By Rory Carroll
Jan 7 (Reuters) – U.S. Figure Skating chief executive Matt Farrell said he expects the American team to arrive at next month’s Milano Cortina Olympics in “incredible shape,” pointing to recent results and a broader revival of interest in the Games in the United States.
The U.S. has been dominant on the international stage in the run-up to the Games, capturing gold in three of the four disciplines at the World Championships in March and at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Japan last month.
Olympic gold medal favourites Ilia Malinin, Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn and ice dancing pair Madison Chock and Evan Bates are scheduled to compete at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis this week, which will culminate with the naming of the U.S. squad on Sunday.
“I think we’re in such incredible shape,” Farrell told Reuters.
“With the performance in dance, with the men and the women coming out of worlds and the Grand Prix series, things are really lined up well.
“The downside is maybe the target got a little bit bigger on our back, but man, things are just clicking on all cylinders right now. It’s fun to see.”
Farrell said the success of the Paris Olympics in 2024 helped revive the Olympic movement in the U.S. and beyond after the pandemic-hit Tokyo Summer Games and Beijing Winter Olympics.
He added that strong marketing around upcoming editions and favourable time zones in the U.S. for the Winter Games next month and in 2030, followed by a home Olympics in 2034 in Salt Lake City, should support the Games for “a decade or more.”
MALININ MAGIC
On the men’s side, Farrell highlighted Malinin, who has set new technical standards with his jumping ability. The 21-year-old three-time U.S. champion is the only skater ever to land a quad Axel in international competition, putting him in a class of his own.
“I was sitting next to a figure skating judge at his performance and she just looked at me and said, ‘I don’t know what this number’s going to be, but it’s going to be astronomical’,” he said.
Farrell said the women’s field for Milan would be competitive but singled out world and Grand Prix Final champion Liu, describing her as having “the grace of a figure skater and the mind of a snowboarder” and “a natural magnetism and aura”.
Liu’s profile was boosted again this past weekend when she was featured on CBS’s news program 60 Minutes.
In ice dance, Farrell praised the veteran duo and married couple Chock and Bates for their consistency and professionalism.
“I think even people new to the sport, to their eye are gonna be like, ‘oh my gosh, they’re in a different class’,” he said.
The U.S. Figure Skating Championships begin Wednesday in St. Louis.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los AngelesEditing by Toby Davis)
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