Amanda Evora & Mark Ladwig end their 10-year pair partnership (she will retire)

ice coverage · Apr 13, 2012

Tweets this week from E/L:

Amanda Evora ‏ @Amanda_Evora
Thank you @USFigureSkating and all of my fans for your overwhelming support. #livingyourdreams
11:29 PM - 11 Apr 12

Mark Ladwig ‏ @LadwigMark
Thanks for the many kind words. Great @USFigureSkating blog http://skatingmagazineblog.com/2012/04/10/amanda-evora-and-mark-ladwig-in-pictures/
8:51 PM - 10 Apr 12

Olympia · Apr 13, 2012

I'm so glad Evora and Ladwig are able to see fans' reactions and support. They deserve to know how many people have loved and admired their skating. Thanks for the Twitter report!

blue dog · Apr 13, 2012

Jammers said:
Isn't Mark almost 32 though? I would think some of these unpartnered ladies might be leery of someone who might not be in the sport very much longer.

Didn't some guy win the Olympics in pairs at 37?

Olympia · Apr 13, 2012

Good point! And not only was Zhao 37, but he had recovered from a torn Achilles tendon and surgical repair, if I recall correctly. Never set limits!

ice coverage · Apr 13, 2012

blue dog said:
Didn't some guy win the Olympics in pairs at 37?

Olympia said:
Good point! And not only was Zhao 37, but he had recovered from a torn Achilles tendon and surgical repair, if I recall correctly. Never set limits!

ITA: "Never set limits!" Go, Ladwig!

That said ... for the record, Zhao was 36 and Shen was 31 when they won the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

blue dog, were you referring to pairs skater Walter Jakobsson of Finland?
According to what I have pieced together, his partner was his wife Ludowika (sorry, I'm not sure if the correct spelling is Ludovika?), who was only two years younger.

- When Walter was age 38, the Jakobssons won the gold medal at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp.
- When he was 41, they won the silver at the 1924 Olympics in Chamonix.
- When he was 45, they placed fifth at the 1928 Olympics in St. Moritz.
[Although the ages and corresponding dates might seem a bit incongruent, please note that Walter was born in Feb. And back in 1920, the Olympics did not have separate Winter Games; the Jakobssons won their Antwerp gold in April.]

The Jakobssons are Finland’s only Olympic medalists in figure skating. And their gold medal was the first in any sport for Finland as an independent nation under her own national flag.

blue dog · Apr 13, 2012

golden411 said:
ITA: "Never set limits!" Go, Ladwig!

That said ... for the record, Zhao was 36 and Shen was 31 when they won the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

blue dog, were you referring to pairs skater Walter Jakobsson of Finland?
According to what I have pieced together, his partner was his wife Ludowika (sorry, I'm not sure if the correct spelling is Ludovika?), who was only two years younger.

- When Walter was age 38, the Jakobssons won the gold medal at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp.
- When he was 41, they won the silver at the 1924 Olympics in Chamonix.
- When he was 45, they placed fifth at the 1928 Olympics in St. Moritz.
[Although the ages and corresponding dates might seem a bit incongruent, please note that Walter was born in Feb. And back in 1920, the Olympics did not have separate Winter Games; the Jakobssons won their Antwerp gold in April.]

The Jakobssons are Finland’s only Olympic medalists in figure skating. And their gold medal was the first in any sport for Finland as an independent nation under her own national flag.

Actually, I was referring to Hongbo Zhao, but I forgot that he was 36, not 37. Wow--the Jakobssons are amazing!

blue_idealist · Apr 16, 2012

I remember Alexei Tikhonov competing until he was around 36 too, although I have to admit he wasn't in his best shape by then.

Olympia · Apr 17, 2012

The Jakobssons sound fantastic. We tend to forget that Olympic history didn't start with Peggy Fleming. There's a lot of interesting lore back there before World War II.

ice coverage · Apr 26, 2012

Lotsa nice stuff about Evora in new IN blog post today. Excerpts:

"Further down the road, Evora aspires to some kind of a role with U.S. Figure Skating. 'I've applied to start trial judging to see if that's something I would like to do in the future, as well as coaching,' she said."

" 'But I really am finishing school. I haven't planned anything except seeing my friends and doing what I couldn't do before, like cutting my hair.' "

mousepotato · Apr 26, 2012

I would love to see her coach or teach a masterclass.

ice coverage · Apr 26, 2012

mousepotato said:
I would love to see her coach or teach a masterclass.

Evora already has been teaching/coaching/mentoring too, per IN blog (which has details that I didn't copy into my earlier post).

ice coverage · Jun 12, 2012

For Mathman and others who were excited for the Shibutanis when they attended Sec. Clinton's recent State Department dinner for PM Noda of Japan:

On Friday, Evora attended Sec. Clinton's luncheon in honor of His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III, President of the Republic of the Philippines. IN has Evora's excellent report on the occasion + photos.

