Men's figure skating Olympic medals

The men's figure skating medals were awarded last night at the Vancouver Olympics, and what an exciting event it was (links to all performances here) DRAMA! with undeniably talented but posturing divo Yvgeny Plushenko coming out of retirement to see if he could win a second gold medal, and sneering at the other dancers, pulling faces on the podium, trash-talking in the press conferences. Evan Lysacek, who won the World Championship last year, but who is hampered by the sport's attempt to cast him as the great Hetero Hope (and his complicity in that role) performed perfectly, albeit with all his nerves on display, and squeaked by Plushenko for the gold. The adorable and talented Daisuke Takahashi from Japan, a worthy competitor, took bronze.

Our Favorite Johnny Weir skated a gorgeous and underscored routine, and got a standing ovation, but no medal. That's OK, because WE LOVE YOU JOHNNY!


Although Stephane Lambiel did not skate his best,he is a gorgeous skater, as can be seen at his exhibition skate to Jacques Brel song I adore (don't worry, the Russian guy stops talking shortly after the song begins)

Another reason to love Stephen Colbert

Although speedskating is a thrilling sport, it's not lucrative. Athletes struggle to survive and train, and the speedskating association lost money when a bank went under. Stephen Colbert came to their rescue by holding a fundraiser that came up with the $300,000 they needed, and "Colbert Nation" is now the official sponsor. He and up-and-coming competitor Shani Davis staged a competition, after Shani Davis called him a jerk for his "Canuck bashing." It's possible that Davis was not familiar with the Colbert persona at the time. They seem to have buried the hatchet.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Skate Expectations - Speedskating Race - Shani Davis
www.colbertnation.com
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U.S. Figure Skating Championships this weekend

And my favorite skater, Johnny Weir, is in rare form in his short program, even though he is 3rd after Jeremy Abbott and Even Lysacek. We'll see how the free skate goes tomorrow afternoon. The top three skaters are the most likely to be chosen for the Olympic team. UPDATE: yes, all three will got to Vancouver!


Here's his "Poker Face" number from performances he did last year

Congratulations to Johnny Weir!

Congratulations to Johnny Weir for his bronze medal in the 2008 Worlds Championship in Sweden! His discipline and hard work this year paid off. While other competitors were encountering the kind of woes that had afflicted him in the past, Johnny stuck to his program, skated through his nerves, and gave a clean strong performance. He already has the grace, imaginative choreography, preseence and athleticism he needed; this time he needed to focus on remaining strong and clean throughout, and he did. In addition to his personal best of the bronze medal at the Worlds, his success assures the US of an additional place for a competitor in next year's competition.

Johnny Weir

St Paul hosted the U.S. National Figure Skating Championship event this past weekend. I have always enjoyed watching skating, and during the 2006 Olympics I especially noted the American skater Johnny Weir when he performed a routine called The Swan. He didn't start ice-skating until he was 12, but in a few years became three-time national champion and world competitor. He is known for his sheer talent, and his artistic, graceful and musical skating. Instead of just hustling around between big jumps, he includes lots of difficulty in all aspects of skating, as well as a level of style and fabulousness that is more commonly associated with the women skaters. This routine, Fallen Angels was something he and a pair of other Olympic skaters put together for the Tour of Champions--a program for three dancers that doesn't involve a furry costume!
He had a rough period, and decided to change coaches and focus on the next Olympics. He has been criticized for a lack of discipline and athleticism (which to some meant he needed to butch it up a little). This weekend, he won the short program and he and his main rival Evan Lycasek tied for total overall points, but because Evan won the long program (by a fraction of a point!), Weir came in second. He skated conservatively in some ways, but attempted the quad (the holy grail of men's skating!), and his fans adore him no matter what. He speaks some Japanese and Russian. He has matured in the last few years, and seemed to be genuinely centered and strong in both his programs this weekend.
ETA: great Johnny Weir-Mika mashup "Any Other World"