Mariah Bell Falls During Short Program 2022 Olympics
Aside From a Fall, Mariah Bell's Short Program Was "Flawless"
.@MariahBell96 lighting up the ice ✨ — NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 15, 2022
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Reigning US national champion Mariah Bell fell on her second jump of a triple triple combo during her ice skating short program at the 2022 Winter Olympics. She quickly recovered, and even though one point was deducted for "hitting the ice," she went on to skate beautifully. After nailing a triple lutz, Johnny Weir said, "The way she weaves and ebbs and flows through the program in the choreography is what makes Mariah so wonderful."
"She attacked that triple triple. She always goes for it in competition, and that's one thing I love about her skating. Beyond that mistake, she was flawless," Tara Lipinski commented at the end of Bell's performance. "She just lights up on the ice. She genuinely loves skating and competing and it translates so well. It's like she's this shining light out there, almost like a Care Bear, like the Sunshine Care Bear with beams coming out of her."
At 25 years old, Bell is the oldest women's singles skater in 94 years, and this was her long-awaited Olympic debut. After overcoming that fall at the beginning, Bell came out with a score of 65.38 in the women's short program. After her skate, she was placed second behind Anastasia Gubanova of Georgia, who scored 65.40. The top 24 skaters out of 30 will advance to Thursday's finals.
Bell said, "I am bummed with the mistake on the opening element — I think it cost me quite a bit of points — but I am happy how I came back with everything else. Ultimately, I just really enjoyed skating on Olympic ice."
