Milan (Italy) (AFP) – Alysa Liu’s stunning triumph rounded off a captivating figure skating competition at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, restoring US pride after Ilia Malinin’s astonishing meltdown. AFP Sport picks out five highlights from two weeks of action at the Milano Ice Skating Arena:
– **’Quad God’ Malinin is mortal**
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Ilia Malinin was the hot favourite to win men’s individual gold after powering the United States to a second consecutive team gold. Everything was on track after the “Quad God” took a five-point lead into the men’s free skate following the short programme, but disaster struck and he tumbled to a humiliating eighth spot. The 21-year-old, who has revolutionised and dominated the sport, said his failure was “definitely mental” after he fell twice in a surprisingly awkward effort. “On the world’s biggest stage, those who appear the strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside,” said the two-time world champion, who had been unbeaten for more than two years.
– **Liu ends US drought**
Alysa Liu was determined to enjoy her Olympic experience after finishing sixth at the Beijing Games four years ago as a 16-year-old—an event overshadowed by Covid. She took a two-year break from the sport, returning to claim the world title last year and has now won on the biggest stage of all, ending America’s 24-year wait for a women’s gold. “For me this Olympics means a lot because my friends and family were out there watching,” she said. “In Beijing I didn’t have a crowd so the fact that there’s a crowd here just hyped me up even more. I was honoured to perform for everyone.” Liu, watched in Milan by Malinin, performed a dynamic free skate peppered with seven triples to secure her second gold of the Games after collecting the team title. Competing at her third and final Games, Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto, 25, took a bittersweet silver, while her 17-year-old teammate Ami Nakai won bronze.
– **Unheralded Shaidorov**
Mikhail Shaidorov pulled off one of the biggest shocks of the Winter Olympics, winning the men’s competition to give Kazakhstan just their second-ever gold at the Winter Games. Despite winning silver at last year’s world championships behind Malinin, an Olympic medal had felt a distant dream. “If things went well, I thought I might get bronze,” said Shaidorov, who was fifth after the short programme. The man from Almaty watched as each of his rivals stumbled on the ice to surge to gold ahead of Japanese pair Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato.
– **Japan make pairs history**
Trailblazing duo Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara pulled off a stunning comeback to win Japan’s first Olympic pairs gold with a career-best performance. It was the first time the nation had won a pairs medal of any colour. The Japanese had it all to do after finishing the short programme in fifth spot but they powered back to seal gold with a rousing performance to the “Gladiator” soundtrack. Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava won a first Winter Games medal for Georgia as overnight leaders Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany took bronze. Japan won six medals—one gold, three silver, and two bronze—in the figure skating events in Milan.
– **French dance around controversy**
France’s Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry won gold in ice dancing after skating together for just a year. Cizeron, 31, and 33-year-old Fournier Beaudry upset reigning world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the USA after a turbulent period. “It’s quite dizzying when you look back a year ago to when we took on this challenge. God knows we’ve faced obstacles,” said Cizeron, who won gold in Beijing four years ago with Gabriella Papadakis. Just before the Games, Papadakis published a book accusing him of “controlling” behaviour during their time skating together. Fournier Beaudry, a Canadian who only received French citizenship in November, had been available after the suspension of her former partner, who was implicated in a sexual abuse case dating back to 2012.
© 2024 AFP