Mathman has previously noted that President Obama watches curling on TV and that evidence keeps increasing that Sec. Clinton must be a skating fan.
Although we haven't seen any curling athletes at the White House yet (AFAIK?), it's great that the State Department has been showcasing some skaters as ambassadors not only for their sport but also for the US.

Olympia · Jun 12, 2012

golden411 said:
Mathman has previously noted that President Obama watches curling on TV and that evidence keeps increasing that Sec. Clinton must be a skating fan.
Although we haven't seen any curling athletes at the White House yet (AFAIK?), it's great that the State Department has been showcasing some skaters as ambassadors not only for their sport but also for the US.

Yes, it's wonderful that skaters are being noticed for duties like this. I think athletes from all sports have wonderful possibilities as non-professional goodwill ambassadors. They're experienced in public appearances, they're used to the rigors of travel (which isn't all excitement and exotic scenery by any means) they can keep hold of themselves in clutch situations (and not faint or babble the way I, for example, would do), and they often have family links to other cultures, so they can represent American diversity. Some of them even speak the language of their family heritage. Of course, I'm happiest when skaters get these assignments, especially to luncheons with heads of state, but a poised track and field or soccer star can be equally helpful to international relations.

Mathman · Jun 12, 2012

This totally rocks. :rock:

Thanks for the post, Golden411. Figure skaters rule!

Olympia · Jun 12, 2012

golden411 said:
For Mathman and others who were excited for the Shibutanis when they attended Sec. Clinton's recent State Department dinner for PM Noda of Japan:

On Friday, Evora attended Sec. Clinton's luncheon in honor of His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III, President of the Republic of the Philippines. IN has Evora's excellent report on the occasion + photos.

I just took a good look at all the names in this post and realize that I've been about two jumps behind the news. I didn't realize that Benigno Aquino III was the new President of the Philippines. That's Ninoy and Corazon's son, right? My goodness. The things we learn through skating.

ETA: I read the Ice Network report supplied by Evora. It's very vivid. What a lovely event it must have been. The one photo of Evora with President Aquino is wonderful.

ice coverage · Jun 12, 2012

Olympia is correct that Ninoy and Cory were the parents of President Aquino.
Benigno III's nickname apparently is Noynoy, and he was elected President in 2010. (I too had to play quick catch-up on this news.)
http://malacanang.gov.ph/presidents/fifth-republic/benigno-aquino-iii/
http://www.senate.gov.ph/senators/sen_bio/aquino_noynoy_bio.asp

And Olympia, I hope that you also clicked on IN's photo gallery of Evora at the luncheon, which shows her with a few other guests, such as Sen. Lugar. There's a great one of her next to the seal of the Department of State, and another one of the fancy table setting showing her place card.
Nice for her to do such a good job of documenting the occasion for us.

Olympia · Jun 13, 2012

Thanks, Golden411! I hadn't noticed the gallery until you pointed it out. The table setting is spectacular, and Amanda looks wonderful in all the photos. What a tremendous experience for her to take part in, and how nice of her to share it with her skating fans.

And the Shibutanis were at an event for Japanese officials? Maybe it's true about Hillary, that she's a skating fan. (Finally, a government official who's interested in something besides football and basketball.)

Tonichelle · Jun 13, 2012

Olympia said:
Thanks, Golden411! I hadn't noticed the gallery until you pointed it out. The table setting is spectacular, and Amanda looks wonderful in all the photos. What a tremendous experience for her to take part in, and how nice of her to share it with her skating fans.

And the Shibutanis were at an event for Japanese officials? Maybe it's true about Hillary, that she's a skating fan. (Finally, a government official who's interested in something besides football and basketball.)

Condi Rice is a former figure skater.

Olympia · Jun 13, 2012

Yes, Toni, I know, and she set the ball rolling with skating by hiring Michelle. Believe me, I'm grateful to both of them for getting skating into the spotlight like this. In fact, I wondered when the administration changed whether the new Secretary of State would continue Michelle's role, so I'm extra gleeful that Hillary also saw the potential in having a skater represent us abroad. Though we know for sure that Condi Rice is a longtime fan of skating, I don't know what Hillary Clinton's personal preferences are with this sport, but I like to think that she follows it at least a little.

By the way, I gather that Rice's enjoyment of sports isn't limited to skating. At one point, didn't someone suggest her as the commissioner of football as a post-government job? She's apparently quite an aficionado. But I'm more interested in the fact that she plays really good chamber music. I'm sure football is very nice...far away from me.

Rice playing Brahms. In this recital she and the strings played one movement of Brahms and one movement of Dvorak. Now, this is a team sport I can get into. She's obviously an accomplished pianist; Brahms is notoriously tough on instrumentalists.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq6_nHyFSrc

l'etoile · Jun 13, 2012

Involving figure skating to politically amicable parties has been a consistent move on Hilary's part and the fact that Michelle's rolling like a fireball during her time in Washington sure does help. Yuna was invited earlier this year IIRC when two years ago Madame secretary praised her olympic victory publicly, and Shibutanis and now Evora. Such a wonderful time for the sport

Amanda Evora & Mark Ladwig end their 10-year pair partnership (she will retire)

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