Tchernyshev to apply for Canadian Citizenship

[Joesitz]

A. He didn't dump Naomi. SHE stopped skating for awhile, then came back and they competed at Nationals, withdrawing after the CD.

B. SHE then dumped HIM after becoming pregnant.

Ice dancing is his JOB. Of course he cares about it. I personally think the wiser decision would be for them to skate in shows, but it's not my life. Neither of them have an Olympic medal, and I'm sure that something very tempting to go for. As the wise Atticus Finch says in "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Don't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes."Laura

A. Didn't they stop dancing because of her ankle and then went back to do Nats.

According to pennyfrom heaven:

Also, contrary to the information that was all over the media when Naomi and Peter split; the split was not Naomi's idea. The information given to the media came from Naomi and Peter's agent and it was not the truth about the situation.

B. I really don't think anyone is coming down on Peter for taking up yet another citizenship, but the rules of immigration have to be followed and there should be no exception.

As far as the Olympic rules, can you imagine a six man regata where the coxman is a German, and the rowers are Portuguese. If the team wins, which flag is hoisted up? The Olympic rules are there for a purpose.

I do agree with you, on both of them doing shows where nationalities do not come into play and Peter will be doing the JOB that he loves That's what we all want to see. However, when they retire, will Peter he be happy if his options are gone?

Joe

[PrincessLeppard]

And I should trust pennyfromheaven because......?

And was Peter supposed to wait for the baby to be born, wait to see if Naomi wanted to skate again, and then what? Coaching pays some bills, but I'm sure skating in the GP and at Nats and on COI pays much better.

[pennyfromheaven]

Well you can trust my inside sources on that one, at least I do, they are pretty reliable. Well if Peter had waited for Naomi to have the baby as she wanted, and then resumed training, he wouldn't really be in much different of a positon than he is right now would he? I mean right now he has to develop the connection with SL, and the polish and finesse on the ice that usually only come after years of skating together. With either Naomi or SL for his partner he still has not been on the ice much training, and has not been competing in awhile. At least with Naomi they can both represent the US, and they have 8 years of skating together behind them plus 5 Nationals titles. That's why I could understand if he and SL wanted to go pro, it would be an interesting combination and might help COI or SOI sell some more tickets than having Naomi and Peter in their shows would, but who knows, it might not make that much of a difference either, outside of Canada. Now he is in unknown territory, who knows how he and SL will be received by the international judges? Who knows if the usfsa is even going to release him to skate for Canada?

[miffy]

Naomi had been unsure whether she wanted to compete last season, and Peter waited then, hoping she would come back. Even if Naomi said she wanted to continue after having her baby, she might easily have changed her mind. There is no one else available in the US who has the experience and would be a good match - Peter is very tall, and obviously age is also a factor. He probably doesn't have the time to wait for a new partner to reach his level, if he wants to continue competing, and if there was no one in USA, he would have to go elsewhere. Whatever Peter and Shae's past situations are, they are two skaters who want to continue competing, so i hope they can - partly because i want to see them, and partly because it's not nice when people have to retire sooner than they would like. Maybe he won't get Canadian citizenship in time, or maybe the USFA will block it, or maybe they will make it and not be recieved well by the judges, but at least they will have tried, and will know that they did all they could.

[Joesitz]

Naomi had been unsure whether she wanted to compete last season, and Peter waited then, hoping she would come back. Even if Naomi said she wanted to continue after having her baby, she might easily have changed her mind..

On your first sentence, what is your source for making the statement? On your second sentence, "she might" is pure conjecture.

Peter is fine with all his citizenships. If he goes pro with whomever that would be ideal. If he intends to try yet another Oly then his eligibility will come into question. That is a Canadian thing. I, personally, do not feel athletes or any other beings, movie stars included should waltz into new citizenships without going through the normal procedures. We know there are ways to pull strings and maybe Peter can do something to that affect. Let's see.

Joe

[dmr65]

It did not become clear to me, did he have tears in his eyes because he had to give up his Russian citizenship or because he got the US citizenship?

Good question.

[pennyfromheaven]

It was clear to me after watching the fluff piece that the tears in his eyes were because he no longer had Russian citizenship, not tears of happiness over finally being an American. I even recall there were several threads on different skating forums talking about this then - how if he was so sad at giving up his Russian citizenship then did he really want to be an American citizen or was it just for skating, etc. etc. Also in response to other posts saying that Naomi is no longer available to be his partner and has retired I would just like to clarify this according to what I have been told; she is still available to be his partner and he is well aware of this.

