Brian Joubert | Page 13 | Golden Skate

Brian Joubert

Well...he's a tiny bit more restrained this week. Just a bit. ;)

https://vimeo.com/110669112

I really think he's improved a lot in these past few weeks. He's not nearly as stiff or awkward as he was in the beginning. Very good job this week!
 
I can't say I'm too surprised. Also an interview with Oleg Vasiliev came out today where he said he had not had any response from Brian in two months to the contract he was sent to work with Katrina.

I just hope he will still be part of The Snow King and that there aren't any hard feelings with Katrina. Hopefully she doesn't feel mislead.

Maybe his experience on DALS helped him reach this decision...it does seem that he struggles with the lifts, etc. and he's not getting any younger, and there are just so many good pairs teams already, especially in Russia.
 
gallavich said:
Maybe his experience on DALS helped him reach this decision...it does seem that he struggles with the lifts, etc. and he's not getting any younger, and there are just so many good pairs teams already, especially in Russia.
Click to expand...

I thought about that too. The lifts look difficult for him and he is probably having back problems after all these weeks.
I hope he already told about the decision to Katrina so she doesn't have to read it on Internet first. There was a recent interview with her where she still talked about the competition plans.
Edit; I just read the link you posted, it seems like Katrina didn't know...
 
Oh boy... Oleg Vasiliev sounded less than pleased in that article. I hope Katrina doesn't take it too badly... they still have the Snow King to get through first.

It was a smart and logical decision for Brian, but the communication and timing weren't ideal.

I guess he realized, after DALS, that the lifts were just too difficult. But he must've shown some ability, or else Katrina wouldn't have teamed up with him.
 
Oh dear, that is awkward, that's figure skating drama for you! :popcorn:

But I'm excited to see he's still in Dances Avec Le Stars, could he win? Because that'd be seriously epic.
 
Meoima said:
Who could ever guess so much drama from Jourbert of all people. :ohwell:
Click to expand...

Lol, he has had a lot drama with several coaches, the federation and certain skaters. :popcorn:
I guess he didn't tell Katarina yet because he was afraid of problems concerning Plushenko's show.
But now he is an awkward situation.
 
Well, maybe the article wasn't intended on his part as an Announcement - maybe he just sort of blurted it out. "So, what is all this we're hearing about continuing in pairs?" - "Nah, I'm done with competitions." Anyway, however it was, this is a bit of a mess, isn't it?

One thing that puzzles me is that Vasiliev says that he has heard nothing about the contract - fair enough. Or rather, not fair on Brian's part. But then he also says he just recently met Brian - didn't he ask him then? I mean, Vasiliev says that he's heard neither "yes" or "no" or "I don't know" - surely he'd at least get some sort of "I don't know" out of Brian if he actually asked him point blank? Why didn't he just ask him? :scratch:
 
Sounds like a communication breakdown of epic proportions. Maybe I missed something, but I thought Brian was only with Katarina recently, and didn't meet with Vasiliev? And according to Katarina, she asked him repeatedly if he still wanted to continue, and he told her yes. Maybe he assumed they would only be doing shows & not competing...presumably the contract was in Russian so he might have needed to get a translator and a lawyer to look at it, maybe? But couldn't he just say that? Who knows...it's all quite confusing and a bit of a mess.
 
gallavich said:
Sounds like a communication breakdown of epic proportions. Maybe I missed something, but I thought Brian was only with Katarina recently, and didn't meet with Vasiliev? And according to Katarina, she asked him repeatedly if he still wanted to continue, and he told her yes. Maybe he assumed they would only be doing shows & not competing...presumably the contract was in Russian so he might have needed to get a translator and a lawyer to look at it, maybe? But couldn't he just say that? Who knows...it's all quite confusing and a bit of a mess.
Click to expand...

Well, according to the article you linked (googletranslate, natch):

""We sent two months ago Joubert contract to work in tandem with Katarina until 2018. He does not answer" yes "or" no "or" maybe "- Vasilyev said by phone. - Although he was last week Moscow, has seen me, has seen with Katarina, but said nothing. Before that we had a verbal agreement that Brian performs its commercial obligations in the show, and then start training paired with Gerboldt."

Emphasis mine.
 
Ah, ok, I missed that. Well, I have no clue what to think. In this case there are probably 4 sides to the story.
 
So, to break things down:

- Brian tells French news channel that he's done with competition
- Katrina didn't know he wanted to stop competing, and in fact, repeatedly asked him. And he always answered he'd continue.
- According to Vasiliev, Brian never gave a straight answer regarding competition, even though Katrina turned down opportunities for him. Brian was also (?) offered a position in the French Fed, perhaps as temptation to make him not go to Russia.

Obviously, I don't know how much of Vasiliev's words are fact, and how much is his perception/assumption. On the positive side, it seems like Katrina won't let the personal drama affect Snow King preparations.

What I don't understand is: Why would Brian tell Katrina he'd compete, and then blurt out the opposite to the French media? I'm sure Brian knows his words will get around. Maybe the journalist provoked him/tricked him somehow? :think:
 
Sandpiper said:
So, to break things down:

- Brian tells French news channel that he's done with competition
- Katrina didn't know he wanted to stop competing, and in fact, repeatedly asked him. And he always answered he'd continue.
- According to Vasiliev, Brian never gave a straight answer regarding competition, even though Katrina turned down opportunities for him. Brian was also (?) offered a position in the French Fed, perhaps as temptation to make him not go to Russia.

Obviously, I don't know how much of Vasiliev's words are fact, and how much is his perception/assumption. On the positive side, it seems like Katrina won't let the personal drama affect Snow King preparations.

What I don't understand is: Why would Brian tell Katrina he'd compete, and then blurt out the opposite to the French media? I'm sure Brian knows his words will get around. Maybe the journalist provoked him/tricked him somehow? :think:
Click to expand...

That seems to be a good summary - except that Vasiliev seems to be saying that Brian has said nothing whatsoever, rather than not giving a straight answer: "He does not answer 'yes' or 'no' or 'maybe'" - "maybe" I would count as "not a straight answer". That's what's puzzling me about what Vasiliev is saying - if he had said that Brian had weaselled out of giving a straight answer, and fobbed them off with "I don't know"s and "maybe"s, I'd have understood - though it would hardly have redounded to Brian's credit.

And yeah, I don't understand how Brian could have thought nobody in Russia would find out about what he'd said in the French press. That's why I wondered if it maybe wasn't a premeditated announcement - it would still be a mistake, methinks, to talk about it in the press first. But, on the other hand, he doesn't seem to have been that coy about discussing it, and expressing his doubts - remember the mini-interview Cekoni did with him during Kings of Ice?

All in all, this just makes me... :scratch:

Well, at least we don't need to turn to soaps for our Daily Dose of Drama. ;)

Reminds me of a Babylon 5 quote:

"Understanding is a three edged sword: your side, their side, and the truth."
 
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