Hello, Coconauts! Let’s preface this by admitting we know very little about figure skating, outside of the fact that two American ladies had a mid-’90s fracas that was turned into a pretty good movie, I, Tonya; Elvis Stojko was a bit of a Canadian national hero around the same time; and our parents still natter on about Torvill and Dean.
Maybe we know slightly more than very little?
With that being said, we’re a bit embarrassed that we haven’t given nearly enough love and air-time to our country’s first Winter Olympian, figure skater Julian Yee, who competed in the 2018 Games in South Korea.
The only ice rink in the city that we know of is at Sunway Pyramid Mall, and that’s exactly where Julian spent his early years training, before spending recent years practicing in the infinitely more ice-friendly Barrie, Ontario.
Last week, Julian participated in 2018 Skate America, the first stop along a six-part 2018-19 Grand Prix of Figure Skating season. He placed seventh overall in the competition, which is hella incredible, and a great source of pride that one of our countrymen is out there excelling in a sport you wouldn’t traditionally associate with the tropics.
At the end of a competition, skaters will perform a Gala Exhibition — it’s less technical, more about your flair, creativity and dancing for the fans. Figure skaters tell us that athletes tend to be more relaxed, and overall this is where amateur viewers should go for the fun stuff.
Julien Yee did not disappoint, with not only a fresh delightfully creative routine, but also a real performance for the crowds: He dances with a mop! He has a janitor costume! He drops a great track that we associate with one of the best teen movies ever 10 Things I Hate About You before seguing to Pitbull’s Fireball (what’s more Malaysian that a strange affection for Mr. 305?).
Be on notice Julien: You have some new Stans in the building.
