While I am not what anyone would consider an avid fan-- do not know the skaters' names, or even the differences in the various jumps, between "axels" and "flips" and "toe loops"-- I can still appreciate a good performance, I have of late, come around to realize. So I wanted to start a thread with some especially notable ones, and I invite contributions from anyone else in the PF family, whose ever been impressed, or touched, by the physical artistry of these athletes. This is currently the top female skater in the world, a 15 year old Russian girl, named Kamila Valieva, whose skating is truly remarkable, and something special, to behold.
I've just now discovered that Valieva was caught testing positive for a banned drug, in 2021. At first, it was ruled to have been due to no fault of her own but, according to this article, that has changed, since the 2022 Olympics (in which Valieva had been allowed to compete). It now looks as if she may have been barred from the sport, for some time, with her results being removed from the records book. https://www.cbssports.com/olympics/news/kamila-valieva-doping-scandal-rusada-appeals-decision-not-to-ban-russian-figure-skater-requests-reprimand/#:~:text=In December 2021, Valieva tested,fault for the failed test. I am not sure what to make of this, though am cognizant of Russia's competition history being so replete with doping violations, among its skaters, that Russia itself, had been banned for 3 years, from international skating events, though its supposedly "clean" athletes were still allowed to compete (just not as representing Russia). So I wonder if this was something that Valieva was told to take by her trainer, which she thought was just a vitamin. In any case, here is the short program from Valieva's debut in women's skating, in Canada (the free skate of which, is in the previous post).
I'd like to move on from that last post, with Amber Glenn's heartfelt performance to Madilyn Bailey's cover of "Scars," in the 2020 U.S. National Championships. Unfortunately, the only video I could find was made by a member of the audience, so make sure to hit the box, at the bottom left, to at least get the larger, "landscape" screen. Gee, I am having no luck, avoiding controversy, here. This one, though, seems to me like it really shouldn't be controversial: it turns out that Glenn is bisexual. To me, this seems hardly worth mentioning. But for others like myself, who are a bit stumped by all the new terminology, regarding gender, this article about Glenn explains the subtle difference between bi and "pansexual," being that Amber is attracted to the inner person, without respect to gender: she is, in her words, "gender-blind." https://amp.theguardian.com/sport/2021/mar/04/amber-glenn-pansexual-bisexual-figure-skating
