Olympic Recap, Day 1: Pairs Short Program

The Pairs Skating event got off to a great start tonight. The technical elements were solid, and most teams skated relatively clean programs. The Russians and Chinese teams dominated, as expected. The Russian pair of Totmiyanina and Marinin have almost a four point lead over the next team, Zhang and Zhang of China. Totmianina and Marinin are the heavy favorites for this event, especially since one of China's top teams, Shen and Zhao, is coming off a serious injury. Despite that injury, they skated well and are currently in fifth. The throws were amazing tonight.

A little bit of skating history was made when the top American team, Inoue and Baldwin, completed the first throw triple axel in Olympic history. It was a risk that paid off. It increased their level of difficulty, and they're currently in sixth place. The other American team, Hinzmann and Parchem, sit at 13th. See the full results here.

Now for my personal take on tonight's skating. I was glad to see that the level of skating was very high. Pairs can sometimes be riddled with mistakes to the point that the "least bad" team ends up winning. That wasn't the case tonight. (Nor was it at the last, judging scandal-filled Olympics in Salt Lake City; and of course they had to talk about that debacle during tonight's broadcast.) The Americans skated well. What our teams need is more speed and power. Inoue and Baldwin showed that we can throw up some impressive technical elements, but we still need more creativity and difficulty between moves. Hinzmann and Parchem show a lot of promise. They haven't been together as long as many of the other teams, but they're already exhibiting a grace and elegance that hint at what they could achieve. If they can hang in there for four more years, I like their chances at the next Winter Olympics. On a more personal note, it was nice to see Marcy in the Olympics. She looked incredibly happy to be there, and she skated great. The commentators even brought up Columbus, Ohio, and the OSU Ice Rink. Way to represent, Marcy!

The Russians, especially Totmiyanina and Marinin were fantastic. They're definitely the team to beat. What I found most impressive about this team was the rotational speed in their pair combination spin. Heads and shoulders above the rest. The Chinese are strong as usual. It's sad that Shen and Zhao are coming off a recent injury. They've matured so much over the years and might have given the Russians a good run for the gold. As it is, Zhang and Zhang will still give the Russians a handful.

Finally, I have to comment on the new scoring system. It's been in place at international competitions for a little while now, but I'm still coming to grips with it. It's still hard for me to see a score and know what it means; is 61.27 a good score? (Yes and no; tonight it was good enough for Inoue and Baldwin to get sixth.) I'm sure this will change over time and I get more used to the system. What I do like about the new scoring system is that it rewards good skating, beyond the ability to do one or two tricks (namely, jumps). Spins and footwork get more points and attention. I think this is good for the sport as a whole; we'll start to see (as we in fact already are) more intricate and interesting skating. I also like what the new system means for the long program.

Under the old scoring system, skaters in the top three slots "controlled their destiny" in the long program - if any of the top three teams after the short won the long, they were guaranteed to win the event. Anyone lower than third needed help to win; even if they won the long program, they would need at least one other team to throw in a great performance to knock down the higher placed teams. But the new scoring system has changed things around and keeps it interesting. Since the scores are based on accrued points, rather than ordinal placement, a stellar performance by any skater/team could vault them to the top of the podium.

But there's one thing I really don't like about the new system. Judging has become more secretive and confidential. While computes will randomly select marks from different judges to apply to the score, no one will ever know the marks of individual judges. This means that it is still possible for a judge to "fix" results. It may be less likely because there's only a chance that any one judge's marks will be selected, but it is still possible. And worst of all, no one will know. Maybe the ISU will know, but without transparency and public pressure, there's no reason to hold the judges accountable. After the events of Salt Lake City, I think greater transparency in judging, not less, would be more appropriate.

But I'll stop ranting and get off my soapbox now. Tonight's skating was great, and I look forward to the final. The Pairs long program will be broadcast on NBC at 8pm EST on Monday night.

P.S. For all the people who have been finding my blog searching for the Korean Olympic Team, I'm sorry to report that the North Korean pair team of Yong Myong and Yong Hyok are currently in 20th place after the short.