Narumi Takahashi out of GP series

[kwanfan1818]

A few hours ago Lynn Rutherford tweeted:

Spoke to R. Gauthier -- Unfortunately N. Takahashi will be off ice 4-6 months. Article to come on @icenetwork

Four months would be end of February, six end of April. It's unlikely they'll have an GP SB for this season, unless they're ready for WTT, but next year, they can get an NHK host pick, and if they win a Fall Senior B, they can be on the alternates list for a second.

Next year is the Olympic qualifier -- I've heard Nebelhorn mentioned but am not sure if it was confirmed by the ISU. That will likely be the toughest Pairs field, with so much at stake.

[Sylvia]

Here's the article with quotes from Richard Gauthier: http://web.icenetwork.com/news/artic...&vkey=ice_news

[julieann]

Do the Olympics matter anyway; has he even begun the steps to get citizenship in Japan? Yuko Kavaguti won the Cup of Russia six months after her shoulder surgery so hopefully Takahashi can heel just a quickly and make it to Worlds. Too bad they didn't do surgery sooner; it sounded like a bad fall. They are so young they still have a great future in skating.

[allezfred]

Next year is the Olympic qualifier -- I've heard Nebelhorn mentioned but am not sure if it was confirmed by the ISU.

It has been. Check the calendar on the ISU site. It's listed there.

[sequinsgalore]

With Takahashi/Tran out, will Japan be able to qualify for the World Team Trophy to be held 11-14th of April in Tokyo, Japan? That would really hurt the competition...

[Sylvia]

I liked this quote from the article:

Gauthier thinks the injury is something better taken care of now than later.

"They have a chance to go to worlds (in 2013), or may have to wait [until] the year after," he said. "But I told her, 'If you don't have this operation, your arm will fall off; you won't be able to carry a purse after you are retired.' There is life after skating, and we need to get this fixed."

[Vash01]

Awful news. Any serious injury to any athlete is awful, but particularly for a young team trying to move up this is just terrible.

[Ziggy]

I liked this quote from the article:

Yes! It shows that Gauthier really cares about his skaters. I wish that Moskvina had the same attitude towards Kawaguchi whose arm is probably going to fall off eventually.

[kwanfan1818]

for Gauthier.

It has been. Check the calendar on the ISU site. It's listed there.

That's where I saw it, while searching the ISU events db on "Nebelhorn" to find protocols to see if skaters made their TES minimums.

[AragornElessar]

Yes! It shows that Gauthier really cares about his skaters. I wish that Moskvina had the same attitude towards Kawaguchi whose arm is probably going to fall off eventually.

Yes and big time YES on Moskvina and the way she mishandled Yuko's injury. IMO, Yuko came back too soon after her surgery and IIRC, hasn't she reinjured it in the last year or so?

Good to know that Gauthier's got his priorities straight and the right perspective of just where Skating fits in the long term of his students lives when something like this happens.