The opening ceremony of the Olympics wasn’t as interesting as I thought it’d be. It was mostly watching athletes I didn’t recognize walk in a circle happily. I’ve never focused on the winter olympics as much as the summer olympics, so it was interesting to see the contrast between the two as the winter olympics ceremony seemed more toned-down. When South Korean olympic figure skater Yuna Kim took the olympic torch and spotlight, I thought about the most recent issue with the U.S Figure Skating team.

Historically, the U.S Figure Skating singles position are given to the medalists of that year’s U.S Championships. Though the selection committee takes more than this one competition, its the most deciding factor. For the 2016 Winter Olympics, the top three finalists weren’t taken. Instead, Mirai Nagasu, who claimed bronze, was set aside in favor of Ashley Wagner, who placed 4th and the Championships but had a good record otherwise. I agreed with this decision because Wagner had won the previous U.S Championships and had an overall better record. However, when it came to the 2018 Winter Olympics, once again Wagner placed fourth. This time, the committee went with the top three medalists and Wagner was not chosen. Wagner thought they made the wrong decision and reacted furiously in public and through her statements. The very nature of choosing the Olympians involves subjectivity, and the scoring of them does as well.