Irina Slutskaya will retire after the 2006 Olympics; possibly 2006 Worlds | Page 4 | Golden Skate

Irina Slutskaya will retire after the 2006 Olympics; possibly 2006 Worlds

millie

Medalist
Joined
Nov 1, 2004
michaelfsfan said:
True, but Irina also showed a blatant disrespect for the judges and an appalling lack of sportsmanship when she was caught on camera calling them "stupid pigs". Not exactly the qualities we would associate with an Olympic champion. At least Michelle gracefully conceded that she had not performed her best, and went on to win three more world championship medals after SLC. Unlike Irina who, three years later, still cannot let go and recently mentioned in a newspaper interview that her gold medal at Europeans was "perhaps it’s for all my suffering, for all those years when I was unfairly placed 4th, for the Olympics."

ETA: It wasn't as if the LP results were a clear 5/4 split in favor of Sarah; Irina received two 2nd place ordinals (FIN, USA), two 3rd place ordinals (GER, CAN) and one 4th place ordinal (ITA).


What qualities do you preceive that an Olympic Champion should have. Also, how do we know what the skaters are saying when a cameraman is not lurking around corners trying to get negative comments. I hope that at World's, the skater that skates his or her best, wins the Gold, not because of favourtism, dramatism, flapping arms or cheering and over-the-top screaming fans.

Do you think that Tara or Sarah had the qualities to be an Olympician? I though thought the years and years of long hour practicing and practicing in a cold rink, some people scrounging to get money to pay coaches, through sickness and determination, that's what makes a true Olympican.
 
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brad640

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 8, 2004
michaelfsfan said:
True, but Irina also showed a blatant disrespect for the judges and an appalling lack of sportsmanship when she was caught on camera calling them "stupid pigs". Not exactly the qualities we would associate with an Olympic champion. At least Michelle gracefully conceded that she had not performed her best, and went on to win three more world championship medals after SLC. Unlike Irina who, three years later, still cannot let go and recently mentioned in a newspaper interview that her gold medal at Europeans was "perhaps it’s for all my suffering, for all those years when I was unfairly placed 4th, for the Olympics."

I don't see anything wrong with Irina calling the judges "stupid pigs" or saying her European title was payback for the Olympics. Maybe her anger is a driving force for her comeback this year.
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
Anger and resentment at outside forces beyond your control are not useful emotions--they can actually be damaging to the body. Vasculitis is an autoimmune disorder where the body wages war against itself. All these negative emotions can't be helping Irina.

From her comments, it's clear that she has been seething over perceived injustices for years. If Irina feels that she loses only because judges have failed to recognize her superiority, then she is a perpetual victim, because no one, no matter how good, wins every competition.

It's one thing to be mad at yourself for messing up, because you can do something to improve yourself or change the way you do things. But being angry at judges doesn't accomplish a thing.

I find it very interesting that Irina doesn't want her husband to see her performances in person. Is it because she's afraid he might be more objective than she is?
 

millie

Medalist
Joined
Nov 1, 2004
chuckm said:
Anger and resentment at outside forces beyond your control are not useful emotions--they can actually be damaging to the body. Vasculitis is an autoimmune disorder where the body wages war against itself. All these negative emotions can't be helping Irina.

From her comments, it's clear that she has been seething over perceived injustices for years. If Irina feels that she loses only because judges have failed to recognize her superiority, then she is a perpetual victim, because no one, no matter how good, wins every competition.

It's one thing to be mad at yourself for messing up, because you can do something to improve yourself or change the way you do things. But being angry at judges doesn't accomplish a thing.

I find it very interesting that Irina doesn't want her husband to see her performances in person. Is it because she's afraid he might be more objective than she is?



I find it very interesting also the Irina's husband doesn't travell with her at her competitions!!! There may be a reason for that::::He's probably not in the position to do that! He probably has a job that doen't permit him to take the time off from his job!!!Probably they are two separate individuals, that are not joined at the hip, she has her work and he has his!!!!There are couples that are nervous when their spouce is around watching them work, whose to say that is a negative aspect of their relationship. Probably he staying at home helping out with her sick mother!! There could be a thousand good reason why he doesn't.
 

