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

A night with no regrets, UCLA handles defeat with grace

Senior Katelyn Ohashi’s ‘perfect 10’ floor exercise routine
was a viral sensation on YouTube.

The UCLA women’s gymnastics team did not repeat as national champions this year. However, they handled defeat with grace and humility. Sometimes, as the Bruins learned on a recent April Saturday night in Fort Worth, Texas, when they finished in third place behind Oklahoma and Louisiana State after winning the 2018 NCAA championship, that takes more strength.

By the end of the evening, the Bruins shed plenty of tears and, yet, still they danced.

Looking back, perhaps not winning it all was a better sendoff for UCLA’s legendary coach Valorie Kondos Field, who taught her gymnasts to savor the joy of competing as much their victories.

The Bruins left the 2019 NCAA Gymnastics Championships with no regrets and they did one final dance for their Miss Val, who is retiring after 29 years as head coach. A trained ballet dancer, she coached UCLA to 19 Pac-12 Conference championships and seven NCAA national championships. She counted the late, legendary UCLA men’s basketball coach John Wooden as a mentor and friend, and it was him who taught her the importance of love and balance as well as value of accountability. As a lasting tribute to Kondos Field, during their last home meet in Pauley Pavilion this season, the bright blue competition floor was renamed Valorie Kondos Field Floor in her honor.

Throughout the 2019 season, the Bruins gave their fans so many great moments – the perfect 10s scored by Kyla Ross on each apparatus as well as Katelyn Ohashi’s floor exercise routine, also a perfect 10, which went viral – seen by YouTube viewers more than 117 million times – and turned the diminutive, former U.S. Junior National Team gymnast into an overnight sensation as she celebrated female empowerment while performing to music by Beyoncé, Tina Turner and Janet Jackson.

UCLA’s dance routines, all choreographed by Miss Val, were as entertaining as they were difficult to execute. Each of the core group of gymnasts who competed in floor exercise brought a sense of elan – an out-of-body experience that connected to their audience – to their memorable and enjoyable performances. Whether it was Nia Dennis portraying the Queen of the Nile, colorfully accenting her routine by air-signing her name; or Gracie Kramer’s “Hardley Sane,” whose escape from an insane asylum while wreaking havoc is completely believable and done in a “Twilight Zone” trance. There’s Margzetta Frazier’s ode to voguing runway models as she prances the floor to “Din Daa Daa,” by Kevin Aviance; and Pauline Tratz’s channeling of Coco Chanel possessed by an alien performed to Guns N‘ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle.” Finally, there’s Felicia Hano’s 1920s tribute to City of Atlantis mermaids as “Lone Digger” by Caravan Palace sets the mood, and Ross as the 10.0 thief dancing to Throttle’s “Hit the Road Jack” with toes pointed and a big, radiating smile that lights up sold-out, 10,000-strong Pauley Pavilion.

“They can forget the fact they’re a gymnast and they’re simply performing,” said Kondos Field in a Los Angeles Daily News interview earlier this year, “and in that performance, there are flips and twists.”

There’s so many things worth mentioning about what was to like about UCLA gymnastics this season, but it all points back to Miss Val. Last year, she wrote a book, “Life is Short, Don’t Wait to Dance,” that was part autobiography, part self-help, part leadership, in which Kondos Field, a breast cancer survivor, shared her insights on how to use one’s uniqueness and authenticity to achieve success. Its principles are something which each member of her UCLA gymnastics squad embraced.

Although I’ve never met Miss Val, I’ve always admired her sense of curiosity, creativity and attention to detail – and above all, the unwavering care, love and well-being she showed for each of her student-athletes.

Last week, The Players’ Tribune published a 10-plus-minute video letter, “Dear Valorie,” in which Kondos Field poignantly detailed in a first-person essay how she became Miss Val. Watch it at least once and allow yourself to shed some tears.

The UCLA gymnastics season has been over for a little more than a week, but the tributes for Miss Val continue to pour in. After I saw the Players’ Tribune video, which I learned about via Twitter, I left a note for Miss Val that read:

Thank you #dearmissval for all you’ve given to women’s gymnastics and to UCLA athletics. Coach Wooden was a very good mentor. As a fan, it’s been a pleasure to see how you’ve touched so many lives in such a positive manner. Indeed, #lifeistooshortdontwaittodance #noregrets 👏❤️☮️

I’m happy to note that Miss Val liked my comment. Indeed, #lifeistooshortdontwaittodance

Photo: Courtesy of Google images. Video: Courtesy of YouTube and Players’ Tribune.

A Winter Olympic memory that brought joy and heartbreak

Russian silver medalist Evgenia Medvedeva /
She created brilliant figure skating moments.

Over two weeks and three weekends, the PyeongChang Winter Olympics filled our hearts and television screens with lots of excitement. For my wife and I, much of it took place on the Olympic figure skating ice.

Sometimes, it was colorful and loud, oftentimes 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.

