11 Skaters You Could Have Thought Had "Peaked"...But Hadn't
Trudi Marrapodi
strictly "B list," and when a skater has "peaked," got me to thinking
about how many times over history skaters who appeared to have already
"peaked" got a "second wind" instead, and surprised a lot of people.
I came up with 11, just for starters--several of which people have already
named, so I'll get them out of the way first.
1. Rudy Galindo. Did anyone in 1995 seriously think he was headed for
anywhere but ice theater?
2. Paul Wylie. A-list skating (at least half the time), B-list (sometimes
C-list) results. Until the '92 Olympics.
3. Maria Butyrskaya. As Sandra (I think) once said, at one point she was
down so low that she disqualified Russia from sending any ladies to the
Olympics. Would anyone have thought such a skater would become world
champion? Would anyone have thought she would establish herself as a
perennial contender in her late 20s?
4. Todd Eldredge. Showed early promise with two U.S. titles and a world
bronze medal, but in '92 fell apart at Olympics and worlds. In '93 and '94
he didn't even make the world team. If you had said back in '94 that he
was destined to be a world champion, they'd have locked you up. Heck, in
'96 after Rudy Galindo took his title, if you'd said he'd be world
champion they might have locked you up.
5. Jan Hoffmann. The first time he won the world championships was in
1974. From that time on, he was always a contender, but not a winner. Then
in 1980, he finally won again.
6. Claudia Leistner. She won a world silver in '83--and from then on,
zippo. Then, in '89, she peaked again with another silver. Go figure.
7. Lloyd Eisler. All by his lonesome. It would be easy to assume that when
he won his world bronze with Katherina Matousek in '85 and she broke up
with him to leave skating, he, like Kansas City in the song, had "gone
about as fer as he could go." Sheesh, for a while there he couldn't even
seem to find a new partner. The rest of the 1980s passed without him ever
reaching a world podium again. Who would've thunk he'd end up finding a
new partner and winning a world title and two Olympic bronzes with her?
8. Irina Vorobieva. All by her lonesome. Got as high as world silver in
pairs in '77 with Alexandr Vlasov. Then nothing--until she gets a new
partner in Igor Lisovsky, and in '81, bam, they win the gold.
9. Lu Chen. '94--Olympic bronze. '95--World champion. '96--World silver,
after a closely fought contest with Michelle Kwan. '97...Right down into
the toilet! So far down in the toilet, in fact, that she has to compete at
Vienna Cup just to win a qualifying spot in the Olympics the following
year. Stick a fork in her, she's done. But nooooo. '98--Olympic bronze.
Again.
10. Jamie Sale. All by her lonesome. Much like Lloyd Eisler, she looked
like she was going places in pairs in '94, until she lost her partner.
Then it was several years without a partner, several years skating singles
in Canada because she didn't know what else to do. Finally, she hooks up
with David Pelletier, and the rest is history in the making. (Jamie Sale?
Heck, we could include Elena Berezhnaya in here too. How many people gave
her a snowball's chance in hell of recovering after her accident?)
11. Artur Dmitriev. All by his lonesome. Sure, he was an Olympic gold and
silver medalist, but It was easy to conclude that by 1998, even if he did
have a new pairs partner, he had stayed too long at the fair. He was out
of shape, he enjoyed a good drink, he was just not taking skating
seriously...and in '98, he got his stuff together and won the Olympics
again.
I am sure there are more than this. Heck, if you consider that Jayne
Torvill's budding young career in pair skating looked pretty good until
she lost her partner, and was futzing around for a while there with nobody
to skate with...until Chris Dean came along and pulled her into
dance...and do I even need to bring up Irina Slutskaya and what happened
to her between 1999 and 2000?
--
Trudi
Just Another Ventilator of Ice Skating Around the World
"They did everything but put us in different corners and announce our height and weight"--David Pelletier describing the "Super Final" of the Grand Prix Final
"Life is too damned short for me to read the dubious opinions of idiots" --Peg Lewis
Ron Ng
>bronze medal, but in '92 fell apart at Olympics and worlds.
Smelldredge still is a lousy skater.
Ron Ng Knows!
Jen4
Trudi Marrapodi wrote:
> This whole issue of thinking one can safely predict which skaters are
> strictly "B list," and when a skater has "peaked," got me to thinking
> about how many times over history skaters who appeared to have already
> "peaked" got a "second wind" instead, and surprised a lot of people.
>
> I came up with 11, just for starters--several of which people have already
> named, so I'll get them out of the way first.
>
Trudi, thanks for posting this list. It is a very good reminder to people to never write skaters off just because they might be having a bad season or even two
or three. You just never know what will happen in this sport!
Jen
Robert Dister
tru...@clarityconnect.com (Trudi Marrapodi) wrote:
> This whole issue of thinking one can safely predict which skaters are
> strictly "B list," and when a skater has "peaked," got me to thinking
> about how many times over history skaters who appeared to have already
> "peaked" got a "second wind" instead, and surprised a lot of people.
>
> I came up with 11, just for starters--several of which people have already
> named, so I'll get them out of the way first.
>
snip
> I am sure there are more than this. Heck, if you consider that Jayne
> Torvill's budding young career in pair skating looked pretty good until
> she lost her partner, and was futzing around for a while there with nobody
> to skate with...until Chris Dean came along and pulled her into
> dance...and do I even need to bring up Irina Slutskaya and what happened
> to her between 1999 and 2000?
Don't forget Irina Slutskaya.
Margaret Burwell
Trudi Marrapodi (tru...@clarityconnect.com) writes:
> This whole issue of thinking one can safely predict which skaters are
> strictly "B list," and when a skater has "peaked," got me to thinking
> about how many times over history skaters who appeared to have already
> "peaked" got a "second wind" instead, and surprised a lot of people.
>
> after a closely fought contest with Michelle Kwan. '97...Right down into
> the toilet! So far down in the toilet, in fact, that she has to compete at
> Vienna Cup just to win a qualifying spot in the Olympics the following
> year. Stick a fork in her, she's done. But nooooo. '98--Olympic bronze.
> Again.
Heck, in '97 she didn't make it past the short program!
> 10. Jamie Sale. All by her lonesome. Much like Lloyd Eisler, she looked
> like she was going places in pairs in '94, until she lost her partner.
> Then it was several years without a partner, several years skating singles
> in Canada because she didn't know what else to do. Finally, she hooks up
> with David Pelletier, and the rest is history in the making. (Jamie Sale?
> Heck, we could include Elena Berezhnaya in here too. How many people gave
> her a snowball's chance in hell of recovering after her accident?)
The accident was probably, in a way, the best thing to happen to
her. She was a talented skater, but with Oleg Schliakov, she wasn't going
to make it to the top.
> 11. Artur Dmitriev.
12. Shae-Lynn Bourne. Back in 1989-90, she was a promising pairs skater,
but so were a lot of other girls. Then she joined forces with Victor
Kraatz and decided to give dance a try.
Marg
MJsk8
>This whole issue of thinking one can safely predict which skaters are
>strictly "B list," and when a skater has "peaked," got me to thinking
>about how many times over history skaters who appeared to have already
>"peaked" got a "second wind"
This also brings to mind the Nagano Games. When it was expected to be a
changing of the guards, what surprised me most was how much stayed the same.
Pairs - who stood atop the podium but Artur Dimitriev -- again. 1st in 92 , 2nd
in 94 and 1st in 98
Men - Trade one young Russian for another for the top spot, and the 2nd and 3rd
are the same as 94, Stoyko and Candeloro.
Dance - Grishok and Platov repeat as champs.
Ladies - Lulu gets another bronze.
Now Stoyko and G&P was not a big surprise, but Lulu had been having such
trouble and who would have guessed Phillippe to get another Olympic medal?
MaryJo
Louis Epstein
:
More soberly...how about the flip side?
Skaters who you thought were sure to be top contenders,
but never realized that promise?
The situations of Michele Cho and Cindy Bortz...slammed into the
concrete by impossible domestic lives...have been discussed here,
but there are also those who never subdued the puberty monster,
or had an injury too many at the wrong time,or just disappeared
for reasons audiences never learned.
