Fonty Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 (edited) Apart from the whole issue of whether or not she should be competing, it is dreadful that those who also won medals in the same competition are being denied their moment of triumph on the podium receiving their medals. They are being punished as well, when they have done nothing wrong. Edited February 16, 2022 by Fonty 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 On 11/02/2022 at 16:15, FionaE said: The mental toll on Valieva right now must be unimaginable. I am so sorry for her. I’d like to believe she is a victim in this situation. The whole thing is just too awful. At fifteen, there’s no question in my mind that Valieva is the victim, and the fact that she’s been met with “stony faces” from other competitors (according to Robin Cousins) saddens me immensely. Poor child. The most ridiculous part of all this is that no drug in the world can give someone the talent, grace and artistry that Valieva has in abundance; quad or no quad, she is still technically brilliant but also streets ahead of her competitors in terms of presentation, finishing every element and move with beautiful balletic hands and gorgeous lines. So the only possible motive for (allegedly) doping her is to get her to train for longer, which is in itself exploitative. I would like some good to come out of this whole sorry mess; the IOC needs to decide with some urgency whether a lower age limit is needed (personally I think the Olympics and Worlds should be for 18 and over), the ISU needs to do the same, and all children and teenagers in national and international elite sport should be protected from exploitation and abuse. It’s not just Valieva’s entourage at fault here, changes need to be made in all areas, and all those responsible should be dealt with swiftly. It’s all an unholy mess, unfair on the clean athletes of all nations, unfair on the medallists, but most of all, a terrible amount of pressure and focus on (and no doubt, a hefty amount of victim blaming from some quarters) a young teenager, which in my opinion is unacceptable. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 (edited) Thankyou so much for your post Anna. I think I am pretty much where you are on this. I really do hope the senior age is raised to 18 as I think this could go a long way to help stop the exploitation of these girls. Having to do 12 hours training a day as young as 13-14 is just not good for any young body and therefore have to disagree with the poster who said that Valieva is young enough to have loads of other chances. The fact is that with this particular trainer they start heavy training really young and usually their careers are over by 16. Have a look at all Tutberidze’s other young girls it doesn’t look as if any of them skate beyond 17 and most suffer from injuries brought on by over training especially in how the quad is taught. If the age was put up I think the quads would come later but be less stressful on the body as it matures and gains more natural strength. This whole episode has been handled so badly and I do feel for the ridiculous situation skaters have been put in that they will not be able to be awarded any medals gained in this current section of the competition. I have watched Valieva’s short programme (not from yesterday but from the team competition) several times now and it’s truly beautiful. All that hard work over the years which has come to fruition in this Olympic Games ruined in the sense her wonderful talent cannot be completely celebrated as it should because of this drug situation. The tragedy is she doesn’t need any drug. I would have been happy to wait to see her peak a little later at 19 completely clean and I’m sure even more satisfying to watch ( with or without the quads) Edited February 16, 2022 by LinMM 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 In better news, I finally caught up with the Ice Dance free programme yesterday and it was terrific. Great to see Gabrielle Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron win Gold, especially after their upsetting wardrobe malfunction in the short programme at Pyeong Chang in 2018. Really super performances from the top 10. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 These two are just terrific together and our own ice dance couple are lovely to watch as well they looked so happy performing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 This is so difficult to watch and read: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-olympics/60399342 Maybe it's hindsight speaking, but it's hard not to agree with everything Robin Cousins said - though by the sounds of it Valieva will need a change of coach to have those two more Olympics. I hope very much that it happens. (p.s. I looked her coach up and if even half of this is true, it's shocking that she's allowed to continue.) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 Absolutely heartbreaking. This afternoon’s free dance/long programme was very difficult to watch. I thought Robin Cousins was kind; he showed compassion for Valieva and was mindful that she’s only 15, which a lot of other people seem to have forgotten. I just hope that the IOC and the ISU see today as a wakeup call and remember that the person at the centre of this controversy is a 15 year old who has been exploited at best, abused at worst. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 So sad. I watched it live and winced all the way through, feeling so sorry for that immensely talented young girl. She is the victim here. Whatever the outcome I hope that she can move forward and win the medals and plaudits she deserves. