The year teenage girls blew up figure skating

[moonvine]

Here is a recent WSJ article on the topic. Unfortunately, I don't have a subscription so I am not able to read more than the first paragraph.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-year-teenage-girls-blew-up-figure-skating-11572189137

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

I don't either. But my guess is that they are referring to 2011, when Tuktamysheva, Sotnikova and Lipnitskaya all made their Senior debut at international level.

Because that was what triggered the conveyor belt of teenage girls coming through that we have had ever since.

It really was the start of a revolution that has all but swept away the old order.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[LiamForeman]

I don't either. But my guess is that they are referring to 2011, when Tuktamysheva, Sotnikova and Lipnitskaya all made their Senior debut at international level.

Because that was what triggered the conveyor belt of teenage girls coming through that we have had ever since.

It really was the start of a revolution that has all but swept away the old order.

CaroLiza_fan

Huh? It clearly is about the 3A. Why would the WSJ write about skaters most people have probably never heard of or forgot about by now?

 

[Alex65]

Does anyone bring this here in full? Or do businessmen not like FS?

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Huh? It clearly is about the 3A.

Ah. Never thought of the 3A. But, I'm not technically minded, so that is hardly surprising.

I was just going by the headline. Because, as I said, 2011 was the year that the old order was blown apart by these 3 teenagers coming through and winning all round them. And the result was that, with a few notable exceptions, Ladies Singles skating has been a sport for girls in their mid-teens ever since.

Why would the WSJ write about skaters most people have probably never heard of or forgot about by now?

I would actually go further and ask why would the Wall Street Journal write about figure skating at all? It's not exactly a mainstream sport, and most people reading wouldn't know a triple axel if it hit them in the face.

That's why I thought the story was about the way the sport has seen a monumental shift in the ages of the athletes at the top. Because that is what people in the (Wall) street would be able to relate to.

That's the problem with headlines like that. They can be interpreted in vastly different ways by different people.

Also, speaking of the headline, it is written in the past tense. Which suggests that the story is looking back in time. The 3A becoming an important factor is the story of the present, not a story of the past.

Oh, how I wish we would go back to the time when newspapers employed proof-readers. There would be a lot fewer cases of confusion like this arising, because proof-readers would spot things like incorrect tenses.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[anonymoose_au]

Huh? It clearly is about the 3A. Why would the WSJ write about skaters most people have probably never heard of or forgot about by now?

Caroliza_fan probably means it in a tongue in cheek way, the 3A of course are making the biggest impact so far and can rightly be said to be blowing up figure skating, but there's been lots of teenage girls "blowing up figure skating" all the way back to Tara Lipinski. Actually, come to think of it... Sonja Henie made a huge splash back in her day, she competed in her first Olympics at age 10! Of greater interest is that she also introduced white skates and the shorter skirted costumes to ladies figure skating.

So teenage girls have done a lot for skating through the years, the 3A are continuing a fine tradition

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Caroliza_fan probably means it in a tongue in cheek way, the 3A of course are making the biggest impact so far and can rightly be said to be blowing up figure skating, but there's been lots of teenage girls "blowing up figure skating" all the way back to Tara Lipinski. Actually, come to think of it... Sonja Henie made a huge splash back in her day, she competed in her first Olympics at age 10! Of greater interest is that she also introduced white skates and the shorter skirted costumes to ladies figure skating.

So teenage girls have done a lot for skating through the years, the 3A are continuing a fine tradition

I wasn't actually. If you read the comment I posted when you were writing your's, you will see I was being perfectly serious.

But, you do make good points about Tara and Sonja. Although Tara was very young, she didn't really start a trend the way the Russian girls did a decade and a half later. And athough I knew Sonja was young when she came through, I didn't realise that she was quite that young. Wow! :shocked:

CaroLiza_fan

 

[anonymoose_au]

I wasn't actually. If you read the comment I posted when you were writing your's, you will see I was being perfectly serious.

But, you do make good points about Tara and Sonja. Although Tara was very young, she didn't really start a trend the way the Russian girls did a decade and a half later. And athough I knew Sonja was young when she came through, I didn't realise that she was quite that young. Wow! :shocked:

CaroLiza_fan

Ha ha I saw that, although the first paragraph of the article mentioned Sasha T before the paywall reared its head, so I'm sure it's about the 3A... Alysa Liu might get a mention too. I admit I'm curious! I wonder what the article says...is it complimentary?

And yeah the Olympics were wild back then before age limits, most of the rowing eight teams had little kids as the coxwain to keep the weight down! The youngest medallist was 8.

 

[neud]

text
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-year-teenage-girls-blew-up-figure-skating-11572189137

A group of teenage girls have turbocharged the sport officially known as ladies skating, landing quadruple jumps that were off-limits for decades and in quantities that are already up there with the very top male skaters.

It’s either spectacular, or terrifying. It’s definitely youth sports gone mad.

Russian Alexandra Trusova landed two quadruple toeloops ....

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Ha ha I saw that, although the first paragraph of the article mentioned Sasha T before the paywall reared its head, so I'm sure it's about the 3A... Alysa Liu might get a mention too. I admit I'm curious! I wonder what the article says...is it complimentary?

