Daisuke Takahashi To Take Year Out To Decide Future

[Sandpiper]

Another Olympics would simply be Quick, hide the suggestion, don't let him see it and get any ideas! I can deal with one Plushy but if Dai joins the pack as well, I'll become a nervous wreck.

Maybe Dai just wants to compete for one more season. Land a final quad. Get on the podium one more time. I dunno. He seems to feel bad about coming last among the Japanese men in Sochi (he really shouldn't feel bad--he wasn't too many points back and I give him credit for staying on his feet through two nights of falls. And the Beatles medley really developed into something good, after its rather sleepy earlier renditions). Hey, maybe he should try a vocal version of the Beatles medley? (Not a serious suggestion, lol)

Sorry, I promised to keep Machida off the thread, but gotta respond to this:

As for Machida, I remember his other firebird costume looks much better than the one he wear at Worlds?

Didn't he wear one firebird for the Team Event, and a different one for the individual at Sochi? I think I liked the latter more (too bad he brought the bad one to Worlds).

 

[Meoima]

Another Olympics would simply be Quick, hide the suggestion, don't let him see it and get any ideas! I can deal with one Plushy but if Dai joins the pack as well, I'll become a nervous wreck.

1st Plushenko, 2nd Aliona, 3rd Dai???
I swear if all 3 of them go to the next Olympic, ISU MUST organize a new event for "SUPER VETERAN SKATERS", and we could invite Yagudin, Kulik... even Uncle Dick as well!

 

[ioanna]

Too late, he's already had Olympics ideas way before Plushenko broke the news. At the Kobe charity event at the beginning of the month he said it's either another 4 years or nothing. He won't come back just for 1 or 2 seasons. That's why in my earlier posts I said I seriously doubt he's going to come back.

 

[makaihime]

1st Plushenko, 2nd Aliona, 3rd Dai???
I swear if all 3 of them go to the next Olympic, ISU MUST organize a new event for "SUPER VETERAN SKATERS", and we could invite Yagudin, Kulik... even Uncle Dick as well!

And Kurt lol he's still landing those triples :yay:

 

[Meoima]

Too late, he's already had Olympics ideas way before Plushenko broke the news. At the Kobe charity event at the beginning of the month he said it's either another 4 years or nothing. He won't come back just for 1 or 2 seasons. That's why in my earlier posts I said I seriously doubt he's going to come back.

:scowl: Okay, this is not Fumie syndrome. It's the variant of "I don't know anything other than skating" virus. :scratch:

I bet Plushy, Dai, Aliona, Caro, Joubert, Weir... can form a new team in the next team event of Olympic. Team "We can't stop competing!!"

 

[ioanna]

It's really not the Fumie syndrome. At least Dai had realistic chances of medaling at Sochi this season. Pyeongchang would indeed have to make a separate event for them, the gold medal goes to whoever expresses his/her love of skating more.

 

[Sandpiper]

OMG, Dai wants four years or nothing?! *backs away very slowly* That's gonna force Plush to continue another four years (or at least another two)! No way he's gonna let Dai's final retirement age be higher than his own.

I want that "We can't stop competing!!" team with all the above. Add Lysacek to the list. Regarding veterans: yes, Kulik! He's still got his triple lutz; though... what the heck happened to his spins?! He's not gonna get the levels! *runs around panicking* And Kurt, and Yags (Plush can do some damage control by praising triple toe loops to increase their team's chances of success), and Uncle Dick... can he still skate at all?

(And no, more seriously, not labelling Dai "Fumie" in the sense of "having zero chances." Just worried about his health).

 

[ioanna]

He said if he decides to continue he knows he will aim for the next Olympics so that is why he wants to think carefully. In a recent article he said his mind is currently saying 100% yes but his body is preventing him to do anything at least for a season. Which brings me back to Takeshi Honda who has already said this would happen in a TV show back in February I think.

 

[JayW]

:scowl: Okay, this is not Fumie syndrome. It's the variant of "I don't know anything other than skating" virus. :scratch:

I bet Plushy, Dai, Aliona, Caro, Joubert, Weir... can form a new team in the next team event of Olympic. Team "We can't stop competing!!"

let it go, let it go, let it go...

