"Pairs is the best discipline in figure skating. Yes, I'm biased because I used to do it myself, but I'm right. No other event has such a variety of elements. In addition to the jumps, spins, and footwork you'd see in a singles program there are lifts, twists, throws, and death spirals! Pairs skaters are the American Ninja Warriors of figure skating, doing X Games-level stunts with the gentility and grace of the Bolshoi Ballet."
"In fact, I don't know that there have been household names in pairs since Gordeeva and Grinkov in the '80s and '90s. But after the horrors of the men's free skate on Friday, the pairs short program was the palate cleanser that skating fans needed. And in the absence of a "god" of the sport, or even a clear favorite, the skating itself was the star of the night."
Pairs offers unmatched variety, combining singles elements with lifts, twists, throws, and death spirals that require both athleticism and grace. Clean programs can feel transcendent, while mistakes lead to some of the sport's hardest falls. Many casual fans lack familiarity with contemporary pairs names, with household recognition rare since Gordeeva and Grinkov. The United States has not won a pairs medal since 1988 and has never taken gold, though American teams represented U.S. Figure Skating well. Emily Chan and Spencer Howe qualified after placing fourth at Nationals; Efimova and Mitrofanov were ineligible due to citizenship, opening a slot. Howe serves in the U.S. Army's World Class Athlete Program.
Read at Slate Magazine
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]