Walley & Flip: A Figure Skating Podcast

We are back to unpack the absolute emotional rollercoaster that was the Olympic men’s and ice dance final and honestly we are still recovering. No amount of lit candles or Etsy witches could have saved the men's event. We were left in total shambles. And then out of the madness rose Mikhail Shaidorov, who absolutely crushed the rest of the field and delivered when it mattered most. We break down how he separated himself, who cracked under pressure, and what this result means long term.
Over in ice dance, the tension did not stay on the ice. We get into the controversy swirling around Madison Chock and Evan Bates versus Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron and the scandal that had everyone talking. What actually happened, what felt political, what felt fair.

Join us as we react to the Olympic figure skating team event an absolute nailbiter from start to finish. We each share our three roses and three thorns from the competition who delivered when it mattered most and what results left us with more questions than answers. Then we dig into what implication this team event may have on the individual competitions. What performances change the outlook for the individual events? Who gained confidence, who might be rattled, and where do the medal races feel wide open now?

Join us for our olympic figure skating team event preview! Who are the five countries most likely to make the final and where could things take a turn? We look at the real contenders and the pressure points as the US and Japan expect to go head to head for gold while Italy and Georgia are likely to battle it out for bronze. But as we should all know, expect the unexpected.
We dig into the strengths and weaknesses of each team across disciplines, what strategies/approached could change the outcome, and what the team event could mean for momentum confidence and fatigue heading into the individual events. Is the team event a springboard or a trap?

We’re back with a short and sweet episode full of our always valued and definitely respected opinions and recommendations for the ISU and the skating world at large LOL. We dig into the offer up our own amendments not just for the ISU but also for skaters program technical content because why stop there. We also get into the bigger question of how Europeans and Four Continents can become more relevant and exciting events. Should the top skaters be competing here and what can be done to actually incentivize them to show up and get fans in the seats?
From there we recap Four Continents, starting with the women. We talk Jia Shin’s stock heading into the Olympic season, Gabby’s comeback, and where we see the Japanese women landing for the rest of the year. Ice dance somehow turns into a repeat of US Nationals which might honestly be a preview of what we are heading toward in the next quad. Kao and Jun come out swinging and make their Olympic intentions very clear. And for once, pairs actually gives us a lot to talk about.

What can we say? sometimes you have to flop to fly...
Are the tables actually turning in ice dance or are we just desperate for an unpredictable podium at the olympics? We recap the European Figure Skating Championships starting on home ice with Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson and ask is their stock starting to slip. Meanwhile Guignard and Fabbri continue to quietly build momentum. Has their stock gone up enough that an Olympic medal is now a realistic conversation rather than wishful thinking?
In the women’s event we look at the injured European contenders and their fight back to full strength. What is their realistic runway through the rest of the season and who can actually peak in time rather than just survive.
Over in the men’s event we unpack one of the most shocking podiums of the championship. Reshtenk-who?
In pairs we are feeling extremely vindicated. Metelkina and Berulava continue to validate our early season prediction and we ask whether Europeans just made their Olympic case even stronger.
Only after the skating do we zoom out to the bigger picture. We discuss the ISU proposed changes what is realistic what feels performative and where the federation continues to miss the mark. And yes we get into the saga of Gabi Papadakis being fired from NBC. Cease and desist? Or twizzles amiss?