U.S. Figure Skating president chides U.S. senator for proposing Olympic boycott, says U.S. athletes might not heed it

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U.S. Figure Skating president chides U.S. senator for proposing Olympic boycott, says U.S. athletes might not heed it

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The president of U.S. Figure Skating said Wednesday he did not believe U.S. skaters would heed a politically motivated call to boycott the upcoming Winter Olympics in South Korea and indirectly chided the senator who raised the prospect this week.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) tweeted Monday that the U.S. should boycott if North Korea goes to the Olympics.

“I think they need to be careful saying things like that because these athletes have worked so hard to get there,” USFS President Samuel Auxier said.  “The Olympics should be above politics. They shouldn’t be playing politics with this.

“It was a disaster in 1980 for many of the athletes who couldn’t go.  And I’d hate to see that just because Trump and Kim Jong-un are trying to see which button’s bigger.”

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Play it again. And again. Reruns, early brilliance and more in this Olympic figure skate season

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Play it again. And again. Reruns, early brilliance and more in this Olympic figure skate season

It isn’t even October, and this Olympic figure skating season already has featured some stunning performances – all in Class C level competitions of the International Skating Union's Challenger Series.

(Class A is Olympics and worlds; Class B is Grand Prix - with the Grand Prix Final a B+.)

Does that still mean the best is yet to come or that a few top skaters – especially in singles - will have peaked too early, with the Olympics not until February in South Korea?

Only time will tell, of course, but the changed framework of international competition, with Challenger Series events now drawing media attention and audiences for live streams, means some skaters are trying to be great in many events from September through early April.

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