2021-22 Retirements, Splits & Partner Changes | Page 5 | Golden Skate

2021-22 Retirements, Splits & Partner Changes

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BlissfulSynergy

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 1, 2020
Country
Olympics
I am very surprised that Ian and Katarina are no longer ice dance partners. They seemed so joined at the hip. Of course, this doesn't have to mean they are no longer close friends. I'm wondering if it means that Ian is now interested in pursuing other endeavors? After seeing that Kat/Ian were no longer on the ISP and that Kat had stopped posting to her Instagram, I found her long post thanking U.S. figure skating, their coaches, families, sponsors, etc., after 2021 U.S. championships, particularly interesting in retrospect. At the end she said: "I can't wait to get started on our next adventure." That could have meant an adventure not associated with figure skating. But who knows? Kat/Ian dropped from second in 2020 to third in 2021 at U.S. nationals in junior ice dance. There are several young ice dance teams who were improving and providing them with stiff competition, including the recently formed team, Flores/Tsarevski.

Kat forming a new partnership and skating for Great Britain, is an interesting development. I wonder whether one of her parents has British ties? I wish Kat much success with her new partner, and I hope things are still happy between her and Ian. I always thought Ian was focused on one day making the Olympics, but desires can change. Best of luck to Ian as well in whatever his plans are currently. Is Ian also looking to find a new partner and switch countries to improve his chances of competing on the senior level at major championships?

A possible factor in the Kat/Ian split is that Ian turned 21 on September 1st this year, thus aging out of juniors. Meanwhile, Katarina turned 17 this past June, so she has at least two more years of junior eligibility in ice dance. She appears to need more junior experience. IMO, she doesn't seem currently ready for seniors. So, that could also explain the Kat/Ian split. Wilson French turned 18 this summer (July 7), so he is close in age to Kat, and competing for Great Britain offers Kat better competitive opportunities.

ETA:
I've never heard of Billy Wilson French, so I checked YouTube. He's apparently a dancer on and off the ice:



The above competitive performance took place two years ago, but it's an interesting watch. Wilson French exudes drama and flair. My eyes are certainly drawn mostly to him. His former partner, Hancock, displays some good skills, and they were pleasant together. However, it's pretty obvious that Hancock is relatively tall with long limbs, so they weren't an ideal physical match, especially if she continued to grow in height.

I can see Wilson French matching well with Kat DelCamp. Similar to Ian, Wilson French exhibits flair and a strong presence on the ice, combined with excellent partnering skills. When I watched Kat/Ian, my eyes were always drawn to them both, but mainly to Ian, due to how good an ice dancer he is. Still, Kat matched him well in presence and charisma, despite Ian being the stronger, more experienced ice dancer. Even when Ian skated with his former ice dance partner of many years (Eliana Gropman), he was the stand-out, though they were both equally skilled ice dancers, having grown up competing together.
 
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ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
... Kat/Ian dropped from second in 2020 to third in 2021 at U.S. nationals in junior ice dance. There are several young ice dance teams who were improving and providing them with stiff competition, including the recently formed team, Flores/Tsarevski. ...

At 2020 U.S. Nationals, DelCamp/Somerville actually placed *fifth* in junior dance (148.59).
Well ahead of them: Nguyen/Kolesnik first; Wolfkostin/Chen second (161.39); Browns third (160.54); Cesanek/Yehorov fourth.

That said, my take (in a similar vein as yours) is that although DelCamp/Somerville had a better Nats placement in 2021 versus 2020, they did not gain ground against Wolfkostin/Chen and the Browns.

At 2021 U.S. Nats, DelCamp/Somerville placed a rather distant third in junior dance (147.30).
Well ahead of them: Wolfkostin/Chen first (167.22); Browns second (162.91).
And yes, Flores/Tsarevski in fourth place (146.40) came within a point of DelCamp/Somerville.

A possible factor in the Kat/Ian split is that Ian turned 21 on September 1st this year, thus aging out of juniors. Meanwhile, Katarina turned 17 this past June, so she has at least two more years of junior eligibility in ice dance.

DelCamp/Somerville would have been eligible for junior international competition in 2021-22, if they still were partners.
(I cannot tell whether your wording was intended to convey the same thing.)

2021-22 is Somerville's final season of eligibility for junior internationals. (He turned 21 after July 1, 2021.)

2022-23 will be DelCamp's. (She will turn 19 before July 1, 2023.)



