2022-23 Retirements, Splits and New Partnerships

[gleungc6]

Crossposting from British and Irish skating thread:

As seen on IAM's instagram (their latest post), there's a new ice dance team for GB: Layla Karnes (previously repped the US) and Liam Carr (previously repped Canada). They will train at IAM Ontario with Moir, Hubbell, Diaz etc.

 

[saphire]

Cheng Peng / Yang Jin (pairs, CHN) have split, and Cheng Peng has teamed up with Lei Wang.

Link to Weibo post

The split has been a rumour for a while, as Yang Jin has been struggling with injuries and has been seen coaching, but there was no real confirmation until now.

I saw that post today. Also saw rumor that Yu Xiaoyu/Jin Yang regrouped.

Cheng Peng / Yang Jin (pairs, CHN) have split, and Cheng Peng has teamed up with Lei Wang.

Link to Weibo post

The split has been a rumour for a while, as Yang Jin has been struggling with injuries and has been seen coaching, but there was no real confirmation until now.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

I saw that post today. Also saw rumor that Yu Xiaoyu/Jin Yang regrouped.

Yu Xiaoyu announced her retirement in 2021, so I'd be very surprised to see her return, tbh. She seems to be skating from time to time still but nothing that really indicates a return to competitive skating, but who really knows what happens outside of what ends up on social media.

I would remain cautious with believing it until there are pictures (like we now have in Peng/Wang's case), they're on an entry list somewhere or there's an official announcement, because while rumours often tend to turn out true, sometimes they're really just rumours. We just don't know until after the fact.

 

[saphire]

Yu Xiaoyu announced her retirement in 2021, so I'd be very surprised to see her return, tbh. She seems to be skating from time to time still but nothing that really indicates a return to competitive skating, but who really knows what happens outside of what ends up on social media.

I would remain cautious with believing it until there are pictures (like we now have in Peng/Wang's case), they're on an entry list somewhere or there's an official announcement, because while rumours often tend to turn out true, sometimes they're really just rumours. We just don't know until after the fact.

I was surprised because I thought she retired after an injury. There was something about them being on entry list on twitter. I haven’t seen much on Weibo besides an occasional vlog from Jin

 

[Jumping_Bean]

I was surprised because I thought she retired after an injury. There was something about them being on entry list on twitter. I haven’t seen much on Weibo besides an occasional vlog from Jin

They're both on the list of active (I assume?) pairs skaters published by the Chinese fed, but from the way they are listed, I would assume they are not a team. The other teams are listed in one field with a little symbol at the front, and they're listed in two separate fields and don't have a symbol.

The only other pair of names with the same table set-up is a team we know has split, Huidi Wang/Ziqi Jia, so it seems more likely that it's an indication of pairs skaters who are currently partnerless.

 

[norwegianfairytale]

Looks like Milla&Nikolaj will get competition next season. Sweden suddenly has two ID team

 

[synesthesia]

And now Finland or Sweden (?) has a (correction: new) pairs team! Tilda Alteryd and Valtter Virtanen just announced their partnership.

 

[yesterday]

One of the quickest comebacks from retirement? Wow!

 

[happycamper2554]

And now Finland or Sweden (?) has a pairs team! Tilda Alteryd and Valtter Virtanen just announced their partnership.

Finland and Sweden both have pair teams already

 

[Jumping_Bean]

Finland and Sweden both have pair teams already

And the other Finnish team is likely to debut internationally first if the Italian fed has released Filippo. Milania Väänänen/Filippo Clerici have been competing nationally but had to sit out the entirety of last season because he competed at Jr Worlds in 2021-22 for Italy.

Tilda will have to sit out until mid-November, so the timeline for getting TES mins for Euros will be very tight for Alteryd/Virtanen if that's the goal. It will be interesting to see Finland have two pairs after having a real lack of teams in partnered disciplines in the past. The last time there were 2 pairs teams at Nationals was all the way back in 1950/51.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

Just for the sake of completeness, Tilda and Valtter teaming up means that the pairs team Tilda Alteryd/Gabriel Farand (CAN) has split.

