#they placed 4th but they deserved the podium for this

[dozydawn]

Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio Free Dance “Dracula” 1999.

The Brides by Wojciech Kilar from Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

[bobendsneyder64]

COULDN'T WATCH THE RACE LIVE 😭😭 BUT BO 3RD PLACE!!!!!!!! 🧡🧡🥳🥳

[golden-moony]

king of my heart | pt. 3

pairings: lando norris x fem!reader | pato o'ward x fem!reader

warnings: love triangle.

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4

------------------------------------------------------

yourusername

liked by carlosonoros, marcmarquez93, fernandoalo_oficial, and 70,692 others!

yourusername I had days full of paella, sangría, incredible places, lots of Chili energy and fast cars🏎🔥 What more could I ask for? I'm leaving Barcelona with a giant smile on my face. ¡Nos vemos pronto, España! 🇪🇸❤️

user1 i'll tell my kids this was the queen of Spain

user2 she's the queen of everything tbh

user3 yncarlos friendship is so underrated yet so cute🥹

user4 THEY'RE ADORABLE user5 yncarlos deserve more appreciation fr user6 i meeeeean they would make a really cute couple👀 user7 user6 oh girl no, they are SO sibling coded

user8 4th slide really made me hungry ngl

carlossainz55 i'm just here to say that i was the one who convinced y/n to try paella and in the end she loved it, you're welcome (unlike other people who didn't even dare to try it)

user9 now that's what i call a smooth operation yourusername you were right but just this time🙈 user10 f1 driver, smooth operator, fashion icon and food connoisseur: carlos sainz jr everybody 🙌 user11 who's "other people"??? landonorris IT'S SEAFOOD, CARLOS. I WASN'T GONNA EAT IT. y'all did it on purpose 😒 user12 OMG LANDO LKASJKEDJKG user13 so carlos, lando and y/n were out together? oh we won💅 user14 user13 YNLANDO NATION WE'RE SO BACK

user15 you drop this 👑👑👑

elbaoward the prettiest 🤍

yourusername miss youuuu💖 user16 iconic queens user17 MY FAV SISTERS IN LAW🫶 user18 now THIS is the kind of interactions i wanna see

user19 so after trying to get with lando and then with pato, she's now going after carlos? 😂😂

user20 user19 there's a thing called "friendship", in case you've never heard of it user21 she wants to be a wag so badly it's embarrassing user22 i mean it's the only way she can be relevant so🤷

user23 PRECIOSA 😍😍

user24 hope you had a great time in Spain, queen. come back soon❤️

user25 can she stop going to the races? I swear to God whenever she's around, Lando does poorly.

user26 as an indycar fan, i don't want her around either 😩 user27 SHE BRINGS BAD LUCK FR user28 and what does that have to do with her? if Lando is underperforming then that's on him lol

user29 so pretty omg 😫

user30 bestie please share your skincare routine

yourusername posted to their story!

patriciooward

liked by tkanaan, elbaoward, schecoperez, and 72,031 others!

patriciooward camera roll lately📸

user1 we really lost another one, ladies 😢

user2 girl i wanna be sad but they're so cute it's impossible😭 user3 user2 THIS IS SUCH A MOOD user4 at least we know he's in good hands 🫡

user5 CAN YOU TWO ADOPT ME?

user6 i always knew he was boyfriend material omg

user7 boyfriend of the year fr 🔥 user8 bro's in love and so am i (of them)

yourusername 4th slide is my fav cause you can see the most perfect O'ward😍 and Pato by her side

elbaoward love u babe 😻 brettkimbro elbaoward excuse me? 🤨 patriciooward yourusername EXCUSE ME yourusername i said what i said 😛 user9 i want to be their friend so bad

user10 COUPLE GOALS

user11 lando could never. yn really went for an upgrade and she didn't disappoint💅

user12 what does lando has to do with any of this?? user13 omfg girl get over it user14 she went for lando's cheaper version* user15 ynpato fans are obsessed with Lando and it shows😂

user16 i screamed with 6th slide ngl

user17 yes they're cute but CAN WE TALK ABOUT PATO ON PODIUM? THAT'S MY BOYYY🥳

user18 he deserved that so much 🥹 user19 so happy for hiiiiiiiim 🥹 user20 this weekend we got a pato podium AND ynpato moments on live tv, we really won user21 and some people say that yn brings bad luck lol user22 user21 literal clowns

arrowmclaren successful on and off track🤩

user23 admin you're so real for this user24 ADMIN IS ONE OF US

user25 MOM AND DAD ARE SO PRETTY

user26 pato's ig is about to become a yn fanpage and i'm SO here for it

user27 i mean no one can blame him tbh user28 patriciooward c'mon bestie drop more pics don't be shy

user29 in his lover era 🫶

user30 yn and pato are both SO fine🔥 they're meant to be

user31 where can I find a man who'll post me like pato posts yn?😭

user32 yn really needs to share the secret

yourusername posted to their story!

yourusername

liked by mattyp1, alex_albon, shelovesformula1, and 54, 102 others!

yourusername Always a great time, Austria 🤍

user1 QUEEN WHERE WERE YOU?

user2 it was so strange not having your stories talking about the highlights of the race🥺 hope everything is okay

user3 something about this feels so off

user4 glad to see i wasn't the only one thinking this user5 i meaaaan she posts this 3 days after the race?? something definitely happened user6 this caption feels so empty compared to the ones she usually writes user7 i mean we knew something was going on when she didn't post her usual post-race ig stories user8 she suddenly disappearing and pato deleting all her pics from his ig… yeah i'm pretty sure they broke up

user9 is everything okay? 🥺 we love you no matter what, queen!

user10 pato, elba and felix doesn't follow yn anymore omg i think i'm about to freak out😢

user11 why comment this on her post? even if something happened is none of our business. user12 GIRL I'M PANICKING

lissiemackintosh gorgeous💖

user13 why is people so dramatic? maybe yn was just tired or busy or whathever, she doesn't have to be online everyday jesus christ

user14 THANK YOU. everyone's acting like yn doesn't have a personal life outside social media user15 say it louder girl!!!! 👏👏

user16 does anyone knows if we're gonna get a vlog this week?

user17 idk yn hasn't said anything about it user18 i really doubt it tbh

user19 so pato broke up with this clout chaser? glad he's smarter than what i thought

user20 proud of my mclaren boys for getting away from this "lady" user21 user20 now we just need to keep oscar away from this bitch. user22 this is such an unnecessary comment. user23 spread your hate somewhere else, you're not welcome here.

