Skaters Who Wear Glasses

[CaroLiza_fan]

After watching the first two days of the Spring Star, I thought now would be a good time to re-visit a topic that was last discussed back in spring 2014.

Here is the previous thread:

https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/50912

And there is also a discussion about glasses from a few months earlier in a more general thread, which starts with this post from yours truly:

https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/posts/831452

Now to explain why this topic came back into my head.

At the Spring Star, the COVID-19 precautions mean that the skaters are given a plastic box to put their belongings into. This box then gets handed back to the skater by person who opens the gate when they come off the ice at the end of their programme. For nearly all the skaters, the first thing they do is take out their skate guards and put them on. But, when Ul'yana HOMICH (BLR) came off the ice and was handed her box, the first thing she did was to take out a pair of glasses and put them on. And this was the case after both her SP and FS.

Judging by her actions, I take it that she is like me and is as blind as a bat when not wearing her glasses. And so, getting them on as soon as possible was the priority.

For her FS on Friday, she was skating to this song:

Kadebostany - "Castle In The Snow"

And the funny thing is that it includes the following lines:

"I cannot see anything
I am blindfolded"​

In our previous discussion, a lot of skaters were mentioned who use contact lenses when skating. But, the fact that she put her glasses on makes it obvious that Ul'yana was not doing this. She was skating without being able to see properly. With how bad my eyesight is, I know I wouldn't be able to do the things she was doing without any help. So, I am in awe of her!

During a Podium Ceremony later in the day, we saw that Rodion KOZLOVSKIJ (BLR) also wears glasses. However, he didn't bother to put them on after his programmes. So, I assume his eyesight isn't as bad.

The lack of sponsors on the boards presents an added problem. I know he was talking about the effects of the speeds they are going at, but it reminds me of a famous quote from my hero, the late motorbike racer Joey Dunlop:

"There is a grey blur, and a green blur. I try to stay on the grey one."​

But, when you have plain white boards around the ice, a person who only sees coloured blurs can't distinguish where the ice ends and the boards begin.

Anyway, the skaters that were mentioned the last time who either wear glasses when off ice, or who have issues with their eyesight, are:

1. Jeremy Abbott
2. Jason Brown
3. Jeffrey Buttle
4. Alissa Czisny
5. Meryl Davis
6. Charles Dion
7. Zachary Donohue
8. Meagan Duhamel
9. Javier Fernández
10. Christina Gao
11. Dorothy Hamill
12. Brooklee Han
13. Yuzuru Hanyu
14. Jan Hofmann
15. Midori Ito
16. Kim Yuna
17. Carolina Kostner
18. Maxim Kovtun
19. Andrew Lum
20. Evan Lysacek
21. Mirai Nagasu
22. Larry Pierce
23. Joannie Rochette
24. Alex Shibutani
25. Daisuke Takahashi
26. Ashley Wagner
27. Angela Wang
28. Charlie White
29. Kristi Yamaguchi

That is rather a long list!

@Imagine mentioned Shizuka Arakawa wearing glasses during a programme, but we were not sure if it was just part of her costume or whether she does normally wear glasses. And we have seen pictures of Elizaveta Tuktamysheva wearing glasses now and again, but with Liza you can never tell whether she actually needs them or she is just modelling them.

It is now nearly seven years down the line from that thread. There are bound to be a lot of skaters that we have found out about since then.

Ul'yana Homich and Rodion Kozlovskij are my new discoveries. So, who else can we add?

CaroLiza_fan

 

[GoneWithTheWind]

On the JGP last season, Vansh Bhatia from India competed in the ice dance event wearing glasses.
Here's his Rhythm Dance with partner Harshita Rawtani: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNX7wdBNS3U

 

[Skater Boy]

I think lot wear glasses but wear contact lenses during competitions.

 

[happycamper2554]

Danny O'Shea said Tarah knocked a contact out of his eye on the twist at 2016 worlds. So he wears then at the least

 

[QueenOfTheRoad]

Mika Kolyada also wears glasses

 

[4everchan]

there are many.... Nam Nguyen wears them too... just to name one

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Afaik, Javi had laser surgery some time last year and now doesn't need glasses anymore.
From recent insta posts of the Tutberidze girls it also seems Elizabet Tursynbaeva is wearing glasses at least when travelling by plane (as a former frequent flyer I can relate, the dry air on the plane makes your contacts dry out really fast and they are just a bother on long distance flights).

 

[bartlebooth]

Zoltan Kelemen from Romania had lost en eye when he was a child. As a result, he had an impaired perception of depth, and had to declare that he was competing "on his own responsibility".

 

[apgold]

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Nathan Chen as a speccy four eyes, lol.

