Re: Carolina Kostner...the next great skater?
<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>And of course all if she grows too much in the wrong way then she might never make it.[/quote] Welcome out of lurkdom, Schmooze. Excellent point that several others have made as well. At 16 and with her body type, the Puberty Fairy has not finished with Carolina, so we'll just have to see.
<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>The real issue with Carolina is what's going to happen when she matures with those 3/3s. She is very coltish, and I don't know if she can keep those incredible combos are she gets older.[/quote] ITA, Lanternlight. And like DorisPulaski said, Kostner is 5'7 (I hadn't realized she was that tall). If she grows another two inches, jumping for her is going to be very tough. OTOH, I'm impressed that she is jumping this well at 5'7. Also re DPP's point about another 5 or 10 pounds on her chest and hips--or, from my POV, another 15 or 20 lbs. all over--such changes can wreak havoc with a skater's ability.
When Oksana Baiul first came on the scene I thought of course she would have adjustment problems with puberty, but she seemed small enough at 16 that they wouldn't be too severe. My sister, though, said at the time ('94) that there was something about Oksana's thighs that made her think she might "chunk out" as my sister put it, especially in her legs and hips. Just recently I found out reading an interview with Oksana that she was dieting a lot in '94, hardly eating anything prior to the Olympics. Still she remained short and thin for a couple of months and then bam--she grew almost six inches over the course of a year. By '98 my sister's prediction had come true; Oksana's legs and hips became disproportionately heavy relative to her upper body. Don't get me wrong, I think Oksana has a beautiful body. It just was no longer right for jumping by the time she was 18.
Nobody knows what will happen with Kostner. I enjoy a lot about her skating and hope that puberty doesn't take her out of figure skating, but it happens. As Berthes Ghost said, there probably wouldn't be so much hype, if any, if she hadn't skated so well at Euros and gotten worldwide television exposure for that. Also, it's human nature to want to identify the next big thing. It's like the thrill of picking a winning horse at the track. It was interesting to hear, however, that Kostner was much more impressive live than on TV.
We'll just have wait and see, but I wish Kostner the best. It's awful for any skater when they've put in all the years of training, have great promise, and then hormones take it all away.
Rgirl