user24 if pato and yn really broke up i'm gonna be so sad 😭

user25 i really don't get all this comments. can we actually talk about how beautiful she is???

user26 RIGHT??? she always slays with her looks user27 sis we know she's pretty but we love drama

user28 y'all wdym she and pato already broke up???😂😂😂 that didn't last long huh

user29 so funny yet so real user30 i always said pato deserved better, glad he realized it too

user31 the comments on this post are disgusting. if you don't like her then ignore her and leave her alone.

user32 people are so childish🙄 user33 user32 people are just seeing her for what she really is and it was about time lol

user34 i never thought i'd be alive to witness yn's downfall but i'm READY FOR THIS 🍿🍿

hope y'all don't hate me too much for all of this lol but i wanted drama. next part (probably) will be the last! so see u there🤍

taglist: @drunkinthemiddleoftheday @evie-119 @evans-dejong @minkyungseokie @noneofyourfbusinessworld @bernelflo @eiaaasamantha @ijustgomessitupx @honethatty12 @daemyratwst @f1fan65 @littlexscarletxwitch @sheslikeacurse @charlottejpg @lichterfee @callsignwidow @phantomxoxo @stinkyjax @rubywingsracing @willowpains @urfavsgf @biitch-with-wifi @lightdragonrayne @illicitverstappen @herebereblogs @tvdtw4ever @nataliambc

[ef-1]

+ for posterity I hope people know how inextricably linked McLaren's passive and active malice is to the erasure of Daniel's credentials in the public domain. he was seldom defended last year. And never this year.

On November 3rd 2020, 58 days before Daniel became a McLaren driver, Ross Brawn, F1's managing director, dedicated part of his last column of the year to Daniel saying “Daniel Ricciardo is a brilliant driver, and one of the very best in Formula1 [...]I hope McLaren can give Daniel a car he deserves next season. He’s a great member of the F1 fraternity.” And reiterated that Daniel is a championship contender whose never been in a contending car

He's tied for second place with Lewis for most wins starting outside the top 3. For reference, first is Alonso and Raikkonen, he's tied with Lewis for second and 3rd is Schumacher. 4th is Jenson Button. All champions while he's never been in a championship contending car

McLaren letting the *Daniel is not a very adaptable driver* narrative run rampant when in his supposed "bad" first year at Renault in 2019, he ran out the incumbent driver and produced unimpressive feats like going from 20th to 4th on two occasions.

Broke Renault's 10 year podium drought. Twice.

People genuinely running with that bizarre conspiracy that Daniel is poor in the technical realm of F1 when Cyril, who had no reason to defend or protect Daniel after he announced his departure said that the technical breakthrough Renault had was solely Daniel's doing and the only reason they were even able to compete for 3rd in the championship + "Daniel will be competing with a stronger team next year thanks to his own efforts"

The first driver in 8 years to score multiple fast laps without being part of a top 3 team, a record previously held by Raikkonen

In 2019 Nico Rosberg revealing that during briefings Mercedes drivers would ask not to be released around Daniel after pitting because if he's in front of you he's not going to let you through and if he's behind you he's overtaking you.

Helmut Marko, known cunt and crackhead, admitting that the only time they've had 2 drivers matched in performance at Red Bull was during the Ricciardo-Verstappen line up.

People saying he was too arrogant and egotistical (¿¿¿) to gel with the team like. When was the last fucking time a driver went to another teams garage to apologise to another driver's mechanics for a racing incident he was NOT penalised for, during a wet session, where Carlos Sainz himself said Daniel couldn't have changed the outcome if he tried.

In his first year in Red Bull, during the most radical regulation change in recent f1 history, he was the only driver besides mercedes to win a race. He won 3 races.

This is Daniel's calibre, and no amount of historical romanticism from McLaren or their paid shills will ever change that.

[skyeslittlecorner]

IT'S TIME TO CELEBRATE! KING OF BABYGIRLS IS CHOSEN! 

Let me contribute to this competition. As one of the people whose brain was rotten and taken over, let me be the (self-proclaimed) herald of victory.

First, a little kiss for Zagan, Sitri and Foras just because I’m biased and want to kiss my personal babygirls. Also, a huge kiss and a basket of delicacies served by the maids for Amon, and a salute to his nation. We carried out your will, my lord. 

Now it's time to recognize everyone who deserves it! After hard battles and bloody fights, let's meet our winners.

Paimon stans, it was an honor to fight with you. Therefore, despite the lack of a podium, you deserve to be honorably mentioned. 

Special mention - Paimon

"4th place? What a shaaaame." Paimon leaned in when you said you wanted to put an honorary sticker on his horn. "I'd rather keep it foreeever. Now I have to be caaareful when I wash my haaair! Maybe you can heeelp meee~"

It is true that the inhabitants of Hades are immortally loyal to their beautiful king. No wonder he is on the podium with us.

3th place - Leviathan

You give him a medal, definitely not saying he took third place, unless you want to hang from the ceiling and watch other competitors being hunted down by unspeakable horrors. “You called me what? What a ridiculous idea.” But obviously he likes it and hopes that in addition to a medal, the winner will also receive a kiss. At least. 

One of the favorites from the very beginning. Deservedly, Eligos, one of the cutest devils, takes second place.

2nd place - Eligos 

 “Ohh, only second place?” You almost can't stand his eyes of a kicked kitten, so you gently pat his head and stroke soft hairs. His mood immediately improves, and he catches your hand with a sweet, mischievous smile. "Come on, you have to reward me now." A whole day of cuddles, shopping, eating and your undivided attention awaits!

And, at last. Kneels down. Allow me to pay tribute to our lord and ruler, the one and only sitting on the throne. 

