I can't believe people were saying bad things. To quote Ted Barton, "who would say a bad thing about a skater?" I saw Emilea skate at Cranberry Cup and immediately went home and bought a Cyprus flag.
I totally agree. Some people may not like the way that Ted sugar coats everything, but he is right that it is not nice to say bad things about a skater. After all, they are doing the best they can at that moment in time. And let's face it, many of us can't even dream of doing the things they're doing!
It really angers me the way Emilea was getting abuse thrown at her for not doing as well as we might have hoped at the Nebelhorn Trophy and, hence, Cyprus not getting a slot at the Olympics. And I really hated the way they turned it into an "Emilea v Marilena" thing. I actually prefer Marilena's skating, but I like both girls. And because I do not like seeing people getting kicked when they are down (or at all!), I took it upon myself to defend Emilea to the hilt.
The problem was that for many fans, the first time they found out that Cyprus now had Ladies skaters who could put up a genuine challenge was when Marilena won the Autumn Classic the week before. And because it was so fresh in their minds, they couldn't understand why Marilena wasn't the one sent to the Olympic qualifying event. So, when Emilea didn't do as well as that in Oberstdorf, she got crucified by many fans.
But those of us that had been following both girls since they made the switch to Cyprus the season before knew that Marilena can be prone to succumbing to nerves in high pressure situations. And you don't have a more high pressure situation than trying to qualify your country for their first ever appearance in figure skating at the Olympics. So, although Marilena was consistently scoring better than Emilea last season, when you take the previous season into consideration as well, Emilea was the more reliable pair of hands. And it was actually a wise decision to send Emilea.
Ultimately, it was having one mistake in each programe that cost Emilea: falling on the Triple Flip in the SP; and having a hand down on her second Triple Flip in the FS, meaning she got called for a repeated element because she couldn't get the planned combination attached. (I should add that it was not the case that Emilea was having problems with that specific jump, because the first Triple Flip in the FS was good).
Let's face it, anybody can have one mistake per programme. And in many events it wouldn't harm the skater's position. That it did in Oberstdorf was merely a symptom of just how close a competition it was.
Emilea certainly did not deserve to have abuse thrown at her because of it ever since.
That is why I really hope her decision to leave Singles skating was based on wanting to do a good thing for a friend in need, rather than being based on wanting to get away from nasty comments.
But, I am so happy that you got to see her skating live, and that it moved you to become a flag carrying supporter!
Although I have been visiting Cyprus regularly since 1996, I only actually bought a flag a few years ago, because I was hoping to go and support a friend at her Junior GP debut. But, it didn't work out. And she is no longer competing, so I've missed my chance with her.
Oh well. Maybe some time in the future it will get held up at a figure skating competition!
CaroLiza_fan
(That said, I did spend three entire days doing all the preparations! Which now has to be re-worked. 
)
