Save the absence of Michelle Kwan — who I would happily watch purely for artistry — this year was one of the best Olympics I can remember for women’s figure skating. The talent level was high and the top contenders delivering big in the moment. In contrast to the last Olympics, all of the medal winners not only stayed upright during their performances, but were impassioned and gutsy throughout.
However, I found it hard to stomach the immense nationalistic pressure that an event such as the Olympics breeds. Teens Rachael Flatt and Mirai Nagasu were reminded repeatedly that U.S. women have medaled in every Olympics since 1968. And Mao Asada and Yu-Na Kim’s home countries were relentless in their pressure; clearly translating the message that not only would gold be a win for the home team, but it would be a huge victory against the opposing country — drawing the two skaters into longstanding cultural conflict. One of the announcers said that both skaters deeply felt that anything less than gold was not good enough in the eyes of Japan and Korea, respectively.
And clearly, it was not. Mao Asada’s face says it all in these photos. Like this one, where the caption could very well read, “I am so scared to go home. I would do anything for this to be a different color.”
Image credit: Vancouver 2010
Or this one. When Mao Asada is happy she’s got a megawatt smile that lights up her whole face; this is a forced flicker.
Image credit: Vancouver 2010
The concept that it was not enough for Asada to make history with two clean triple axels in one program (also historically, three overall across the short and long) and receive an Olympic medal just seems like an absurd amount of pressure for little shoulders. And as a parent, my heart truly aches for her, and I worry about the emotional fall out she will experience from the Olympics.
In contrast, it’s notable that among the top contenders, only Canada’s Joannie Rochette was spared. Though Canadians are a more mellow bunch in general (I can attest to this; I lived there for a few years), the death of Rochette’s mother just days before the short program ended up casting a completely different light on the experience. Everyone seemed to be in agreement that it didn’t matter what the result was; it was hugely brave and amazing just for her to be there.
If only every one of these skaters was embraced with that level of acceptance and admiration.
Images from Vancouver 2010 figure skating.
February 28th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
Frankly, I think the US media is just as much to blame as their countrymen: posting the McDonalds medal count every evening and comparing the numbers of golds, silvers and bronzes from country to country is demeaning and simplistic. I heard one correspondent reporting from Vancouver say of one athlete, “He failed to win the gold in his event.” How insulting! Not only did he not fail anything, he succeeded in maintaining the mental and physical fortitude to make the Olympic team at all, and winning bronze or even coming in fourth is just as applaudable as taking home a new necklace.
Ahem. Seems your post struck a nerve! Nicely put. Kim’s tears of relief at the end of her short program made me sad for the pressure she must feel.
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February 28th, 2010 at 10:26 pm
Precisely why I watched the Olympics on Canadian TV! I saw final medal tallies today, and that was the first time I’d heard them at all!
I’ve also read that, regardless of home country, silver medal winners are the least pleased with their medals. Gold are obviously happy, and bronze are happy to medal, while silver wish they’d done one better. Not a great attitude, but there it is…
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March 1st, 2010 at 1:06 am
Thank you for raising this issue. I interviewed several parents of US Olympic athletes while in Vancouver and I asked them straight out the question of how do they help their kids not feel the pressure of disappointing them, the parents, after all the sacrifice. (I didn’t even think of asking about the pressure of disappointing a NATION).
I was pleasantly surprised that all parents consistently had the same answer: Their kids are in the sport for themselves. They want to do it.
I believed all the parents. It was clear that the parents were all just so happy that their kids were competing at the Olympic Winter Games. And, that made me happy.
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March 1st, 2010 at 9:49 am
I was astounded by the quality of the women’s skating this year as well. I kept thinking back to the Kristi Yamaguchi years, where even major bobbles could get you the gold. Mao’s triple axels were simply stunning. Doesn’t anyone remember the ugly triple axels from the days of Tonya Harding and Midori Ito? When it was unheard of a woman to land one cleanly and beautifully?
And I was completely sympathetic to Rochette’s loss of her mother, but I really felt that Mirai Nagasu really outshone her. If only she didn’t downgrade her triple triple combination in the short, she would’ve had the bronze (and a clean Asian sweep of the medals).
Still, I was pleased with the coverage and especially how the media took time to explain the jumps and scoring. The expectations of Japan and Korea, however, were just overwhelming for these young women, and maybe someday these proud countries will think about the pressure they place on them.
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March 1st, 2010 at 10:29 pm
I really enjoyed watching this year’s women’s skating, too. All 3 women should be able to feel proud & honored to be at the podium.
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March 2nd, 2010 at 9:27 pm
This is funny (not in a haha way, but a sad way) because I was on the phone with my sister the other day and she was saying how bad she felt for the Asian competitors because of the pressure they must feel to win gold. She was saying how she would probably just defect and stay in Canada rather than face the scorn of “not winning gold.”
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March 3rd, 2010 at 2:48 pm
I’m still in such awe of the drive and determination of all the athletes, no matter what their sport, that the idea of disappointing a nation had not even occurred to me.
Such beautiful, talented young women. I wish they could all feel as proud of themselves as they should.
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March 4th, 2010 at 11:39 am
Just looking at her face is painful. And for some, that Olympics moment will be their everything. If it’s all they live for, do, breathe, then how do they know how to live balanced lives afterwards? I kept one of my children out of an accelerated academic program because of his social needs for remaining in his same cohort - he had only a couple of close friends and I wanted him to develop in that area, whereas his academics were great. The lead teacher didn’t understand and even treated me like I was an idiot by saying, “don’t you realise I have parents calling really wanting these positions?” It just wasn’t a good balance for him. And today, I’m very glad I did. He is on a full school scholarship and has a great network of friends. Phew. But navigating those waters is incredibly difficult.
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