Figure skater & team retirement announcements in 2021-22

Karen-W

How long do we have to wait for GP assignments?
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I think people are overestimating US pairs :shuffle:. The teams were and are disaster prone. It’s hard to argue depth when one team had a TKO, and not their first. A semi-decent Olympics is not depth.
Eh, I thought US Pairs was in a good spot for the next quad with LuMit's progress this season, even if the three teams ahead of them called it quits this year. I do think it's a blow, in the short term, to see them split. It also doesn't help that we saw our 2nd best junior team (Martins/Bedard) also split, especially because the depth on the junior level was non-existent.

The thing is, results-wise, this season, the US was the 2nd best country in Pairs, which says a lot more about the health of the discipline internationally than it does about the strength of the US program. There wasn't any country that was even remotely competitive with the US this past season for 2nd place. I worry because there are so few men, globally, who are interested or capable of pairs.
 
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Trillian

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969
The thing is, results-wise, this season, the US was the 2nd best country in Pairs, which says a lot more about the health of the discipline internationally than it does about the strength of the US program.

Exactly this. It’s not that the US was super strong in pairs, they just had more teams getting decent results than any country besides Russia.

I worry because there are so few men, globally, who are interested or capable of pairs.

And fewer and fewer girls whose parents will let them take the risk.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again - I think pairs is dying as a discipline. There’s no country outside Russia with a robust program and I’m not sure why other countries would want to invest a ton in trying to build one.
 

Sylvia

TBD
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80,364
James/Radford just made it official:
English version :):

Also officially announced by Skate Canada - Véronik Mallet (July 7):
Her retirement post in French & English with clips from her career: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CftxfLBFk7P/

Joseph Phan (June 23):
 
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skateboy

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8,097
English version :):

Also officially announced by Skate Canada - Véronik Mallet (July 7):

Joseph Phan (June 23):
Seems like the right time for Vanessa and Eric. Wishing them well as they move forward.

Sorry to hear that Joseph Phan is retiring, I've always liked him.
 

jlai

Question everything
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13,789
I would have thought Plab
Seems like the right time for Vanessa and Eric. Wishing them well as they move forward.

Sorry to hear that Joseph Phan is retiring, I've always liked him.
I would have thought he would stay for the next quad considering the opportunities at the top. But good for him wherever he is going to do
 

Dobre

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17,117
Thinking about the first time I saw Vanessa, warming up by walking on her hands in the concourse at IceSheffield.

It’s been a long road.
It has been. I was saying last season that she would have been the right one to skate to A Long and Winding Road. So many unexpected twists & turns in her career. Kudos to Vanessa for an amazing career & for sticking with it to fulfill her dreams & all that promise. First time I saw her was the 2009 Worlds, and you could see the skills then. Kudos to Eric as well for a very successful career in the sport.
 

Karen-W

How long do we have to wait for GP assignments?
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Kaliszek/Spodyriev announced their retirement this afternoon -


Google translation -
Dear!

For many years, July was a time for us to come back to the ice and a period of preparation for the next season to begin. It was a "new" time for us, a time in which we made plans for the next competitions, we choreographed new programs.

This July is also associated with something "new" and a change that will be of great importance in our future lives.

After 8 years together, we decided that the last Olympic season was our last.

We both decided to end our career as pair dance players.

We would like to thank all of you for many years of support which led us to compete in the Olympic Games twice! It is a great honor and happiness for us that we could represent our country and our fans at such wonderful events!

The greatest thanks go to our trainer Sylwia Nowak Trębacka, thanks to whom all this could have happened and whose knowledge and experience have allowed us to develop and gain success for many years.

We would also like to thank our sponsor, Grupa LOTOS, for invaluable support in this beautiful and difficult journey.

We would like to thank the institutions that support us: Mentor S.A., Mentor Foundation, Ministry of Sport and Tourism, Polish Olympic Committee, Polish Figure Skating Association, as well as My Toruń and Kujawsko-Pomorskie. It is proud to represent your country and region.

Our lives will forever be associated with skating, so we do not say goodbye and say "goodbye", while keeping our fingers crossed for our friends who are just starting to prepare for the next exciting season!
 

Aceon6

Wrangling the duvet into the cover
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29,879
For those of us who have been waiting for KalSpo to exit…
 

Sylvia

TBD
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80,364
Re-posting here from the Italian news thread:
Carolina Moscheni retires. Her announcement makes me think Fioretti also retired as she use the "we" in the last part ("As we decided to put a closure to our competitive career and we look to the start of another cycle,we can’t wait to host the next winter Olympic games in our country and we will be helping develop the future of figure skating sharing our passion for it and supporting our mates.")
Link to Moscheni's post yesterday: https://www.instagram.com/p/CgGweFrIfi6/
Her wiki page (she also represented Hungary as well as Italy): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_Moscheni
 

Carolla5501

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7,134
Hanyu holding a press conference tomorrow.

