2021-2022 US Women's Figure Skating | Page 58 | Golden Skate

2021-2022 US Women's Figure Skating

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drivingmissdaisy said:
It's only bleak if our expectation is that she will skate as well as she did before. For me, it's tough to reset what I, as a fan, would like to see her accomplish. There obviously aren't medals in her future given the number of American women who are now better at everything (jumps, spins, speed, transitions, etc.), but you occasionally see moments of her previous best in her programs which I enjoy.
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I feel the same way. Watching her at Cranberry, it was glorious when she *hit* jumps - in person her 3Lz is massive and powerful, it's amazing to see. And when she loosened up a bit and stayed on top of her music and choreo during the free, it was beautiful to watch. Something is clearly causing her to struggle in a way that's preventing her from hitting the heights she was at before, and while I had hoped for that from the beginning of her comeback - honestly, I'm just really glad I had the chance to see her skate in person (but gosh am I still kicking myself for missing 2016 Worlds when it was here in Boston!!!).
 
drivingmissdaisy said:
It's only bleak if our expectation is that she will skate as well as she did before. For me, it's tough to reset what I, as a fan, would like to see her accomplish. There obviously aren't medals in her future given the number of American women who are now better at everything (jumps, spins, speed, transitions, etc.), but you occasionally see moments of her previous best in her programs which I enjoy.
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I only say bleak regarding her ability to make the Olympic team which she stated was her goal. Of course that was when her comeback started. It's very possible her goals have shifted. Maybe she's just aiming to crack the top 8 or 10 at nationals, which would be an amazing accomplishment for her given where she is. Who knows? I just hope whatever her goals are she is continuing because she wants to and not out of some kind of obligation she feels to keep going.
 
kwanatic said:
Agreed. Gracie was never an expressive skater and it feels like it's gotten worse since her comeback. If she is happy it's hard to tell. I admire her for coming back and making it this far but I feel like Cranberry was really her last opportunity to get back in it. She needed something to get her momentum going. It still may happen but it looks pretty bleak. As I said I still hope she's able to skate well at nationals--it'd be a nice way to send her off.

Re: Retirement age and all of that...

I think those of us who watched women's skating in the mid 90s to early 2010s got very used to seeing skaters who were competitive for multiple Olympic cycles. It was awesome to watch skaters grow from their junior days and mature into young women. For example, I love that I got to witness the full evolution of someone like Mao Asada who started off as a bouncy little girl and matured into an exquisite and ethereal skater. The ups and downs of her career (and others like Michelle Kwan, Carolina Kostner, Irina Slutskaya or even Ashley Wagner or Liza Tuktamysheva for that matter) are what really endeared her to me and made her victories that much sweeter.

Nowadays, there isn't as much of a chance of watching a skater mature and grow like that because their time seems to be much more limited, particularly in Russia, so everything is rushed. Of course this is due to the brutal competition there--it's super hard to stay at the top because competition is so fierce there really isn't an opportunity to have a bad year because the field will pass you by. Thus you have to win everything as quickly as you can because you may not be the best a year or even 6 months from now. I've accepted that longevity isn't really important anymore but it does make me sad as a fan of the sport. Longevity gives a fan years and years of competitions, programs and moments from their favorite skaters; that's not the case when skaters are gone a year or two in. You can look back at those few competitions but that's all you get. Of course there are shows and stuff like that but it doesn't compare to the energy of a competition IMO.
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Actually, until Kwan, the norm was for the ladies in the prior 20 years or so was to only go one olympic cycle, once they had reached their peak, 2 if they were young and improving . Then turn pro.
 
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bostonskaterguy86 said:
I feel the same way. Watching her at Cranberry, it was glorious when she *hit* jumps - in person her 3Lz is massive and powerful, it's amazing to see. And when she loosened up a bit and stayed on top of her music and choreo during the free, it was beautiful to watch. Something is clearly causing her to struggle in a way that's preventing her from hitting the heights she was at before, and while I had hoped for that from the beginning of her comeback - honestly, I'm just really glad I had the chance to see her skate in person (but gosh am I still kicking myself for missing 2016 Worlds when it was here in Boston!!!).
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Well, I drove 2 days for that also. My first in person skating event ever. Stayed in Peabody, rode T into Boston. We were up literally in the rafters. Like the very top seats. She skated last. That short though. OMG. When we got back to Peabody I started watching it over and over. The free though. That hurt.
 
Unpopular oponion: Gracie should get the host spot for skate America. She is still giving us a lot of excitement. Even her blanke face during her performancees is more interesting than most of the others. She still has fame, tickets will sell better if she is there. She is an embassador for fighting against mental illness. She is even slightly improving. At this point obviously her content is questionable, but she would would add a little spice (desater skate or somehow decent or surprisingly really good, all possible) in a lets say otherwise normally rather dull first group at a gp.after all she overcame in last two years she would also really deserv the spot, for beeing such an inspiration for sort the kids
 
halulupu said:
Unpopular oponion: Gracie should get the host spot for skate America. She is still giving us a lot of excitement. Even her blanke face during her performancees is more interesting than most of the others. She still has fame, tickets will sell better if she is there. She is an embassador for fighting against mental illness. She is even slightly improving. At this point obviously her content is questionable, but she would would add a little spice (desater skate or somehow decent or surprisingly really good, all possible) in a lets say otherwise normally rather dull first group at a gp.after all she overcame in last two years she would also really deserv the spot, for beeing such an inspiration for sort the kids
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A lot of us would enjoy seeing her skate, but her scores aren't anywhere near the range for skaters that compete on the GP series, who are usually selected from the top 30 or so women in the world. Competing in Senior B events might do more for building her confidence.
 
silveruskate said:
You don't mean to, but you are making her sound delicate to me. She shared information about her mental health and physical health, but does she really want that information to define her more than her skating? Not so sure about that.
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I am afraid that it does not sound "delicate" to me, but realistic and understanding of mental health. For me, It is indeed a great credit to Gracie that she can be known as much for being honest about those challenges as for her skating

That may be generational for me. Too many times in sport, especially if you're my age, I have heard folks have extol "Overcoming all obstacles no matter the cost to ourselves" as some sort of wonderful character trait, even at a cost to mental health. It has taken me some time, I must say, to realize that approach is bull feathers. And I say that as someone who can tell you how I walked to school barefoot in the snow, uphill both ways, tough, not like these young whippersnappers (brandishing my old lady cybercane:laugh:
 
Joekaz said:
Actually, until Kwan the norm was for the ladies to only go one olympic cycle.
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Nope.

