Suzuki says next season will be her last | Golden Skate

Suzuki says next season will be her last

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Country
Northern-Ireland

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SAY IT ISN’T TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Talk about spoiling my Christmas! I absolutely love Akiko. In fact, after Liza and Carolina, Akiko is my next favourite ladies skater (although, Mao is not too far behind!)

I have to be honest and say that Akiko didn’t really come up on my radar until the last couple of seasons. But, she very quickly became one of my favourite skaters.

Like, how could anybody not like Akiko?! She is a brilliant skater, she is really beautiful, and she has a really playful personality that really endears her to you. As I said in a message I wrote soon after joining this forum (but have yet to actually post!), “Still can't believe that she's older than me - she looks so young!”

I was a bit annoyed when the Kerrs had to retire. Like, they were just starting to really challenge the top ice dancers on a regular basis. But, I suppose there is not much you can do about injuries.

But, I am really upset about Akiko deciding to retire. OK, so she may be one of the older girls competing at the moment, but she is far from past it! She is one of the top competitors in ladies skating at the moment.

Look at it this way: if Yu-Na, Mao or Carolina have one bad performance at the Worlds this year (which is more than likely!), Akiko would have to be the favourite to pinch a podium position.

Now, with all the good teenage skaters coming through at the moment, it would probably be too soon to definitely say the same for next season’s Worlds, or for the Olympics. But, Akiko should still be well in the mix.

So, although we still have another season and a half to enjoy her competing, I really think Akiko is calling time on her career too soon.


Arigato Akiko-san for the joy you have given us these past few years.

...and let’s hope you decide to delay the “Sayonara” for a few more years yet! ;) :biggrin:

CaroLiza_fan
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Country
Northern-Ireland
Next season will be the last one for many skaters. Not a surprise.

I suspect they may be, but I really hope that Carolina and Mao are not included in that statement.

...Or Jenna (we need another few years for Dempsey Andrews to get near Jenna's level); Kiira; [next on the list was going to be Laura Lepistö, but I only found out there now when I went to check the spelling of her name that she had already retired!]

…Or Yevgeny (again); Brian; Tomáš; Daisuke; Nobunari

…Or Zhang Dan (well, we’ve already lost Zhang Hao); Pang and Tong; Kavaguti and Smirnov

…Or Nathalie and Fabien; Alyona and Robin; Tatiana and Maxim...

Oh, it’s depressing me thinking about who might retire in the not too distant future! :frown:

CaroLiza_fan
 

MaiKatze

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 4, 2012
Sad News - but somehow understandable, when looking at her age. I hope she will be able to go to Sochi, not guaranteed, especially if Miki finds a coach and returns.
 

MK's Winter

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
I think Akiko should be very proud of her career. I have a great admiration for her, especially since she has overcome anorexia and had stayed in the sport well into her 20's (she will be 29 in March 2014). She is a wonderful role model for skaters of every nation. Hats off to you Akiko and hoping to see you in Sochi!
 

FSGMT

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 10, 2012
She's such a wonderful skater and a lovely girl, and I would selfishly like her to compete for a lot of years, but we must remember that she's 27 and her body won't be able to land triples forever so I think that, after all the great programs she gave us, retiring after a successful Olympic season would be the best thing... I wish her all the best for the rest of this season, too! :yes:
 

shallow edging

Rinkside
Joined
Dec 9, 2012
I suspect they may be, but I really hope that Carolina and Mao are not included in that statement.

...Or Jenna (we need another few years for Dempsey Andrews to get near Jenna's level);

Unrelated to the post but I've crashed into Dempsey in practice, it was pretty scary :eek:

I'm going to feel kind of empty for the 2014-2015 season.....what a happy Christmas :biggrin:
 

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
I suspect they may be, but I really hope that Carolina and Mao are not included in that statement.

Carolina has been around quite a long time, so I cannot imagine she would continue. Mao has struggled so much since 2009 that I can't imagine she would want to go another 4 years of intense training when she has already achieved so much in her career and would be unlikely to do better in 2018 than she had in 2010 and 2014.
 

