’t her fault. Eteri is notoriously cruel, she should be ashamed for what she’s done to these girls. The adults around Kamila failed her and seriously ruined her reputation and career that she’s spent her WHOLE life working for + not only did they fail her but failed all the other athletes that still haven’t gotten their awards.

[@user-jy8zb2wc8l]

"at least now they can have a medal ceremony" broke my heart all over again 😭 these girls with their immense talent deserved to be evaluated equally with all the other athletes and also not be given heart medications

[@elielelwy]

Tf it was all her fault for holding up the rest of the skaters deserved win, she deserved to lose bc of her doling scandal

[@janicesee__]

​@@elielelwyshe was FIFTEEN she couldn't have done jack shit, it was the adults around her.

[@infinitechibi1496]

​@@janicesee__ I agree the adults definitely orchestrated that whole mess, how traumatising for the both of them.

[@littleblackpistol]

@@elielelwy while Valieva shouldn't have been allowed to skate she was a minor living under a dictatorial coach and regime. It wasn't HER doping scandal as much as the entire Russian establishment's and certainly team Tuberidze's which employs a highly shady team doctor whose speciality is anaesthesia and NOT sports injuries etc ... he has written openly about doping athletes with Xenon gas. The entire team is likely doped so they can train harder, longer and take less rest. I doubt they are told what they are taking or there is any transparency in the process. PEDs are used more in training than in actual performance across all sports and the science is so advanced and the money involved in doping on both sides (pushers and athletes seeking huge sponsorship deals if they win) the testers are always a step behind. Remember Lance Armstrong who doped from day one of his career, used many many drugs and techniques to push training and performance and never tested positive in competition. It takes a fumble to get caught. Valieva is the one who the team doctor fucked up with and so her sample got caught. I guarantee that they have all those young girls on a cocktail of PEDs. Russian sport is by the Russian state, for the Russian state. Sutnikova just admitted last week that her A sample tested positive at Sochi. Her B sample was allegedly clean, but let's be real, what we know now about Russian testing labs and the corruption involved in them would indicate that B sample wasn't hers, and the A sample told the true story. It's shocking to think of, but the way Eteri messes with those girls' bodies, delayong puberty, dehydrating them before competition so they weight less, pushing starvation diets on them to remain tiny, doping is going to be just another tool in her warchest to get results.

[@raerohan4241]

​@@littleblackpistol It's very rare for a second sample to test negative if the first tests positive, which is why the Koreans are calling for this to be investigated again. Athletes' blood and urine samples are required to be kept for 10 years, so the samples should still exist and be able to be retested

[@fluff_bunny1885]

2:50 you can hear the commentator's pain and disbelief. a precursor to today's twisted system and skating society.

[@alperry02]

Yep

[@soph132]

You didn’t mention this but Sotnikova literally went and hugged one of the judges (who was also Russian) after her win was announced. Everything about that competition feels dirty to me.

[@watchmedo635]

Exactly - even if I understand wanting to thank the judges, it was very clear that she shouldn’t have won and that made it *incredibly* suspicious

[@Yuhon100]

I don't know and understand why, that during the Olympic season of 2013-2014, that every competition that Adelina competed, that Russian judge Alla S. always judging her.

[@Yuhon100]

@@watchmedo635 She already wanted her to make history during that time and especially Russia being the hosts trying to bring the Russian crowd something special as they hope to make history that the Russian women win their first ever Olympic Gold as Adelina is the first Russian women to win.

[@soph132]

@@Yuhon100 if I remember correctly she was never banned or penalized and has continued judging in the years since

[@missblackcat4655]

Didn’t she hug everybody tho?

[@Elong.]

I like how these commentators talk about the crazy scoring is. I don’t believe I’ve heard the US commentators do this. Thanks for posting this

[@valerys1175]

Italian commentators expression

[@alperry02]

​@daisyheadmaizy5183 and there is the point Tara L beat out Michele Kwan for the Olympic gold in a VERY controversial way. Most people thought Michele was robbed. No way is she going to talk alot about this

[@Elong.]

@@alperry02 yes, I’m in this camp

[@Yuhon100]

@@alperry02 I think it was fair, many thinks that Michelle is the overwhelming favorite with a perfect performance, based on how both have skated, but Tara is the world champion, and it always advantages the reigning champion, Tara's program is much difficult, Michelle plays in safe, and it costs her the gold medal.

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

I love Katarina Witt's reaction. Double Olympic gold medallist did not hold back with her opinions!

[@sirena3470]

Actually, Anna and Sasha met at least a few times after the Olympics. Even though they are not as close as before, they seem to be on good terms, they were photographed together at Zhenya's birthday party 😊

[@paolala]

omg i love that

[@kamilareeder1493]

It must be so painful for them to think about even though I'm sure they don't blame eachother for what happened 💔😪😢 such horrible coaches. Im a dance teacher and I hope I never get so focused on medals and results that I treat my students that way.

[@kamilareeder1493]

The way the adults were pitting the girls against eachother when they're all on the same team was just sickening.

[@sophiamachovec2095]

They aren’t friends, Sasha stated in an interview that there are no friends in sports and there never were

[@sirena3470]

@@sophiamachovec2095 Sasha is very close friends with Sofia Muravieva, who is also a skater. So I don't think Sasha said what she said in the interview in a very serious tone

[@nciti]

Also Yuna doesnt talk about Sochi 'with incredible pain' lol. She wasnt really crying bc she lost, she was just relieved she skated clean. Shes only ever said that Sochi was incredibly difficult for her physically and mentally leading into the games, and her response was more about the pressure she faced and training struggles. Weird to frame this so inaccurately.

[@zackwilson8701]

Yuna was also incredibly gracious in defeat. She never publicly spoke out against the results or displayed ingratitude. People speculate that she was upset of course, but it takes a lot of restraint, maturity, and sportsmanship to accept the result. Both Evgenia and Kamila have struggled in comparison to show good sportsmanship in the face of defeat, and the same is true of Trusova unfortunately. I don't necessarily blame the girls for that; to me, their lack of sportsmanship is a reflection of the toxicity of their sports environment and coaching team. Every woman mentioned in this video has an incredible sports career millions will only dream of.

[@nciti]

@zackwilson8701 Agree with everything you said! I also think this is a difference of women and girls. Can't really expect teenagers to have the same emotional maturity as a person in their mid twenties. Yuna was also one of the least sports-obsessed champions ever. Always makes me laugh that her first response to giving advice to young skaters is "don't do it, it's too hard" lol

[@andro7862]

​@@zackwilson8701 I feel like Trusova was so shocked because her best friend won the gold instead of her. I agree it was immature, but she's just a kid after all. Yuna is a champion, whatever happened in Sochi doesn't change her status as an exceptionally successful young woman.

[@zackwilson8701]

​@@andro7862Agreed in that I also don't blame Trusova for her breakdown at the Olympics. I agree that she was having a mental health episode and that she'd been manipulated by her coaches. I t's more her poor sportsmanship in the aftermath that I find disappointing, similarly to Evgenia's and Kamila's. It's fine to express sadness - that's honest - but entitlement or disrespect for your competitors is unacceptable. Everyone loses sometimes, and no one is entitled to win a title. Other teenagers have lost major titles, like Michelle Kwan when she was 17 and the favorite for the 1998 Olympics, and she handled it with a lot more humility and respect. Gracie Gold is another example of a skater who was 18 at the Olympics - the same age as Evgenia - who didn't medal and still displayed good sportsmanship. Ditto with Mao Asada who lost the gold medal to Yuna at age 19. And Scherbakova frequently displayed a respectful attitude to her competitors even after she lost as well. Teenagers are capable of respectful behavior.

[@ChristineTheHippie]

@@zackwilson8701 the difference is that Michelle and Gracie's careerd weren't over. Eteri girls don't have longevity. Michelle still had a good career ahead and Gracie is still competing.

