Lambiel obviously not serious about competiting anymore, fills schedule with shows!

[temperboy28]

Lambiel obviously not serious about competiting anymore, fills schedule with shows!

Stephane apparently is bulking up his schedule with a bunch of shows. He has 4 shows planned in the next 4 weeks alone: Read the top of his website here:

http://www.stephanelambiel.ch/fs/fs-e.html

It is extremely obvious he has no intention of returning to compete this season at all. I dont understand his attitude, why would somebody at the top of their sport decide to just blow it off the way he is. I would be surprised if he ever competed again, but it wont be this year. Again I dont understand his thinking at all, if he was this sure he had enough why wouldnt he announce retiring before the season even started rather then showing up in pathetic shape and gradualy pulling out of events but giving no definite word.

 

[Zanzibar]

Why? Well, for starters the post-Olympic year is a big letdown season for many competitors. If they didn't win - they've got 4 more years to try and slog through to get an Olympic gold medal. If you've already got 2 world championships under your belt, getting a 3rd might not seem that exciting.

 

[Spun Silver]

Surely he's depressed about something. Give him space. If he wants to come back next season, he can do it.

 

[lisadotdash]

Surely he's depressed about something. Give him space. If he wants to come back next season, he can do it.

Agree . Maybe he just wants to make some money and not spend so much for a change, and develop some relationships. True, he might not make it back because stuff happens. I think he will, but yes give him some space. It's the post Olympic year..

 

[psycho]

The only thing that is extremely obvious here is that you have no clue what's going on and are not even trying to understand the situation. Leave him alone, let the poor guy figure out his life in peace, and stop starting ridiculous threads!

 

[La Rhumba]

Stephane still loves skating, and skating in shows in Switzerland, which he's been doing in Art on Ice, is not as pressure filled as competing, so just because he's stepped back from competition for a while does not mean he's ready to retire. Why criticise when you are not in his shoes? I'm just thrilled that he looked happy on the ice when skating, and I'd love to see his Flamenco programme.

 

[iluvtodd]

My goodness, give him a chance to take some time off from competing! He's not the first skater to do this (and probably not the last). I do hope he returns to the competitive circuit, but I respect his decision to do what he wants.

 

[JonnyCoop]

There's a huge difference between COMPETING and DOING SHOWS. Stephane is perhaps tired of the pressure of actual competition and would like to take a break from it. Also, as a creative skater, he probably enjoys doing show programs more than competition programs because what he does in them doesn't have to be dictated by CoP, which he has certainly used well. And using CoP well can be very exhausting, as Sonia Bianchetti pointed out in her "open letter" on that related thread here.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Well, he would have won Euros had he skated this year.

We should let skaters decide their own futures.

Joe

 

[Ravyn Rant]

Whether or not Stephane gets his competitive mojo back, I'm just glad he hasn't stopped skating entirely!
Rave

 

[La Rhumba]

Well... he looks pretty much enraptured with life at the moment.

 

[NJSk8Fan]

We all have to remember we are not in the minds and bodies of the skaters....nor do we know what we would decide if we were in their skates.

 

[Tigger]

Well, skating in shows certainly has to be a hell of a lot easier on his knees. From the interviews I've read and pictures I've seen, Stephane looks burned out from the last two years. I hope he enjoys his break and if he decides to come back to competitive skating, then that's great!! If not, then I wish him all the happiness in the world!!

 

[SusanBeth]

Perhaps he is tired of being in pain from injuries that never seem to go away. He is a young man, maybe half crippling himself attempting quads isn't one of his life goals.

Maybe he is doing shows for the same reason most people haul themselves out of their comfy homes everyday- it's how he earns his living. Considering that skaters have a relatively short time for making really good money, he might not be stupid enough to let opportunities pass him by.

Maybe, he just wants to quit skating competitively and that makes him happier. That's really the only reason he needs to have.

 

[chuckm]

Amen, SusanBeth. It's his life and if he is tired of hurting all the time, he has every right to opt out of competitive skating. He has two World titles and with the state of his knee, the chances of his making it to Vancouver aren't great. And who knows, maybe after a year of shows and partying, with his knee in better shape, he may miss the challenge of competition and come back after all.

Best of luck to him whatever he chooses.

 

[Kasey]

So what if he is taking time to do shows? If you got to see any of Stephane Lambiel and Friends from a short time ago, you would see that he was having a total BLAST skating, for fun, in the show. Leave the poor kid alone. I'm just grateful he's still skating at all, for now, period.

 

[kittycat26]

I dont blame him for taking his medals that he has won and fleeing from the increasingly troubled arena of competitive figure skating, with unmerited judging reaching distrubing heights in recent years. If things do not improve many other fine skaters will follow suit, as have many fans of this once great sport as TV ratings are showing.

 

[La Rhumba]

TV ratings are very good here in Europe thank you, and in Stephane's homeland.

I love how North American posters think that North America is *the world* when it comes to FS.

 

[Sk8harvest]

TV ratings are very good here in Europe thank you, and in Stephane's homeland.

I love how North American posters think that North America is *the world* when it comes to FS.

What an odd comment.

 

[La Rhumba]

What exactly is "odd" about it?