For every one medal winner, there are 100 broken dreams. Ilia Klimkin's is just one of those stories.
A fellow member shared this article with me:
I was moved to tears as I read it. Ilia Klimkin was one of my favorite skaters. I followed his career closely in the late 1990's/early 2000's. Then he suddenly disappeared from the sport. I never knew why. All I ever heard were vague reports of an injury.
The article has finally filled in the missing pieces of his story. The article was harrowing and difficult to read, but ultimately a tribute to Ilia Klimkin's indomitable spirit and a tribute to many other skaters like him who were broken by the Figure Skating Machine but who survived to tell their stories and keep contributing off the ice.
A fellow member shared this article with me:
Ilia Klimkin, The greatest Russian figure skater that never was (Part I) | Frozen in Time
In the wild spectacle of elite sports, stars ascend quickly, shine brightly and fall down in an instant if they are not able to win big during the narrow window when their physical abilities are at…
frozenintime.tk
I was moved to tears as I read it. Ilia Klimkin was one of my favorite skaters. I followed his career closely in the late 1990's/early 2000's. Then he suddenly disappeared from the sport. I never knew why. All I ever heard were vague reports of an injury.
The article has finally filled in the missing pieces of his story. The article was harrowing and difficult to read, but ultimately a tribute to Ilia Klimkin's indomitable spirit and a tribute to many other skaters like him who were broken by the Figure Skating Machine but who survived to tell their stories and keep contributing off the ice.