What skaters make you think most about what might have been?
Fiona McQuarrie
: 10. Jamie Sale. All by her lonesome. Much like Lloyd Eisler, she looked
: like she was going places in pairs in '94, until she lost her partner.
: Then it was several years without a partner, several years skating singles
: in Canada because she didn't know what else to do.
But....those of us who actually saw her skating in competition as a single
probably don't doubt that had she kept at it, she would have been one of
the better ladies Canada has produced. She was a total ball of fire. She
was great. But, as she said once at Canadians while waiting for her marks
to come up, "They don't know what to do with me." (as I interpreted it,
she was a great single skater but was being perceived as a washed up pairs
skater who should probably go away and coach :) ).
If she hadn't encountered Pelletier and gone on to greater glory in pairs,
she might have still "peaked', but in a different discipline.
Cheers, Fiona
janet swan hill
>What skaters make you think most about what might have been?
I wouldn't call either of them "flashes in the pan", because they did have
success ...... they just didn't fulfill their promise ..... but tops on my list
would be Christopher Bowman and Tiffany Chin.
janet
Trudi Marrapodi
Dister <india...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> In article <trudee-0303...@pg074.clarityconnect.com>,
> tru...@clarityconnect.com (Trudi Marrapodi) wrote:
[snip]
> > I am sure there are more than this. Heck, if you consider that Jayne
> > Torvill's budding young career in pair skating looked pretty good until
> > she lost her partner, and was futzing around for a while there with nobody
> > to skate with...until Chris Dean came along and pulled her into
> > dance...and do I even need to bring up Irina Slutskaya and what happened
> > to her between 1999 and 2000?
>
> Don't forget Irina Slutskaya.
Maybe you should carefully reread my paragraph above? ;-)
Trudi Marrapodi
(MJsk8) wrote:
Seeing as how I mentioned Dmitriev and Lulu in my list of skaters...I'm
wondering if you read it. ;-)
And yes, Philippe Candeloro counts to some extent too. I would have bet he
was past his prime myself, but that's not how it turned out to be.
Trudi Marrapodi
<mcqu...@sfu.ca> wrote:
That's interesting. I got the impression that she couldn't have been doing
all that well if she wasn't getting anywhere in it. I mean, how much does
it take to hit the peak of Canadian ladies' skating? :-( Surprised to
learn that her lack of success (by your judgment) had more to do with
perception than with performance.
tug...@compusmart.ab.ca
>Trudi Marrapodi <tru...@clarityconnect.com> wrote:
>
>: 10. Jamie Sale. All by her lonesome. Much like Lloyd Eisler, she looked
>: like she was going places in pairs in '94, until she lost her partner.
>: Then it was several years without a partner, several years skating singles
>: in Canada because she didn't know what else to do.
>
>But....those of us who actually saw her skating in competition as a single
>probably don't doubt that had she kept at it, she would have been one of
>the better ladies Canada has produced. She was a total ball of fire. She
>was great. But, as she said once at Canadians while waiting for her marks
>to come up, "They don't know what to do with me." (as I interpreted it,
>she was a great single skater but was being perceived as a washed up pairs
>skater who should probably go away and coach :) ).
Jamie was a wonderful singles skater, but she simply didn't have the
jumps. I remember an interview with her on television where she said
that once you hit seniors, you had better have the triples. She
admitted that she simply didn't have them. All the other aspects of
her skating were wonderful.
Cheers, Tuggy
kbra...@binghamton.edu
> Skaters who you thought were sure to be top contenders,
> but never realized that promise?
>
Tonya Harding. Chris Bowman. Nicole Bobek. All briefly top contenders,
but never realized their potential. Whether they would have if they
trained consistently . . . who knows? Lisa Ervin -- although it was
physical changes that stopped her from reaching the top.
-- Kate
Trudi Marrapodi
(janet swan hill) wrote:
Yes...and:
--Nicole Bobek (because she never quite fulfilled hers either)
--Tracey Wainman
--Joanna Ng
--Lisa Ervin
--Ryan Hunka
--Sydne Vogel
--Shelby Lyons
--Anna Rechnio
Those are just a few.