1st place - Andrealphus

You caught him off guard. He was playing with his phone, lying in bed, long hair untied and spread picturesquely on the sheets, T-shirt lifted over a chiseled stomach. You rarely saw this beautiful, lazy side of him, and almost forgot what you came for. “I have a surprise for you, my king.”  He turned to you. Not that he has to, because he couldn't see you anyway, and yet always tried to face you. “Me?” “Let me serve you, as you shall sit on your throne.” He raised an eyebrow in amusement and got up, but didn’t ask. Silky hair got tangled in the horns, so you parted it gently and placed on his back. Each time you scratched him a little harder. First between the shoulders, then you ran your fingers over the muscles that you couldn't see through the material, but felt under your palm.  "We had a little competition." You finally sat down on his lap so he could touch your face, feel your smile under his fingers. “Who among you, devil nobles and kings, is the greatest babygirl. It was a vote, several rounds, like a full-fledged cup. Hundreds of people took part!”  “Sounds like fun.” “And you won.” His facial expression didn't change for a bit.  “I what?” “You won! We voted and cheered and were with you every round. Congratulations!” You kissed him, but he needed another second to process what he heard. His eyes widened, and his fingers twitched on your face. He cupped your cheeks, stroking your lips and eyes with his thumbs, checking to see if you were joking. “How? You said it was hundreds of people. We have never met.” “But they know you in their own way. You're intelligent, kind and gentle… and you know what? Let's let all those who love you have their say. ” You started reading comments, hashtags, and all the happy nonsense you produced during this time. At first, he couldn't believe it, but you wouldn't lie to him. He hugged you tightly as you scrolled through Tumblr. You were having such a great time, and he felt the warmth spreading more and more inside him. So many people. So many kind words. He, who never had family nor friends, who was not used to closeness, always lonely, always depressed, listened to so many praises and admiration about himself.  He was grateful that you included him in the vote. Victory? He would never have thought of it. So many people were with him. So many people loved him. He never knew them, never would, but he wanted to say thanks, to touch and know their faces, to hug each and any of them. All the emotions bottled inside felt down with tears of joy.  “I would like to repay all of you somehow.” His voice became hoarse with emotions. Another kiss landed on his lips, as you brushed away long hair that had fallen onto his handsome face.  “Do not even think about it. It's our way of saying thank you for who you are. And that's all we want you to do for us. Just be, and be yourself.”

[sharlsletwink]

drabble: after finishing 4th place, and criticizing himself during media, charles go back to his hotel not really in the mood to celebrate. He really wanted to get podium, even better the top step, for himself but especially for jules. So he's in his hotel room after media etc, freshly showered in clean comfy clothes. He's wrapped up in the blankets lamenting over today's race. After his upteenth time sighing out loud came a knock on his door. He goes to see who it is and its (any driver of choice). They order room service and just cuddles and soft fluffy shit. (Any driver of choice) is comforting charles and just praising him like he deserves.

[womensworldtour]

Who's the best stage racer in the women's peloton right now? This woman right here.

With a solid lead over her rivals, the GC lead wasn't really in play in the fourth and final stage of the Tour de Suisse Women. But Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) wasn't leaving anything to chance. She won the final sprint to take the stage and show that she is the overwhelming favorite for this year's Tour de France Femmes.

It was an exciting final stage, with the rest of the podium at play and mere seconds separating Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM), Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek), Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek), and Kim Cadzow (EF Education-Cannondale). Kasia Niewiadoma attacked in the final 10k, allowing her teammate Bradbury to sit on a bit. Lidl-Trek set a very hard pace for much of the day, and Niewiadoma's attack forced the team to sacrifice Gaia Realini's position on GC to ensure that ELB stayed on the podium. Realini did a big lead-out on the final climb, and ELB fought hard, and although she held off Niewiadoma to stay in third place, she couldn't put enough time into Bradbury, who stayed ahead of her by two seconds to keep second place.

In the end, as the top riders neared the finish, a relatively fresh Vollering lit up the sprint and won by several bike lengths. ELB took second, and Niewiadoma sat up to ensure that Bradbury placed third, taking the bonus seconds and cementing her second-place in the general classification.

The Tour de Suisse Women has some unusual stages, and we like the variety. It's also just a gorgeous race to watch. We'd really like to see this race expanded in the future.

Canyon-SRAM deserves kudos for the raid they pulled off on Stage 3, and an impressive set of performances from Neve Bradbury (2nd), Kasia Niewiadoma (4th), Antonia Niedermaier (6th), and with Elise Chabbey winning the Mountains Classification and placing 14th on GC.

Lidl-Trek also put up a big performance, with four riders in the top twelve. ELB did a really impressive time trial, and fought hard to stay on the podium. Realini was the closest rider to Vollering on the climbs. Amanda Spratt and Brodie Chapman did a lot of work for this result—Spratt in the breakaway on Stage 3 and Chapman single-handedly chasing down breakaways in Stage 4.

We were also impressed by Kim Cadzow's performance this week. She crashed on one of the descents and lost more than three minutes, but still finished the stage and came in eighth on GC despite her injuries. This was a great race to watch.

[petit-papillion]

2024 Miami Grand Prix

FP

Charles spun after 2 laps and was unable to get going again.

Despite the red flag, everyone else got in some decent amount of practice.

P1: VER / P2: PIA / P3: SAI

Sprint Quali

Fairly drama-free quali with only a couple impeding incidents, no crashes, no yellow/red flags

HAM and RUS out in SQ2

LEC back to his Quali King self

RIC surprises with a P4

P1: VER / P2: LEC / P3: PER

Sprint

Even before the formation lap, Charles is hit in the pitlane by Ocon, who ignored his team when leaving his garage. 10 wecond penalty for Ocon. Damaged wing for the Alpine, Charles's tyre is okay.

First lap crash between ALO, HAM, STR and NOR ends up with a Safety Car, a retirement for both Lando and Lance, a €50,000 fine + a reprimand for Norris for walking across the track. No investigation/penalties for the crash itself.

Under Safety Car: Ocon serves his penalty, Hamilton picks up a 20-second penalty for speeding in the pitlane - given after the Sprint ended.

K-Mag leads a DRS train behind teammate HUL and in his efforts to keep HAM behind he racks up a total of three 10-second penalties and is also called to the stewards for unsportsmanlike behavior.

Meanwhile, Danny Ric does a phenomenal job with keeping up with Checo and keeping Carlos behind him. He ends the race in 4th place and his race engineer Pierre Hamelin is ectatic on team radio. Well done.

At the front nothing changes and Charles finishes 3 seconds behind Max.

P1: VER / P2: LEC / P3: PER

Quali:

RIC cannot repeat his form from earlier in the day and is out in Q1 qualifying P18 (Note: he also has to serve a 3-place grid penalty from China).

ALB causes a double yellow when driving straight at turn 17, gets going again but his tyres are gone and he ends up in P14.

LEC tops the times in Q2.

The top 3 is determined in the first run of Q3 as no one is able to improve on those times in the final run.

P1: VER | P2: LEC | P3: SAI

Petit's Race Notes:

Checo was braking way too late in Turn 1 and almost took out Max and Carlos. Charles had a bad start but was able to get back to P2 after Checo’s torpedo incident.