As an aside, I've been wearing glasses since I was in elementary school. I tried contacts for a few years but found them too high maintenance and hard to wear during allergy season. So I'm back to glasses and now am old enough to wear progressive lenses - my latest frames are from Warby Parker.

 

[NanaPat]

Asher Hill wears/wore glasses in ordinary life but skated without correction. He commented on one of his own kiss-and-cry videos that he was squinting badly and looking worried because he couldn't read the marks due to his poor vision.

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

On the JGP last season, Vansh Bhatia from India competed in the ice dance event wearing glasses.
Here's his Rhythm Dance with partner Harshita Rawtani: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNX7wdBNS3U

Thank you, @GoneWithTheWind .

I was actually working around to asking if the ISU have rules against wearing glasses during competition programmes. But, they evidently don't, if Vansh was able to wear his.

By the way, I didn't see that Lake Placid Junior GP, because I was on holidays at the time (and I don't tend to watch the North American competitions anyway because of the awkward times). But way to go to Harshita competing in both Ice Dance and Singles at the same event. I remember another Indian skater doing the double at an event a few years earlier. But, I can't remember who it was.

My hat goes off to those skaters who can do that.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[GoneWithTheWind]

Thank you, @GoneWithTheWind .

I was actually working around to asking if the ISU have rules against wearing glasses during competition programmes. But, they evidently don't, if Vansh was able to wear his.

By the way, I didn't see that Lake Placid Junior GP, because I was on holidays at the time (and I don't tend to watch the North American competitions anyway because of the awkward times). But way to go to Harshita competing in both Ice Dance and Singles at the same event. I remember another Indian skater doing the double at an event a few years earlier. But, I can't remember who it was.

My hat goes off to those skaters who can do that.

CaroLiza_fan

Apologies because I'm going Off Topic in this reply:
Harshita is amazing, I love her motto "I skate to express not impress".
Vansh was orginally entered to compete in the Men's singles too (although he didn't end up competing in it), so I think they both do two events. Good for them and hope to see them on the JGP again next season.

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Zoltan Kelemen from Romania had lost en eye when he was a child. As a result, he had an impaired perception of depth, and had to declare that he was competing "on his own responsibility".

Wow!

Thank you so much for telling us Zoltán's story, @bartlebooth . What an amazing journey he has had.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[anonymoose_au]

It's interesting so many skaters wear glasses.

I wonder if some of them feel they do better without being able to see the audience - when crowds were allowed - properly

I wear glasses when I skate, but considering I can't even skate backwards there's no danger of them flying off

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Most who wear glasses off-ice wear contacts to skate.

 

[el henry]

It's interesting so many skaters wear glasses.

I wonder if some of them feel they do better without being able to see the audience - when crowds were allowed - properly

I wear glasses when I skate, but considering I can't even skate backwards there's no danger of them flying off

Actually, and I think this is in the original thread, Jason of all people said that it was an advantage *not* to see the audience (I think the presupposition would be that an extrobvert like Jason would want to see the audience .)

He does not wear contacts during comps, and I believe, without looking up the article, he actually felt it enhanced his interpretation and performance to have a blur surrounding him.

And he's so cute squinting to see the scores

 

[karne]

Yes, you can also see Jason squinting to see the timer as he skates to his start position sometimes too.

Joshua also wears glasses, though I am not sure if that was post-concussion and thereby whether that counts for the list.

 

[Flying Feijoa]

Skaters and dancers I know who wear glasses for shortsightedness often don't bother with contacts in practice/competition if their magnitude is low, say diopter -1.5. My eyes are worse (-4 with moderate astigmatism) so I need contacts or I'd hit someone by accident.

I've seen coaches wearing glasses while demonstrating moves. Not seen serious singles or pairs skaters wearing them in practice though. Probably too hard to keep in place/dangerous, unless they have some sort of titanium sports frame with shatter-proof plastic lens.

I don't know if there is an official rule forbidding glasses in competition, but they do tend to stand out awkwardly with typical costumes.

 

[mrrice]

Midori Ito used to wear her glasses when she did figures back in the day.

 

[Amei]

Thank you, @GoneWithTheWind .

I was actually working around to asking if the ISU have rules against wearing glasses during competition programmes. But, they evidently don't, if Vansh was able to wear his.

By the way, I didn't see that Lake Placid Junior GP, because I was on holidays at the time (and I don't tend to watch the North American competitions anyway because of the awkward times). But way to go to Harshita competing in both Ice Dance and Singles at the same event. I remember another Indian skater doing the double at an event a few years earlier. But, I can't remember who it was.

My hat goes off to those skaters who can do that.

CaroLiza_fan

The ISU shouldn't impose a rule against wearing glasses, some people cannot wear contacts and others cannot afford them, as they are typically more expensive and some insurances don't even fully cover them because there is a suitable alternative (glasses).