Winter Sports

Bridget Namiotka wrote Sunday on Facebook that John Coughlin sexually abused her for two years while they were pairs figure skating partners.

According to Christine Brennan of USA Today, Namiotka wrote, "I'm sorry but john hurt at least 10 people including me. He sexually abused me for 2 years. Nobody innocent hangs themself."

Coughlin died by suicide at the age of 33 in January after he received an interim suspension from the U.S. Center for SafeSport amid three sexual misconduct allegations.

Namiotka wrote the following regarding Coughlin in three additional posts as well:

"Someone that's innocent doesn't hang himself. Think about the victims when you're speaking up for what he did to at least 10 girls."

"Think about all of the girls he hurt.

"Grooming happens. It happened to me and he hurt a lot of girls. Think about the victims."

Namiotka and Coughlin were figure skating partners from 2004 to 2007. During that time, Namiotka was between the ages of 14 and 17, while Coughlin was between the ages of 18 and 21.

Coughlin's agent, Tara Modlin, wrote the following to Brennan via text when asked to comment on Namiotka's posts: "It seems that you want me to comment on an unstable persons Facebook comment – I don't really understand your question. ... my suggestion is to call some of his other partners."

Prior to his death in January, Coughlin called the allegations "unfounded." Meanwhile, attorney John Manly, who represents Namiotka and two other women who have alleged that Coughlin sexually abused them, had the following to say in March: "My clients and I want to make this clear: John Coughlin used his position of trust and power and prominence in figure skating to sexually abuse multiple minors, three of whom I represent."

Namiotka and Coughlin finished ninth in pairs figures skating at the 2007 United States Figure Skating Championships.

Coughlin later went on to skate alongside Caitlin Yankowskas and then Caydee Denney in pairs figure skating.

The curtain came down on the 2019 ISU World Figure Skating Championships on Sunday, with the skaters taking to the ice for the gala exhibition.

After four days of intense competition, the final outings on the ice were for show purposes only, with the medals for the 2019 edition already dished out.

While there may not be an edge to action in these circumstances, often the pressure-free environment allows the skaters to totally express themselves with spectacular results. Sunday’s showcase was no different.

      

Sunday Recap

The Olympic Channel shared a photo of the rink at Saitama Prefecture in Japan prior to the skating getting underway:

https://twitter.com/olympicchannel/status/1109692856740937728

Italian skater Nicole Della Monica posted the following photo on Twitter at the conclusion of the gala:

This is it! #show #figureskating #Worldfigure #Japan #日本 pic.twitter.com/BjMvi3em1v

— Nicole Della Monica (@dm_nicole89) March 24, 2019

For those in attendance it was a chance to pay tribute to the skaters who have entertained over the course of the previous four days. The winners were particularly heralded, with the gold medalists finishing off the session with their routines.

Prior to the champions taking to the ice, there were a couple of home favourites on display to warm up the crowd.

First, Rika Kihira thrilled those in attendance with her routine, before Yuzuru Hanyu, who took silver in the men's singles event, drew plenty of cheers for his segment.

The first of the champions to take part were Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, who were crowned as the winners of the pairs event. Here's what they had to say following their triumph:

Either side of a routine from free dance winners Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, the two individual winners made their way to the ice for the final time in these championships.

Alina Zagitova, who added the world title to her Olympic crown this week, performed to Survivor and then after an encore from the fans, repeated a section of her winning routine from earlier in the week. The backing music for that was from the Phantom of the Opera.

To finish off was Nathan Chen, who skated exceptionally earlier in the tournament to become a two-time world champion.

As Jackie Wong of the Ice Talk podcast noted, after Chen skated to Otto Knows' Next to Me, the fans wanted to see more from him:

I'm not sure Nathan Chen has even done a runthrough of this new exhibition gala. #WorldFigure

— Jackie Wong (@rockerskating) March 24, 2019

Announcer: Champion, of course, everyone is waiting for your encore.
Nathan Chen: IM TOO TIRED PLZ#WorldFigure

— Jackie Wong (@rockerskating) March 24, 2019

The next major event for figure skating fanatics will be the world team trophy, which starts on April 11 in Fukuoka, Japan.

