Figure Skaters That Have Competed In Other Sports

[4everchan]

I think I'd have to consider the coxswain a participating athlete, and worthy of the medal.

To clarify because I don't really see them as athletes in the sense of "athletic" I totally agree the coxswains deserve their medals. It's like the short program in figure skating... you cannot win the competition just with a good short program but you can lost it with a bad one. A good coxswain is a must to aspire to the greatest honours. The thing people forget is that the coxswain is not just there during the races but does have to train with the crew. The coxswains know what the crew is capable of doing in training and can decide when the crew needs to push and pick up gears both in training and in competition. That's why I see them more as the brain than the bodies.

On the subject of the curling coach brought up by @4everchan, I can't really offer an opinion because I don't understand the sport, other than it being something like shuffleboard. If, as he states, the coach is on the field of play and is actively participating in real time in a fashion that impacts the way the contest plays out, then I suppose I'd tentatively choose "yes" to the medal question.

The Coach in curling is used once during the game during the time out. However, he/she is called to the ice to discuss strategy with the players. This is their "on the field"

There is not much to understand about curling. You like it and get to know the very basic concepts of it Much easier to comprehend than figure skating rules.

However, in curling, there is a SKIP : the person who decides which shots will be thrown. They are the brains of the curling squad. They do communicate with their players and get feedback from them but they make the ultimate decisions. In that sense the Skip does share some traits with the coxswain. The main difference is that the skip is also throwing stones while the coxswain is not rowing. So that's where I draw the line for the "athletic" word. It's just semantics.... and I don't speak the same language as most of the people on this forum so I will go with what my brain tells me when it comes to lexicon

 

[4everchan]

On the other hand, and this is a throwback to the thread on Synchro9, if a sport MUST be eliminated from the Olympics to make room for newer emerging sports, then equestrian would be the top of my cut list. NOT because of questions of whether it's an athletic event, but because of the inherent exclusivity of the sport. Modern Pentathlon's recent change in format, replacing the equestrian phase, is a good move for the sport, and I hope it opens the door to greater participation and wider popularity.

horses are expensive of course... but then, let's remove bobsleigh and all the sailing sports too If accessibility is the criterion for being an Olympic sport.

We might as well remove surfing too... I mean, who can afford houses near beaches nowadays ?

 

[skatesofgold]

horses are expensive of course... but then, let's remove bobsleigh and all the sailing sports too If accessibility is the criterion for being an Olympic sport.

We might as well remove surfing too... I mean, who can afford houses near beaches nowadays ?

Why are we talking about equestrian and surfing, which are summer sports, being removed for winter sports? That's not how it works.

 

[4everchan]

Why are we talking about equestrian and surfing, which are summer sports, being removed for winter sports? That's not how it works.

You are picking up a thread drift just now ? It happened a long time ago.
My point was not about removing winter sports but removing Olympics sports that are crazy expensive.

 

[Diana Delafield]

Why are we talking about equestrian and surfing, which are summer sports, being removed for winter sports? That's not how it works.

Well, on the other hand, when figure skating first appeared as an Olympic sport it was in the summer games and was held indoors. 1908 in London.

Interesting, I just Googled to check the date and learned the Games were originally supposed to be in Rome, but Vesuvius erupted in 1906 and the Italian government had to relocate the allotted funding into recovery efforts there, so London stepped in. The London Games had so many events it lasted over six months because there were too many athletes to accommodate all at once and too many event venues had to be shared. And we talk about trimming down nowadays!

 

[macy]

Well, on the other hand, when figure skating first appeared as an Olympic sport it was in the summer games and was held indoors. 1908 in London.

Interesting, I just Googled to check the date and learned the Games were originally supposed to be in Rome, but Vesuvius erupted in 1906 and the Italian government had to relocate the allotted funding into recovery efforts there, so London stepped in. The London Games had so many events it lasted over six months because there were too many athletes to accommodate all at once and too many event venues had to be shared. And we talk about trimming down nowadays!

thats incredible. i wonder if there's a documentary on it, id be so interested to learn how they handled not only stepping in last minute but somehow held a 6 month long games!

 

[TontoK]

horses are expensive of course... but then, let's remove bobsleigh and all the sailing sports too If accessibility is the criterion for being an Olympic sport.

We might as well remove surfing too... I mean, who can afford houses near beaches nowadays ?

I was thinking more along the lines of accessibility based on wealth, rather than geography. There are, in fact, bobsledders who grew up in middle class (even, I imagine impoverished) circumstances. Even moreso with surfers, I'd bet. They can still succeed at an elite level.

Show jumping? Dressage? Not the case, at least as far as my imagination can take me. Perhaps there are, in fact, Williams Sisters equivalents. Poor children growing up learning to show jump on the hardscrabble streets. I'm just unaware of them.

 

[TontoK]

Why are we talking about equestrian and surfing, which are summer sports, being removed for winter sports? That's not how it works.

Mine was more of a general comment about removing sports from the Olympic slate.

 

[Arigato]

This thread is off the rails . . .

horses are expensive of course... but then, let's remove bobsleigh and all the sailing sports too If accessibility is the criterion for being an Olympic sport.

We might as well remove surfing too... I mean, who can afford houses near beaches nowadays ?

Hells bells, may as well get rid of figure skating. Who can afford it nowadays?

 

[4everchan]

This thread is off the rails . . .


Hells bells, may as well get rid of figure skating. Who can afford it nowadays?

everything elite is too expensive, yet a quarter million dollar bob (+ track time) is a bit more expensive than a pair of skates and ice time.