Julia Lipnitskaya announces retirement

[Karpenko]

Wow, I think that's the most I've ever seen/heard/read talk about anything other than herself. very enlightening and I enjoyed reading her thoughts, she really respects what Julia did for Russian figure skating.

(BTW I'd love to see Navka become a top ice dance coach someday and beat Zhulin's teams)

 

[cheremary]

Another article in English: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...a-russias-youngest-ever-winter-olympics-gold/

I don't know when she made that comment online mentioned at the end, but good for her!

 

[Fairuza]

Another article in English: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...a-russias-youngest-ever-winter-olympics-gold/

I don't know when she made that comment online mentioned at the end, but good for her!

In vk.com when the news of her looking round her new flat was being discussed, in an angry retort to another poster. Her post made it into news articles in Russian media. Just to give what her popularity is like in Russia.

 

[Spun Silver]

[Navka]really respects what Julia did for Russian figure skating.

That's not what I got from her comments. They were more about how Julia was hyped as the untouchable queen of Russian skating to the point that she believed it herself, when in fact there were many other great talents coming up.

 

[VGThuy]

Yeah those Navka comments were really...mixed.

 

[chattila]

I'll definitely miss Lipnitskaya. I hope that she remains in the sport in some manner.

I'm sure that other elite figure skaters are suffering from the same problem but we'll probably never hear about them.

 

[Wyliefan]

Most of the Russian articles have sounded a bit snarky to me, but it may just be translation issues, so I'm trying to withhold judgment.

 

[bardtoob]

That's not what I got from her comments. They were more about how Julia was hyped as the untouchable queen of Russian skating to the point that she believed it herself, when in fact there were many other great talents coming up.

I think the "hype" message came from her coach, not the media. Her coach would say or do anything to get what she wants out of her students, then when it stops working the coach offers bat shit crazy explanations for why she tossed the student aside ... My favorite was "maybe he was not getting enough love from his girlfriend and expected it from us"

 

[arakwafan2006]

At the end of the day , her Olympic experience was more memorable than the athletes that won the ladies event. She should be PROUD! The Steven Spielberg acknowledgment alone should comfort her on cloudy days. That woman was in shambles in the following season, switched coaches and frankly fought to regain form. She is a triumphant victor in life! She will be fine!!! I hope she doesn't even read any headlines.

 

[aftershocks]

Good luck to Julia Lipnitskaya! She should be proud because she's a person who deserves to be proud of following her dreams to the best of her ability, and in the process giving pleasant memories to many skating fans. And not specifically because a fine and decent filmmaker happened to see her skate to music from his tribute film to Oskar Schindler, and sent her a kind message of thanks.

I hope for Julia that she finds happiness and wholeness in the specialness of who she is as a person, aside from her skating career, which she needs to realize is not her identity, but just one aspect of her life. There was way too much hype and home country politics surrounding Julia during the 2014 Olympic season. I do not think that was an entirely good thing that we should look back on with blind nostalgia. Julia's Schindler's List was a special program (for many different reasons) that worked for her at that stage of her development. There have been other poignant and affecting performances to this music (most notably, Paul Wylie's).

Unfortunately for Julia, her further development as a figure skater was somewhat besieged by the Olympic season over-hype and by the pressure of over-expectations, and by puberty, and by the difficulty of surmounting her particular experience of the growing pains, meddling adults, and scorched-earth politics that saturate the skating world.

Good luck to Adelina Sotnikova, good luck to Elizaveta Tukytamysheva, and good wishes to so many young athletes who have tried with dedication to pursue their dreams, who have shed blood, sweat and tears in the arena, who have strove valiantly to persevere, who have come up short again and again, but who have also known great enthusiasms and devotions, who have spent themselves in a worthy cause, and who at worst, if they 'failed' to reach the heights they desired, or to return to the heights they briefly tasted, at least they failed while daring greatly...