[@ayanna6327]

I would argue it goes back even farther to the 1990s. Nancy Kerrigan was the favorite to win in 94', but the winner was Oksana Baiul. Michelle Kwan in 98' and 2002, but Tara Lipinski and Sarah Hughes took the title, the 2006 Olympic gold was considered to be a battle between Sasha Cohen and Irina Slutskaya, however Shizuka Arakawa won. The only year since the 1990s where the favorite did win was 2010.

[@nciti]

I think aside from Michelle Kwan, none of those other women were dominant coming into the Olympics. They had some momentum and media hype (some for reasons outside of skating) but not that much faith in their actual abilities to take home gold. In general the 6.0 sysyem didnt really lend itself to having heavy favorites. Meanwhile, 2006 was just a lull year for skating. The only "favorite" to win in discussion was Mao Asada, only she wasnt old enough to compete at the games lol.

[@TheHmcykbux]

@@nciti slutskaya won 2 world championships at that point, she was definitely the favorite.

[@alperry02]

Absolutely. The Nancy Kerrigan / Michelle Kwan robberies were horrendous.

[@nciti]

​@@TheHmcykbuxyou're right that she was the defending wc and ec. I think if I had to choose a dominant skater in the early 2000s it would be slutskaya. At the same time, the field in 05 and 06 were very weak, and people weren't very surprised she bombed in Torino tbh. It's definitely not the same kind of dominance we would see from later champions.

[@TheHmcykbux]

@@nciti carolina kostner and michelle kwan were a weak field? i don't actually believe you remember early 00s. what separates them and someone like yuna kim or medvedeva in terms of dominance is fanbase and recency bias.

[@lumi6051]

I think the case of Yuna in 2014 is very different from the other years you mentioned, Yuna truly deserved to win.

[@kvskvs2098]

How its different, Medvedeva Trusova and Valieva didn't deserve to win?

[@sirena3470]

@@kvskvs2098 Valieva and Medvedeva didn’t deserve to win for sure, Valieva literally tested positive for a banned substance, and Medvedeva has the worst jumping technique ever, Zagitova is superior to Medvedeva in all 6 jump types, spins and skating skills, so Zagitova won fair and square. Whether Trusova deserved to win is more controversial though, it’s true that jumping 5 quads was a historical attempt, but she couldn’t complete her programs cleanly and she truly lacked artistry

[@user-qn1ly4wg8y]

@@sirena3470Maybe quit that tale of “Medvedeva’s worst jumping technique”? That girl literally holds 11 records in figure skating. I know some Yuna’s fans resent her because Evgenia broke her world record, but saying her jumping technique is the worst is really a stretch. She struggles with lutz though, as many skaters do (for example Shoma Uno, a two-time world champion). And whereas Alina had better lutz techniques, she had struggls with underrotation (which is also the case for many other athletes, not exclusive to her). Anna’s technique is actually more questionable than Evgenia’s, especially in regards of the rotation in her quads and her loop and lutz. Funny how you mention Evgenia’s “worst ever technique” and do not call Anna out for having even more cheating technique and implying she skated “clean” in comparison with Trusova, who is one of few Eteri’s girls with correct technique.

[@sirena3470]

@@user-qn1ly4wg8y Just watch Medvedeva’s jump analysis videos, there are plenty. She used the technique considered faulty by ISU in literally all 6 jump types. She used extreme prerotation, full blade assistance on toe jumps, wrong edges and cheated jump entries. She wasn’t even capable of jumping a proper 2A, which is the easiest jump for many skaters. Her poor jumping technique is the reason why she seriously injured herself and cannot turn her back to the left side now. Her poor technique was ignored by the judges and she was given ridiculously high scores thanks to Eteri bonus and the power of Rusfed. You are right, Anna also had poor jumping technique. But she was at least capable of making 4 rotations on most attempts even though it was thanks to prerotation. And fun fact, Anna’s prerotation on 3F and 3Lz was not as much as Medvedeva’s prerotation on those jumps. Anna used extreme prerotation on QUAD jumps while Medvedeva did it for just TRIPLES. And Anna was at least capable of jumping a proper 2A unlike Medvedeva

[@node9691]

@@user-qn1ly4wg8y Crazy that there is still someone willing to defend Evgenia's jumping technique in the year of 2024 like it isn't common knowledge that her jumping technique sucked? You're pointing out the 11 records she held thanks to the ✨Eteri Bonus✨ which she no longer received the moment she trained with Brian Orser. And the same thing that happened to Lipnitskaya, Trusova, and Kostornaia when they left Eteri. Evgenia is permanently injured due to her jumping technique and you said it's a stretch that she had the worst jumping technique?

[@DarkDragonaire]

thank you for helping me relive the Olympic pain and suffering lol it hurts 😅

[@paolala]

haha you're welcome! Any day lol

[@rafaelasabchucalovato9439]

I think I'm a bit sadomasochist 😂 I love this pain

[@isavel.xo97]

I remember after Kim’s performance thinking “wow, she has this in the bag” like no question, she was going to win and when she didn’t my heart broke for her because personally I felt right away that something wasn’t adding up.

[@olaleciejewska8313]

To be honest, I still consider 2014 the most heartbreaking of all of them. One of the most blatant corruptions in the history of sports, for sure ( especially with the video of Adelina hugging one of the judges after the competition). And as you said Adelina was not even in the mix for the medal before and was 9th at Words year prior. Moreover, her technical content was not even that difficult, look at underrated Mao, for example. In the short, she scored almost the same as Yuna with 3t-3t combo, junior like step sequence and average interpretation. Obviously we know how easy it is nowadays to inflate a score of Russian girls by PCS and GOEs. In my eyes, Sochi 2014 was a beginning of the era of tragedy in ladies skating & we didn’t realise how blessed we were to have years of amazing competition between Mao, Yuna and Carolina.

[@laughtersassassin2355]

It was really the beginning of the Russian dominance and eteri’s girls. Lipnitskaya broke down so they gave it to adelina through sheer manipulation and abuse of power. 2013 worlds podium is still the greatest ever, miss those days.

[@Yuhon100]

She shocked everyone with a ninth-place finish at the world championships a year before the Olympics, within a year she came out from the radar by winning the gold medal, with no one expects her to do that, and she is the first figure skater men or women to win the Olympics without a world medal. This is rigged because the judges tried to pleased Putin who is watching on the stand.

[@elielelwy]

Ice skating during the Olympics is a Russian paid medal forsure

[@skylahmay5061]

I always love your videos Paola. However please note that Yuna never speaks out about that incident with pain. She always shows gratitude towards the experiences she had. She does not portray herself as a victim, only a skater. Thank you for always entertaining us😊

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

Thank you very much for clarifying this! It is so refreshing to see a person not embracing victim culture, especially when she has legitimate reasons to complain.

[@MsKatieBo]

@@dronesclubhighjinks wtf is victim culture?

[@MsKatieBo]

I am sure she is hurt and definitely feel as a victim, who wouldn't, but she learned a lesson that "it's almost impossible to win against Russia". So she probably sees her silver medal as a gold one. Rightfully.

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

@@MsKatieBo I just looked it up and the correct term is actually “victimhood culture.“ If you use that as a search term, you can find out all about it. Happy reading! 🙏

[@bridgetbinion8494]

Yuna was so dignified about this though. She never spoke badly about Sotnikova or the judges. I love that.

[@TheFlowMind]

What satisfy me is that Yuna got the last word. She’s one of the most loved female skater and Adelina succumbed to nothingness as it should be. Still hoping they would investigate the case. I guess the worst outcome was probably Gracie who felt apart after the 4th place.

[@makaelaischillin]

“As it should be”? adelina was a CHILD, a 17 year old, bombarded with death threats and intense media hatred that continues to this day. and yet all coldness from you. despicable

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

The corruption was obvious, but it was the judges who were doing it. Adelina did not award herself those scores and did not give herself the gold medal. I don't think she deserves hate from Yuna's fans. All the skaters, as a matter of fact, all the athletes, are treated as pawns by either their respective sports' officials and/or the IOC.

[@sarahmcdonough7713]

I honestly struggle to remember Adelina’s name most of the time, which I think represents the “impact” she’s had on the sport. Crazy that we might have a whole string of forgettable russian cheats as Olympic champs for the foreseeable future.

