Tag Archives: figure skating

Olympic Figure Skaters Follow Fashion Trends, But Do They Set Them?

Catherine StrawnFebruary 26, 2010 //

Whenever we watch Olympic figure skating, we get pretty caught up in analyzing the athletes’ outfits. While the men wowed us with their theatrical getups, the women followed current fashion trends. Well, a handful of them did.

In recent months, we’ve seen stars walk the red carpet in dresses with pieces missing. Cutouts figured into a few skaters’ costumes, including those worn by Joannie Rochette of Canada (above right), Miki Ando of Japan (above left), and Sarah Hecken of Germany during last night’s free skate. The difference is that the Olympians don’t actually show any skin — the “revealed” areas are actually covered in flesh-tone fabric.

Even though these skaters are on-trend, will what they wear on the ice make any styles au courant? Let’s hope not. Keep reading to see a popular Olympic look we won’t be copying. Keep reading »

6 Olympic Tearjerkers And Heart Warmers

Kelli BenderFebruary 24, 2010 //

The 2010 Winter Olympics has some heart-wrenching stories. The games started off on a tragic note when the 21-year-old Georgian luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili, died on impact during a training run, hours before the opening ceremony. Kumaritashvili’s death cast somewhat of a dark cloud over the Olympics, but there is a silver lining. As Morgan Freeman’s soothing voice will tell you in the numerous Visa ads playing during the games, there are also plenty of Olympic happy endings as well. One of the most recent inspirational tearjerkers is the story of Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette, whose mother passed away suddenly from a heart attack two days before Joannie’s first skate. But yesterday, Joannie delivered an almost flawless short program that left her in third place going into Thursday night’s long performance. Joannie said that she had “no regrets” about her short program performance and while “words cannot describe” what she is going through, she appreciates everyone’s support. Kleenex, please! [Huffington Post, CNN]

After the jump, read some more inspiring tales from the Winter Olympics. Keep reading »

10 Reasons We Love Evan Lysacek

Kelli BenderFebruary 19, 2010 //

So if you weren’t able to stay up through the glitter and glamour of the men’s figure skating long program last night, I’ll just tell you that it was pretty durn exciting when American Evan Lysacek skated a nearly flawless program and won gold, defeating Ruskie champion Evgeni Plushenko. (Unfortunately Lysacek’s teammate, the fantastic Johnny Weir, did not have the same success—but we’ve already ranted about that.) We are still sort of in awe of the sheer fantastic-ness that is Evan. Here are 10 reasons he deserves your love and already has ours. Keep reading »

Frisky Rant: Figure Skater Johnny Weir Was Robbed!

SimchaFebruary 19, 2010 //

Have you seen “Be Good Johnny Weir,” the new Sundance reality show about the figure skating phenom who can do Lady Gaga and Victor Petrenko justice? Well, if your answer is no, you need more glam and ice bling in your life! Nobody brings it like Johnny, the booty-shaking bad boy ballerina with a heart of gold. He’s known for designing his own sparkly costumes — and his even more colorful sound bites. But he’s not all flash and talk; Johnny gave some seriously stunning Olympic performances in Vancouver!

The weird thing is, you’d think a guy who elevates athleticism to art and expresses himself with emotional performances and original costuming would be applauded in an individual, elegant sport like figure skating. But, as we saw this week at the Olympics, where he was robbed of a well-deserved medal, there seem to be invisible point deductions that “protect” the event from having a flamboyant face. Keep reading »

Quotable: Victoria Beckham Disses Men’s Figure Skating Wear

Kate Torgovnick/Kate-Book.comFebruary 18, 2010 //

“There’s nothing good about those outfits. I wear the feathers in my relationship. If David came home dressed like that – could you imagine? Terrible.”

—Victoria Beckham on the hideousness of what male figure skaters have been wearing at the Olympics. Perhaps if they accessorized with a cap? Keep reading »

5 Flicks To Get You Psyched For The Winter Olympics

Kelli BenderFebruary 12, 2010 //

The Winter Olympics kick off tonight! The opening ceremony will surely offer up its usual blend of interpretive dance, laser lights, ridiculous torch-igniting stunts, and home-country artists. For some, this is enough to get them in the Olympic mood. But for those who are not so easily excited, we’ve complied a list of great, pump-you-up Winter Olympic flicks. So clear out your Valentine’s Day weekend—you’ve got some movies to watch. Keep reading »

Love Heats Up The Ice

SimchaJanuary 30, 2008 //

Not just sequins and spandex, this time love was also in the air at the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Olympic skating stars John Baldwin and Rena Inoue both had successful singles careers. Inoue, originally skated for Japan, but fell for blond Baldwin and switched teams (not in the gay way). They skated together for the U.S. in the 2006 Winter Olympics and are the first duo to successfully land a triple axel. You know with moves like that, the sex must be pretty crazy! After their most recent program at the national competition, John surprised Rena when he got down on bended knee in the middle of the ice and proposed. Aw, man. It was so cute, we began to feel guilty for staring at his butt. Luckily, we’ve still got single skating hotties Ryan Bradley and Brian Joubert to melt our ice. So, congratulations to the happy couple on both their silver medal and their engagement! [You Tube] Keep reading »