In praise of Joannie Rochette | Golden Skate

In praise of Joannie Rochette

John King

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Joannie, to even go out on the ice after such unbelievable tragedy is brave enough, but then to win a Bronze medal for your country on home soil makes you a hero in my books. I'm proud of you, the entire Canadian nation is proud of you, as is the Skating community. If there was ever a way to say "This is for you Theresa Rochette", you did it.
 

iluvtodd

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 5, 2004
Country
United-States
Well said. I think the US and hopefully the world is proud of her too!
 

SK8LUVR

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 20, 2005
Joannie Rochette is a class act. No bones about it....she inspired many doing what she did. To come out and ace that short program after such news. You could tell that she was so distraught after she skated it. I also have a hard time watching how she kissed her hands after her long program and blew a kiss up to heaven to her mother. That is the most touching event of the entire games. Joannie we are so proud of you and you will forever go down in history as an athlete that overcame such adversity and came out on top! Well done!!!!!
 

Kitt

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 1, 2007
Country
United-States
I'm getting teary-eyed just thinking about it! Well done, Joannie.
 

Bijoux

Match Penalty
Joined
Jan 8, 2004
this may sould "tough" on "tough" joannie as she self described. I thought she'd bronze if her free was really clean and well acted but it wasn't great like her short nor clean. I think Miraai was the performance of the night and preferrred her to all others, but Canada would be very upset if Jo did not medal. Her composure shows how tough she is and what a competitor she is. Even the Boston Globe fans voted it best moment. Will she be ther next "katia" of the close knit skating world? I think the media will always bring up this story and I feel its been mediad to death, no pun intended. I wonder what she will decide once she's home and this enormous loss sinks in.

She has got to be the toughest person. That srong Gallic profile says it all. Wow!
 

Saundy

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 2, 2004
I disagree. I think she deserved it. Yes, Mirai landed all her jumps, but her presentation still needs some work. Yes, Joannie's free program was flawed, but her presentation skills are more refined than Maraii's. We've seen skaters win on their presentation marks before and I think they all deserved winning (with the exception of a few of course!). If Mirai keeps it up I think she'll be on the top of the Olympic podium. She's got the jumps, she just needs to perfect her presentation and then look out world! :)

Had her mother not passed away, I still think she would have won the bronze. So I'm getting a little sick of hearing people say it was handed to her. She skated an AMAZING short program. The BEST I've ever seen from her in all the years I've been following her. The girl earned it. Leave it at that and try to be happy for her. This has been a long time coming...

Just my opinion, of course.
 

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
this may sould "tough" on "tough" joannie as she self described. I thought she'd bronze if her free was really clean and well acted but it wasn't great like her short nor clean. I think Miraai was the performance of the night and preferrred her to all others, but Canada would be very upset if Jo did not medal. Her composure shows how tough she is and what a competitor she is. Even the Boston Globe fans voted it best moment. Will she be ther next "katia" of the close knit skating world? I think the media will always bring up this story and I feel its been mediad to death, no pun intended. I wonder what she will decide once she's home and this enormous loss sinks in.

She has got to be the toughest person. That srong Gallic profile says it all. Wow!

I think first of all it's a victory that she skated after her mom's death and skated clean. Dan Janson, the long-track speed skater, talked about how when his sister died during the 1988 Olympics, he just wasn't there and it was difficult to just even skate (explaining the fall in the 500m event that was held like a day after everything happened).

I am inspired that she used this tough event to channel some joy and energy in her. It was a beautiful thing to see. And it really made her programs the more expressive.

Mirai is a great skater and looking forward to great things to come, but she was too far behind in points. Mirai would've had to have the SOHL (which she did) and Joannie would have had had a major splat for to pass her.
 

IndieBoi

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 2, 2004
Joannie totally deserved the bronze... A U.S. commentator (NBC) said Mirai' program doesn't have the sophistication of Joannie's and certainly not the emotional depth. In any case, it's wonderful to see that both Joannie and Mirai seemed very satistifed with the results.
 

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Joannie, to even go out on the ice after such unbelievable tragedy is brave enough, but then to win a Bronze medal for your country on home soil makes you a hero in my books. I'm proud of you, the entire Canadian nation is proud of you, as is the Skating community. If there was ever a way to say "This is for you Theresa Rochette", you did it.

There was not a dry eye in the house when Joannie skated - especially her short program as that was so close to the day of the tragedy. We all wondered if Joannie would have the strength and composure to continue but she showed us (Canada) and the world what she is made of. She said that her mother taught her to be strong and it really showed when she stepped on the ice. I think she inspired not only the rest of team Canada but our entire nation. Joannie became the highlight of the Olympics because of her determination to compete under difficult circumstances. To us her Bronze medal was as "good as gold." She also earned the job of flag bearer at the closing ceremony as the other athletes voted her as their choice for the job. Truly an inspiration to us all. I will never forget Joannie's Olympic moment.
 

SK8LUVR

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 20, 2005
Well, Bijoux that is was the media do...they push the story until we are all sick of it. On NBC all they talked about was Lindsay Vonn and her bruised shin and then it was her broken pinkie finger. Just let the girl ski and she what happens.

Joannie won that bronze medal fair and square. I am so proud of her that she could go out there and skate at all. She is tough as nails and I think that Joannie's Mom and Canada are so pleased that she could just pull it off.

I love Mirai so much and she is one of my up-and-comers skaters I will follow. She is going to do wonders in the skating world. She has allot of maturing to do first. I liked the way the podium ended up. I am not a big fan of Mao because she does not do a full arsenal of jumps.

Good luck at worlds ladies!
 

key65man

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 4, 2010
I have never been so high on Joannie's skating. But, I pay my total respect to her and the brave performance in the Olympic. Moving and inspiring.
 

Sk8n Mama

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
I think Miraai was the performance of the night and preferrred her to all others, but Canada would be very upset if Jo did not medal.

Well, to each his/her own. Not appreciating the implication that Jo only won the medal because of that but if that's what floats your boat, whatever.

Back to the topic at hand: what can you say about Joannie Rochette at this point? The picture of grace under fire. I'm so glad she got out there and skated her heart out for herself & her mom. I read on yahoo yesterday that she put her medal on her mom's casket at the funeral & that the last song played was Celine's "Vol" (Fly) that Jo skated to in the gala. Brought it all back.
 

artsciboy

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
I agree that Joannie won the bronze medal fair and square. You only need to look at the protocols to see why. Congratulations to Joannie! You have made the entire world very proud.
 
Joined
Feb 27, 2007
Joannie had a remarkable free skate considering what she's been through. I can't believe some think Mirai should've placed ahead of her because of two step-outs. Bah. :p

You rock Joannie! :rock:
 

Wicked

Final Flight
Joined
May 26, 2009
I
Had her mother not passed away, I still think she would have won the bronze.

Are there actually people who think that Joannie won the bronze because her mother died? Really? What is amazing is that she won the bronze despite her mother dying. And she totally deserved it.
 
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