Poised to break through--but didn't | Page 6 | Golden Skate

Poised to break through--but didn't

ImaginaryPogue

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
While it's certainly not true to say these skaters never brokethrough, I think the difference between accomplishments and talent is notable for Tomas Verner and Nobunari Oda.
 

coppertop1

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 19, 2006
I think a lot of the young American skaters are undone by the hype. I don't think any skater is helped by the media declaring the next great thing before they've won anything, and in some cases, before they've even entered a senior competition. I don't think Sasha was helped in the slightest by having Dick Button say "Sasha has it all" on national TV when anyone who knows the slightest bit about skating could see that her basic skating was weak and that she was skating on the flat of her blades much of the time. I don't think Gracie Gold is helped by articles with the heading "The Gold Standard" either.

Naomi Nari Nam's mother was quite blunt in her criticism of the US media after the Sports Illustrated cover story with the tag line "She's got next!". Reporters followed her at every event the following season and it completely unnerved her. Her mother said she wished that article had never appeared. Naomi was dealing with puberty and injuries the following year and the hype and expectations destroyed her confidence.

Sasha was hounded at Jr. Worlds by reporters trailing her everywhere, expecting her to pick up a medal and move on the Sr. Worlds. She blew up and finished well off the podium. I friend who was there said she felt sorry for the kid.

Canada has done a similar thing with their young men. Expectations for young Canadian Men are just as high as they are for young American Women. Rod Black called several young men "The Next One", and none of them were. Jason Denomme was "The Next One", as was Emanuel Sandhu and Fedor Andreev, among others. It happened so many times that we started calling it "The Curse of 'The Next One'" because after being named The Next One, these skaters' careers fizzled. I remember he almost referred to Jeff Buttle as The Next One, and just before the words came out of his mouth, he paused, and said something else, like Canada's best hope at Worlds.

Let the kids grow up and accomplish something, and then celebrate it. I'd rather talk about what they've accomplished, rather than what they might do.

This could possibly be another thread about hyping kids too soon, but very true about American women. Sasha was beautiful and flexible and it disguised her flaws, hype them up after they've earned it. Sasha was in the lead and it was like "It's her time!" Nope. Sasha did well, though. Carole, Mirai, Rachel were all hyped up. Ashley didn't get as much hyupe and she has done better.
Similarly, in Canada, Cynthia Phaneuf originally got more hype than Joannie Rochette because she burst on to the scene and won medals faster. However, Joannie was more successful, winning six nationals, a world silver medal and Olympic bronze. She didn't get the hype until after she established.

SO TRUE about "The Next One" in Canadian Men's skating. How many were expected to be the next one? I lost count. Yet, it was Jeff Buttle who was the real Next One, followed by Patrick Chan. Chan got a fair amount of hype early, but I think it was obvious he was naturally gifted and also competitive. Plus, it didn't take him long to take over, winning silver in his second appearance at Worlds in 2009. But so many "Next Ones" didn't happen, most notably Sandhu.

We shall see about the Russians, it's all easy now, but when puberty comes it may not be as easy. Gracie has time, but the hype she gets makes people impatient for her to deliver, and that's not fair.
 

Jammers

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Country
United-States
I don't think Rachael was hyped up much. If anything she overachieved and i don't think anyone ever saw her winning a World championship or the Olympics unlike someone like Mirai.
 

flaneur

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Canada has done a similar thing with their young men. Expectations for young Canadian Men are just as high as they are for young American Women. Rod Black called several young men "The Next One", and none of them were. Jason Denomme was "The Next One", as was Emanuel Sandhu and Fedor Andreev, among others. It happened so many times that we started calling it "The Curse of 'The Next One'" because after being named The Next One, these skaters' careers fizzled. I remember he almost referred to Jeff Buttle as The Next One, and just before the words came out of his mouth, he paused, and said something else, like Canada's best hope at Worlds.

I completely forgot about him... I would definitely put the handsome Fedor Andreev as someone who didn't break through (sorry Marina)
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
Speaking of Andreev reminds me of Jana Khokhlova. Did she return to Russia after the team retired, or did she remain in Detroit to coach? Where did she wind up?
 

coppertop1

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 19, 2006
I would put Fedor Andreev here, too. Many of those men in Canada are like so many young women skaters in the US, so much depth it's hard to breakthrough in your own country. Jayson Denomee had asthma, so he ran out of steam. He disappeared after 2005 (I think he retired). So many were looking to be the Next One, but fell short.
 

blue_idealist

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 25, 2006
I would put Fedor Andreev here, too. Many of those men in Canada are like so many young women skaters in the US, so much depth it's hard to breakthrough in your own country. Jayson Denomee had asthma, so he ran out of steam. He disappeared after 2005 (I think he retired). So many were looking to be the Next One, but fell short.

