Gold's motive for GP Final pullout in question

[japanice]

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2014/12/09/figure-skating/golds-motive-gp-final-pullout-question/

 

[LisaM]

Sounds like pure speculation to me.
(Oh hai this is my first post here.)

 

[RobinA]

What a nasty article. She pulled out in time for the alternate to go. The b*tchiness is uncalled for. For some time now, every SINGLE time a skater pulls out of a competition citing injury, there's a chorus running around debating whether the injury is "real." A rather nasty side of the sport. And really, so what? The harm to others in this case is nil. It's a sport.

And as for this..."I'm an American, I can read every American's mind.." Nonsense. This article makes me embarrassed to be an American.

 

[uhh]

The article is ridiculous, but I am surprised that she's still planning on doing the pre-Christmas shows & if it would really give the stress fracture enough time to heal.

 

[satine]

Sounds like pure speculation to me.
(Oh hai this is my first post here.)

Welcome

When you grow up in a country or culture, you can usually tell when somebody from the same place or background is being insincere. The tone of voice and body language often give them away.

This is how I felt at the recent NHK Trophy in Osaka when American Gracie Gold spoke to the media after winning the women’s singles competition on Nov. 29.

Well I also grew up & currently live in the US & I feel otherwise

The 19-year-old Gold gave off a vibe that indicated she just didn’t care or want to go to the GP Final, which was very strange.

Same feelings towards this. I think it's nothing but poo to be honest. It seems an athlete can't even qualify for a respected event (that yes, even she herself was surprised at), injure herself during general training, & then expect to have both her passion for the sport and the legitimacy of her injury not be put to question by some writer

 

[Violetti]

Maybe she knew already that her leg was not perfectly well and that's why she did not seemed interested in going to GPFinal.

 

[Meoima]

The article is ridiculous, but I am surprised that she's still planning on doing the pre-Christmas shows & if it would really give the stress fracture enough time to heal.

JACK GALLAGHER as the writer. I don't expect much whenever I see his name. Tabloid.

 

[YesWay]

Look who wrote it. 'nuff said.

On the one hand he says:
"Cultures are different. People are different."

But then he disregards his own words and says:
"But sport is sport. As an athlete you are either all in, or you are not. I don’t think there is any in-between."

Ridiculous. That kind of moronic assertion pretty much sums him up.

There are plenty of people who wish Hanyu had taken Gold's attitude, and withdrawn from CoC, NHK and GPF - for the sake of his long-term career, the big picture... instead of a small chance of short-term glory. I'd say she was playing smart, and "all in" for the long term.

 

[ManyCairns]

I find this all particularly ironic after what Rachael Flatt went through when she DID try to compete with a similar injury, probably thinking/hoping she could soldier through it more successfully than she did. Talk about d*mned if you do and d*mned if you don't.

Also love how this writer took Ashley's comments in a very positive way, only mentioning the Asada/ Kim references and not the additional comments re: the Russian ladies that caused such furor here (unwarranted furor to me because Ashley was asked to compare the two so-called eras and she appeared to me to just be trying to come up with some kind of answer to a very contrived kind of question). Just highlights how the same interview can be seen in vastly different ways. I think Gold usually seems a little stiff and uncomfortable in interviews and I suspect that was the body language this writer was seeing. Just my thoughts.

 

[Meoima]

There are plenty of people who wish Hanyu had taken Gold's attitude, and withdrawn from CoC, NHK and GPF - for the sake of his long-term career, the big picture... instead of a small chance of short-term glory...

To be fair US Fed respect Gracie's attitude even though I am sure they really want to see her in GPF.
But JSF, on the other hand... :disapp:

Anyways, Jack Gallagher has written many ridiculous articles. And it's funny that in his articles he has bashed Mao Asada many times on Japan Times. I am not a Mao fan. But still, I cringed everytime I saw he mentioned Mao. Geezz!

 

[cheerknithanson]

Am I the only one who thinks the journalist needs a slap in the face?

 

[Meoima]

Am I the only one who thinks the journalist needs a slap in the face?

don't, he isn't worth it.
Honestly Jack Gallagher has always been like this. don't take him too seriously.

 

[demarinis5]

What a bunch of nonsense, He has freedom of speech but imo this article is pure fantasy writing. I don't know what Gracie
did to him but this article is unsettling. It would be nice to read an article by Gallagher that supports a skater but drama
whether it is real or made up sells newspapers .

 

[Buttercup]

Gold's motive for GP Final pullout in question...

... by someone who hasn't got any idea what he's talking about or any proof to back up his allegations.

 

[NMURA]

Gold herself doesn't choose. Frank Caroll does. I think he has the motive to "withdraw". He doesn't want her to be knocked out easily by the Russians or beaten by old Wagner.

 

[Meoima]

Gold herself doesn't choose. Frank Caroll does. I think he has the motive to "withdraw". He doesn't want her to be knocked out easily by the Russians or beaten by old Wagner.

Judging by Gracie's scores at NHK, I am sure she could score more decently than Ashley and Anna Pogo if she's relatively clean.

 

[ice coverage]

The article is ridiculous, but I am surprised that she's still planning on doing the pre-Christmas shows & if it would really give the stress fracture enough time to heal.

Lest anyone wonder: the shows are Jeremy Abbott's fundraisers for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. Abbott's father has end-stage Parkinson's.

https://www.facebook.com/Revolution...41828.408282639273483/588703251231420/?type=1
http://skatingmagazineblog.com/2014...-guest-gold-to-perform-in-stars-on-aspen-ice/​

I imagine that supporting her friend's cause has a lot of personal meaning to Gracie, and that she feels strongly about showing up to keep her commitment.
Under the circumstances, I hope that the crowd will appreciate her sheer presence, and that it will be understanding if her programs are modified so as not to jeopardize her recovery.

 

[Everettguy]

Such a smear campaign perhaps to add drama to the sport? Gracie was hailed as the next skating princess and already she's being demonized. No doubt she would want to attend the GPF, that's kind of the point of participating in GP events. She and her team are aware of the schedule of events at the beginning of the season but this article almost makes it sound like it was a bad surprise that she qualified. I think Gracie and her team were aware that something wasn't quite right physically and didn't know what the outcome of her injury was going to be so she may have acted ambivalently about making the final. Keep in mind that there's prize money and exposure for the USFSA to have Gracie at the GPF. So clearly she's injured and has provided the medical documentation. Maybe the USFSA rep. didn't immediately respond because she was on vacation or out sick or for all we know weekend days were being counted. Who knows but let's calm down on the conspiracy theories.

 

[LRK]

I thought the article seemed thoroughly unpleasant - and I don't think it is called for.

If there was any perceived lack of enthusiasm on Gracie's part at the NHK press conference - which I have not seen myself, so I have no view on this, but if this was indeed so - it could be because she was not feeling well and therefore wasn't looking forward to it as she otherwise would have done.

As for the show... I've never understood the "if X is well enough to perform in a show, X is well enough to compete!" argument. Er... no. How many jumps does a skater have to do in a competition? And how many in a show? In fact, if the skater is not up to it, they need do NO jumps in the show. Or if they do it need be only something simple. To me it's like saying: "Well, if X was well enough to go to the corner store to buy milk, X should be able to put in a full nine-to-five day's work as well."

 

[Alchamei]

Hah. This article is nonsense. Pure speculations, almost no facts. By the way, I think when the ISU media commnicator saw the name, I think she wasn't in a mood to answer, that's why she didn't respond.