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

@@sarahmcdonough7713 The situation has already changed, because the ISU is raising the age limit so that the very lightweight, (probably) artificially pre-pubescent 15-16 yo girls are no longer allowed to compete at the senior level. The next Olympics, will only have women’s skaters over the age of 17, I believe. I’m not sure about this, but it seems that the reason the RUS girls can do quads is because they are so light. It also seems that fully grown women have trouble with quads, not only due to slightly more weight, but because the balance of their bodies is different. Furthermore, the RUS athletes are banned from the 2024 Summer Olympics, and unless things change in 2024-25, they will also be banned from the 2026 Winter Olympics.

[@sarahmcdonough7713]

@@dronesclubhighjinks yeah I’m very much looking forward to what the landscape of the women’s field looks like after the age limit change. Would love to start seeing GPF, worlds, and olympic champs that are 20+. I can’t say I expect that russia will be banned in 2026, because there have always been remarkably few repercussions and punishments for their constant doping and cheating infractions, but I can hope 😕

[@watchmedo635]

Anna really went into the Olympics as the underdog and came out as the champion and the only ROC girl who didn't stumble, one of the wildest success stories out there

[@KiffiStinkt]

At the beginning and start of the introduction of „3A“ definitely but at the Olympic season Anna won Russian nationals and worlds

[@KiffiStinkt]

@@daisyheadmaizy5183 yes I agree that really was a next level “In your face” victory😂 I wished we would have gotten another interview with the same guy after the olys

[@KiffiStinkt]

@@daisyheadmaizy5183 I’m actually surprised about how many people counted her out despite her winning almost all major competitions that year before the Olympics 🤨 I mean of course valieva was a Hugh thread and big favorite but Sasha never won big competitions even with her many quads and the other skaters were not really “scary” 🥴

[@benjaminccao]

Anna was literally the world medalist and 3 time national champion she was no underdog. She had injury before the olympics but before that she was pretty much unbeatable.

[@watchmedo635]

@@benjaminccao in terms of popularity though, everyone expected Kamila (for obvious reasons) or Sasha (quads). Anna was definitely the most awarded but always faded into the background sadly

[@tylerli8075]

Can we also mention how Sotnikova had wonky technique that was never called? An edge violation on her 3lz, and underrotation on the following 3t. She had a heavily pre-rotated 3flip as well (but who cares abt prerotation today anyways?). Finally, watch Sotnikova's step sequence compared to Yunca's. Sotnikova was given a lvl4 step sequence, while Yuna's was only a lvl3. Sure Adelina HAD more technically challenging content, but her technical mistakes, including her stumble would result in reduced BV and therefore GOEs would have made it alot closer with Yuna. Also Yuna's CLEAN TEXTBOOK 2010 free skate was less than a point higher than Sotnikova's score.

[@aeriseong1270]

YES

[@chuuu4610]

They clearly can see wrong edge lutzes. Mao Asada still had a wrong edge lutz at the time and they caught hers. Mao’s wasn’t even as bad as Sotnikovas.

[@triplea_qgb1963]

some of sotnikova's jumps were very tilted in the air too

[@Sam-du7cm]

I feel so badly for Alexandra Trusova, everyone knows that feeling when you push your hardest, being so close, yet having no results. It feels so unfair when it feels like the whole world is against you. Trusova deserved the gold imo

[@katsunee8254]

I don't know, none of the Russian kids had any good performance... :( Trusova can only jump, zero musicality or artistry :( I wish someone non-Russian would have won, nowadays that the Russian kids and their drama is gone I can finally enjoy watching women's skate

[@izivert]

and the fact that they gave the winning program to ana had me completely SHOOK

[@Dojafish]

She doesn't deserve gold... She deserves DIAMOND!!!

[@PO-qw5ux]

@@katsunee8254 Yeah, just admit that it will be boring without Russians. People's interest to figure skating in recent years worldwide got so big mostly because of the drama around Russian athletes. Aren't they too young? Is Eteri abusing her power? Aren't they doped to land these crazy jumps? Will other countries be able to win, if the age limit will be pushed to min 18 y.o.? Will it stop so called "The Russian Monopoly" in women's skate? And so on. Don't forget the angry excitement of every non-Russian to finally overtake Russians in the competition (and that's impossible without Russians being allowed to compete). Before that it was just another boring sport. Now it's almost on the same level as the Kardashians. Of course, the Japanese are interested in the Olympics without Russians as they have the highest chances for the gold. For me, it was devastatingly boring to watch the European figure skating championship this year. Dull programs. Luna Hendriks had the biggest chance of her life to get the gold but failed to handle the pressure and the first place was taken by another athele who is Russian by nationality but thranferred and now represents Georgia (correct me if I'm wrong).

[@rora8503]

Silver is no results? Those are very good results. I think jut getting to the olympics is an honor ny itself. Maybe the expansions here are more the issue than the results.

[@marissahennen1079]

i feel so bad for anna. she won the olympics but wasn’t able to be happy about it due to the circumstances.

[@PO-qw5ux]

But it proves that she has the strongest character and mind among them all. A true champion who really paved her way to it.

[@kamilareeder1493]

Right 😮 ? I teach ballet and I'd be thrilled when any student of mine podiums, for every child who competes at this national/international level, they've already beaten thousands of other kids. honestly, even Trusova should have gotten to be happy that day. Like being a world record holder and Olympic medalist should felt enough 😢💔 The coaching environment is responsible for this. I know skating is an individual sport, but at the same time, you do compete in the Olympics as a team. 👀☝️ its very sad the way that her coaches pit their own students against eachother. It doesn't make them better skaters and just causes them stress imo

[@kirtiiprasad]

but she shouldn't have won at all, the jumps were shitty and the artistry component wasn't enough for gold

[@lf9286]

The fact about Anna: Anna ranked world no.1 and was the most decorated female figure skating athlete in Bejing Olympic cycle with a medal winning rate of 100% in her senior career(15🏅4🥈and ZERO 🥉) , which is very crazy. And in the past major competitions she has beaten all those most talented girls including but not limited to Alexandra Trusova, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Kamila Valieva, Alena Kostornaia, Alina Zagitova, and Evgenia Medvedeva. Obviously, she was the most successful and the most talented lady FS athlete in that Olympic cycle. Many people did not pay attention to Anna only because she didn’t like to create drama like other girls did. Anna is a decent girl. She could complain that her Olympic team gold medal was robbed by Kamila, who should not have been allowed to go the Olympics. But she didn’t.

[@ingridgamboa2066]

Yuna never mentioned the loss of gold with "tears". She was just relieved that she skated clean and that it was over. She wanted to retire since 2010 but her federation kind of forced her to go to Sochi

[@emilyau8023]

People shouldn't feel bad for Yuna because it's a huge confidence boost in itself when the majority agree you should've won. Sure, she doesn't have the medal but she has the public's support that is way more meaningful than a medal you can chuck in the sea. Without the majority acknowledging a win, that medal means nothing. It becomes just a useless necklace.

[@triplea_qgb1963]

there is a video of her crying backstage at sochi after the free skate. If I were yuna, I'd feel insulted that a mediocre skater who is at best a 5th place finisher beat me.

[@ingridgamboa2066]

@@triplea_qgb1963 she was crying because it was over. She kept saying that after the FS, she was relieved it was over and she could retire. She never cared about Adelina

[@sphxx7995]

for some reason i have a soft spot for the skaters who win gold but aren’t the favourites… i love alina and anna. but adelina feels so off to me i just can’t root for her, yuna is definitely my pick. there’s nothing underdog-like about adelina… the cheating was just so blatant.

[@tychoderkommentator2989]

To add to all of that, Sotnikova has admitted to cheating.

[@kingryuseiyumo2947]

I wanna see ballet dancers and figure skaters all in one room with their teachers/coaches practicing and see much drama unfolds

[@MarcoRavenna000]

Sotnikova did not have a clean free skating. Her beginning 3Lz+3T had a flutz (not called) and a toeloop which was short of rotation; her first 3F was both prerotated and underrotated, her 3F+2T+2Lo had a very visible 2-footed landing with a stumble... How on earth that program beat YuNa's tango and Caro's Bolero overall is beyond me. Not to mention Adelina almost tied with YuNa and ahead of Caro in PCS, judges are you blind?

