- Joined
- Jan 29, 2011
Just looking back on my short time as a figure skating fan, I've witnessed several instances of remarkable mental strength displayed by several skaters. I wanted to create a thread to celebrate performances which were perhaps given when odds were stacked against their favour, or where a skater had to overcome their mental demons to achieve what they - and indeed their fans - thought may have been impossible.
When I think about this topic I am immediately drawn to several skates from the 2010 Olympics. Kim Yu Na performed two spectacular routines in spite of what must have been overwhelming pressure. South Korea's stockmarket visibly dropped for the 10 or so minutes it took between her performance and her scores. That she performed so flawlessly was amazing (yes, we might nitpick - her 3-3 wasn't as good as she'd done it previously, her salchow was a bit tilted sure - but the overall presentation and technical aspects were absolutely wonderful nonetheless).
What about Joannie Rochette, to skate so well after the sudden and tragic loss of her mother was just so moving. This was a different type of pressure. The pressure of fulfilling shared dreams that had suddenly become the dreams of only one. To perform as if nothing had happened. To perform with a heart so heavy it must have felt like falling to the ground. Yes she did make some errors, but who cares. Both her SP and LP are skates I'll be watching for a long time to come.
What about Rudy Galindo's 1996 performance at Nationals? I am new to figure skating but was watching some mid-1990s performances. I learned about the sad circumstances in which Galindo had skated, and to skate as he did to Dick Button's unbridled admiration was spine-tingling. To be the last skater skating at your Nationals held in your own town, and to perform under such circumstances was just remarkable.
When I think about this topic I am immediately drawn to several skates from the 2010 Olympics. Kim Yu Na performed two spectacular routines in spite of what must have been overwhelming pressure. South Korea's stockmarket visibly dropped for the 10 or so minutes it took between her performance and her scores. That she performed so flawlessly was amazing (yes, we might nitpick - her 3-3 wasn't as good as she'd done it previously, her salchow was a bit tilted sure - but the overall presentation and technical aspects were absolutely wonderful nonetheless).
What about Joannie Rochette, to skate so well after the sudden and tragic loss of her mother was just so moving. This was a different type of pressure. The pressure of fulfilling shared dreams that had suddenly become the dreams of only one. To perform as if nothing had happened. To perform with a heart so heavy it must have felt like falling to the ground. Yes she did make some errors, but who cares. Both her SP and LP are skates I'll be watching for a long time to come.
What about Rudy Galindo's 1996 performance at Nationals? I am new to figure skating but was watching some mid-1990s performances. I learned about the sad circumstances in which Galindo had skated, and to skate as he did to Dick Button's unbridled admiration was spine-tingling. To be the last skater skating at your Nationals held in your own town, and to perform under such circumstances was just remarkable.