Sarah Hughes | Page 4 | Golden Skate

Sarah Hughes

dmr65

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I was sitting next to a 8 or possibly 10 yr old little girl who was there to see Sarah... She was a tiny petite little thing, who obviously wasn't paying attention nor cared about how Sarah looked in weight... She got excited because Sarah showed up on ice.. Thank God her parents who were very lean(father had a professional camera snapping many pictures of Sarah) didn't teach their daughter to cretique someone based on outer appearance..
 

euterpe

Medalist
Joined
Sep 4, 2003
Many of us adults weigh more than we did when in high school and college. I know I do, and it is a continuing struggle for me to remain at a respectable size 10. Especially since I am holding down a job where I am sitting in front of a computer all day, then sitting in a car and fighting through traffic to get home in less than an hour, then having to do my daily exercise. All this while maintaining a low-calorie, low carb diet. But I do it, and I am not 19 years old, earning millions a year.

When I was younger, I was heavily involved in theater while I was also working full-time, and I can tell you it requires a lot of energy and physical discipline. I would not even think of appearing in front of an audience, dancing and singing, if I wasn't in good enough physical shape to do it without huffing and puffing and straining my costumes at the seams. Even community and regional theater audiences paying less than $20 to see a show deserve to see performers who are up to the performance. I go to theater in NYC fairly often, and I can tell you that the musical performers there ARE in shape---all of them. Even the character actors who play older parts are in good physical condition and can sing and dance on the same level as the younger ones.

An ice show is theater too. While it is true SOI signed on Sarah knowing she wasn't in top condition, and couldn't perform the feats that won her the OGM less than 3 years ago, I would have thought Sarah herself would have had enough personal pride to look her best and perform at the highest level possible---especially since she keeps talking about returning to eligible competition next fall.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
The most recent Blades on Ice has a long cover story on Sarah. She says, "When you become more of a public figure, people feel more free to criticize you. I think that people think it doesn't bother you, or it doesn't hurt. People say some really rude things or some really mean things. I know that's not how people would treat their friends or would treat someone they knew. It's kind of just because they 'know' you. They know who you are so they feel like they know you. Because they're not telling it exactly to you, it makes it OK."

She also says, in answer to the question, "What was it like to win the Olympics:"

"It was cool, you know? I had fun. It was a good day for me.":)

Mathman
 

euterpe

Medalist
Joined
Sep 4, 2003
Sarah chose to skate in SOI knowing she wasn't in top condition and wasn't able to skate the way she had as an eligible. It was inevitable that some of the show reviews weren't going to be all that flattering, and that some audience members would be rude and disrepectful. It's sad that the criticsms hurt her, but it shouldn't have been that unexpected. No entertainer, no matter how talented and proficient, will be liked by 100% of the audience or 100% of the critics. Criticism is a part of show business, and if Sarah finds it hurtful, she either has to develop a thick skin or decide that show business isn't for her.
 
S

SkateFan4Life

Guest
nicole_l said:
Personally I think that it's a little distasteful to talk about someone's perceived weight on a message board, especially a classy one like Golden Skate. Sarah looks normal for a person who hasn't been in competitive shape for the past two years. She's not flabby. She's not chubby. She's not on the heavy side. She looks like she's at the correct weight, and hey, going out there and skating two or three programs, even if they're light on content, still takes a lot of work.
I've never really been a fan of Sarah's skating but to think that a 5'3'' girl (that's what ISU says, anyway) who's turning 20 tomorrow is 150 lbs is pretty ridiculous.
Thanks but I thought it was pretty rude of us to discuss this on Dee's thread.

:cry:

Then why are we even discussing this subject? Sarah is 5'5", by the way, and if she does weigh 150 pounds, so what? Remember, muscle weighs a lot more than fat, and despite the fact that Sarah has been out of intensive training for several years, she still has a lot of muscle.
 

Grgranny

Da' Spellin' Homegirl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I shook hands with her and 5 ft 5 seems to be stretching it. She surely isn't any taller than that. 150 lbs. seems a lot. I don't think she is even close to that. She isn't as large in person, although admittedly, not thin. I imagine being on the road is probably really hard on diets as they have to eat out all the time, I would imagine. So, hopefully, things will "lighten" up in that regard.
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
Sarah was 5'5" in the 2002-2003 season, and she has grown another inch since then. Her sister Emily is pretty tall for a skater, too.

Maybe Sarah doesn't seem that tall, but she is.
 

Linny

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 13, 2003
Criticism

Sarah received a ton of criticism before, during and after the Olys, well before she gained weight. For the standpoint of pushing herself to improve, it's a good thing she takes it to heart... but from the standpoint of setting impossible goals, I hope that she doesn't take it TOO much to heart. A good balance, y'know?

I'm under the impressions that she had been working on improving her fitness level. Has anyone seen more than one of her performances, perhaps two months apart? With a job that requires athletic performance, skimpy costumes and spotlights, one would think that it is in her brain to improve, even without hearing it from others or reading it.

Linny
 

euterpe

Medalist
Joined
Sep 4, 2003
The bottom line is Sarah stayed away from skating altogether for 14 months and during that time, her body changed drastically. She is now faced with trying to regain her skating skills and it is an arduous task, especially since she is on tour and doesn't get enough time to exercise and train, and with all the traveling, she can't even put herself on a reasonable diet.


Sarah can't change her body back to the way it was at SLC, but she can change her weight and her level of physical fitness. If she really is serious about returning as an eligible, she will need a good coach and a very excellent personal trainer to help her get there. However, the clock is ticking and it may already be way too late.
 
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