Jennifer Kirk's blog: Now What? The End of an Athlete's Career. | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Jennifer Kirk's blog: Now What? The End of an Athlete's Career.

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
well, her competitive days are LONG over. She could do some Disson shows, or maybe participate in the post-Olympic SOI tour though.
 

Wicked

Final Flight
Joined
May 26, 2009
Former senator and pro basketball player Bill Bradley once said of retiring from sports, "An athlete has two deaths."
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Didn't I read that she put on a few extra pounds and the men in SOI were complaining too heavy to lift? Well, too much weight for solo skating will not win me over either, but then again I do not watch show skating.
 

Phil Cohen

Rinkside
Joined
May 20, 2009
Didn't I read that she put on a few extra pounds and the men in SOI were complaining too heavy to lift? Well, too much weight for solo skating will not win me over either, but then again I do not watch show skating.

Yeah, she was heavy in that SOI tour, but they had three guys lifting her. There could be many reasons for the weight gain, for example:

1.She Grew to her full adult size

2.She was not a naturally thin person, and had been using extreme dieting to remain thin for quite a few years, and she got tired of dieting. Some people on the internet have suggested this. One person said, "Her body decided to be normal"

or(and this is a remote, but real possibility)
3. She may have been conflicted between a desire to skate and her desire to satisfy her family's Ivy League traditions, and this conflict may have caused her to seek escape through overeating. It should be noted though, that her intellectual and academic abilities are every bit as accomplished as her skating. She was in the top 2% for grades in her high school's 12th grade class. She is very brainy. Her whole family are brainy,highly driven superachievers.There's no doubt about that. The question is what she really wants. Only she knows.
 

Kwanford Wife

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 29, 2004
Ever notice how whenever sarah hughes comes up - someone must call this remarkable young woman fat? Isn't it enough that she won the olympics, successfully competed for years at the highest levels, not only gained admittance to a top school but also graduated and by all accounts is a true role model - but the conversation moves to how three men had to pick her up? Maybe they're just wimpy... This weight obsession drives me crazy...
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Ever notice how whenever sarah hughes comes up - someone must call this remarkable young woman fat? Isn't it enough that she won the olympics, successfully competed for years at the highest levels, not only gained admittance to a top school but also graduated and by all accounts is a true role model - but the conversation moves to how three men had to pick her up? Maybe they're just wimpy... This weight obsession drives me crazy...

If you look at recent pictures of Sarah she's now quite thin.
 

Phil Cohen

Rinkside
Joined
May 20, 2009
Ever notice how whenever sarah hughes comes up - someone must call this remarkable young woman fat? Isn't it enough that she won the olympics, successfully competed for years at the highest levels, not only gained admittance to a top school but also graduated and by all accounts is a true role model - but the conversation moves to how three men had to pick her up? Maybe they're just wimpy... This weight obsession drives me crazy...

But look at the video footage(if you or your friends recorded it) of Sarah Hughes' last full ice show tour("Stars on Ice") where she was indeed quite overweight. And she was indeed lifted by three men. Or you can see the still photos at www.scratchspin.com

By the way, here's another trivia note: after the U.S.A. tour dates, she dropped out of the tour, not participating in the Canadian dates, which is quite ironic, because she's a first generation Canadian-American. She was only permitted one semester off from her university studies, and was packed off back to Yale.
She was replaced(for the Canadian tour dates) by Shae-Lynn Bourne.

On Ms. Hughes' last(to date) televised skating appearance(in the "Sarah Hughes & Friends" T.V. special), after participating in the initial ensemble number, she was not seen again(aside from off-ice New York City sightseeing footage) until the halfway point in a 2 hour show, and her two solo numbers featured no jumps whatsoever, because,presumably she was too far out of shape to do them. It was a rather sad way for her performing career to end.....but now(apparently) it's not going to be the end.
 

i love to skate

Medalist
Joined
Dec 13, 2005
But look at the video footage(if you or your friends recorded it) of Sarah Hughes' last full ice show tour("Stars on Ice") where she was indeed quite overweight. And she was indeed lifted by three men. Or you can see the still photos at www.scratchspin.com

Ughhh, she was NOT overweight! She developed into a HEALTHY women's body with breasts and hips. The normal skater's body is not healthy and should not be held up as the "ideal". Sarah looks amazing here
http://www.scratchspin.com/2005/hughes05/0508492.jpg

And people wonder why skaters struggle with body image issues and eating disorders :disapp:
 

i love to skate

Medalist
Joined
Dec 13, 2005
Her breasts & hips are not the issue. It's her legs that appeared overweight.

Are her legs bigger compared to her amateur skating days? Sure. Are they overweight? Absolutely not. She was two years removed from elite training, probably having the time of her life in University and getting back on the ice for a fun skating show. She looks happy and healthy in those pictures so that is all the matters.