[@TheEmmaSmith]

ahah since you tried so hard to devalue the gold medalist performance, I suggest you rewatch Yuna's programs with the same standard of evaluation

[@MarcoRavenna000]

@@TheEmmaSmith yuna's lutzes are both textbook, all her jumps are effortless and they don't give any doubt about rotations. Her unique flaw was the second lutz that was tight but she didn't stumble or interrupt the program. If judged fairly, Yu-Na'd have won gold, fair and square and as we say in Italy "le chiacchiere stanno a zero", their programs are not even comparable. Easy as a whistle 🤣 I can agree on the fact that sotnikova had good skating skills, but she didn't deserve the Olympic gold. Maybe top ten, but not even close to the podium.

[@TheEmmaSmith]

@@MarcoRavenna000 millions of people around the world and a team of professional judges that were responsible for the scores disagree with you.

[@veenaive7769]

​@@TheEmmaSmiththere were just very few of you who agreed with the results (mostly nationalist Russians and have no knowledge about figure skating as a sport). Most of the people in the world were enraged with how blatant the robbery was. Even Dick Button and Katarina Witt who'd been athletes and commentators for ages were appalled. Those bunch of professional judges you were talking about were corrupt and filthy.

[@TheEmmaSmith]

@@veenaive7769 funny how you try to label people you don't agree with. what you wrote is just pathetic and shows lack of constructive criticism. but at least you made me laugh when you wrote that they were few, as if what you see on the internet or television reflects the entirety of the world. 🐑

[@AlixFiori]

How awfull to have a 15 yo CHILD under 3 heart medications just for a piece of metal

[@EE-iw3fy]

Russia really couldn't care less about some teenage girls. I mean look they are fighting a war, literally ending lives. They would do anything for prestige & wins. Sadly, of course. But I don't want to even know how many skaters they ruined to a point where they cannot skate at all anymore that we never even got to see.

[@vitorhugosantana7053]

Believe me, all elite athletes from every single country take all the drugs and suplements that can help them and are not in the banned list. Kamila’s coaches’ mistake was giving her one that was not allowed.

[@maouimaisnon2535]

I think globally people are cruelly underestimating Sasha. She knew what she was doing, she knew what Kamila and Anna were doing, they train together h24. She was the one willing to do 5 quads, she was the one willing to do a 3axel she never succeeded in any competition. You're not in her head, you don't know what was going through her mind at that exact moment when she "lost". All her career she missed gold medal because of one or two failed quads. She did everything right this time, and she was really convinced her margin couldn't be matched (usually, a clean program with Anna's tech content scores between 85 and 95 TES - Anna scored 100 ; while a program like Sasha's at its cleanest could have scored between 110 and 115 and even more - she got 106 - only a 6 points tech score difference with Anna's program). But don't fool yourself. Sasha is not some shallow doll that takes zero decision by herself. She chose to do that 3A knowing the risks, and despite her coaching team disapproval. Sasha is very strong minded, she knows herself well, and she convinced herself that her program was enough to get her gold. And actually it was. She won the free program, and the difference between hers and Anna's final score is only 5 points (255 and 250). Anything could have happened. It's the 0.3 difference on the GOE of 1 jump, it's the 0,1 difference on the GOE of another. I'd say Anna was a bit overscored on the TES, and Sasha a bit overscored on the PCS. The confusion of missing the gold so close to Anna is what really made her break (this, and the pressure, the adrenaline coming down, the media pressure of Kamila's scandal, etc). Sasha has a strong winning spirit, that's all. You can't blame Eteri for everything, people have to try to consider her athletes as persons with a will of their own for once. Hidden from the cameras, any athlete breaks down after missing the gold from such a few amounts of points, in any coaching team, and in any sport. It's just that there was that morbid media curiosity that couldn't take its its camera out of Sasha's way in a moment when she needed to be alone (like anyone in that kind of moment). You could see she was trying to hide. There's nothing to debate about her reaction, because it was supposed to be her alone time, her reaction and hers only. Cameras came in her way, like they did for the whole 2 weeks of competition because of the Kamila case, and they should have left her alone dealing with the issue with her coachs, not the whole world and their biased perception of Eteri (I said biased, not necessarily right or wrong).

[@paul-bl2bp]

I became a fan of figure skating because of Sasha and hanyu now that they're not active. I haven't watch any single tournament for a while

[@heartlesslove9084]

​@@paul-bl2bphanyu retired from competitive figure skating.

[@isabelleemler1358]

THANK YOU 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 IVE BEEN SAYING THIS

[@vitorhugosantana7053]

Great comment. It’s nice to read reasonable things.

[@elinasirizzotti]

I would like to add that the Olympic Games were Sasha's ultimate dream and that she herself knew that it was her only chance to achieve it.

[@iCarlyBitch]

I feel bad for Kamila. Poor little thing got pumped full of drugs so they could make her what the wanted, they let her get dragged through the mud, and then she left empty handed just grateful it meant she would be left alone.

[@82gioccia]

I still don’t believe she was on drugs. All other tests were clean throughout the entire time before and after. Eteri in a recent interview said that when they questioned her how that could have happened, tracked down her Nationals journey she admitted to eating and drinking some odd presents. Since the competition was harsh, I do believe she might have been set up. The test results should have been revealed sooner and Kamila would have been out of the games. No one in their right mind would risk taking drugs knowingly, because national medalists were tested multiple times. Let’s suppose it was Trusova and she still ended up silver, or Tuktamysheva but the test results came too late. It will remain an unsolved puzzle unless the culprit reveals the truth

[@sirena3470]

@@82gioccia While giving the doping sample, Kamila herself declared that she was using 2 heart drugs that are not yet banned (l-carnitine and hypoxen), and these drugs were correctly detected in her sample. In addition to these two, another heart drug named trimetazidine, which was banned, was detected in her sample. Naturally, the story of contamination or accidental ingestion is not convincing in this case, an athlete who was already using 2 heart drugs may as well have used a third heart drug. And her country also had a proven state sponsored doping program in the past and sanctioned for it. The doctor of Kamila’s team was also literally sanctioned for doping before. So there are a lot of circumstances that cast doubt against Kamila in this regard. But on the other hand, an investigation should also be launched against the test laboratory that announced the test results late. If the results had been announced on time, Kamila would have been disqualified on time and Liza Tuktamysheva would have gone to the Olympics instead. Russia would choose Liza to compete in the short program and Sasha in the free program for the Team Event and they would have taken the Team gold medal anyway. Maybe they deliberately announced the test results late because they did not want Russia to be first in the Team Event (there is no evidence, but it is possible that this happened). Russia was sure to win and sure to choose Kamila for the Team Event short program and now they will lose the gold medal due to Kamila’s doping scandal. This delay of the test results deprived great athletes Liza, Sasha, Mishina/Galiamov from their chances of Olympic gold and this is just sad

[@unknown-lf6zx]

She’s the most beautiful skater I’ve ever seen. That poor girl. Her coaches should be banned for life. She was a child! Only 15 and incredible pressure under communism. Poor girl

[@atlantica4009]

What’s So sad about Sasha’s Situation was that they blatantly gave her a program with little to no choreography. Why you may ask? I think it was because they knew that coming into the Olympics she’d be nowhere near first. They gave her a program that allowed her to accomplish her goal but not win. I honestly think they expected Kamila first, Anna second, and Sasha Third. They knew this so they told her what she wanted to hear so she’d perform her best to make it onto the podium but not to win. The same thing should be said for Evgenia and Alina. Alina did not control the scores and Evegenia was only doing the technique she was taught to do. All of these girls get hated for being children that listen to the adults that are supposed to guide them. Another thing is that I feel the most sympathy for Anna. She’s legitimately the most overheated skater in recent memory besides Sotnikova (hers was low-key deserved lol). Almost all of the Eteri girls are over-scored but she gets the brunt of the hate for it. Her technique is also not her fault, She just does what she was taught like everyone else at that camp. All of their technique is bad and should be called out. Some are better than others but the majority have issues. Imagine being Anna and doing your absolute best with the technique you've spent your whole life doing. And finally accomplishing your end goal just for people to tell you how much you don't deserve it because your friend was better in their opinion. Lastly, I want to talk about Kamila. At the end of the day no matter what you think of her technique she is a child that was manipulated by people she trusted. People blame her for the doping Scandal but don't blame Eteri and her coaches for possibly supplying the drugs. At the end of the day hating an athlete for things out of their control is a horrible thing to do. ( Only do it if you're doing it Sotnikova). The majority of athletes give their lives to this sport and denouncing their accomplishments is unfair. At the end of the day, these are kids just doing what they were told to do. So why hate them for that?