Max took out a bollard that then went for a bit of a ride on his car and ended up on track. A VSC was needed for marshals to retrieve it + some debris. (Max ended up having damage from both Checo and the bollard)

K-Mag got himself another 10-second penalty, then another penalty for not serving the penalty correctly, and finally took Logan out of the race by clattering into him and sending him into the barriers. Which led to another 10-second penalty. He now also has 10 penalty points. If he gets 2 more before March 2025, he will face a race ban…

It also resulted in a Safety Car which came in behind Lando Norris, the only one who hadn’t pitted yet of the front runners. He was able to get a pit stop and keep the lead of the race.

Meanwhile the Piastri-Sainz feud reached new levels as some hard racing between them escalated. First Piastri pushes Sainz wide while he (PIA) is ahead at the apex. Sainz comes on the radio repeatedly. insistent that Piastri needs to give back the position and deserves a penalty. I don’t think so, say McLaren, and so say the FIA – no investigation necessary. Sainz is clearly mad, tells Ricky to stop talking to him, and goes after revenge. He deliberately “sends it” ((as he will later say in post-race interview with Sky) and hits PIA’s front wing with his tyre. He regains P4 and Oscar has to pit for a new wing – his race ruined. After the race Sainz is summoned to the stewards and he gets a 5-second penalty (dropping him to P5) plus 1 penalty point, and Checo is promoted to P4.

NOR manages to stay ahead of everyone and takes his first win. Everyone is happy for him: drivers wave at him on track and hug him in Parc Fermé, he jumps on top of his crew who also carry him aloft, and Max & Charles completely douse him in champagne on the podium.

Top 3: P1: NOR | P2: VER | P3: LEC

Fastest lap: Oscar Piastri

Driver of the Day: Lando Norris

Fastest Pit Stop: Ferrari/Charles Leclerc (1.94)

[pudding-parade]

So, figure skating…

I know most (all?) of y'all don't care, but I have lots of Things To Say about the World Championships last weekend and the state of the sport in general. But I'll put it behind a cut, to be nice.

First of all, it was an awesome competition all around. One of the best things about it was the full-to-capacity arena for most of the competition, not just because the Covid years meant no spectators at all but also because in general the sport seems to be losing steam in terms of popularity, particularly so in the US. I was at Four Continents, and the crowds just weren't there, especially when there were no "big names" competing, despite the fact that Colorado Springs is a major training center for the sport. It was very disappointing. Fortunately, the World Championships were in Japan, where figure skating is still hugely popular, largely because of Yuzuru Hanyu. So to see 20,000+ people in the arena for this competition was awesome. And it wasn't just the number of people, but the fact that the audience supported everyone, not just the Japanese skaters, giving out standing ovations and raucous cheering freely to anyone who did well and also cheering along skaters who weren't doing so well, offering them encouragement. Kudos to all the fans there. :)

Now for the competition.

Ice Dance: It and the men's are my favorite disciplines, but the ice dance competition wasn't that exciting to me. I mean, it was good, but the finish order was pretty much as I expected. I was hoping for Fear/Gibson to get on the podium, but I didn't expect them to, and it wasn't to be. Oh well. Perhaps I'm blah because I'm not a fan of Chock/Bates, the winners. Meh. I dunno.

Pairs: So, so happy for Riku Miura and Ryuchi Kihara. They are by far my favorite pair, not only because of their skating but because of their sunny personalities. So happy they beat the Americans, who I also don't like. (Which is basically a theme for me. Other than Jason Brown, I haven't really liked any American skater since….Michelle Kwan back in the 90s, probably.) It was so sad to watch Riku think that they'd lost the gold because of a mistake she made, and it seemed like she didn't think they deserved to win, but they definitely did. Their free wasn't perfect, but their short was astounding, which put them on top.

On another note: It was amazing to see Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps in 4th place. Deanna is 39 goddamn years old and had been away from skating for about 15 years after injury pushed her away from her singles career. Then she decided to come back, but as a pairs skater. And that's not even half the story! And now here she and her partner are, fourth in the world. Fantastic!

The Wimmens: TBH, I haven't really liked the women's competition in about a decade, because of Russian domination. It's not that I don't think the Russian teenagers are talented. They obviously are. I just can't support the whole mentality behind Russian women's skating, at least when it comes to the most popular coach of them, Eteri Tutberidze. She takes 12-year-old girls, underfeeds/overtrains them in order to stave off puberty so that they remain small and light enough to do the quadruple jumps that are otherwise generally reserved for physically-mature men because they have the muscle power to overcome the size/weight of their bodies. Then she trains those young teen girls to do those jumps. Gravity is a thing, and those jumps are hard on mature bodies, much less on bodies where the bones are still developing and growing. So, you end up with 16-year-olds with broken hips or who require multiple knee surgeries of the type that 50-year-olds get. You end up with 18-year-olds with destroyed backs who can never skate again. And that's not even mentioning the drugging that apparently goes on. All of this so that one teenage girl can win one Olympic gold medal and become a vehicle for state propaganda for a while before being relegated to a life of pain. I just can't be enthusiastic about that.

And, on top of that, it takes all of the suspense out of the competition. It comes down to which of three interchangeable stick-like, under-developed 15/16-year-old Russian girls will win the Olympic gold and then burn out immediately after, never to be heard from again. While those girls and/or their parents might be willing to destroy their bodies for the sake of one medal, the other competitors value career longevity over doing the ultra-c jumps that, generally, are part of the men's competition for a very good reason. So one of the underfed Russian girls du jour always won. Snooze.

But now, with the Russians banned because of their government's terror campaign against Ukraine, suddenly the women's competition interests me again. Yes, there are still 16-year-olds, but at least they aren't underfed (except Kimmy Repond from Switzerland and Isabeau Levito from the US; I hope they eat many sandwiches in the off-season) and overtrained with bodies about to explode on them. And, those who aren't 16 are actual women. In women's skating. Women who've been competing, in some cases, for fifteen years or more. Imagine that.

And the competition was actually exciting! Would Kaori Sakamoto get her shit together (she's had a very "off" season) and defend her title? Would Loena Hendrickx get her shit together because she's been inconsistent, too? What about the Koreans, who are all very talented, elegant skaters yet forever in the shadow of Russia and Japan? What about the other Japanese ladies with their 3As? Really, it was anyone's game, and it was exciting. Women's skating hasn't been exciting in about a decade, IMO, because the Russian "Use 'em up until the Olympics, then toss 'em aside for the next 12-year-old" system makes the competitions so boring.

