Have we seen the last of Sarah, the skater? | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Have we seen the last of Sarah, the skater?

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RealtorGal

Guest
Re: Have we seen the last of Sarah, the skater?

<span style="color:blue;font-family:georgia;font-size:small;">Was her sole motivation for skating to win an Olympic gold medal? Or did she skate for the love of skating? Did she enjoy the act of competition or not? Did she enjoy training or not? We don't know--those are questions she must have asked herself.</span>
 
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Yazmeen42skater

Guest
Re: Have we seen the last of Sarah, the skater?

I also think it depends on how college goes for her. If she's really happy there, I think we'll see her only in some exhibitions. If college doesn't go as planned, she may try a comeback, but I think it will be difficult for her to do that.

Overall, I think her eligible career is over--her Worlds performances and the shape she was in there spoke volumes about her lack of committment to the sport at this time. I'm not trying to sound overly critical, but motivation comes from within, and she simply didn't have it this season. Anything can happen, though.
 
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Joesitz

Guest
Re: Have we seen the last of Sarah, the skater?

RG - Those are the questions all competitors should ask themselves, and wouldn't it be a nice summer discussion if we answsered the questions for the skaters.

Joe
 
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tharrtell

Guest
Re: Have we seen the last of Sarah, the skater?

Let me live in my own delusional world! I like pretending I can read minds;) Anway, isn't speculation a passtime enjoyed the world over?
 
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Show 42

Guest
Re: Have we seen the last of Sarah, the skater?

Sarah impressed me to no ends when she competed this year, after a knee injury and a growth spurt......what moxy. That's what competition is all about........I hope she'll be back, but I'm gonna say......Nah........42
 
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mpal2

Guest
Re: Have we seen the last of Sarah, the skater?

I would have to predict that Sarah is done as a competitive skater. I agree that her motivation seems to be gone. That's the reason why I wasn't impressed with Sarah's return to competitive skating after the Olympic win. I couldn't get past the "why did she bother?" question. I wish she would have just taken the year off. As things stand now, she ended her run with a sour note. If she had taken a break, she might have come back with more motivation. JMHO

I do agree that she was a work in progress still and I had hoped to see even further improvements. There are more problems with her skating than just her posture. No triple lutz comes to mind, it's just another flip.

I had the hardest time warming up to Sarah's skating and was just starting to like parts of it. So it's sad to see her go.

Slightly OT, but why do so many people (Dick Button included) use the term balletic with Sarah? I just don't see it. What ballet school in the world would be screaming for her presence if med school wasn't her thing anymore? I tend to describe Sarah's skating as more of a power/athletic style. That's not a bad thing, it's just a different style. Balletic to me is Angela Nikodinov's skating. Any thoughts or comments on this would be appreciated. It's been confusing me for a while. :p
 
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Show 42

Guest
Re: Have we seen the last of Sarah, the skater?

mpal........you said, "I couldn't get past the "why did she bother?" question. I wish she would have just taken the year off. As things stand now, she ended her run with a sour note. If she had taken a break, she might have come back with more motivation. JMHO" I agree. I am thinking she didn't want to be another skater who took the "Gold" and ran. Even though she wasn't up to par, she gave it a shot and even though she didn't do as well as she had hoped, I think skating one more year shows character on her part.......42
 
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BronzeisGolden02

Guest
Sarah

I would never have imagined Sarah being the Olympic Champion in the fall of 2001. A future World Champion? An Olympic contender in 2006? Perhaps. She made the improbable probable in Salt Lake City and seized the moment that wasn't slated to be hers. How do you rekindle that kind of magic? It would be difficult, and probably never the same. Yet, it seems Sarah does love skating and the thrill of competition. It may never be like SLC again and perhaps she just needs a little while to realize that and rededicate herself. Besides, she isn't a fool, if she plans on keeping skating as a major portion of her life she has to see that opportunities in the professional world are dwindling. Amateur skating is the place to be...the spotlight is there and so is the money. Give her time, let her go to college...Michelle certainly tried but found she couldn't do it because the ice was still calling. It could very well be the same for Sarah.
 
