The Winter Olympics are amazing and enlightening for so many reasons. Every year, I fall in love with Chloe Kim all over again and marvel at how curling is still, somehow, a riveting sport. But the real showstopper for me is the figure skating. For someone who grew up on a steady diet of Michelle Kwan and Kristi Yamaguchi, it's one of those things in life that is more impressive the older (and more aware of your physical limitations) you get. This year, Nathan Chen and the French team of Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron won gold in their events, while there was controversy over the Russian Olympic Committee for doping and extreme pressure from the coach.
One thing that skaters have not learned to control, however, is the faces they make on the ice. From the over the top to the involuntary, here are some fun photos of figure skaters doing what they do best — entertaining us.
Madison Chock - Evan Bates of USA perform during the Ice Dance - Free Dance of the Figure Skating Team Event at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games in China on February 14, 2022.
Anadolu Agency / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada skate during the Ice Dance Free Dance on day 10 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 14, 2022 in Beijing, China.
Jean Catuffe / Getty Images Young You of Korea skates during the Women Single Skating Short Program on day eleven of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 15, 2022 in Beijing, China.
Jean Catuffe / Getty Images Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy skate during the Ice Dance Free Dance on day 10 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 14, 2022 in Beijing, China.
Jean Catuffe / Getty Images Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen of Canada skate during the Ice Dance Free Dance on day 10 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 14, 2022 in Beijing, China.
Jean Catuffe / Getty Images Kamila Valieva from Russia at Figure Skating, Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Capital Indoor Stadium on February 15, 2022 in Beijing, China.
Nurphoto / NurPhoto via Getty Images Olivia Smart and Adrian Diaz of Spain skate during the Ice Dance Free Dance on day 10 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 14, 2022 in Beijing, China.
Jean Catuffe / Getty Images Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Great Britain skate during the Ice Dance Free Dance on day 10 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 14, 2022 in Beijing, China.
Jean Catuffe / Getty Images Natalie Taschlerova L and Filip Taschler of the Czech Republic perform during the figure skating ice dance free dance match of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 14, 2022.
Xinhua News Agency / Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images Natalia Kaliszek bottom and Maksym Spodyriev of Poland perform during the figure skating ice dance free dance match of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 14, 2022.
Xinhua News Agency / Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images Lindsay Van Zundert of Netherlands skates during the Women Single Skating Short Program on day eleven of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 15, 2022 in Beijing, China.
Jean Catuffe / Getty Images Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of Team United States skate during the Ice Dance Free Dance flower ceremony on day ten of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 14, 2022 in Beijing, China.
Xavier Laine / Getty Images Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia skate during the Ice Dance Free Dance on day ten of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 14, 2022 in Beijing, China.
Jean Catuffe / Getty Images Alexandra Trusova of ROC performs during the figure skating women single skating short program at Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 15, 2022.
Xinhua News Agency / Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha of Canada skate during the Ice Dance Free Dance on day 10 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 14, 2022 in Beijing, China.
Jean Catuffe / Getty Images Shiyue Wang and Xinyu Liu of China skate during the Ice Dance Free Dance on day 10 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 14, 2022 in Beijing, China.
Jean Catuffe / Getty Images Anastasiia Gubanova of Georgia skates during the Women Single Skating Short Program on day eleven of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 15, 2022 in Beijing, China.
Jean Catuffe / Getty Images Russia's Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin compete in the ice dance free dance of the figure skating event during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing on February 14, 2022.
Manan Vatsyayana / AFP via Getty Images Ice dancers Natalia Kaliszek and Maksym Spodyriev of Poland perform their free dance as part of the figure skating competition during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Capital Indoor Stadium.
Valery Sharifulin / Valery Sharifulin/TASS Ekaterina Ryabova of Azerbaijan skates during the Women Single Skating Short Program on day eleven of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 15, 2022 in Beijing, China.
Jean Catuffe / Getty Images Ekaterina Kurakova of Poland skates during the Women Single Skating Short Program on day eleven of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 15, 2022 in Beijing, China.
Jean Catuffe / Getty Images USA's Madison Chock and USA's Evan Bates compete in the ice dance free dance of the figure skating event during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing on February 14, 2022.
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