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

I agree with you about not hating the athletes because they're only doing what their coaches tell them to, but I'm wondering why you said it's OK to blame Sotnikova though? The sentence in parentheses is not very clear.

[@atlantica4009]

@@dronesclubhighjinks I only say that because most time the athletes getting the hate don’t act entitled to their results. For example when Anna won over elizaveta tuktamysheva for the Olympic spot and a interviewer asked her why she deserved an Olympic spot and not Liza instead of shaming Liza and acting entitled she stated that she has no control over the results and that all she does is skate to the best of her ability. This is a contrast to Sotnikova who has on many occasions defended her win and even dubbed herself better than Yuna. Even though Yuna has been skating longer, has more experience, and was and still is considered the greatest skater of all time. The difference is Class and respect. For Anna, she seems like in a way she knows her technique isn’t the best so just wants to work hard, to prove she can earn her results. But Sotnikova, seems entitled and feels the need to rub her win in everyone's face because she knows she will never receive those scores again

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

@@atlantica4009 oh wow! Thank you for the explanation. I had no idea Sotnikova was claiming to be a better skater. I had not followed figure skating in years, so before 2014 Olympics started, I read about the scoring system and looked at how many points’ worth of improvement could be expected per skater from one competition to the next. The points difference between Sotnikova’s Europeans performance, which was four weeks earlier, and her Olympic performance was outrageously, ridiculously high. She wisely chose not to compete at the world championships, because there was obviously no way she was going to reach that score outside of her home country. I think the head judge, whom Sotnikova was filmed hugging afterwards, is married to the head of the national figure skating Federation. In their national media, they were claiming that all the people upset about Yuna winning silver just hate RUS. If Sotnikova believed that, then maybe she genuinely felt she deserved the gold medal … although the points difference mentioned above must have seemed fishy to her - unless they told her that the judges at Europeans deliberately gave her a low score just because she is RUS. I follow artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, and similar media narratives and athletes’ behaviour happen not infrequently with RUS gymnasts especially when they don’t win the gold medals they believe should be theirs. The sense of entitlement you mentioned is pretty strong. I also think the athletes would get in a lot of trouble if they disagreed with the media narrative esp in the last few years. They definitely do not have free speech. Anyway, thank you for taking the time to explain the situation to me! 😄💐

[@katsunee8254]

I agree with other parts, but a great olympic gold deserving skater could make any kind of program winning material with artistry and involvment. Trusova doesn't have that talent, all she could do was jump. Maybe if she was given a chance to grow as a skater and train other parts too before her career ended, she could have won :(

[@atlantica4009]

@@katsunee8254 I do agree that a great skater can make any program good, but Trusova was never gonna be in the running artistry or not. She wasn’t as consistent as Kamila or as graceful as Anna. She has even said herself that artistry isn’t one of her strong points so that’s why she relies on jumps. But I do believe Sasha could have been capable of great artistry. Her artistry with plushanko was a lot better then with Eteri. If she would have stayed with him, it would have improved even more. I feel that every skater can have amazing artistry, some are naturally born with it and other need to put in more effort but I think if Sasha was given a program that challenged her artistically she may have won, triple axel or not

[@user-lw3yp6gw5g]

As a Russian I just resent this all so much... we’ve got capable and talented sportsmen/women that can win on their own. Politics involvement ruins everything.

[@user-jy8zb2wc8l]

💯

[@eirschu8973]

Nah 😂 everybody cheats, if 1 stays honest they will keep losing forever.

[@orangelemon2511]

@@eirschu8973 then what is the point in any sport or having any pride in sport if everyone cheats ? it’s not right It’s not ‘may the best cheater win’ And most athletes don’t, why would someone want to live with the knowledge the biggest accomplishment in their life they didn’t deserve

[@creativebodyflying]

@@orangelemon2511 big money is involved and they learn to believe they're the winners....

[@orangelemon2511]

@@creativebodyflying that’s true I hadn’t really thought of that

[@NG-ue4th]

The 2014 sochi scandal with Yuna being robbed of the gold was my figure skating joker origin story. It was a blatant robbery borne of corruption and it still hits so hard cause in 2018, if you were playing the mathematical game you could have predicted Zagitova winning and 2022 was a doping scandal so that was a different story. 2014 was just so baffling, like prior to the the games it was obvious they were setting it up for lipinitskaya but then after her disaster skate, for it to be Sotnikova?! A skater who had shown some potential but nothing to really wow at (and never won anything since), suddenly pushed to the top by corrupt judges in a span to 2-3 days was just too much to bear.

[@creativebodyflying]

Beijing Olympics were the most heartbreaking for women figure skating... Shame on cameraman, who followed Sasha after she asked him to be left alone, but she had nowhere to hide to let her emotions out. (

[@creativebodyflying]

Also I think Anna deserved to win, following the recent rules. Sasha lost with her short program. If rules were like in 2018, Trusova would win. If rules in 2018 were like in 2022, Medvedeva would win.

[@wonwoochoco9654]

sotnikova admitting today to doping is wild. yuna being robbed confirmed

[@chrissy138]

She should give her gold medal to Yuna

[@antong1036]

Few remarks on Zagitova rule: - it didn't ban placing all of your jumps in the second half of your program, it made it so that only 3 of those would receive bonus points - Evgenia did backload her short program as well, as did Zagitova - Alina's program was actually pretty decent and at the time I didn't even notice it being "unbalanced": it grew more dynamic with the music and I think she synced her jumps with it very well. In general, I think the rule is a okay, but I really don't agree that Alina's program was somehow bad because it was backloaded.

[@KiffiStinkt]

Well in comparison with the other programs her program was really too unbalanced and the beginning was too boring. The end (second half) was wild af and she should defiantly get respect for that ( that girl had energy). But imagine all the newer girls would do that ( which they definitely would have ) figure skating would have only become “more” boring that it it’s these days 😊

[@antong1036]

@@KiffiStinkt I agree. She really was the one for a program like that.

[@KiffiStinkt]

@@antong1036 Yep but the backloading thing was cursed from the beginning and if they wouldn’t have changed it the whole next generation “3A” and all the other quad girls would have all backloaded thats for sure and than people would have realized how boring it is … to watch a program where in the first 3 minutes nothing happens

[@ratdog6317]

you do have to remember that she does favor evgenia which is why she probably wasn't as quick to acknowledge that

[@KiffiStinkt]

@@ratdog6317 to acknowledge what exactly

[@belle8592]

I actually disagree with Sasha being the "second favorite," because while her quads definitely had her up there, she always ended up losing to Anna. Worlds, Worlds again, Europeans, etc. The only one she placed higher was the Russian championship, after Anna fell. But a clean Anna always won over Quad Alexandra. They are pretty much equal, though.

[@Aadam_679]

She was the 2nd to win that year Anya was fighting with Liza only after the Olympic sp fall of Sasha pepl changed thare mind

[@belle8592]

@@Aadam_679 again, that was the russian championship. every other competition (including previous senior seasons) where anna skating clean she beat sasha

[@electro117]

i FINALLY see someone make sense in the comment section. this video makes Anna look like a total amateur who came out of nowhere to snatch Sasha’s crown, when in reality Anna beat Sasha at almost every competition before the Olympics.

