Ladies : History to repeat itself? | Golden Skate

Ladies : History to repeat itself?

fredtx121

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 13, 2014
In 1998 a heavy favorite 18 year old Michelle Kwan was beaten by a 15 year old Lipinski
In 2018 a heavy favorite 18 year old Evgenia Medvedeva was beaten by a 15 year old Zagitova

In 1998 Lipinski retires
In 2018 Zagitova retires

Kwan continues to compete for another 4 Years and ends up with the bronze medal in 2012
Medvedeva continues to compete for another 4 Years and ends up with a bronze medal (?) in 2022

Do you think history will repeat itself?
I think we will see a lot of up and coming skaters who will like Zagitova beat Medvedeva at her own game. I think in the next Olympic cycle women will have to have a quad or triple axel to compete leaving Evgenia behind technically.
 

daphna

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 6, 2004
I hope both keep going and pushing each other and the sport to new heights. Med's free was a master piece, one of the best of all time. I would love to see Zagitova matures artistically, I hope she stays and not forgotten by next year.
 

Shayuki

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 2, 2013
I don't think that Zagitova retires, at least right away.

Something that's a possible worst-case scenario, however, is that she has trouble with puberty, truly struggles next season with terrible results, falls out of favor with her coach and gets passed over by others.

But I don't see her just retiring out of the blue like that.
 

quadrupleaxel15

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 22, 2017
I don't think she will retire either. I think both will go on until they cannot keep up anymore. In fact I would say Evgenia is more likely to retire earlier since she already had two very good seasons and she is at an age in which she might consider having a full-time college education or progressing into an alternative career opportunity. Or maybe Eteri hires her. They seem to get along very well and are of the same character. She can be the next Eteri!
 

TryMeLater

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 31, 2013
It's not the same thing.
Alina ticks all the boxes and is not "hated" for the win.
She was also the favourite of many going in.
I really think that Evgenia will retire soon - her technique will not allow her to compete if she grows a tad more.
 

skateluvr

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 23, 2011
Alina is the new Tara. A jumping phenom with great stamina and drive. Very similar Tara’s loop loop is now Lutz loop. Both were in big rush to win. Gee why is no one loving Masha? I do - she’s wonderful tall elegant and usually consistent. Judges judged her hard - I don’t get it.
 

Mista Ekko

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 9, 2009
This is a bit pointless though,

Just because there are a few similarities between two things doesn't mean they'll end up
exactly the same :laugh:

Sadly the Olympics aren't a career achievement award to the best or most dominant skater
And getting hyped or peaking at the right time seems to happen a lot with this event
And the judges just kinda go with it
 

skatedreamer

Medalist
Joined
Feb 18, 2014
Country
United-States
In 1998 a heavy favorite 18 year old Michelle Kwan was beaten by a 15 year old Lipinski
In 2018 a heavy favorite 18 year old Evgenia Medvedeva was beaten by a 15 year old Zagitova

Being the heavy favorite means you're also carrying a ridiculously heavy burden of expectations. On top of that, the media attention must be unbearable and I'm sure Evgenia was chased like crazy. It's a lot easier being the young challenger because there's a lot less to lose. 2002/Salt Lake City must have been even worse for Michelle -- she'd lost to Tara in '98 and the stories were all about "CAN SHE DO IT THIS TIME?" And remember the pressure on Yuna in Sochi?

Elite athletes in all sports deal with this kind of thing all the time. It's beyond me how they do it. Hats off to each and every one of them! :bow:
 

Grin

Medalist
Joined
May 17, 2017
Btw, Zagitova can become first 15yo olympic champion with long and successful career afterwards
 

Manitou

Medalist
Joined
Jan 17, 2014
I really think that Evgenia will retire soon.

She might. I kind of suspect her body is impatiently waiting to explode to a full womanhood. She has been on a brutal body regime preparing to this Olympic, so I guess she will finally allow her body to blossom. She may try to come back after the transformation, only to find an army of new kids in her place. But I think she deserves to slow down now.
 

anyanka

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 8, 2011
She might. I kind of suspect her body is impatiently waiting to explode to a full womanhood. She has been on a brutal body regime preparing to this Olympic, so I guess she will finally allow her body to blossom. She actually might try to come back after the transformation, only to find an army of new kids in her place. But I think she finally deserves to slow down.

If that's the case, I'll miss her. She was the gold standard for me this last quad. So many wonderful skaters, but her programs are some of the ones I re-watch the most, especially the last two worlds and for me her best AK was 2017 Japan Open (I can't re-watch last night's because of her tears).
 

charlotte14

Medalist
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
She might. I kind of suspect her body is impatiently waiting to explode to a full womanhood. She has been on a brutal body regime preparing to this Olympic, so I guess she will finally allow her body to blossom. She may try to come back after the transformation, only to find an army of new kids in her place. But I think she deserves to slow down now.
Isn’t it too early to know the rest of her career? By 2013 people said she would lose her jumps soon. Now she still has them. Who knows how it will happen.
 
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