STL_Blues_fan

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 24, 2004
chuckm said:
I find it very interesting that Irina doesn't want her husband to see her performances in person. Is it because she's afraid he might be more objective than she is?


Well, that's a bit uncalled for. Not everybody has to be like Lisa Thornton Weiss. Plenty of skaters' families are nervous and don't want to watch a competition live. Plushenko's mother, for example, has never seen him skate live either.

Yana
 

Linny

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 13, 2003
Pictures

What does Irina's husband look like? Has anyone seen any pictures of the happy couple?
Linny
 

STL_Blues_fan

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 24, 2004
Linny said:
What does Irina's husband look like? Has anyone seen any pictures of the happy couple?
Linny


IFS mag published their wedding photo a couple years ago. He is ok looking. Looks tall and is a bit follicle challenged :)

Yana
 

mzheng

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 16, 2005
chuckm, I've read this translated interview. At least she sounded positive in this interview.
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
But here it is again, that anger and resentment:

"It was a very stressful time for me- I skated my program very clean, but was left out of the top three and, as a result, didn't make the cut for the Europeans and the Worlds! My whole world collapsed"

This must be the "wrongfully placed 4th" she keeps talking about. She placed 4th in both 1998 and 1999 Russian Nationals, but it was in 1999 that she was left off the World team. As I recall, she had gained weight and couldn't land her jumps. I remember seeing her at the GP competitions, falling on one jump out of 3. In the 1998-1999 season, she won two bronze medals and a silver, and was 3rd at the GPF.
 

Hikaru

Final Flight
Joined
Sep 23, 2004
chuckm said:
But here it is again, that anger and resentment:

"It was a very stressful time for me- I skated my program very clean, but was left out of the top three and, as a result, didn't make the cut for the Europeans and the Worlds! My whole world collapsed"

This must be the "wrongfully placed 4th" she keeps talking about. She placed 4th in both 1998 and 1999 Russian Nationals, but it was in 1999 that she was left off the World team. As I recall, she had gained weight and couldn't land her jumps. I remember seeing her at the GP competitions, falling on one jump out of 3. In the 1998-1999 season, she won two bronze medals and a silver, and was 3rd at the GPF.

I'm sorry, I don't see any anger in that comment. She said she felt bad for not making the team, and who can blame her for feeling bad about herself? I would actually find it strange for any athlete to think "oh, ok, I didn't make the team, yeepy!". I don't watch russian nationals, but however she skated, I'm sure that not making the team made her feel frustrated. Don't take this the wrong way chuckm, but I feel that you just want to find anger in anything Irina says. If she wants to think she was unfairly judge or placed or whatever (whether she was or not) that's her thing. Lets not make a big deal out of it... unless you really want to make a big deal out of it, in which case, do as you please (who am I to forbid anything anyway? :) ). I can understand how she felt at that time, because I've been in situations when I didn't achieved what I wanted and felt really bad about it.
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
"I skated my program very clean, but was left out of the top three"

Same old, same old: 'I was perfect, and THEY left me out'.

Irina says she skated very clean, but that particular season (1998-1999) she rarely got through a program without falling on a jump or two. Butyrskaya, Soldatova and Volchkova placed ahead of Irina and they went to Worlds, where Maria won, Julia was 3rd, and Vika was 10th.
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Irina came into view, imo, when at that Worlds, she skated fairly well but Maria B won over her and MK. Was it the following year that she and MK were set up for a 3rd skate at a GP Final? Irina did her Carmen thing and MK went overboard with a Bartok. Irina won the tiebeaker and,from then on, I think she became the toast of the antiKwan fans. It pushed Irina into prominence as the next one in line to beat MK in 2002, that was, until a little California girl came onto the scene at the US Nationals in Cleveland and the next Olympic Champion was a new one on view. Irina's USA fan base was shattered but it is still held up when it is just between her and MK. JMO

Joe
 

Excidra2001

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
chuckm said:
"I skated my program very clean, but was left out of the top three"

Same old, same old: 'I was perfect, and THEY left me out'.

Irina says she skated very clean, but that particular season (1998-1999) she rarely got through a program without falling on a jump or two. Butyrskaya, Soldatova and Volchkova placed ahead of Irina and they went to Worlds, where Maria won, Julia was 3rd, and Vika was 10th.