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 Very sad indeed, and so sad that this is marring what should be such a very enjoyable sport, and competition. I stil got a lot of pleasure from it though and Robin Cousins is a big part of that with his commentary. Though I still rank them all as dancers rather than skaters and end up with a different rank order! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 18, 2022 Share Posted February 18, 2022 6 hours ago, Lizbie1 said: Maybe it's hindsight speaking, but it's hard not to agree with everything Robin Cousins said - though by the sounds of it Valieva will need a change of coach to have those two more Olympics. I hope very much that it happens. (p.s. I looked her coach up and if even half of this is true, it's shocking that she's allowed to continue.) Given that the gold and silver medallists are from the same stable, I think we should prepare ourselves for the possibility that they too might test positive 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophoife Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 On a happier note, how wonderful was Sakamoto Kaori in her delighted reaction to her well-deserved bronze medal? Jumping up and down, skipping across the ice, instigating the podium hugs with the Russian girls, and possibly outdoing Keegan Messing's sportsmanship (back in 2019 he reached out and held up the Japanese flag for Hanyu Yuzuru at a medal ceremony, Hanyu got off the podium and faced the flag, and Messing received praise from many quarters). She skated her free program clean, which is all that can be asked, and her short program was powerful and musical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 Yes she looks like a lovely person! Winning a medal at the Olympics should be a joyful and celebratory experience …and for most with that touch of disbelief that omg that went better than I expected lol…. All these skaters work so hard and have days when keep falling over or messing up steps and edges etc!! So when it ALL comes together (similar to in a ballet class really) it is a very satisfying feeling so when this happens at a major competition like the Olympics I’m sure it can seem a bit miraculous! I really hope we never see the scenes we saw last week ever again at the Olympics and hope the senior age will be raised to 18 which I think can help to take the pressure off such very young skaters stressing their bodies any more than has to be to reach World and Olympic level skating. But yes very well done to Kaori Sakamoto! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 A BBC feature on the late and very great John Curry: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-sports/60517034 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 12 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said: A BBC feature on the late and very great John Curry: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-sports/60517034 It would be so nice if the focus could be on his brilliance, which is what defined him, rather than his sexuality (which he never wanted publicised). 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Just thought I’d post this today I’m sure many of you here will remember this young lady from Ukraine! This was one of her best pieces. 🇺🇦 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 I see that the International Skating Union is raising the minimum age for competitors in senior competitions from 15 to 16 in 2023-2024 and then to 17 in 2024-2025. So that's good. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 The programme about John Curry was repeated on BBC 4 over the weekend (I think it's called John Curry: King of the Ice) so will be on iPlayer now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 Oh pooh, I wish I'd spotted that! Wonder if it will be re-repeated? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 26, 2023 Share Posted March 26, 2023 I accidentally turned on BBC Red Button last night to find the skating World Championships were on, so had a great time watching. I particularly liked the Korean skater Lee, whose first name escapes me at the moment - I thought she was lovely. Didn't quite win, though. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amelia Posted March 26, 2023 Author Share Posted March 26, 2023 17 hours ago, alison said: I particularly liked the Korean skater Lee, whose first name escapes me at the moment - I thought she was lovely. Didn't quite win, though. Haein Lee. Watch her on 3:22: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWU6y-tpDWs&list=PLNuJDkj3zBvOqEVPACZDnQxttUdbH7jmJ&index=4 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted March 26, 2023 Share Posted March 26, 2023 19 hours ago, alison said: I accidentally turned on BBC Red Button last night to find the skating World Championships were on, so had a great time watching. I particularly liked the Korean skater Lee, whose first name escapes me at the moment - I thought she was lovely. Didn't quite win, though. Thanks so much for alerting me!! I had no idea, but it's all on iplayer so I am happily catching up. Why this never seems to be publicised is mystifying. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 (edited) Not ballet but certainly dancing on ice! Incredible, in case you missed it. Wow. Triples, quadruples, and all while on that slippery stuff. There's more. The 'rasberry'! WOW. Edited March 26 by Roberta 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 It's not just his technique it's his emotion and sheer elegance that grab the eye. Thanks Roberta. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 He's 19! Wow. I'm reminded of a young Baryshnikov. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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