Yags is like Elvis - lots of courage and lots of determination. I can't see Yags giving up that easily. Maybe if he rests, he will regain his health. It's hard to say at this point. Besides, there are many directions in figure skating that Yags could go if he can't compete. So I would not say his career is over, maybe a new one is beginning.
IMO, Elvis should have retired years ago, he simply started to go downhill. That's the case with a lot of skaters, for instance I think Mike Weiss would be smarter to just go pro before he really embarasses himself. I think Yagudin should go pro, I highly doubt that he would be able to win another World or Olympic title without some people majorly screwing up.
I would love to see Yags continue as a professional. He still has a lot to offer skating but if he continues in amateur ranks I fear he will injur himself beyond repair. He has won almost everything (russian nationals eluded him) but who cares, he won worlds several times, plus Olympic gold. I hope he retires and enjoys a long fulfulling professional career.
I dunno... he seems to be doing well with Stars on Ice... is his career over? not by a long shot... is his elligible career? I don't think so either... but only time will tell... either way he has nothing to be ashamed of. An Olympic Gold medal and 4 world titles is nothing to sniff at
He has a winning personality on the ice. I don't think he needs quad combos, and he can leave out any form of loop jumps.
I would say he still has a career depending on the hip. If the hip is real bad, I see him as a coach and staying in the USA.
As an aside to this injury, my employer had the same condition with his knee. He took one day for the surgery and was back the next. He said the knee feels so much better and he is able to continue with his activities after a few weeks of healing. I inquired about the pain and the surgery alot because it seemed like it would be the same type of surgery that Alexei would experience.
I for one would like to see him continue in the competitive field but not if it would cause permanent damage.
Who knows what will happen after the surgery but I do agree that Alexei has many options in the skating field.
It is hard to take away something that you love -- and he loves to compete but if he can't, he can't.
I am aware of both hospitals in the NYC area since I recently had knee replacement surgery at NYU Hospital. I also learned that it is arthritis which results in both hip and knee replacements. In other words, there is no cartilege between the bones.
It appears from the article that the East Indian doctor who is well known in the hip replacement field said that Yagudin has options is quite promising. Hip replacements (like my knee replacements) will get you moving normally but jogging and jumping are no nos. Let's hope that Alexi gets the correct options.
NO! I mean, are you talking total skating career? Depending on how the hip heals, his eligable career may be limited (I HATE to say that!)...but he's a great skater, to the point he doesn't need jumps to be great to watch. So he should have a long pro career ahead of him...now, to just bring back some actual PRO events!
Kasey, I think Alexei's first love is competing. I agree he will have a good pro life but I am sure he is already thinking about competing next year. I hope he has the surgery to relieve the pain in the hip and can compete. I am not ready to let go of his competitive life.
I would like to think not as Alexei has said that he wants to compete competitively again but then if his hip is keeping him a lot of grief then maybe he'll only do shows.
One think for sure, if there's the possibility that he will be able to compete competitively again, he will judging by his recent comments "shows bore me".
Yags' career is definetly not over. He's only 23 years old. And yes, he is having some hip troubles, but that doesn't mean he's not gonna skate anymore.
And he loves competing way too much to give it up!
Ann - No one is talking about his age. The question at hand I believe is whether or not he can compete successfully after his hip surgery. If he is limited to certain jumps which will not worsen the hip (like Tara) will he be in contention for gold? Two factors in the quest for gold in Men's competition: the quad(s) and a "robust" presentation. IMHO, less quads and lyricism for the male skater will be a silver at best.
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