No surprise if Lysacek skips nationals

[blue_idealist]

I'll honestly be surprised if Evan ever does come back to eligible competition. It would be nice if he did, but yeah, I'll be surprised.

[judgejudy27]

Of course it wouldnt be, just like it would be no shock, actually no surprise whatsoever, if he never competes again. This isnt news to anyone.

[judgejudy27]

I'll honestly be surprised if Evan ever does come back to eligible competition. It would be nice if he did, but yeah, I'll be surprised.

if you are a fan of Evan I am not sure why you think it would be nice. I am not an Evan fan, but if I were, I wouldnt want to see a guy who was World and Olympic Champion when he last competed come back and have no chance at any better than say 6th at Worlds, and that is if everything went right.

[mag]

if you are a fan of Evan I am not sure why you think it would be nice. I am not an Evan fan, but if I were, I wouldnt want to see a guy who was World and Olympic Champion when he last competed come back and have no chance at any better than say 6th at Worlds, and that is if everything went right.

Boy, aren't you a ray of sunshine. Maybe Evan enjoys competing and pushing himself to the limit. Lots and lots of athletes compete (in fact the vast majority compete) without any hope of actually winning. There is only one winner. Good thing those who aren't sure they'll win keep competing or we wouldn't have competitions to watch.

[Vash01]

Gradually return to training, or start competing again within 2 weeks?

Depends on the specific injury as well as the sport.

Tell it to Alexei Urmanov, who withdrew from Worlds in March 1997 with a groin injury and was unable to compete again until July 1998.

...and Urmanov was never the same skater after that groin injury. He did not even make the Russian Olympic team, which would have given him a chance to defend his OGM

[gkelly]

Well, the reason he didn't make the 1998 Olympic team was that he was still too injured to try.

But in the 1999 season he couldn't beat Yagudin at all and lost to 16-yr-old Plushenko more often than not.

[LadyNit]

Latest Hersh post: Evan has a sports hernia

Sorry about Nationals. Get well soon, Evan.

[Vash01]

But in the 1999 season he couldn't beat Yagudin at all and lost to 16-yr-old Plushenko more often than not.

That is why I said he was never the same skater again. He never regained his jumps. He was still young enough to develop them, but the injury made it impossible.

[essence_of_soy]

I'm sorry there is no longer a professional competitive circuit where skaters like Lysacek, Weir, Kwan and others could flourish.

Instead, skaters who have been away from competition for several years return to the grind of training against a new generation with bigger tricks. The risk of injury (as demonstrated with Evan and Johnny) is a blow to the body as well as the ego.

[judgejudy27]

I'm sorry there is no longer a professional competitive circuit where skaters like Lysacek, Weir, Kwan and others could flourish.

Instead, skaters who have been away from competition for several years return to the grind of training against a new generation with bigger tricks. The risk of injury (as demonstrated with Evan and Johnny) is a blow to the body as well as the ego.

I agree. It is an injustice to these skaters there is no longer a professional circuit. Well in Kwan's case I am not sure she would have been interested anyway, she seemed to love competing and wanting a wholew new life after that, but people like Evan and Johnny and many others seems to be wondering around not sure what to do when their amateur primes are over.

[Jammers]

I think Johnny and Evan need to call it a career. Age and being away from the sport for too long is contributing to these injuries. Add the fact that neither has a quad and the level of jumps has risen since they last skated i think the writing is on the wall.

[judgejudy27]

I think Johnny and Evan need to call it a career. Age and being away from the sport for too long is contributing to these injuries. Add the fact that neither has a quad and the level of jumps has risen since they last skated i think the writing is on the wall.

I agree. I cant see Johnny even coming close to making a U.S World or Olympic team again, let alone being a factor internationally. Evan could possibly get on a major U.S team depending on a number of factors, but is it worth going through all this just to maybe get to a final World or Olympic and come in the top 10 if you are lucky.

[Vash01]

I think Johnny and Evan need to call it a career. Age and being away from the sport for too long is contributing to these injuries. Add the fact that neither has a quad and the level of jumps has risen since they last skated i think the writing is on the wall.

When you look at skaters like these (and may be others), it makes me appreciate what Plushenko accomplished at the 2010 Olympics, after being away from competitive skating for three and a half years, and narrowly missing the OGM.

[judgejudy27]

When you look at skaters like these (and may be others), it makes me appreciate what Plushenko accomplished at the 2010 Olympics, after being away from competitive skating for three and a half years, and narrowly missing the OGM.

Very true. Safe to say we wont see anyone making a comeback at that age (27 or 28) just for the Olympic year and doing even close to that well again. Evan and Johnny certainly arent going to, if they even carry out their comebacks any further that is. What is more hilarious is people deriving of opinions on Plushenko's abilities based on not winning there, as if any other top skater of his era could return after over 3 years off in their late 20s and do anywhere near as well, and now we are seeing firm evidence other top skaters of his era clearly cant.

[Vash01]

I agree. It is an injustice to these skaters there is no longer a professional circuit. Well in Kwan's case I am not sure she would have been interested anyway, she seemed to love competing and wanting a wholew new life after that, but people like Evan and Johnny and many others seems to be wondering around not sure what to do when their amateur primes are over.

ITA. I really miss the professional competitions. I don't care about the cheesefests they have on TV these days. In the 1980s and 1990s the skaters had a chance to develop their skating in other directions, and even compete. Although many of those competitions were mostly fixed, the skaters still had to perform at a certain level. Some skaters like Robin Cousins and Scott Hamilton brought a lot to the art of skating as pros. Paul Wylie really came into his own as an artist after his 1992 Olympic silver medal. Yamaguchi and Boitano motivated themselves to continue doing the difficult jumps even as pros, while they developed their artistry. It's a shame that skaters like Evan and Johnny don't have that option, and they have to consider coming back to eligible skating, while the sport has passed them by.

[judgejudy27]

The cheesefests are terrible. They are appropriately named, that is all they are is the big cheese. They desperately need to bring the pro circuit back somehow. The skaters deserve it and so do the fans.

[Lacey]

I think Johnny and Evan need to call it a career. Age and being away from the sport for too long is contributing to these injuries. Add the fact that neither has a quad and the level of jumps has risen since they last skated i think the writing is on the wall.

I agree, RIP.

[judiz]

The cheesefests are terrible. They are appropriately named, that is all they are is the big cheese. They desperately need to bring the pro circuit back somehow. The skaters deserve it and so do the fans.

Totally agree, hopefully someone will restart Champions on Ice which I thought was so much better than SOI. BUT, I have to admit I enjoyed watching the Cheesefests just because it gave me the chance to see most of my favorite skaters in the same show.

[love_skate2011]

Very true. Safe to say we wont see anyone making a comeback at that age (27 or 28) just for the Olympic year and doing even close to that well again. Evan and Johnny certainly arent going to, if they even carry out their comebacks any further that is. What is more hilarious is people deriving of opinions on Plushenko's abilities based on not winning there, as if any other top skater of his era could return after over 3 years off in their late 20s and do anywhere near as well, and now we are seeing firm evidence other top skaters of his era clearly cant.

well Plushenko is an exception to every rule

[museksk8r]

Too bad the World Pro Championships, World Team Trophy, Masters of Figure Skating, US Open, and Canadian Open are no longer around.