Gracie Gold set to return

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The lyrics of this song are a little too close to home IMO. They remind me of Mirai's The Winner Takes It All, which she never skated the way she wanted to. But if Jeremy is right and Gracie's not focusing on results this season, all will be well. I just hope she experiences all the positives of this event, no matter how it goes: she's competing again, she's doing triples again, she's working on her artistry, she's moving forward, and she's doing it her way. That's plenty of victory for step one of her comeback!
 
Spun Silver said:
The lyrics of this song are a little too close to home IMO. They remind me of Mirai's The Winner Takes It All, which she never skated the way she wanted to.
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I actually think that will work better for Gracie in terms of connecting to the music and having that translate to her performance. WTIA didn't do that for Mirai--but then again I never really felt as if that song was reflective of her and her journey. For Gracie though, this song really speaks to her struggles. If she can tap into that and use it to fuel her performance, this could be a really beautiful program for her.

Kudos to Jeremy on the choreography and music choices. We haven't seen either program with the elements other than the footwork, but just based on the choreography and composition alone I'd say these will be two of Gracie's strongest programs. I really like the movement and feel of her SP. Very different look for her but I think she'll pull it off well. FS too. I love Lori with certain skaters but I never felt her style matched Gracie's...like, at all. It will be nice to have Gracie work with different choreographers and see what they can bring out of her.

I'm not expecting much on the jumps but if Gracie can at least perform the program well even if the jumps aren't working, I think that will resonate with the judges and audience (though probably not the Russian audience; we know they are some of the least supportive audiences in the skating world:cautious:).

Best luck to Gracie!
 
essence_of_soy said:
A tough but courageous skate for Gracie. Just being out there again and feeling what it is like to compete is the most important thing at this stage.
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This is how I see it, too.

This tweet by Carly made me :cry: and :love:
My sister is the bravest person I know. First competition in nearly two years, at a Grand Prix no less. Onwards and upwards from here
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I kind of get it....

A) she was assigned this back in the summer, when conceivably she could be in shape by now

B) she clearly wasn't ready to compete *before* now, so doing another comp wouldn't have helped her much, and it only would have revealed that she is not in shape for CoR, making the criticism worse.

C) this comp conflicts perfectly with Sectionals, so in theory its the best assignment to have without taking away another US skater's spot. Assuming the FS is about on the same level, she would not make it out of any Sectional at this point

I am reminded of people who say they want to get in shape before they start going to the gym, or that they can't dance and so they won't go to a beginner dance class...you just cannot succeed with this mentality. You have to jump in. Is Cup of Russia the absolute best place to make a debut with only doubles after years off? Of course not. But I think she knows this and the options otherwise weren't great either. I don't foresee a top 15 finish at Nationals at this rate, but whatever. She knows that I'm sure.
 
Gracie is a grown A$$ woman whom was well aware of the risks of appearing here. I'm sure she knew what to expect of herself in terms of what she'd be capable of and also what affect the nerves would have on her.. She wouldn't be here if she didn't want to be here.. I'm sure she will be fine and only move on up from this experience.
 
The most important thing is that whatever her skating results and/or ability, she doesn't let those negatively impact her mental health and she keeps healing and growing in that respect. I've wondered (and worried) about her decision, because I know when I was in a similar position, I was not able to compartmentalize. But Gracie isn't me. I hope she is stronger than I was.

And considering the last time Gracie skated in public, she wasn't even attempting to rotate triples, this really can be seen as an improvement.

Best of luck to her as she moves forward.
 
Rafter said:
Yikes. She is clearly not competition ready. I’m surprised her coaches and the USFSA thought it was a good idea to send her to a GP.
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Only way for her to get to Nationals I guess, she probably wouldn't qualify through Regionals/Sectionals with this type of skate. The triple flip looked rotated so that is a positive?
 
Rafter said:
Yikes. She is clearly not competition ready. I’m surprised her coaches and the USFSA thought it was a good idea to send her to a GP.
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I think that they were just trying to get her to Nationals. This was easier than making her do Regionals & Sectionals...she would have to place top 4 in her Regionals, then top 4 in Sectionals. I hope that she is happy with herself and gets motivated to skate a great LP tomorrow in Moscow...then CELEBRATE whatever her final placement with a great beef stroganoff at a fine restaurant! 🌺
 
Um, wow. Being realistic, she is obviously in good enough shape to attempt triples, which is way above average shape. But I do not think her natural body type is meant for competitive skating anymore. Some people are lucky to have a body that is naturally ideal for their sport of choice. Starving yourself to get to an ideal is not the answer so I am glad to see her back as Gracie Gold the adult. She is fit, otherwise she wouldn't be out there. I am afraid to say that competitive skating is probably not the sport/activity she should pursue. As long as she is doing this for personal enjoyment, I will still support her and wish her well. She can skate better than probably 99.99% of the population and has wonderful skating skills. So she is a winner in my book. I just wonder how much enjoyment she can derive from performing in competitions.
 
FSUers who saw the interview that was posted about a month ago and then pulled will have heard Gracie discuss the pressure and challenge of always trying to be perfect. To me, her ability to put herself on the ice at CoR knowing that she didn't stand a prayer of being perfect seems like an enormous step forward and consistent with some therapy techniques that encourage people to live out their worst fears. For that reason, I think this experience will precipitate a significant breakthrough for her in some way shape or form.

