I completely agree. We’re so focused on the athletics of skating that our skaters lack the grace necessary for a beautiful, gold medal, performance. The notable exception: Davis and White in ice dancing.
I was a competitive skater in the 1980s before they got rid of compulsory figures, which was the beginning of the end for figure skating. The final nail in the coffin was retiring the 6.0 scoring system and replacing it with the “code of points.” As in dance where ballet is the foundation for all genres of dance, in skating compulsory figures are the foundation for all genres of skating, i.e., singles, pairs and ice dancing. Everything a skater does on the ice is based on them. They were taught in order to gain control and confidence of blade edges. A solid foundation in figures made you a better freeskater. Figures were eliminated from competition after 1990. After the 2002 Olympics they abolished the 6.0 scoring system and replaced it with the “code of points” so now skating has been reduced to a jumping contest and who can rack up the most points whereas skating before had been lyrical and artistic as well as athletic. I haven’t watched skating since Michelle Kwan retired from the sport. Want to see some of the best, head on over to YouTube and look up old videos of Kwan, Boitano, Hamill and Curry,Babilonia and Gardner, Torville and Dean then compare to a skater of today and note the painful difference.