And ultimately, Kaori won, and since she is my favorite female singles skater, not just because of her skating, I am very happy for her. But honestly? I would've given it to Hae-in Lee of Korea, who was second. Kaori was good, and she definitely got her shit together, but she just wasn't as…sparkly…as she usually is. Something's been off with her all season, which isn't terribly uncommon after the high of an Olympic year, especially when you medal in one. Hae-in, OTOH, was amazing at Four Continents, and she was amazing here. I think she should have gotten the gold and Kaori the silver. I agree with Loena in third and Isabeau Levito in fourth. At least I don't dislike Levito. I think she will be amazing for the 2026 Olympic season. She's just not the whole package yet. Hopefully she will 1) Eat many sandwiches so she can stop being a stick and 2) Stay healthy so that she can become the whole package for 2026.

But really? My favorite thing about the women's competition? Nicole Schott from Germany. She's 26 now, I think, and yet she is improving. Unfortunately, she had a disastrous short program at Europeans, but came back with an amazing free to get into the top ten. And here at Worlds, both of her programs were great and she ended up in 7th place. Which, given the powerhouses that are Japanese and Korean women's skating (with three entrants each), plus the strength of Loena and Isabeau Levito, is extremely respectable. And she's 26, about a decade older than many of the others in the top 10! You go, girl!

And finally, saving the best for last, The Dudes. It was supposed to be a battle between Shoma Uno, my fave and the defending champion from Japan, and the US's Ilia Malinin, the self-styled "Quad God." Except it wasn't really a battle at all. I don't care how many quads you throw into your program. Doing that shouldn't win you a title. Any title. Why? Because anyone can learn to do quads if they have the right body type and dedicate all their training to it, at the expense of everything else. But jumps are only half the story. The other half is performance. Artistry. Which is an entirely different mindset that is much, much harder to learn than jumps, and then it's harder still to be able to integrate the two halves into the whole package that all world-class figure skaters ought to be. I don't care if you're Ilia Malinin or Alexandra Trusova, just jumps shoudn't win you any medal, much less title. Because at the end of the day, figure skating is more of an artistic sport than an athletic one. Watching someone skate from one end of the rink to the other doing quad jumps is boring. I want to watch a performer, not a jumping bean with delusions of grandeur.

And that's the difference between Shoma Uno and Ilia Malinin. The former used to be just a jumping bean, too, but he realized that Yuzuru Hanyu and/or Nathan Chen was going to beat him every time no matter how many jumps he did. Because they were the whole package and he was not. So, he switched to a coach renowned for artistry and completely transformed himself into an artist who can also jump. He became the whole package. Maybe he doesn't do six quads in a program…but he doesn't have to. With fewer quads -- and also nursing an injury! -- he beat Ilia by about 15 points, to no one's surprise except possibly the hype-y US media around Ilia.

Ilia's just not there yet. He's only 18, of course, and no doubt his ego is tied to his jumping right now. But maybe he will reach the same conclusion that Shoma did, that just jumps aren't going to win you international titles, no matter how many of them you do, not when your skating skills and presentation suck because all you've been working on is jumps. I hope he reaches this conclusion, because if he does and he follows through, he will become one of the greats, and rightfully so. But right now? He's faaaaaar from there. Still, he finished third. I would've put him lower, quite frankly, and put Kevin Aymoz on the podium instead. It's not that I hate Ilia or anything because I don't, at all. It's because I would hate to see figure skating turn into a jumping bean contest, so I don't think that whole mentality should be rewarded. I wish the ISU would lower the point value of jumps and raise the point value of the other elements so that skaters would focus more on them, or at the very least I wish the artistic score was weighted heavier than the technical score. But I dunno. Maybe that's just me. I just don't give a shit about jumps. I want to see performance, which is part of the reason why I like ice dance so much. I wish ice dance was less heteronormative, of course, just as I wish for pairs, but maybe we'll get there one day.

ANYWAY! The "battle" between Shoma and Ilia aside, who stole the show? Korea's Jun-Hwan "Chaos Bean" Cha, who along with Shoma and France's Kevin Aymoz are my favorite male skaters. Jun's been inconsistent for his entire career and, in my opinion, has been unfairly judged much of the time, as well. He's always been nit-picked over edges and under-rotations when the Japanese skaters and others have gotten away with worse. This competition, he was still robbed of the 100-point short program that he should have gotten, but both of his performances were amazing, with his two quads in the free -- all that's needed! -- being effortless and absolutely beautiful. And his Ina Bauer at the end of his free literally made me cry, it was so beautiful. This netted him the silver and almost broke the 300-point barrier for the competition. My adorable little chaos bean got his shit together for this competition, and I hope that's a sign of things to come for him.

And speaking of Kevin Aymoz: He got fourth, which is great. He was also fourth at Europeans, after a disappointing short program. But fourth on the world stage is a much bigger achievement, and well-deserved after turning in two great programs. He's coming back from injury, so I hope that this is a sign of things to come for him, too. I'm hoping to see him win Euros and be on the podium at Worlds next year. *fingers crossed*

Finally, the best thing about the World Championships: Listening to the Japanese arena announcer mangle practically all of the non-Asian surnames. It was hilarious. Even some of the skaters were laughing and shaking their heads as they were introduced. LOL

[freifraufischer]

Exactly what happened on that podium in Seoul in 1988... and why we’ve been telling the story of shady judging wrong for 40 years.

The above video is the raw OBS footage of the United States compulsory uneven bars rotation from the 1988 Olympics.  A deduction was taken that changed the results of the medals and there is a lot to be said about who was at fault and who “deserved” medals. 

But I’ve always wondered “how the hell did this even happen”?  This wasn’t an obscure rule.  Many of these gymnasts had been to world championships the previous year.  Bela Karolyi and Donna Strauss were extremely experienced coaches.  

But also... why was it that this deduction had to be taken by vote of the Women’s Technical Committee in the first place?

Let’s start with the 1985-1988 code of points:

These paragraphs are right at the beginning of the 1985-88 Code of points.  A coach may only be on the podium to remove the board.  The code has no language for an athlete to be on the podium at all (and Rhonda Faehn who will be one of the key players in this drama was an alternate and as the competition had already started wasn’t an athlete for the purposes of this competition anyway).

Let’s go back to the video and just look at how it happened.

This is a screenshot of warmups.  The compulsory started on the low bar so the sake of this discussion I’m going to describe the right side of the bars as the side on the athletes right as they began the exercise.  In this image Donna Strauss (the US assistant coach) is on the right of the bars touching the bars.  Rhonda Faehn spends the entire warm up period on the right side of the bars with the board.  Bela Karolyi (the US head coach) is standing to the left side of the bars on the side with the stairs.

The warmup ends and Kelly Garrison is ready to start her exercise.  Strauss and Karolyi left the podium and Rhonda remains where she was during warmup.  

