Who's retiring after Worlds? | Golden Skate

Who's retiring after Worlds?

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
I'd be surprised if Alissa stuck around... but then again, who knows?

Joubert, Van Der Perran and wife are all retiring, right?
 

Becki

Medalist
Joined
Nov 28, 2011
my guesses...czisny, kostner, suzuki, maybe leonova...

Leonova is only 21....

And yeah KVP is retiring, which is what made his clean LP so so special :)

not sure about Joubert, but his kiss on the ice was one of the highlights for me. If he retires, he did it on a high note - 4th place in an extremely deep field of guys + World Champion plus a billion world medals to go with it + European Champion is a very, very impressive resume :)
 
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DianaSelene

Medalist
Joined
Aug 2, 2011
I doubt Kostner, Suzuki, and Leonova will retire right now. They all probably want to stick around and try to get to Sochi. Especially Leonova. She is the youngest of the three- in her early 20s- and will probably continue fighting next year. However, the young Russians might soon beat her and she might not get to Sochi.
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
No way Leonova is retiring.

My guesses would be:

Ladies- Ando (if she hasnt secretly already), Czisny, Makarova, maybe Suzuki
Men- Joubert, Verner, Van Der Perren
Pairs- Zhangs, Yuko Kavaguti, Evora & Ladwig, maybe Pang & Tong
Dance- not sure if there will be any significant ones
 

NMURA

Medalist
Joined
Jul 14, 2010
Ando won't retire. She must be keenly watching Asada's performances in Nice. What she needs to know is the chance to be recognized as the #1 ahead of Asada. Ando should've known the importance of the federation backup at Vancouver and Moscow.

Suzuki will stick around as long as possible (like Suguri). She won't make the Sochi olympic team but I'm not surprised to see her competing after that. Since Suzuki had long break in her career, I think she's physically "younger" than Suguri at the same age.
 

mikeko666

Final Flight
Joined
Apr 27, 2011
Suzuki will stick around as long as possible (like Suguri). She won't make the Sochi olympic team but I'm not surprised to see her competing after that. Since Suzuki had long break in her career, I think she's physically "younger" than Suguri at the same age.

I don't think Suzuki is retiring, but I don't think she will be competing after Sochi season either. She will pursue her career as a pro skater and choreographer.

She did NOT have a LONG break in her career. She could not compete for one season, then it took four more seasons for her to come back to GPS. If her body is any "younger" than average 27 years old skaters, that's because she is very self-disciplined and takes good care of her body and mind.

She might make the Olympic team once again, you never know. Asada's future looks more uncertain now. Murakami also has problems with her jump technique, which won't be fixed unless she leaves her current coach, Ms. Yamada.
 
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drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
I also don't think Leonova will retire. She is solid enough that I think she can be picked at least the 3rd spot on the Russian team for the next couple of seasons. Polina showed that it can be dangerous to send several talented but inexperienced skaters to a major event. I think the Russian Fed is done with Ksenia but they should support a skater like Alena who uses every ounce of her talent to achieve great results.
 

sky_fly20

Match Penalty
Joined
Nov 20, 2011
KVP, Pang/Tong( old age), the Zhangs, Ando
I can see Joubert, Suzuki, sticking to 1 or 2 more seasons

Alena will never retire barring injury
she just made a point by medaling at worlds she can compete with the new russian ladies
 

silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
No way Leonova is retiring.

My guesses would be:

Ladies- Ando (if she hasnt secretly already), Czisny, Makarova, maybe Suzuki
Men- Joubert, Verner, Van Der Perren
Pairs- Zhangs, Yuko Kavaguti, Evora & Ladwig, maybe Pang & Tong
Dance- not sure if there will be any significant ones

I doubt Verner is going anywhere until after 2014. CZE keeps getting 2 spots for Euros and Worlds and he has literally no competition for that 2nd spot, he just moved to Canada recently, in some ways he's improved even though he's still headcase-y, and he seems to like to compete, and still wants to try for a World medal (though I doubt it will happen at this point). Joubert will likely retire but I could see him coming back for Sochi to try and have one last shot at the Olympics.

I sincerely hope Kavaguti and Pang/Tong retire...it's becoming a bit scary to watch them honestly, but who knows with those three...

Makarova won't retire, she just won't make another Worlds team ever again unless she switches representation. She has 2 GPs garaunteed for next season as is so no real reason to retire. Plus she's just 19. If she wasn't 5'7" I'd say try pairs, but I don't know if she even has any interest...

Czisny. Idk didn't Boitano tell her to never leave with regrets? Maybe she can just try to find redemption at Nats then retire? Flatt will probably stop competing, or will just do Nats, but no internationals.

Suzuki I heard talk of retiring, but maybe she wants to try for Sochi? She could end her career on a wonderful note now, or try to make another Olympic team. Choice is her's, wouldn't be surprised either way. I can't help but wonder if Mao will maybe retire after all she's been through? As for Ando, I think both she and Kim won't officially announce their retirement but they may as well, I doubt we'll be seeing them again, maybe Ando will try for Sochi, but next season I doubt she competes much/if at all.