Life is not really about gold medals or medals of any kind. It's about trying and failing, and trying again. And never giving up on yourself and on what animates the fullness of your being. It's about the journey, not the destination. No sad and melancholy dirges for Julia, please. Fly on Ms. Lipnitskaya, fly on! Spread your wings. Discover what makes you happy within and without the skating scene.

 

[cygnus]

There's an interview on the CBC radio program As it Happens with Jenny Kirk on eating disorders in skating (Tuesday 29th). Not sure if it's accessible outside of Canada.

 

[Sylvia]

There's an interview on the CBC radio program As it Happens with Jenny Kirk on eating disorders in skating (Tuesday 29th). Not sure if it's accessible outside of Canada.

Thanks! I can listen the U.S.: http://www.cbc.ca/listen/shows/as-it-happens/segment/13865703

ETA that I've started a new GSD thread: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...orders-in-figure-skating-on-cbc-radio.101765/

 

[dinakt]

Most of the Russian articles have sounded a bit snarky to me, but it may just be translation issues, so I'm trying to withhold judgment.

Not translation. Many were subtly snarky (and not so subtly), which is a real shame.

 

[chantilly]

I am beyond sad about this announcement.
Such an incredibly interesting skater.
Really wanted to see her growth as a skater from child to woman
God damn that Russian pez dispenser of female skaters. Otherwise she may have had time to develop.
Was so hoping the "pairs rumour" was true.

 

[lala]

Most of the Russian articles have sounded a bit snarky to me, but it may just be translation issues, so I'm trying to withhold judgment.

that is so Russian as I noticed...They forgot about their heroes so quickly..

https://www.sports.ru/figure-skating/1055181591.html?comments=1#comment_1055186911 - google translate

Evgeni Plushenko: "Everything was hurting for Lipnitskaya, and now even Tarasova pinches her below the baseboard"

Two-time Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko. Dissatisfaction with the statements of specialists about the completion of a career by Julia Lipnitskaya.

"Julia is a well-deserved person, everyone was sick for her, but now even Tatyana Tarasova, then telling her" well done, "takes it and presses it below the baseboard. What for?

A difficult moment for an athlete. Heavy. There was a trauma, a disease. On the contrary, you support it, it costs nothing to you. But why say that she did not skate for three years and "we have not lost anything"? You can not, you can not be so treated! You yourself are a sportswoman in the past.

Even if we now have eight figure skaters on the horizon, we can not treat this anyway! It is necessary to remember the merits of a person. Ugly it is from an adult, especially a specialist. It touched me, "- said Plushenko.

 

[FSfan107]

Wow, Plushenko has really impressed me with his comments about Julia and taking on some of those not so nice remarks.

 

[WanderlustTO]

I think this was inevitable. I hope she looks back and takes pride in her many accomplishments. Retiring young will give her a runway to transition into many other positive avenues. Hopefully she is able to use it.

 

[Marco]

My favorite program of hers is her Autumn Leaves short program.

 

[TAHbKA]

Most of the Russian articles have sounded a bit snarky to me, but it may just be translation issues, so I'm trying to withhold judgment.

It's not even 'articles', but the journalists calling Piseev, asking for a comment, Piseev commenting in his usual `lovely' manner, then a follow up with Lipnitskaya's mother and an announcement she retired 3 months ago and then every journalist has to fetch the phone numbers of whoever figure skating related they have and call them for a quote because Lipnitskaya is still a major news maker in Russian media.
I still expect a comment from Ivana Komova though.

 

[MsZem]

I think this was inevitable. I hope she looks back and takes pride in her many accomplishments. Retiring young will give her a runway to transition into many other positive avenues. Hopefully she is able to use it.

It's a very Lipinski-like career trajectory, isn't it? I hope Lipnitskaya will find the right path for herself in the long run, as Tara was able to.

 

[clairecloutier]

Happy to read Plushenko's comments. It is really too bad, the way she's being treated.

 

[lala]

Wow, Plushenko has really impressed me with his comments about Julia and taking on some of those not so nice remarks.