Since she couldn’t get to the stairs (and apparently she had asked Bela what to do and he told her to do ... this) she puts the board on the side and hides behind it “so as not to be in the judges view.”

But let’s go back to the code of points.  Because look in the left hand corner of this image.  See the lady in the red jacket.  She’s a bars judge.

Rhonda was right there in the direct line of sight for judge 4.  Kato Hiroko of Japan.

[Just as an aside this is the East German rotation much earlier in the day so you can see how every other country did this.  The coach is on the left side of the podium]

After Garrison finishes her exercise the OBS cameras show the judging panel having an extensive conversation.  To be clear they are talking to each other.  Phones were how judges conferences happened.  The lady in the top left of this image is Jackie Fie of the United States who was the head judge on the apparatus.

She’s got a problem.

See the code of points requires her to take a deduction of 0.50 pt for what just happened in front of her.  It’s literally her job.

But she doesn’t take it.  It will be taken but after the competition is over by a unanimous vote of the WTC (with Jackie Fie abstaining).

The video doesn’t show anyone speaking to Rhonda but when Hope Spivy goes up to do her routine Rhonda has changed sides of the podium.  

I don’t think anyone in the US delegation realized what had happened.  After all Strauss and Karolyi let it happen to start with.  I think Jackie Fie issued a warning for this offense instead of a deduction.  That’s why Rhonda changed sides.

Which is good because if Rhonda had pulled the board the way she did then they would have gotten a 3.00 pt deduction rather than a 0.50 pt deduction as the offense is described as “0.50 pt” EACH.  That would have left the US in 5th place rather than 4th.

Now the Karolyi/USGF argument was always that Rhonda wasn’t a coach so the deduction didn’t apply to her as an athlete.  The problem with that is that nowhere in the code of points does it distinguish that athletes can even pull the board to start with.  And if Rhonda was an athlete is... debatable.

But I think that’s how Jackie Fie justified giving a warning rather than taking a deduction. 

Despite the fact that you know... it’s a flimsy justification coming from a judge from the country involved and she’s not supposed to be subjectively interpreting things.

As the story goes “an East German judge”--which I presume is Judge 5 C. Herrmann--spotted Rhonda on the podium and informed the WTC.  As we can see... everyone spotted her on the podium.  

My best interpretation is that she did in fact protest what happened to the superior jury because Jackie Fie had acted in an incredibly questionable manner by not issuing a clear deduction to her own country.

But you know... Ellen Berger, the East German WTC president who presides over the meeting where the entire committee decides to take the deduction is the shady and corrupt figure in this story.

[myjunkisyuzuruhanyu]

I just realized that there is now the small possibility that shoma, deniss and koshiro make it to the gpf and I very much feel for stephane if that was to be the case.

Puh...well in all honesty I think the only skater with a possibility at making the GPF (or maybe sort of guarantee to make it) is Shoma.

And btw I don't think Stephane would mind that burden at the event to coach 3 skaters, but I think it will be only Shoma and Stephane.

About Koshiro Shimada: Koshiro won't qualify for the GPF. You can already say that after Skate America. He got 0 points for this competition in the GPF qualification standings and not even a win at GP Sheffield would make him get to the final. The last GPFs skaters at least needed 20 points to qualify, which is like a 2nd and 4th place. A win gives you 15 points. Tbf I am not sure if you sended this before or after SkAm as I didn't check my ask box.

About Deniss Vasiljews: Deniss would at least need one podium spot to even have a slight chance and then would still need at least a 4th place finish on his 2nd assignment to make it. Looking at his competition I don't think that's impossible but sadly unlikely.

Let's look at Skate Canada: Shoma medal for sure, then there is Keegan Messing who recently won the Nebelhorn Trophy, Kao Miura who recently placed 2nd at Skate America and has the arsenal of quads to even compete with Shoma, then there are some that are no guarantees for a podium spot but still had beaten Deniss in events before Camden Pulkinen (finished 5th at last Worlds) and Matteo Rizzo.

Then let's look at GP Sheffield: Roman Sadovsky, Morisi Kvitelashvili, Daniel Grassl, Shun Sato, Koshiro Shimada..none of them is stable but could possibly beat Deniss nonetheless as Deniss himself is hardly to be called stable and the others perform more quads. I think a medal is more possible for Deniss there than at Skate Canada but stil it's not easy.

There are only 6 spots available for the GPF, let's assume with high possibility that Shoma and Ilia Malinin take the top two spots. Then there is a high chance for Kao Miura. That's 3 spots...there are a lot more skaters with chances to make it Daniel Grassl (with a podium place at GP Sheffield), Junhwan Cha with a medal place at NHK, Kazuki Tomono and Keegan Messing and Morisi Kvitelashvili (not that I would want that but chances aren't that bad tbh) The places are quite open but one thing is for sure for Deniss to make it the some of the other mentioned above would have to falter.

One thing is also often standing in Deniss way apart from the quad not being reliable, he often gets calls on his jumps and his PCS though he would deserve better marks aren't the highest either to make up for the lack of a stable quad. I wish Deniss all the best and I would love to see his skating at the GPF but realistically his chances are slim.

I don't think we have to talk about Shoma's chances at making the GPF. Unless he bombs completely (and there is no indication for this in his current condition and mindset) he should qualify quite easily.

[macaroni-rascal]

Hello! Now that we’ve seen all of the American ice dancers skate twice on the Grand Prix, I was wondering if you could share your thoughts on their programs, placements, presentation etc? Thank you :)

Chock and Bates: A solid rhythm dance with a lagging second half which showcases Madi's charisma and makes you forget Evan is there, which is always their goal. Their free dance is a travesty with a few stand out moment, like the stationary lift, but ultimately is boring and I don't like it. They are comfortably the top team, and no one is getting close to them.

Green and Parsons: They are the only other American team to medal at the GP event, which will help them at nationals. Their rhythm dance is stronger than their free dance, but it seems clear that Caroline isn't happy where she is, last season they were competing with Lajoie and Lagha, and are not consistently scoring 10-15 points less than them.

Carreira and Ponomarenko: They have the best pair of programs of the season, in my opinion. Both of them are wonderfully choreographed, and it looks like they both enjoy skating them very much. That free dance is such a moment, and it builds so well. I love their material. They got unlucky with placements this year. I hope and wish that they will be battling for a worlds spot.

Pate and Bye: I don't like their programs, they got an immense about of love at the Autumn Classic, but have consistently scored under what scored at the beginning of the season. I don't think they will be anywhere near a world spot, they are comfortably the bottom middle of the pack.