[Zanzibar]

Why this negative innuendo towards Peter T.?
He's a good guy, and this citizenship meant something to him.
He knows more about American politics than many born and bred here!
He's doing the best he can to continue competing in a sport he loves.
He's now paired up with Shae who is talented, nice, gorgeous, and a hard worker.
There are layers of complexities on these matters - from citizenship to his former partnership - and I have nothing but admiration for a guy who even at
33 has stayed healthy and is not willing to give up.

Good luck to Peter and Shae - and I think we will definitely see them compete.

[NansXOXOX]

It almost sounds like there is a lynch mob forming to hang Peter for a horse thief and no one even knows if the horse is missing yet.

In a fluff piece from the last Nationals, Naomi stated that a fan's website encouraged her to return to competition. That sounds to me like she was the one who was thinking about quitting.

I may have read it wrong, but in the article (the "long" version that I can't find right now, sorry) that talks about Peter gaining citizenship in time to compete as eligible, it seemed like the attitude was, "Oh well, we will try, but if it doesn't happen, we will just skate as pros."

I don't think any of us know Peter well enough to say we know what is going on in his head or what he was thinking at any given time. I do think that he (like Abt) has had some rough breaks in his career and he deserves to be able to continue, if that's what he wants, however it's possible for him to do so and hopefully be able to taste some additional success. If he has to become a citizen of another country to do this, so be it.

I don't remember any big protest when he gave up his citizenship with Russia and took US citizenship so he could represent the US at the 2002 Olympics. Did any of you who object now, object then? If not, why? Because he was bringing his talent *to* the US and not *away* from it?

This is Peter's life, to do with as he sees best and I don't think any of us really know what we might do in similar circumstances. Just my opinion.

Nan

[miffy]

On your first sentence, what is your source for making the statement?

My first sentence just said that Naomi had been unsure of whether she wanted to compete last season and Peter waited hoping she would come back - that was public knowledge! That is why they withdrew from the Grand Prix last season - not due to injury. USFSA and CMM both had articles: 'L/T take a break from competitive skating', with quotes from both Naomi and Peter. I can't find the articles (CMM has taken L/T's page down, and the link to the USFSA's article just goes to the homepage now that they changed the site) but this article briefly backs up what i said: http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/FigureSkat...306072-ap.html

I'm sure there are other articles that go into more detail.

[dmr65]

I don't remember any big protest when he gave up his citizenship with Russia and took US citizenship so he could represent the US at the 2002 Olympics. Did any of you who object now, object then? If not, why? Because he was bringing his talent *to* the US and not *away* from it?

Perhaps you may want to ask the Russian skating fans in Russia?



Anyway.. Who is really lynching or out to lynch him here? I am not sure that's how I'm reading posts here and in a few other boards.... I think people have stated their disappointments or opinions, but that does not equal hatred or bashing the man...

[NansXOXOX]

I never said anyone was bashing or hated Peter, but you might agree that phrases like, "It seems to me like he is shedding citizenships like dirty clothes." and "If Peter T. takes his American citizenship that lightly, then I think he's a dope................. then Peter is stupid to let himself be used in this manner." and "He doesn't care about his citizenship. It is only skating he cares for. This is obvious" and "the citizenship means nothing to him, it is only the skating that's important and winning that Olympic medal at any cost." are less than flattering and call into question his motives without any direct input from Peter on the subject.

Russian fans might very well have been disappointed when he gave up his citizenship there to skate for the US, but that's not who is posting here on the subject now. It seems in part, Peter became a US citizen because this is where he found gainful employment and could continue skating as an eligible skater. A lot of other skaters in several different countries have done the same. Peter may be unique in that this may result in a second move, but what he is doing now is no different than what he did when he became a US citizen, or what other skaters have done for much the same reason.

No one but Peter knows how he felt when he became a US citizen and no one but Peter knows how he feels about the prospect of giving up that citizenship.

Nan

[Joesitz]

Why this negative innuendo towards Peter T.?

I don't think negative innuendos are abounding on the post. No one has said he should not skate with SL. I think most people are happy that he still has the spark for figure skating - not unlike Michelle Kwan, and Irina Slutskaya - who many posters put down because they believe that that spark is not real (innuendo) and they should allow for the teenagers to compete among themselves. There is no rule on aging in figure skating.

These are facts which we have come up with on this thread:

[U]Peter gave up his Russian citizenship

Peter searched for an American Ice Dancer; found one, and became an American citizen

Peter's American partner could not skate for a while do to pregnancy.

