A Changing Olympic Power Landscape

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Abstract

Sadowski Synott to swoop in to claim the gold in the snowboard slopestyle. A disappointing finish, sure, but how about the alliteration?Jaelin Kauf outdid expectations with a silver in the women’s moguls freestyle skiing, which had many people thinking she would win gold. However, she would lose the gold in heartbreaking fashion to Jakara Anthony, who earned the first gold medal for Australia in 12 years.As the cherry on top, Karen Chen’s fall in the women’s short program allowed the Russian Olympic Committee, ROC, to take the lead in the team figure skating event as she finished in fifth. After personal bests by her brother Nathan Chen, pairs skaters Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue, and Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier, it was an unexpected failure in what was supposed to be a guaranteed night of success.The men’s free program didn’t go much better for the United States. Vincent Zhou, skating as a replacement for Nathan Chen, delivered a decent program but finished worse than expected, falling to third. Zhou missed out a quad and instead only completed a single lutz, costing him 10 points, the difference between him and second-place finisher Mark Kondratiuk of ROC. 18-year old Yuma Kagiyama took first for Japan, allowing Japan to close the gap in the team event even further.Essentially, it’s been a struggle for the United States to kick off these 2022 Winter Olympics. The team’s figure skating program, which once was one of its biggest strengths, has faltered as the rest of the world has begun to catch up in that department. It’s not just the figure skating in which the team has faltered, but it’s one of the more notable examples in which other countries have started to close the gap.<figure id="1635"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*uLeqrct8ehxiFPfN9iljzg.jpeg"><figcaption>ROC figure skater Kamila Valieva caps off a historic performance with a dramatic finish(Edited with Adobe Photoshop I Source: Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>If the United States wants to catch up in the Team Figure Skating event and in the Olympic medal count, they’ll have to look in areas other than the women’s figure skating solo pro

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grams.Specifically, they’ll have to look to catch up in events that don’t include 15-year old Russian figure skating phenom Kamila Valieva. Many consider her the next up in figure skating, one who will dominate the sport for the foreseeable future, and it’s justified.Her technique? Flawless. Her storytelling and choreography? Also flawless. Her poise and power? You guessed it, also flawless.Valieva delivered a performance for the ages in her Olympic debut, becoming just the 4th woman in Olympic history to land a triple axel at the Winter Olympics, usurping American Mirai Nigasu as the latest to accomplish the feat, who did it in 2018 at PyeongChang in Korea. Valieva then became the youngest to ever land it, a record that likely will stand for decades.Valieva also nearly broke the world record in the women’s short program with a score of 90.18, just 0.27 points shy of the 90.45 mark that yes, she also set. Her dominance and stature as a heavy, heavy gold-medal favorite, not even old enough to legally drive yet in the United States, has stunned both her peers and the rest of the sports world. Valieva also can land the rare quadruple jump, yet another feather in her cap in what’s becoming an already impressive resume.Valieva’s unprecedented ascension to the top perfectly encapsulates why the U.S. should no longer be assumed the odds-on favorite to win every event anymore. When the festivities in Beijing are all said and done, the U.S. will likely still have a hefty medal count, but the days of having 50 and even a 100 total medal lead over their counterparts are over. Valieva’s unrivaled talent, coupled with the surge of the skating prowess of the ROC, ought to have the United States not concerned and worried, but excited and ready to work that much harder now that the Olympics just got a whole more competitive.This is a whole new era of the Olympics, and it was likely always going to happen-the sudden rise in the quality of competition caused by Valieva and her peers in figure skating serves as a statement to the U.S., and the United States just has to be able to step up to the challenge and match that level.</article></body>

As the United States delves further and further into these Olympics, it will only spell trouble for their medal chances in plenty of events, such as figure skating

WE’VE BEEN SPOILED.

Faithful fans who have been watching the United States in the Winter Olympics, have been spoiled in recent years with the surplus of talent that the U.S. seems to boast over the rest of the world when the Olympics roll around. With every passing Olympics though, it feels like that gap between America and the rest of the world in sports has gotten narrower and narrower, with the early struggles of the United States over the first couple of days of these Olympics doing nothing to quell those doubts.