Anyway, the U.S. junior ice dance field just never stops changing. 🤔
Of the few couples from 2020 Nats that still are intact, the Browns and Tkachenko/Kiliakov are the only partnerships that started at the intermediate level or even earlier.
The partnerships of Wolfkostin/Chen, Cesanek/Yehorov (now senior), and Ling/Wein all started at the junior level.
 
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3T3T

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 1, 2007
Country
Ireland
Elizabet Tursynbaeva has just announced her retirement due to problems with injuries with her back.
That was a lovely post by Elizabet, sincere and heartfelt. Ten years since her first international start, the first of 50. She has represented Kazakhstan with real honour. I was really happy to see her medal at Worlds. She had a great 2019 with silver medals in Worlds, 4CC and the Universiade.

Wishing her the best of luck in the future.
 

ladyjane

Medalist
Joined
Jun 26, 2012
Country
Netherlands
I expected it, but it still is a real pity. I hope her retirement will solve her back problems, and I wish her well in the future. She must have some good memories of her last active season in 2019.
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Country
Northern-Ireland
Elizabet Tursynbaeva has just announced her retirement due to problems with injuries with her back.

So sorry to hear this. She was so good, but also so likable.

It's never nice to see a skater retire have to through injury. But, better to call it a day than to continue on and risk making it worse.

Now that Elizabet and Aiza have both retired, does Kazakhstan have any obvious candidates to take up the mantle?

Elizabet and Denis did so much to put Kazakhstan on the figure skating map. So, I really hope that the country stays there.

All the best for whatever the future holds, Elizabet!

CaroLiza_fan
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Country
Northern-Ireland
That was a lovely post by Elizabet, sincere and heartfelt. Ten years since her first international start, the first of 50. She has represented Kazakhstan with real honour. I was really happy to see her medal at Worlds. She had a great 2019 with silver medals in Worlds, 4CC and the Universiade.

Wishing her the best of luck in the future.

Beautifully put, 3T3T.

I expected it, but it still is a real pity. I hope her retirement will solve her back problems, and I wish her well in the future. She must have some good memories of her last active season in 2019.

Hey, why not re-live that week in Saitama where she achieved all her best scores?

Elizabet Tursynbaeva - 2019 World Championships SP
Elizabet Tursynbaeva - 2019 World Championships FS
Elizabet Tursynbaeva - 2019 World Championships EX

What a way to crown off a remarkable season, and (as it turned out) a remarkable career.

CaroLiza_fan
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
....

Now that Elizabet and Aiza have both retired, does Kazakhstan have any obvious candidates to take up the mantle?

Elizabet and Denis did so much to put Kazakhstan on the figure skating map. So, I really hope that the country stays there.

All the best for whatever the future holds, Elizabet!

CaroLiza_fan
There is this youngster who finished 9th at JGP Kosice. I remember enjoying his SP.
Dias JIRENBAYEV




He is going to compete in seniors at Nebelhorn.He is 17 according to Ted.

There is also Mikhail SHAIDOROV ..

There is US/KAZ dance team that was not bad that skates for KAZ.
.https://www.ice-dance.com/site/profile-maxine-weatherby-temirlan-yerzhanov/

They won the bronze at the last Denis Ten Challenge

There is a woman named Bagdana RAKHISHOVA competing at Nebelhorn, but I do not know anything about her.
 
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siela

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Is Pavlova the Russian girl that skated with Ilia Spiridonov? Or is it a different Pavlova?
Yes, I believe it's that Maria Pavlova. There was another Pavlova who skated pairs and, if I am not mistaken, even tried skating with some German partner, but that was Elena.
 

ladyjane

Medalist
Joined
Jun 26, 2012
Country
Netherlands
Yes, I believe it's that Maria Pavlova. There was another Pavlova who skated pairs and, if I am not mistaken, even tried skating with some German partner, but that was Elena.
With Ruben Blommaert I believe.
 

skylark

Gazing at a Glorious Great Lakes sunset
Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 12, 2014
Country
United-States
I’m quite surprised by this.
I can't find it on her IG now, but I recently saw a picture of Tarah and Balasz eating ice cream cones. Tarah's caption was: "Our only twist has sprinkles." Very clever. :)
 

theblade

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 15, 2018
I’m quite surprised by this.
In a way, I am not. If she loves Balasz and they are not skating partners, why wouldn't she want him to excel at the sport in the best way possible? The US has many strong pairs teams. His shot at international competition is perhaps better skating for the country in which he was born. So, although the news is out of the blue, yeah, agreed - it's also quite logical. Hope it works out for him.
 
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