I saw Kurt Browning at Stars on Ice Canada earlier this month. Not only was he by far the most charismatic performer of the cast, he also still had two triples (toe and salchow), plus the biggest, most steady 2As among all the skaters--even compared to still-eligible skaters like Patrick Chan and Ashley Wagner.
I know that Browning's technique is still very impressive, and he's always been one of the most artistically gifted skaters, but I've read his interviews where he mentioned how many knee operations he'd had to do over the years, so, while it's obviously his choice, I can't help feeling sorry for the high price he has to pay to continue skating the way he does. So I must confess I tend to feel glad for skaters who find themselves in something else rather than go this route, no matter how much I might miss seeing them skate.
I don't think Michelle gave up skating because of injuries--she participated in Yuna's shows in 2010 and still gained back 3T and 2A after many years. I think she's simply moved on with her life, and the main draw for her was always competition.
That's so great to know! I remember reading an interview with Arutyunyan that by the time he began training hee there wasn't that much she could do physically, and that there were days when she couldn't do anything at all, and then when she withdrew from the Olympics which had been her goal all these years, I assumed this was the end, that if when it was just a matter of days, she couldn't pull herself together on all the high emotion for two performances, and since obviously her problems were clearly long-term ones and couldn't have been solved prior to the season, then that was it for her, and to be honest, this made me far sadder than her having to withdraw from the Olympics per se. (After all, what difference did it make to Browning's career that he hadn't won the Olympics?) So I'm happy to learn that with time she did recover and could skate if she wished to, and that, based on that, she's most likely feeling fine in everyday life (unlike Rachel Flatt, for example).
I don't mean to trivialize their injuries. But injury doesn't automatically equal retirement or inability to skate (and in Tatsuki's case, I don't think they even played a major role in his decision).
Of course, it depends on the type of injury. I've come across suppositions that injury played an important part in Machida's decision to leave the sport, and so abruptly at that, but I'm very glad to learn that it was by choice. I also wished for him to make another try for the WC title, but upon further reflection I came to think that it probably wouldn't make a difference to his subsequent career if he's ever won the Worlds or not, and, perhaps, it's wise of him to see it and measure achievement in other ways. (I'm not trying to undervalue athletic achievements, but there are different kinds of success where skaters are concerned, and I think even if he'd won the Worlds, eventually that's not what he'd be remembered for.) So I can't say that I'm really upset now that apparently he couldn't postpone taking that grad school position.
yyyskate said:
Machida seems to be a real, serious artist by all means, from this ex, I think this is the best form for his talent to shine to its full. I feel he is absolutely at peace with his decision and very content and enjoy what he has right now in life.
Yes, it seems so to me too, and so I'm happy for him. Now he can have his academic career and his creative skating, so it looks like a happy situation for him.
He made the final three times and finished last, fourth, and last.
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Some skating blogs also criticized it but by Japanese Nationals some of them understood what he was trying to do with the program and warmed up to it.
