Nathan Chen, a polymath on ice, honored by Ice Theatre of New York as Olympic champion who bridges world between sport and dance

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Nathan Chen, a polymath on ice, honored by Ice Theatre of New York as Olympic champion who bridges world between sport and dance

In 2017, not long after Nathan Chen had won his first of what would be six straight U.S. titles in figure skating, we talked briefly about his background in ballet.

Now, a lot of figure skaters mention having done ballet, but it is usually little more than something for a sentence in their bios.

But he did not see it the way most skaters do, as just another box to check, like sessions to work on strength, flexibility and endurance.

Chen was serious about the dance lessons, as many as six per week, that he took for 6 ½ years at Ballet West Academy in Salt Lake City.  He started the lessons at age seven to help his skating.  He kept them up for a less pragmatic reason.

“I love ballet,” he said.

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Ilia Malinin’s bounce-back world title marks fresh start for Quadg0d

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Ilia Malinin’s bounce-back world title marks fresh start for Quadg0d

The figure skating world is back on its axis.

The Quadg0d realigned it, reclaiming his position as the best men’s singles skater in the world with a performance that was merely excellent rather than otherworldly.

Ilia Malinin won his third straight world title Saturday in Prague by attempting just (?!?!) five quadruple jumps, none of them his singular quad Axel. He landed all five, the last with a slight penalty for being short of four rotations.

With a huge lead from the short program, Malinin knew he did not need to use his full array of quads in the long program, as he had at December’s Grand Prix Final, when he became the first person to land seven – and one of each type. After all, none of the other 23 men tried more than three.

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Kaori Sakamoto saves best for last in farewell to competitive skating

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Kaori Sakamoto saves best for last in farewell to competitive skating

There is an old adage in show business that advises performers to always leave them wanting more.

Kaori Sakamoto of Japan did that Friday at the World Championships in Prague.

Alas, there will be no more of Sakamoto in competition. At 25, she is leaving that side of figure skating with a fourth world title and an indelible legacy of greatness.

“If you want me to talk about her achievements, you wouldn’t be able to stop me from going on forever,” said her teammate, Mone Chiba, who finished second.

She saved the best — at least by scoring standards — for last, winning with a personal best in the free skate and the highest component scores ever in both the free and short programs.

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Alysa Liu's new reality: fame, fashion and the fast lane

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Alysa Liu's new reality: fame, fashion and the fast lane

Phillip DiGuglielmo began to see the handwriting on the wall not long after murals of Alysa Liu went up in Oakland and suburban Los Angeles.

For two weeks after Liu won the Olympic women’s singles title Feb. 19 in Milan, she and DiGuglielmo, her coach, still planned on going to Prague later this month so she could defend her world title.

“I knew her training wouldn’t be optimal, but we’re used to that,” DiGuglielmo said by telephone. “But this was going to be far from optimal.”

He understood that it was time for Liu to optimize the things coming her way since she became a sensation at the Olympics.

“She is just exploding,” he said. “Even her agents are overwhelmed. You have to balance what is her opportunity to build her brand versus going to worlds.”

By last Friday, she and her team agreed it was best for Liu to withdraw from the World Championships.

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A thank you to all those who helped me do what I love: write about figure skating (and the Olympics)

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A thank you to all those who helped me do what I love: write about figure skating (and the Olympics)

And, now that I have finished posting the last few stories to my Blog, I can close the books on the 2026 Winter Olympics. (You can find all the stories here.)
I want to thank NBC Olympics & Paralympics for letting me be part of its coverage team for the second straight Olympics - and to thank in particular the tireless crew of editors and writers at the NBC Olympics web site. It was a privilege to work with you.

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