Sarah's performance at Worlds

[lulu]

Sarah's performance at Worlds

First timer here--

I just had to put in my 2 cents with respect to Sarah---

1) She really has strength of will, and is a tremendous competitor, BUT

I agree with other people that she does not come off well when she makes excuses for her performance. I think that just going to worlds was gutsy, but I get the notion that mabye she thought that she would do better than she did --in other words, she got a little too comfy with her skating. (Otherwise, why would she let herself go like that?)

ANother thing---I don't understand the excuses everyone is making for her ---she probably had the same commitments as always. Waiting for colleges is not like doing the actual applications...

THat said--her win at the Olympics was well deserved --she was top 3 the entire year against MK and IS, winning at Skate Canada, she paid her dues, was consistent, powerful.....

 

[heyang]

Re: Sarah's performance at Worlds

Welcome to GS, Lulu.

I haven't read any post-World's Sarah interviews, but I think the media has loaded on the excuses to the public. By lauding her scholastic accomplishments, they are making her a role model. Also, she had many more public appearances due to her Olympic gold, but again, I think the media made that one bigger than life.

I'm willing to cut Sarah a break for the injury alone. There's no doubt that it was a serious injury and she was unable to train to achieve peak athleticism. This also contributed to a weight gain which would also impact her performance.

Sarah could just as easily skipped Nationals and World's just for the injury. I thought she did very well considering her lack of quality training time.

 

[BronzeisGolden02]

Re: Sarah's performance at Worlds

Heyang,

I definitely agree about the media making a huge deal about all of Sarah's off ice commitments. And if you think about it, it really isn't an excuse. It's the truth. She hasn't focused on her skating and it shows. She's the first to readily admit she isn't in top shape. She's been very open about all the things that took her mind away from the ice. Now, that being said, if she decides to stay amateur and shows up next year with the same flaws in her jump technique (I don't see her coming back as undertrained, its the quality of her triples that really worries me) then there are no truths that can excuse that. Michelle's jumps look better this year, her double axel in the Worlds SP was much higher than usual, and I think the trainers she mentioned helped in this area. Perhaps Sarah needs to enlist the aid of some trainers, they could do wonders for that lutz and flip. Her loop, salchow and toe loop seem solid. I'd love to see Sarah come back and end her career on a high note. LOL, but then again, how could it ever get any better than SLC? She was absolutely stunning that night.

 

[mathman444]

Re: Sarah's performance at Worlds

Hi Lulu. Actually, I thought that Sarah skated well at Worlds in the short program and the free skate. But she was buried so deep in the pack after the qualifying round that she couldn't make it back into contention.

Mathman

 

[Joesitz]

Re: Sarah's performance at Worlds

I was there, Sarah had problems in the qualifying round. She did not do a triple triple in SP so she didn't move up as much as she should have. Her LP was fine.

Sarah, to me, looked like she did not want to be there. She has other things on her mind.

Joe

 

[Ogre Mage]

Sarah

I think Sarah as maintained a great level headedness through the whole post-Olympic experience. That is impressive for someone her age. It nice to see her enjoying all the experiences that have come her way.

As for her skating, I think her injury + all the off-ice distractions really took her skating down a notch this season. I admire her for coming back, but her performances have been, in all honesty, mediocre and I don't mean just in comparion to Salt Lake. Even the Sarah of 2001 was better than what she put on the ice this season. IMO, Sarah's strength was her consistency and technical difficulty. Without that, her skating doesn't really stand out. Even some of the other international competitors commented that she is "not in good form" right now.

Sarah got dinged in the SP because that phase of the competition has required deductions, so she loses points for her flutz and underrotations. Her underrotations seem much worse this season than in the past. The free skate has no required deductions, which is why she tends to do better there.

 

[elingrace4eva]

Re: Sarah

Though I'm not a fan, you will never EVER hear me say that Sarah didn't deserve that Olympic gold medal. She was the best that day. She skated an incredible program, and she was very lucky that Sasha, Michelle, and Irina did not. She deserved the medal, that's all there is to it.

That being said, it seems to me like after winning the olympics, it wasn't about skating anymore to her. She's won the medal, and it's over, so now she wants to go to college. She kind of let her skating go this year, which is sad to see, but at the same time it's understandable. It's admirable that she wants to go and get a top notch education, but she has to make a choice. She can either become a professional skater and go to college, or she can be an amateur skater. Doing both competitive skating and higher education is not only an unrealistic option, it would also be more stressful than anything. Sarah has the olympic gold, no one is contesting it, maybe she should just leave it at that.

