Zhao is now returning to competition after allowing his injury to completely heal and THEN starting to work on a comeback a couple of years ago. Shen/Zhao had no serious injuries when they decided to compete, and they had been practicing and preparing for years, not seven months before the Olympics.
Sasha hasn't shown much common sense or even self-knowledge through this entire contretemps. I do not expect to see her at Nationals because it's only two months from now, and the only way to heal tendonitis is to stay away from the ice. Sasha is 25, not 18, and injuries are naturally slower to heal now. She won't be able to practice 3Z and 3F or do sufficient complete runthroughs of her FS. Without the big jumps and muscle memory, she has no chance of finishing top two at Nationals, so there's no point in going to Spokane to risk embarrassment and possibly damage her pro skating career. I think the coaching change to Nicks will help to convince her that it's time to face up to the fact that her competitive skating days are over.
Sasha hasn't shown much common sense or even self-knowledge through this entire contretemps. I do not expect to see her at Nationals because it's only two months from now, and the only way to heal tendonitis is to stay away from the ice. Sasha is 25, not 18, and injuries are naturally slower to heal now. She won't be able to practice 3Z and 3F or do sufficient complete runthroughs of her FS. Without the big jumps and muscle memory, she has no chance of finishing top two at Nationals, so there's no point in going to Spokane to risk embarrassment and possibly damage her pro skating career. I think the coaching change to Nicks will help to convince her that it's time to face up to the fact that her competitive skating days are over.