I was driving home from Anchorage so I missed it... got home in time to watch them announce the team.Originally Posted by blue dog
I was driving home from Anchorage so I missed it... got home in time to watch them announce the team.
Rebecca Bross was particularly sad for me.
And Alicia Sacramone who did quite well, just not well enough, apparently.
Shouldn't be hard to do, considering how low that (uneven) bar is set.
well played.Shouldn't be hard to do, considering how low that (uneven) bar is set.
me too. wonder who she is doing this for? i don't see the drive she will need, and there are so many good people on the scene. She had two people last olympics. now mao, miki, the best russians, ashley, caro, akiko. I don't hink it is at all a given. Well, nice programs will be enough for me. And she will be stunning.
SO EXCITED YAYAYAYYAYAYAYY!!!!!!!wonderful news!
It's simple who she is doing this for. She's doing it for the SK federation until they can develop top skaters. Right now she is all they have for the foreseeable future. I don't think she really wants to compete anymore but she's all about doing what's best for her country. One day she will have to tell them no for good.
It isn't just the hard work that lies ahead. It is the fact that for the last three years, she's been treated as an adult. She's met with international officials and has represented her country in a crucial negotiation. Now she has to go back to being treated like a child. Everything she does for the next two years will be to please a row of judges who might reject her for a fifteen-year-old girl. I hope she can keep her motivation strong and that her conditioning gets her back to a good level.
She's taking almost two seasons to prepare--more than what Plushenko did, I believe, or Sasha Cohen for that matter. But the odds are even more stacked against her than in Vancouver. Now older, with all that that entails on her physical condition, and skating against what appears will be a deeper field, and having an even greater burden of being the defending Olympic champion. I do worry for her. But at least she's finally got a definitive end in mind--retirement after Sochi.
Oh? I think if she had announced her retirement, I would have agreed with you. If she had announced a decision to continue competing after 2011 Worlds, where she was so sad, I might have agreed with you.
But it seems like she had a long, long break where she was free to decide what she wanted. Just about everyone was expecting her retirement. And after being free to choose, she chose to come back. I think her heart is in the right place--with her skating and doing her best.
From what I've read, Ms. Liukin only started training for this attempted comeback 8 months ago. Yuna Kim, on the other hand, is starting hers almost 2 years in advance. And while Liukin is fresh in people's minds as a former Olympic gold medalist whose attempt at a comeback ended in ignominy, there are plenty of other athletes who did better. Alicia Sacramone may not have made the team, but at least she didn't fall on her face. And in figure skating, we have many more examples of athletes who unretire and do quite well. Shen and Zhao, of course, finally got gold in their comeback after years off. Plushenko came back briefly last season, and won everything he competed in. It may just be that the life cycle of a high level figure skater is more conducive to keeping the gears oiled. Even if a skater takes a break from competition, there are still ice shows and tours to do. They're going to at least keep themselves in performance shape, while never losing a feel for the ice or the crowd. I have every confidence that Yuna will make a strong comeback.
Is the competition tougher this time around? I'd say yes. This time, there is a whole generation of skaters who grew up on the harsh downgrade/underrotation/edge rules of the COP who know how to handle it and thrive under it. In the last Olympic cycle, Yuna had a great advantage in that among her elite peers, she was one of the few who consistently avoided such costly tech calls with her pristine jumps. Her air superiority is a bit less so in this go around, and that is if she returns to her Olympic form. But does Yuna really have to win the darn thing to satisfy herself, her fans and her country? I suspect no. She just has to do enough to make ladies skating at the Olympics more interesting for South Korea. If she wins another medal, that alone would be a massive achievement, and I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility.
Then there's the question of why she's doing it. She's openly said before that the pressure of performing well for her country and fans got to her. Her tears after 2011 Worlds were one of relief, she said. She said she was under immense pressure and lobbying to continue competing after Vancouver. Fortunately, she says that's not what's going on here. To quote the translation of Kim's statement: “I thought I would regret later if I give up my active career because of the sense of burden which presses me to be the best.” Ya know, that makes perfect sense to me! She knows she's still not too old to compete well in figure skating, and she doesn't want to wonder about not having done it when she is too old.
Yeah...I'd like to be happy about this because I do enjoy her skating, but in interviews she's sounded ambivalent at best. I hope she genuinely wants this for herself and it isn't a response to outside pressures.
I can't help but think this comeback is only so she can get on the IOC. But I do wish her luck and maybe she will bring some interest back into skating!
That makes no sense. The majority of IOC members aren't even Olympic participants! Of those who were Olympic participants, there are plenty who only competed in one game, many who didn't win gold, and some who didn't even win any medals at all. If Olympic achievement is somehow necessary for being an IOC member, Ms. Kim already has all the credentials she needs.
I think that is an excellent point. I remember when Nancy Kerrigan retired they tried to get her to do some pro competitions, but she said she was through with being judged like a child.
This is the same reason why it is so hard to go back to college after you get past college age. Once you grow up you are just not willing to be treated the way students are.
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