He was a great skater, but unless he’s going to give up the quad axle it’s time to move on. He’s not the skater he was and it’s not because of a lack of talent it’s because of to much focus on one element in my opinion. But I doubt he cares what I think😂

considering how crazy his fans are, if he retires I seriously worry for the mental health of some of his fans
 

Rukia

A Southern, hot-blooded temperamental individual
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I adore Hanyu's skating, but I do think he also hasn't been the same skater since this last injury. Not that he doesn't have moments of sheer brilliance still, but everything just seems to be a bit more work now. At any rate I hope whatever decision he makes is based on his own terms. I'm sure he could make morbillions doing his own shows around the world.
 

MacMadame

Doing all the things
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58,556
Hanyu holding a press conference tomorrow.

They included this comment:

Hanyu is followed by legions of diehard fans known for throwing Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals onto the ice after his performances.
Gave me a chuckle at the start of what is bound to be a trying week.
 

Sylvia

TBD
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80,364
Hanyu holding a press conference tomorrow.
I went ahead and created a thread with Nikkan Sports' Hanyu article:
 
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Sylvia

TBD
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80,364
ICYMI last Friday (Aug. 5), Evelyn Walsh suddenly announced her retirement "earlier than I envisioned" and will continue her university studies (Trennt Michaud plans to continue) - press release is linked in post #22 of the Canadian Pairs news thread: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...n-pairs-news-and-updates.109757/#post-6281443

Philippines' Alisson Krystle Perticheto posted a retirement message earlier today that includes a video of her 2019 Southeast Asian [SEA] Games short program (she won the silver medal): https://www.instagram.com/p/ChHjp6ajYlT/
✨An end of a chapter✨
Thank you to @philippineskating for all the support during these years and also to my coaches, family, friends and skating fans for being on this rollercoaster of a journey with me. I’m very thankful and proud of what I’ve accomplished during my competitive career and how I’ve got the chance to help my country evolve in this sport. I wish all the best for my teammates who are still competing and doing their best for the Philippines! As some of you may know already I’ll be continuing sharing my passion through coaching. I am so excited for what’s coming next. Skating has been and will always remain a huge part of my life.
With love,
-Ali
The Philippine Skating Union's post preceded hers: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChE60lSrvP2/
After a colorful competitive career, Alisson is now sharing her passion through coaching, and intends to become a future technical specialist.
This support is awarded by the ISU Development Commission to assist retired elite level skaters transition to a coaching career or be future officials.
Congratulations, Alisson! On to the next chapter of skating. 🇵🇭
Her ISU bio (her international career spanned from a 2012 JGP to 2020 4CC): http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00013053.htm
 

Sylvia

TBD
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80,364
Alexandra Nazarova announces just now that she and Max Nikitin (UKR) have decided to retire (why their names were crossed out from their 2 Grand Prix assignments yesterday): https://www.instagram.com/p/ChMpDaLo9xr/
In English:
Max and I worked together for almost 20 years! Those were great times. There were many funny moments, many times it was hard and even painful! But all these 20 years have all been the best! We have always performed in the first place for the audience. We always wanted to show you new elements, and we always tried to make our programs fun and interesting! We are very grateful to everyone who has been with us on this long journey. And thanks to all those who supported and helped us! For such a long time, there were a lot of these people . And a big thank you to all the fans. We wouldn't be able to do anything without you. We have decided to end our sports career. But we do not want to finish with figure skating! We really want to continue to work and please you, but not as athletes!
ETA that Nikitin has posted the same message on his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChMpJ0rIzrm/

Their ISU bio: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00012757.htm
 
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barbarafan

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5,306
Alexandra Nazarova announces just now that she and Max Nikitin (UKR) have decided to retire (why their names were crossed out from their 2 Grand Prix assignments yesterday): https://www.instagram.com/p/ChMpDaLo9xr/
In English:

ETA that Nikitin has posted the same message on his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChMpJ0rIzrm/

Their ISU bio: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00012757.htm
My heart is breaking for the loss of one of my very favourite dance teams who I have followed since I first played back their performance in their early JGP days. I first looked for the Cdn Team & after looking at them and thinking they had skated amazing but did not make the podium I wanted to check out who beat them & I found N/N who did make podium but not gold and I was hooked. Their programs are outside the box and their character performance makes me glued to their every move. This is a huge loss to the figure skating world (and of course for Ukraine) but I know they will be using their voices and their skates from the other side of the boards to make this shit assed world a better place.
 

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