Skaters' Elegibility Status Update
I figured I'd post this since I don't know many on here who go on skating boards, so I thought I'd give all of you out of the loop of things a little update on some skaters.
Olympic Ladies Champion and 2004 World Champion Shizuka Arakawa has officially announced that she will turn pro. Considering she's 24-25, I can understand. I'm still going to miss her though. Olympian and Italian Ladies Champion Sylvia Fontana is also leaving elegible ranks. Also turning pro are Olympic Pairs Champions Totmianina and Marinin and 2000 World Pairs Champions Petrova and Tikhonov. I believe Poland's prized pair team of Zagorska and Siudek are also leaving elegible ranks, also going pro are American pairs champions (who were absent from the Olympics this year) Katie Orscher and Garet Lucash. Another American pairs skater Tiffany Scott has also turned pro. No word on Dulebon's (sorry if I misspell his name) status. 2002 Olympic Bronze Medalists Italian ice dancers Fusar-Poli and Murgalio have announced their retirement (again LOL, if your memory needs refreshing they were the team that had the famous Glare after the original dance). Another star team in the dance world, Jamie Silverstein and Ryan O'Mara of the US have also announced their retirement, strange considering their young age and the fact that they just burst onto the scene this year (sory if I spell his last name wrong). American pair team Marcy Hinsman and her partner (I can't remember his name! sorry) are splitting up. They were NOT the ones that did the throw triple Axel mind you. The team that did that is staying in. I'm also sad to say that American National Champion and 2-time World Silver Medalist and Olympic Bronze Medalist from 2002 Timothy Goebel (also known as the "Quad King") has officially announced his retirement. And if my memory serves me right, Israel's ice dance team of Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovsky have announced their retirement, but don't quote me on that. American star Matt Savoie is also retiring so he can concentrate on law school at Cornell.
Amazingly 2-trime World Champion and Olympic Silver and Bronze Medalist Irina Slutskaya has not made up her mind yet. And to my great joy, niether has 2-time World Pairs Champions and 2-time Olympic Bronze Medalists Shen & Zhao! They do want to try for a 3rd World Title! No word yet on American ladies champion and Olympic Silver Medalist Sasha Cohen's status either (that I know of, mind you). She wants to try acting, and I believe she is scheduled for Stars On Ice next year. However she may still retain elegible status, a la Michael Weiss, who toured with them last year. Olympic Mens Champion and 3-time World Champion Evgeni Plushenko has announced that he will take a year off, then see what he wants to do. He is having a baby in a few weeks, he wants to enjoy fatherhood and wants to organize a Russian tour version of Champions On Ice, only he hopes it will be more than just skating; he wants to include singers and other celebrities. If I recall correctly there is no word yet on what 2-time World Silver Medalist Brian Joubert plans to do yet. Also undecided (or their status is unknown to me, whichever) are American dance team Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov.
Marie-France and Patrice (I can't spell their last names, they were the Canadian ice dance team who withdrew just before the free dance, then had a spectacular fourth-place finish at the World Championships with a breathtaking performance of John Barry's "Somewhere In Time," which rivals Sale and Pelltier's "Love Story" in its emotional quality) have announce they will stay elegible. Much to our delight American dance team Tanith Belbin and Ben Augusto are staying elegible as well. American champion Johnny Weir and World Bronze Medalist Evan Lysacek are both staying in, as are Olympic Silver Medalist and 2-time World Chamnpion Stephane Lambiel and Olympic Bronze Medalist Jeffrey Buttle. World Ladies Champion and National Bronze Medalist Kimmie Meisner will stay in as well as National Bronze Medalist Emily Hughes. Of course we can look forward to seeing Japan's Mao Asada, Miki Ando, Fumie Suguri, Diaske Takahashi and Nubinari Oda compete next year as well as Italy's lovely ladies starlet Carolina Kostner.
Wow, that's about all I can think of! I will update this as more news comes in!
"If I smile all the time, people will think I'm an idiot." Olympic Champion Evgeni Plushenko