I am beside myself excited that Evan Lysacek won the gold medal in men’s figure skating last night. He is an inspiration in so many ways - namely, his track record, his training process and his commitment to his sport.
This year, Yevgeny Plushenko returned to defend his Olympic title and after a lackluster performance that placed him in 2nd, he has been making a fool of himself and a mockery of the Olympics. He jumped up to the gold medal platform on his way to the silver one, frowned during the US national anthem and reportedly took off his silver medal immediately following the medal ceremony. Then, he said that Lysacek is “not a true champion” because he didn’t do a quadruple jump. Can anyone say sore loser? http://tinyurl.com/yg7qnvd Plushenko’s not just an uninspiring skater, he’s an ungracious competitor.
The Olympics is about the best athletes in the world coming together to compete and going for one’s own personal best on the world stage. One of the hallmarks of an Olympian is good sportsmanship. The IOC Code of Ethics states, “…participants in the Olympic Games must not, by any manner whatsoever, infringe the principle of fair play, show non-sporting conduct, or attempt to influence the result of a competition in a manner contrary to sporting ethics.”
All week in Vancouver, Lysacek choose to not engage in mud slinging about other competitors and he is continuing that level of elegance even after being attacked by Plushenko. Lysacek said today that he has looked up to Plushenko for years and congratulated Yevgeny on his 3rd Olympic medal, which is an incredibly rare achievement for any Olympic figure skater. http://tinyurl.com/yde6v3h
And image is really everything because Johnny Weir has once again been penalized for being himself (or is it for his ambiguous sexuality?) He is outspoken and flamboyant AND an amazing talent. But – his image upstages his abilities and I believe he gets punished for it. It was blatantly apparent last night when he skated a beautiful, clean program and failed to move up from 6th place despite the fact that everyone else in 3rd, 4th and 5th fell. Johnny has so many great qualities and is a true veteran. Check this out: http://tinyurl.com/yabfs4x
For years, figure skating has had an identity crisis and the debate continues. Is it a sport or is it a performance? Is it about technique or artistry? Unfortunately, it is a subjective sport and it is unforgiving because there is only one medal event every four years. Bottom line: Evan Lysacek was the best. As Scott Hamilton said over and over again, Evan was the most trained competitor there and he put many elements together and skated flawlessly. He didn’t need a quad. It’s not a quad competition. Lysacek stayed focused, had the two skates of his life this week and handled himself like a champion on and off the ice.
