When will Fumie Suguri retire? | Golden Skate

When will Fumie Suguri retire?

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
I cant believe she is still continuing. Does she realize her competitive prime ended almost 5 years ago now? I actually used to like her but her current plight is almost becoming embarassing.
 

janetfan

Match Penalty
Joined
May 15, 2009
She'll retire when she wants to.

:rolleye:

Fumie would still be the #1 skater in ....how many federations? Quite a few, no?
If she wants to continue competing that is her business.

Besides, having a few Divas around is good for skating.

Go Fumie !! :yay:
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
I expect to see the judges retire her soon should she insist on competing much longer. PCS in the 2s and 3s if neccessary. That is my prediction.
 

MKFSfan

Medalist
Joined
Mar 15, 2006
Are you serious??? Fumie still has the goods to contend with the top 10 in her own country, and Japan has plenty of quality skaters. Judges won't (or should not) purposely ding her because she can no longer compete as she once did in her peak. There is NO reason Fumie would get PCS marks in the 2's and 3's. Yes, she won't be 8's, but she is still a fast skater with good skating skills and the ability to present a nice performance. That counts for something.

The majority of top skaters skate for the chance to be in the top 10 at major competitions. Only a select few contend for the podium every time out. Fumie may be a long shot at podium now than she once was, but a top 10 is still realistic. I say keep going until YOU want to stop, Fumie!

P.S...Fumie has said as long as she receives enough endorsements to able to compete, she will. When she can no longer afford to fund her career, she will call it quits.
 
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Ginask8s

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 27, 2008
I expect to see the judges retire her soon should she insist on competing much longer. PCS in the 2s and 3s if neccessary. That is my prediction.

Really... Fumie skates sooooo FAST. Her speed is incredible. I saw her last year at Skate America, and she was just as fast as Yuna. She also is quite aggressive on the ice. I hope she gets some great programs and does really well. She also is very pretty on the ice. Her body is incredible!
 

aftertherain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 15, 2010
She'll retire when she wants to.

If she makes you embarrassed for her, stop watching her. Works for me.
 

princess9

On the Ice
Joined
May 1, 2010
I think a lot of skaters think 24 is the age a woman should quit competing, while 30 year old men get lauded for coming back. Double standards in a man's world.
 

Blades of Passion

Skating is Art, if you let it be
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Sep 14, 2008
Country
France
I think it's sad that her skating has gotten worse. Her jumps suddenly lost their normal consistency at the end of 2006.

Even aside from her technical programs, there has been little excitement or elegance or originality in her skating for the past 3 years. She has just seemed nervous and jaded and unhappy whenever she takes to the ice. It's like a completely different skater from the Fumie we used to see. She is simply not very pleasurable to watch anymore (at least in competitions).

You'd think someone from such a competitively deep country would find the motivation to improve if they insisted on continuing to compete, but she simply hasn't. That's what I find troubling. This has honestly been her downfall throughout her entire career. She never pushed herself hard enough to get a Triple-Triple combination and she didn't work on her flexibility either to improve her Spirals (and Spins). The talent she showed at 2002 Worlds was excellent - big jumps, a wonderful ability to interpret music, fast skating, and an excellent scratch spin. She never took those tools and built on them. She COULD have been a World/Olympic champion; she had the talent but she didn't go for it.

Look at Shizuka Arakawa from the same country, whose career was even worse off at one point - she pushed herself and went from 8th in the World in 2003 to 1st in 2004, and then came back again in 2006 for the Olympics and specifically pushed herself to learn moves she hated doing or had never done before (like the Beillmann spin) in order to be a Champion. I wish Fumie had done that.
 
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sorcerer

Final Flight
Joined
May 1, 2007
Well you can't complain to Fumie. The only thing you could do is maybe complain to the rules.
You might propose to ISU a rule like: If your season's best declines 3 years in a row, then you are deprived of your eligibility. How's that?
Even this Fumie may gather her guts to squeeze through, though.
 

Blades of Passion

Skating is Art, if you let it be
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Sep 14, 2008
Country
France
That would be a stupid rule. It's just sad that Fumie's skating has become so JOYLESS. Even if she is struggling on the tech side, it would be nice to see some real life and artistry in the performance again.

Yet another recent example from the same country - look at Yukari Nakano. She was unfairly left off the podium at 2008 Worlds and started having problems with her jumps after that, and did not make the World team in 2009, but she kept giving performances with interesting artistic qualities regardless.
 

Layfan

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 5, 2009
Well you can't complain to Fumie. The only thing you could do is maybe complain to the rules.
You might propose to ISU a rule like: If your season's best declines 3 years in a row, then you are deprived of your eligibility. How's that?
Even this Fumie may gather her guts to squeeze through, though.

Hmm, no, that could deprive of us some truly great comebacks.

Anyway, I don't know if Fumie should retire or not but this thread certainly made me go re-discover a gorgeous skater I have only paid mild attention to! She WAS amazing in 2002.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp5tI3NkqXM&feature=related
I'll be adding this to my lists of re-watcheable skates.:thumbsup:
 

janetfan

Match Penalty
Joined
May 15, 2009
Hmm, no, that could deprive of us some truly great comebacks.