We don't expect athletes with physical injuries to return to the sport in perfect shape; I don't know why we would have higher expectations for an athlete who has been suffering from mental injuries. She will improve from here, or not, but she will certainly grow as a person. Onward and upward, Gracie.
 
That shit took guts!!!!

She knew that given her physical condition , and being in Russia of all places , this was going to be heavily scrutinized. The practices were ROUGH , and this performance was more of the same. I cannot believe she’s even doing triples and after watching her free skate from the Sochi Team Event yesterday, this was a different person. I won’t ask stupid stuff like “ why didn’t she just wait a year” because there’s a reason why. Nobody knows what she’s up against financially and otherwise but she’s at a high level of competition arguably not even halfway to where she need to be.

This was ghastly honestly but my biggest worry is how this will impact her in the long run. I pray Vincent takes her phone and smart devices because the comments aren’t nice, especially pertaining to her body image. One could say “ well, she knew what she was up against “ but one cannot say why on earth she was out there. Also, she is fully able to do what she did , meaning, if she wanted to go out there untrained etc. that’s her decision. I just hope it won’t traumatize her more.

Wow...
 
By having the courage to step on the ice today and skate her program, regardless mistakes, I think Gracie can help so many. People who struggle see that it's possible to find yourself again, throw yourself into deep water, don't be afraid and just go for it!
 
arakwafan2006 said:
That shit took guts!!!!

She knew that given her physical condition , and being in Russia of all places , this was going to be heavily scrutinized. The practices were ROUGH , and this performance was more of the same. I cannot believe she’s even doing triples and after watching her free skate from the Sochi Team Event yesterday, this was a different person. I won’t ask stupid stuff like “ why didn’t she just wait a year” because there’s a reason why. Nobody knows what she’s up against financially and otherwise but she’s at a high level of competition arguably not even halfway to where she need to be.

This was ghastly honestly but my biggest worry is how this will impact her in the long run. I pray Vincent takes her phone and smart devices because the comments aren’t nice, especially pertaining to her body image. One could say “ well, she knew what she was up against “ but one cannot say why on earth she was out there. Also, she is fully able to do what she did , meaning, if she wanted to go out there untrained etc. that’s her decision. I just hope it won’t traumatize her more.

Wow...
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ITA...and I sincerely hope that Gracie not give up this competition. I know that legions of her fans want to see that gorgeous LP that she has prepared for us, of which we got just a taste test in practice. YES, SHE CAN! 🎺 🥁 🎉
 
BittyBug said:
We don't expect athletes with physical injuries to return to the sport in perfect shape; I don't know why we would have higher expectations for an athlete who has been suffering from mental injuries. She will improve from here, or not, but she will certainly grow as a person.
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This x 1000. I suspect the reason is there is still a large portion of the population who think that mental injures are not real.

arakwafan2006 said:
if she wanted to go out there untrained etc. that’s her decision.
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Gracie is NOT untrained. Has she got all her jumps back, no. But that does not mean she is untrained. She is returning from a very major injury. It will take time.
 
mag said:
This x 1000. I suspect the reason is there is still a large portion of the population who think that mental injures are not real.



Gracie is NOT untrained. Has she got all her jumps back, no. But that does not mean she is untrained. She is returning from a very major injury. It will take time.
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The LP skate order is up & Gracie skates first. Gp 1 warm-up begins at 11:22am eastern. Tune in to cheer for Gracie and, in the bigger scheme, for the power of perseverance and the will to survive. This won’t be about “The Podium.”
 
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arakwafan2006 said:
Dave Lease and Jonathan ... I’m telling you now, you better not shame her on Sunday’s show!!! Chose your words wisely...
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I don't think they will... they might do some USFS shaming though.

I am really torn. On one hand I agree with the "she can do what she wants" comments, but also feel that there is a bigger picture. And frankly I think there were more deserving skaters of this GP spot and wish things had unfolded a bit differently.

I wish USFS had a better system of granting byes. Im ok with Gracie getting a bye. I feel like sectionals should be for up and coming skaters who dream of going to nationals and see little benefit to sending someone like Gracie... just give her a bye and give some other 4 girls a chance. But sadly this Russian GP was her best formal option for a bye.

Honestly they should have just promised her Inge Solar behind closed doors and kept their promise. While Gracie is not "back" her score here would have been enough to get her in the second group at least at Inge, so I feel like that might have been a more appropriate place for her comeback. I certainly can understand Gracie wanting to comeback to the GP, but we can't always get what we want and in this case I think a Challenger would have been more appropriate both for Grace and for someone else getting the spot.

That being said. She did not look as devastated at the end as I have seen in the past. She looked frustrated and upset, but not like she just got a terminal cancer diagnosis. She was upset by her score, but actually I think her reaction was kinda healthy. Upset, but controlled and rational. So I still hope that this can be a stepping stone for her to better things. I might have done things differently, but I still hope things work out for the best this way. I hope her fire to keep going and comeback is still burning strong.
 
arakwafan2006 said:
Dave Lease and Jonathan ... I’m telling you now, you better not shame her on Sunday’s show!!! Chose your words wisely...
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They have been pretty decent about her and her health. They have questioned stepping in at a Grand Prix event, and I think they were spot on about that.

It was pretty painful to watch her reaction to the program set in.
 
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