A Winter Olympics Glimpse Into Greatness

Over two weeks and three weekends, the Beijing Winter Olympics will fill our hearts and television screens with plenty of excitement. For my household, much of it will take place on the Olympic figure skating ice.

Mixing colorful costumes and loud music with a mixture of elegance and athleticism, there’s bound to be plenty of thrills along with a few spills and disappointments, but enough flash and panache to make it all seem worthwhile. 

Thanks to the 13-hour time difference between Beijing and the U.S. east coast, we’ve tuned in to watch figure skating following our nightly dinner – during prime time – and the just-completed team competition kept us up past our bedtime the past few nights. Sometimes, we watched on our living room TV and other times on my iPhone while laying in bed. Learning about the human side of many of the Olympic figure skaters who are competing as well as gaining an appreciation for what drives them to excel on ice has been fascinating. 

Sunday night (Monday morning in Beijing), during the final day of the team skating event, we had the pleasure of watching 15-year-old Russian phenom Kamila Valieva become the first woman to land a quadruple jump in Olympics competition. She landed a quadruple Salchow as her opening element during her free skate program performed to Ravel’s “Bolero.” 

While making history, the Moscow resident Valieva helped lead the Russian Olympic Committee team to a gold medal in the team competition by finishing first in both the short program and the free skate.

“I believe that I am coping with this pressure,” Valieva said afterward. “And sometimes it even pushes me forward. It helps me.”

The images of the five-foot-three-inch Valieva lifting her arms above her head as she spun, accented by her blurred red gloves, seemed effortless. Yet, it’s obvious she’s put a lot of time and dedication into perfecting each element – each quadruple jump – of her routine. To her credit, Valieva proved human – and not just a jumping machine – after she fell to the ice when she attempted her third and final quadruple jump. She shook off the mistake, put it behind her, and continued her program. Her score was more than 30 points higher than second-place finisher Kaori Sakamoto of Japan. 

It’s nice to learn from newspaper reports that Valieva sometimes giggles during her interviews with Olympic media. The other day, she entered the media area following her short program clutching a stuffed animal. Remember, she’s just 15. However, it’s been her dream to be an Olympic champion since she was about three years-old. 

After practicing gymnastics, figure skating and ballet as a child, Valieva liked figure skating the best. She once said that “gliding on the ice and the speed are awesome.”

With Valieva’s goal of becoming an Olympic figure skating champion coming into the spotlight, no doubt she will draw plenty of attention next week when the women’s individual competition takes place. It won’t surprise me if Valieva wins the gold medal and stands on the top step of the medal podium at Capital Indoor Stadium. Winning gold seems to be a Russian tradition among women’s figure skaters – and to her credit, Valieva exudes a winning combo of brains and brawn.

In her own words: “I believe that my next dream will come true, too.”

Screenshot photo courtesy of NBC Olympics video.

To watch highlights of Valieva’s team competition performance: https://youtu.be/hda3vvmqQHQ

World Cup: Tennis stars in touch with the beautiful game

The 21st World Cup of football – the international variety not the American kind – is one of the biggest quadrennial sporting events in the entire world. It began last week in Russia and it's set to distract sports fans across Planet Earth through Sunday, July 15, which happens to be the same day as the gentlemen's singles final at Wimbledon.

Speaking of tennis, it's not a surprise that many of the world's best tennis professionals are showing an avid interest  – an emotional involvement, if you will – in the World Cup tournament. After all, it's probably the pipe dream of many players that if they weren't carving out a nice career on tennis courts while globe trekking around the world, they would be sporting their skills playing the "beautiful game" on grassy pitches and in front of thousands of die-hard football fans.

When it comes to the World Cup, I've learned, it's okay for players to become emotionally involved and to have a sense of fighting spirit – not only for their team, but for everyone in the entire country.

Last Sunday, after he won the MercedesCup tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, for his 98th career title, Roger Federer tweeted a photo of himself driving home to Basel, Switzerland via the German autobahn. His tweet read: "Made it back home on time to watch Switzerland vs. Brazil. Great effort team Switzerland, good luck Brazil for the rest of the way."

