Shen & Zhao plan to skate thru 2010 | Golden Skate

Shen & Zhao plan to skate thru 2010

slutskayafan21

Match Penalty
Joined
Mar 28, 2005
Probably competing against the 2 younger Chinese teams this year they are seeing neither of them are "all that" and they are dominant again now that they are healthy, and Totmianina/Marinin are gone. So why wouldnt they plan to continue now.
 

emma

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 28, 2004
Um --- is this for real??? Wow!!! I'm going to be a nervous wreck for another 4 years (I have Kwan to thank for the last 4 years of nerves :agree: ).

Did you see the sentence that they announced their retirement and wedding??? Is this true - or was this true??? I haven't heard any confirmation of them being a couple off ice until this.
 

Antilles

Medalist
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
The book "The Second Mark" made reference to them sort of being a couple. It said they'd like to get married, but they are forbidden to date by Chinese sporting officials. I don't know if they'll be allowed to marry if they are still competing.

I hope this is fully their decision, and that they aren't caving to any pressure from Chinese officials. It will be nice to see them stick around. I just hope their bodies can take it.
 

iloveaxel

Match Penalty
Joined
Oct 13, 2006
The book "The Second Mark" made reference to them sort of being a couple. It said they'd like to get married, but they are forbidden to date by Chinese sporting officials. I don't know if they'll be allowed to marry if they are still competing.

.

At age of 28 and 33yo, I doubt anybody will forbid them to date. China is a competely different society from 15 years ago anyway.

As for them to compete in 2010, it's not going to happen.
 

demarinis5

Gold for the Winter Prince!
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
I hope this is fully their decision, and that they aren't caving to any pressure from Chinese officials. It will be nice to see them stick around. I just hope their bodies can take it.


I too have some reservations about this. After the Olympics I was sure that they announced their retirement but then decided to come back for one more season. The other two Chinese teams right now are very beatable
and not just by S/Z. Three years is a long time to say eligible for S/Z . I would love to see them compete in 2010 but a lot can happen in between.
 

SeaniBu

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 19, 2006
All the power to them. I see nothing that would prevent it and think their skating will be well into the "great enough to" be there. I might just be a sap for these two - well I am a sap for many :laugh: - but I think they feasibly could compete beyond that. Shen in particular I would love to see doing some solo stuff. Yah he is "cool" too and hard for me to think of one without the other, but she is another one of those that has that something something that puts her in that charm and admiration category. LIS, Zhao I really like but, I for one feel lack of connection to him particularly in comparison only to her. "Guy thing," maybe, but I don't think so because I feel good connections to Max and John so - I think Zhao is just more reserved and I can't get a feel for him as well.... anyhow. I believe it will happen and see no reason they wont be on the podium in 2010.

Rock on Shen and Zhao :rock:
 

hongligl

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 18, 2004
I read the chinese version of the news. It's not like they are going to continue after 2007 world. They will retire after that and try to keep in good shape by touring and training to come back at 2010 Olympics. Shen obviously is the one who wants to stay, but not Zhao. But the Chinese officials convinced Zhao to come back. Still they want to be away from competition for a couple of years to avoid injury and also to explore other aspects of life. But any way, the possibility of their coming back is a great news! Happy New Year!
 

nymkfan51

Medalist
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
That's still good, IMO. Maybe a rest from competition will be good for them. I'm just so happy they are even considering coming back for 2010!!! :clap:
 

emma

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 28, 2004
It's almost crazy to think about...if they do come back (or stay in) it will be their 4th Olympics with each one a 4 year cycle (as opposed to 92/94). Has any other skater or pair team done that? I know Kwan sort of almost did, if you include that she was on the team in 94, 98, 2002 and 2006 (but sadly didn't skate in the later, and not in 94 either), but I can't think of any others.
 

hockeyfan228

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I read the chinese version of the news. It's not like they are going to continue after 2007 world. They will retire after that and try to keep in good shape by touring and training to come back at 2010 Olympics. Shen obviously is the one who wants to stay, but not Zhao. But the Chinese officials convinced Zhao to come back. Still they want to be away from competition for a couple of years to avoid injury and also to explore other aspects of life. But any way, the possibility of their coming back is a great news! Happy New Year!
My first thought was that this might be a tactic to discourage Totmianina/Marinin from coming back, paving the way for a younger Chinese team to win in 2010. But if they are going to give up competition for a couple of years, then T/M would step into the void through as much of the Olympic cycle as they wanted.
 

iloveaxel

Match Penalty
Joined
Oct 13, 2006
My first thought was that this might be a tactic to discourage Totmianina/Marinin from coming back, paving the way for a younger Chinese team to win in 2010. But if they are going to give up competition for a couple of years, then T/M would step into the void through as much of the Olympic cycle as they wanted.

If T/M do not return next year, I doubt they'll be very competitive for the next Olys cycle. I saw a couple of their exhibition clips. T seems to have gained some weight, the lift is a bit scary. Their sbs jumps are quite off, T was falling and M doubled. The exhibition programs usually do not contain sbs jumps, if they don't keep on honing their skills... I found T&M's exhibition program extremely boring, no originality at all. Pet&T are very good at pro since they can do a lot of spectacular and original lifts. Zimmerman & I are also good at pro.

