- Joined
- Feb 19, 2014
Isn't it funny how it's the same group of people who said that she shouldn't be "retiring" when she said she wanted to take a break a 17 who are now saying she is done before Alina has said so herself? Seems more like they wish she'd be done. And also it's the same group of people who were saying that skating is more than just jumps who are saying Alina is over because she doesn't have 3As and quads.
Also, Alina won worlds in 2019 post puberty, so if her technique failed, that was quite the fail. It is known that jumping ability is affected by growth, regardless of technique. I believe it took Liza 3 seasons to regain her consistency, and even then it's not where it was in 2015. That's with Mishin's coaching. Alina did that in one season and has also said in many post olympic interviews that the issue was mental because of the pressure from the media after her olympic win where as before people didn't really know her and so she could just go out and skate. And if you watched her run throughs, they were always clean. But of course that wouldn't fit the agenda, so let's ignore all that. Instead, it's better to just ignore everything she says and decide for her whether she will return or not, if she can still jump, if she wants to win or not (spoiler alert: all skaters want to win, that's why they're in a competitive sport). Because the viewers know much more than she does
Alina is a human being who has her own thoughts and opinions and no one knows more about her situation than she does, so we should listen to what she has to say instead of making up our own stories. She's not a tool for Eteri fans and haters, though she definitely has been the first choice.
Whether she returns or not is up to her. She doesn't owe it to her haters or her fans. If she's coming back, good for her for offering more of her time to the sport. If she's done, she's had a great career and accomplished only what one other female skater has. But even if she didn't have any medals like the majority of athletes in any sport, she still made a contribution and should be able to decide when she wants to leave without being used to fuel a narrative, just like everyone else.
I love this post.