PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics

The 23rd Winter Olympic Games in Pyongchang 2018 have all ready started ahead of the Opening Ceremony. It's normal to have qualifying rounds to narrow the field of competition to fit in the official Olympics schedule.

Good News: Figure skaters are now allowed to skate to music with lyrics. It's about damn time! I was sick and tired of hearing the same instrumental music being recycled over and over throughout the years. There's only so many times I want to hear Swan Lake before I want to wring my hands around a swan's neck and choke it! Now, a whole new universe of music is opened to the skaters. And I believe that will make their performances even better!

Summary:

The Team Skate Event

Countries compete as teams of skaters in different programs (men’s single, pairs, women’s single, ice dance), with the winners accumulating points for their respective nations. Ten countries qualified for the team competition in PyeongChang, and each will send out skaters in each of the four disciplines in the short program. They receive points based on their finish (1st Place gets 10 points, 2nd gets 9 points, all the way to 10th which gets 1 point). After the short program, the top five teams advance to the free skate on Sunday and Monday. Medals will be awarded Monday after the final discipline, the ladies' free skate.

Expert expectations had Canada and OAR (Olympics Athlete from Russia) fighting out for top spot, with the US hopes for a bronze. But anything can happen at the Olympics. And surprising things did happen tonight.

The men and pairs competed in the short program tonight.

Men's standings:

1. Shoma UNO (Japan)
2. Alexei BYCHENKO (Israel)
3. Patrick CHAN (Canada)
4. Nathan CHEN (USA)
5. Matteo RIZZO (Italy)
6. CHA Junhwan (South Korea)
7. YAN Han (China)
8. Mikhail KOLYADA (Olympic Athlete from Russia)
9. Paul FENTZ (Germany)
10. Chafik BESSEGHIER (France)

Highlights:

Junhwan Cha, 16, of South Korea is a rising star! He placed sixth at his first ever major international level event, the Olympics on home turf!

(Junhwan Cha (Korea) Figure Skating Team Event - Men's Single Skating Short Program PyeongChang Feb. 8, 2018 - Source: Harry How/Getty Images AsiaPac)

Shoma Uno of Japan shines and moves out from the shadow of Sochi 2014 Gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu (who is not taking part in the team event due to an ankle injury) and beats out heavily favored Nathan Chen of the US, who had an unexpected disastrous fall after the failed execution of a quad jump that landed him in fourth. Shumo Uno scored 103.25, the highest score and only one above 100 for the men. Second place only scored 88.49!



A Unicorn exploded all over my top.
(Shoma Uno (Japan) Figure Skating Team Event - Men's Single Skating Short Program PyeongChang Feb. 8, 2018 - Source: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images AsiaPac)

Shumo Uno was second to Nathan Chen at the recent Grand Prix Finale, and he is the 2017 ISU World Champion Silver Medalist to compatriot Yuzuru Hanyu's Gold. Shumo Uno is the dark horse in the men's individual figure skating. He has a real chance at making it to the top of the podium if he skates clean and performs as well or better than he did tonight. Shumo Uno's performance earned Team Japan an unexpected third place in overall standing, ahead of OAR (Russia)!

The most surprising and delightful performer of the night was Israel's Alexei Bychencko, who skated a wonderful program to Hava Nagila to land him in second place. That was the biggest and most pleasant surprise of the night! Mazel Tov, Alexei, for scoring well enough to set Israel in the surprising fifth position overall!

(Alexei Bychenko (Israel) Figure Skating Team Event - Men's Single Skating Short Program PyeongChang Feb. 8, 2018 - Source: Harry How/Getty Images AsiaPac)

Pairs Standings:

1. TARASOVA Evgenia / MOROZOV Vladimir (OAR)
2. DUHAMEL Meagan / RADFORD Eric (Canada)
3. SAVCHENKO Aljona / MASSOT Bruno (Germany)
4. SCIMECA KNIERIM Alexa / KNIERIM Chris (USA)
5. YU Xiaoyu / ZHANG Hao (China)
6. JAMES Vanessa / CIPRES Morgan (France)
7. DELLA MONICA Nicole / GUARISE Matteo (Italy)
8. SUZAKI Miu / KIHARA Ryuichi (Japan)
9. CONNERS Paige / KRASNOPOLSKI Evgeni (Israel)
10. KIM Kyueun / KAM Alex Kang Chan (South Korea)

Highlights: Russian pair Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov, 2017 World bronze medalists and 2018 European champions, pulled off a season best and spectacular program to win the top spot. Unfortunately, their powerful performance couldn't make up for the unexpected crash of teammate Mikhail Kolyada, who fell twice in the men's program, knocking Russia to fourth overall.

Canada's Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford soared to second place and made up for teammate Patrick Chan's fall in the men's program. Canada leads overall in the team standings. Americans Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim skated well enough to help land the US in second place overall.

Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot are representing Germany and provide the most drama on their twisted road to the Olympics. The Grand Prix Finale winners are naturalized Germans. If Aliona Savchenko looks familiar, it is because she is the first female pairs skater to compete in five Olympics!

(Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot (Germany) Figure Skating Team Event - Pair Skating Short Program PyeongChang Feb. 8, 2018 - Source: Harry How/Getty Images AsiaPac)

Aliona Savchenko is originally from Ukraine, competing for Ukraine with partner Stanislav Morozov at Salt Lake 2002. They parted ways soon after. Stanislav Morozov would skate with other partners and retire to become a coach. His last partner, Tatiana Volosozhar, is paired with Maxim Leonidovich Trankov. With Nina Mozer, Stanislav Morozov helped coached Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov to a 2013 World Championship and Sochi 2014 gold.

Meanwhile Aliona Savchenko partnered with Robin Szolkowy in 2004, became a German citizen, then went on with Robin Szolkowy to 6th place at Torino 2006, win bronze at Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014, and collect five World Championship wins.

Robin Szolkowy retired as planned to become a coach. Aliona Savchenko did not think she would compete after Sochi 2014. But she met Frenchman Bruno Massot, and she decided to give competing another go.

Bruno Massot partnered with two different French women before finding an outstanding partner in Russian Daria Popova in 2011. They were 15th at the 2014 World Championship, but were unable to compete at Sochi 2014 due to France not approving Popova's citizenship. They parted ways soon after.

Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot partnered when the 2014 season ended. Then they had to wait for the French skating federation to release Massot to skate for Germany. But the French, being the petty vindictive bitter jealous drama queens that they are, demanded $70,000 in order to release Massot to compete for Germany! The Germans (and the rest of the international skating community) were like, WTF France!?!

Eventually, the French grudgingly released Massot. Bruno Massot would finally pass his German language test late 2017 to get his German citizenship and be allowed to represent Germany at Pyongchang 2018. They are the Grand Prix Finale Champions and 2017 World Silver medalists. And though they stumbled into third place tonight, they have a very good chance at ending up on the Pairs Event podium, maybe even win the gold. But it's the Olympics. Anything can happen!

Current Team Standings:

1. Canada
2. USA
3. Japan
4. OAR (Olympic Athlete from Russia)
5. Israel
6. China
7. Italy
8. Germany
9. South Korea
10. France

The team competition resumes Sunday with the ice dance and ladies short programs.

Other Highlights:

Reigning mixed doubles world curling champions Jenny Perret and Martin Rios of Switzerland beat American siblings Matt and Becca Hamilton to achieved the first six ender, perfect score, at the Olympics! It's akin to a hole in one in golf, very rare, the first ever at the Olympics!

Best News of the Day:

Japanese ski jumper Noriaki Kasai, 45, has placed 20th in the men's individual normal hill qualification round Thursday to advance to Saturday's first round. This is his record setting 8th Olympics appearance, the most of any Winter Olympian!

(Noriaki Kasai (Japan) Men's Normal Hill Individual Trial Round PyeongChang Feb. 7, 2018 - Source: Lars Baron/Getty Images AsiaPac)

The most Olympics appearance belongs to Canadian equestrian Ian Millar for ten Olympics (1972, 1976, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012). He boycotted the Moscow 1980 Summer Olympics.

Noriaki Kasai is nicknamed "The Legend" by his peers and ski jumping fans the world over. He has appeared in every Winter Olympics starting in 1992! Long before some of his current competitors were even born! He has won a team silver at Lillehammer 1994 and a team bronze at Sochi 2014 in the Large Hill Team Event, setting a record for largest gap between winning medals, 20 years!

He also won an incredible individual silver on the Large Hill at Sochi 2014. He became the oldest athlete to medal individually at Sochi 2014; and with the team bronze win two days later, he became the oldest medalist in ski jumping history. And he plans to keep on going for Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, when he'll be 49! And if his home town of Sapporo, Japan puts in a 2026 Winter Olympics bid, he plans to compete as a 53 year old!

To see an athlete still competing on a world class level after so many decades is incredibly inspiring and humbling. He is living his dream, doing something he loves. Best wishes and Good Luck, Noriaki Kasai!