Maybe because Evan and Frank had agreed to withdraw. Do you think Frank would have made a phone call to the USFSA if Evan had wanted to compete? If Rachael wanted to skate, there was no way for Tom Z to advertise her injury to anyone. It is a matter of royalty.
Actually no. Frank/Evan started notifying them when they realized there might be a possibility. And as her coach Tom had a responsibility to look after her healthy and say NO.
This is a clear example of double-standard. Sure, Rachael is no Michelle, but this girl also deserves to have a fair opportunity that she earned from the National. There is nothing wrong with Rachael aiming to have a mini Yu-Na moment at Worlds. Too bad it didn't work out as she hoped for. But she tried, so there won't be any regrets and she will move on. Knowing this could be her last chance of competing at Worlds, deferring the college for a year to prepare for this event, how could she give up so easily? National pride is a good thing, but it shouldn't cost individual's dream.
What double standard. Yu-na skated well enough to medal. Rachael skated horrifically. Second, Yu-na informed the Korean federation about her injury and they decided that even injured Yu-na was their best shot at more than one spot. Do you seriously think the USFSA would have decided a THAT injured Rachael was a better shot.
Michelle also skated well enough to medal. When Michelle was given a spot for a competition, and was injured to the point where she knew she wouldn't skate well-Michelle had the class to withdrew (in this case partially because she didn't earn her spot.
As for the Elvis example, the big difference is Elvis wasn't skating at a World Championship, where his skate affected people's future other than his own. If Rachael had skated like this at the Olympics, I would have been fine with it because the Olympics is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and she's not going to be affecting next years spots. And also Elvis skated well enough to medal.
People play hurt all the time, in all sports, both popular and unpopular. No one ever makes a big deal of
Rachael was the one who choose to use this injury as an excuse. She choose to skate injured, because she thought she could do it, and then choose to use the injury as an excuse when she didn't skate well. Its perfectly valid and fair for US figure skating fans to respond back, by saying if your skating that bad, why didn't you withdrew, so we could put in a athlete who could skate well.
Once again unlike GPF, Rachael's skate didn't just affect Rachael, and Rachael alone. Rachael affected our world spots for next year. In other sports sure athletes, skate injured, but those athletes DO get replaced if it grossly affects their performance. I'm sorry the fact that she was contemplating things like leaving out a 3lutz in her short program, means that injury was grossly affecting her performance.
Rachael choose to skate injured fine, but that was HER choice. She did that fully knowing that 3 spots depended on her placement, and FULLY knowing that there were other athletes that were healthier than her, and would probably skate better. Fine she earned that spot. But you know what, she also has to take responsibility for that choice too. Its the oh I was so injured excuse that ticks me off. Nobody would have known for sure that Rachael was that injured, if she hadn't announced.
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