This has to be retirement.
She has been tweeting that she's been busy organizing her post-skating life; if she's been planning for that then it must be top of her mind.
If she has this injury it's clearly not something that would fix easily. So, long road back, managing logistics of keeping a place in Toronto and having home being Quebec...lots of unknowns on timing of everything and wondering how far back she will be able to get...
I see her feeling she won't be that ready for nats, thus losing this year and then trying to compete for likely one spot in Sochi which may or may not happen. All for what: a place on Olympic team and no hope for a medal. Been there, done that.
I suspect she's realizing the path she's on (again) isn't worth it this time.
Wish her well.
Is it wednesday yet?![]()
I won't be surprised in the least if Cynthia retires. Losing her title last season must have hurt and the past few years have been such a struggle.
To be honest, I won't miss the CBC's team fawning over Cynthia. This is not to say anything against Cynthia as it wasn't her fault. I think pressure from the media as well as Skate Canada made the past few years harder for Cynthia. IMO they were still celebrating the baby ballerina she used to be and in so doing, expecting her to maintain that style of skating. I think this limited Cynthia's growth as a skater and made it harder for her to reinvent herself in a woman's body. Plus there were a lot of comments on her size with negative innuendos - Browning once insinuated that she was overweight.
Maybe Skate Canada will start investing some energy in other lady skaters now. The favouritism of Phaneuf over Lacoste has been painfully evident and Phaneuf had to pretty much give the title away. It's true that Lacoste can't match Phaneuf in artistry, but still, artistry plus two or three clean triples does not a champion make.
Last edited by Japanfan; 09-26-2012 at 06:51 AM.
I personally never understood Canada's fascination with Phaneuf. Sure, she was a welcome change after the Jennifer Robinson years, but I remember all that over-the-top hype she got when she burst onto the scene. It seems like that hype has carried her over until now.
Cynthia is a beautiful skater to watch in person - she is so elegant and has great lines. I will miss her if she is indeed announcing her retirement.
I'm off to the Patrick Chan threads...where you can watch a molehill become a mountain in seconds!!!
Hers was scheduled for the 'afternoon,' according to one of the articles I saw. Hoping we'll hear something definite soon.
Article in French
Saw this on her Twitter (translated to English):
The double champion Canadian Cynthia Phaneuf (@PhaneufCynthia) will be with us to @Cacommencebien tomorrow 7H, on the waves of @vtele!!
Seems like her announcement will be on TVA Sports @ 5:30 EST
Source
TVA Sports Website
Last edited by fsfan22; 09-26-2012 at 10:34 PM.
It's official!
Rough translation ... It's official: Cynthia Phaneuf withdraws from figure skating. Live at 17:30C'est officiel: Cynthia Phaneuf se retire du patinage artistique. En direct a 17h30