I think you need to redefine your definition of overweight.
 

pippa

Rinkside
Joined
May 21, 2009
Ever notice how whenever sarah hughes comes up - someone must call this remarkable young woman fat? Isn't it enough that she won the olympics, successfully competed for years at the highest levels, not only gained admittance to a top school but also graduated and by all accounts is a true role model - but the conversation moves to how three men had to pick her up? Maybe they're just wimpy... This weight obsession drives me crazy...

:agree: Very well said!
 

Wicked

Final Flight
Joined
May 26, 2009
I just saw pictures of Sarah graduating from Yale. She looks great and happy. Really nice to see. I'm curious to see what she will do next. Does anybody know?
 

Phil Cohen

Rinkside
Joined
May 20, 2009
I just saw pictures of Sarah graduating from Yale. She looks great and happy. Really nice to see. I'm curious to see what she will do next. Does anybody know?

In press coverage of her Yale graduation, it said that she would skate for 3 years, probably as a professional, then she would enter law school.
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
I really do not see the fuss over Emily. She is most likely an excellent academic but that does not mean she is an excellent skater. She has made in the past, a number of URs and absolutely no transitions into her toe-jumps. What else can we say about her on the plus side? Spins, footwork, etc, all ok, but quite ordinary.

I can't imagine Disson looking to hire her. She is not entertaining to draw viewers into the arenas or turn to on the TV channels, imo. Let us see what she can do at Eastern Sectionals. If she skates well, I will be the first to welcome her at US Nats, where at the moment I am looking forward to seeing: Caroline; Rachael; Mirai; Kimmie; Wagner, Czisny and, of course, Sasha.

There is a vacant Ladies GP spot at SA. I think our up-and coming skaters Gilles or Bereswill should get that spot
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Are her legs bigger compared to her amateur skating days? Sure. Are they overweight? Absolutely not. She was two years removed from elite training, probably having the time of her life in University and getting back on the ice for a fun skating show. She looks happy and healthy in those pictures so that is all the matters.

Agreed.

Anyway, she is FAR from it now. Take a look here:

http://twitpic.com/9ulkv/full
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I can't imagine Disson looking to hire [Emily Hughes]. She is not entertaining to draw viewers into the arenas or turn to on the TV channels, imo. Let us see what she can do at Eastern Sectionals. If she skates well, I will be the first to welcome her at US Nats, where at the moment I am looking forward to seeing: Caroline; Rachael; Mirai; Kimmie; Wagner, Czisny and, of course, Sasha.

She may not be a Czisny or a Yuna Kim in terms of skating talent but I liked her show performances. she knew how to entertain an audience imo. Even if it's just random appearances in shows, I'd welcome her back (same with her sister BTW). But it's obvious that she (Em) wants to try for the Olys again by taking a year off. The national competition has gotten quite fierce and I think that even at her best, her chances would have been great 3 or 4 years ago, but not so much now. That said, she has experience that the other young girls (save Kimmie) don't have and that could play to her advantage in terms of pre-qualifying nerves.
 
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Joined
Jul 11, 2003
since I do not follow 'show' skating unless there is nothing more on TV for me to watch. . I like competitions between individuals (Golf,Tennis, figure skating, Diving, etc.) as well as the New York Mets,BUT if Live from Lincoln Center is on, that's what I'll watch (or even attend). Disson is just not that mind grabbing.

btw, Disson shows are thematic. No? Everyone skates to a special theme, like for the Holidays. SOI has more of repertoire programs featuring Soloists backed up by a corps of top skaters for each number to an original theme.

I really do love Artistry and I can only find it in a handful of skaters. But there are more than a handful of competitive skaters.
 

Phil Cohen

Rinkside
Joined
May 20, 2009
since I do not follow 'show' skating unless there is nothing more on TV for me to watch. . I like competitions between individuals (Golf,Tennis, figure skating, Diving, etc.) as well as the New York Mets,BUT if Live from Lincoln Center is on, that's what I'll watch (or even attend). Disson is just not that mind grabbing.

btw, Disson shows are thematic. No?

Disson shows are formulaic, and all feature the same basic "cast" of skaters; a skating equivalent of a repertory company. But it seems that Disson are now the sole producer of entertainment skating on T.V.

Disson's desire to subsidize their productions by having a live audience limits what they can do. Significant changeovers of camera angles, costumes, props etc. or more complex ensemble numbers are precluded by the fact that these things would cause unacceptably long waiting time for the audience.

There are a number of factors that have contributed to the downturn in T.V. viewership of skating, and Disson's cookie cutter(interchangeable/identical) productions, must be, at least a small factor.
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
^^^
I respect what you are saying, but for me, Disson shows all look alike. And those inverviews interspersed with the skating are so contrived. Why should they last on TV? Seen-one-seen-em-all!

I would imagine they are produced for the kiddies at holiday time. No?
 
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