The Browns: Such good basics, it's a shame they need to reuse costumes, I hope they can place well at Nationals, and maybe get some funding, because they deserve it. The free dance is good, the rhythm dance isn't my favourite. I'm glad they have been consistently out placing other US teams, their 4th at Skate Canada was huge.

Zingas and Kolesnik: She doesn't look like an ice dancer yet, she doesn't skate like one, she's sloppy in places that should be muscle memory, and that's just a matter of practice and time for her to get into this discipline. They have some nice moments in their free dance, but the material is so glaringly Igor that it really holds them back. Igor is going to be fighting very very hard for them to get onto the World team, and I think it's possibly he succeeds.

Hawayek and Baker: I'm just adding them at the end here, we don't know if they are going to show up at Nationals, and at this point, I don't think they should. I think it's retirement time for them. US ice dance is so stacked with up and coming teams, they will either be just squeaking out a bronze, or possibly end up off the podium at this point. I could see them wanting to do one more Worlds, and in the city they train, but I just don't think it's a good idea. I miss them. Sigh.

[sbknews]

Fernandez and Acosta set to Get on the GAS for 2024 MotoGP

GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 will continue to showcase some of the best and brightest Spanish talent in MotoGP as Augusto Fernandez and Pedro Acosta will surge into the 2024 championship with the GASGAS RC16s. Reigning Moto2™ World Champion and notable 2023 MotoGP rookie, Augusto Fernandez, will remain with the GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 squad for his second term at the highest level. The 26-year-old Majorcan caught the eye with points-scoring performances in all but two of the 14 Grands Prix so far this season and has posted a personal best 4th place at the French Grand Prix. In Japan last weekend he notched his second-best classification with 7th place through tricky rainy conditions at Motegi. Augusto has shown potential and maturity while also progressing with his adaptation to the 2023 GASGAS RC16. He will be joined by the man who could be next in line for the Moto2 gold medal. Pedro Acosta is in only his third full season of world championship competition but the prolific 19-year-old has won the Moto3 title (2021), Moto2 Grands Prix as a rookie (2022) and has snared 11 podiums from 14 rounds this year to head the standings by more than 50 points. Acosta has the ability, the racecraft and the sheer natural talent to join the MotoGP grid and complete a remarkable journey through the company’s talent structure from being Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Champion in 2020 to premier class racer in 2024. GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 rider, Pol Espargaro, will fill a crucial and very valued position for the Pierer Mobility Motorsport project next year. The likeable 32-year-old was part of this joint-decision for both the short and long-term future of the company’s MotoGP goals. Pol is greatly appreciated for his commitment and experience; right from the very first days of the Pierer Mobility Group’s MotoGP entry up until his dedicated quest to return to competitiveness after injury sustained earlier in 2023. #44 is an important asset for supporting talented young athletes and maintaining the strength of the current racing set-up and his humility is evidenced by the willingness to assist the next generation hoping to follow in his footsteps. Pol’s character, energy and abilities mean he will still be a prominent member of the MotoGP program on both sides of the pit wall. Pit Beirer, GASGAS Motorsports Director: “We had an important and difficult decision to make for our GASGAS team for 2024. Augusto has made impressive first steps in MotoGP and we are totally convinced he has the speed and the intelligence to keep on progressing. Pedro is a very special talent who has already won so much, so quickly and 2024 will be about him learning to take the next step with the big boys in MotoGP. I want to thank Pol for everything he has done and all he continues to do for us. This guy is super-tough and super-determined and that’s why we want to count on him as an important part of our structure. Pol’s openness and proactiveness deserves my deepest respect. It underlines his greatness as a person that he gave us a helping hand in this situation. It also shows his passion for the sport and his thoughts for the future. With these pieces in place and with Hervé, Nicolas, and all the team and their experience we have an exciting year ahead for the GASGAS brand.” Read the full article

[adore-gregor]

I missed this whole competition, only to come home to Sara being 4th AGAIN 🥺😓😓

[formulinos]

you can't imagine the RELIEF that it is to write this post. it's been a year long journey, but we're here at last, settling this once and for all. we have had six gruesome rounds and now it's time to find out who is the hottest formula one driver of all time. are you ready? the answers are behind the cut!

of course, before we found out who won, we need to know who is going to complete the Tournament Podium! this match was, for many, the de facto finale as the semifinals were brutal and any of the four guys that competed in them deserved to make it to the top. their perfomance throughout the tournament have been, overall, stellar and we can't overlook them, so let's take a quick peek, shall we?

lewis hamilton's road to hotness irl was a sight to see. a stunner since he got into F1, he actually took the time to self-care and cultivate his hotness until he got to his current form - and it paid off! as his career grew in size, he started to experiment with working out, tattoos and fashion to create one of the ultimate dreamboats in F1 history, which is why him missing out on the finals was such a major upset. still, the streets have never forgotten sir lulu, as you can see from his path to now:

qualifying: 634 votes (2nd in overall placement) group stages: 863 votes (1st in his group, v. Nigel Mansell, Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz Jr.) round of 16: 76 % of votes v. Gilles Villeneuve quarterfinals: 78,8 % of votes v. Mika Häkkinen semifinals: 34,4 % of votes v. Sebastian Vettel

a brutal semifinal might have put a dent on an otherwise stellar record, but he can still redeem himself... or can he? let's asses his adversary:

jenson button is a product of his time and a very good one while we're at it. a heartbreaker in the 00s/10s era of formula 1, he was able to adapt his hotness to his environment: cute rookie at williams, playboy at benetton, sex god at honda/brawn and taken, but still available at mclaren - there was a jenson for any taste! since he's left f1, he entered his dilf era that has been appreciated thanks to his instagram efforts, and that aligned with the memories of yesterday makes for a very good record in the tournament:

qualifying: 561 votes (5th in overall placement) group stages: 677 votes (1st in his group, v. Gilles Villeneuve, Antonio Giovinazzi and René Arnoux) round of 16: 61,8 % of votes v. Daniel Ricciardo quarterfinals: 51,9 % of votes v. Jules Bianchi semifinals: 35,8 % of votes v. Charles Leclerc

the numbers may be less impressing, but some would say the competition was very aggressive!

well, without further ado, our third place in The Hottest Formula One Driver of All Time Tournament is...

