2016-17 Retirements

[CaroLiza_fan]

Well, since the Splits & Partner Changes thread was just started, it seemed appropriate to start this one too.

So far, there are only a few Men's Singles skaters that I know about that I can kick this thread off with:

Florent AMODIO, FRA (retired after 2016 Europeans)

Takahiko KOZUKA, JPN (announced retirement in March 2016 - GS thread)

SONG Nan, CHN (announced retirement in April 2016 - GS thread)

So, is there anybody else that you know about who has confirmed that they are retiring?

CaroLiza_fan

 

[silverfoxes]

Artur Gachinski.

 

[mariap]

I guess Juulia Turkkila's and Matthias Versluis' switch to ice dance is kind of a retirement...

 

[KWIPROKWO]

I guess Juulia Turkkila's and Matthias Versluis' switch to ice dance is kind of a retirement...

I thought Juulia would have been perfect for Pairs !

Why Ice Dance? They will have major competition to get that spot to represent Finland in Helsinki. On the other hand, the road in Pairs would have been easier.

 

[4everchan]

at 164cm, that would make a very tall pair skater

I thought Juulia would have been perfect for Pairs !

Why Ice Dance? They will have major competition to get that spot to represent Finland in Helsinki. On the other hand, the road in Pairs would have been easier.

 

[silverfoxes]

Unfortunately I had a feeling this was coming, but it's official now...one of my silver foxes is retiring and will start coaching children.

Konstantin Menshov: Tired of fighting in closed gate


http://www.sovsport.ru/gazeta/article-item/907443

In the interview he says that he had an arm injury that wasn't going away and that was part of the reason which I totally understand, but this made me sad:

But the pressure that is necessary to give way to young, too, played a role in the choice of whether or not to continue to ride.

I'm glad I got to see him skate at least once...

 

[cheerknithanson]

Unfortunately I had a feeling this was coming, but it's official now...one of my silver foxes is retiring and will start coaching children.

Konstantin Menshov: Tired of fighting in closed gate


http://www.sovsport.ru/gazeta/article-item/907443

In the interview he says that he had an arm injury that wasn't going away and that was part of the reason which I totally understand, but this made me sad:

But the pressure that is necessary to give way to young, too, played a role in the choice of whether or not to continue to ride.

I'm glad I got to see him skate at least once...

Oh shoot.......same here. Saw him at Skate America 2015.

 

[blue_idealist]

Unfortunately I had a feeling this was coming, but it's official now...one of my silver foxes is retiring and will start coaching children.

Konstantin Menshov: Tired of fighting in closed gate


http://www.sovsport.ru/gazeta/article-item/907443

In the interview he says that he had an arm injury that wasn't going away and that was part of the reason which I totally understand, but this made me sad:

But the pressure that is necessary to give way to young, too, played a role in the choice of whether or not to continue to ride.

I'm glad I got to see him skate at least once...

 

[dorispulaski]

So am I glad I got to see him. I will miss him! Best wishes for his future.

 

[noskates]

What's going on with Jeremy Abbott?

 

[tulosai]

What's going on with Jeremy Abbott?

My instinct is that he's retired, even though he hasn't officially said so. He's not coming back to competition this year anyway, of if he does that will be a true shock.

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

So, that's both of the Russian guys with long blonde hair retiring.

I liked both of them.

On the one hand, at 22, Artur is not exactly over the hill. But he hasn't had a great run of it the past few years. So, it isn't really surprising that he has called it a day.

Konstantin, on the other hand, is well past the age that skaters normally retire at. But, he has been in great form in recent years. He was just unfortunate to have that niggling injury.

He says he wants to start coaching children. But, is there any indication that he wants to start having children. Because, I'm just wondering now if we might be hearing a similar announcement from Maria soon. Like, it was very noticable that the photo used to accompany that story showed both of them. Was it a hint of things to come?

I hope not. Because I would like to see Maria continue on for a few more years. Let's face it, although she is no longer a contender for selection in the bigger competitions, she has been doing very well in the Senior B's!

Anyway, all the best to Artur, Konstantin and, indeed, Maria in whatever the future holds for each of them.

(Hoping that we don't hear any announcements about Voronov any time soon...)

CaroLiza_fan

 

[karne]

On the one hand, at 22, Artur is not exactly over the hill. But he hasn't had a great run of it the past few years. So, it isn't really surprising that he has called it a day.

Artur was also carrying persistent back injuries and had just recovered from a nerve injury in his hand. It wasn't just that he no longer desired to compete.

My Lost Prince and one of the Silver Foxes... I always admired Kostya for standing defiant in the face of his federation's blatant ploys. I assume the shoulder injury was related to his dislocation at 2013 WTT.

 

[demarinis5]

Best wishes to Konstantin! Besides his skating skills and great jumps he had a great fighting spirit and toughness
and he never gave up. He was a fine athlete and competitor.

Thank you for giving so many years to the sport so many of us love!

 

[sarama]

I hope we'll see Menshov soon in the K&C, then! I always felt the judges and his own fed never fully appreciated him... He should be proud of his skating career even though he probably would have deserved way more recognition!

 

[apgold]

Sorry to see "Old Man" Menshov go. I'll never forget when he wore his girlfriend's face on one of his costumes. Speaking of, is Maria Artemieva still competing?

 

[mrrice]

What's going on with Jeremy Abbott?

Speaking of Jeremy Abbott. Do you guys remember when he used to talk about switching from singles to Ice Dance? I remember reading an article about Jeremy skating with Alissa Czisny as an Ice Dance Team. Would something like that even be possible at their ages??

 

[noskates]

Yikes - I sincerely hope not. I can only imagine how long it would take both Jeremy and Alissa to get up to any kind of competitive level in ice dance. The only reason I asked about Jeremy was that I read an interview some place (can't remember where) with Jeremy and he was kind of hedging on retiring. Having just seen him in Stars on Ice, he's a beautiful skater and so polished but I just never thought he had the "head" to compete effectively on the international level. It's like he got the "yips" and just couldn't hold it together. I do think the youngsters have passed him by.

 

[Hyena]

I'll miss Menshov - good luck to him. I liked his programs these last few seasons more than some (definitely more than the judges, I think ). The baby crying in the middle of his LP last year was a bit much but as an overall program, I liked it. And Mad World/Radioactive always worked for me.

Maybe he'll do some choreography for his students.

 

[Ice Dance]

Speaking of Jeremy Abbott. Do you guys remember when he used to talk about switching from singles to Ice Dance? I remember reading an article about Jeremy skating with Alissa Czisny as an Ice Dance Team. Would something like that even be possible at their ages??

Yes, but not if you were hoping to be competitive in the current U.S. ice dance field.