Two Russian skaters apparently barred from 2018 Olympics, with no reason yet announced

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Two Russian skaters apparently barred from 2018 Olympics, with no reason yet announced

Russian pairs skater Ksenia Stolbova and ice dancer Ivan Bukin have apparently been barred from competing in the 2018 Olympic Winter Olympics by the International Olympic Committee.

"Apparently" must remain the operative word because the IOC will not release until Saturday a list of which Russian athletes have been cleared to compete next month in PyeongChang, South Korea.

The surprising news about Stolbova, a gold and silver medalist at the 2014 Winter Olympics, and Bukin came via a Tuesday statement from the Russian Figure Skating Federation, which in turn was citing information from the Russian Olympic Committee.

The figure skating federation's statement blasted the IOC.

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Knierims back on top in U.S., but world's best pairs far above them

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Knierims back on top in U.S., but world's best pairs far above them

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Alexa Scimeca Knierim and her husband, Chris, had achieved the results they wanted.

The Knierims didn't merely back into the lone U.S. Olympic pairs spot all but conceded to them because of their unquestioned recent superiority over all their U.S. rivals: They made the selection committee's eventual decision a rubber stamp by winning a second national title Saturday afternoon at the SAP Center.

But, as evidenced by their downcast demeanor while waiting to hear the free skate scores, they were left with a hollow feeling.

"It wasn't our best skate," Chris said.

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Knierims have virtual lock on Olympic spot but want to go to Games on high note

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Knierims have virtual lock on Olympic spot but want to go to Games on high note

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- It would be easy for Alexa Scimeca Knierim and her husband, Chris Knierim, to glide insouciantly through the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, knowing they had all but locked up the lone U.S. pairs spot on the 2018 Olympic team before taking the ice Thursday in San Jose.

After all, the Knierims are well aware of the huge advantage they have over their pairs compatriots in U.S. Figure Skating's selection criteria.

"We know where we stand," Chris said. "We're very confident in that aspect. (But) regardless of whether we're the leading team, and we're supposed to go, we need to skate well.

"We can't come here and have two bad skates, get third or fourth and still be named to the team, and be confident about that," he added. "You're going to an Olympics. You need to go in high, and you need to go in confident, and that is what we plan on hopefully doing this week."

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U.S. Figure Skating president chides U.S. senator for proposing Olympic boycott, says U.S. athletes might not heed it

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U.S. Figure Skating president chides U.S. senator for proposing Olympic boycott, says U.S. athletes might not heed it

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The president of U.S. Figure Skating said Wednesday he did not believe U.S. skaters would heed a politically motivated call to boycott the upcoming Winter Olympics in South Korea and indirectly chided the senator who raised the prospect this week.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) tweeted Monday that the U.S. should boycott if North Korea goes to the Olympics.

“I think they need to be careful saying things like that because these athletes have worked so hard to get there,” USFS President Samuel Auxier said.  “The Olympics should be above politics. They shouldn’t be playing politics with this.

“It was a disaster in 1980 for many of the athletes who couldn’t go.  And I’d hate to see that just because Trump and Kim Jong-un are trying to see which button’s bigger.”

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With time on her side, Alina Zagitova, a young woman vibrant in red, catches' judges fancy

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With time on her side, Alina Zagitova, a young woman vibrant in red, catches' judges fancy

As the Olympic figure skating season moves into the national championship phase, a few more observations about the Grand Prix season and Grand Prix Final:

1.  All you Alina Zagitova detractors (that includes you, CBC) aren’t going to like this: the new Grand Prix Final winner, age 15, looks better every time I see her.

Part of it owes to the costuming and free skate program pattern that emphasize her strengths, which are jumps.

The vibrant red in the tutu-qua-dress and long gloves Zagitova wears grabs the eye, says she is portraying a ballerina and limns her movement so beautifully it is easy to forget she does no jumps in the first half of the four-minute free skate to the Russian ballet classic, “Don Quixote.”  And while I hope the rules are changed to eliminate such 100 percent back loading, who can fault her coaches for taking advantage of the point bonus that comes with those jumps?

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