Hughes did not deserve the Gold Medal

I actually agree with Eagle1Films.
Cohen skated better than Kwan. Better. They both fell, which equalized that, and Cohen looked more artistic, flexible, theatric, with more impressive athletic ability. Kwan does her gliding with her leg in the air better... that's it.

I thought Kwan should have come in fourth...

 

This is just the payback from the Russians for the whole pairs skating fiasco.

Nothing more.

 

Well, I'm glad most people think Sarah Hughes was the right choice. She skated the most difficult program. She landed two triple-triples, and one triple-double. She did not fall on any of her jumps. Any judge that gave Kwan or Slutskaya a higher techinical mark should be ashamed.

Sarah also skated a better artistic program. She was loose, looked relaxed, like she was having fun. She emoted and related to the audience. The other skaters looked stiff and nervous.

The right person won the Gold medal last night for all the right reasons! Anyone who suggests otherwise either didn't see the performances or is smoking dope.


I also think Cohen should have beaten Kwan and Slutskaya. She skated a much better looking program artistically, and the jump she fell on was the triple-triple. The other two never even attempted a triple-triple.

 

The Russians are threating to pull out because they don't have the media (like America and Canada) to heckle the hell out of the IOC and force them to take a look at what is going on. That's just a ploy to make them take a look at the entire Olympics and the judging, reffing...

The threat is just there to force some action out of the lazy bums who run the Olympics.

 

Sadly I missed Hughes performance.. stupid me.

But I did see everything after that, frankly I was quite shocked tha the Ukr and Rus judges both gave Slutskaya higher marks then Hughes.

 

I've read plenty of comments about how Sarah won simply because she skated the best. Sarah may have skated the best in the long program, but that's not the ONLY reason she won the entire competition.

First of all, are we fogetting the short program? The judges placed her FOURTH in the short -- not exactly Olympic Champion material, right? She needed help from other skaters to even medal, much less win. And that's exactly what happened. She needed a.) someone other than Kwan, Slutskya or Cohen to win the long and b.) someone else to beat Michelle Kwan in the long. She got both. Sarah won the long and Slutskya beat Kwan, giving Sarah the mathematical win.

I guess what I'm saying is.... she didn't win the Gold with just that one great long program. It was that, combined with the luck/misfortune of other skaters that helped her win. Maybe some people call that luck. I dunno. But consider this: if the judges had placed Kwan ahead of Slutskya in the long program, Kwan would have won the Gold instead of the Bronze. Funny how that one placement was the difference between third and first for her, isn't it? And Irinia -- who didn't really skate any better or worse than Michelle -- got Silver. Hmmmm.

 

Michelle's was the most soulful performance of the night, even though it wasn't quite as perfectly perfect as Sarah's.

 

Obi-WanJane, are you saying that they rigged it so Slutskaya would at least get silver just to "get" Michelle Kwan? I think you're being a tad paranoid. I actually agree that I'm a little surprised Kwan got the bronze over Cohen, based on the technical difficulty, but then as the Russians reminded us all through the pairs problem, "artistic counts more!" (Though personally I didn't think Kwan was even as "on" artistically as she can be. She looked considerably less relaxed and graceful than she did at Nationals, for example. Gee, suppose that all that media pressure about "This is your last chance for Olympic gold" had anything to do with it?) And I also agree that Slutskaya's artistry was lacking. She was, as the commentators like to put it, fighting for everything. She wasn't relaxed, and that may have contributed to her not skating as well as we know she's capable of doing. I don't think that there is any question that Sarah Hughes was the best skater on that night. Yes, she needed "mathematical" help to win--and she got it because KWAN AND SLUTSKAYA DID NOT PUT IN GOLD-MEDAL PERFORMANCES. Neither deserved a gold after those long programs. The system worked the way it was supposed to.

Oh, and to whoever said they'd put their kid in speedskating rather than figure? Better make sure it's long-track rather than short-track, 'cause THAT'S had its problems this Olympics, too.

Oh, well, I still like the Winter Games. Much less boring than Summer.

 

I'm glad Cohen won nothing. She's a spoiled, nasty, petulant little brat. I just want to bitch slap her every time she opens her mouth. You don't hand your cell phone to the president. She could learn a great deal about poise and class from Kwan and Hughes.

..... Kwan does her gliding with her leg in the air better... that's it. ....

You have not watched Michelle Kwan skate much if you think that her spiral (done on the inside edge) is the only superior aspect of her artistry. Good grief, man--not a single movement of her arms or hands is wasted. Michelle does a falling leaf like no woman skater I've ever seen. She does it like the classic Russian skaters of old. The woman didn't win four world titles for no reason.

That being said, I have no problem with Hughes winning the gold. She was better Thursday, especially since she had no pressure on her. However I am thrilled that Kwan won the bronze instead of Sasha. Sasha did start the evening in third place, while Kwan was in first. Sasha's skating doesn't impress me that much. Sarah Hughes is a much, much better skater.

I'm sure that once some of the disappointment fades, Kwan will be able to live with her four world titles and six national titles.

 

ImperialGirl --what are you talking about? I'm not saying anyone "fixed" anything to keep Michelle from winning. I'm simply talking about the scoring, and how it meant the difference between Bronze and Gold for Michelle. The other point I was making was that Sarah didn't exactly win totally on her own (or on her own merits). She had help to win, that's all.