Wow.
Double Wow.
It's so interesting to read her take on Kwan's Olympic disappointment. She can definitely relate to the pressure Michelle was feeling, and it makes the accomplishments of skaters like Baiul and Kim that much more amazing. It's one thing to win Olympic gold; it's quite another to win and carry the pressure of being a clear favorite.
Wow.
She has a beautiful writing style. I knew she suffered from an eating disorder but I did not know she suffered from alcoholism. Best wishes to her.
I have a feeling the 2002 Olympics being in the USA contributed to the increased pressure on Kwan. She couldn't get away from it no matter what.Originally Posted by drivingmissdaisy
This is a great commentary how to get through life in general - not just skating. There are so many people who seek perfection, whether it be sports, body image, etc. When I think about it, people admire work ethic a great deal and work ethic is also a strong component of success, much more than talent by itself.
Her insights on seeking perfection should probably be discussed with all of the skaters who are probably thinking about that perfect performance and trying to measure up to expectations.
I would love for her to try TV commentary. What an amazing, intelligent young woman! Definitely WOW!
As much as I agree with you, I don't think I could listen to her commentary for an extended length of time unless her voice has dropped a bit...
I loved jenny Kirk and she had it tough trying to compete against MK, Sasha and Hughes. I would see Jenny do the only 3x3 in her sp and never understood why she was often undermarked. She definitely was a wonderful performer. My theory was that Cohen early on felt Nationals belonged to MK, and so did Jenny and Angela. Sasha's self esteem and nerves were always worst at Nationals. I really would like an expert skater or long time watcher/expert tolook at Jenny and see if she was undermarked at any performances. It seemed to me she was.
I think after the quick rise and departure of Tara L, MK was cemented to judges, fans, etc after her gracious defeat at Nagano, silver and her PR sense of what to say and how. After Nagano, she was absolutely who the crowd loved and the judges responded. I think no one felt they could beat Kwan at Nationals, and indeed, no one did. Internationally she had losses, mainly to 1 Russian Gal.
Great for MK, but very intimidating to be a less consistent jumper and go up against her at the yearly love fest. I think Sasha was the ultimate victim, with all her talent, of knowing how deeply the skating fans preferred MK to her, to any lady. Tara has spoken about how it hurt that the press loved Michelle and didn't care for her.
Jenny's Roxie progam was a delight. It seemed we had a glut of princess for ten years or more, with Kwan leading the pack. I always wonder what it was like for people to compete with Kwan at Nationals unless you were the rare fearless wonders named Tara or Sarah. Hugely talented but so, so confident. The myth didn't phase them a bit, so it seemed.
Jenny's desire for perfection sounds like words of Sasha's at times. But if you have no hope of beating the frontrunner, it must have been tough. Despite the voice, I have always loved and admired the Jenny Kirk who is indeed a fighter. Wish you well, Jenny. As a young person, she had some demons, but not unlike most elite skaters.
Question...when didshe revive her career with Fedor and what went wrong there?
she didn't revive, she worked with Fedor right before her final season IIRC. It was just in fun. Jenny's written in previous blogs (around the last olympic season maybe?) that she really started hating skating... and was trying everything to find the love for it again.
From a non-expert's perspective, I thought that she was not undermarked. To me she had a juniorish quality and very little height on her jumps (similar to Lipinski). Here is a program where Peter Caruthers thought she was undermarked (he complains about a judge giving her 4.9 for RE, and the US judges gives her a 5.0):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhT9uQT6j90
Yay Jenny! Boooooo judges! That was great!
That is such an interesting blog entry. If you ever met Jenny off-ice, "perfection" was exactly the impression she gave. Like she had just stepped out of the hair and make-up booth on her way to a photo shoot.
http://skaterscookbook.com/JenniKirk.jpg
http://www.usfsa.org/content/events/...-backstage.jpg
On-ice, too.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rnERrcZ9Y7...nifer+kirk.JPG
It is a good piece. But I think it is presumptive of her to tell us what Kwan felt or thought in SLC. She was not in Michelle's head. It seems like she is projecting how she would have thought or reacted onto Kwan as well as Browning and Eldredge. She may be right about their Olympic experiences. But she may not. Those are their stories to tell if they choose to and their feelings and experiences were not necessarily the same as hers.
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