Weir to sit out 2010-11 season

[Jaana]

I'm hoping something got lost in translation on this, because I can't see how any of the top guys are not great athletes, Johnny included. You don't rack up the number of medals he has without being a great athlete.

Well, there are medals and medals... Weir has never won a gold or silver medal in any major international competitions, a World bronze is his only achievement.

I´m not surprised at all that he will not be competing in coming season. I will though be surprised if he comes back for 2011-2012 season, but will of course welcome him back if he does. I´m doubting his comeback, because he has not managed to skate to good CoP-freeskates and I don´t think that a year off will make him better in that respect.

[Sylvia]

Weir's TEB spot can't go to Amodio or any other French guy

I wonder if Amodio's competing in Japan the week before will work against him.

Amodio could still get France's TBA slot for TEB.

[Jenny]

Well, there are medals and medals... Weir has never won a gold or silver medal in any major international competitions, a World bronze is his only achievement.

oo snap

[haribobo]

Amodio could still get France's TBA slot for TEB.

Oh yea, that is true. He just can't get Weir's spot cause either he or another Frenchman will get the TBA slot for FRA...so they have to invite a non-French guy for the Weir slot. Sometimes I don't finish my thoughts all the way.

[Sylvia]

Phil Hersh: Skater Weir taking competitive break to reinvent himself

Associated Press newswire article: Johnny Weir skipping skating season

[kwanfan1818]

Sylvia's list from the other thread:

"MEN not guaranteed a GP but next in line according to the ISU Season Best scores list (* = ISU Jr.-eligible):

25 Bradley USA - name not submitted for GP selection

34 *Messing USA - returning to JGP; did not submit his name for GP

...

....but Amodio could get the SC spot

Not submitted by the skater to USFS as interested, or not submitted by USFS as eligible for selection? If USFS doesn't submit the name to the ISU as eligible, then that skater/team can't be chosen later, even if he/she/they have earned it for themselves, ex: the year the Russian Fed "retired" Sokolova by not submitting her name, although she had earned two spots by her last Worlds placement.

Oh yea, that is true. He just can't get Weir's spot cause either he or another Frenchman will get the TBA slot for FRA...so they have to invite a non-French guy for the Weir slot. Sometimes I don't finish my thoughts all the way.

If the other Federations were allowing Gailhauguet to play his "It's under my control, I'll jerk you around until the last possible minute" game by not assigning Amodio to more than one GP in the first place and leaving the French Fed the option of naming Amodio, then I doubt Amodio would be assigned Skate Canada, even if he weren't scheduled to skate the week before at NHK.

[Sylvia]

Not submitted by the skater to USFS as interested, or not submitted by USFS as eligible for selection?

Both, AFAIK. Neither Bradley nor Messing are eligible to be selected for a Senior GP by their own choice.

ETA: Maybe we should continue this discussion in the Grand Prix thread?http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/show...=73907&page=19

[overedge]

Phil Hersh: Skater Weir taking competitive break to reinvent himself

Oh dear, I think I may have to go lie down for a while, because I actually agree with pretty much everything in this Hersh column....

[peibeck]

Well, there are medals and medals... Weir has never won a gold or silver medal in any major international competitions, a World bronze is his only achievement.

Like winning any World medal is easy? He was top ten in every Worlds appearance he made, not too shabby IMO.

I'm not surprised he isn't going to compete, and I am a bit doubtful he'll come back (or want to come back) after a year away, but I guess time will tell.

[BittyBug]

Well, there are medals and medals... Weir has never won a gold or silver medal in any major international competitions, a World bronze is his only achievement.

oo snap

You're right - Johnny is clearly a total loser, with only one lousy World bronze medal, four Grand Prix gold medals, five GP silver medals, five GP bronze medals, and two Grand Prix Final bronze medals. Anybody could have done that, really.

[igniculus]

If Sasha could come back, anything is possible. Or at least I'll hope so.

I know we all hope. But Sasha has an olympic medal, which is a PCS boost even if she lacks in other departments.

Figure skating will be a lot less fabulous and fun this year.

You see, I disagree. There are many fabulous boys out there who have been growing and outshining a lot of the big, older favorites in the past couple of seasons, and they have made men's skating exciting at least for the next 5+ years. While Johnny was one entertaining character, he certainly was not the alpha and omega of the men skating fabulousity.

[SamuraiK]

I hope SCanada invites another american guy for the spot open. Hochstein was roally screwed, I hope he can get at least 1 event ouf of the withdrawals.

The TEB spot would probably go to an euro skater, maybe Borodulin or Bacchini.

[HisWeirness]

Well, there are medals and medals... Weir has never won a gold or silver medal in any major international competitions, a World bronze is his only achievement.

Really? I had no idea. No one has ever mentioned this before.

Weir is lacking in reputation, he only has one World bronze medal.

While Weir´s competition achievements may look impressive e.g. for the fans or for skaters who are standing at the end of the list in WC and Olympics, compared to top skaters (= several WC medals and a medal from Olympics) his skating achievements are not so impressive:

Three National titles combined with one World bronze medal and 5th & 6th place finish at the Olympics are showing that Weir definetely is not of top skater material.

Unfortunately Weir has not worked enough to get a reputation, just one bronze medal from Worlds, does not achieve it.

Weir may have lost some reputation because he was not at Worlds in 2009, but also otherwise (with only one WC bronze medal) he is not a skater with the reputation of e.g. Plushenko, who will get high PCS scores what ever his programmes look like, LOL.