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Jayjen35

Guest
Re: Sarah

I was just passing through when I saw this thread. It's an interesting question. I'd have to say that if we go by what we've seen of Sarah so far, the answer is no, she won't be back in amature competition again. She, her family and her coach have all said that she was looking forward to life outside of skating and excited about exploring all of the possibilities that there are for her there. That dosen't sound like talk from someone who's only thinking about an off-season break!

OTOH they may simply have been covering themselves just in case. It may be that she decides to give it another try, just to go out on a more positive note than she did this season. Or she may decide that she wants another chance to compete and win against Sasha and Michelle, and that she feels confident about her ability to do it this time. What we saw at the end of last season may just have been a tired and discouraged young girl who couldn't see gathering her strength for yet another season, especially since she's already won the ultimate prize. But, after a few months of rest and recouperation she may feel her energy, strength and competitive fire come back. We'll just have to <em>wait</em> and see :(

mpal2, I see your point about the "balletic" comment. It seems to be given out all too often by Mr. Button. While I see Sarah as a more of an "elegant" type of skater (although I don't think that she's reached that yet), I don't see <em>ballet</em> when I watch her skate. Off hand I can't think of any skater I'd connect with ballet. IMHO that's a hard standard to live up to!
 
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Joesitz

Guest
Re: Have we seen the last of Sarah, the skater?

mPal - Like most figure skaters, Sarah has balletic movements - not the best - but more than enough to keep a nice line on the free leg. Her layback is just about the best in the business - very balletic to hold that 'attitude' position and still able to bend way back at the waist. In ballet, that move is done with an assist from a partner.

Her big problem, imo, is her posture - the rounded shoulders creating a small hunch back have to go.

As for elegance in style, the winners are Viktoria Volchkova, Jennifer Robinson and Nancy Kerrigan.

Joe
 
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toutestgrace

Guest
Re: Sarah

I would be surprised to see Sarah back in eligible competition. She seems to me to be very driven and goal-oriented, hence her steady rise in competitive skating and her success in school. That's why her performance this year baffled me. Yes, she was out of shape, but many injured athletes get back in competitive form in less time. As much as she said that she still had skating goals, I think the OGM gave her a subconscious "been there done that" notion that she just couldn't shake.

As far as the ballet comments, I agree they were misplaced. The teacher in my little suburban dance school would never have let any of her students get away with Sarah's round shoulders, exaggerated wrist extension, and unpolished leg positions.
 
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mathman444

Guest
Re: Sarah

Toutestgrace, thanks for posting and welcome to Golden Skate.

So, are you saying that Sarah is not "tout grace?" LOL.

Mathman
 
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toutestgrace

Guest
Re: Sarah

Thanks for the welcome mathman444! I didn't mean to bash re:the ballet issue. Sarah is one talented young skater whose progress in the eligible ranks I will miss watching if she doesn't continue. Her less-than-balletic faults only seem magnified by her (or Robin's) insistence on selecting classical ballet music for her programs. While I thought La Bayadere was so wrong for her, I loved her interpretation of Fosse.
 
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mathman444

Guest
Re: Sarah

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Sarah is one talented young skater whose progress in the eligible ranks I will miss watching if she doesn't continue.[/quote]Toutestgrace, I think you just gave a perfect summary of why many skating fans all of a sudden don't know quite how they feel about Sarah. Like proud parents we enjoyed watching her progress year by year, getting better and better in many areas. Then all of a sudden she shot to the top and *poof*-- she's gone. I think we feel a little bit cheated, like when a daughter leaves home before we are ready for her to go.

Mathman
 
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mpal2

Guest
Re: Sarah

Thanks for the opinions on the "ballet" description. I would have to agree with toutestgrace that the ballet selections for Sarah emphasized the wrong things about her skating. Fosse was the best program Sarah had done and I wished she had more like them. This is prompting me to start a thread on music selections fitting a skater. :) This has always been a big focus of mine. See ya there!
 
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