In terms of the two Chinese pairs, Pang & Tong's exhibition programs are usually better than shen & zhao's.
 

slutskayafan21

Match Penalty
Joined
Mar 28, 2005
My first thought was that this might be a tactic to discourage Totmianina/Marinin from coming back, paving the way for a younger Chinese team to win in 2010. But if they are going to give up competition for a couple of years, then T/M would step into the void through as much of the Olympic cycle as they wanted.

What on earth makes you think Shen/Zhou would scare Totmianina/Marinin away during whenever they choose to be competing? Look at their PB scores, they are all in the same range basicaly, Shen/Zhou are not their Plushenko or even close to it. Totmianina/Marinin were in fact 3-2 vs Shen/Zhou even in the 2003 and 2004 seasons when Shen/Zhou were healthy. Totmianina/Marinin have been 2nd to Shen/Zhou before, it is not an earth shattering experience, and they always came back fighting, they have certainly beaten Shen/Zhou enough times even healthy, I dont know what makes one think they tremble at the thought of them.

I would add to that if Shen/Zhou really plan on taking 2008 and 2009 seasons off, and Totmianina/Marinin come back at their best Totmianina/Marinin will go into the 2010 season with the advantage over Shen/Zhou anyway. Of course a Russian pair who are defending Olympics Champs, presumably 4 time World Champs and winners of last 2 Worlds(hypotheticaly speaking if Shen/Zhou skip 2008 and 2009 seasons and Totmianina/Marinin return at their best they would win 2008 and 2009 Worlds probably), will have the edge with the judges if the teams are close in ability. If Shen/Zhou do take 2008 and 2009 off and Totmianina/Marinin return at their best Shen/Zhou are putting themselves in big trouble if they really want the 2010 Olympic Gold shot.
 
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iloveaxel

Match Penalty
Joined
Oct 13, 2006
What on earth makes you think Shen/Zhou would scare Totmianina/Marinin away during whenever they choose to be competiting? Look at their PB scores, they are all in the same range basicaly. Totmianina/Marinin were in fact 3-2 vs Shen/Zhou even in the 2003 and 2004 seasons when Shen/Zhou were healthy. Totmianina/Marinin have been 2nd to Shen/Zhou before, it is not an earth shattering experience, and they always came back fighting, they have certainly beaten Shen/Zhou enough times even healthy, I dont know what makes one think they tremble at the thought of them.

I would add to that if Shen/Zhou really plan on taking 2008 and 2009 seasons off, and Totmianina/Marinin come back at their best Totmianina/Marinin will go into the 2010 season with the advantage over Shen/Zhou anyway. Of course a Russian pair who has is defending Olympics Champs, presumably 4 time World Champs and winners of last 2 Worlds(hypotheticaly speaking if Shen/Zhou skip 2008 and 2009 seasons and Totmianina/Marinin return at their best they would win 2008 and 2009 Worlds probably), will have the edge with the judges if the teams are close in ability. If Shen/Zhou do take 2008 and 2009 off and Totmianina/Marinin return at their best Shen/Zhou are putting themselves in big trouble if they really want the 2010 Olympic Gold shot.

Let's just cool down a bit here. I doubt either of these two pairs will be competitive in 2010. 2010 is a long way to go. There's no guarantee that T&M can keep their consistency even if they decide to return. It's actually very different from training for pro to amateur.

The relative lackluster of the rest field at the moment does not mean there won't be any breakthrough in 2008/2008.

I expect a third pair will make huge leaps in the next two years and win 2010 OGM.
 

iloveaxel

Match Penalty
Joined
Oct 13, 2006
If T/M come back, I hope she goes to an acting coach. She's like watching a stone bust skate on the ice--no facial expressions. In fact, my favorite photo of her was this:

http://www.erniea.com/journal/wp-content/uploads/2006/02/russia.jpg

Because she is finally showing emotion.

I don't generally comment on 'emotional' or 'emotionless'. It's too subjective. But if they do want to return, it's no guarantee they can be as consistent as they used to. Watch this recent clip of them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx7XRxVPZyo

I found they are a bit out of shape. Without practicing sbs triples for one year, I seriously doubt they can keep them consistent.
 

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Probably competing against the 2 younger Chinese teams this year they are seeing neither of them are "all that" and they are dominant again now that they are healthy, and Totmianina/Marinin are gone. So why wouldnt they plan to continue now.


That's really not a fair statement. Most of the skaters at the Grand Prix final including the Chinese pair team of Zhang and Zhang were suffering from either the flu or injury related problems. This does not reflect on their skating abilities. I thought she (Zhang) was brave to hang in there until the end - one could see as Barb Underhill commented that she was not feeling well.

Four more years is a long time. The question is: Will Shen & Zhao still be healthy then to compete? They are older than the other teams.
 

hockeyfan228

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
What on earth makes you think Shen/Zhou would scare Totmianina/Marinin away during whenever they choose to be competing? Look at their PB scores, they are all in the same range basicaly, Shen/Zhou are not their Plushenko or even close to it.
I don't think Totmianina/Marinin (actually, Marinin) would come back unless they were pretty much guaranteed wins; a loss would "tarnish" their Olympic gold medal.

Shen/Zhao had the advantage in presentation/PCS when they competed head-to-head.
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
I hope T&M do not come back. They were not a special pairs team. They were not G&G, R and all her partners, Protopopovs and definitely not B&S. They won 2004 Worlds due to Zhao's unfortunate fall which, only occurs once every 100 times. Under 6.0, S&Z were out of it despite an incredible Nutcracker Pas de Deux. Also I think that fall was the beginning of his ankle problem.

Joe
 
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