I don't think think the general public cares too much about 4 Continents which is unfortunate because it could really be a high profile competition (like Europeans), but right now it seems to get no attention. Mirai was a reigning two-time 4 Continents medalist but I was surprised to see the pre-Olympic media not mention it even once.
I think the general public cares first and foremost about the Olympics (with Yuzuru being the reigning Olympic champion), Worlds (where Yuzuru also won, beating Nathan, who came in 7th), and a small, small fraction of them care about the Grand Prix Final (where, once again, Yuzuru has won 4 times in a row, once again beating Nathan).
You're right, I've corrected it! :thumbsup:
No, people ask who won last time, and then who won before that, perhaps wouldn't even bother to go further. My point is, you really have to DOMINANT to be called "dominant" and that's not what I saw here.
If you didn't think the reigning World and Olympic champion, who won 2x gold and 2x silver medals in the last four years, the only man to stand on the World podium every single year, the only man to break a world record the entire season, who owns 12 World records and is the only person to break any segment or combined records since 2013, and who won a record 4 straight Grand Prix Finals from 2013 until 2017, should be considered dominant over a teenager with no World or Olympic medals at all, then you see what you want to see, I guess.
Let's not even get into the strawman of whether or not Yuzuru's been dominant. The point is, Nathan was not and has never been dominant over Yuzuru, so saying it's "Nathan's gold to lose" is what's inappropriate here.
Funny, this is the first time I've heard someone use a head to head statistic in figure skating like this Figure skating isn't tennis; not all competitions are created equal. On that note, skaters don't maintain their seasonal peaks for very long, and learning how to peak at the right time is part of the competition.
Yuzuru: NHK 2017, GPF 2017, Worlds 2017, Olympics 2018
Nathan: 4CC 2017, CoR 2018
Am I missing one?
I think in sports recency matters more than history.
Didn't Nathan win the 2017 GPF?
Didn't Nathan win the 2017 GPF?
yeah, but Yuzuru wasn't there thanks to the 2017 NHK ankle injury, etc. Narcissa was listing recent times they've competed against each other.
I think it is great there are people who became fans of figure skating thanks to Nathan. That happened to many people when they saw Yuzuru in Sochi Olympics and this Olympics, too.
And I also think it is great to have favorite skaters, actually I have been having so much fun following my favorite for years. But at the same time, I'm trying to keep in mind that there are many good skaters besides my favorite, which makes this sport interesting and exciting
Yeah. The mens discipline this past quad has excited me the most because there's a variety of really talented guys and really for me there isn't a big enough podium. They all have their own styles and abilities they can bring to table, and should one guy do not good enough the standings can switch around pretty drastically. Nothing is a given. It's nerve-wracking but great. I make no secret who my ultimate fave is but I know he isn't infallible and because of that I feel really lucky to have witnessed in person him break 2 world records (nearly 3) and win his second world and olympic titles with some amazing performances, all in the span of a year.