Sadly this reminds me a great deal of what happened to Jill Trennary. She was certainly young enough to try to compete again in the 94 games, but she had missed so much time due to injury and was falling behind her competition technically a little more each season when she was healthy. She tried gamely to qualify for nationals in the fall of 91, but did not skate well. I think she saw the writing on the wall and made the calculation to cut her losses and move on.
I'm not saying this is the conclusion Kimmie has come to, just pointing out the similarities.
I think the difference between her and the past champions mentioned above is that her technique has not held up in the face of a change in the technical standard of the sport. Trennary won the last worlds with figures (her strength). Kimmie won the last worlds before underrotations became the greatest of sins.
Butyrskaya and Suguri are the closest comparisons in that regard. Suguri has competed ably in the middle rung of skaters not really competing for medals at big events. But she essentially does only three different triples at this stage, a major disadvantage. At this point, she's really competing for the love of the sport. Butyrskaya (whom I loved) peaked at just the right time when Kwan and Slutskaya was vulnerable, then essentially lost ground gradually the last three years of her career as triple-triples became a must to win.
I fear that Kimmie falls squarely in that category. Trennary won her world title under circumstances similar to Butyrskaya and Kimmie (although they had the skates of their lives). She's a tough, delightful person who deserves better than the lot in life she's had. I just think the current system works against her strengths.
Best of luck to her.
I'm not saying this is the conclusion Kimmie has come to, just pointing out the similarities.
I think the difference between her and the past champions mentioned above is that her technique has not held up in the face of a change in the technical standard of the sport. Trennary won the last worlds with figures (her strength). Kimmie won the last worlds before underrotations became the greatest of sins.
Butyrskaya and Suguri are the closest comparisons in that regard. Suguri has competed ably in the middle rung of skaters not really competing for medals at big events. But she essentially does only three different triples at this stage, a major disadvantage. At this point, she's really competing for the love of the sport. Butyrskaya (whom I loved) peaked at just the right time when Kwan and Slutskaya was vulnerable, then essentially lost ground gradually the last three years of her career as triple-triples became a must to win.
I fear that Kimmie falls squarely in that category. Trennary won her world title under circumstances similar to Butyrskaya and Kimmie (although they had the skates of their lives). She's a tough, delightful person who deserves better than the lot in life she's had. I just think the current system works against her strengths.
Best of luck to her.