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- Dec 16, 2006
She was rumored to be landing triple axels in practice!
Which competitors let their head get to them too much?
- Thread starter blue dog
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She was rumored to be landing triple axels in practice!
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- Jul 11, 2003
Doesn't every lady do them in practice, and every male skater does quads in practice?
Joe
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- Mar 19, 2006
Good point, it seems that way. I wonder what happened with Carolina's 3x3x3 I saw a clip of her doing in practice?And Miki was doing the quad during the practice prior to GPF, I saw the clip of.
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- Jun 27, 2003
Hmmmmmmmmm I'd add Kurt Browning when it came to the olympics to the list... yeah he had a back problem in 92... but 94, he was doing well up until he took the ice for the SP 
not really as bad as many of the skaters mentioned here, but still... if anyone should have put it together...
Paul Wylie also had the problem, but at the most important competition of his career he pulled it out.
not really as bad as many of the skaters mentioned here, but still... if anyone should have put it together...
Paul Wylie also had the problem, but at the most important competition of his career he pulled it out.
Hmmmmmmmmm I'd add Kurt Browning when it came to the olympics to the list... yeah he had a back problem in 92... but 94, he was doing well up until he took the ice for the SP
not really as bad as many of the skaters mentioned here, but still... if anyone should have put it together...
I have to quarrel with adding Kurt Browning. Sure, his Olympic outings were disappointing, to say the least, overall, but after his 1994 disaster in the short did he pull out? Quit? Not a chance. He put in one of the best freeskates to his landmark Casablanca and pulled up at least five or six places in the standings. That's a fighter. And anyone who can win four World championships doesn't belong in the headcase category.
Anyone who can win 4 World titles and not even win an Olympic medal of any color is a headcase when it comes to the games. It's very sad that a skater like Kerrigan has 2 Olympic medals and that medal she earned in 1992 was for the most dismal performance and skaters like Todd and Kurt don't have any medals.
Re:
Actually, not really. It was rumored that in pre-Olympic coaching sessions, Sasha Cohen would often skip on practicing her jumps cause she wasn't confident in them. I am sure lots of other skaters have the same attitude.
Actually, not really. It was rumored that in pre-Olympic coaching sessions, Sasha Cohen would often skip on practicing her jumps cause she wasn't confident in them. I am sure lots of other skaters have the same attitude.
Well that's not good. However, you know how I feel about rumors.
GIven that Kurt was injured in '92, I don't think that you can determine he is a "headcase" when it comes to the games, based only on his SP in '94. A lot of skaters don't medal at Olys, not because they are headcases, but because there are enough skaters who do better on the night in question. That Kurt Browning blew it in the SP just shows he had bad luck -- it doesn't make him a headcase.
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- Jul 11, 2003
Putting Kwan in any derrogatory category seems to be your main point about figure skating.
What exactly does 'choke' mean? Did you see Irina and Sasha also 'choke' in that Olys? I'm assuming 'choke' means 'mess up'.
Joe
Unlike the others mentioned above, Cohen though won three medals at Worlds and also a silver one at the Olympics.
Exactly. To be more accurate, "mess up" under pressure.
So yes, this means Irina and Cohen "choked", too. And at '06 Games after being 1st in the short Cohen choked (badly at that, too) in the long, and so did Slutskaya after being in position to win with her usual skate.
"choke" is a word reporters, newspapers and fans use all the time. It does seem to get fans of the skater mad, though, and not surprisingly I suppose.
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- Jun 27, 2003
Whoa, who called him a headcase? Not me. Far from it. I do feel he choked in the SP... after the flip he let that double axel go... in 92 after a couple of mistakes in teh long (After the disaster of the SP) he let it GO. You could see it in the body language. YES he rebounded in the 94 long, but like he said years later he just wanted one clean performance at the olympics... he wasn't going for a medal at that point and yes that proves he's a fighter and that he was skating for himself in that moment...
but he DID let the mistakes get to him in 92 and 94, he admitted it. I am not saying he's a headcase. I'm a HUGE fan of Kurt's... but there was some mental block about the games...
I can somewhat agree with teh MK though I think 98 could fall under that category more than 02 - she went for it there, it just wasn't going to happen, but she didn't let it get to her - she didn't let it go she was conservative in 98 and played it safe, which I think is another form of choking, but it's considered more of a strategy....
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- Mar 22, 2004
It's not choking, it's strategy and usually a good one. If you're a likely olympic gold medalist lay down a solid performance taking no undue risks and hope for the best. It's a very good strategy that works more often than not especially if you're skating before the competitor most likely to beat you.
It worked for Witt (twice!), Yamaguchi (whose olympic lp was one of her weaker efforts) and more recently Arakawa. The only skater in a position to try that strategy that it didn't work for (that I can think of*) is in fact Kwan, which is bad luck and not bad strategy.
*you could argue it didn't work for Nancy Kerrigan but that situation was not really comprable to other olympics
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- Jul 11, 2003
It was sometime ago I used the word 'choke' to describe Sasha's throwaway LP at the Dortmund Worlds. By using it I meant 'fear of winning'. She was up to winning that Worlds and likewise Calgary Worlds, but something happens to her to be unsuccessful at winning. She did get a 2nd to Arakawa in Dortmund, and a bronze to Kimmie's win in Calgary. So she was not a loser. She medaled in both. All these competitions have Sasha in lst Place after the SP including the 2006 Olys. What happens to her when an extra minute of skating breaks her down? Is she fearful of winning? Is she choking?
There are many ways to tear Kwan down with ascerbic adjectives, but she is not fearful of an audience or of winning, especially winning. That's how the Kwan's became wealthy.
Joe
I think she's a special case, however. She usually aces the SP and is in position to win only to "choke" in the FS and give it all up. It's happened, what, four times? And this is not including Nationals. She's also fortunate that she has the ability to not let a mistake completely ruin the entire program, and I think that's the main difference between her and the others listed (and why she wins medals more consistently). Same category, special case. JMO
Doesn't Weir also have National championships?
I think one of the reason why Weir and Cohen are treated as "competitiors [who] let their head get to them too much" is that we are bombarded by the commentators telling us how perfect they are, especially their technique. Their results are impressive for skaters in general, but the failure to skate clean free skates (for Johnny -- his failure to do so outside of Nats) is not what I (at least for one) expect from skaters who are otherwise "perfect". Skaters who are allowed to have flaws (for example, Irina would be criticized for her "lack of artistry" and MK for her "lack of technical merit") are not treated so harshly when they lose.
Laetitia Hubert had a lot of psychological problems and was a skater of immense talent. I wished that Leatitia could have medalled at worlds, she was so close 4th at both 92 and 98 worlds. On form she could have beaten the best, she beat Tara Lipinski at Trophee Lalique in 97 but it was Laetitia's mental state that let her down. Laetitia had great programs, I loved her short to "The Piano" in 98 and her free to "palladio and diva" in 2002.
Zuzanna Zswed was another talented skater whose jumps really let her down and should have done better at major competitions. In my opinion her 97 "Teacher" program was pure class. Zuzanna is now married to Aaron Parchem.
Lenka Kulovana again very artistic and should have medalled frequently at Europeans, but jumps let her down, but would have been the complete skater if she mastered the harder jumps and could have challenged anyone.
Zuzanna Zswed was another talented skater whose jumps really let her down and should have done better at major competitions. In my opinion her 97 "Teacher" program was pure class. Zuzanna is now married to Aaron Parchem.
Lenka Kulovana again very artistic and should have medalled frequently at Europeans, but jumps let her down, but would have been the complete skater if she mastered the harder jumps and could have challenged anyone.
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