Whatever happened to Mira Leung?

[TheIronLady]

Here's one for the FSU "Trash Can." What has Mira Leung been up to since her days as a competitor? And what is Mother Leung doing to occupy herself without Mira to coach (and Joanne McLeod to argue with)? She was one of ladies skating's more unusual semi-stars. Not unlike her onetime rink-mate Emanuel Sandhu, she followed the beat of her own drummer. Some called her the Elvis Stojko of the ladies event, but she turned out to be a bit more complicated than Elvis.

A major issue raised about Mira in the press was how controlling her mother was. This is a common theme in the sport, but Mrs. Leung caused unusually large headaches for coach Joanne McLeod. From 2006-2009, Mira's career involved getting fired yearly by her coach. Her skating itself was interesting for her jumps, particularly the bizarre take offs that Dick Button seemed to find bemusing. She had abundant athletic talent. She is also the only senior lady I know of who angered her federation by showing off her granny panties to judges at a grand prix event-- along with moth-eaten tights with holes in them.

http://www.iceskatingintnl.com/image...leung%20fs.jpg

2005 Skate America FS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FetL75tuGT4

2007 Canadian Nationals SP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFR3-ND-8Qg

2008 Canadia Nationals SP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35xm5q6Ssto

She is young for a retired skater (if she is officially retired), and I wouldn't be surprised if she is in school or now figuring out her next move. It's good to see she was as of 2010 continuing to capitalize on her name recognition in Canada. Mira was in a 2010 fashion benefit for heart disease, and this time not exposing her underwear.

http://www.skatetoday.com/2010/05/24...to-the-runway/

[Vagabond]

Cross-posting from an earlier thread:

She's got a floor show at Don't Tell Mama in Helsinki.

I hope that helps.

[PeterG]

Here's one for the FSU "Trash Can."

She is also the only senior lady I know of who angered her federation by showing off her granny panties to judges at a grand prix event-- along with moth-eaten tights with holes in them.

Mira was in a 2010 fashion benefit for heart disease, and this time not exposing her underwear.

I am not aware of what Mira has been up to since we last saw her skate. I do, however, wish to commend TheIronLady for finding an apt place to reside.

[mustafinabars]

It seems like the Canadian skating federation began to dump her in 2009 and there was nothing she could have done about it, even if her skating didnt fall off drastically, which it didnt until her last year in 2010 anyway.

[TheIronLady]

Does anyone else think that Joanne McLeod seems like a coach with amazing patience?

[Polymer Bob]

I received negative reputation from the Canadians for defending Mira.

[TheIronLady]

It seems like the Canadian skating federation began to dump her in 2009 and there was nothing she could have done about it, even if her skating didnt fall off drastically, which it didnt until her last year in 2010 anyway.

I agree with you. This article from The Globe and Mail seems to support you.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/incom...rticle1066714/

[Katarzyna]

She is also the only senior lady I know of who angered her federation by showing off her granny panties to judges at a grand prix event-- along with moth-eaten tights with holes in them.

http://www.iceskatingintnl.com/image...leung%20fs.jpg

OMG!

Apparently one should not only try out only the competition dress in practice, but also the underwear to be worn during the actual event. I have kind of understanding for the tights, cause she might have damaged them right before comp with the blade, but the panty

Just wonder why the fed felt angered by the poor teenage girl – skaters hardly see their own butts during actual skating, her coach might have taken care of that as well.

[TheIronLady]

I think they were mad because she was competing without a coach (or practically without one). Her mother, it was said, always tried to coach her, and Mrs. Leung proved less than qualified. She managed to prevent her daughter from wearing make up in competition for many years.

From this article, it appears the federation persuaded Mira (with "persuade" being an understatement) to get back with Joanne McLeod in hopes there would be no more underwear debacles.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/ne...d1c4151&k=1144

[Habs]

Just wonder why the fed felt angered by the poor teenage girl – skaters hardly see their own buts during actual skating, her coach might have taken care of that as well.

Except Mira had a reputation as someone who wouldn't listen. I'm sure her coach did try to take care of that and it fell on deaf ears.

[TheIronLady]

After watching this SP from 2009 Nationals, I have to say this wasn't as bad as her prior outings. Her weird jump take offs were still frightening.

2009 Canadaian Nationals SP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_aL594Apmc

[Katarzyna]

Except Mira had a reputation as someone who wouldn't listen. I'm sure her coach did try to take care of that and it fell on deaf ears.

But even the most rebellious teenager probably in such a situation would not tell the coach „I don’t care what you tell me about my panty sticking out, now I’ll show it off to the judges with pride and intention!”

[Rock2]

After watching this SP from 2009 Nationals, I have to say this wasn't as bad as her prior outings. Her weird jump take offs were still frightening.

2009 Canadaian Nationals SP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_aL594Apmc

Oh I agree. That was a very good program and her best short by far. Much more mature with strong choreo and longer lines. She's a better spinner than that program showed, though. Compared to how she was marked nationally in the past, she was way undermarked at 48 pts. However, her skating skills in particular are not that strong, so it seems that SC started downward adjusting her scores to where they should have been.

[overedge]

Except Mira had a reputation as someone who wouldn't listen. I'm sure her coach did try to take care of that and it fell on deaf ears.

Mira did have a reputation for not listening, but more than that, her mother had a reputation as knowing what was "right" and refusing to follow what was suggested/told to her about Mira's career. So if Mama Leung thought that ladies should wear panties under their skating dresses - and by all accounts it was usually Mama Leung who decided on Mira's competition outfits - Mira wouldn't have really had much of a choice in the matter.

[Ziggy]

I will never forget all the endless Mama Leung threads.

It's all very said because under proper guidance, somebody who was putting in as much work as Mira could have achieved so much more.

And it's not even about skating, I can only imagine how psychologically damaged somebody with a parent this psycho can end up. I hope that whatever she's doing now, she's more happy than back when she was skating.

[Rob]

There are things called dance pants or dance girdles that are beige and not striped or polka dotted. Those would have worked well.

[all_empty]

I too wonder what ever happened to Mira. Perhaps she wasn't blessed with a supportive mother (or received the wrong kind of support) and the best proportions for skating, but it's clear she was a hard worker.

I agree that she was making significant progress in her jumping and presentation but the marks were going the opposite way.

The "Transylvanian Lullaby" SP was actually quite nice as others have pointed out. Her hair and costume were appropriate too.

Her FS that season was to Rachmaninoff selections, I believe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqYyS8BENFM (try watching this objectively).

The 3F and 3Lz were much improved, the 2A entrances had more speed, the 3S and spins were solid. Perhaps a comeback is too late now, which is sad because she was on the right track. Somehow she made that bad technique work (like Kira Korpii). Amelie Lacoste certainly doesn't have great technique by any means.