Anyway, I don't know if Fumie should retire or not but this thread certainly made me go re-discover a gorgeous skater I have only paid mild attention to! She WAS amazing in 2002.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp5tI3NkqXM&feature=related
I'll be adding this to my lists of re-watcheable skates.:thumbsup:

Thanks for the clip - such a beautiful program :love:

I have been watching Fumie for so many years I am afraid if she ever retires I will feel OLD :laugh:

Fumie had some of the most lovely, feathery jumps I can recall.
 

HalfTriple

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 8, 2010
Does she realize her competitive prime ended almost 5 years ago now? I actually used to like her but her current plight is almost becoming embarassing.

I didn't know much about Suguri nor ever liked her skating personally, but I have a great deal of respect to her, especially because of her passion. I certainly like her more now than in her prime, and in a way Suguri is, I think, pioneering a new territory of longevity that is marvelous to watch. I wish she compete well over the limit of psychological barrier, so that she can set an counterexample as opposed to a short span of lifetime in figure skating and bring as well cultural changes that encourages skaters to stay longer in the scene and facilitate healthier perspectives on figure skating career along the way.

She has my standing ovation. Go Suguri! :agree:
 

sorcerer

Final Flight
Joined
May 1, 2007
That would be a stupid rule.
Of course it is, LOL. I only wrote it to express how useless it is to say someone should retire or someone lost joy in her skating, etc.
Even when you can't see Fumie's joy of skating, she is enjoying the sport according to her words.
Let not regret what's lost, let's hope the wonderful coming as you say.

Hmm, no, that could deprive of us some truly great comebacks.
ITA.
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
Are you serious??? Fumie still has the goods to contend with the top 10 in her own country, and Japan has plenty of quality skaters. Judges won't (or should not) purposely ding her because she can no longer compete as she once did in her peak. There is NO reason Fumie would get PCS marks in the 2's and 3's. Yes, she won't be 8's, but she is still a fast skater with good skating skills and the ability to present a nice performance. That counts for something.

The majority of top skaters skate for the chance to be in the top 10 at major competitions. Only a select few contend for the podium every time out. Fumie may be a long shot at podium now than she once was, but a top 10 is still realistic. I say keep going until YOU want to stop, Fumie!

P.S...Fumie has said as long as she receives enough endorsements to able to compete, she will. When she can no longer afford to fund her career, she will call it quits.


By major competitions if you mean a Worlds Fumie doesnt have a hope of ever making it to a Worlds again so we will never find out where she could still place. I doubt she would make top 10 though. The only way she could finish top 10 at this point is if she skated her best and others fell apart. That is what had to happen for her to even be top 10 at the 2009 Worlds in fact, but it would take even more for it to happen now.
 

Blades of Passion

Skating is Art, if you let it be
Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 14, 2008
Country
France
I only wrote it to express how useless it is to say someone should retire or someone lost joy in her skating, etc.

The former statement is useless, the latter is not. The latter is called a critique; anyone who is COMPETING in a sport wants to win and can therefore use advice about what needs to be improved.
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
I think a lot of skaters think 24 is the age a woman should quit competing, while 30 year old men get lauded for coming back. Double standards in a man's world.

Any of the men who competed in singles up to 30 were clearly past their best before date as amateur competitors by then too. Think of Eldredge and Stojko in SLC, Boitano in Lillehammer. And in the case of Boitano as a pro he was a phenom who had taken pro skating to a new level and almost unbeatable. As for how people viewed them I think many people said Stojko stayed far too long, and many have now said Boitano's comeback was pretty much a waste but atleast he was able to slide right back into his phenomenal pro career with ease. Eldredge people have been more kind towards, but that is probably because of his bronze at the 2001 Worlds and gold at the 2002 Nationals. He is a rare exception who achieved nearly similar success (considering he was never a frequent gold or dominant skater) at that age to his prime years, but he is just that, a rare exception. Butyrskaya is a women who didnt take so much heat competing up until 29 but that is since again she is a rare case of someone who was competitive still at that age. In most cases though singles skater of that age belong in the pros, if they want to continue skating that is, even the true greats such as Boitano with more talent than Fumie. Of course there could be those rare exceptions as I said, but it is clear by now Fumie is not one of them. She has tried for 5 years to see if she is one of them and she so clearly isnt.

She is well past her prime, has skating quality and reputation have gradually regressed since 2006. It is obvious by now she doesnt have even the tiniest chance of matching or bettering her top career achievements- 3 non gold World medals, 2 Olympic top 5s, and a Grand Prix final title. So what is the point of continuing and holding out false hope for something that isnt going to happen. How can a former mutli World medalist and contender be happy seeing herself continually drop in the ranks and not even be a contender of any sort anymore. I actually liked Fumie in the past, and would have liked to have seen her have a satisfying pro career or doing other things in the sport such as coaching, choreography, other avenues. If Jen Robinson can make a living as a pro skater so can Fumie. And if Sussie Wynne can make a career in skating so could Fumie.
 
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