Now, if you want something sobering: I got out Bev Smith's book "A Year in
Figure Skating" yesterday and reread the chapter about the world junior
championships from that season (1995-96). Listen to some of the skaters
written about here:
"The three Russian women, all wrapped in various hues of black and pink,
were simply unbeatable, even without a Russian judge sitting on the panel.
Sixteen-year-old Elena Ivanova...won both the short and the long program
and, with absolute confidence, landed a triple Lutz-triple toe loop
combination...She also tossed in a second triple Lutz later in the program
for good measure.
"Elena Pingacheva moved from fourth to second overall after her stellar
long-program performance, with five triples, including a triple Lutz,
landed with no hesitation, no fear, and great speed.
"Little Nadja Kanaeva, only thirteen, actually finished in a tie with
Pingacheva, but Pingacheva was awarded the silver medal because she
finished ahead of Kanaeva in the long program. Some believe the expressive
Kanaeva may be the best of the three. Wearing a pink tutu, with suspenders
and bows at her hips, Kanaeva, with her enormous blue eyes, looked like a
little girl. But she did not skate like one. Performing to music from West
Side Story, she landed a triple Lutz-double toe loop combination, four
other triples, and plenty of well-executed Biellmann-like spins.
"Will Kanaeva fall by the wayside like many of her pressured predecessors?
Perhaps not..."
Well, that was 1996. This is 2001. What happened to all these great little
Russian "bably ballerinas"? How come the top women in Russia are the "old"
ones, and not these? Attack of the Puberty Monster? What?
Oh, BTW...Tara Lipinski finished 5th behind the ladies listed above at
that competition. Vanessa Gusmeroli was 6th.
In the men's, Yags won; Plushy was 6th. In pairs, the victors were
Victoria Maksuta & Vladislav Zhovnirsky of Russia; the ice dance was won
by Russia's Elena Davydova & Roman Kostomarov.
MJsk8
>Seeing as how I mentioned Dmitriev and Lulu in my list of skaters...I'm
>wondering if you read it. ;-)
>
I read it, it was what made me think about what I posted, I just wandered a
bit.
I am not sure who wrote
>>This whole issue of thinking one can safely predict which skaters are
>> >strictly "B list," and when a skater has "peaked," got me to thinking
>> >about how many times over history skaters who appeared to have already
>> >"peaked" got a "second wind"
When I read this, Nagano popped into mind I listed all the repeat medalist,
which included Lulu and Artur.
MaryJo
SophiaS371
>Date: 3/6/01 8:28 AM Central
>"flashes in the pan", because they did have
>success ...... they just didn't fulfill their promise ..... but tops on my
>list
>would be Christopher Bowman and Tiffany Chin.
>
speaking of christopher bowman--why did he stop competing. the last i saw of
him, he slammed into the side boards on a relatively small ice.
sophia
Louis Epstein
: In article <20010306092853...@ng-fr1.aol.com>, lb...@aol.com
: (janet swan hill) wrote:
:
: > >From: l...@put.com (Louis Epstein)
: >
: > >What skaters make you think most about what might have been?
: >
: > I wouldn't call either of them "flashes in the pan", because they did have
: > success ...... they just didn't fulfill their promise ..... but tops on
: > my list
: > would be Christopher Bowman and Tiffany Chin.
: >
: > janet
:
: Yes...and:
:
: --Nicole Bobek (because she never quite fulfilled hers either)
: --Tracey Wainman
: --Joanna Ng
: --Lisa Ervin
Ervin I certainly remember,in 1992-3 she seemed the next generation
leader...people who made it to the top of an important podium before
their careers ended are not what I was asking about.
: --Ryan Hunka
I do remember that event.
: In the men's, Yags won; Plushy was 6th.
Whatever happened to Konstantin Menshov,12-year-old Russian Junior
Champion who skated an exhibition at the Worlds-Centennial event
in St. Petersburg in 1996?
: In pairs, the victors were
Jocelyn
>Victoria Maksuta & Vladislav Zhovnirsky of Russia;
I remember them. Or at least, I remember Victoria Maksuta. Her and one of her
partners (not sure if it was Vlad) were at Skate America one year, and I really
liked their skating.