Russia's Alina Zagitova turned in a dominant performance in the free skate at the 2019 World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan, to capture the gold medal in the ladies competition Friday.

Zagitova finished first in both the short program and free skate, accumulating a total of 237.50 points, which put her well ahead of Kazakhstan's Elizabet Tursynbaeva, who won silver with 224.76 points.

Russia's Evgenia Medvedeva took bronze with 223.80 points, while Bradie Tennell was the top American finisher with 213.47 points in seventh.

Figure Skaters Online provided a full look at the results:

Ladies final results: Zagitova wins her first World title; Tursynbaeva earns the silver (her first world medal) and Medvedeva earns the bronze to finish out a tough season! #TeamUSA ladies finish 7 and 9 (not enough to regain the third spot). #WorldFigure pic.twitter.com/K6tylSNQla

— FigureSkatersOnline (@fsonline) March 22, 2019

With Zagitova's win, she added to her already impressive medal collection, which includes individual gold and team silver at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Per Gracenote Olympic, Zagitova entered an elite group by accomplishing the double-gold feat at just 16 years of age:

Figure Skating: Sixteen-year-old Alina Zagitova is the youngest in over 20 years to win the Olympic AND world title in ladies' singles, since Tara Lipinski completed this double at Nagano 1998 at age 15. #WorldFigure2019

— Gracenote Olympic (@GracenoteGold) March 22, 2019

Also, Zagitova bounced back from a disappointing showing at the 2019 European Figure Skating Championships that saw her finish second to countrywoman Sofia Samodurova, who came in eighth at the worlds.

While Tursynbaeva was unable to beat Zagitova for gold, she made history in her own right by landing a quadruple Salchow.

According to Olympic Channel, the 19-year-old Tursynbaeva became the first person to land a quad jump in a senior women's international competition.

If Zagitova remains on her current trajectory, she has a chance to accomplish something that hasn't been done since 1988, which is winning gold in the ladies singles event at back-to-back Olympic Games.

The last person to do that was East Germany's Katarina Witt, and while Zagitova still has a long way to go before even thinking about the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, her current form and young age suggest that she could continue to dominate the ladies figure skating scene for years to come.

Wenjing Sui and Cong Han captured gold in the pairs competition, while Nathan Chen jumped out to a big lead in the men's event on the second day of the 2019 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan. 

The pairs skating drew to a close Thursday with the free skating portion, while the men got started with the short program. Here are the top performers in each event, followed by a brief recap of the day's action.

      

Thursday Results

Pairs—Final Results

Gold: Wenjing Sui, Cong Han (234.84)

Silver: Evgenia Tarasova, Vladimir Morozov (228.47)

Bronze: Natalia Zabiiako, Alexander Enbert (217.98)

     

Men—Short Program

1st: Nathan Chen (107.40)

2nd: Jason Brown (96.81)

3rd: Yuzuru Hanyu (94.87)

4th: Vincent Zhou (94.17)

5th: Matteo Rizzo (93.37)

      

Thursday Recap

Following the short program, Sui and Han trailed the Russian team of Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov by just under two points. Tarasova and Morozov paced the field with 81.21, and Sui and Han were right behind at 79.24.

Sui and Han delivered a brilliant routine, particularly in the latter half of their performance. They earned 76.84 points as part of their total program component, and 40.69 of those points came over their last five elements.

An axel lasso lift alone earned then 10.10 points from the judges, and a reverse lasso lift netted 10.00 points. No other pairs team had an element of 10-plus points—let alone two.

Figure Skating ⛸ - Sui Wenjing and Han Cong won the pairs event representing 🇨🇳 at the 2019 world championships in Japan.

No country has won more world titles in the pairs events at world championships held in Asia than China (3). #WorldFigure #FigureSkating

— Gracenote Olympic (@GracenoteGold) March 21, 2019

Chen still has plenty of work to do in the men's event, but he's sitting pretty in the standings after the short program. He has 107.40 points, with Jason Brown a distant second (96.81 points). The United States has a shot of sweeping the podium as Vincent Zhou is in fourth place with 94.17 points.

https://twitter.com/maggiehendricks/status/1108698943351865345

The 19-year-old American started off with a bang, landing a triple axel and immediately going to a quad lutz. Those two elements alone accounted for 24.87 points. Chen's coup de grace was a quad toe loop and triple toe loop that received a score of 17.38.

None of us will ever be as cool as Nathan Chen. But damn, he's really, really (really) cool

ME: "GAH that was fun to watch!"
Nathan: Single fist pump #WorldFigure

— Nick McCarvel (@NickMcCarvel) March 21, 2019

Yuzuru Hanyu won gold in each of the last two Winter Olympics and was the first-place finisher in the 2017 World Championships, the last year in which he competed.

The 24-year-old Japanese star fell short of expectations Thursday, though. His score of 94.87 has him in third place, nearly 13 points behind Chen.

"I'm very disappointed with my short program," he said, per OlympicChannel.com. "I made a very big mistake so I aim to reflect on that and figure out what I can do better for my free skate. I will look at everything I can do to improve upon my performance."

Hanyu may still be dealing with the effects of the ankle injury he suffered last November. He had planned to open his routine with a quad salchow but changed it to a double salchow. As a result, he received no score for the element.

While Hanyu might have set his sights on gold coming into the 2019 World Championships, his priority should be avoiding a non-podium finish for the first time since 2013.

Alina Zagitova got off to a strong start at the World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan, on Wednesday, taking the top spot in the ladies short program with a score of 82.08.

"I was pleased to get a season-best score and appreciate the support of the Japanese fans," the defending Olympic champion said after her performance, which included a double axel and a triple flip alongside a triple lutz and triple loop combination, per the Associated Press. "I want to do my best here."

"During this season, I actually experienced many mistakes during practice and that made me more nervous," she added, per OlympicChannel.com. "But thanks to tremendous support from my coaches, I was able to overcome those mistakes and errors and really get prepared mentally which was what I needed to do for this competition."

The result was defeating Japan's Kaori Sakamoto (76.86) and Kazakhstan's Elizabet Tursynbayeva (75.96).

"I was able to execute everything as I did in practice and will aim to do that again in the free skate," Sakamoto noted.

Japan's Rika Kihira, the favorite coming into the competition, botched a triple-axel attempt and ended in seventh place (70.90), while Americans Mariah Bell and Bradie Tennell finished in 6th and 10th place, respectively. 

The full results from the ladies short program can be seen at ISUResults.com.

In the pairs short program, meanwhile, Russians Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov sit atop the standings after Wednesday with a score of 81.21, followed by two Chinese pairs, Sui Wenjing and Han Cong in second (79.24) and Peng Cheng and Yang Jin in third (75.51).

The French team of Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres were the favorites coming in to the event, but like Kihira, they surprisingly struggled, finishing seventh with a score of 68.67.

There was a bit of controversy in the warmup as well, as James and Matteo Guarise collided on the ice, per Rachel Lutz of NBC Sports. Both were OK, though the situation was hardly ideal for either side:

https://twitter.com/olympicchannel/status/1108256895951724545

The full results are at ISUResults.com. Thursday's events include the pairs free skate and men's short program.

The 2019 ISU World Figure Skating Championships open on Wednesday, with some of the top names in the sport set to compete in Saitama, Japan.

The highlight of the tournament looks to be in the men's event, where Olympic gold medallist Yuzuru Hanyu will come up against world champion Nathan Chen.

There will be a new champion in the women's competition, as Canadian titleholder Kaetlyn Osmond has opted to sit out the entire season.

Olympic champion Alina Zagitova will be aiming to improve on last season's fifth-placed finish, while Japan's Rika Kihira and two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva are also in contention.

Here's a look at the schedule, full details are available from the tournament's official website.

             

Wednesday, March 20

Pairs: Short Programme 

Opening Ceremony

Ladies: Short Programme

        

Thursday, March 21

Pairs: Free Skating

Men: Short Programme

     

Friday, March 22

Ice Dance: Rhythm Dance 

Ladies: Free Skating

     

Saturday, March 23

Ice Dance: Free Dance 

Men: Free Skating

     

Sunday, March 24

Gala Exhibition

    

In the United States, the event will be televised by NBC and NBCSN. A live stream is available through NBCSports.com/live.

           

Preview

Japan's Hanyu will be aiming for his third world title in Saitama, but there are doubts over his fitness heading into the tournament.

The 24-year-old skipped practice on Monday amid fears he is still struggling with an ankle injury picked up at November's Rostelecom Cup, per the Olympic Channel.

Hanyu has not competed since then, but he also struggled with a similar problem before the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and went on to take gold:

Winter #Olympics #Gold for Yuzuru Hanyu as he successfully defends his title in men's #FigureSkating with a combined total score of 317.85 points. 😱 👏👏👏 Congratulations! #JPN #PyeongChang2018 pic.twitter.com/6voVv3rd4O

— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) February 17, 2018

He will face stiff competition from Chen, a Yale University freshman, who won his third straight national men's singles title in Detroit in January:

What. A. Podium. 👏🙇‍♀️🙇‍♂️

THREE-time U.S. champion @nathanwchen leads the final podium at #USChamps19! pic.twitter.com/7XqG1QDhyu

— U.S. Figure Skating (@USFigureSkating) January 27, 2019

The 19-year-old will be aiming to defend his title and has had to overcome illness during his preparation that forced him to amend his training plans.

"I got a little bit sick so I decided to recover (in New Haven) and make sure I didn't get any of the other athletes sick," he said, per Reuters (h/t Eurosport). "The entire college got sick, so it was inevitable. I've been training well for worlds. I'm looking forward to competition."

Japan's Shoma Uno is also one to watch in the men's event. The 21-year-old produced a flawless free skate to win the Four Continents Championships in Anaheim, California, in February.

It's the biggest win of his career, although his silver medal in Pyeongchang shows he can thrive on the big stage:

https://twitter.com/olympicchannel/status/1107612725146992640

The competition looks far more open in the women's event, where Zagitova will be out to make amends for her 2018 showing. The teenager finished fifth after falling three times in her free skate.

The 16-year-old will face competition from rising star Kihira, who will be looking for her first world title. 

The Japanese starlet, also 16, will be confident after victories at the Four Continents and the Grand Prix Final:

📹 It was an eventful Ladies’ Free Skating at #4ContsFigure with the standings turning upside down! Rika Kihira, Elizabet Tursynbaeva and Mai Mihara skated to the top of the podium in the tight contest for the lead in a deep field!

🔗 https://t.co/hEsXpkE3Ai

#⃣ #FigureSkating pic.twitter.com/yfdShNgmoF

— ISU Figure Skating (@ISU_Figure) February 14, 2019

Kihira has talked confidently about her chances in the tournament but has explained that nerves could be a factor, per Sean Miyaguchi at Kyodo News:

"It's my first world championships, and it's at such a big arena, so I might feel a little nervous. (But) I'm not really thinking about the pressure, I'm just focusing on what I have to do.

"I think I have a chance of winning the championship if I perform the short program and the free routine well, so I just want to think about doing a performance with no mistakes."

Medvedeva is also likely to be in contention and has momentum after victory in the Russian Cup in February. The 19-year-old has struggled this season but knows exactly what it takes to win this title and can't be discounted.

Lindsey Vonn ended her career in style Sunday, winning a bronze medal in the downhill at the world Alpine championships in Are, Sweden.

The perfect ending to an unprecedented run. @lindseyvonn captures a world championships medal in the final race of her career. #Are2019 pic.twitter.com/VW4PTwpssI

— Team USA (@TeamUSA) February 10, 2019

"I laid it all on the line; that was all I wanted to do today," she said after the race, per Cindy Boren of the Washington Post. "I have to admit I was a bit nervous, probably the most nervous I've ever been in my life. I wanted to finish strong so badly. I had a really hard time controlling my nerves, and I never have a hard time with that. I'm just happy I made it to the finish."

An incredible final run for @lindseyvonn as she soars into first place by .33 seconds! #are2019 pic.twitter.com/PahJ5xsJ5u

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 10, 2019

.@lindseyvonn greeted by legend Ingemar Stenmark 🇸🇪 in the finish area with flowers. 💐 Two legends unite!! @Are2019 #are2019 pic.twitter.com/Y0jZ9MgWRO

— U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team (@usskiteam) February 10, 2019

Vonn was briefly in first place after her run, though Ilka Stuhec of Slovenia—the winner at the 2017 worlds—took home the gold, and Switzerland's Corinne Suter won silver.

It was fitting that Vonn would end her career in Are, as she won her first two medals on the same course at the world championships in 2007.

Her bronze Sunday was her eighth career medal at the world championships (which included two golds in 2009). She also has three medals at the Olympics, including a gold medal in the downhill in 2010.

As Boren noted, Vonn is "one of only seven women to have won World Cup races in all five major disciplines of Alpine skiing—downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom and super combined." Only Sweden's Ingemar Stenmark ever won more World Cup races (86) than Vonn (82).

Not surprisingly, the tributes were plentiful:

The slopes will never be the same.

Thank you, @lindseyvonn. #Are2019 pic.twitter.com/0mFJFMjEXa

— Team USA (@TeamUSA) February 10, 2019

When you close out your career with a World Champs medal 👏🏻🎉👏🏻🎉👏🏻 Big congrats to @lindseyvonn for a perfect final run💪💪 @Are2019

— Mikaela Shiffrin ⛷️ (@MikaelaShiffrin) February 10, 2019

Lindsey Vonn could have made her last ski race a ceremonial glide. Or she could have crashed on surgical knees. She didn’t. She won a bronze medal in downhill at the World Championships. A last example of why she is the greatest women’s ski racer in history

— Tim Layden (@ByTimLayden) February 10, 2019

The fact that Vonn even raced Sunday was a triumph after she crashed in the super-G last week and suffered, in her own words, "just a black eye, sore ribs and stiff neck."

Injuries are nothing new, though.

"My body is broken beyond repair and it isn't letting me have the final season I dreamed of," she wrote in an Instagram post Feb. 1. "My body is screaming at me to STOP and it's time for me to listen."

She seemed at peace with that decision.

"I left everything I've got on the hill. There's nothing left," she said. "I wish there was, but today is not a sad day. Today I get to thank every one of you who took this ride with me. And I get to go up to the top one more time, to do what I've always done: Risk it all. It's all or nothing."

It was one more moment of greatness in a career full of them.

During the final super-G run of her illustrious career, legendary skier Lindsey Vonn suffered a scary crash Tuesday.

The official Tokyo Olympics Twitter account provided video of the crash, which occurred at the FIS World Championships in Are, Sweden:

. @lindseyvonn was unable to finish the final Super-G race of her career this morning at World Championships. #are2019 pic.twitter.com/HyVFmNy0zZ

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 5, 2019

Despite the crash, Vonn managed to slowly make it down the rest of the hill to complete her run:

The winningest woman in alpine history @lindseyvonn was not going to make her final Super-G trip down in a sled. She will do it under her own power. 👏 #are2019 pic.twitter.com/5YDRDQXBnA

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 5, 2019

The 34-year-old Vonn announced last week that she would retire following the world championships.

Vonn explained her decision to retire in a lengthy Instagram post, citing the many injuries she has suffered during her career: "My body is broken beyond repair and it isn't letting me have the final season I dreamed of. My body is screaming at me to STOP and it's time for me to listen."

Following Tuesday's crash, Vonn tweeted about the ordeal:

If adversity makes you stronger I think I’m the Hulk at this point....

— lindsey vonn (@lindseyvonn) February 5, 2019

Austrian skier Nicole Schmidhofer described the scene to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com): "Everyone was screaming as she crashed jumping through the gates. That's Lindsey. She [goes] 100 percent or nothing. That's why she has won so many races and why she's an Olympic champion."

Fellow American star Mikaela Shiffrin won Wednesday's race.

According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com), Vonn has suffered a multitude of injuries over the years, including torn ACLs, knee fractures, a broken ankle and more.

Vonn divulged within her retirement post that she underwent surgery on her right knee following last season.

Vonn's 82 career World Cup wins are the most ever by a woman, and she is just four short of the overall record held by Sweden's Ingemar Stenmark.

In addition to her World Cup excellence, Vonn is a multi-time Olympian who has one gold medal and two bronze medals on her resume.

It would likely be more if not for the fact that she missed the 2014 Winter Games with a knee injury.

While Vonn's super-G career is now over, she is still scheduled to take part in the downhill event at the World Championships on Sunday. 

Putting an end to all of the speculation about her career, Lindsey Vonn announced Friday she will retire from professional skiing.

In a post on her official Facebook page, Vonn said she will take part in the world championships next week in Sweden before hanging up her skis:

Questions about Vonn's future grew after she was unable to finish a run at the World Cup super-G on Jan. 20 with pain in her knee stemming from multiple surgeries throughout the course of her career. 

"I've had four surgeries on my right knee. I've got no LCL (lateral collateral ligament) on my left knee. I've got two braces on. There's only so much I can handle and I might have reached my maximum," Vonn told reporters. "I'm not sure. I've got to take a couple days' time and really think about things."

Vonn, 34, became the first American woman in history to win an Olympic gold medal in the downhill race in 2010. She also won two gold medals at the 2009 World Championships in the downhill and super-G. 

Her final Olympic appearance in 2018 resulted in a bronze medal in the downhill. She also placed sixth in the super-G. 

Vonn also won the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup overall title four times in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012. 

For the third time in as many years, Nathan Chen is the best men's figure skater in the United States.

Chen received a score of 228.80 points in Sunday's free skate, giving him 342.22 overall to take home gold at the 2019 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit. Vincent Zhou finished in second place, and Jason Brown earned the bronze.

   

2019 U.S. Men's Figure Skating Results

1. Nathan Chen (342.22 points)

2. Vincent Zhou (284.01 points)

3. Jason Brown (273.08 points)

4. Tomoki Hiwatashi (253.28 points)

5. Aleksei Krasnozhon (234.52 points)

Chen, a 19-year-old who is currently a freshman at Yale, entered the free skate with a heavy advantage. His score of 113.42 during the short program put him more than 10 points ahead of Brown (100.52) and made him the heavy favorite. 

"Everything that I've done, good and bad in the past, stays in the past," Chen told reporters after the short program. "I learned quite a lot from the Olympics, and I think I learned more from my mistakes than from when I skated really well. Those are things I try to carry with me. I definitely don't want to jinx my head, I want to stay in the moment with what I'm doing. Every nationals is a challenge, so I'm glad I skated the way that I did."

Chen finished a disappointing fifth in the 2018 Olympics, winning his only medal (a bronze) in the team skate competition. He will head into the World Championships looking to repeat his effort from last year.

Repeat winners are par for the course at the World Championships. Javier Fernandez won in both 2015 and 2016, and Patrick Chan's reign of dominance at the event lasted from 2011 to 2013.

Chen would be the first American to win back-to-back World Championships since Scott Hamilton in 1981 to '84. The world championships will luckily be held when Yale is on spring break.

"Of course," Chen said when asked if he had difficulty balancing school and skating, per Christine Brennan of USA Today. "There were times that I was really struggling with them both, not sure how I was going to handle the two, especially around competition time, around Skate America, it was a lot. Midterms are coming up, this is the first competition of the season, if you don't do well, the first half of the season kind of ends right there, so I just felt there was a lot of pressure there. I just took that for the good I could take out of that and just try to focus on using that to develop myself as a skater and as a person."

Chen showed no signs of struggle either Saturday or Sunday. His free skate was just as flawless as his short program, with Chen hitting quads and triple axels with a generational combination of grace and effortlessness. 

The free skate was so transformative that the Detroit crowd gave him a standing ovation as he skated around the rink after the run. 

Now we'll have to see if Chen can repeat the feat at the worlds and continue to set himself up as a gold-medal favorite come 2022.