Are Castelli/Tran retired?
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RoseRed
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They are no longer skating together. Mervin seems to have a new partner based on IG posts. Not sure what Marissa is doing.
That’s too bad. I’m guessing this is the end of the road for her. She doesn’t seem to be skating and I can’t imagine she’s going to want to start up with yet another partner.
Sylvia
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Mervin's last name is spelled Tran (if you'd like to correct your thread title).
Marissa hasn't said anything publicly about her plans, AFAIK.
Link to the U.S. Pairs news thread in GSD where this is first mentioned: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...updates-part-viii.102846/page-17#post-5357621
Marissa hasn't said anything publicly about her plans, AFAIK.
Sorry. Typo as I’m not the best on my phone. I will update. And thank you for the redirect.
Bellanca
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Hindsight being 20/20, we're now fully aware of the obstacles C&T had to overcome to get anywhere meaningful which proved to be one too many... Also, it appears that Mervin has moved on - so it's very possible Marissa will find another partner. Only time will tell.
Good luck to both moving forward.
Good luck to both moving forward.
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aftershocks
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You should check out U.S. pairs thread more often. Also, IceTalk episode #20 has an interview with Marissa and Mervin that's interesting and revealing. It took place after 2017 U.S. Nationals. They were still very committed to their partnership at that point, but were also understandably disappointed about being overlooked for 4CCs selection and Worlds alternate that year: http://web.icenetwork.com/fans/icetalk
As a team, they gave it their all, but they had a lot to overcome. Things were not going in their direction almost from the beginning because they couldn't compete internationally for a year. Then the initial coaching set-up of trying to work in Montreal and sometimes in Boston was not the best decision. The scoring was political in their first competitions in Canada, IMHO. And then, Marissa (as she said in the IceTalk interview) found it more difficult to adjust to a new partner than she'd anticipated. It was like starting over from scratch in some ways, especially due to needing to get used to each other in competitive situations which takes time.
C/T's partner tryouts together went exceedingly well and they enjoyed skating together and were well-matched physically and temperamentally, but maybe their jump techniques were dissimilar? Marissa also did not have as varied an arsenal of throw jumps as she should have had. So they had to work on that, as well as on fixing timing problems with their sbs jumps, etc. Their technical issues were apparently either not noticed soon enough, or not addressed soon enough. And then there was also the citizenship hurdle for Mervin which takes time. So, the fact that Mervin was not eligible for the Olympics likely factored into them not getting a competitive assignment after winning the silver medal at 2017 U.S. Nationals. Of course, their unresolved technical inconsistencies did not help their cause. With all of the problems, their confidence suffered. I think the car break-in where their skates and Marissa's costume was stolen after 2018 U.S. Nationals in San Jose, was perhaps the last straw in a string of partnership misfortune.
Their split is sad because they were one of the best stylistic teams in the world with great speed and wonderful blade skills, plus a smoothness and a sexy chemistry on the ice. This is one of my favorite C/T performances:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVAqIyTNpCU
Carolla5501
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Of course there is no real info there either so it's not like you can easily find what you want between the gossip posts.
I don't think anything formal has ever been announced.
Sylvia
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Correct.
aftershocks
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^^ Nothing formal being announced does not mean C/T haven't called it quits and that Mervin is now in California training with Olivia Serafini.
I suppose a formal announcement will be made if/when U.S. figure skating gets around to it, and Merv & Olivia confirm their as yet unofficial pairing.
@aml78, I'm sorry you seemed to take offense at my suggestion to check out U.S. pairs thread. My comment wasn't meant as any kind of slap back. Thanks for posting your query about Marissa and Mervin.
I suppose a formal announcement will be made if/when U.S. figure skating gets around to it, and Merv & Olivia confirm their as yet unofficial pairing.
@aml78, I'm sorry you seemed to take offense at my suggestion to check out U.S. pairs thread. My comment wasn't meant as any kind of slap back. Thanks for posting your query about Marissa and Mervin.