Kat

 

[anastasiabeaverhoussen]

Sarah

I think aside from the qualifying round Sarah performed quite well. I did not hear her giving any excuses but the announcers were giving exuses which all were valid in my view. She was injured and certainly has had more commitments since winning the Olympics than she had before. Add to that a student who likes to get straight A's who is currently sending in applications and probably doing interviews for schools, coming up with new routines and trying to find time to keep in shape. She had a lot going on. Without the qualifying round I think her placement would have been better. Considering her placement after the qualifying and some highly questionable marks from a few judges, her final ordinal was respectable.

 

[Idleracer]

Re: Sarah's performance at Worlds

[c]<font size=4><font color="#008060">I'd just like to say that there is at least one good thing about Sarah and Sasha not winning any medals this time...This comming Saturday, we're not going to have to sit through the umpteenth performance of "Fosse" and "Hernando's Hideaway." I hope Michelle has something other than that "Fields Of Gold" thing worked up for the event. I'd like to see some new material.

 

[dlksk8fan]

Re: Sarah's performance at Worlds

Idle-
What makes you think that we won't see Sasha and Sarah skate their exhibition programs since ABC always shows the American skaters? I also read that Michelle is skating to FOG. I'm with you on something new.

 

[Pookie]

Re: Sarah's performance at Worlds

I understand that Sarah has lost training time with an injury. I guess she has also spend a lot of time with other commitments. I certainly understand wanting to enjoy the opportunities that the Olympic medal has brought her. I think, though, that if she has been divided with all these things and her training was not a major priority, maybe she should have passed on going to Worlds this year. She didn't make a very good showing for the newly crowned Olympic champion. Every skater makes mistakes and falls down but she was just didn't look like she was into it. And she did get a little defensive in one of her interviews.
Of course, I probably would too if someone was sticking a microphone in my face every time I turned around.

 

[IWannabeASkater]

Re: Sarah's performance at Worlds

Idleracer, Sasha skated to Romeo & Juliet and Michelle skated to FOG. Sarah didn't skate at all, so luckily you won't have to worry about seeing her.

~ Jen

 

[Ladskater]

Re: Sarah's performance at Worlds

I think Sarah was so focused for the Olympics and well prepared that once it was over she got in a bit of "slump" and never got back into her training routine. Figure skating is an exacting sport and the competitive life is gruelling. Perhpaps Sarah got a little too "giddy" after the Olympics and was not really ready for the Worlds. She is young! There is next year if she decides to hang in there. I thought she fought back on her long program (I did not see her short). I still enjoyed her skate.

Ladskater

 

[MoonliteSonata]

Re: Sarah's performance at Worlds

For me, Sarah's performance at Worlds was okay...at least she didn't fall on her spins:lol: (Shizuka and Sasha). After she had that injury, gained weight, lost training, I'd say it was a good effort. But I think that she should had just sat out this season and start fresh like perfecting her technique which needs a lot of perfecting and getting rid of those breaks in her long program.

 

[Verbalgirl77]

Re: Sarah's performance at Worlds

I understand the distractions & lack of training. I guess it was disappointing because her performance at Nationals was quite good. If she'd duplicated those performances at Worlds I think she would have been quite content. I guess it's disappointing that between Nationals and Worlds there seemed to be a decline, and I'm just not sure why that would be.

 

[rgirl181]