Continuing in that vein, another Canadian team has split, but this time in ice dance and not pairs: Chaima Ben Khelifa/Everest Zhu. Chaima is on Icepartnersearch: https://icepartnersearch.com/showbio.php?i=7426

In other ice dance news, another Japanese team has split, this time the 4th placed team at Jr Nationals, Nanami Harasawa/Eisuke Kumano. He is on Icepartnersearch: https://icepartnersearch.com/showbio.php?i=7422

 

[Ruthypegs]

One of the quickest comebacks from retirement? Wow!

I didn't know Valtter had retired! Great that he's still competing!

 

[TT_Fin]

No, Valtter has not announced any retirement so far.

 

[yesterday]

To me, after his topless gala, the commentator on the ISU feed clearly hinted retirement (from singles it seems). But as he changed category now, it's retirement and non-retirement in one go

 

[Ruthypegs]

To me, after his topless gala, the commentator on the ISU feed clearly hinted retirement (from singles it seems). But as he changed category now, it's retirement and non-retirement in one go

I'm sure Valtter could do both pairs and singles.... Lia Pereira is managing pretty well combining two disciplines, and he's already managed to combine international competition standard skating with being an A&E doctor. Go Valtter!

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

And now Finland or Sweden (?) has a (correction: new) pairs team! Tilda Alteryd and Valtter Virtanen just announced their partnership.

Whee! I love how much Valtter Virtanen, who is a physician, is also totally into figure skating! He clearly loves, loves to skate. Much good luck to Valtter and his new partner, Tilda Alteryd. It's a good thing to see singles skaters becoming ice dancers, or pairs skaters, and to see young ice dancers deciding to switch to pairs. There are so many new partnerships as the second season of the new quad heats up with unexpected explorations and experimentation.

 

[Diana Delafield]

.... he's already managed to combine international competition standard skating with being an A&E doctor. Go Valtter!

Charles Snelling did the same thing in Canada in the 1950s and 60s, combining skating with medical school and then his early career as a plastic surgeon specializing in burn patients. Canadian champion six times between 1954-64, bronze medallist at Worlds 1957, two-time Olympian. I was referred to him c1980 about an old burn scar. I still remember his face when I arrived in his office, he asked what he could do for me, and I said, "Well, before we get to the medical part, could you autograph this, please?" and handed over an old program from the 1967 Canadian championships. My club had hosted it and I'd been a flower girl carrying out the bouquets to be presented when he was bronze that year at 30.

 

[Diana Delafield]

Charles Snelling did the same thing in Canada in the 1950s and 60s, combining skating with medical school and then his early career as a plastic surgeon specializing in burn patients. Canadian champion six times between 1954-64, bronze medallist at Worlds 1957, two-time Olympian. I was referred to him c1980 about an old burn scar. I still remember his face when I arrived in his office, he asked what he could do for me, and I said, "Well, before we get to the medical part, could you autograph this, please?" and handed over an old program from the 1967 Canadian championships. My club had hosted it and I'd been a flower girl carrying out the bouquets to be presented when he was bronze that year at 30.

(Couldn't get my computer to let me edit the above and add a PS: Feel free to move this somewhere perhaps deemed more appropriate, like a thread about Canadian men skaters or Canadian champions or whatever.)

 

[Lyyli]

I'm sure Valtter could do both pairs and singles.... Lia Pereira is managing pretty well combining two disciplines, and he's already managed to combine international competition standard skating with being an A&E doctor. Go Valtter!

https://yle.fi/a/74-20013000/64-3-158963

Valtter says he could do singles in the autumn only if it doesn´t disturb pairs training. He has been searching for a pair semi-actively during the last years and did some pairs training for a couple of months about ten years ago. Tilda will be free to represent Finland in November.

 

[yesterday]

French Junior ID couple
Louise Bordet / Thomas Gipoulou
split?

He is on IPS http://icepartnersearch.com/showbio.php?i=7429