Jocelyn
Hattie54
What ever happened to her ? I know she had some injuries . Is she still skating
or retired ?
Harriet
darby wiggins
skating with my coach Traci Coleman (Who I have heard moved back to the N.VA area
where I live). She was one of the hardest workers at the rink for her age. At this
time, the only notable skater from Alaska to have done anything was a gal who's
name has passed me by went to Sectionals at the Novice level. (1987 or so) It
wasn't until years after I left that anyone in Alaska ever tested up to Sr.'s then
the whole issue of good competition came up. . It hasn't been until the last 3-4
years that there have been a few women who are at the Sr. level who they can skate
against, but because they all seem to place the same in competitions, they have to
go to the lower 48 to get good competition and experience. Alaska wasn't exactly a
hotbed for skaters and neither was the Pacific Northwest.
Sydney was the first from Alaska to get any notoriety, especially since she had won
Jr. Worlds. Then JJ. Matthew's won the Novice nationals and has struggled to get
back to nationals and up out of the last 3 places if she does. Sara Devereaux won
the national Sr. figures once and I remember her from when her hair was long and
dark brown. She then went to Sr. National in Philly and placed 11th or so. Alaska
is starting to produce some good skaters since they have some good russian coaches.
There a have been some men who have come out of Alaska, but more women.
Sydney left Anchorage to train in Colorado Springs with Cathy Casey after spending
a summer training with her.(I believe her family is originally form CS) She then
went back to Anchorage and was coached by a Russian couple. She did win the
National Collegiate title once. It was at this time or slightly before that she
developed some shin splint and back problems that plagued her. She also developed
some difficulty eating meat and suffered from some nutritional ailments. She also
damaged her knee on a return visit to Anchorage about a year or so ago and was
denied a bye to sectionals or nationals, I can not remember which it was Then she
went to Mass. or NJ to train. Have not heard anything else. Perhaps she went back
east for school since she is college age now.
Anyhow, she sure did have some potential.
Darby
Louis Epstein
: Louis Epstein wrote:
: >
: > : In article <20010306092853...@ng-fr1.aol.com>, lb...@aol.com
: > : (janet swan hill) wrote:
: > :
: > : > >From: l...@put.com (Louis Epstein)
: > : >
: > : > >What skaters make you think most about what might have been?
: > : >
: > : > I wouldn't call either of them "flashes in the pan", because they did have
: > : > success ...... they just didn't fulfill their promise ..... but tops on
: > : > my list
: > : > would be Christopher Bowman and Tiffany Chin.
: > : >
: > : > janet
: > :
: > : Yes...and:
: > :
: > : --Nicole Bobek (because she never quite fulfilled hers either)
: > : --Tracey Wainman
: > : --Joanna Ng
: > : --Lisa Ervin
: >
: > Ervin I certainly remember,in 1992-3 she seemed the next generation
: > leader...people who made it to the top of an important podium before
: > their careers ended are not what I was asking about.
:
: national titles, at least, in either the U.S. or Canada.
Right.That's getting too far to be a footnoted might-have-been.
: > : --Ryan Hunka
: > : --Sydne Vogel
: > : --Shelby Lyons
: > : --Anna Rechnio
: > :
: > : Those are just a few.
:
: Would you count or discount people who have been U.S. junior champions,
: or national champions of a country not known as a skating hotbed?
Junior champions,even world junior champions,can count.
(Cindy Bortz and Jessica Mills won World Juniors).
: > : Now, if you want something sobering: I got out Bev Smith's book "A Year in
: > : Figure Skating" yesterday and reread the chapter about the world junior
: > : championships from that season (1995-96). Listen to some of the skaters
: > : written about here:
: > :
: > : "The three Russian women, all wrapped in various hues of black and pink,
: > : were simply unbeatable, even without a Russian judge sitting on the panel.
: > : Sixteen-year-old Elena Ivanova...won both the short and the long program
: > : and, with absolute confidence, landed a triple Lutz-triple toe loop
: > : combination...She also tossed in a second triple Lutz later in the program
: > : for good measure.