Re: Sarah's performance at Worlds

A lot about Sarah reminds me of Nancy Kerrigan after she won her Olympic bronze medal in '92. She gained a little weight, didn't really address any of the problems in her skating, and as a result had a major meltdown at '93 Worlds where she dropped from 1st after the SP to 5th overall after the LP. Had there not been an Olympics in '94, who knows what Nancy might have done? Maybe she would have been happy with Olympic bronze. In any case, Nancy certainly got her butt in gear, peeled off the weight and even after getting bashed in the knee, went into the '94 Olympics in the best physical and skating shape of her life, loaded for bear. Basically I'm agreeing with Lad that Sarah went into an understandable slump after winning the Olympic gold. It's hard to stay hungry when you've won the big enchilada (bad metaphor, sorry; just didn't want to mix them). But Lad's point is well taken that figure skating is an enormously exacting sport, both physically and mentally, especially when you're competing out on the circuit and travelling. And there is a lot to consider in deciding what to do with your life when your academic interest is medicine (not the best time to become a physician, unless you want to practice cookbook medicine and have half of what you earn go to malpractice insurance) and your athletic gifts are in figure skating. I don't see these as excuses, just understandable reasons for what happened. After the stress of the Olympic year, look at what's happened to the top four ladies:
--Sarah, as discussed.
--Irina didn't skate well all season and although I have no doubt Irina primary concern is to be there for her mother, I think Irina was not at all disappointed to miss Worlds.
--Michelle took most of the year off, only skated three competitions (very smart), but honed in on fixing areas that were lackin in her training. She did best of all and I don't mean just medals. She significantly improved her skating at an age and with a competitive career that would make most people think they didn't have to improve. From a disappointing '01/02 to an amazing '02/03 and a whole new Michelle, IMO.
--Sasha won 3 GP golds, including the GPF, plus the Canadian Open, but she had a disappointing bronze at Nats and no World medal. She might have missed World bronze by one jump (the 3flip in the SP), but even so, she continues to be dogged by consistency issues. I wonder if part of her problem with focus is sheer stress and needing some time off. Sasha strikes me as someone who is likely to suffer more from overdoing it and possibly getting burned out rather than slacking off.

Two of the three ladies on the Worlds podium, Fumie and Sokolova, either were not considered contenders for an Olympic medal or weren't even at the Olympics. I think as the stakes and technical requirements for elite eligible skating get higher, and as the skating and touring seasons get longer, I think we will see more erratic skating from year to year. Elite athletes who last learn something called training periodization, which is basically ways of keeping yourself in condition without burning out, physically or mentally. Michelle found it, at least for this year and hopefully for the future. If Sarah decides to continue skating competitively, she will have to find her way to this too.
Rgirl

 

[ladybug]

Re: Sarah's performance at Worlds

Rgirl

I agree with you completely. Sarah just wasn't hungry this year. She has some big decisions to make if she wants to continue to compete. I guess going to school is the right thing for her to do but I would rather see her get down to business and give us another SLC performance.

Irena did not have a good year. Her programs were just so so and she just didn't skate well. Maybe winning Worlds last year kept her from being hungry also. I think Irina knew she could not win Worlds this year with the strong competition and was happy to stay at home rather than lose her title.

Sasha skated in everything this year. TT pushed her too hard. Would have been better if she trained more and only skated 2 GP and the GPF, Nationals and Worlds. All those competitions also mean a lot of traveling which is also very tough. TT wanted it all for Sasha too fast...too soon.

Michelle, smart girl at the age of 22. She is doing it her way and it looks like it is the right way (for her). She has her fire back. Hope she doesn't get side tracked next year. She was wonderful at Worlds this year. Not laid back. She was very exciting, calm and I have never seen her happier to win a competition.

 

[berthes ghost]

Re: Sarah's performance at Worlds

rg, this probably doesn't change your point at all, but Nancy has said that she wouldn't have skated past 92 if the Oly were in 96 rather than 94. It probably helps to explain why she was not up to peak in 93, maybe she was still in retirement mode.

I know that she was sick and then had all those worries with her Mom, but I got the feeling all season long that Irina would really rather have retired after 02 worlds.

 

[rgirl181]

Re: Sarah's performance at Worlds

Berthes Ghost,
I'd heard that from Nancy too, about not continuing to compete had the Olympics been in '96. Actually, I agree with you, that she was in a kind of retirement mode in '93 or at least somewhat ambivalent about going on. I just think that the meltdown at '93 Worlds made her realize that she indeed wanted to commit herself to another Olympics. Maybe we still disagreeing, I'm not sure. But I certainly didn't mean to diss Nancy. I was trying to say that I think it's not only understandable but it should be expected that most elite athletes with the pressures of being the favorite would either need to rest and refuel or else have a slump after the intensity of an Olympic year. Besides, my opinion on this is hardly set in superglue. We're talking about human nature and how different individuals we don't even know respond to having won an Olympic medal. Very squooshy area.
Rgirl

 

[mathman444]

Re: Sarah's performance at Worlds

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>It's hard to stay hungry when you've won the big enchilada (bad metaphor, sorry; just didn't want to mix them).[/quote]!!!!!!!

Your fan and student,

Mathman

PS. BTW, what's a Cahuna? Is it something to eat?