 

[Sandpiper]

Oh. Ouch (that Dai wants to continue 100%). Looks like the SUPER VETERANS EVENT needs to become a reality.

Man, didn't people retire after 1 (or 2) Olympics back in the good ol' days, or is my memory just mucked? Especially people who already medalled and aren't likely to do so again? Can't say I'm against the spirit of continuing, of course. As long as their bodies hold up, I'll support Grandpa (Plush), Uncle (Dai), Grandma (Aliona), and Auntie (Caro).

 

[ioanna]

There are two ways this story could end. He may calm down and learn to love his life away from competitions or he'd see others competing and it would get him fired up all over again. He just loves the tension of a competition and he loves being in the middle of it. His choice is as unpredictable as his clean quads.

 

[makaihime]

let it go, let it go, let it go...

"Here I stand
And here I'll stay"

"To test the limits and break through"

 

[Sandpiper]

I want that "We can't stop competing!" team! Dai can do the short. Plush the long. Joubert can skate pairs with Aliona (sorry, Massot), like he's always planned. Caro with the ladies short program and Mao with the long. Weir... umm... ice dance with Lysacek in boxing outfits?

 

[ioanna]

Oh dear, I bet Jeremy Abbott would have a thing or two to say about the eventual comeback of Weir and Lysacek

 

[Maria Victoria]

@Sandpiper: Well speaking of veteran skaters, I can't help but think of the Chinese legendary pair Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo who were 31 and 36, respectively when they won gold at Vancouver in 2010. Many had thought that the 2006 Turin Olympics, where they competed six months after Zhao had injured his Achilles tendon and won bronze, would be their last. (They also won bronze at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.)

 

[Hanmgse]

I want that "We can't stop competing!" team! Dai can do the short. Plush the long. Joubert can skate pairs with Aliona (sorry, Massot), like he's always planned. Caro with the ladies short program and Mao with the long. Weir... umm... ice dance with Lysacek in boxing outfits?

I'll pay to watch that

 

[Meoima]

I want that "We can't stop competing!" team! Dai can do the short. Plush the long. Joubert can skate pairs with Aliona (sorry, Massot), like he's always planned. Caro with the ladies short program and Mao with the long. Weir... umm... ice dance with Lysacek in boxing outfits?

With Miley Cyrus's hit "We can't stop" playing in the background, I suppose.

 

[Sandpiper]

@Sandpiper: Well speaking of veteran skaters, I can't help but think of the Chinese legendary pair Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo who were 31 and 36, respectively when they won gold at Vancouver in 2010. Many had thought that the 2006 Turin Olympics, where they competed six months after Zhao had injured his Achilles tendon and won bronze, would be their last. (They also won bronze at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.)

Oh yes! Rewatched their Olympics skate (and Pang/Tong's) recently and it was truly wonderful. The problem is that pairs truly last longer than singles, as history has shown. The "retire after 1-2 Olympics" thing only applies to singles. And injuries can eat into pairs, even--look at Pang/Tong at this year's Olympics. And speaking of pair skaters who won't stop, there's Hao Zhang. I'm not even sure how old he really is...

As much as it pains me to say it, I'm a bit leery about inviting Jeremy to the "We can't stop competing!" team. His inconsistency is a little too much drama, even for me.

 

[ioanna]

Dai has already admitted defeat in front of Hanyu but there was a bit of a media scandal in Japan after some journalists were pestering him with questions like 'so Takahashi, who do you think is the ace of Japan now, huh'. He has said he felt very ashamed of his Sochi result so this is basically the sole reason why he's in a bit of a difficult position right now. He doesn't want to go out like this.
Imagine if Kanako Murakami was Hanyu level and won gold in Sochi while Mao struggled with that SP. No one would want to be in Dai's shoes at the moment.

 

[Sandpiper]

What the heck, that's terribly unfair! And here I was thinking the Japanese media would be kinder than the Russian one. No wonder Dai and Plush want to return.

And I'm sorry, with all due to respect to Hanyu--I know he has OGM, but I wonder how far he could've come without those who came before him: Namely, Takeshi Honda and Dai.