Carolina Kostner: "I had to go back to my roots to find peace in my skating"

nguyenghita said:

I didn't know she won EVERYTHING

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Practically she did won everything in just 2 seasons, and retired even before puberty hit her.

nguyenghita said:

I didn't know she won EVERYTHING

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Alexei Yagudin and Yuzuru Hanyu, and there must have been a few other skaters who accomplished everything in a short time .

Welcome, thoakun. Thanks for posting!

alebi said:

A touching interview. She had to hear so many bulls*** during her career and never said a word in revenge because she has so clear now that everything depends only on you and people can say what they want but at the end you are the one who wins or loses. Her sensitivity has always been her best characteristic but also her worst enemy and she needed time to control it. Thanks God Sochi was the perfect moment!

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Sensitivity can be a real double-edged sword for any performing artist. Unfortunately, the people who have this issue are almost always the most sensitive & intelligent ones. They often over-think and then get caught up in worrying about mistakes and such instead of staying in the moment, which plays havoc w/ technique and destroys spontaneity. (Jeremy Abbott comes to mind as another example, although I know he doesn't have too many fans left on GS.) Performances like the ones Caro had in Sochi are rare for anyone and any time they happen it's really like a gift from heaven. When it happened for Caro @ the Olympics -- something every skater dreams about -- the moment was just beyond amazing.

On a completely different topic: you say the cat is watching figure skating but what I want to know is whether he/she is typing the posts!

nguyenghita said:

Hm, it will be much better if you didn't include the first part which is obviously not a praise for the only woman "who won everything in a few year then disappear" out there

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I wasn't referring to anyone in particular. Though Tara Lipinski and Ilia Kulik come to mind, if you force me to name names. I'm sorry if you're a fan of either of them (I like both of them myself, actually). Could you explain to me on whose behalf are you offended? Surely it's not Yuna's?

I had no idea I'd need to defend such an innocuous statement, but I'll take the time to explain: I actually had a debate, recently, about the following scenario. Say we take two people, who have nearly the same achievements medal-wise. One of them achieved the medals in a short span of time and retired. The other worked for many years, through thick and thin, sometimes landing on the podium and sometimes landing far from the podium. In the end, s/he finally gets a decent set of records of end her career with. The question is, who is greater?

Once upon a time, I would've said the first person, because they had a higher medal/win percentage, and that proves they were more competitive. However, these days, I'd say the second person, because it's difficult to keep in form through so many years, and never give up either physically or mentally.

I wouldn't call myself a Carolina fan. I like Yuna and Mao far more, if we're talking current skaters. But I can't help but admire Carolina for fighting it out there for so many years.

Sandpiper said:

I The question is, who is greater?

Once upon a time, I would've said the first person, because they had a higher medal/win percentage, and that proves they were more competitive. However, these days, I'd say the second person, because it's difficult to keep in form through so many years, and never give up either physically or mentally.

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Since you put it that way, I'd say it's an apples-oranges comparison: the first one is sort of a sprinter while the second is a marathoner. JMO.

Meoima said:

Practically she did won everything in just 2 seasons, and retired even before puberty hit her.

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Tara had severe hip problems. She could not continue competing.

Figure 8's said:

Tara had severe hip problems. She could not continue competing.

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I know. Just saying his idol was not the only one who won everything then stayed out of the competitive zone.

anyanka said:

She's beautiful inside and out. It shines through. What a class act.

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:agree: She's always been one of my favourite skaters to watch even though her jumps were inconsistent. The fact that she was able to find inner peace with her skating and give an unprecedented performance at the Olympics of all places... it's truly something magical and miraculous.

skatedreamer said:

On a completely different topic: you say the cat is watching figure skating but what I want to know is whether he/she is typing the posts!

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Nope, if I let all my cats using my PC I wouldn't find time to write anymore
I have another cat who is fan of... Hurtado/Diaz! It was some years ago, I was watching the dance competition when suddenly he stopped moving and stared at the TV until the end of their routine. Then went to do his stuff again. LOL I took so many photos because it was incredible to watch

sorry for the OT

A new interview with Absolute Skating was published this morning. I'll post in the Fan Fest as well:

http://www.absoluteskating.com/index.php?cat=articles&id=2014carolinakostner