[@BoNing666]

Well, I agree with you partially … but it is true that Sasha have never land 5 quads in the competitions you mentioned due to injuries and etc., that can be considered as a reason why she haven’t won.

[@lf9286]

The fact about Anna: Anna ranked world no.1 and was the most decorated female figure skating athlete in Bejing Olympic cycle with a medal winning rate of 100% in her senior career(15🏅4🥈and ZERO 🥉) , which is very crazy. And in the past major competitions she has beaten all those most talented girls including but not limited to Alexandra Trusova, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Kamila Valieva, Alena Kostornaia, Alina Zagitova, and Evgenia Medvedeva. Obviously, she was the most successful and the most talented lady FS athlete in that Olympic cycle. Many people did not pay attention to Anna only because she didn’t like to create drama like other girls did. Anna is a decent girl. She could complain that her Olympic team gold medal was robbed by Kamila, who should not have been allowed to go the Olympics. But she didn’t.

[@chuuu4610]

I still think that even though Mao Asada was not favourite in 2014 and should have not won, she was still cursed and cheated. How did she not win the FS? How did she score lower than Adelina in the FS? What even was the PCS score? Her jumps were also judged much more critically than either of the Russians. At Beijing people were to busy with Valieva having doped to notice how odd it was that she was STILL ahead of Wakaba, the only one of the ladies who did a good 3A (she scored lower than when she did the 2A)

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

I agree with you on both points!

[@KiffiStinkt]

Evgenias Jump ratio ( landed jumps)is insane ! The highest in the field even higher than yuzu ! That girls was born for consistency….at least for a while.

[@yuhanzhublanca3978]

Yeah that injury is really life changing😢

[@butterfly6546]

Medvedeva's stability is exaggerated !!! (Note that 1. Medvedeva performed under psychologically comfortable conditions for FC staff, FC experts, and the media, unlike Alina 2. All of her programs, as we can see, were identical 3. Her content was simpler than Alina’s). For three seasons, Alina participated in 16 international tournaments (single, not as a team). He has fallen 6 times. Medvedeva participated in exactly the same number of tournaments over three seasons and dropped 7 times. Medvedeva, led by Tutberidze, was in the six stages of the Grand Prix series, five of which he skated by crashing. He won the European Championship title in 2016 for two dirty programs that allow a drop! Radionova, who ran the programs neatly and at a higher base price, was simply pushed under Medvedev in the most arrogant way possible. Medvedev was motivated, his rivals were motivated

[@KiffiStinkt]

@@butterfly6546 it’s cute how much time you invest in evgenia, it seems like you are her biggest fan in secret 🥰

[@KiffiStinkt]

@@butterfly6546 Alina fell alone in one competition ( worlds 2018 ) four times so who are you trying to fool 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 her stability isn’t exaggerated name one who had the same stability as her… not even yuzu Btw…. Alinas programs are also similar note that her choreographer has always been danny G ( who no one really likes as a choreographer, just watch the current performances) Alina had also a comfortable condition since evgenia had two stress fractures at that time and was also in the middle of puberty which Btw Alina didn’t even make it that far

[@KiffiStinkt]

@@butterfly6546 you really should start to check your facts before commenting nonsense… Alina had the endurance for backloading I give you that one and I won’t deny it, it makes the program ugly, unbalanced, even when zhenya did it, there’s a reason why the Isu changed it instantly…. Alina has no good posture and no artistry ( she was very shy at that time I don’t blame her for that, but also I won’t praise something that isn’t there)… Evgenia won two full seasons in a row and a half before the fracture. Alina didn’t even win one season ( worlds 2018). Don’t try to raise zagitova so high, cause that’s not the fact. Tara also won the Olympics at 15 and that’s it. Same with Alina. Wouldn’t she have won the Olympics no one would even remember her. For what. There was nothing special, just a girl who had her peak at 15, where the Olympics came just at the right time. And that’s the story there’s nothing more to add 🥳🥰

[@ThePenkiteTV]

We all know the one with the most difficult jumps was Mao and she was still 7 points behind Adelina and 3 behind Yuna in the free 😂

[@brianr.3085]

Mao had the most difficult layout but you still have to execute the jumps to the judges' satisfaction. More than one of her triples was marked as underrotated and that's where she lost most of her points in the freeskate.

[@ThePenkiteTV]

@@brianr.3085 yeah but that didn’t apply to Sotnikova who had the a few more technical difficulty points than Yuna Edit: I was just replying to the part where she says more difficult jumps nowadays means a higher chance at winning than perfect execution

[@Elong.]

Michelle Kwan not winning twice killed me.🥺

[@flywings111]

As someone who is a massive fan of Yuna Kim and cheered her on throughout her career, her losing the gold medal was sadly on the the writing on the wall. This is why it was easy to cheat the gold medal from her: - Yuna herself never said after 2010 that she would return for 2014 to defend her gold medal. She also said that she would retire after Sochi 2014, which is still quite unusual to announce before someone really hangs up the skates. So unfortunately there was no PR going into Sochi by Yuna/her team/Korea, unlike before 2010 Vancouver. - Yuna missed the entire GP series both in 2012 and 2013, right before Sochi. She was the defending World champion, yes, and the Olympic champion, but she didn't really have the momentum right before Sochi. 1 month before Sochi, Yulia won Europeans and Adelina became second which already indicated that they would do very well in Sochi, too. - Russia held the Olympics and they totally expected Yulia would win the gold medal especially after he sensational performance in the Team event. She was *the star* after that. After she made mistakes in the individual event SP, the Russians were desperate to give a chance to Adelina - and they did it. In the meantime, Korean federation was small with no political power, so against Russia at a Russian Olympics looked hopeless. - Russia's hockey team lost early and they were out of contention, just days before the ladies' figure skating competition. The Russian general public was disappointed so what could cheer them up? A gold in figure skating, yes! - Because Yuna missed the GP Series and barely did any international competitions, she skated her SP very early, not even in the last two groups. This made her SP score significantly lower than her score earlier (for example in Vancouver where she earned 78 points, a new WR). Adelina was barely behind her with 74 points and with only a 3T-3T. - Adelina's base value for the free skate was very high. So to me it was clear if she skated quite clealy then the judges would give the gold to her. After I saw her 74 component scores and 149 points for her free skate, which almost topped Yuna's world record from 2010, I lost all my hope and knew that Yuna wouldn't win no matter what. My only wish for Yuna was a clean and beautiful skate and she did it. But 144 points were really low, 6 points lower than her Vancouver LP. - one of the judges from the 1998 ladies FS panel at the Olympics said she gave higher scores to Tara Lipinski because she was fresher, younger, had difficult jumps and skated her hearts out compared to Michelle. Sadly judges have this attitude that if someone is very energetic on the ice, and they make difficult jumps, they will overscore them. The same happened to Adelina in Sochi. She looked ecstatic after her free skate, unlike Yuna who gave a gorgeous performance with understated elegance. - we can only guess but technical controller Lakernik, and judges Russian Alla Shekovtseva (and possibly Ukrainian Yuri Balkov who was banned before from judging!) cheated to give the gold to Adelina. Their judging was enough to take away the gold from Yuna and give it to Adelina. I will forever love Yuna's two magnificient performances in Sochi. She was the defending champion with immense pressure under her but she skated to perfect performances and said goodbye in a perfect way to competitive figure skating. Her elegance, maturity, perfect technique and beautifully choreographed programs should have earned her the second Olympic gold medal. Adelina was technically very strong but her components should't have been that high at all.

[@annieisaman8089]

it’s so sad ice skating has come to destroying the mental health of such young girls to be the best. The coaches are so sneaky and cruel between their students, it’s really a shame. Also synchronized ice skating DESERVES to be in the olympics!!!

[@TheReneex]

Great analysis. To this day, I still cannot get over Kim Yu Na’s unjust loss. Eteri pits her star skater against a rising upstart. She will always sabotage her most prominent skater of the season for the alternative.

[@sirena3470]

Eteri was actually setting Alina up for the silver medal. It was also a shock to her that Alina surpassed Zhenya

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

@@sirena3470 I'd love to hear more about this! How do you know?

