Slutskaya Slips, Cohen Crashes, and Arakawa Arises.

For the majority of us, the 2006 Winter Olympics ended last night (technically, they end on Sunday) so to speak, with the Ladies' Figure Skating Finals. The results were bewildering and upsetting for some. Japan's Shizuka Arakawa took home the Gold medal, in what seemed to be a surprising turn of events. Arakawa managed to turn her performance around from Tuesday's short program, where she came in 3rd. Her performance and victory were nothing short of amazing, surprising, and spectacular. Arakawa performed a conservative but clean free skate, and maintained a "calm, cool, and collective" style & attitude throughout her entire performance, ultimately rewarding her with the win. She is the first Japanese woman ever to win an Olympic gold medal in Ladies' Figure Skating. The Figure Skating Gala will take place tonight, and will feature free-skate performances by several of the medal winners.

The US's Sasha Cohen came in 2nd, winning her the Silver medal, and Russia's Irina Slutskaya came in 3rd, winning her the Bronze medal. All eyes (and bets) were on Sasha Cohen. Her performance was nonetheless excellent, despite her falls. Cohen fell on her first 2 jumps (the most important jumps of the free skate), which inevitably cost her the gold medal. When her turn to skate came, Cohen came off as very nervous on the ice rink. You would be nervous too if you're being overly-hyped all over the media as the favourite for the gold. But despite her flaws at the beginning of her skate, Sasha displayed an amazing performance through and through, and that managed to garner her the Silver medal. Slutskaya on the other hand, only had one slip and fall. She still skated excellently, but not quite enough to please the judges. Slutskaya fell about 2 points short of beating Cohen for the Silver. Regardless, both Cohen & Slutskaya were nowhere near beating Arakawa.



(Pictured left to right: Shizuka Arakawa, Sasha Cohen, Irina Slutskaya, Emily Hughes, and Michelle Kwan)


Reaction here was somber for Cohen's loss for gold. Cohen fans and US Olympic team fans alike are a bit disappointed. That isn't to say that they are resentful towards Cohen (let's hope not). She still won the Silver. A win is a win! Unfortunately, some don't see it that way. It's one of those 'all or nothing' matters when it comes to the US and competitions like the Olympics. I'm sure most countries are like that as well. Every athlete competing at the Olympics excepts to win the gold medal. Some keep trying until they manage to emerge victorious. Michelle Kwan certainly wanted another try at winning the gold. Kwan had performed her long and short programs for the Olympics' panel, and her spot on the US Olympic team was established. Unfortunately, Kwan withdrew from the Olympics due to a groin injury. Michelle was replaced by Emily Hughes, who had finished 3rd at the U.S. Championships. Some Kwan fans (myself included) felt a bit of resentment toward Hughes. I'm sure we would have felt resentment towards whoever Kwan's replacement would've been, not just specifically Emily Hughes. Nevertheless, Hughes was also a favourite contender at the finals last night. However, Hughes failed to live up to her hype. She came in 7th place last night at the finals. Now, I didn't want her to lose that miserably (by ice skating standards, that is miserable), I just wanted to see how "well" she'd perform, especially considering that her sister Sarah Hughes was the gold medalist at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Nevertheless, all of last night's skaters were great. If there is a God, we will hopefully see Michelle Kwan at the next Olympics. Kwan has denied rumours of retirement, leading to speculation that she just might compete in four years. I'm sure we will see many of the same faces again at the 2010 Winter Olympics being held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The quest for gold never ends.