: > :
: > : "Elena Pingacheva moved from fourth to second overall after her stellar
: > : long-program performance, with five triples, including a triple Lutz,
: > : landed with no hesitation, no fear, and great speed.
: > :
: > : "Little Nadja Kanaeva, only thirteen, actually finished in a tie with
: > : Pingacheva, but Pingacheva was awarded the silver medal because she
: > : finished ahead of Kanaeva in the long program. Some believe the expressive
: > : Kanaeva may be the best of the three. Wearing a pink tutu, with suspenders
: > : and bows at her hips, Kanaeva, with her enormous blue eyes, looked like a
: > : little girl. But she did not skate like one. Performing to music from West
: > : Side Story, she landed a triple Lutz-double toe loop combination, four
: > : other triples, and plenty of well-executed Biellmann-like spins.
: > :
: > : "Will Kanaeva fall by the wayside like many of her pressured predecessors?
: > : Perhaps not..."
: > :
: > : Well, that was 1996. This is 2001. What happened to all these great little
: > : Russian "baby ballerinas"? How come the top women in Russia are the "old"
: > : ones, and not these? Attack of the Puberty Monster? What?
: > :
: > : Oh, BTW...Tara Lipinski finished 5th behind the ladies listed above at
: > : that competition. Vanessa Gusmeroli was 6th.
: >
: > I do remember that event.
:
: I don't--but I'm glad Smith immortalized it between the pages of a book
: to sober us all up when we predict bright futures for kids still wet
: behind the ears.
Jenna Pitman,where art thou?
And has Naomi Nam peaked?
: > : In the men's, Yags won; Plushy was 6th.
: >
: > Whatever happened to Konstantin Menshov,12-year-old Russian Junior
: > Champion who skated an exhibition at the Worlds-Centennial event
: > in St. Petersburg in 1996?
:
: Don't know. Haven't heard of him since.
:
: > : In pairs, the victors were
: > : Victoria Maksuta & Vladislav Zhovnirsky of Russia; the ice dance was won
: > : by Russia's Elena Davydova & Roman Kostomarov.
:
: More people who seem to have dropped off into nowhere. Anyone closer to
: the Russian scene who knows where these people are?
:
: Trudi
Carla Hashman
Nicole is still my all time favorite skater. Period. I believe she
did very well as an eligible, and she will do very well as a pro. For
disasterous careers, I do not think Nicole belongs in the same group
with Tonya Harding and Chris Bowman. :-(
Carla
Hattie54
She sure was pretty !!!! Heard she is in college now .
Harriet
Hattie54
special ( the one that he and she skated to at night on that open rink in
Toronto ) ?.Did she ever move up the ranks in Canadian skating ?
Harriet
janet swan hill
> Nicole is still my all time favorite skater. Period. I believe she
>did very well as an eligible, and she will do very well as a pro. For
>disasterous careers, I do not think Nicole belongs in the same group
>with Tonya Harding and Chris Bowman. :-(
The question was about people who sparkled and made you think "they could be
the best ever" who didn't fulfill that hope. Bobek definitely belongs in any
list of such people. A skater with enormous charisma, and gorgeous jumps
(other than the lutz), beautiful spins, and a knock-em-dead spiral who OUGHT to
have been able to be world champion ..... more than once ..... but didn't.
janet
BrenLyn01JJ
>What skaters make you think most about what might have been?
My #1 choice for that is Oksana Baiul. What might have happened had she not
turned pro. The way she skated in '93 Worlds, '94 Olympics was dazzaling.
Then is suddenly seemed like she had all she dreamed of. But she still
remained a lonely, lost little girl inside. She gain a considerable amount of
weight, became a alcoholic (underage -- not to mention!). I couldn't think of
anyone that would beat her now a days had she not crossed the am/pro line. I
wish she still was the way she was back then -- But now I can only sit back and
watch what she has become now. But I still remain one devoted fan.
Roaz
>From: der...@webtv.net (Carla Hashman)
>Date: 3/8/01 8:55 PM Pacific Standard Time
>Message-id: <19998-3AA...@storefull-165.iap.bryant.webtv.net>
I'm disappointed that Karen Kwan didn't stick around longer. She didn't have
the really hard jumps but boy, what a gorgeous skater she was.