The mention of Denomee makes me think of Langdon, another skater from the same time period. IIRC, he finished in the top 10 at worlds in '98 and then failed to make the national team in '99, after a disastrous skate which left him in 7th? place at Canadian Nats. I don't think anyone had actually hyped him up to be a serious world contender though.. he was kind of just a placeholder second-guy in between Stojko and Sandhu.
 

coppertop1

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 19, 2006
The mention of Denomee makes me think of Langdon, another skater from the same time period. IIRC, he finished in the top 10 at worlds in '98 and then failed to make the national team in '99, after a disastrous skate which left him in 7th? place at Canadian Nats. I don't think anyone had actually hyped him up to be a serious world contender though.. he was kind of just a placeholder second-guy in between Stojko and Sandhu.

Yeah, 1997 was his best year, second at Canadians, 9th at Worlds. Eighth at Worlds the following year, slipped to third at Canadians and was in Sandhu's shadow because of the COA not allowing Sandhu to go to Canadians. I say we should have sent Sandhu, or any third skater. We had three spots, we wasted that third spot because of the COA's red tape. Langdon was forgotten but came through for Canada at Worlds and finished 12th in Nagano. After that, it all went downhill. As you said, he had a disastrous performance in 1999, in fact, he had a disastrous sesaon that year, with an ankle injury that hampered his training. Then he had to withdraw from Canadians the next year due to a knee injury. You're right that he was a place holder, Sandhu took over his spot and the attention, and was believed to be The Next One. Had Langdon had better luck after '99 he may have been able
to regain a spot on the World Team or National Team, but there was so much depth in Canada and everyone was jockeying for position.
He was a classy guy. He'd just go about his business, he never complained or made excuses. Denomee was also a good guy. Ben Ferreira was another one, never really made any big marks internationally though he did go to Worlds a few times, but was a good sportsman, never once complained about anything and had a positive attitude. When he took the ice for his last performance at Canadians in 2006, he got a standing ovation before he even started, everyone liked him.
 

Poodlepal

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 14, 2010
I have fond memories of Derrick Delmore. I never knew if he was truly about to break through or was just featured because he was a bit of a good example, being African-American and apparently quite a top student as well.

Does anybody remember when Lifetime used to broadcast the junior worlds? I remember one year the US was sending three giggly girls with cute names: Kimmie (Meisner), Katy (Taylor?) and someone named Dannie. I think Kimmie came in second to a Russian named Kristina Obsalova. I always remembered that name, but she was never seen again. I wonder what happened to her.
 

coppertop1

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 19, 2006
I have fond memories of Derrick Delmore. I never knew if he was truly about to break through or was just featured because he was a bit of a good example, being African-American and apparently quite a top student as well.

Does anybody remember when Lifetime used to broadcast the junior worlds? I remember one year the US was sending three giggly girls with cute names: Kimmie (Meisner), Katy (Taylor?) and someone named Dannie. I think Kimmie came in second to a Russian named Kristina Obsalova. I always remembered that name, but she was never seen again. I wonder what happened to her.

2004 World JUniors, I googled it. Kimmie was second, Katy was third. Yukina Ota won. Danielle Kahle was the third girl. I remember she skated to Beauty and the Beast at the 2006 US nationals.
 

blue_idealist

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 25, 2006
Yeah, 1997 was his best year, second at Canadians, 9th at Worlds. Eighth at Worlds the following year, slipped to third at Canadians and was in Sandhu's shadow because of the COA not allowing Sandhu to go to Canadians. I say we should have sent Sandhu, or any third skater. We had three spots, we wasted that third spot because of the COA's red tape. Langdon was forgotten but came through for Canada at Worlds and finished 12th in Nagano. After that, it all went downhill. As you said, he had a disastrous performance in 1999, in fact, he had a disastrous sesaon that year, with an ankle injury that hampered his training. Then he had to withdraw from Canadians the next year due to a knee injury. You're right that he was a place holder, Sandhu took over his spot and the attention, and was believed to be The Next One. Had Langdon had better luck after '99 he may have been able
to regain a spot on the World Team or National Team, but there was so much depth in Canada and everyone was jockeying for position.
He was a classy guy. He'd just go about his business, he never complained or made excuses. Denomee was also a good guy. Ben Ferreira was another one, never really made any big marks internationally though he did go to Worlds a few times, but was a good sportsman, never once complained about anything and had a positive attitude. When he took the ice for his last performance at Canadians in 2006, he got a standing ovation before he even started, everyone liked him.

I remember that whole debacle about the third spot but I can't remember why Sandhu wasn't allowed to compete at the Olympics, just that he wasn't??

I too enjoyed Ben Ferreira and I was at that Canadian Nationals watching live in '06. :)
 

coppertop1

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 19, 2006
Sandhu wasn't allowed to compete mostly due to the COA's red tape. They said he hadn't competed in enough senior events (He just turned senior) to meet their standard so he couldn't go. The only one who had (aside from Stojko) was Jeff Langdon, so because of that the COA said we could only send two despite securing three berths. So Sandhu wasn't allowed to go. Sandhu never got over it, he was bitter about it until the day he retired.

