NBC forced you to watch it on tv (because the tv ads will make more money for them than internet ads) so they wouldn't live stream it on the internet unless you had cable from a company that supported nbc (which I didn't). Therefore I spent 2 hours finding covert ways to stream the olympics when I should have been studying! I would only do this for Kim Yuna, seriously! I put up with lagging streams, foreign streams, crappy quality, vpns, and sheer frustration, but Thursday night just made up for all of it! :)

Watched it live and it was EPIC!

Although I felt SO bad for Mao (even though I was still rooting for Kim Yu-na) because she had to skate directly AFTER Yuna. Than she also tripped. Ouch.

I watched it on NBC, and I just wanted to watch Kim Yu-na's part... but somehow I waited 2 hours just to see it -_-
Had to go through men's skiing than all this other stuff just to get to the female's ice skating... But all that wait just made me loose my breath when I was watching it LIVE. That experience... than seeing Kim Yu-na break another record...

It was unreal.

Oh,

@ goldlilys: Mao Asada kinda "tripped" on the ice (didn't fall) and some other mistake. Which is why it's not towards favoritism that Kim Yu-na won, as she had a flawless and stronger performance.

It was epic listening to the announcers. They just made it more exciting, and when she finished her program, you could feel just how awesome it was when you hear everyone shouting.

Btw, how long do skaters usually last? Do they continue into their 30's? Because after two more Olympics, Yu-na will be 27...

Yu-na Kim's deserved gold with her performance, but I do not feel it was a full 22 points higher than the silver medalist from Japan. It was defiantly better so I do not dispute the metal standings, but the over scoring may affect the sport outside the Olympic bubble. I think Rachael was actually underscored by about 8 points and while it would not change the metal standings, it does affect world ranking. I think she got screwed in that department. Anyway, this Olympics the Judges did an amazing job. While we can sit here and debate a few points, but in every event I think the placing was accurate even if the scores were a little off.

@ Biscuit:
Favoritism or not goldlilys raises a valid point. Such huge difference between the two is simply unbelievable. Even the two mistakes can't explain it. They can't explain the huge GOE of Yuna, nor the minimal bonuses of Mao.
Something's wrong with the current system of evaluation. Mao set a record with 3 triple axels in one competition and performed almost flawlessly if you don't count the two mistakes.But even if you do, most of the 23 points between her and Yuna appeared out of thin air.

Congrats tp Yu-na! Really, she's reinvigorated her sport, plus with the added one-on-one rivarly with Mao, there are actually juicy showdowns in the future to look forward to and add spice to competitions. But it looks like Yu-na's gonna win everything under the sun in the near future.

I have to agree that I think Yu-na's score was a tad too high, 150, really? 140s would have been much more appropriate. Her spins, twirls and footwork was extraordinary, but not the best I have ever seen. I don't think Mao was underscored due to her mistakes, and she looked less free and fluid on ice than Yu-na in general, I felt Yu-na was a tad overscored, but hey, its the Olympics, even judges are in the moment.

Yu-na is my fave skater since Michelle retired, and before then, I loved Kristi, and bf Kristi it was Katarina. I see a trend, I adore the skaters who have a perfect combination of athleticism with more artistry. And I love the lissome, lithe skaters who make figure skating like a ballet on ice. Which is why as much as I am so happy Joannie Rochette won the bronze, I don't enjoy watching her skate.

But my fave performance of the night came from......Mirai Nagasu. I knew she had it in her! Woo hoo, the future of skating, you betcha! Her sit spins, camels and laybacks were absolutely exquisite, the best last night, wow! Sochi may be a three-way race btw Yuna, Mao and Mirai, mark my words.

Mirai is Michelle's heir apparent for US skating. And she has such JOY when skating, I love it! Michelle always looked pinchy in big performance, and Sasha, yikes, I love her artistry but she's got the bitch down perfectly. Anyways, looking forward to following how these skaters continue to push the sport.

@55 Penn
"Kristi Yamaguchi also has shown that skaters can still be successful and technically competitive in pro competition circuit."

Never mind also finding success in dancing with the stars.

I understand why Kim Yu-Na won, but I don't understand the huge gap between her score and Mao Asada's.

Perhaps it was the sky-high expectations, but I don't quite see what all the fuss is about. She is a talented, artistic, and technical skater, but I keep hearing things about how hers was one of the greatest olympic performances ever, and how she "elevated the sport." I'll be the first to admit that I'm no expert in skating, but I just didn't see it. Maybe it was the choreography/music combination that was lacking for me, but even though her performance was flawless and the commentators were mooning over it, it left me cold. I think I can only attribute my reaction to heightened expectations, because I had never seen her skate before and she was so, so hyped leading up to the competition.

That said, I think it was awesome the way she held her own under the enormous pressure of everyone's expectations. She has incredible nerves, she absolutely deserved the gold, and I am very happy for her.

"as i mentioned, i tend to find it hard to concentrate on what my feet are doing, which in turn affects everything else.. "

I would just start out working on catch/retrieval drills prior to hitting. Main thing is just to move around while keeping the trunk facing the net, and then getting used to which leg muscles are moving. I wouldn't worry about heel vs. toe. Again, that will come out of habit. Trunk facing net. Light feet.

I guess you can try this visualization during the catch/retrieval/movement drills. Imagine that this is Pong, and that your trunk is the paddle.

I emphasize the movement part a lot, because then you don't have to worry about the step-out anymore. Your feet -- whether from a step-out, a drop step, a shuffle step, etc. -- will always be ready to initiate the unit turn.

