S
SkateFan4Life
Guest
In the past three Winter Olympics, young teenagers have won the gold medal:
1994 - Oksana Baiul, Ukraine. She came into the competition as the defending World Champion. She won the gold medal and immediately took advantage of the many exhibitions, shows, and pro competitions that sprang up in the mid 1990s. Oksana never competed again in another eligible competition.
1998 - Tara Lapinski, USA. She came into the competition as the defending World Champion. She won the gold medal and immediately turned pro. Tara had been nursing a serious hip injury during the Olympics - an injury that derailed her pro skating career. She, too, never competed again in another eligible competition.
2002 - Sarah Hughes, USA. She came into the competition as the defending World bronze medalist. She won the gold medal in a huge upset. Sarah filmed some shows, TV specials, made plenty of endorsements, publicity appearances, and left skating to attend Yale University. Now it seems that she's returning to the ice, as a professional skater, with SOI. Frankly, I would be surprised if Sarah ever competed in another eligible competition.
I'm not criticizing any of these wonderful champions. Anyone who wins an Olympic gold medal in figure skating is nothing short of magnificent. Still, it's been kind of sad to see them "grab the gold and say goodbye."
Certainly, the demise of the school figures had a lot to do with the emergence of these young teenagers as Olympic champions. They had little, if any, need to learn the school figures, as this discipline was abolished in 1990- when Oksana was 13, Tara was 8, and Sarah as 5. Well, Oksana probably trained in the school figures, but she stopped doing so when they were abolished.
IMHO, I would love to see a more "mature" woman figure skater - someone in her 20s - win in 2006. There are plenty of talented women out there who could grace the podium at the next OIympics - Sasha, Michelle, Shizuka, etc.
1994 - Oksana Baiul, Ukraine. She came into the competition as the defending World Champion. She won the gold medal and immediately took advantage of the many exhibitions, shows, and pro competitions that sprang up in the mid 1990s. Oksana never competed again in another eligible competition.
1998 - Tara Lapinski, USA. She came into the competition as the defending World Champion. She won the gold medal and immediately turned pro. Tara had been nursing a serious hip injury during the Olympics - an injury that derailed her pro skating career. She, too, never competed again in another eligible competition.
2002 - Sarah Hughes, USA. She came into the competition as the defending World bronze medalist. She won the gold medal in a huge upset. Sarah filmed some shows, TV specials, made plenty of endorsements, publicity appearances, and left skating to attend Yale University. Now it seems that she's returning to the ice, as a professional skater, with SOI. Frankly, I would be surprised if Sarah ever competed in another eligible competition.
I'm not criticizing any of these wonderful champions. Anyone who wins an Olympic gold medal in figure skating is nothing short of magnificent. Still, it's been kind of sad to see them "grab the gold and say goodbye."
Certainly, the demise of the school figures had a lot to do with the emergence of these young teenagers as Olympic champions. They had little, if any, need to learn the school figures, as this discipline was abolished in 1990- when Oksana was 13, Tara was 8, and Sarah as 5. Well, Oksana probably trained in the school figures, but she stopped doing so when they were abolished.
IMHO, I would love to see a more "mature" woman figure skater - someone in her 20s - win in 2006. There are plenty of talented women out there who could grace the podium at the next OIympics - Sasha, Michelle, Shizuka, etc.