Lambiel Injured Again - No Skate Canada?

[Tinymavy15]

Oddly, Stephane retireing would not shock me. I feel as if he was only half there the past three years or so. He won 2 world titles and has an olympic silver which is pretty impressive. Last year he has problems with his jumps and now with an injury.... things don't look good. But he is without doubt the most talented skater out there today, has the best connection to the music by far and could easily win the OGM in 2010 if he really wanted to. I just don't think he wants it bad enough.

 

[museksk8r]

Oddly, Stephane retireing would not shock me. I feel as if he was only half there the past three years or so. He won 2 world titles and has an olympic silver which is pretty impressive. Last year he has problems with his jumps and now with an injury.... things don't look good. But he is without doubt the most talented skater out there today, has the best connection to the music by far and could easily win the OGM in 2010 if he really wanted to. I just don't think he wants it bad enough.

It doesn't matter how badly you want it if your body fails you - think Michelle 2006. Stephane has been plagued by injuries since the 2002-2003 season, often having to skip the Grand Prix Series because of them. It was clear to me last season that he was skating through great pain the entire way from Cup of China to Worlds. Still, he came away with a major international win at the Grand Prix Final and repeated his highest finish thus far at Europeans, 2nd. That speaks volumes about his talent and the quality of his programs and the fact that they are jam-packed with difficulty, musicality, and choreography that gives him such an edge over many of the other skaters.

 

[chuckm]

I don't think with his physical condition that Lambiel can win a World or Olympic title any more. His knees have always been a problem, and there's little more surgery can do to resolve it. The groin injury is probably the result of trying to 'protect' his knees when practicing 3As and quads. Plushenko also had vulnerable knees, and his hernias probably started because of his instinctive efforts to avoid taxing the knees.

Trying to stay competitive when your body no longer has the ability to take the pounding is not a good idea.

 

[Eevun]

His spirit is gone. I've been missing it for the last 1½-2 years. I loved him most when he was new and wild. He's pirouettes were not from this world and he was just bubbling with happiness, all the time. At Worlds I hardly didn't recognize him. Off ice he looked so down, his eyes weren't shining.
Like everyone else of these competitive skaters, I think they haven't got time to be children, to be young. He's not even 3 years older than me, but it feels so much more. Of course it's their life, they have chosen it because it's what they love. But if the love is gone, maybe that's what has happen with Stephane, do something else. Have fun with your life while you're young and healthy!

 

[antmanb]

That's what Yagudin did to Plush in 2002; Lambiel did to Joubert in 2004 and 2005 and what Buttle did to Joubert in 2008.

Really? I always thought (love his skating as i do) that Yagudin was the king of fist pumping and self congratulation after nearly every jump. Certainly every single quad he landed was followed by double fist pumps and huge smile.

Ant

 

[Mafke]

Yagudin was the king of fist pumping .... Certainly every single quad he landed was followed by double fist pumps and huge smile.

I think it was part of his landing technique.

 

[Buttercup]

I can't speak for Joe, but IMHO I think the disinction is between skaters who project their performances to the audience and those who instead draw the audience in. I can't exactly explain it. It is not the same as extroverted versus introspective, it's not flashy versus understated, it's not athletic bravado contrasted with artistic soulfulness...

There are hammy actors and there are hammy skaters. When I get into the realm of 'artistry', I am not listening to the young crowd ooohing and aaahing quads and selling it all to the audience. I go to the comps to see at least of modicum of artistry. Weir, Oda, and maybe Brezina will underplay all the big tricks for the sake of the music. They do not pose, look to the rafters to tell the world how great that trick was, etc They do not come after me. I go to them.

That's what Yagudin did to Plush in 2002; Lambiel did to Joubert in 2004 and 2005 and what Buttle did to Joubert in 2008.

Thanks for clarifying, Joe and Mathman. I think the acting comparison was a good one, though hammy may be pushing it - but I see what you mean. I guess for me it's harder to make this distinction with skaters, and I wouldn't say one style works better for me than the other.

IMHO, Joe, for some skaters, the way they behave after a big element ties in more to their personality than to any desire to show off, which was what led me to bring this up in the previous post. Obviously they all have to be motivated and dedicated to what they are doing, but it comes out in different ways on the ice.

I always thought (love his skating as i do) that Yagudin was the king of fist pumping and self congratulation after nearly every jump. Certainly every single quad he landed was followed by double fist pumps and huge smile.

