Falls have become common occurrences at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics – though they are a natural part of any competition on ice.
But when do they simply become too much?
The falls kept on coming during the men’s free skate on Friday, and even superstar Ilia Malinin wasn’t exempt.
The 21-year-old skating sensation, who is often flawless in his performance, fell not once but twice.
Even he suggested the ice might have posed an issue following his devastating performance that shocked the world.
“Of course, in the moment, it definitely felt like not only nerves,” Malinin said, the New York Times reported. “But maybe the ice was also not the best condition for what I would like to have. And that’s something I cannot complain about because we’re all put in that situation where we have to skate no matter what happens. So that’s not really an excuse I can give.”
Malinin, in the end, placed blame on the pressure and said maybe he was too confident it would go well.
“I was not expecting that,” Malinin, struggling to find the right words, said just moments after he left the ice. “Going into this competition, I was so ready. I just felt ready going on that ice…”
But the issues weren’t isolated to figure skating.
On Tuesday, a crash in the mixed team relay knocked Team USA skaters out of medal contention, and it occurred amid what skaters called “soft and slushy” ice conditions.
“Yeah, this ice isn’t the best for short track right now umm, I think it’s … like figure skating ice,” speed skater Corinne Stoddard said.
“Everyone’s on the same ice, so it’s something we’ll have to adapt to, but it’s a challenge for sure,” speed skater Julia Letai added.
CTV reported Canadian speed skater Steven Dubois, who helped Canada win silver in the mixed team relay, called it “probably the worst ice of the year we’ve had.
Short track speed skating and figure skating typically take place at the same venue during the Olympics, but changes are required on the facility’s part because ice temperatures are different for each discipline.
Temperatures for ice skating are typically the warmest, allowing blades to grip the ice during routines. Hockey ice is colder, and speed skating requires the chilliest surface.
Just a few degrees difference can affect an athlete’s performance.
But organizers, who addressed concerns earlier this week, insisted issues aren’t common.
“From our point of view, you can see by going directly into the competition venue, that the ice masters measure the ice temperature, and the ice condition is constantly monitored throughout matches,” said Luca Casassa, Games operation communications director, CTV News reported.
The internet has certainly placed blame on the ice for troubling performances, specifically regarding figure skating.
“There’s something genuinely wrong with that ice and figure skating isn’t the only sport that’s been impacted by it,” @josephineskaty said on X. “Speed skaters (who use the same venue) have also commeneted about the ice.”
“Two of the worlds best not being anywhere a medal bc the OLYMPICS ice is terrible, they knew about the issues and yet did nothing about it is at the very least shameful,” use @rmvlaren said.
Others pushed for a reskate.
“I wonder if they can have a reskate of those last group or 2 of the men’s skaters, most of who fell because of seemingly poor ice quality, to redo their performance,” @AbbyWithAnIE said. “That was SO sad and unlike so many of them.” #olympics
from NBC Chicago https://ift.tt/Y13SdRB
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