Roger Federer/Driving on the German autobahn.

Elena Vesnina of Russia, ranked No. 1 in the world in doubles with her partner Ekaterina Makarova, was in attendance for the World Cup opener between host Russia and Saudi Arabia in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium on June 14. She produced live content for the WTA's Instagram feed.

Speaking of which, an Instagram video posted by the WTA has drawn a lot of position attention. The WTA tweeted: "The #FIFAWorldCup is here! #WTA stars will be watching ... Will you?"

The one-minute video shows a variety of WTA stars, including Vesnina, Simona Halep of Romania, Caroline Garcia of France, Karolina Pliskova and Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, Daria Kasatkina of Russia, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, Anastasija Sevastova and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, Johanna Konta of Great Britain, Madison Keys of the United States, and Julia Goerges of Germany. Each is shown trying their skills at dribbling and passing a football. Clearly, their talent has no limits, does it?

Meanwhile, Germany's Andrea Petkovic tweeted a list of things that she likes about the World Cup: "1. No more awkward silences in elevators with strangers. 2. Always something to watch on TV. 3. Iceland and their chiseled chins. 4. Hair fashion."

Last weekend, Kristina Mladenovic of France tweeted, "ALLEZ LES BLEUS" in support of her country's entry in the World Cup. France beat Australia in its opener.

Among the men, Rafael Nadal, long a fan of Real Madrid in the Spanish League, is leading the cheers for Spain – of course – and Novak Djokovic has a vested interest in Serbia. Also, Tunisia's Malek Jaziri, a long-time football fan, is cheering for his home country's team from afar while competing in Halle, Germany this week at the Gerry Weber Open.

According to David Law of BBC5 Live and co-host of "The Tennis Podcast," of all of the Fever-Tree Championships player lounge World Cup player goal celebrations so far, those of Novak Djokovic and his team "are the most ecstatic by far. Basically, he did a lap of the entire room."

Djokovic has built up a good relationship with several of the Serbia World Cup team and often picks their brains about different ways to improve his training regime. In a press conference on Sunday before the start of the Fever-Tree Championships at Queen's Club in London, Djokovic, who is an avid fan of the Serbian national team that won its opener over Costa Rica, insists he would happily miss a first appearance for Serbia in the World Cup final if it means he is back in the Wimbledon men's title match.

Fortunately, it appears the World Cup final match has a later kick off time than the start for the Wimbledon men's singles final, but only by a couple of hours. Otherwise ...

"Really? I didn't know that. Wow," said Djokovic. "Ive been fortunate to win Wimbledon three times and play well there. If that happens I would obviously be very happy to miss the World Cup final."

Cover photo: Courtesy of TennisTV Twitter feed.
Roger Federer photo: Courtesy of Roger Federer Twitter feed.

A Memo extra: Прощай, Сочи (Goodbye, Sochi)

Citius, Altius, Fortius / To the victors went the gold medals.

Прощай, Сочи. 

It's time to say goodbye, Sochi. Over the last two weeks and three weekends, the Sochi Winter Olympics were filled with lots of excitement. 

Sometimes, it was loud, sometimes it was elegant. There were plenty of thrills and excitement, just a few spills and disappointments, but enough flash and panache to make it all seem worthwhile.

We tuned in to the Winter Games at all hours of the day and night via television. We watched online. We kept up-to-date while going about our daily lives with the aid of our smartphones, mining for scores and results. For those of us who cared, the lessons we learned about Russia's history and of its culture were a real treat.

Sometimes, even in the Olympics, history has a way of repeating itself. Canada proved its superiority in ice hockey, while the Dutch masters from the Netherlands  -- the Oranje crush -- were untouchable in long track speed skating. And, host Russia, culminated by their sweep in the men's 50-kilometer cross country ski race and gold-medal performance in the four-man bobsled, won the most medals overall with 33, including 13 gold.

Thank you to the youth of the world -- such as 19-year-old figure skating champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan, the first Asian male to win an Olympic figure skating gold medal.

