Why aren't other 20 something skaters being urged to retire?

[sandrakae]

Im sick of hearing how Michelle is 23 and past her prime. I mean really she gets deducted in her short for somthing stupid wich messes up her placement. She gets distracted by a streaker because Jan Hoffman dislikes her so much, he doesnt care about her physical well being. She could have been hurt out there. She still managed to get second in the free skate. She is hardly a has been and look at the ages of these skaters. Why are they not being urged to retire. Half the field is either Michelles age or order.

Shizuka Arakawa - 23
Michelle Kwan - 23
Julia Sebestian - 22
Fumie Ssuegari - 23
Irinina Slutskaya - 24
Elena Lianshenko - 28
Jen Robinson - 28

[millenniummagicz]

lol, cause non of them is eight time US champion, 5 time world champion, 11 consecutive world appearance, and 9 consecutive world medals, including 5 gold, 8 silver, 1 bronze, 2 time olympic medalist, and holds 42 (or 44) titles, and has so many 6.0s, and had an award named after her, and won the sullivan award. And she is going to her third Olympics (YAY).

People are just jealous. Shes truly one of a kind. Achivement wise, I'd put her RIGHT BEHIND Sonja Henie.

[hfce]

Because none of them has dominated the sport for the past 10 years like Michelle. Believe me if they had her record they would be asked to leave to.



Hope :CK

[rOSiEoPeRaGIrL]

Yup Jealousy, especially the russians, germans, french, etc. because they got NO GOOD LADY skaters. They figure since Michelle acomplished so much, she should GET LOST, but the true fact is that she's just STARTING. Because this is waht she LOVES to do; despite of her placement. Have we all see how HAPPY michelle is? She bring this sport to live.

[Aria]

Well, I haven't liked Jan since watching his boring board skating in the '70s. However, I don't think anyone should blame him for letting that half naked man on the ice. Jan's a referee, not head of security.

BTW, is Arakawa 22 or 23? The Eurosport commentators said 22, but they were wrong about other things. Didn't they say MK doubled a loop, instead of the lutz?

[sandrakae]

Shes 23. She had a birthday in January.

[uglygreekgoddess]

Robinson is already out, but out of those other ladies, Slutskaya and Liashenko SHOULD retire. I'm tired of seeing their faces...and you forgot to add Sokolova. She needs to leave also.

[neneth]

What!!! Arakawa is 23 and just got her first World title!!Maybe that the reason why they want Michelle out,Because she dominate FS for 10 years and has 9 medals in all.Well Michelle keep on collecting them.

[oOIceDanceOo]

Although I am 18, I would rather see the "older" ladies skate. They bring a more mature outlook to skating. Very musical and passionate about what they are doing. I mean, if you are sick of watching them skate, then watch Juniors, they are the new faces of skating. I think it's been absolutely wonderful to see these women work hard and receive the titles they get. It should not matter what their age is. Remember it took Maria quite a few tries to become World Champion, but she did it! If Sasha wants to be World Champion, she just needs to trust herself, that in time it will happen. Look up to the women who have succeeded before her! Also if they retire early, the ratings might go down, as if skating at times isn't taking a beating already. Congrats to Shizuka, Sasha, and Michelle for a very dramatic, yet exciting Worlds!

Lyna

[lavender]

I wanted to add that it seems that there's something against the fact that Michelle is already rich.

[sorrowfree78]

Kwan is just unusual. When the love runs a little thin, the questions pop up. She takes up a lot of limelight, and that causes hostility and jealousy because there is a ceiling the press hits after praising her so deeply for so long. She is royalty.

The press voices the other skaters frustrations in an unconscious way. The more she wins the more she becomes a special person. The more celebrity and money she gains the more she seems out of touch from the public's perspective{which the press pretends to represent}.

I'm sure she understands this stuff by now more than I ever will.

The questions are still valid though for her and us as fans. She is a big public person. Should she be such a perfectionist and a type A driven person that we continue to support. She has to constantly meet our expectations and certain norms/values if she is going to be put on a pedestal still. No one stays up there for free. Being able to project her own personal self-driven individualistic Western American values FREELY {or at relatively so} and having her power comes with responsibility. I think it's natural for the press to question what she is doing and why she is doing it. They need to because they are always assessing if she meets our social and cultural values and norms. Not everyone sees her the same way at the same time and it's reasonable.

She also wrestles with the questions because she should. She is still young and perhaps she can find something she wants to pour more energy into and switch tracks in life. It is not necessarily something she should be shielded from ALL the time. Maybe the sport is too taxing for her mind set because she has wrestled with the crazy skating world for years and has won many "i told you so's". The press might help her see things she doesn't when she is immersed in her training life.

The questions keep her in the reality of the world. They don't necessarily promote the kind of enduring career a legend has because they are based on what "typical" champions do. But they are the bridge between her and us. Even if the press seems or is hostile Michelle Kwan has probably learned to grow a thick skin when it's overboard.

The press in alarge way would play out our own questions and inability to relate to her goals and her purpose. Even she doesn't understand her kind of gifted purpose which at times seems like a curse to her because she talks about the lows associated with disappointment or frustration she feels sometimes too.

No one would ask her to retire if it weren't "normal" in skating to do so when they ask. She is just pushing the limits of human capability, and that always comes with a price. The press needs to keep checking her out and ask our subconcious questions. Of course, the press needs to be put in check too and answer to others as well for the power it yields.


:p

[mkrules]

I didn't see this thread and started my own, but anyway I'll ask again. Is it harder to do triple/triples as you get older?
My friend was suggesting that Michelle is incapable of doing triple triples because she is too old. When did Awaraka (spelling?) start doing triple/triples? - What age?

[sorrowfree78]

The problem with Michelle and just any triple/triple is that she never needed it regularly to win. Men need the triple axel in every program they perform. Michelle doesn't need something like a 3/3 in that same way. Even against skaters with 3/3s she can win without them. She came from an era when it wasn't a main priority.

The 3t/3t she does have is the easiest, and Michelle is pushed to do different ones now because there is still more room with the marks she receives when she hits 7 triples with the 3t/3t.

Michelle is also a champion who is exceptional because she suffers from less mistakes than most skaters. She made it to the top because she attempted moves she could do with the utmost confidence. She is habituated in the kind of jumps she attempts, and to maintain her reputation, world standing, confidence she never changed a winning style.

ALso, going after moves out of her grasp would cause a lot of bad experiences for her skating muscle memory. Kwan is not the hit or miss type and if she went after 3/3s that way, it could affect her other elements.

so attempting and training the 3/3 has to be done while keeping everything that has nothing to do with 3/3s in mind so they are not lost.

my 2 cents

[savvysearch]

I had no idea that Shizuka was 23!!!! That's great. For all this talk of newcomers, it's good to see that old people are beating Michelle. Apparently people like to ignore the ages of everyone other than Michelle. I guess next year Shizuka will be past her prime? :rollin

[mkrules]

I wish I had known she was 23, because I would have told my friend.

[ElvisStojkofan]

I thought Shizuka Arakawa was 21 yrs old.