The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics have seen the United States scuffle to just two silver medals, despite being heavily favored in some of the events that they came away with nothing in. In some cases, those favorites just haven’t lived up to the hype, while some of it has just been downright awful luck. In the mixed team short track relay, for example, the United States was disqualified. Not for cheating or anything like that, but because of a small interference.

After a massive upset that saw the United States earn a berth in the mixed team short track final with a second-place finish over favorite China, the U.S. was disqualified because a skater on the inside lane got in front of a Chinese skater in the middle of the relay handoff. For that reason then, third-place China was elevated to second, able to compete in the final. The United States could then do nothing but watch as China went on to narrowly win the gold in a thrilling finish.

On the slopes, favorite Jamie Anderson sputtered in the snowboard slopestyle final to a ninth-place finish but the surprising Julia Marino had an excellent final run to claim the silver medal. Marino was then overshadowed by New Zealander Zoi Sadowski Synott to swoop in to claim the gold in the snowboard slopestyle. A disappointing finish, sure, but how about the alliteration?

Jaelin Kauf outdid expectations with a silver in the women’s moguls freestyle skiing, which had many people thinking she would win gold. However, she would lose the gold in heartbreaking fashion to Jakara Anthony, who earned the first gold medal for Australia in 12 years.

As the cherry on top, Karen Chen’s fall in the women’s short program allowed the Russian Olympic Committee, ROC, to take the lead in the team figure skating event as she finished in fifth. After personal bests by her brother Nathan Chen, pairs skaters Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue, and Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier, it was an unexpected failure in what was supposed to be a guaranteed night of success.

The men’s free program didn’t go much better for the United States. Vincent Zhou, skating as a replacement for Nathan Chen, delivered a decent program but finished worse than expected, falling to third. Zhou missed out a quad and instead only completed a single lutz, costing him 10 points, the difference between him and second-place finisher Mark Kondratiuk of ROC. 18-year old Yuma Kagiyama took first for Japan, allowing Japan to close the gap in the team event even further.

Essentially, it’s been a struggle for the United States to kick off these 2022 Winter Olympics. The team’s figure skating program, which once was one of its biggest strengths, has faltered as the rest of the world has begun to catch up in that department. It’s not just the figure skating in which the team has faltered, but it’s one of the more notable examples in which other countries have started to close the gap.

ROC figure skater Kamila Valieva caps off a historic performance with a dramatic finish(Edited with Adobe Photoshop I Source: Getty Images)

If the United States wants to catch up in the Team Figure Skating event and in the Olympic medal count, they’ll have to look in areas other than the women’s figure skating solo programs.

Specifically, they’ll have to look to catch up in events that don’t include 15-year old Russian figure skating phenom Kamila Valieva. Many consider her the next up in figure skating, one who will dominate the sport for the foreseeable future, and it’s justified.

Her technique? Flawless. Her storytelling and choreography? Also flawless. Her poise and power? You guessed it, also flawless.

Valieva delivered a performance for the ages in her Olympic debut, becoming just the 4th woman in Olympic history to land a triple axel at the Winter Olympics, usurping American Mirai Nigasu as the latest to accomplish the feat, who did it in 2018 at PyeongChang in Korea. Valieva then became the youngest to ever land it, a record that likely will stand for decades.

Valieva also nearly broke the world record in the women’s short program with a score of 90.18, just 0.27 points shy of the 90.45 mark that yes, she also set. Her dominance and stature as a heavy, heavy gold-medal favorite, not even old enough to legally drive yet in the United States, has stunned both her peers and the rest of the sports world. Valieva also can land the rare quadruple jump, yet another feather in her cap in what’s becoming an already impressive resume.

Valieva’s unprecedented ascension to the top perfectly encapsulates why the U.S. should no longer be assumed the odds-on favorite to win every event anymore. When the festivities in Beijing are all said and done, the U.S. will likely still have a hefty medal count, but the days of having 50 and even a 100 total medal lead over their counterparts are over. Valieva’s unrivaled talent, coupled with the surge of the skating prowess of the ROC, ought to have the United States not concerned and worried, but excited and ready to work that much harder now that the Olympics just got a whole more competitive.

This is a whole new era of the Olympics, and it was likely always going to happen-the sudden rise in the quality of competition caused by Valieva and her peers in figure skating serves as a statement to the U.S., and the United States just has to be able to step up to the challenge and match that level.