Alysa Liu had the chance to cherish skating on the identical Olympic ice the place she received two gold medals another time. Ilia Malinin had the possibility to switch some disappointing reminiscences with significantly better ones.
The 2 Individuals had been amongst greater than 40 Olympic determine skaters who took half within the conventional exhibition gala on Saturday evening, which not solely serves to wrap up this system however to have a good time your complete sport.
Malinin carried out to Worry by American rapper NF, a routine he had trailed in a social media submit earlier this week during which he referenced the “inevitable crash” that comes when individuals are beneath immense strain.
The 21-year-old, who had helped the US to gold within the group occasion, was the heavy favourite to additionally win the boys’s gold medal, particularly after a powerful brief program. However Malinin struggled so mightily in his free skate final Friday that he didn’t make the rostrum in any respect, and he later acknowledged that the weighty expectations had induced him to buckle.
Worry is a uncooked tune about psychological well being struggles and the sensation of dropping management. Throughout Saturday’s routine Malinin, wearing a gray hoodie and frayed denims, pretended to scroll by way of his cellphone. He flinched beneath imaginary flashbulbs, crouched down and pulled his hood over his head and batted away jarring noises meant to symbolize social media criticism.
He additionally showcased his undoubted expertise. He did one quadruple leap after which unleashed his trademark backflip with a one-footed touchdown that had the gang on its toes roaring with what felt like each an appreciation of his talent and an acknowledgement of the load he had carried. In a robust ending, he pretended to placed on headphones, to instant silence.
As custom dictates, the gold medalists went final in this system. Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov, who received gold within the males’s competitors, carried out a light-hearted routine dressed as Kung-Fu Panda.
Liu went final of all. The 20-year-old Californian, who had been so burned out by skating after the 2022 Beijing Video games that she had walked away from her sport, accomplished a outstanding comeback by successful group and particular person gold. On Saturday, she carried out a joyful routine to Stateside by Zara Larsson and PinkPantheress
The opening act featured former Italian determine skater Carolina Kostner, who received a bronze medal on the 2014 Winter Video games. She carried out a duet with a 3D projection that was meant to explain the journey of athletes, starting with their first steps of their sport to the purpose at which “expertise finds its house, merging with the skater,” they usually in the end “draw the perfect from it.”
Amber Glenn, who helped the US defend its Olympic group gold medal, carried out to That’s Life by Girl Gaga. The lyrics might hardly have been extra becoming for the three-time and reigning nationwide champion, who bounced again from a serious mistake in her brief program that price her a shot at a person medal by laying down the most effective free skates of her profession.