I have heard from FSU that Rockne is having funding problems......Candidly it's annoying. People are saying donate for Rockne to New England Amateur figure skating, His father is a Doctor. I believe that family should be able to fund skating. After all I know parents that really sacrifice their retirement to make ends meet.
Rockne's father being a doctor doesn't mean his father has to fund the skating. Rockne is almost 27 years old. His parents might help, but there's no guarantee they'll fully fund his training.
Yes, Zhao was 36 when they won the OGM and Shen was 31. There are other examples, too - Petrova/Tikhonov retired when he was 35, Pang/Tong and Robin Szolkowy are all 33 and assuming they will retire post-Sochi, they will be 34 when they retire, Yuko Kavaguti is also in her 30s, and Aliona Savchenko will be by the time of the Olympics. For that matter, Lindsay's previous partner was of course Mark Ladwig, who is 32 years old.If he stay healthy, yes he can skate when he's 32 years old. Shen/Zhao won the Olympic gold when over 30 IIRC and Todd Sand was 34 (if not older?) when he retired.
Maybe his parents are tired of funding his skating. He's always seemed to have the potential of being a great pairs skater but never has quite pulled it off - probably due to not staying with a partner long enough to really gel!