"I would never have been able to make the decision to retire from competition by myself. By doing so, Charlie not only was aspiring to seek a better environment for himself, but probably saved my life" -Julianne Séguin (my translation)
In this article Julianne speaks up about the complications she still has from 3 back to back concussions prior to the Olympics. As their goal to participate to the games was everything for them, they didn't take the time to get back gradually to training after the concussions. They were training to hard, and she still suffers from complications today, to the point that at 24, her parents cook and clean for her. She still suffers from nausea and has an oversensitivity to light.
She explains how they shouldn't have competed in Russia. How they only followed partially the guidelines of Skate Canada for the return to the ice (they would not train for 72 hours, a rule she followed, but then, they would get back right away in full intensity training, which was against the guidelins.
After the games, both exhausted and beaten up (Charlie had had a knee injury a while before), their team told Julianne she needed to get back in shape, lose weight and start training again. Charlie disagreed and decided to leave. He could no longer train in that unhealthy environment.
It is now, with the perspective of time, that Julianne says that Charlie probably saved her life.
A very interesting article. I summarized and translated this with my basic translator skills. If you have specific questions about a few sentences, let me know.
In conclusion : this should quiet down those who are hoping for a return to the ice from Julianne : it is just not happening. It will also give some perspective to those who demonized Charlie in this situation. The split with Lubov may be too fresh yet and still sensitive, but in light of that, I can see how he thought he could get back with another skater, but then, the intense training just didn't appeal to him anymore.
In the end, a very very sad story... and it is to wonder what their coaches and Skate Canada could have done to prevent this entire mess, which cause the early retirement of one of the most promising Canadian pairs.