The Olympic Pregames Part II

Team Figure Skating

Men's Singles

Starting off the men's competition,   Plushenko  is Russia's best bet for starting strong in this competition that has long been an integral part of Russia's dynasty.

Peanut Gallery: "That is the face of someone who was denied his childhood."

His powerful quadruple toe, triple toe combination was an impressive way to begin his short program, and his showmanship commanded the audience's attention to the power that he brought to the ice. The home country reaction to his performance was deafening in the Ice Palace as he blew kisses, waved, and flashed his supporters a brilliant smile accompanied by a classic two thumbs up. He scored a 91.39, his personal best and an impressive start to this stiff competition

Jeremy Abbott, USA, follows Plushenko onto the ice as he battles his nerves and tries to put behind him his disastrous short program at the 2010 games. His style differs greatly from the raw power of Plushenko, but he seeks to maintain the same level of difficulty. Abbott falls hard on his first quadruple toe and although he recovers well with a triple lutz, his failure to complete a double rotation on his axel effectively confirms a similarly disastrous program to his 2010 debacle. While broadcasters estimate a 15 point deduction for the missed elements of his program, his score of 65.65 leaves a bleak outlook for the USA figure skating team. When interviewed by NBC's Andrea Mitchell, Abbott said, "I'm not sure what went wrong, it was just one of those nights."

Canada's Patrick Chan, current World Champion, is described as the "centerpiece" of the Canadian figure skating team. He misses the quadruple toe loop and is only able to complete 2 rotations, as well as losing control of the landing on his triple axel. The triple lutz is landed well, but the performance overall is not up to Chan's normal standards. The program brought in a score of 89.71 for the Canadian team, placing him second, following Plushenko.

Yuzuru Hanyu makes his Olympic debut in this team competition with a clean quadruple toe as he shows off his personality in a vibrant program. The triple axel maintains this level of ease, as does the second half of the program triple lutz, triple toe combination. Hanyu ends his short program with panache, accompanied by crashing drums and a screaming guitar as he spins his way into the hearts of a delighted audience and is honored with a standing ovation from the other figure skaters watching his performance. Hanyu overtakes Plushenko with an incredible 97.98, bringing Japan into a rather unexpected lead in the team figure skating event.

Peanut Gallery, "He's like the Japanese Freddy Mercury on ice." 

Pairs Figure Skating

The Japanese team, Narumi Takahashi and Ryuichi Kihara, opens the pairs element of the Team Figure Skating, but the skaters have only been working together for a year, an astonishingly short time when compared with the lifetime pairs representing other countries. Their relative unfamiliarity shows with the incorporation of slightly easier elements into their program, such as a double toss instead of the usual triple, leaving them with a score of 46.56.

2-Time US Champions Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir, whose family originally hails from Russia, are next to compete. The pair has been working together for 8 years and their familiarity is apparent in the synchronicity of their program. Their signature throw-triple salchow was impressive, but their side-by-side salchow was flawed. They scored 64.25 and ended up in fifth place.

Canadian figure skaters Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford chose an emotional piece of music composed by Eric  to accompany their program, which featured a side-by-side triple lutz, a throw-triple lutz, and creative elements that showcased the best that each partner had to offer. Their performance brought them a 73.10 and second place. After the program, Meagan said, "When he picked me up I could see the Olympic Rings above his head and I was just like, I can't believe we're doing this!"

Tatyana Volosozhar and Maksim Trankov of Russia set as their goal to return the glory of pairs figure skating to Russia. Their theatric costumes and lively music created a truly impressive and entertaining program. The strength of both skaters was evident in the landings of their throws and leaps, which the home country crowd rewarded with massive cheers as they completed every element with aplomb. As they waited for their scores, the Ice Skating Palace shook with the force of the Russian supporters' chanting, which reached a deafening level as their 83.79 score was announced.