That was my impression, too, especially with Winter. But despite this, the skating was nowhere near as flashy as Plushenko's, so on the balance I think I agree with Joe.

Like everyone else of these competitive skaters, I think they haven't got time to be children, to be young.

Except maybe Johnny Weir - didn't he start skating relatively late? Hopefully he'll stick around for years to come.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

^^^ ^^^
If you think Kwan as I do, she never had all that Tech but as Joubert said in one of his interviews, "You can not turn your head away from her" (or something like that). That's the beauty of being lyrical. You don't have to 'sell' it.

 

[antmanb]

I think it was part of his landing technique.

 

[Eevun]

Except maybe Johnny Weir - didn't he start skating relatively late? Hopefully he'll stick around for years to come.

12. But I think that's to be a kid too. But, relatively, yes.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Quote:
That was my impression, too, especially with Winter. But despite this, the skating was nowhere near as flashy as Plushenko's, so on the balance I think I agree with Joe.

Nice that you can tell the difference between a bravado performance and a lyrical one. In that Oly, Plush was not himself, after a poor SP, he was ill at ease going into the LP. Result was his 'flashy' performance was flat, imo, despite the Toreador music.

 

[sillylionlove]

According to the ISU website....He has officially withdrawn from Skate Canada!!!

 

[Medusa]

Except maybe Johnny Weir - didn't he start skating relatively late? Hopefully he'll stick around for years to come.

with 12. But I doubt that he'll stick around for another olympic cycle.

I read in one German magazine this huge article about Stéphane, written two years ago I think. I don't have the link anymore plus no translation - but it talked a lot about his injuries and I think it said that the knee problems started before he was even ten. The problem apparently was that he was training the spins on the floor in the garage for hours and hours at a very young age (voluntarily) and that after a few years his coach had to forbid it because it was so damaging to his body. Does anyone else remember this article and has a link?

Well, what I wanted to say is that you don't have to be a physician or a physicist to understand that this special training technique was really really bad. You can't spin that well on concrete, the friction slow the feet down a lot, which means that your upper body and upper legs are always spinning a bit faster than the lower legs, you basically use the mass of your upper body to make the feet spin despite the friction - the joint that is mostly damaged by that is the knee joint. If Stéphane really did that for a few years or even just one year before he turned 10 - that could be the reason for the fact that he needed his first big knee surgerey before he turned 20.

Article in Swiss newspaper
Nothing really new in that article, except for the fact that he talked with Grütter and seemed to be in a sinister mood during that talk.

According to the ISU website....He has officially withdrawn from Skate Canada!!!

And from TEB too - the lists were already changed yesterday.

 

[libby]

Article posted by International Figure Skating: "Stephane Lambiel Withdraws from Grand Prix Series; Retirement Speculation is Rampant"

http://www.ifsmagazine.com/forum/

 

[NatachaHatawa]

Maybe it's very selfish and greedy of me as a fan to want him to stay, but I just feel that we could still share many more memorable moments with Stephane if he could just hang on for a little more.. I still think he has yet to reach his artistic prime, but so unfortunately he seems to be past his athletic prime... But really, he has given us so much, and whatever he decides for himself I will love him the same as always!

That's exactly how I feel!

I'm so upset that he's withdrawn from the Trophée Bompard - I was so looking forward to being able, at last to see him skate.

 

[Eevun]

with 12. But I doubt that he'll stick around for another olympic cycle.

I think that apply of most of the competitive skaters working today. A change of generations is close ahead. My first, I just followed figure skating since Olympics 2002, and it feels very sad to lose all your first loves and the ones you are brought up with.

That's exactly how I feel!

I'm so upset that he's withdrawn from the Trophée Bompard - I was so looking forward to being able, at last to see him skate.

I understand exactly how you feel. With the privilege of having a Worlds Champ so close to home and to see all your heroes skate live, and then some has to withdraw. I cried for days when Stefan Lindemann had to take season 07-08 off due to injuries and surgery, I'm still sad to have lost the opportunity to hug him... Anyway, maybe not much to compare with Lambiel, they're not playing in the same league, but I understand the feeling. If his decision is to retire, I hope you get the chance to see him in a show or something.

 

[Eevun]

If he retires I'll scream. Loudly.

Let's scream. He just announced his retirement And the men's competitions just felt very poor, especially in Europe.