DesertRoaz
In the United States of America a child was sentenced to life in prison without
the possibility of parole.
Trudi Marrapodi
"flash in the pan," precisely because she did win world juniors and then
went nowhere from there. As much as he may remember the world junior
champions, most people don't. Not that it isn't an accomplishment...it
is...but it's sort of like me telling people I used to be the eighth best
speller in Cleveland. I did. But who cares now?
janet swan hill
>Louis's standards are different from mine. I would rate Jessica Mills as a
>"flash in the pan," precisely because she did win world juniors and then
>went nowhere from there
Thanks for remembering her name for me. I'd put her in that group, too.
As we have noticed, there are several "gradations" or "varieties" of
flashes-in-the-pan.
Mills belongs to the "s/he looked great as a (novice/junior/kid) but didn't
navigate/survive the transition to seniors/grownup" category. So does Jere
Michael.
Bobek, Chin, Bowman belong to the "s/he had some of the kind of success as a
senior/grownup that made you think s/he might be able to win it all" category.
Then there's the "s/he was so wonderful, but so briefly" category, in which we
could probably put Baiul, and maybe even Chen
And there's probably another group. The "I wonder if s/he'd have had that
success if it weren't for lucky timing." Which could include Sato, and
possibly Urmanov (in Urmanov's case because of his later inopportune injuries).
I wouldn't call those people who FINALLY HIT IT (like Wylie, for instance)
"flashes in the pan" because they'd been around for so long, working hard
toward the success they finally achieved.
janet
TCAXEL
>Then there's the "s/he was so wonderful, but so briefly" category, in which
we could probably put Baiul, and maybe even Chen
>
????????????
I'm glad you prefaced *maybe* when mentioning Chen.
After all, she was '92 World Bronze,(and also skated a great Olympic LP) '93
World Bronze(IMO the best LP), '94 Olympic Bronze, '95 World Gold, '96 World
Silver(IMO the best LP), '98 Olympic Bronze. That is 6 medal placements in 7
years of top eligible skating. Only Kwan and Witt rival that kind of
consistency when it counted in the last 20 years.
There is no comparsion IMO with Baiul, who basically skated in one Worlds/one
Olympics. That WAS "so briefly".
Theo
"I don't want you to make me younger, I'm paying you to make me older"- patient
to doctor.
Louis Epstein
: Louis's standards are different from mine. I would rate Jessica Mills as a
: "flash in the pan," precisely because she did win world juniors and then
: went nowhere from there. As much as he may remember the world junior
: champions, most people don't. Not that it isn't an accomplishment...it
: is...but it's sort of like me telling people I used to be the eighth best
: speller in Cleveland. I did. But who cares now?
Um,I was counting World Juniors winners as flashes in the pan
if they won no national or international senior titles.
Louis Epstein
: >From: tru...@clarityconnect.com (Trudi Marrapodi)
:
: >Louis's standards are different from mine. I would rate Jessica Mills as a
: >"flash in the pan," precisely because she did win world juniors and then
: >went nowhere from there
:
: Thanks for remembering her name for me. I'd put her in that group, too.
:
: As we have noticed, there are several "gradations" or "varieties" of
: flashes-in-the-pan.
:
: Mills belongs to the "s/he looked great as a (novice/junior/kid) but didn't
: navigate/survive the transition to seniors/grownup" category. So does Jere
: Michael.
And that's the kind I'm thinking of here.
: Then there's the "s/he was so wonderful, but so briefly" category, in which we
: could probably put Baiul, and maybe even Chen
World Champions are not flashes in the pan,even if they go pro as
young as Lipinski.
BrenLyn01JJ
>when I agree with you on this category, I am not calling anyone a "fluke"
It was a shame for Oksana, after she hurt her knee in Sun Valley during
practice for a exhibition her skating was never the same again. She wore her
brace for a touring season after, and skated with her usual grace and presence.
After that season she took her brace off, and her jumps went downhill. I
think it just depressed her, and thus led her to where she is today.
