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Figure skating and controversy seem to go hand in hand, and last season was a stronger example of that than most.
In February, the Beijing Winter Olympics were rocked by a doping scandal involving 15-year-old female favorite Kamila Valieva, who was cleared to continue competing after a drug test she underwent the day of Christmas. heart medications. Valieva crumbled under the scrutiny, stumbling to a fourth-place finish in the women’s competition. But she and her Russian teammates were allowed to retain their victory in the team event pending an investigation (more on that later).
Four days after the closing ceremony in Beijing, Russia invades Ukraine. Like many of the sport’s world governing bodies, figure skating quickly banned Russian and Belarusian athletes, causing them to miss the world championships in late March. This eliminated the reigning world champions in three of the four disciplines and, in the minds of some, attached an asterisk to many medals.
WATCH | Grand Prix preview at Skate America:
The 2022/23 Grand Prix season kicks off with Skate America in Norwood, Mass. Asher Hill from That Figure Skating Show gives an overview of the event, with the big story being Ilia Malinin.
As the 2022-23 Grand Prix of Figure Skating season prepares to kick off Friday night near Boston, the Valieva saga and the Russian-Belarusian ban continue to weigh on the sport. Here’s the latest on those things, along with other storylines to watch this season:
The Russians are not there, but their shadow remains
Eight months after the Russian Anti-Doping Agency announced it would open an investigation into Valieva’s positive test, the deeply corrupt organization (yes, the same one that played a key role in the massive doping scheme sponsored by the State) is still dragging its feet on this process. This is causing frustration among skaters from other countries involved in the Olympic team event (including fourth-placed Canada) who are in contention for a medal if the Russians are disqualified. Learn more about it here.
Meanwhile, Russian and Belarusian athletes remain persona non grata in the figure skating community. Skating’s world governing body decided in June to extend its ban on athletes from Russia and Belarus and not to hold international competitions in those countries “until further notice”. Russia has traditionally hosted one of six regular stops on the Grand Prix circuit, but this year’s (late November) has been moved to Finland.
Instead of the Grand Prix, the Russians will take part in their own ghost circuit of six events which will take place across the country at the same time as the Grand Prix. Valieva is among those expected to skate in the opening game in Moscow, which begins on Friday.
WATCH | Catching up on Russian figure skating:
Even though Russian skaters are still banned from participating in ISU events due to the war, there are still plenty of updates around the national team.
The Grand Prix season is finally back to normal (sort of)
For the first time in three years, skaters won’t have to worry about competing in empty arenas and the season champions will be crowned as the Grand Prix Final returns to the calendar in December in Italy. The final – reserved for the top six in each of the four disciplines, based on results at the regular stages – has been canceled for the past two years due to COVID-19 restrictions in the host countries (China in 2020 and Japan last year ).
However, the shadow of the pandemic continues to hang over the Grand Prix. With China still clinging to harsh COVID-19 measures, its annual stop at the circuit (cancelled last year) has been moved to England.
Apart from the aforementioned move of the Russian leg to Finland, the rest of the Grand Prix is comfortably familiar. After Skate America’s traditional opener in the United States this weekend, the series continues as usual with Skate Canada — this year taking place in Mississauga, Ontario, starting next Friday. Then head to France, England, Japan and Finland before the final in Italy. Skaters are allowed to participate in two of the regular events. All of these events, plus the final, will be broadcast live on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem, with additional coverage of select events on the CBC Television Network. See the full streaming and broadcast schedule here.
Can the Quad God save the sport?
With all the bad Russian-related vibes surrounding figure skating at the moment, Ilia Malinin’s arrival could hardly come at a better time. The 17-year-old American phenom (whose parents are former singles skaters of Russian descent who competed mainly for Uzbekistan) had already branded himself with the “quadg0d” on social media before landing the biggest jump impressive in the history of sport. month.
Skating at a lower level event in Lake Placid, NY, Malinin became the first person to land a quadruple Axel in competition. The 4½ spin jump – the toughest in the quad family and the last to be conquered – took place in front of almost no fans. But video of Malinin’s feat has gone viral in the skating world, which has seen current men’s Olympic champion Nathan Chen only play with the Axel quad in training and former Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu unsuccessfully attempt to land it at this year’s Games.
With Chen stepping away from the sport following her Olympic victory, Hanyu announcing her retirement in July and Russia’s dominant women all banned from competing, teenager Malinin could be the main attraction in figure skating this season. He will make his senior level debut at Skate America, where the men’s event kicks off Friday night at 8:50 p.m. ET. Watch it live here.
Can Canada get out of its slump?
Canadian figure skating hasn’t been the same since greats Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir left after winning their second Olympic gold in ice dancing in 2018. Virtue and Moir also helped Canada win the gold in the team event at those Games, while Kaetlyn Osmond (women) and Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford (pairs) won bronze. Since the following season, the Canadians have won just two world championship medals – a bronze by ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier in 2021 and a pair bronze by Radford and Vanessa James at the world championships in 2022. At last Winter’s Olympics, Canada was completely excluded from the medals for the first time since 1980.
As the new Grand Prix season kicks off without retirees Radford and James, Gilles and Poirier remain Canada’s most consistent podium threat while 2019 World Junior Champions Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha are also worth watching in ice dancing (both pairs will make their debut next week at Skate Canada). In singles, 19-year-old Madeline Schizas will look to build on her strong showing in the Olympic team event, while 17-year-old Stephen Gogolev and Wesley Chiu are exciting prospects in the men’s division.
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