@nell123,

Begrudgingly, I say that Tara deserved to win 1998. And, yes, if Mao was allowed to compete in Torino, she would have pulled off a Tara. Mao didn't just have the leaping ability then, her actual skating was already light and blinding. Mao was a true pixie to watch on ice, and she wouldn't have the expectations that were hoisted on Miki Ando.

If it weren't for Tara's victory, though, Michelle Kwan doesn't become Michelle Kwan. And this also goes back to Yu-Na's future. Does she want to continue to the next Olympics? How much longer does she want to compete in the Worlds? How much more?

I was so blown away by Kim Yun A's performance last night. She totally deserved the gold medal. The South Koreans must be proud of her. Supposedly, she's the greatest ice skater of all time. I think Joanne Rochette got sympathy votes from the judges because of her mom's passing 2 days before the Olympics. It was an awesome night for female ice skaters and I enjoyed watching every minute of it. What an unforgettable night!

there have been a lot of people saying that the scores shouldn't have been so far apart. but if you go to the nbcolympics website, you'll see the details of the score. she was deducted for the two mistakes that she made in the program. And i don't know if this is true, but i heard one of her triple axel were downgraded to a double axel because she didn't rotate enough. so there's points off for her technical element. And the main thing is that she lacks artistry, unlike yuna <3 yuna looks very calm and artistic. she takes her own interpretation of the music and really puts her heart into the music. If you look at asada mao, she lacks that bit, which is why she got 5 points lower on the artistic element.
anyway, KIM YUNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 대한민국의 자랑!!! ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ~~ I'm soooo proud of her!!!!!!!!! She's truly the FIGURE SKATING QUEEN <33333333333

Whoa. Gotta keep my multiple notepad/wordpad in check next time. Heh.

I was rooting for Kim Yu-na, I said a little prayer for her when she was performing and was so happy when she won. I noticed that your photo above is not the one from last night - same dress (or maybe same color) but definitely not the medal and bouquet from the 2010 Olympics. Maybe you can update later?

okay, i'm going to sound a little defensive here, but everyone who is saying that Joannie Rochette did NOT deserve the bronze and got it only from sympathy, simply does NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT.

If you go to the olympics site, it gives you a MARK BREAKDOWN of every single element, and i compared Rochette's to Nagasu. Rochette was not given a high GOE (grade of execution) for her stumbles BUT her elements had higher base points. This means her jumps, footwork, combinations, automatically get higher points just for landing them BECAUSE THEY ARE MORE DIFFICULT. for example, rochette does a triple triple double toe loop vs mirai's triple triple double loop. Toe Loop > Loop.

That added to her 8+ point lead gave her the bronze. it had nothing to do with flawless vs. mistakes. the math is all there, so dont make assumptions.

FWIW, I thought Asada's score should have been quite a bit higher than Joannie's.

But, yes, it's about program content. Nagasu skated a clean, brilliant program, but it wasn't as loaded as the top 3 skaters. The new scoring system allows you to stumble here and there, as long as you go for broke.

@#3 - Oranges
Yes, I agree Mirai's smile is so adorable! She actually reminds me a lot of Nicole (fron Kara) when she smiles.

And (just a comment to you saying no one fell on their butts).. I didn't see all of the performances (because I don't believe NBC airs all of them) but when I turned on the TV I saw some girl (in red?) fall at almost every one of her spins. It was so sad to watch, but really once you mess up, I guess you really start to lose concentration.

Anyway- Kim Yuna was amazing, as always. It so great to watch her skate because I really feel like she's floating or something; she's so graceful!

Also, despite the 2 small slips, Asada Mao did great too! (:

The current scoring system changes the perception of your skate. Instead of perfection, you now chase ceiling. In that regard, it is good because it encourages skaters to push the envelope and accept risk taking.

The downside -- and this is considerable -- is that it can also create despair among the elite skaters. For somebody like Mao, because Yu-Na's score was so, so, so high, she kinda knows that no matter how she skates her program, she cannot catch up. Even if she skated her own program perfectly, she cannot put up enough points.

So now you have to go back to drawing board, chomp at the choreographer and for somebody like Mao, you end up asking yourself whether you're even capable of competing with Yu-Na.

"Never mind also finding success in dancing with the stars."

Speaking of that . . . time for Kim Yu-Na to start her singing career. ;)

Oh and LOL at the Chosun Ilbo's plastic surgery article about Kim Yu-Na. Only in Korea . . . . ;)

I couldn't help myself tearing up last night when Yuna was done with her beautiful performance. (yes, I'm Korean) Very proud of Yuna and Mao for enduring enormous pressure from both counties. It was amazing to watch how strong and courageous
young ladies could be on the ice. My heart goes out to Joanne and her family. And look forward to see Mirai in next Olympics. Standing ovations to all athletes.

Congrats to Yuna Kim! She was amazing!
As always figure skaters stupefy me and it seems the Koreans and Japanese have consecutively been blowing all other competition out of the water, yay, Asia!

I was secretly rooting for Mao though, I'm kind of mystified by her, but admittedly Kim is more consistent. Congrats to both of them anyway, yay!!

"Oh and LOL at the Chosun Ilbo’s plastic surgery article about Kim Yu-Na. Only in Korea . . . "
*googles*
Whatta...?! Really, folks, put appearance aside for a minute!
But I guess it's a good thing she is pretty.

Everyone did their absolute best. Everyone who commented above pretty much said what I wanted to say. Just, great job everyone!

(Was anyone else a little ticked off by on of the American male announcer with the deeper voice who kept commenting on Korea and Japan's rivalry/"hostility"? This is the Olympics, you don't mention that kind of stuff on a friendly sports competition even if it may be true. It's there, the tension and such, but don't go and talk about it so casually! It just made me groan to be honest, even if it's not a big deal.)