Re: Summer Questions - Ladies
<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Tara ruined her future in skating by seeking the gold, but she regrets nothing.[/quote] I have a specific question to Berthes Ghost and others who agree with this: As Tara was training for the Olympics, do you think she <em>knew</em> she was causing permanent damage to her hip by doing the 3lp/3lp that would cause her to have constant pain for years, require surgery, and be unable to skate at the elite level ever again? Or do you think she was a driven athlete who was used to pushing herself just like the other elite skaters and expected that the pain she was experiencing doing the 3lp/3lp would subside once she turned pro and stopped doing them?
I hope this doesn't come across as a "hidden agenda" question because it isn't. I just see a lot of people post things that are very similar to "Tara ruined her body training for the Olympics" and I'm very curious as to whether people think she knew what the consequences were or not.
Also, my interest was piqued because in the most recent issue of <em>International Figure Skating</em> (Aug. '03, their 50th issue), they have a section on their five top selling issues with a little article about the person on the cover. In the article on Lipinski she says about her hip, "It's a day-to-day process. Sometimes you think it's really good, and then you wake up and do the slightest thing, and you're set back for a little while. I'm trying to deal with it. But I want my fans to know, I could never leave skating. Skating is a passion of mine, and I'll always be in the sport."
Then there's some stuff about her acting and that some "big announcement" may be on the horizon but she's not ready to even drop a hint.
The final quote and end of the article is, "I'll never leave skating. But I also want an acting career."
BTW, the order of the five top selling issues are as follow; they show the cover as it was and then show a photo of the skater(s) as they look today:
1. Michelle Kwan, Jan/Feb '02. The photo is one with her in a white shirt, unbuttoned a bit at the top and at the bottom enough to show a little belly, a red belt, and jeans, with Michelle looking very sexy and ready to "take it on." The "Michelle Today" photo is a beautiful candid photo of her wearing a black sleeveless top with cut-off shoulders and a turtleneck with a long straight skirt that has a patch-work Asian pattern design in maroons, browns, silver-grays, white (to highlight the some of the patterns), and a loose ribbon-like black belt that hangs loose around a slightly high waist. (I WANT that skirt! Though I wouldn't do anything in the same galaxy to what Michelle does for it. Mathman, this one's a 6.0 in my book
) Michelle looks great in both photos but I really like the "Michelle Today" one. To me it's as if she's grown into everything: her personality, her looks, her body, her spirituality, everything, and even in what is clearly a candid shot taken at a reception, Michelle looks absolutely drop dead gorgeous and stunning in that outfit.
2. Oksana Baiul, Jan/Feb '96. Oksana is in a gray sweater, blue pants, and tennis shoes, looking very casual sitting on the grass with her legs crossed. Oksana's smile and body language certainly bely the tumult that was going on inside at that time. The "Oksana Today" photo is of her doing a move on the floor where she is sitting on one knee, arching her back, and grabbing the skating of the other leg to bring it to the back of her head--a move I believe she did in "Arabian." She's still blonde in the photo so it must be several months old, but she looks beautiful and fit.
3. Grishuk & Platov
Dec/Jan '97. I'm just joking about the
. It's easy to forget how popular they were from '96 to '98. Hightlights of the article, which is relatively long: Oksana has dropped Pasha because she said it was more like an Olympic stage name. She is thrilled being a mother. She and Evgeny had not spoken since the break up until the summer of 2002, shortly before her baby was born. They both say they have a friendly relationship now but have no plans to skate together. Evegeny emphasized how happy he was coaching Chait & Sakhnovsky, so obviously this was written before they went back to Tarasova. The "Grishuk & Platov Today" photos are separate, one of Oksana with her baby and one of Evgeny with Chait & Sakhnovsky. I had kind of a crush on Evgeny when he was skating and I hate to say this, but he's starting to look a little jowely at 35. I saw him close up in '99 and I kind of wish I hadn't. The make-up, lighting, and long shots hide a LOT of wrinkles. I should talk though:lol: But the way he did the paso doble still ranks as the second or third best "sexual alpha male on the ice" I've ever seen. Anyway, I hope he's happy with whomever he's coaching now and I hope Grishuk has been forgiven enough by the figure skating world and the fans, and is now together enough that she can contribute her talent and knowledge to skating in some way.
4. Tara Lipiniski, Jan/Feb '99. In the cover photo from '99, Tara's hair pinned is up and she looks very much like a 15-16yr (or younger) skater or dancer. The "Tara Today" photo is a black-and-white though slightly sepia toned shot of Tara, arms crossed, white shirt, jeans, a little belly showing, hair shoulder-length and wild, with a whole look of, "Baby, here I am." Tara still looks more 16-17 than 21, but she is certainly beautiful, and I keep thinking of how happy she'll be to look 30 when she's 45, lol.
5. Anybody want to take a guess?
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5. Lu Chen, Nov/Dec '98. On the cover Lulu is wearing a lime green and black striped long-sleeved shirt that ties just below the sternum, leaving her with a very sexy and revealing neckline and waist. Her hair is long and, holy moly, is she ever a beautiful young woman. In the article she talks about offers she's received to do movies in China, though things are on hold right now because of the SARS virus--yeesh! She's also traveling to Hong Kong and Australia to do coaching and choreography seminars. For the last two years she's been working in Connecticut with her former SOI castmate, boyfriend, and '92 Olympic pairs silver medalist Denis Petrov, although no plans for a wedding just yet. The "Lu Chen Today" photo shows Lulu in a plain gray long-sleeved sweater with her arms crossed up and behind her head. Her long hair has some subtle highlights in it and the 26-yr-old Chen has a beautiful "come hither" look on her face. I think she could be great in movies so I hope that works out. Lulu says she can't really say what kind of movies she would prefer since she's never done one, but said, "...<em>actually</em> I do like comedies more." Lu Chen and Chow Yung Fat in a Chinese version of "Pretty Woman" directed by Ang Lee--I'd go see it
Rgirl
