- Joined
- Apr 8, 2012
About Joubert, any conspiracy theorists out there? What if Brian found himself unready for Skate America and needed a way to back out without backing out. So Gailhaguet steps in and "sanctions" him for skipping an event that he didn't even know he was supposed to do, deflecting criticism off Joubert.
Would Gailhaguet be so sneaky?
You know, this thought had occurred to me, especially because Joubert hasn't been an early season skater in the past and has had an unstable training situation recently, so it's quite likely that if he did go to Skate America, he wouldn't have given particularly great performances. On the other hand, this doesn't exactly help Joubert either because it kind of sends the signal that the federation isn't really supporting him. So...I don't know. Given what I've heard about Gailhaguet and his behind the scenes machinations with coach switching and everything (making P/B switch coaches, forcing other skaters out of the Zazoui group), this sounds like it's right up his alley. Still, it seems like a particularly severe punishment, especially when other skaters have withdrawn from Masters before without any kind of sanction.
So, did he beat Florent because he was that good - or was Florent that bad? Just curious.
I didn't see Chafik's performance, but saw Florent's and am inclined to believe the latter, unfortunately.
This is something else that doesn't make a lot of sense regarding FFSG not supporting Brian. I get that this is his last season and they're putting their support behind someone younger like Florent, but quite frankly, Florent hasn't exactly been giving sterling performances (and I generally like the guy, even if his skating style is not really my cup of tea). As far as Worlds results go, Brian has always beaten Florent. For someone who's been the biggest star of French skating for a long time (and probably will be for some time to come), it doesn't make sense to me that FFSG would throw him under the bus.