Peter searched for another Ice Dancer. He found one in Canada.

Peter can only skate Olympics with Canadian citizenship

Here are questions that have arose:

Were there other reasons for leaving Russia?
What was so important about getting an American partner?
Was the partner's pregnancy the reason to split?
Will he skate pro which does not present a problem?
Will he skate eligible which will?

Regardless of the questions that have arisen, I prefer he skates Pro.

Joe

[Joesitz]

[QUOTE=Joesitz]I don't think negative innuendos are abounding on the post. No one has said he should not skate with SL. I think most people are happy that he still has the spark for figure skating - not unlike Michelle Kwan, and Irina Slutskaya - who many posters put down because they believe that that spark is not real (innuendo) and they should allow for the teenagers to compete among themselves. There is no rule on aging in figure skating.

These are facts which we have come up with on this thread:

[U]Peter gave up his Russian citizenship

Peter searched for an American Ice Dancer; found one, and became an American citizen

Peter's American partner could not skate for a while do to pregnancy.

Peter searched for another Ice Dancer. He found one in Canada.

Peter can only skate Olympics with Canadian citizenship

Here are questions that have arose:

Were there other reasons for leaving Russia?
What was so important about getting an American partner?
Was the partner's pregnancy the reason to split?
Will he skate pro which does not present a problem?
Will he skate eligible which will?

Regardless of the questions that have arisen, I prefer he skates Pro, and with anyone he is able to get.

Joe

[NansXOXOX]

Here are questions that have arose:

Were there other reasons for leaving Russia?
What was so important about getting an American partner?
Was the partner's pregnancy the reason to split?
Will he skate pro which does not present a problem?
Will he skate eligible which will?

Regardless of the questions that have arisen, I prefer he skates Pro, and with anyone he is able to get.

Joe

It's early in the morning for me, not enough coffee yet and I'm not the best speller (sorry, Granny!), so please excuse me in advance for incorrectly spelling any of the names in this post.

If I remember correctly what commentators have said in the past, Peter originally came to the US with his (then) wife who came to the US to skate professionally and coach. They subsequently divorced and I believe she was the one who divorced Peter, not the other way around.

When Peter was looking for a partner, I'm not sure it was so important to find an "American" partner as is was to find a partner Peter was compatible with and he was *in* America, hence the search for an "American" partner. Don't forget, Naomi was his second partner in the US, if all he wanted was an "American" partner, he had already found one. Ice Dance seems to be a little more unique in pairing partners of different countries than Pairs does, perhaps because Pairs skaters often begin skating together at a much younger age and Ice Dance teams can still be formed as viable teams with adult partners. There are many ice dancers who have crossed country boundaries to find compatible partners. Annisina left Russia to skate with Gwendal, Petukov came to the US to skate with (and subsequently marry) his current partner, Tanith left Canada to skate with Ben, Victor left Germany to skate with Shae-Lynn, Stavisky left Russia to skate with Denkova and the same holds true for many lesser known teams. Commentators have said many times that the lack of female ice dancers in Russia had "forced" many Russian men to seek partners outside Russia, Annisina seems to be the exception.

I don't think we can assume that Naomi's pregnancy was the sole reason for a split between Peter and Naomi. Don't forget, she herself stated she had wanted a "break" from skating, the pressure was getting to her, and she did have trouble with diagnosing her ankle injury for a long time. Her injury was the reason sited for withdrawing from Nationals and at the time, Naomi herself stated that she should have had it taken care of previously, but didn't. During a fluff piece at those same Nationals, Naomi talked about coaching children and how it was the "best part of her day." I did get the impression then that was the direction her heart was taking. I don't know Naomi, but unless we hear directly from her, I don't think we can assume she would be willing to leave a newborn to continue competing anymore than we can assume the opposite. In all the time Peter and Naomi were off the ice, I don't recall reading any statements from Peter that were anything less than supportive where Naomi was concerned so to assume he would break up the team just because Naomi became pregnant is a bit of a stretch, I think. In my opinion, he seems to have made every attempt to hold the partnership together as long as he felt it had a future.

Skating as eligible poses the problem of citizenship. Skating as professional poses the problem of securing contracts with shows or tours. Each has it's own set of difficulties. I don't really care if Peter and Shae-Lynn skate as eligible or professional as long as they are doing what gives them the most satisfaction. I just want to see Peter on the ice again.

Sorry for rambling on for so long, blame it on the lack of coffee, please.

Nan