Olympics 2022: US figure skaters do their best but fail to medal

US figure skaters, from left, Karen Chen, Mariah Bell and Alysa Liu.

Updated Feb. 18.

American figure skaters Alysa Liu and Mariah Bell had impressive performances on Thursday (Feb. 17) evening but wound up in 7th and 10th place respectively.

The American figure skaters each put out performances to remember at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 but it was not enough to overtake the leaders. 

Alysa, from Richmond, Calif., was even in the lead for a while after 19 skaters had performed. However, after the final group performed their routines, she ended up in seventh place.

“I’m just really glad that all my training paid off because I’m here competing,” Liu told NBC. “And the goal of my whole life and my skating career was to compete at the Olympics. So now I can officially say I’m an Olympian.”

The women's competition was eventually won by Russian skater and World Champion Anna Shcherbakova. Another Russian, Alexandra Trusova won the silver and Japan's Kaori Sakamoto took bronze.

The skater expected to win it all, and the most controversial, 15-year old Kamila Valieva, fell during her free skate routine dropping Russia's top skater to fourth place and off the medal podium.

Kamila is at the center of controversy after test results showed that she had taken a banned drug before the Olympics. Her performance in the team competition vaulted the Russian team to first place but since the drug test results were discovered, the final results of the team competition remains up in the air.

Despite the controversial drug test results, the Russian teenager was allowed to compete in the individual skating competition. After the short program Tuesday, she was in first place.

Alysa Liu led the U.S. figure skaters finishin in 7th place.

Sixteen-year-old, Alysa was the US champion in 2019 and 2020 - her first title making her the youngest American ever to win a national title - at age 13. At age 16 years, she is the youngest member (in any sport) sent to Beijing by Team USA.

The California teen opened her "Violin Concerto in D" free skate with a triple Axel attempt, landing the jump but having it downgraded as she finished her rotation on the ice. She would score a 139.45 in the segment. Added to the score from her short program, her final score totaled 208.95.

Gone are the difficult quads that gave Alysa the US championships. She was the only US woman to perform the judge-pleasing four-revolution jumps.

“It was a lot easier when I was smaller, and a lot shorter,” said Liu, who stands approximately 5 feet, 2 inches. “It’s just been harder. Especially when COVID hit, I couldn’t train it as much. I stopped training it for a period. So, there was a lot of other factors, but definitely puberty (was one factor).”

“I’m so happy with two clean programs,” Liu said. “It’s better than I ever thought I would do at the Olympics, and I’m really happy about it.”

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Prior to Liu's skate, Bell, 25, performed her routine to "Hallelujah" earning her a 136.92 total. Her combined score of 202.30 left her in tenth place.

Liu was in eighth place after the women's short program, while Bell sat  at 11th.

Karen Chen, 22, finished her routine after falling during her routine.

Earlier, their American teammate Karen Chen, from Fremont, Calif., struggled in her free skate, her total score registering a 179.93 that gave her the 16th spot.

“It’s incredible to just know that I’ve made it here,” Chen said. “It did not go the way I wanted to, but I also had my moment in the team event, too. So, there are a lot of positive things to look at.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd.

Olympics 2022: Filipino American snowboarder qualifies for finals in Big Air

NBC

Snowboarder Hailey Langland will compete for a medal in the Big Air competition.

Hailey Langland, a 21-year-old Filipino American from San Clemente, California, was the lone US snowboarder to advance in women's Big Air Sunday. Today, she will compete in the finals for a chance for an Olympic medal.

With the hopes of Team USA on her shoulders, Langland scored 127.50 to edge out Switzerland's Bianca Gisler by a quarter of a point for the last qualifying spot.

Langland, known for her style, did a cab 900 and frontside 720 on her first and second runs with iconic finesse, recording 62.00 and 65.50. She tried another cab 900 on her last run to try and replace her first score but came up short on the knuckle. 

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SCREEN CAPTURE 

Hailey Langland seems to soar above the Beijing skyline in her Big Air qualifying run.

Fellow Americans Jamie Anderson and Courtney Rummel struggled to move into the top half, eventually finishing 15th and 19th, respectively, and missing out on the finals. Anderson posted the second best score of the final round but it proved too little, too late.

Slopestyle silver medalist Julia Marino did not compete after sustaining an injury in practice. In that event, Langland qualified for the final round but failed to medal. 

The top-12 finishers will return to the Big Air Shougang venue later today, Feb. 14, at 8:30 p.m. EST, 5:30 p.m. PST.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspecdtive, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd.

Olympics 2022: It's complicated for Chinese American athletes in the home of their ancestors

Vincent Zhou

For the Chinese American athletes in the Olympics, competing in Beijing has significance  that goes beyond their sport.

The city of Beijing and the country of China is the ancestral home of the Chinese American athletes, many still have family there.

"My grandparents still live here. Much of my extended family does. So this is almost like a second hometown to me," says figure skater Vincent Zhou.

Speaking about her father, who fled the country for his pro-democracy activities, 16-year old Alysa Liu told the Today Show before leaving for Beijing. "Obviously we still love the country of China, even after my dad left because of the government." 

Alysa Liu

"This is still his homeland, and he's very happy that I get to go to China again ... Just going back to China will make me feel good."

Nathan Chen, the United States' top men''s figure skater has fond memories of a visit to Beijing, his mother's hometown.

"I remember going to the Beijing Zoo," when he was younger, says Chen. "So like every time when we're driving from the (Olympic) Village here, I see the Beijing Zoo and am like, ‘Oh, I was here when I was 10.’

"So it's kind of cool to be able to see that. Also just hear stories from my mom growing up in Beijing and being like, ‘Wow, you know, I'm here,’" he tells the Associated Press.

"Hopefully at some point after the Games are over, I'll be able to explore Beijing a little bit more," added Chen.

Kai Owens

“It becomes full circle when I step off that plane in China,” Kai Owens told The Associated Press before arriving in Beijing.  “When my skis touch the snow in China, it’s going to be a really special moment for me because I get to ski in the Olympic Games in my birth country. It’s crazy how life works,” said the freestyle skiier, who was adopted when she was an infant by her Colorado parents.

Madison Chock's family roots more in the rural part of China. Chock is one-half of the ice dance team currently competing for a medal. 

“Every time I’m on the bus, I’m just looking out and studying the city and just imagining my roots are here, my ancestors are here,” says Chock, whose father is Chinese-Hawaiian. “And it’s a very cool sense of belonging in a way, to just be on the same soil that your ancestors grew up on and spent their lives on.”

“It’s really special, and China holds a really special place in my heart,” she told the AP.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd.