U.S. Figure Skating committee picks Olympic stars but leaves heartbreak in its wake

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The 2018 U.S. national figure skating championships ended Sunday just as any self-respecting skating competition should, in a blaze of glorious controversy and life-altering drama as a committee overturned the results of the men’s event based on a series of criteria that allowed U.S. skating officials to pick and choose whoever they wanted to send to the Olympic Games next month in Pyeongchang.

Ah, figure skating. It never, ever, ever disappoints.

None of the back-room politics changes the figure skating medal chances for the United States: Nathan Chen, the run-away winner of the men’s event Saturday night, will be favored to win a medal, potentially gold. The U.S. women are expected to be shut out of the individual medals for the third Olympics in a row. A U.S. ice dance team will likely win the bronze, and the Americans will probably win a team bronze as well.

But as exuberance built for the big send-off of the newest crop of American Olympians, the arcane ways of the U.S. Figure Skating selection process brought real heartache to a highly regarded former skater turned respected coach, and shined a bright light on the capricious nature of selecting an Olympic team any which way officials want to.

In a particularly cruel twist of fate, Mark Mitchell, who was dropped from the 1992 Olympic team for a more decorated skater after finishing third at those nationals, watched as the skater he coaches, Ross Miner, was dealt a similar fate here.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/christinebrennan/2018/01/07/us-figure-skating-pyeongchang-controversy-ross-miner-adam-rippon/1011464001/