Thank you to the young at heart -- like Norway's Marit Bjøergen, 31, the most successful female winter Olympian of all time, who won three gold medals in Sochi in cross-country skiing, and now has amassed 10 total medals spread over four Winter Games. On Sunday, Bjøergen received her final gold medal during the Closing Ceremonies before over 40,000 appreciative fans. She was truly touched by this unforgettable moment. 

And, who can forget Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjøerndalen, who at age 40 claimed his 13th Olympic medal to become the most medaled Olympian in the history of the Winter Games. He won his first medal at the Nagano Games in 1998 and has kept earning medals since, including two gold medals at Sochi.

Finally, thank you to all of the world's elite athletes who competed fairly while pursuing their Olympic dreams. Faster, higher, stronger still means playing by the rules. And, in the Olympic sport of curling, a game of skill and traditions -- the one played with the funny little brooms -- curlers played to win but never to humble their opponents, in following the etiquette of the game. For those who did compete fairly on the snow and ice, each of you left us with many wonderful memories that we'll cherish for a lifetime.

Спасибо, Сочи.

Sochi Winter Games: From Russia with Love

Sochi 2014 / The whole world's watching.

The 2014 Sochi Winter Games are less than a week old. Already, these Olympic Games taking place in this Russian resort town on the Black Sea coast have been all about the host nation, Russia, being buoyantly confident while projecting a sense of pride for the rest of the world to see.

Colorful fireworks light up the
Sochi sky at night.

Sure, during last Friday's elaborate but colorful Opening Ceremonies there was plenty of selective and revisionist 20th century history -- glossing over the bad parts -- going on. One didn't need to be an expert in Russian or Soviet history to realize there was no mention of gulags or, for that matter, Joseph Stalin, either. You know, that big fat chapter of Russia's evil history. I think if I were narrating the Opening Ceremonies, I might have looked the other way during the Stalinist Years, too, and fast-forwarded from the 1917 Revolution straight through to the Communist Cold War Years, filled with cosmonauts and the space race. But, then, that still leaves perestroika, the dissolving of the Soviet Union, which is so 20th century, and its growing pains with democracy in the current 21st century, which sadly has included gay repression.

However, leave it to Russia to always put on a good show when it comes to ballet and music. For me, the Alice in Wonderland-inspired lesson in learning the Cyrillic alphabet and seeing the multicolored onion domes of St. Basil's Cathedral bobbing in the air were nice touches. So, were the tributes to Tolstoy's "War and Peace" and Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake." 

For Russia, the show is especially enjoyable when it's ballet and music set on ice.

After all, a dominant nation that's given us so many figure skating champions, especially pairs champions -- the Protopopovs, Rodnina and Zaitsev, Gordeeva and Grinkov, and now Volosozhar and Trankov -- not to mention ballet artists like Pavlova and Baryshnikov, and classical composers such as Prokofiev and Stravinsky, is definitely a nation secure in its own cultural identity. Forget the politics, if you will. Because when you combine the art of ballet and music with the athleticism of figure skating, you stop for a moment, soak it all in, and smile in appreciation.

The soul of Russia is found on ice and it's their vital tradition.

"Figure skating is our tradition," Tamara Moskvina, the longtime figure skating coach who has coached Russian pairs skaters to four Olympic gold medals, said in a New York Times interview this week. "It combines technique and art, and Russia has a great tradition in those fields." 

On Sunday night in Sochi's Iceberg Skating Palace, the inaugural Olympic team ice skating competition reached its crescendo. On the strength of Meryl Davis and Charlie White, who won the short and long programs in ice dancing, the United States won the bronze medal and Canada won the team silver medal. Both countries will be competitive during individual the competitions, which began today.

However, when it was all said and done Sunday night, there were lots of bouquets tossed onto the ice and plenty of applause in appreciation of the "home team." Team Russia had won its first gold medal of these Winter Games, and I'm sure they will win more during the ice skating competition.

It's all about the tradition of artistry meeting athleticism.

While Russia and, before that, the Soviet Union have dominated pairs and ice dancing events, there have been moments of individual brilliance, too.

