An Olympic figure skating fab five, U.S. gold medalists all, reflect on Nathan Chen

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An Olympic figure skating fab five, U.S. gold medalists all, reflect on Nathan Chen

Five of the six U.S. men's Olympic gold medalists were in attendance at the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, California. In the days following the competition, icenetwork asked them their overall impressions of Nathan Chen, one of the favorites for the gold medal at next month's Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.

The respondents were:

- Brian Boitano, the 1988 Olympic champion and a two-time world champion, who has followed Chen closely for years.

- Evan Lysacek, the 2010 Olympic champion and 2009 world champion, who trained briefly on the same ice as Chen when the younger skater began working with Rafael Arutunian in California seven years ago. The 2018 U.S. Championships were the first time Lysacek had been in an arena to watch Chen compete.

- Scott Hamilton, the 1984 Olympic champion, four-time U.S. champion and four-time world champion, who has watched Chen compete at various levels.

- Dick Button, the 1948 and 1952 Olympic champion, who got his first chance to see Chen -- 70 years his junior -- in person at the 2018 U.S. Championships.

- Hayes Jenkins, the 1956 Olympic champion, who first saw Chen in person at the 2014 U.S. Championships in Boston, where Chen, then 14, won his second U.S. junior title.

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Russian skater's coach calls IOC decision to bar her from 2018 Olympics “an injustice and an absurdity”

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Russian skater's coach calls IOC decision to bar her from 2018 Olympics “an injustice and an absurdity”

The coach of Russian pairs skater Ksenia Stolbova called the International Olympic Committee's decision to exclude Stolbova from the 2018 Winter Olympics “an injustice and an absurdity.”

In a Thursday text message responding to questions from icenetwork, coach Nina Mozer said she was informed about the International Olympic Committee’s action on Stolbova, a 2014 Olympic gold and silver medalist, only two hours before the Russian Figure Skating Federation announced it Tuesday.

Mozer said she hoped the IOC would change its mind.

“Our team counts on sanity and changes in IOC decisions that concern honest athletes who. . .have the full right to compete in the Olympic Games,” Mozer wrote.

Mozer said that no member of her coaching team nor any of the pairs athletes she has coached, including Stolbova and her partner, Fedor Klimov, have ever figured in any "doping scandals" and insisted that doping would have a negative effect on a skater's performance.

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Two Russian skaters apparently barred from 2018 Olympics, with no reason yet announced

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Two Russian skaters apparently barred from 2018 Olympics, with no reason yet announced

Russian pairs skater Ksenia Stolbova and ice dancer Ivan Bukin have apparently been barred from competing in the 2018 Olympic Winter Olympics by the International Olympic Committee.

"Apparently" must remain the operative word because the IOC will not release until Saturday a list of which Russian athletes have been cleared to compete next month in PyeongChang, South Korea.

The surprising news about Stolbova, a gold and silver medalist at the 2014 Winter Olympics, and Bukin came via a Tuesday statement from the Russian Figure Skating Federation, which in turn was citing information from the Russian Olympic Committee.

The figure skating federation's statement blasted the IOC.

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With investigation over, no one will know if judge's alleged impropriety cost Spanish ice dance team an Olympic spot

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With investigation over, no one will know if judge's alleged impropriety cost Spanish ice dance team an Olympic spot

The International Skating Union said Monday it has dropped disciplinary proceedings against a Belarusian judge due to his resignation, which seems to have been conveniently timed.

That means it never will be known if a Spanish ice dance team lost a chance to go to the 2018 Olympics because of Alexandre Gorojdanov’s alleged violations of his duties as judge.

It also means the ISU’s inexplicable refusal to give an automatic lifetime ban to any judge or referee found to have violated the ethical rules of those duties allowed Gorojdanov the chance to potentially corrupt the results of another competition.  The Belarusian had served a 6 1/2-month suspension from Jan. 13 to June 30, 2017, after having been found in violation of the ISU code of ethics as a pairs referee at a 2016 event.

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A sure bet, a long shot and some new math: my takeaways from U.S. figure skating championships

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A sure bet, a long shot and some new math: my takeaways from U.S. figure skating championships

1. Bradie Tennell backers would be very rich today if they could have found anyone in Las Vegas willing to make book before this season on her winning the U.S. championships and/or making the Olympic team and then put down a couple hundred dollars on that bet.

Because the odds would have been about 1,000-to-1.

And even Tennell, ninth at the U.S. championships last year, would have had a hard time disputing that probability.

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