Olympic figure skating: A night of poetry equal to Johnny Weir鈥檚 roses
| Vancouver, British Columbia
Yes, there were the medals. Gold for America鈥檚 Evan Lysacek, silver for two-time Olympic medalist Yevgeny Plushenko of Russia, and bronze for a very happy Daisuke Takahashi of Japan who redeemed himself after a hard opening fall.
But there were so many more moments of humanity. Moments that made Johnny Weir鈥檚 ridiculously huge bouquet of red roses 鈥� with enough white ones to spell 鈥淛鈥� 鈥� seem almost appropriate.
Like lines of poetry, these moments didn鈥檛 follow the grammar of Olympic performances or the rhyming of preparation with perfect performance. But they were evocative. There was the unexpected moment of normality, when the audience was silenced as if Nobunari Oda鈥檚 skate lace had been what was holding them together. And then, the crowd clapping in accelerating unison for him to come back on the ice 鈥� which he did, with supreme poise.
There was St茅phane Lambiel鈥檚 silky back crossovers and superior spins that both he and the crowd savored, never mind that he missed the bronze by 0.5 points. There was Canada鈥檚 love for Patrick Chan, which his whole performance reflected 鈥� despite two falls that left him in sixth place overall.
Even Johnny Weir kept a lid on the drama. After his clean skate resulted in a comparatively low score, it was his white-gloved hand that urged a booing crowd to settle down. Their roaring with tolling bells and wild cheers throughout the program had lifted his spirits, he said 鈥� as if the red-rose garland wasn鈥檛 enough proof of how much he is adored by those who aren鈥檛 put off by pink ribbons.
鈥淭he audience reaction was my gold medal tonight,鈥� said a happy Weir afterward, parading out in sequined skate guards that matched his suit. 鈥淓van deserves everything he does achieve. I have always been impressed by Evan鈥檚 work ethic.鈥�
Lysacek reiterated that consistent, disciplined work matters, even when you think you鈥檙e too good for it.
鈥淚 resisted so many times 鈥� I can do a [toe-]loop,鈥� he said, recalling how much his coach had made him work on every element of his 4-minute, 40-second program. But it paid off. 鈥淭onight the focus was to get every point out of the program.鈥�
Indeed, Lysacek won not on his jumps, but on everything in-between 鈥� particularly spins and footwork.
鈥淚f it were a jumping contest, they鈥檇 give us 10 seconds to do our best jump 鈥� without music,鈥� he said dryly.
笔濒耻蝉丑别苍办辞鈥檚 quads, darting karate kicks, and fiery eyes weren鈥檛 quite enough to conquer the judges. Adding to the buzz around whether men鈥檚 skating should be weighted toward athleticism (read: quad jumps) or artistry (read: St茅phane Lambiel), the Russian and his coach were quite clear.
鈥淨uad is quad,鈥� said Plushenko, looking down his nose at a scrum of reporters 鈥� and not only because he鈥檚 tall. 鈥淲hat is now is not men鈥檚 figure skating; it is dancing.鈥�
His coach, Alexey Michin, said he respects winners, but appealed to the enduring ideals of the Olympics in arguing that athletes that push the envelope should be rewarded. 鈥淭he slogan of the Olympic Games is citius, altius, fortius [faster, higher, stronger]鈥� it鈥檚 what we should do. It鈥檚 progress.鈥�
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