For instance, Evgeni Plushenko, 31, who is competing in his fourth Games, won the men's long program during the team event in what could be seen as a valedictory performance that was full of perseverance in overcoming numerous injuries. What he may have lacked in technical skill -- he attempted just one quadruple jump -- he made up for by dazzling the crowd, and a world-wide audience, with his enthusiasm and showmanship.

Plushenko now has four career Olympic medals, most in the modern era. He won the men's singles in 2006, and silver medals in 2002 and 2010. Arguably, he may be more popular among Russians than President Vladimir V. Putin, who attended the team figure skating event and, later, congratulated each Russian team skater individually.

Yulia Lipnitskaya / The little girl in the bright red dress. She's
brought joy on ice to an entire country, and she's winning gold, too.

Meanwhile, the ladies free skate portion of the competition turned into a coming-of-age gala for 15-year-old Russian figure skater Yulia Lipnitskaya. She brought joy to an entire country, skating poised beyond her years -- and flawlessly, too -- to music from from the Academy Award-winning "Schindler's List." She was the little girl with the ponytail skating beautifully and brilliantly in the bright red dress. And, Lipnitskaya was the same little girl who scooped up a preppy, Russia baseball cap as she skated off the ice. She put it on without hesitating -- it was an age-appropriate thing to do -- and she kept it on her head through the rest of the competition, including the flower ceremony for the medal-winning teams afterwards.

By winning the short and long programs in the women's portion of the team event, Lipnitskaya became the youngest gold medalist since Tara Lipinski of the United States won the women's individual competition at age 15 during the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. (Incidentally, Lipinski was in the arena working as a figure skating analyst for NBCSN during Lipnitskaya's short and long programs.)

When you see Lipkitskaya's flexibility and fearlessness on the ice, not to mention her gravity and emotional resonance in interpreting a serious music score, you realize that you are witnessing something very special. Now, I can't wait to see her perform in the ladies individual competition against the reigning Olympic champion Kim Yu-na of South Korea during the final week of the Games.

Gold, silver, bronze /
It's all about winning medals.

Undoubtedly, the Sochi Winter Games, believed to be the most expensive Olympic Games in history, have brought bright lights and color to an area of the world that's not far removed from war. The Caucasus Mountains look beautiful and inviting. There's been lots of patriotic flag waving in the arenas, on the slopes, and in the plaza of Olympic Park, too. They have made for good TV visuals back here in the United States (thanks to NBC and the Today show, which desperately wants to see the Americans do well -- and win often). Thank goodness, I've found a reliable Internet link to watch the BBC2's refreshingly enjoyable, commercial-free coverage that is far less pretentious and glitzy than NBC's boosterish -- and, sometimes, boorish -- 24/7 coverage that's full of commercial interruptions every few minutes here in the United States. 

What's important is this: During its first week, the Sochi Winter Games have been about breaking down barriers of age, for which we can thank Plushenko and Lipnitskaya, an old wisehead and a young upstart, among many competing at these Games -- and, for Russia, it's been about restoring a little bit of tradition, too. For better or worse, it's also brought the whole world just a little bit closer together.

Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov /
Continuing a tradition of excellence in pairs figure skating.

A postscript: On Wednesday evening, Tatiana Volosozhar, 27, and Maxim Trankov, 30, won the gold medal in pairs figure skating, beating fellow Russians Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov by 18 points.  It continued a tradition of excellence and their country's dominance in this Olympic sport.  Skating to music from Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Jesus Christ Superstar," Volosozhar and Trankov presented a challenging free skate program that was steeped in difficulty, and they finished it without any big mistakes. At its conclusion, Trankov triumphantly slid across the ice like an international football player celebrating a goal. Meanwhile, Volosozhar, tearful and standing with her knees bent slightly, buried her face in her hands. It was a celebration in joy. Although there were two more pairs to skate, they knew the gold medal was a possibility.

Photo of Yulia Lipnikskaya courtesy of Reuters/Google images. 
Photo of Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov via BBC Sport/internet image.
Other photos courtesy of Google images.