The Winter Olympics: Looking Forward to 2026

[PeterRS]

On 2/14/2026 at 9:17 AM, PeterRS said:

Well, Malinin's problem is that he did not skate anything like that. In fact, his long programme was so bad I cannot remember any other skater who has skated a worse long programme. Although he had a generous lead of 5 points from the short programe, he took to the ice last and was aware that all of his nearest rivals had faltered at least once. The gold was his for the taking.

Having now seen the full men's Final Programme, Malinin's breakdown is even harder to work out. I've also seen several interviews he gave in the months leading up to the Olympics. He seems a relatively humble individual. In each, he says clearly that his short-term goal is the individual Olympic Gold. As I've stated above, with a good lead from the Short Programme and his three nearest competitors each having fallen after one jump with their scores being lower as a result, he had absolutely no need to pack his Programme with the seven quad jumps he said he was determined to include. He was so far ahead in points he could - and to my thinking should - have quickly modified his programme before he took to the ice. He and his team could easiy have decided to convert some of these quads to much easier triple jumps. He would have lost points but would still have won quite easily. But his confidence (arrogance?) in determining to land all seven in competition overcame that simple desire just to win the Gold.

[unicorn]

In the Olympics, I watch mainly the artistic stuff such as figure skating, ice dancing, freestyle skiing/snowboarding, and so on. I personally find it boring to watch people go down a hill in skis, luge, bobsled, etc., just to see how who can get down faster within fractions of a second. But I do admire the athleticism in those who express themselves artistically with skill, strength, and talent.

[PeterRS]

I watch to enjoy and learn.

[PeterRS]

Well the Winter Olympics are over for another four years. With a lot of time on my hands, I have watched more events than I have done in the past - and I have enjoyed virtually all of them, even the long distance speed skating which used to leave me cold (sic).

Malinin's temporary fall from grace has obviously been a highlilght. In interviews after that Final he talked a lot about the pressure heaped on him. I always found that a little self serving. But this morning I found a fascinating interview on youtube with the man I still consider the greatest skater in my time, Yuzuru Hanyu. Speed and complex jumps are clearly essential in such a sport, but equally artistry - and no one has yet come close to Hanyu's supreme performances as an artist. Surprisingly, at least for me, in the vdo he stresses that taking part in the Olympics was never fun for him, even twice winning the Golds. 

I had never seen any interview with him more than a couple of minutes long. So it was also surprising that in this one he talks for 14 minutes solo. He had a number of bad times in his life, no more so than in 2011 when the tsunami off north-eastern Japan destroyed both his home and the Sendai ice rink where he practiced. Similarly three months prior to his second Gold, he had suffered a bad ankle accident preparing for the NHK Trophy in Japan and it was not known till a week or two before the Olympics if he could actually skate. He comes across in the vdo as a bright, intelligent young man, much more fluent than many Japanese, no doubt due in part to his years training in Toronto. I enjoyed watching him opening up about his life and career, and especially the final part where he is asked about death. I found that fascinating.