She did not say she skated clean through out the season, I believe she is talking about a certain competition. I do not know how she skated at Russian Nationals in 99 but if she skated clean, I would've put her on that team considering she was the worlds #2 lady.
 

ChiSk8Fan

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 7, 2004
Irina's retirement

Retirement from eligible competition after a 10 year history of competing and 3 Olympics would seem natural for Irina. She probably has her plan already formulated or investigated, and she should have some idea of what options would be available to her at home, in Europe and/or visiting the US, Canada and Asia. She could skate all over the world and she would be immensely popular doing tours and shows.
 

michaelfsfan

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 21, 2005
millie said:
What qualities do you preceive that an Olympic Champion should have. Also, how do we know what the skaters are saying when a cameraman is not lurking around corners trying to get negative comments. I hope that at World's, the skater that skates his or her best, wins the Gold, not because of favourtism, dramatism, flapping arms or cheering and over-the-top screaming fans.

I'm not saying that an Olympic champion is the paradigm of all that is good and wholesome, but for one to have a sense of sportsmanship would be a start. Irina has always come across as being a sore loser, especially in the light of what happened at SLC. The incident I am referring to happened just after her marks were announced. The camera moved from Sarah and Robin, who were screaming and jumping after realizing that Sarah had just won, to Irina and Zhanna (her coach), and Irina was visibly angry and upset; she was crying, banging at the rails and saying something in Russian while Zhanna was trying her best to calm Irina down. It later transpired that Irina was dissing the judges and calling them "ugly pigs". I for one am glad that all this was caught on camera; if that does not show an appalling lack of sportsmanship then I don't know what does. Irina had only herself to blame for not winning the Olympic gold medal as it was entirely within her reach. She entered the LP in 2nd place, and all she had to do was ace her freeskate to be crowned Olympic champion. But she did not. After Sarah, Michelle and Sasha had skated, she took to the ice knowing what she had to do in order to end up at the top of the podium, but she didn't. She attempted no 3/3 combinations, had a crappy landing on her 3F and skated cautiously, laboriously and uninspiringly. So not only was she technically outclassed by Sarah (who performed TWO 3/3 combinations), she was also outperformed by Sarah presentation-wise. If Irina had skated her Tosca LP in SLC the way she did at Nagano Worlds a month later, then she could probably have won the LP and consequently the Olympic gold medal. Yet despite an underwhelming freeskate, compared to Sarah's, she still expected to win? Puh-lease. The judges are not blind.

Anyway, if Irina felt that she had been deprived of an Olympic gold medal, then she should have insisted that the Russian Federation file a protest and challenge the judges' decision. IIRC, this action was considered, but eventually not carried out. If the Russian Federation had an airtight case, then they probably would have done so, and if the IOC ruled against them, they could have appealed against the decision and go all the way to the CAS, like what the Korean delegation did in the case of the Men's Individual All-Around results at 2004 Athens Olympics. There are proper channels of expressing your grievances in sport and screaming "wuzrobbed" isn't one of them, especially when you do not perform to the best of your abilities.

Also, figure skating is a sport where competitors are given marks by judges to determine the winners, and not like athletics (where the fastest runner wins the race) or tennis (where the first person who reaches the required number of points wins the match). In any such competition, there will be room for subjectivity, and there will be times when a competitor will not agree with the results. If Irina wants to play judge and jury in every competition, then she has no business competing in any figure skating competition because the results may not always be commensurate with what she feels she deserves. As the saying goes, if you don't like the rules, then don't play the game. Simple as that. Nobody is holding a gun to her head and asking her to compete in the elegible ranks, she chose to do so voluntarily, so she needs to accept the fact that the judges decision is final and move on. Irina's incessant whining on how she was so "unfairly" placed in this competition or that only shows what a sore loser she is.

Do you think that Tara or Sarah had the qualities to be an Olympician? I though thought the years and years of long hour practicing and practicing in a cold rink, some people scrounging to get money to pay coaches, through sickness and determination, that's what makes a true Olympican.

Well I don't recall Tara or Sarah blaming everyone under the sun everytime they underperform on the ice, so that's a good start. Sarah has been a very positive role model for teenagers, not only has she realized one of her dreams (being Olympic champion), she was accepted to Yale (one of the most prestigious universities in the US).
 
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