Ah, I didn't notice Trusova being mentioned. But, that is hardly surprising as that line is faded as that is where the paywall comes in. My eyesight and the lighting just were't good enough to make that out.

But, I have no excuse for not noticing the subtitle to the story, which says "An explosion of quadruple jumps has changed the sport overnight" I didn't even see that there was a subtitle until there now!

Please forgive me, everybody.

And yeah the Olympics were wild back then before age limits, most of the rowing eight teams had little kids as the coxwain to keep the weight down! The youngest medallist was 8.

Whaaat???!!! Eight???!!! That is just unbelievable. :shocked: And totally believable at the same time!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[Arbitrary]

=== “Once they reach puberty and their body changes…I don’t know,” said Evelyn Kramer ====

So many people say "I don't know..." in this matter yet asking or sometimes demanding the ISU to interfere and "prevent".

 

[anonymoose_au]

text

Thanks Neud!

Hmm not very positive at all...

Interesting Brian Boitano brings up the shortening of male skater's careers, Boyang and Nathan are still young, but Yuzu has multiple quads and is still on top, so I'm not sure if Brian B is right there. You could even use Sergei as an example... He's got a quad, is over 30 and has been competing for years.

Even Yags and Plushy - the poster boys of quads causing bodily damage - are in better shape than I would have thought. They can still skate and even jump (although obviously not quads).

But yeah I don't think this article will be well-received!

 

[Mishaminion]

It seems very biased, and full of errors.

Quads were not "off limits" for years, whatever that means and teenagers have at least partially dominated the sport since the 90s.

 

[katymay]

And yet, the WSJ could take a short trip down the street, visit the dancers of the ABT (many of them 14 and 15) and see what REAL lifelong damage is.

 

[anonymoose_au]

Ah, I didn't notice Trusova being mentioned. But, that is hardly surprising as that line is faded as that is where the paywall comes in. My eyesight and the lighting just were't good enough to make that out.

But, I have no excuse for not noticing the subtitle to the story, which says "An explosion of quadruple jumps has changed the sport overnight" I didn't even see that there was a subtitle until there now!

Please forgive me, everybody.

Aww that's OK...I misread stuff all the time

Whaaat???!!! Eight???!!! That is just unbelievable. :shocked: And totally believable at the same time!

CaroLiza_fan

It gets even weirder... according to this article: https://www.grunge.com/149086/the-youngest-gold-medalists-at-the-olympic-games/ - the kid was just some random kid in the crowd! Although it was the Cox pairs not the eights.

The weirdest old timey Olympic stories are a how often people cheated in the marathon, like they'd take shortcuts or even catch buses part way and pretend they ran the whole thing!

 

[Decoder]

text

Thanks!

 

[Mishaminion]

Catching buses during their Marathon run? I do not condone cheating but that is hilarious!


"Hurry up Driver I have a Marathon to win!!!"

 

[Alex65]

Thanks for the translation! So nothing new. One American girl among several Russian names is definitely not enough to make the topic positive, but without absolute negativity. Health and good luck to Alice and all these girls.

 

[ice coverage]

… I would actually go further and ask why would the Wall Street Journal write about figure skating at all? It's not exactly a mainstream sport, and most people reading wouldn't know a triple axel if it hit them in the face. ...

It is nothing new for this reporter to cover figure skating for the WSJ. She has done so in the past from time to time.

BTW, Rolling Stone magazine periodically has had articles about figure skating (and not just in the immediate timeframe of the Olympics).

… Also, speaking of the headline, it is written in the past tense. Which suggests that the story is looking back in time. The 3A becoming an important factor is the story of the present, not a story of the past. ...

I would say that the point is that it is a fait accompli that teens blew up figure skating in 2019.

I believe that the past tense is intentional. It makes sense to me.

... Hmm not very positive at all...

The full article (which I read in the hard-copy WSJ) has quotes from Tom Z, and I would not call them negative.

(It would be both unethical and against GS guidelines to copy and paste the entire article, so I am glad that neud did not do so.)

… Interesting Brian Boitano brings up the shortening of male skater's careers ...I'm not sure if Brian B is right there. ...

The article does not quote Boitano.
It quotes Linda Leaver, who was Boitano's coach.

 

[anonymoose_au]

It is nothing new for this reporter to cover figure skating for the WSJ. She has done so in the past from time to time.

BTW, Rolling Stone magazine periodically has had articles about figure skating (and not just in the immediate timeframe of the Olympics).

That's interesting! We did have some news articles about skating in our paper when Katia and Harley won Junior World's and tragically when Denis Ten was killed, but it's not a common thing.

The full article (which I read in the hard-copy WSJ) has quotes from Tom Z, and I would not call them negative.

(It would be both unethical and against GS guidelines to copy and paste the entire article, so I am glad that neud did not do so.)

Interesting! I haven't heard Tom Z mentioned in a while, does he still have top skaters?

The article does not quote Boitano.
It quotes Linda Leaver, who was Boitano's coach.

Oops...see I misread stuff all the time, Caroliza_Fan Apologies to Brian B, still the male quadersters seem to be hanging around long enough so far.