Non contare i polli prima che siano nati.

"What's that my dearie? It looks like it might be in Italian. Something about first chickens?"

 

Well, you did get the language correct. The title says 'Don't count your chickens before they're hatched'. I made the mistake of doing that after the Short program the other day.

 

"Hmmm... I get it. You made some predictions that didn't pan out, is that what you're saying?"

 

Yes, exactly. As the folks in the booth have said repeatedly during these 25th Winter Olympics, figure skating can break your heart. In these competitions, a skater has less than five minutes to show their routine to the world. All it takes is one quarter-turn to be off on a landing, one triple that turned into only a double, one slip that results in a fall... and suddenly all those thousands of hours of training and practice result in 15th place instead of 1st. That is actually what happened tonight to the US skater known as the 'quad god'.

 

'What?!?!" 

On Tuesday, Ilia Malinin had the lead firmly in hand, with a score that was five points above his nearest competitor and fifteen points above the man in 4th place. That's just a phenomenal lead!!! Everyone expected him to roll all over everyone tonight. But he fell, hard, twice, and I think he failed to complete at least one quad jump. His score for the Free Skate was 156.33, and he was the final skater. That put him in 15th place for this part of the competition. It's only due to his incredible Short program that his total, of 264.49, granted him a place in the top 10.

 

"Oh, my! That had to be heart-breaking for that 21-year-old. At least he made the upper ten in the Men's Single Figure Skating."

 

8th place, that's what he got. He wasn't the only one that slipped and fell into lower standings, though. My boy, Yuma Kagiyama, he even fell during his Free Skate.

 

"That's terrible!"

 

He came out of it much better than Ilia, though. He still posted 176.99 for this part, getting 6th place for the Free Skate. His combined total, of 280.06, won him a Silver medal to take home to Japan. What a relief to me that he still won 2nd place!!!

 

"Had they used the same music as before?"

 

No. Ilia used some ethereal stuff with him speaking pep talk messages. Yuma skated to music from "Turandot", one of Puccini's operas. The Free Skate was at least 4 minutes long, so more music was needed than for the Short program.

"I see. What about that French skater who placed 3rd in the Short, the guy with the Da Vinci muscle shirt that you liked. How did he do?"

 

You mean Adam Siao Him Fa? He chose Philip Glass music, and wore a shirt that featured part of Michelangelo's painting, "The Creation of Adam". I do admire those touches of classical artistry! So did the crowd in Italy, clapping enthusiastically for him, even after he fell during his Free Skate. Seriously, it was just so sad that his dance was marred by slick ice! He ended up in 12th place for the Free Skate, but was able to still be ahead of Malinin overall. His total, of  269.27, netted him 7th for the Men's Single Figure Skating.

 

"Damn. That had to be heart-breaking for him. Still, he's young enough to be back for the next Winter Olympics. And you have to appreciate that inside joke he had, right? His name is Adam and he wore a shirt with an Adam..."

 

Oh, snap! Good catch, g'friend! I completely overlooked that!

 

"You're welcome! Had to bring back a bit a levity to these proceedings."

 

You're right, I've been taking these mishaps to heart, as they affected two of my favorites. All three of those young men are only in their early 20's. I'll have a future opportunity to see them skate. 

 

"That's right! So, what young man is up next. I know you watched at least 8 of the 20 skaters."

 

An even dozen is what I got to see. Okay, how about a Cinderella story to brighten things up?  Remember that young man that grew up skating at a mall? He won Gold!!!

 

"You mean Mikhail Shaidorov? The kid from Kazahkstan???"

 

He's actually 6 months older than Malinin. And, yes, I mean him!!! After an absolutely flawless Free Skate, his score for that portion took first place... and stayed!!! And I loved his music!!! I felt that he had chosen "The Diva Dance", from "The Fifth Element", especially for me!!!

 

"Maybe the Universe wanted you to pay attention to him?"

 

Maybe so. He was 16th in the skating order, meaning there were only four more skaters after him, including the three I've talked about, who were expected to take home medals. That meant that after Yuma skated, Mikhail was still above him on the leader board! And just what was that Free Skate score? 198.64... that's 21 points better than Yuma!!!

 

"Holy cow!!! That's absofrickinlutely incredible!!!"

 

Mikhail's overall score kept that 21-point lead, posting at 291.58, which may be a record. I know it's a Personal Best record for him!

 

"Actually, highest ever was by Nathan Chen at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, four years ago."

That's okay. Mikhail Shaidorov has the highest overall score for this Winter Olympics! And my Yuma has the second highest! And Shun Sato, also of Japan, has the third highest at 274.90, just 6 points lower than his countryman's. 

 

"I love his firebird skate-suit! Oh, fun fact: he had his 22nd birthday just 6 days ago. So many of these skaters were born in 2004!"

 

Funny that you mentioned the design of his outfit. He skated to Stravinsky's "The Firebird", and did so not only beautifully, but flawlessly.  That gave him 186.20 for his Free Skate, putting him in third place for that. It was his overall score, though, that won him the Bronze medal for Men's Single Figure Skating. Very nice for a 22nd birthday gift!!!

 

"Very nice, indeed! But something you said makes me wonder. Who placed 2nd in the Free Skate? I know Yuma didn't."

That would be Stephen Gogolev of Canada. Get this: his score was 186.37, just barely more than that of Shun Sato. However, his overall total was 273.79, due to his  Honestly, there was less than three points difference between 2nd and 4th place in the Free Skate! But those standings in the Short program make a lot of difference. Gogolev only had 87.42 there, which put him in 10th place for that part.

 

"Well, Sato only had 9th place for the Short program!"

 

Yes, but he skated fiercely and flawlessly in the Free Skate and that's what pulled him into winning the Bronze at this Olympic game. Emphasis on the "flawlessly", meaning he made all the jumps he'd planned, he executed them perfectly, he was very artistic, and he didn't fall. All of that makes the difference between getting an Olympic medal and not doing so.

 

"Understood. How about Daniel Grassl? I know he was in 4th place in the Shorts, just after Mikhail Shaidorov. How did the italian homeboy end up?"

 

He took 8th place for the Free Skate and 9th overall. I don't recall him doing anything wrong, like falling, during his program. He used music from the movie, "Conclave", which all there seemed to approve and clap along. Perhaps he simply wasn't as daring in the jumps he chose? Still, he landed in the top 10, so that's great! He also has part of the Bronze medal for Team event of Figure Skating, so that's pretty sweet.

Speaking of medals for the 2026 Team event, Shun Sato and Yuma Kagiyama share the Silver medal the Japan team won.

Ilia Melanin shares the Gold medal won by the USA team, too.

I realize that's not the same as having a medal of your very own, like the ones for the Men's Single Figure Skating... but it's still a marvelous thing.

Truly, not few people can say that they are Olympians... 

but these skaters can.

What a treat to have been able to watch them dance across the ice!