Shari
in which
>we
>could probably put Baiul, and maybe even Chen
Agree. And would add Lipinski to that.
Shari
"Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and will pee on your
computer." - Bruce Graham
Ann Watson
Junior Canadian champion several years ago who never fulfilled her
potential in the senior ranks - largely due to ankle injuries, I
believe.
Fiona McQuarrie
: Anybody know what she has been doing recently? She was a much-hyped
: Junior Canadian champion several years ago who never fulfilled her
: potential in the senior ranks - largely due to ankle injuries, I
: believe.
She was Canadian senior champion one year (91?). I think I read that she
is coaching in the Toronto area.
Cheers, Fiona
David Fraser
She was Junior champion in 1991 and Senior champion in 1995, then 7th
in 1996, and 5th in 1997. Then she retired.
She went to Worlds in 1995 and did not get out of qualifying.
Regards, Dave Fraser (dfr...@nbnet.nb.ca)
Home Page: http://personal.nbnet.nb.ca/dfraser
Judy Lindeman
Fiona McQuarrie
Having checked the sources I should have checked before making my post, I
believe you are right :)
Cheers, Fiona
Albert H. Dobyns
I remember reading about her knee injury but I didn't
know about her wearing a brace. I still wonder how
much damage was done to her back after that collision
with another skater. I guess we can't be sure. She
tried acupuncture once, as shown on a tv program, and
I counted 17 needles clustered around her lower back.
Al
Albert H. Dobyns
I share your sentiments about Oksana. Where
are the miracle workers when you need one?
Al
Ann Watson
"Fiona McQuarrie" <mcqu...@sfu.ca> wrote in message
news:98jlki$77d$1...@morgoth.sfu.ca...: She was Canadian senior champion one year (91?). I think I read that
she
: is coaching in the Toronto area.
Yikes, how could I have missed her becoming senior champ? Thanks,
Fiona.
Ann Watson
Smallovian Insider
<ahdo...@worldnet.att.net> writes:
>
>BrenLyn01JJ wrote:
>>
>> >And the funny thing is, you might be able to slot Baiul there, too. Note:
>> >when I agree with you on this category, I am not calling anyone a "fluke"
>>
>> It was a shame for Oksana, after she hurt her knee in Sun Valley during
>> practice for a exhibition her skating was never the same again. She wore
>her
>> brace for a touring season after, and skated with her usual grace and
>presence.
>> After that season she took her brace off, and her jumps went downhill. I
>> think it just depressed her, and thus led her to where she is today.
>
>I remember reading about her knee injury but I didn't
>know about her wearing a brace.
It looked like an elastic knee "brace" that you can buy in just about any store
in the USA - by ACE or similar company. She wore it throughout the 1994-95 pro
season, IIRC. (Lipinski was wearing a knee wrap of a similar kind last August.)
Peg
reply to p.egl...@aol.com [re move the obvious ext ra dots]
27vfl00aml
==
join OT-r...@egroups.com - for off-topic discussions. Send an email to
OT-rssif-...@egroups.com to subscribe
@>--\-Any request to delete this post is a forgery-/--<@
Albert H. Dobyns
>
> In article <3AADBEEA...@worldnet.att.net>, "Albert H. Dobyns"
> <ahdo...@worldnet.att.net> writes:
[snip]
> >I remember reading about her knee injury but I didn't
> >know about her wearing a brace.
>
> It looked like an elastic knee "brace" that you can buy in just about any store
> in the USA - by ACE or similar company. She wore it throughout the 1994-95 pro
> season, IIRC. (Lipinski was wearing a knee wrap of a similar kind last August.)
>
> Peg
> reply to p.egl...@aol.com [re move the obvious ext ra dots]
> 27vfl00aml
> ==
> join OT-r...@egroups.com - for off-topic discussions. Send an email to
> OT-rssif-...@egroups.com to subscribe
> @>--\-Any request to delete this post is a forgery-/--<@
Peg, thanks for the extra info. When I read something
about a person wearing a brace, my memory associates it
with something that is metallic and cumbersome and large.
Perhaps in part because things like polio was still a
major health risk because the various vaccines hadn't been
invented yet.
Al