You had to like Ben Ferreira, he was such a likeable skater, even if he never made any big noise, he was a good embassador, and also a spokesperson for Medic Alert.
 

blue_idealist

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 25, 2006
Sandhu wasn't allowed to compete mostly due to the COA's red tape. They said he hadn't competed in enough senior events (He just turned senior) to meet their standard so he couldn't go. The only one who had (aside from Stojko) was Jeff Langdon, so because of that the COA said we could only send two despite securing three berths. So Sandhu wasn't allowed to go. Sandhu never got over it, he was bitter about it until the day he retired.

You had to like Ben Ferreira, he was such a likeable skater, even if he never made any big noise, he was a good embassador, and also a spokesperson for Medic Alert.

I didn't know that Ben was a medic alert spokesman - cool. Another Canadian man I miss a bit is Chris Mabee.
 

coppertop1

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 19, 2006
I didn't know that Ben was a medic alert spokesman - cool. Another Canadian man I miss a bit is Chris Mabee.

Yup, he is asthmatic and has severe allergies. I learned that from one of the many books on skating I had. Yeah, I miss Mabee too. I think he retired in 2008, after not making the World Team. I miss Shawn Sawyer, too. I've seen him perform live on shows a few times.
 

hikki

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 18, 2007
Country
Japan
There was also Hanae Yokoya, a Japanese skater during the 90s, before Japan became the force in single skating it is today. She was tenth in the world twice, then fell to twenty third (I think she was injured) then disappeared.

Wow you must be such a hard-core skating fan to remember a (seemingly on a world scale) obscure skater as Hanae! Her showing at Skate Canada and NHK in the 95/96 season was wonderful (finishing 2nd to Michelle and Lu Chen, respectively). She had such a gorgeous lutz and had charisma. The following season she went overseas to work with a different team and an ambitious new age program and never really came back to the top form. Her body change didn't help at all.

Someone mentioned Yukina Ota. She's like Sasha Cohen of Japan, in that she had such beautiful lines and flexibility, but her skating skills weren't the greatest. Her SP at Skate Canada 2003 (came 2nd after Sasha I think) was so special.

Tanja Szewczenko looked like she was having a great "comeback", winning both GP events in the '97/'98 season only to lose the GPF to Tara. She didn't go to Nagano for a reason I can't recall.

Naomi Nari Nam- Remember the mean comment from the ABC reporter at '99 Nationals? "This is what the skating world has been waiting for" next to Michelle?

Gosh I miss the 90s!!!
 

LiamForeman

William/Uilyam
Medalist
Joined
Nov 24, 2006
2004 World JUniors, I googled it. Kimmie was second, Katy was third. Yukina Ota won. Danielle Kahle was the third girl. I remember she skated to Beauty and the Beast at the 2006 US nationals.

Are you sure? I could have sworn it was the year Miki Ando finally won. I remember the informal spot with the giggly girly girls because they reminded me of my friends' daughters!!! Yeah, Kimmie, Katy and Dani. Dotting their i's with hearts, lol.

Kristina Oblasova was a travesty. Anyone that thought Ann Patrice McDonough didn't care needs to go back to that competition. A near perfect program, AP was so into it, and she knew she had it. And then she didn't... She disguised her feelings most of the time, but not this one, she was ready to cut a B. She came back the next year and won, thank god. So things do work out. I cannot understand Oblasova. She wasn't good. At all.
 

LiamForeman

William/Uilyam
Medalist
Joined
Nov 24, 2006
Wow you must be such a hard-core skating fan to remember a (seemingly on a world scale) obscure skater as Hanae! Her showing at Skate Canada and NHK in the 95/96 season was wonderful (finishing 2nd to Michelle and Lu Chen, respectively). She had such a gorgeous lutz and had charisma. The following season she went overseas to work with a different team and an ambitious new age program and never really came back to the top form. Her body change didn't help at all.

Someone mentioned Yukina Ota. She's like Sasha Cohen of Japan, in that she had such beautiful lines and flexibility, but her skating skills weren't the greatest. Her SP at Skate Canada 2003 (came 2nd after Sasha I think) was so special.

Tanja Szewczenko looked like she was having a great "comeback", winning both GP events in the '97/'98 season only to lose the GPF to Tara. She didn't go to Nagano for a reason I can't recall.

Naomi Nari Nam- Remember the mean comment from the ABC reporter at '99 Nationals? "This is what the skating world has been waiting for" next to Michelle?

Gosh I miss the 90s!!!

I remember Hanae Yokoya! She had strange crossovers. I loved her program to Kitaro (?). Then she upped and disappeared.

Yukina Ota was a miracle. Unfortunately she couldn't jump her way out of a bag.

Szewczenko w/d from Nagano due to the flu that was going around. Poor thing never caught a break. If there is an illness or injury in the air, seek out Szewczenko because that's where you will find it.

NNN. I remember that comment hikki!!! lol I intensely disliked Lesley Visser and her beyond awful bird's nest haircut.
 
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