Kristi Yamaguchi says it is “crucial” for Olympic determine skaters to have a clear brief program
Ladies’s determine skating acquired underway Tuesday on the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Video gamesand whereas there had been excessive hopes for Group USA, early missteps and disappointing scores have positioned medal hopes totally on the skates of Alysa Liu.
Earlier than the occasion acquired going, former world champion and Olympic gold medal winner Kristi Yamaguchi was optimistic in regards to the probabilities of a medal for an American girl — one hasn’t gained an particular person Olympic skating medal in 20 years. She additionally informed CBS Information it is “crucial” to have a clear brief program.
LiuAmber Glenn and Isabeau Levito — the trio of skaters collectively often called the “Blade Angels” — stepped onto Olympic ice for the person brief program on Tuesday.
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However sadly for Glenn, she could not full her triple loop — a expensive mistake that dropped her into thirteenth place within the standings after the brief program. Liu was in third place whereas Levito was in eighth headed into the free skate on Thursday.
“It is crucial to have a clear brief,” Yamaguchi mentioned earlier than the occasion began. “Lacking one component is so detrimental, and also you wish to set your self up proper for an opportunity at a medal, on the gold.”
She additionally mentioned it is necessary to come back again with a robust free program, even after a disaster within the brief.
“You won’t get the medal you need, however it’s simply proving that, you already know, you belong there and also you have been prepared,” she mentioned.
Medaling will probably be a tall order for Glenn and Levito, however it’s not fully out of the query. Glenn sits 9.2 factors off of third place, whereas Levito is 5.75 factors behind the bronze medal place. Making up that a lot distance would imply different rivals would want to make errors of their very own within the free skate, however there have loads of these in these Winter Video games.
It has been 20 years since an American girl gained an particular person Olympic skating medal. Yamaguchi herself took house the gold on the Albertville 1992 Winter Video games, with fellow American Nancy Kerrigan getting bronze.
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The 2-time world champion mentioned earlier than the competitors acquired underway that it felt just like the American girls have been “due” for a win with the trio of “stable rivals who’re seasoned, who’ve had the expertise, and I really feel like they’re prepared.”
Requested what it was about girls’s determine skating that captures Individuals’ hearts and a focus each 4 years, Yamaguchi recommended it has been “seen because the glamorous aspect of the Olympics.”
“And the US has historically performed very nicely,” she famous. “Now we have fairly a couple of US girls’s champions.”
“Clearly, the artistry is… I believe a really important a part of our sport,” she added. “It is what folks fall in love with. Personalities, the fashion, expression.”