[@butterfly6546]

@@dronesclubhighjinks kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWHEep-dYtl7d5I

[@Karen_esque]

Reopening that Yuna Kim wound 😭😭

[@abscondingdarkness3216]

Watching Sasha breakdown is beyond devastating! I can’t help but cry.. you can tell the total and utter desperation in her eyes. I just want to wrap the little girl up in my arms and tell her it’ll be okay. Alexandra is one of the best skaters and she truely did deserve a gold medal - you can tell just how much it would’ve meant to her, probably more so then to anyone else there.

[@quatele]

❤Yes. The hurt, the pain, I think I cried as much as she did. 😭

[@angelyuqi6709]

No she didn't some of her quads were shaky while Anna was super clean. She truly deserved the gold.

[@katsunee8254]

She was so unbalanced that she couldn't win, only jumps, zero artistry :((

[@kvskvs2098]

@@angelyuqi6709 At least she had some real quads 4T and 4S. Annas 4F's were just over rotated triples.

[@RedShoes29]

It was not Adelina's fault though it is her curse. That win made her the most forgettable and hated gold medalist in the sport.

[@scottw6704]

Go back to pre-1989 then; the compulsory figures made gold medalists of lots of skaters who could barely make it through the short and free programs.

[@shavaughnhope145]

Naturally as an athlete there is disappointment in not getting gold but stkll I tbink more than Yuna was more sad that she was retiring but feeling major relief too. Her love for competitive skating was definitely gone by sochi. The melancholoy when she speaks about sochi i never felt was because of the silver medal

[@mharlon09.]

I have my thoughts for each one of these Games. 2014 When 🥈 Shone Brighter than 🥇: Although Sotnikova had the "technical edge" she doubled footed one of her jumps, had easy combos and Junior step sequences, Yuna and Carolina were super robbed. I honestly believe that if Yulia had not fallen and won it would've been more believable after all Yulia was the European champ and Worlds 🥈 later on, Yuna was so mistreated in her last competition. 2018 The battle of the Colossus: Both girls were fantastic and Alina gave her all the same as Zhenya, the backloading is not her fault honestly, I remember feeling really sad though because Zhenya didn't win I met this sport because of her Sailor Moon program and knowing she only got 🥈 at the time kinda pissed me off but it doesn't matter anymore. 2022: The death of Female's Figure Skating: Heartbreaking and enraging, they didn't protect Kamila and is infuriating given the fact Russia prides itself for "protecting children" she shouldn't have competed and it was really awful for Sasha and Anna, Anna wasn't allowed to celebrate appropriately and Sasha was so betrayed, I also feel it was dumb to put Kamila in the Team event, it should've been Short Anna, Free Sasha, also because that way everyone would've gotten gold and Triple A really cemented Teri's revolution.

[@jessesmith-garcia5313]

great breakdown of the last 3 Winter Olympic Figure Skating Events.

[@montserratpantoja8620]

I think that for the team event it is a rule that the skater who performs the short program has to perform the free program as well.

[@eleo1484]

@@montserratpantoja8620 It's not a rule, other countries have had 2 skaters doing SP and FP.

[@mharlon09.]

It is not. In 2018 OG, Evgenia did the SP and Alina the FP, both got a team 🥈 medal

[@annitachan9654]

Beijing Olympic Game 2022, the placement in women’s single figure skating is absolutely fair. I suggest Paola la (the administrator) mention not only about Sasha’s free program, but also her short program. Sasha fell from triple axel (3A) in her short program that lost her the chance of gold.

[@random-dm5md]

It's crazy to give a child heart medication like that

[@Ryusevi]

„And they were roommates“ lmao I love this channel so much your commentary is so entertaining and also informative

[@paolala]

haha thank you!

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

There was a very similar dynamic at the 2008 Olympics with the two American gymnasts Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin being the best in the world and everybody expecting the reigning world champion 16 yo Shawn to win the gold all-around medal but she won silver and the injury-prone 18 yo Nastia won gold. They had chosen to be roommates, and Shawn behaved with perfect sportsmanship although she was devastated on the inside. Shawn ended up winning a gold medal on the balance beam, but to this day, most people tend to believe Shawn won the all-around.

[@nicoleroulstin4924]

One thing left out from Trusova losing to Scherbakova is that she fell in her short program. She did receive the highest score in the free skate but her combined total was not enough. I believe that she definitely would have won had she not fallen on her 3A attempt in the short program

[@lf9286]

Anna would have done 3 quads if she's not injured.

[@eggiemybaby]

Yeah. She's fourth if she atleast placed 2nd in short program she would've won gold.

[@mikeokubo7061]

I’m a total Yuna fan, she’s just special about everything. For Sochi, I felt like Adelina scored too high in the SP, especially since technically and overall Yuna had a much better content. (Yuna 3Lz-3T, 3F, 2A / Adelina 3T-3T, 3F, 2A) I’ll give Adelina the FS since she did have a better technical content maybe a 2-3 points difference between Yuna and Adelina … but with the SP boost that Yuna should of had and a smaller margin in FS, Yuna deserves the Gold.

[@dreampaniq2766]

Honestly the SP itself is a crime, Yuna is obviously has higher PCS, but cmon now how is 3lz-3t getting scored same as 3t-3t, and Yuna lutz is one of the most consistent and quality in the game. Imagine if that happen now everyone it would be outcry

[@mbae123]

When I thought Pyeongchang was heartbreaking, Beijing comes and exceeded all expectations. It was such a mess brought upon by a rickety system and people with no integrity. The impeding domino effect just burst at the end. It's a shame to such a creative sport. Good thing it has its beautiful moments to look upon.

[@ariannaguarnieri1862]

I was listening to the video while doing my makeup when I heard the clip of the italian commentators of Sochi 2014. It caught me so off guard hahaha. Love from Italy ❤

[@kendrakupferschmid51]

The fact that these girls are pitted against each other so viciously instead of being proud and glad for your teammate speaks monuments of their coaches and staff. Disgusting.

[@vitorhugosantana7053]

Michelle Kwan was the favorite twice and lost twice, Slutskaya was also the favorite in 2006 and choked. Since 98 the onky favorite that won was Yuna Kim in 2010.

[@flywings111]

Yes, very true!

[@Rroachball]

The only difference among all the "favorites" to win was that all were either out skated or made mistakes except for Yuna Kim. I wasn't a huge fan of Yuna Kim and favored Mao Asada, but Kim was definitely robbed.

[@benjaminccao]

23:40 "and after having a perfect free skate" huh?? step out on the 4T...UR on lutz....stepout on 3T...

[@EmilyFoxSeaton]

This was a main plot point of the movie Ice Castles. Basically even in the 70s thing was happening.

[@ijudgeyou9598]

"And they were roomates" i felt that

[@genn.623]

the technical jumps are sure difficult but the artistic performers are the ones that sticks to people's minds.

[@ludosblue]

I think that, they wanted to put the gold for Yulia, but she fell, so they gave it to Adelina. It was impossible for Adelina to win if Yulia landed all her jumps

[@fabianphillips8510]

I'm not even that interested in the olympics, not to mention ice skating but this was so captivating.. Also, i felt that ''i fall everywhere'' on a spiritual level

[@watchmedo635]

I’ll always believe Anna deserved the medal out of the three ROC girlies. She was the only one who was clean, and managed to make her programmes seem more artistic (rather than jumping drills). My heart breaks for all of them though, what a horrific situation

[@kait.5437]

Yeah i agree. I understand agreements that all the Russian scores have the eteri bonus so maybe neither Sasha or Anna should have won. But if it’s between Sasha and Anna like that, while Sasha landed the 5 quads a lot of them were shaky (so she probably lost points there). Anna’s program was a lot cleaner even though it had less quads.

[@kait.5437]

Anna has worked just has hard as Sasha so I don’t think she is “undeserving” or anything. She has likely been through hell with Eteri, and both girls handle that differently. Either could have won out in the end.

