Los Angeles has thrown down the gantlet to the International Olympic Committee.
As in: Put up or shut up, IOC members, about all those lofty reformist ideas for economically and logistically saner Olympic Games that you approved by acclamation 14 months ago.
Read MoreThe decision on whether Nathan Chen should compete in either of the world figure skating championships for which he qualified no longer is discretionary.
The injury Chen suffered on a failed quadruple jump attempt during Sunday’s exhibition gala after the U.S. Championships has required left hip surgery that will knock him out of both the world juniors and world championships in late March.
Read MoreWhether phenom Nathan Chen competes at either of the two world figure skating championships for which he has qualified will depend on a medical evaluation of the injury he sustained Sunday evening.
“What matters is not these worlds. What matters is that he is healthy for the future,” Rafael Arutunian, the skater’s coach, told me by telephone Tuesday afternoon.
Read MoreST. PAUL, Minn, -- U.S. Figure Skating officials finally got the message.
They rewarded a history-making performance by Nathan Chen with a place on the U.S. team for this year’s senior World Championships.
It would have been better if their judges also gave the 16-year-old Chen the scores he deserved at the national meet that ended Sunday, but sending him to worlds is a step in the right direction for an organization stuck in a talent-development rut.
Read MoreST. PAUL, Minn. – Polina Edmunds looked a little tentative, which was understandable. Edmunds never had been in the position she was Saturday night, having won Thursday’s short program to take a substantial lead over past champions Ashley Wagner and Gracie Gold into the long program at the U.S. Championships.
Edmunds did not crack. She nailed jump after jump, spin after spin, making just one small mistake, an under-rotated triple jump. When her scores went up, Edmunds was first in the free skate and still first overall with only Gold left to skate.
“I’m happy I skated a clean long program,” Edmunds would say. “That was my goal, to skate two clean programs. I really think I showed a good champion mentality.”
She is not the champion, though, because Gold delivered one of the greatest long program skates in the history of nationals, making the short program brain cramp that left her 7.69 points behind Edmunds seem like the aberration it was.
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Philip Hersh, formerly Olympic specialist for the Chicago Tribune, has covered 20 Olympic Games. He often uses sport as a way to write about the culture of a country or athlete. READ FULL BIO