Kiira I think will retire sometime soon but likely not until after 2014.
 
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koatcue

Medalist
Joined
Aug 31, 2011
Country
Russia
What about Pechalat Bourzat? They made it clear that they want to retire
 

russell30

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 14, 2004
Well.... SOCHI 2014 is only round the corner I would have thought most will try and stay for that, it is only 1 more worlds before that and 2 european championships.... BUT hey I know the training is very hard, you see so more injuries now...

The only one i know is retiring is Kevin Van Der Perren, Jenna may retire but she did say she still has the burning ambition after changing her training and coaching regime and maybe give another olympics a go.. as she did not do well in Vancouver.

The others we will wait and see, I hope Alissa sticks around, I am sure she can come back from that..she was beautiful last year. I am sure Jeremy will stick around too and Valentina - her goal is to make it to her first olympics.

Not sure on Brian.... Maybe he should take his great 4th place and run... He has had a glorious career. BUT still has the mantle to medal at EURO's ..not sure on WORLD or OLYMPIC LEVEL.

Let's hope we get a few more comebacks!!

Lysacek
Weir (he will be back)
Plushenko (Is back but has injury issues)
Ando (??)
YuNa (??)
Rochette (?? - her technical arsenal is still evident)

Lepisto (I am afraid we lost Laura :((
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
I also don't think Leonova will retire. She is solid enough that I think she can be picked at least the 3rd spot on the Russian team for the next couple of seasons. Polina showed that it can be dangerous to send several talented but inexperienced skaters to a major event. I think the Russian Fed is done with Ksenia but they should support a skater like Alena who uses every ounce of her talent to achieve great results.

Yes, I really think Leonova will make the Russian Olympic team in 2014, which means atleast 1 of the 3 wunderkids will be left off, maybe even 2 if a Polina makes it. They will want a reliable and solid veteran skater who can help ensure them getting 3 spots, and who can step in and medal if teammates and others falter. An entire team with almost no Senior World experience at the Olympics will be to scary a proposition for the Russian leaders.
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
Joubert is not retiring. He's said repeatedly that he'd going to continue until Sochi (and that he wants to try and win CoC). As for KvdP, he's said he'd retire so many times before that it's hard to tell what he's going to do.

I think Czisny's days of federation support are over. Her future is in shows, not competitions.

Athletes say one thing and do another all the time. In Brian's case he will probably come to his senses and realize his Worlds experience, skating out of his skin (for this point of his career anyway) and coming 4th in front of his home crowd is far and away as good as it will get. He definitely isnt going to win a major medal again, he was light years behind the top 3 and he cant skate any better than he did at Worlds, and his PCS will be far lower in any other place than France. Based on his PCS the rest of the season he probably would have finished 6th overall (at best) even with the same performances if he skated anywhere else. As we saw this year even medaling at Europeans will be hard for him from now on. He seems like a smart guy and I expect upon reflection he will realize his Worlds experience is the best note to end his distinguished amateur career on. We will see though.
 
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sky_fly20

Match Penalty
Joined
Nov 20, 2011
^^

sad to say for now, Polina K. is a bit of a headcase :disapp:
I have doubts yet who will be the better Polina, Shelepen or Korobeynikova
I think Shelepen has an edge because she is like Miki Ando on jumps, has full arsenal of 3-3 jumps (3S-3T, 3F-3T, 3Lz-3T) but Shelepen needs better skating skills and artistry, I saw a clip but I lost it, she was attempting a quad salchow.

and if Leonova can medal at worlds why not Shelepen ? LOL
 
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pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
Rightly or wrongly Leonova gets very high PCS which Shelepen sure as heck wont be getting anytime soon, barring major improvements. Leonova is also a consistent and stable competitor, which Shelepen is far from. You can have the jumps but if you dont do them all in competition it doesnt matter much. Shelepen cant even beat out frigging Makarova for a spot on the World team right now, so obviously at the moment she is much worse than Leonova.

It will be interesting to see if any of the Polinas can put themselves into serious contention for a Russian World team anytime soon with the 3 wunderkids and Leonova all clearly above them at the moment.
 

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
I don't think Suzuki is retiring, but I don't think she will be competing after Sochi season either. She will pursue her career as a pro skater and choreographer.

She did NOT have a LONG break in her career. She could not compete for one season, then it took four more seasons for her to come back to GPS. If her body is any "younger" than average 27 years old skaters, that's because she is very self-disciplined and takes good care of her body and mind.

She might make the Olympic team once again, you never know. Asada's future looks more uncertain now. Murakami also has problems with her jump technique, which won't be fixed unless she leaves her current coach, Ms. Yamada.

I agree Akiko is super healthy too. And I also think that she is less reckless as far as her technical content, i.e. she doesn't overwork her body. I'm sure the 3-3 we saw from her this season was actually several seasons in the making, same with the 2A-3T, which she introduced last season.

I think she practices yoga too, right?
 
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