Facade has always been central to figure skating. The sport’s culture dictates that athletes should smile through pain and errors. In the ‘kiss and cry’ area – where skaters wait for their scores – there are rarely dramatic displays. Even when performance is unfairly marked by the judges, skaters will blow kisses to the camera and wave to the crowd. However peeved they may be, they’ll never reveal it, preferring instead to suffer in silence. Burying true feelings just goes with the territory.
The Guardian: Russian dolls have transformed figure skating. But at what cost?
Russia's Alina Zagitova competes in the women's single skating short program of the figure skating event during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung on February 21, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV
