Joesitz said:The Soviet system of skating with its emphasis on winning for the glory of Mother Russia worked for many years. There are now attempts to recreate that through capitalism. There is talent there but can they do it for the glory of themselves alone? While Johnny is a Rusophile (nothing wrong with that), he is not really a part of the Soviet system.
Joe
Well, I think that to win a gold medal for one´s country may be important for an athlete, but more important it is to win it for oneself. Whatever a skater might be saying about the matter, LOL, the human nature surely is about the same everywhere. An Olympic gold medal or Worlds gold (or multiple gold medals) surely have brought advantages (and also privileges e.g. in Soviet Union that were not otherwise possible) for athletes in lots of countries, I´d imagine.
I also think that for skaters that are talented enough in presentation and technically to be able to win in competitions, only the gold medal exists. Silver or bronze are a loss surely. For lesser skaters (= those not expected to win) a silver or bronze medal is very welcome.
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