Yes, but he knows what he is talking about. He was attacked by the Russian media and some collegies immediately in the past if he had problems if he couldn't win or got injured. The most memorable case was Sochi . In Sochi he was the biggest hero but after his withdrawal you can't imagine how many disgusting injustices , slander, dirty things were put on him. They forgot everything!!!! what he did in FS and in Russian sport. Of course he remained one of the most popular athletes in Russia in 2014 ( 1. Plush, 2. Yulia 3. Adelina), but I can imagine what he felt in that time when he read those opinions. This is a Russian quality.

He did an offer to Yulia she can skate in his shows if she wants.( I don't believe it now) In Averbukh's shows she can't do it because their relationships. And before anybody says Plushenko needs Yulia I would tell: Plushenko's shows are very popular almost every show is full house without Yulia. He really wanted to help her wanted to give a chance. He did it with Bobrova-Solovev immediately after their ban despite to the fact there are no ice dancers in his show in normal case.

 

[Perky Shae Lynn]

I am beyond sad about this announcement.
Such an incredibly interesting skater.
Really wanted to see her growth as a skater from child to woman
God damn that Russian pez dispenser of female skaters. Otherwise she may have had time to develop.

I feel the same way. But I also think that Yulia was difficult to work with. The overwhelming hype created a sort of self-perception and pressure she couldn't handle. Perhaps if the Russians didn't have other talented girls, they would have been more patient. Perhaps not. A strong, determined personality helped Yulia achieve great things at a young age. I have a sense that the same personality (with the underlying sensitivity and self-doubt) created problems for her when she started growing up.

 

[Perky Shae Lynn]

And before anybody says Plushenko needs Yulia I would tell: Plushenko's shows are very popular almost every show is full house without Yulia. He really wanted to help her wanted to give a chance. He did it with Bobrova-Solovev immediately after their ban despite to the fact there are no ice dancers in his show in normal case.

Plushenko always rubbed me the wrong way. I didn't like his style. He came off as arrogant in his interviews. I was annoyed by his "unreasonable" longevity. I hated his programs. Now I realize what a gem this guy is. Wish I understood what sort of a person he was years ago. I would have seen his skating and his career from a different perspective. Because at the end of a day, it's all about the skater's charisma.

 

[Wyliefan]

Methinks the issue is not so much whether Julia was difficult to work with as whether the people who CONTRIBUTED TO HER EATING DISORDER were difficult to work with. Let's not lose sight of the big picture, here. Her health was at stake, and we don't know exactly how long she's been dealing with that.

 

[Sylvia]

An old interview (February 2016) with Julia was just bumped it (it escaped being archived) -- for a nostalgic read: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...i-didnt-know-how-to-go-on-with-my-life.98194/

 

[Wyliefan]

Oh, and add me to the people who have a new respect for Plushenko. He's right on the mark. Good for him.

 

[kwanfan1818]

The Navka quote was not from the same article.

The longer article below the Navka quote is attributed to (in translation):
Author: Andrey Shitikhin
Source: "Championship"

Plushenko knows what it means to be dumped on. And he's been extremely generous about supporting skaters when they are down through his shows, keeping them in the public eye and from receding into isolation. Not everyone in his position has felt a sense of responsibility or empathy.

While a return to the ice for Lipnitskaia so soon after treatment is unlikely if her health is foremost, she knows there's an offer on the table where she'd be given work that would show her at her current best, without having to worry about seven triples.

 

[Perky Shae Lynn]

Methinks the issue is not so much whether Julia was difficult to work with as whether the people who CONTRIBUTED TO HER EATING DISORDER were difficult to work with. Let's not lose sight of the big picture, here. Her health was at stake, and we don't know exactly how long she's been dealing with that.

I think it's two separate issues. Both legitimate, and both becoming significant factors in a very unfortunate situation. All we can do is speculate, but Tutberidze doesn't strike me as someone who cares about anything but winning.

 

[Wyliefan]

Perhaps, but I imagine the one issue dwarfed all the other issues. Health issues tend to do that. Especially when they're as serious as anorexia.