Late Bloomer skaters?

[Vash01]

I think any singles skater that did not achieve success by the early twenties could be considered a late bloomer. For pairs that age limit has to approach high twenties. I know that's quite arbitrary, so feel free to shift them if you wish.

Here is my list of late bloomers:


Paul Wylie (27 yrs.- Oly silver; no world medal prior to that)

Rudy Galindo (1st US title at age 26; 96 world bronze)

I would probably add Petr Barna to the list. Before his bronze at the 92 Olympics, his success was pretty limited

Maria Butyrskaya- world champ at 26; not a lot of previous success, other than making the Russian world team

Shizuka Arakawa (24 yrs.- OGM)- she is a borderline case, IMO. She won the worlds 2 years before the OGM. She is a late bloomer only when you compare her with the ladies that won the OGM before her (Sarah, Tara, Oksana)

The Protopopovs- won their first OGM at ages 32 & 35.

[jlai]

Whether she'll win a world medal or not, Czisny is a late bloomer to me.

[Islander]

Joannie Rochette should definitely be considered a late bloomer as well.

[TheIronLady]

So should Nancy Kerrigan.

[reese]

Jeremy Abbott

[robinhood]

Maria Butyrskaya- world champ at 26; not a lot of previous success, other than making the Russian world team

Wasn't she a Euro Champ & World medalist before her world title?? Besides she was close to medaling in 96 worlds, 98 olys too

I like the late bloomers! Usually they tend to be more sophisticated and mature skaters than teen phenoms. And every skater you mention had great technique and wonderful composure

In ice dance, Isabelle & Olivier and probably Nathalie & Fabian too in this era of prepubescent acrobatic teams

[falling_dance]

Admittedly, she has only one ISU medal and her best days might be behind her, but I'd say that Akiko Suzuki is another example.

[Aceon6]

It's hard to compare eras. In the "no pay if your an amateur" era, skaters were expected to go to school or get real jobs fairly young. A 20 year old lady would have been considered "old" in pre 1980 standards.

[A.H.Black]

Calla Urbanski? I'm not sure I would add Rocky Marvel, but maybe.

[blue_idealist]

Tatiana Malinina - At the age of 26-27 years old, she had a 'dream season' in 1998-99, winning the GPF, Four Continents, a couple of other GP medals IIRC, and coming 4th at Worlds. It was a 'dream season' compared to her previous results (I don't think she ever made the top 10 at Worlds before that).

Shawn Sawyer - although his results only improved slightly, he really improved his skating late in his career. For ex. he landed his first perfect 3A at the age of 26. His first GP medal was also at the age of 24 IIRC.

Faiella/Scali - first world medal in 2010 at age 29 and 30.

Kerrs - first European medal at about the same age as Faiella and Scali. I don`t remember Sinead and John`s exact ages.

[muffinbiscuit]

Caryn Kadavy. Didn't she complete at Nationals for many years without much success. A switch to Fassi did the trick

[shutterbug]

Jeff Buttle. Won his first (and only ) world title at 25.

[Jenna]

Evan Lysacek, to a certain extent. Always had some success on the international stage but really peaked around 2009 & 2010.

[AliasJohnDoe]

I prefer late bloomers. They skate mature. They also seem to have more confidence which might come from performing for so many years.

Czisny is my favorite late bloomer.

[ioana]

It's always nice to see skaters have success later on in their career- even when that doesn't mean finishing in the top 10 at Worlds. I still remember Malin Hallberg-Leuf from Sweden getting consistent, non-cheated triples in her mid 20's and winning Swedish Nationals at 25.

Anastasia Gimazetdinova had some of her best results after she turned 25, too. She at the 2008 4CC

[HeatherC]

Amanda Evora & Mark Ladwig are definitely late bloomers. It wasn't until their 8th US National Championships that they finally made an Olympic/World team and Mark turned 30 this year. I really enjoy watching skaters/teams finally break through and find success after some struggles because you see how much it means to them when it happens.

[briancoogaert]

I prefer late bloomers. They skate mature. They also seem to have more confidence which might come from performing for so many years.

Czisny is my favorite late bloomer.

Alissa Czisny ? She won Skate Canada in 2005 at the age of 18. I don't consider her as a late bloomer.

[geod2]

Alissa Czisny ? She won Skate Canada in 2005 at the age of 18. I don't consider her as a late bloomer.

If the definition of "late bloomer" means hitting her competitive peak and finally fulfilling her fullest, true potential, then AC would be one...



_

[geod2]

Joannie Rochette should definitely be considered a late bloomer as well.

I agree.

Also, based on her record (earlier years vs. later years) and that she came closer than Joannie to winning an OGM at about the same age,
then Elizabeth Manley should also be considered a late bloomer, IMO.



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[jenniferlyon]

It's hard to compare eras. In the "no pay if your an amateur" era, skaters were expected to go to school or get real jobs fairly young. A 20 year old lady would have been considered "old" in pre 1980 standards.

And on the flip side, today's skaters in their twenties don't have to worry about being beaten by 14 and 15-year-old child stars because the kids aren't allowed to compete in senior-level international events anymore.