MovieChat Forums > Vancouver 2010: XXI Olympic Winter Games (2010) Discussion > Question about female figure skating

Question about female figure skating

posted 14 years ago by past_tyme
8 replies | jump to latest

How come there aren't more multiple medalists? I just remember Michelle Kwan winning Silver and then Bronze. But it seems that a lot of competitors choose not to come back. Is it just that the nature of the sport (like gymnastics) just favor the younger skaters and does your body really not able to perform that well after 4 years or what? Tara Lipinski (she was 15 when she won) was just so young, and it's hard for me to think that they didn't have the desire to compete again. Or that their lives kind of peak before age 20. In a lot of other sports, people compete for years. I would think Tara Lipinski could have came back and still be a good competitor at age 19 (although I never liked her, because she just seemed to do the motion and was just a strictly technical skater and didn't have the heart or grace like Michelle Kwan).

[–] jarn2004 14 years ago

I could be wrong, but i think it has to do with the fact that you dont get paid to be an amateur.... and you cant be a pro and get appearence fee's etc and still be in the olympics......

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] past_tyme 14 years ago

Maybe I just have a bad opinion of Lipinski (based on some story I heard from someone I knew who met her), but she seemed pretty desperate for fame after the Olympics. It must have been really hard for her family and there must have been pressure to earn money, but I'm sure amateur skaters can still earn a living. I don't know what comes with being amateur and pro, like I guess Michelle Kwan was still able to get endorsements which I'm sure Lipinski could have done as well. I was always so pissed for Michelle Kwan to lose to Lipinski and then have to even work harder 4 years later and was so much older than others. But I think she's still seen in high regards for coming back and she's a figure in pop culture and has inspired someone like Kim Yuna.

It just doesn't seem like a lot of the figure skaters try to even come back, I know some do and don't even qualify because the sports changes like you said, but it looks like in gymnastics and figure skating, that time to shine is so short lived.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] jarn2004 14 years ago

I could also be wrong, but i think Michelle came from a fairly well off family...so she could afford to keep coming back....

[–] past_tyme 14 years ago

It's hard for me to imagine that she couldn't get sponsorships after her gold medal. So even if they were broke at the time of the Olympics, she could have capitalized on her win. It's true, the amateurs aren't paid salaries but sponsors have a lot of money. And are the rules different now, because I see Kim Yuna in all these advertisements and she must be making bank on them and that was even before her win. Can you endorse products as a medalist and still be amateur?

Also, it's a different story with people like Sasha Cohen who was older when she competed after trying out the Olympics before. I can see why she wouldn't come back after winning a medal.

I'm glad Michelle Kwan had enough drive to even try for a 3rd time. I read that it was an injury that forced her out.

[–] anya_angie 14 years ago

I honestly think Cohen didn't continue after 2006-07 season is because she knew everyone was right; she can never skate a clean long program when it counts. I think she wanted to try again (why else would she have gotten anorexia this year? she thought starving herself would help her jump better) to try to prove everyone wrong, but as the world knows, her comeback was far less stellar than Plushenko's. Four falls in one free skate is pathetic even for her. Look at the Worlds in 2006. The pressure was off of her entirely, the gold was practically hers, and she STILL screwed up. I honestly think she knew everyone was right when they criticized her inability to stand up to pressure even when there was none. I've seen her in shows where she only had ONE jump and she even messed THAT up. Even when she won Nationals in 2006 she fell.

My mom was thinking she would win in Torino after her stellar short program. She'd never seen her before then so she didn't know her track record, while I did. When she screwed up, as I knew she would, mom was shocked. I laughed and mom thought that was mean of me. I told her, Mom, I knew this would happen. When it comes to watching Cohen, the key is to wait until she screws up, and if she doesn't, mark it on your calendar.

E. Plushenko: Show what you are capable of!
I. Kulik: Figure skating is not figure jumping!

[–] anya_angie 14 years ago

Well, few American skaters stick around after their Olympic victories because the media makes it out to be the most important thing. If you look at things internationally (Katerina Witt) they stayed even after their victories.

E. Plushenko: Show what you are capable of!
I. Kulik: Figure skating is not figure jumping!