Because of the 14-hour time difference between South Korea and the U.S. east coast, we tuned in to watch figure skating following our nightly dinner – and, occasionally, it kept us awake past our bedtime. Sometimes, we watched online. Because we cared, learning about the human side of many of the Olympic figure skaters competing as well as about the sport's history was a real treat.

During the final two nights of figure skating last week, after the excitement of the team, men's and ice dance competitions, we had the noblest pleasure of watching the 18-year-old Russian Evgenia Medvedeva make her Olympic individual debut in the ladies' singles event. Performing to "Nocturne" by Frederic Chopin, Medvedeva performed her short program, which included a triple flip/triple toe loop combo, triple loop and double Axel, flawlessly. Her score of 81.61 points placed her second behind her Russian teammate Alina Zagitova, who scored 82.92.

Medvedeva's skating maturity and artistic presentation were well beyond her years. From watching her skate and in listening to the comments expressed by the NBC figure skating commentators, it gave us a joy of understanding Medvedeva, both as an athlete and as an individual. Among the things we learned about her: Medvedeva likes studying foreign languages, enjoys drawing, is fond of listening to music (such as K-pop), and loves Japanese culture (such as anime). She may skate like an adult, but she's a kid at heart – and that's the beauty and joy of it all.

Two days after skating her short program, Medvedeva returned to the Olympic ice. She was the last of 24 skaters to present her long program, which decided the gold medal – and was won by Zagitova by the slimmest of margins, 239.57 to 238.26. Medvedeva, skated as Tolstoy's tragic "Anna Karenina" with music composed by Dario Marianelli. 

As she skated, we rooted for Medvedeva, a two-time world champion and consensus favorite to win the gold before she broke a bone in her right foot last fall. As The New York Times wrote, "Medvedeva was forced to confront a sobering reality on Friday at age 18: Experience and artistry and expressiveness did not prevail over mathematics."

Before her final performance, Medvedeva said, "I'm not chasing numbers, I'm chasing feelings."

There was a beautiful, athletic bounce to Medvedeva's skating, a lovely expression on her face throughout her four-minute free skate to a classic Russian story. Medvedeva was Anna Karenina – and she gave it her all. She was mentally tough and she skated brilliantly. It was a perfect, balanced and mistake-free performance – Medvedeva didn't do anything wrong – even if it didn't earn her the gold medal.

What a way to win if you're Zagitova. What a way to lose if you're Medvedeva – even if losing means winning the silver medal.

Evgenia Medvedeva and Alina Zagitova.

Indeed at age 15, Zagitova became the second-youngest women's skater to win the Olympic gold medal. With shrewd design and stamina, precision jumping and a sense of "youthful certainty," Zagitova landed all 11 of her jumps in the second half of her balletic "Don Quixote" free skate long program, compared to eight for Medvedeva. As The New York Times explained: "This is known as back loading, and is meant to gobble up a 10 percent bonus awarded for each jump beyond the halfway point of a routine, as skaters' legs begin to tire." 

Skating with calm and endurance, Zagitova's strategy – which was within the rules even if it broke the spirit of them – worked to her advantage, even if it wasn't as emotional and captivating as Medvedeva's long program.

The two Russian figure skaters each scored 156.65 in the free skate and Medvedeva was ranked first ahead of Zagitova. Looking back, Medvedeva's technical elements included: a triple flip/triple toe loop combo, a triple Lutz, a triple flip, a triple loop, a double Axel/double toe loop/double toe loop combo, a triple Salchow/triple toe loop combo and a double Axel. Her interpretation of her music was superb. 

"If most skaters skate with their brains," said NBC figure skating analyst Johnny Weir, as he watched Medvedeva perform, "Evgenia skates with her entire soul throughout her performance."

At the conclusion of Medvedeva's performance, NBC figure skating commentator Terry Gannon was moved to say, "I don't know if we just watched gold, but we watched greatness."

As it happened, Zagitova's victory was the second consecutive gold medal won by Russian women. Because they operate in a centralized training facility, unlike in the U.S., the top skaters challenge each other on a daily basis in practice. Thus, Zagitova was challenged by her friend and training partner Medvedeva – and it paid off. 

Looking back, as Medvedeva received the plaudits of the appreciative crowd before skating off the ice after to await her adjudication, she shed tears of joy – maybe of relief, too. Despite facing enormous pressure, she skated marvelously – a season-best performance. In our eyes – and many others, too – Medvedeva was a winner. And, yet, she handled her defeat so graciously. 

"She created brilliant moments," said NBC figure skating analyst and 1998 Olympic gold medalist Tara Lapinski in describing what she had just seen Medvedeva perform. "This was one of the best ever competitions."

After receiving her silver medal, Medvedeva had time to reflect. "It's life and it's a lesson," she said. "Every year, every moment, every day, every week, every month, we must become stronger. ... Today, we proved ourselves here."

Photos: Courtesy of Google Images.