Lewis Hamilton!!!! as much as JB was a fierce competitor, 70,3 % of you made sure that Sir Lewis left the tournament on a high note! congrats to lewis and congrats to jenson, you are part of Hottie F1 History!

i'm so anxious omg!!!!! can't believe it!!!!!!!!!

straight out of ferrari 2019, the sebchal rivalry shook the core of the tournament. much like lewis and jenson, seb and charles also had stellar performances that are worthy of revisiting, so let's look at them!

seb is a particular case of hotness because he has had his ups and downs, aesthetic wise. he arrived in formula 1 baby faced with a cheeky sense of humour, and he transformed into a HOT BASTARD during his red bull domination era - not without trying to annihilate his hair by bleaching it, unlocking conflicting feelings in the hearts of many seblrinas. in Ferrari, the greatest formula 1 team of all time, he also experimented with many looks and regained his reputation as a "non-bastard", and now, in aston martin, he's dabbling in the abbey road beatles look. no matter what, always a hottie, and this translates in his performance here:

qualifying: 577 votes (4th in overall placement) group stages: 663 votes (1st in his group, v. Maria Teresa de Filippis, James Hunt and Andre Lotterer) round of 16: 80,7 % of votes v. François Cevert quarterfinals: 56,3 % of votes v. Ayrton Senna semifinals: 65,7 % of votes v. Lewis Hamilton

wow. it will have to take some big brass to beat this!

aaahhhh, il predestinato. charles hasn't been that long in formula 1 compared to his adversary, but what sets him apart is his consistency. his look barely changed from his year at alfa romeo to nowadays, only getting slightly worse in fashion. still, the face card is never declined and it led him to become one of the faces of giorgio armani. the body card doesn't decline either as his gf often makes a point of posting just to taunt us that can't get close enough to enter his bone radar. he also has the incredible advantage of being talented at his job and the obvious Ferrari Tax that allows him to wear red every race, which creates a lethal combination of a hottie against everyone that stood against him so far:

qualifying: 631 votes (3rd in overall placement) group stages: 777 votes (1st in his group, v. Jacky Ickx, Jacques Villeneuve and Jean-Éric Vergne) round of 16: 68,4 % of votes v. Susie Wolff quarterfinals: 80 % of votes v. Zhou Guanyu semifinals: 64,1 % of votes v. Jenson Button

unfortunately, only one person can win. 

[takes a deep breath]

god, can you guys feel my heart beating?

ok. here we go. The Hottest Formula One Driver of All Time is...

CHARLES LECLERC!!! a story of redemption after last year's disqualification, charles wins a championship he doesn't need Ferrari to rely on this year [i'm trying not to cry here]. congrats on seb for taking p2, a nice retirement gift from his fans!

you guys, it was great to host this tou-

wait.

what is that?

OH WHAT THE FUCK!

CHARLES CAME TO ACCEPT THE TROPHY!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE FUUUUUUCK!!!!!! 

i guess we have no choice but to hear what he has to say! go ahead, charles!

lovely words from the champion! as for myself, i only have to say thanks to those of you who stuck around till the end. i hate starting things and not finishing it so i gave myself one more chance to see this through and i'm glad i did, i feel like we can close this chapter on a relative high note! my apologies if there was anything i did that didn't please you during this run, if you want to talk about it feel free to send an ask, i'm always open to learn. i hope you guys had fun this time, enjoy the rest of the summer break and take care!

[albinaretyunskikh]

These past two weeks have been hard to witness with everything happening in the world. When I feel emotionally overwhelmed, I try to take a step back. I tried to watch the Olympics with an open heart and an open mind and all the support and excitement I think such an immense competition deserves. The female figure skating event, however, was anything but supportive and exciting.

Kamila Valieva, representing the Russian Olympic Committee, was set to be the star of the event. She beat other skaters by dozens of points and became the first girl to land quadruple jumps in the Olympics. She was favoured to win by a landslide.

She and all the Russian girls are coached by the same woman, Eteri Tutberidze. She is known for her very strict coaching methods, which have been called abusive and excessive.

When news of Kamila’s failed drug test from December came out (there was a trace of a banned heart medication in it), I took a breath and wanted to wait for the results of the investigation.

Immediately, I saw so much vitriol online: the Russians did it again. Russia can’t compete fairly. Dirty dopers. Dirty athletes. They strip everyone else of a chance to win.

I took a step back. Not as a Russian. Not as a patriot. In fact, I find patriotism a rotten and flawed value with no basis in fact: no one chooses where they are born. Hence, feeling pride to be from somewhere seems to me like a made up belief that has cost lives and destroyed civilizations.

But I can see, without a shred of a doubt, how much Russia’s pervasive history of doping paired with its inhumane and indecent internal and foreign politics has played a role in the Olympics. Kamila is 15 years old. She is a child. Yet she endured so much vitriol in these past two weeks, poison not even a grown up could bear.

A few days ago, after days of stress, she was cleared to compete. The event included one more girl than the usual number of contestants to ensure she didn’t take anyone’s spot. Several doctors have said that the drug could not have helped her in any way. Because of her young age, she was given a chance to compete. Again, statements from the United States, other countries and other athletes started pouring in. And it got to a point where her humanity as a child was not even taken into account.

In the past few days, new information came out. She had 3 heart medications in her system at the time, and it is now believed she could have a heart disease which was hidden and undisclosed, and she was given these drugs without her knowledge by her family and entourage.

Russian propaganda channels are saying she took her grandfather’s medication by mistake, and that she even inherited the drugs. Absolute absurdity.

Meanwhile, American news coverage of the event portrayed her as a cheater, with insinuations that she took someone else’s spot in the event and should have not been allowed to compete. Opinion pieces came out pouring, saying she will lose even if she wins, and her medals could be revoked in the future.

What I saw, as a human being — not as a Russian, not as a Canadian resident, not as a consumer of American news — was a child who has been at the center of a massive scandal, enduring hatred and vitriol no one should face.

Today, Kamila was so visibly stressed and distraught, she fell multiple times, and crunched up crying after her performance. Her coach was more concerned about her own reputation and scolded her after she came off ice. She ended up in 4th place, and the medal ceremony took place since she was off the podium.

Now, everyone is on their high horse saying how sorry they are for her. EVERYONE, from her family, to her doctors, to her team, to the reporters and everyone who expressed their views on this event should take one hard look in the mirror for how this girl has been treated over these Olympics.

Everyone. Because even if your morals are in the right place, this child has been demonized and her spirit was broken, and she might not recover mentally and ever skate again after this. This was a failure on all fronts. And the only victim here is her. She is a child.

I hope a further investigation will yield results and she will get the support she needs. My heart truly, truly aches for her. I cried this morning looking at her. She is a child. A creature of God. She didn’t deserve any of this.