FSGMT

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 10, 2012
Carolina has been around quite a long time, so I cannot imagine she would continue. Mao has struggled so much since 2009 that I can't imagine she would want to go another 4 years of intense training when she has already achieved so much in her career and would be unlikely to do better in 2018 than she had in 2010 and 2014.
Carolina has already announced this summer that Sochi season will be her last, too...
 

altuixde

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 7, 2012
Before this announcement, I believe that the official word was that Akiko wasn't sure if she would stick around for the Olympic season. So this announcement is actually good news.

Also, there's only a few sentences from Akiko in that Kyodo news blurb, and it's probably translated from Japanese, but she sounds kind of down (this is compared to her usual writing tone on her blog and her twitter). Cheer up, Akiko!
 

Trewyn

Medalist
Joined
Dec 10, 2008
Before this announcement, I believe that the official word was that Akiko wasn't sure if she would stick around for the Olympic season. So this announcement is actually good news.

Also, there's only a few sentences from Akiko in that Kyodo news blurb, and it's probably translated from Japanese, but she sounds kind of down (this is compared to her usual writing tone on her blog and her twitter). Cheer up, Akiko!

Exactly! Happy she's going to go for the Olympics. Sad she's down :( I hope she recovers from her disappointments in time for Worlds :)
 

blue_idealist

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 25, 2006
It's too bad she has to retire but I kinda expected it to be right after Sochi given her age. I'm crossing my fingers she makes the team for Sochi.
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
It's too bad she has to retire but I kinda expected it to be right after Sochi given her age. I'm crossing my fingers she makes the team for Sochi.

She probably is safe to make the team considering Japanese consider more than the results from Nationals. I guess the only danger would be if Ando comes back (unlikely) and she had a bad skate at Nationals and Asada, Ando, and Murakami were the top 3, and Murakami had started to produce some decent international results by then.
 

christinaskater

Medalist
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
The good thing with her is she is already a World Bronze Medalist, 3x Grand Prix Final Medalist, 4CC Silver Medalist, multiple ISU GP Champion and medalist. Olympian. Survivor of Anorexia.

She is a star! I do hope she could continue beyond Sochi :)
Whatever would make her happy , would make me really happy as well!

She is seriously one of the major contenders for the World and 4CC Championships!


---------------------------------------------------


A rising voice after her announcement is: Should she have a foreign "super" coach to give her the political edge and super choreography.
People were suggesting that she should be co-coached by Frank Carroll with choreography from Lori, Brian Orser, Tarasova or Morozov. I think it may be a good move, but Hiroshi has been absolutely amazing as well.

I only wish her all the best! Nonetheless, I still consider Akiko one of the greatest figure skaters of all-time! She may not have the amount of medals as Michelle and Mao- but her beautiful heart, passion and musicality would forever make me love and admire her for all time!
 

Nadia01

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 10, 2009
She probably is safe to make the team considering Japanese consider more than the results from Nationals. I guess the only danger would be if Ando comes back (unlikely) and she had a bad skate at Nationals and Asada, Ando, and Murakami were the top 3, and Murakami had started to produce some decent international results by then.

I agree with this. I don't think Ando will come back, and I didn't see any body at nats who looked promising for Sochi, except for Mao, Kanako & Akiko.
 

draqq

FigureSkatingPhenom
Record Breaker
Joined
May 10, 2010
It's always sad to see a great skater leave our sport, though it wasn't entirely unexpected given her age in the sport. Akiko has a spark was she skates and is one of the few skaters who can exude playfulness and make skating look fun.
 

iluvtodd

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 5, 2004
Country
United-States
Not surprised by the announcement, but I hope she'll continue to be involved in the sport. :love: her!
 

mikeko666

Final Flight
Joined
Apr 27, 2011
She probably is safe to make the team considering Japanese consider more than the results from Nationals. I guess the only danger would be if Ando comes back (unlikely) and she had a bad skate at Nationals and Asada, Ando, and Murakami were the top 3, and Murakami had started to produce some decent international results by then.

I don't think so. JSF will try to send Miyahara to Sochi instead of Suzuki if Ando doesn't come back. I expect to see some puzzling scores in GPS next season.
 
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