Weir is an one-time WC bronze medalist and has nothing more from major international competitions.

Weir has just only one WC bronze medal...

[zaphyre14]

I can let my breath out now.

[RockTheTassel]

Not a bit surprised, but it's still sad. I'll miss his skating.

[aftershocks]

The thing is that I'm fairly sure he won't be able to comeback.
He has an amazing skating, but very old fashion, and he is not a great athlete. So, I don't see him coming back better than he actually is. Except the artistic side, he can be more modern, but it won't be better for his rankings ! JMHO

I'm hoping something got lost in translation on this, because I can't see how any of the top guys are not great athletes, Johnny included. You don't rack up the number of medals he has without being a great athlete.

Yes, I think, lol
My thought is that athletisism is not his best strenght ! Compared to Evan, Evgeny, Daisuke, Stephane, Brian. They are all more dynamic and powerful.
That's what I meant.
So, I'm afraid it won't be better after a year off

Wow, briancoo... Well you're definitely entitled to your opinion, and Johnny himself would defend your right to speak your mind and see things the way you see them. Johnny and "oldfashioned" in the same sentence... you must be kidding!!! I totally agree with sunny sari and bittybug. Every skater has a different style. The thing about Johnny is that he's so smooth and fluid he makes extremely difficult athletic moves look easy. He was an athlete in other sports before he became a figure skater. We have his equestrian skills to thank for the beautiful posture he exhibits on jump landings. The fact that other athletes like Plushenko and Brian have consistent quads doesn't make them better athletes. Have you ever seen the vid clip of Johnny performing a gorgeous quad, triple, double in practice (if not see the link below).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUldWQuk0TE

Yes it was in practice and not in competition, but even in competition, I've never seen the other guys you mention able to perform such difficult jumps that smoothly and with such great posture and flow out. Mostly from the other guys you see the great effort it takes and their landings are usually heavy with their upper bodies often bending forward. All of these guys, including Johnny are great athletes -- there is no way to reach the top of this sport otherwise. Johnny's biggest weakness IMO, was in having difficulty believing in and maximizing his talent -- having risen so quickly and having entered the sport at a later age than most skaters, Johnny's competitive skills have not been as strong as some other guys, such as Plush and Evan.

Lambiel is a sweet guy and a free spirit as a skater -- he reminds me of a windmill on the ice, yet Lamby forever had trouble with various jumps and with performing completely clean programs consistently, especially his long programs. Later in his career, Lamby's triple axel was non-existent. I wonder how much Lamby's focus on the quad -- usually landed with an extremely bent knee-- caused him to have troubles with his 3axel. I love Lambiel, and he's probably the male skater who would have been my fave (along with Brian) over the past years, if Johnny had not been in the sport. (Now it seems Lamby and Johnny are both moving on -- tho' I wouldn't quite give up on Johnny never being able to come back if that's what he truly wants to do). I'd say that Johnny's strengths actually lie in his all-around ability to do everything well as a skater.

IMO, Daisuke is the more dynamic skater of the ones you mention with his weaknesses being his spins. The other thing about all the guys with the consistent quads tho' is the likelihood of consistent injuries, especially later in their careers (e.g, Brian, Daisuke, Plush, and Lambiel). Evan mastered the quad in competition, but not consistently. He played it safe and left it out for the most part over the last couple of seasons. Evan and dynamic don't quite go together -- yep Evan is talented, athletic and he can do a version of soft and lyrical, e.g., his Ave Maria exhibition, plus some of his DWTS routines were quite good (I almost liked watching him better on the dance floor than I did on the ice). With Frank Carroll's guidance, Evan honed his competitive skills and learned how to effectively move his long-limbed body over the ice in a way that commanded space, but he consistently had trouble reigning in his flappy arm movements. His style was often frenzied, but again his team was successful in finding the right music and choreography to play to his strengths. Evan and triple axel also don't go together that well, but he managed to land them, if not technically perfect and graceful, and the judges cooperated by often overlooking his imperfections.

While medals are generally indicative of championship caliber, they certainly are no measure in every case of the success or failure of an athlete's career, especially in figure skating (which involves such politics). The men's field is extremely deep, so everyone who consistently place in the top 10 surely deserve a lot of respect. In any case, the medals that Johnny has won over the course of his career are certainly nothing to spit at.

[IceAlisa]

Awww.



I was hoping Johnny would compete next season.

That was my reaction too.

[igniculus]

IMO, Daisuke is the more dynamic skater of the ones you mention with his weaknesses being his spins.

Are you kidding? He has the deepest and hardest sit spin positions of the current field, also a beautiful layback too. Weak is the word I'd never use in the same sentence with Takahashi.

[caseyedwards]

I am not surprised because of Weirs non-skating activities.

If Takahashi did not try quads I don't believe any flaws could be seen in his skating!!!!!!

[stjeaskategym]

The only way I see Johnny coming back to competition is if his other projects don't pan out, including finding enough work as a skater. I'd say it's 50-50 at this point.

Yup... His 15 minutes of fame from the Olympics seems to be extended a bit. It will be interesting to see what Season 2 of his reality show is like without him skating competitively though. He'll need to really stay busy to keep that show appealing.

Of course, a retirement could be somewhat expected anyway... He's obviously been around for a long time and has had a pretty darn fulfilling career, even if he "only" has one World medal (still an outstanding accomplishment most people will never reach) and two strong Olympic appearances. Whatever he decides to do, I don't think he will have any regrets. If this is really the end, he went out on a high note, skating nearly his absolute best at the Olympics.