Janet Lynn
Anett Potzsch
Elena Vodorezova
Claudia Leistner
Elizabeth Manley
Midori Ito
Nathalie Krieg
Maria Butyrskaya
And of course, Katarina Witt, all competed in 2 Olympics in the 70s/80s/90s. That's just what I was able to compile in a quick 10 minute search. And it was definitely the norm in those decades for Men/Pairs/Ice Dance to go at least 2 Olympic cycles.
 
halulupu said:
Unpopular oponion: Gracie should get the host spot for skate America. She is still giving us a lot of excitement. Even her blanke face during her performancees is more interesting than most of the others. She still has fame, tickets will sell better if she is there. She is an embassador for fighting against mental illness. She is even slightly improving. At this point obviously her content is questionable, but she would would add a little spice (desater skate or somehow decent or surprisingly really good, all possible) in a lets say otherwise normally rather dull first group at a gp.after all she overcame in last two years she would also really deserv the spot, for beeing such an inspiration for sort the kids
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It's true, even if her score is low right now. Gracie is the one that I want to see in this competition so much. She is popular skater and if we see the views in youtube, she is much popular than Mariah Bell for this competition. Gracie even if she skate bad or good, everyone seem to like watching her. And, maybe having skate america will improve her confidence because she is perfectionnist and do not want to look bad in a grand prix serie in front of hometown. This could be an interesting choice if USFS want Gracie for the host spot, I think it's the right choice if there is an audience because it's true that Gracie sell probably more ticket than Mariah Bell.
 
MCsAngel2 said:
Nope.

Janet Lynn
Anett Potzsch
Elena Vodorezova
Claudia Leistner
Elizabeth Manley
Midori Ito
Nathalie Krieg
Maria Butyrskaya
And of course, Katarina Witt, all competed in 2 Olympics in the 70s/80s/90s. That's just what I was able to compile in a quick 10 minute search. And it was definitely the norm in those decades for Men/Pairs/Ice Dance to go at least 2 Olympic cycles.
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You beat me to it, but Kerrigan should be in there too. She was in 92(Bronze) and 94 (Silver) Games.
 
Gracie is not going to be given the Skate America slot. She may be popular still, but she is not competitive any longer, and the Grand Prix are major competitions. A Grand Prix spot will be given to an up and coming skater who needs the exposure for her future competitive career. Mariah and the other top 4 women skaters (Bradie, Amber, Karen, and Alysa) already have 2 GP assignments each, so the SA slot will go to someone else, most likely Audrey Shin or Paige Ryberg.
 
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mrrice said:
It's controversial but, Tonya was at both of those games as well.
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Oooh, you're right!! I think I've totally blocked whackgate out of my memory. Only explanation, I was quite a Tonya fan in the early 90s. For some reason, when I think about 1994, the first thing I think about is little Michelle Kwan who was the US alternate. Did a little bit more Wikipedia research, there's lots and lots of skaters who competed in multiple Olympics in those decades, that never medaled.
 
soccerjc77 said:
It's true, even if her score is low right now. Gracie is the one that I want to see in this competition so much. She is popular skater and if we see the views in youtube, she is much popular than Mariah Bell for this competition. Gracie even if she skate bad or good, everyone seem to like watching her. And, maybe having skate america will improve her confidence because she is perfectionnist and do not want to look bad in a grand prix serie in front of hometown. This could be an interesting choice if USFS want Gracie for the host spot, I think it's the right choice if there is an audience because it's true that Gracie sell probably more ticket than Mariah Bell.
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They are very aware she sells tickets. I’ve had discussions about that with Jamie (who got a thank you note for putting up with me and an extremely excited email when Gracie made Nationals.)😂😂😂

That’s probably why she got host pick last year. But I don’t think she wants pity picks.
 
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MCsAngel2 said:
Nope.

Janet Lynn
Anett Potzsch
Elena Vodorezova
Claudia Leistner
Elizabeth Manley
Midori Ito
Nathalie Krieg
Maria Butyrskaya
And of course, Katarina Witt, all competed in 2 Olympics in the 70s/80s/90s. That's just what I was able to compile in a quick 10 minute search. And it was definitely the norm in those decades for Men/Pairs/Ice Dance to go at least 2 Olympic cycles.
Click to expand...
I should have been more precise. I meant once they reached their peak they generally did not continue on to another cycle after, like they do now. Thank you for the correction.
 
MCsAngel2 said:
Oooh, you're right!! I think I've totally blocked whackgate out of my memory. Only explanation, I was quite a Tonya fan in the early 90s. For some reason, when I think about 1994, the first thing I think about is little Michelle Kwan who was the US alternate. Did a little bit more Wikipedia research, there's lots and lots of skaters who competed in multiple Olympics in those decades, that never medaled.
Click to expand...
Believe it or not...... Elena Liashenko went to 4 Olympic Games. I think she might hold the record.
 
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