[@Yuhon100]

Remember she is the reigning world champion and it always advantages the reigning world champion especially in the women's side that we have seen in past Olympics.

[@kait.5437]

@@Yuhon100yes. Kamila was also world champion the same year for Juniors. So you could say they both had that kind of favoritism. If anything I think Russia wanted Kamila to be gold her first seniors, and the other girls to be silver and bronze (they didn’t care who). I don’t think they ever wanted Trusova to win and gave her a program that would let her attempt to land 5 quads, but not really get a lot of points for artistry.

[@KKKK-bl4cg]

Fake Olympic champion, she never deserved Olympic gold

[@fluff_bunny1885]

this sport that i love is a fickle one. i hope this cycle's generation of skaters are treated better, but i really don't see that happening.

[@asyamikhaylov2044]

Trusova did not land 5 clean quads. She did her very best, but her jumps were far from clean. Anna had a cleaner program, so the results were not suprising. It was up to Anna all along- if she skates clean or not. To be fair (love Medvedeva), but her earlier senior programs were backloaded as well, so she benefited from the same rule prior the olympics. With that being said, I respect and love all those girls and cannot imagine what they go through to get there ( not to mention the forsaken Liza, Aliona, Gracie etc. )

[@MrOneJuan]

Some of these stories remind me of Michelle Kwan being the favorite and then Tara Lipinski winning gold instead in 1998. Still Kwan remains the most decorated US figure skater.

[@gabrielesantos5636]

Didn't watch It yet, but Saw Yuna there... Well, I don't know why because she did win TWICE

[@scottw6704]

This has actually been happening long, long before 2014...Slutskaya in 2006, Kwan in 2002 and 1998, Kerrigan in 1994, Debi Thomas in 1988 (sort of - it was a tossup between her and Witt), Rosalynn Sumners in 1984, Linda Fratianne in 1980... Yamaguchi in 1992 and Kim in 2010 were pretty much the only favored ones to pull out an expected win in the ladies' event since Dorothy Hamill in 1976.

[@raoubveugelles]

Sotnikova winning that gold still makes my blood boil ten years after.

[@gaya333.]

I started following the ice skating shenanigans only a while ago , but yuna was the reason I first fell in love with ice skating , I watched a single performance of her skating on "a thousand years " and was just mesmerised and fantasised about it all day , some day I drwm of just skating well on ice . I never understood why she isn't more popular , today I. Goshh I wish her more best to come ...

[@raerohan4241]

What? Yuna Kim is one of the most famous women's figure skaters ever. It's just that it's been almost a decade since she was active; naturally people aren't going to be talking about her as much as they were during her career.

[@siribaimusic]

I don’t think Adelina deserved anything near her scores but I also feel bad for her, it must be so difficult to have a good medal and know the world views it as a sham and even hates her. She was just a teenage pawn in the system, a skater with potential and unfortunately her light went out before it really began.

[@dreampaniq2766]

She supports Russian Ukraine war, don’t feel bad for her when she’s happily celebrating war

[@raerohan4241]

​@@dreampaniq2766 And also when she smugly declares that she won from her own abilities, and has repeatedly said she's better than Yuna... I wouldn't have disliked her if it wasn't for her attitude!

[@annanowak9620]

It's important to learn that creating is not good

[@chelyvi7466]

​@@raerohan4241Agreed, its her personality and actions what made me dislike her the most

[@internetnobody3456]

This has got to be one of your best videos.. love the more documentary-style edits!

[@butterfly6546]

Why Medvedeva was over 80 without ulra-c and without Lutz

[@davidhunternyc1]

The last time I saw the favorite win everything all the time was Katarina Witt. She even stood up for Yuna Kim. I bow to Katarina.

[@scottw6704]

I preferred several other skaters to Witt during that era but she really knew how to compete!

[@thecluckster3908]

This deserves a black swan like movie

[@GonFreaksss]

This recap brought back so many memories! Great job!

[@Jaedub86]

This is why I watch Track & Field/Swimming, it’s not subjective it’s purely one’s ability to relax and remain confident in their skill. Can’t fake crossing the finish line either you did or you didn’t.

[@schrodingerskatze4308]

About the 2014 thing. I kind of feel bad for both of them. One of them walked away with gold but can't really celebrate it because she most likely won only because of corruption and one of them had a perfect performance and really deserved gold but didn't get it.

[@nolaughingmatter]

Trusova was right in blaming her coaches, but not for the right reasons. The coaches were wrong in doping the minors, starving them, overtraining them, etc. They were also wrong in not correcting her poor jump technique. Most of her quads are done out of (doping) sheer force but they are executed with wrong edges and/or are under-rotated, which calls for deductions. Then comes the issue of artistry and PCS, and the coaches definitely did not bother with developing Trusova artistically and aesthetically. In fact, all Sambo 70 Dani G choreography is like a factory of mass-produced moves that have no choreographic sense but garner high points nonetheless.

[@user-gj6sw2jz2r]

Трусова - чистая спортсменка. Техника прыжков у нее высокая, особенно лутц (большую часть прыжков ей ставили не в школе Тутберидзе, а у Волкова). Артистизм конечно пострадал в программе, где 5 квадов, здесь не поспоришь. Ее программа была очень тяжелая для исполнения, даже среди мужчин, Трусова совершила спортивный подвиг, но ценой была золотая медаль 😢

[@ddjr6673]

LOVE the video thank you. My comment: the 2014 scandal was already set up in the scoring of the Short Program which is almost always overlooked. Yu Na Kim's Send in the Clows SP had higher technical content (3 Lutz - 3 Toe) than Adelina Sotnikova's SP (3 toe 3 toe). They also downgraded Yu Na Kim's layback spin to a level 3 (alleging she didn't do the Beilman position) - the same spin the year before (with no rule change in between) was given a level 4 (see the 2013 FP Les Miserables). Added to that Yuna Kim's PCS was clearly marked down (Scott Hamilton's commentary saying you could hear a pin drop (because it was so beautifully skated), far superior to Sotinkova (Yuna Kim only on a par with Kostner's beautiful Ave Maria SP). If there had been a greater gap in SP scores between the two then YuNa would have had the Gold.

[@nciti]

Iirc figure skating commentators just accepted her low SP score bc she had to skate way earlier than the other medalists so they had to 'hold her back a bit to leave some room'...

[@ddjr6673]

@@nciti TOTALLY agree and, further, one of the many "supposed" advantages of the IJS System over the old 6.0 system was that you didn't need to mark anyone down to "leave room" as there was technically no top ceiling mark (as seen by over-inflated scores by others) - the draw back of the 6.0 system was that 6.0 was the highest, thus potentially punishing those who skated earlier!

[@dreampaniq2766]

Right? That alone shows how they were holding yuna score back to make it more of a competition… 3t-3t never scored same as 3lz-3t EVER… expect that time 😒

[@rhiannafennell2282]

Really loved this video, thank you for helping me improve my figure skating knowledge with the in depth analysis. Please make more!

[@my_pan_self8045]

Trusova was defiantely watching. She mustve heard and seen her coach give winning routines to OTHER PEOPLE, so she immediately knew who to blame.

[@Valentineatelier]

I’ve never been interested in figure skating my entire life but now I’m so invested in this like I want to know everything

[@HaveanIcedaymx]

23:45 dear Paola, Sasha DID NOT have a perfect skate, just 2 of her 5 quads had a positive GOE, which is far from a perfect skate. In this sport, if you want to do more for the extra points, you need to do it perfectly. Also, she did not complete her 3A, if she had done a 2A, she would've been closer to the gold, even with no GOE. I enjoyed the narration a lot, but I do think that's important to clarify.

[@maxcaulfield5500]

please keep the content up. im living for it!

[@mastermargarita3926]

Paola, You’re absolutely amazing! Thanks so much🎉

[@jaquelinmejia1557]

I will always be angry with Yuna's theft

[@dawnissistic]

I'm ready to relive the olympic trauma once again, thanks for this

[@lilacribbons]

i love the style of this video! everything was perfectly described and so succinct

[@riko2965]

thanks for this topic! i was always thinking about this but never came across any video that explained it in details