Interview with Irina Slutskaya [post-Beijing]

[Anjelica]

Really? You don’t remember her exquisite layback? Probably third after Angela and Sasha?

You don’t remember nothing about her Olympic program? The only skater to do two triple triples in the free program. I’ll just leave it at that

Strange the people that save the stuff about Sarah Hughes. She rocked that Olympics and if u ask me was the gold winner by miles miles miles and miles.

Oh yes! Sarah definitely was the gold medal winner without a doubt that day. She was flawless, I was there to see her do it in person and she was beautiful. She pulled it off when it mattered.

 

[gkelly]

No I don't think there were any limits on number of combinations that could be done - it only became an issue under IJS where you could theoretically just built points adding numerous 2T/2T to every jump just to build points.

There was a limit of no more than 3 combinations/sequences introduced in the mid/late-1990s. None before that.

And the definition of sequences was much vaguer.

 

[Skibean]

So whatever did happen to Sarah Hughes? It’s like nobody even talks about her.

 

[kwanfan1818]

I don't thing Hughes was perfection, but she pretty much did everything she could do to the best of her ability: how many skaters can can say they did that the Olympics? Being relaxed allowed her to be an unreservedly fierce competitor. No one expected her to hold onto first place, so she had that less-than-an-hour to be appreciated for it.

I also really liked the new section that Wagner had her work on between Nationals and the Olympics: it gave her something to focus on instead of dwelling on a disappointing (for her) Nationals.

 

[bardtoob]

Sarah Hughes Olympic long program rocked; she nailed everything, she looked calm, confident and like she was enjoying herself unlike everyone else who was stressed out to the max. She was perfection that day and definitely deserved the gold medal that she won IMO.

Fumie Suguri looked better than Sarah is both phases

 

[livetoskate]

So whatever did happen to Sarah Hughes? It’s like nobody even talks about her.

She went to Yale law school and works for a big law firm in NYC. Her father was partner at a big law firm in NY in the past. I don't think she's married. Her sister Emily got married years ago & might still be working for Google in Silicon Valley.

 

[VGThuy]

She went to Yale law school and works for a big law firm in NYC. Her father was partner at a big law firm in NY in the past. I don't think she's married. Her sister Emily got married years ago & might still be working for Google in Silicon Valley.

One tiny correction, she went to Yale undergrad but UPenn for law school.

Here's her bio from Proskauer Rose, a prestigious big law firm:

Sarah E. Hughes - Professionals - Proskauer Rose LLP

Sarah Hughes is an associate in the Corporate Department and a member of the Private Equity and Mergers & Acquisitions Groups. Sarah counsels clients in connection in both domestic and cross-border buyouts, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and recapitalizations. She has r...

www.proskauer.com

 

[kwanette]

I felt like Sarah's parents discouraged her from following her star. It wouldn't have hurt her Ivy League chances to tour for a few years and then go to school later. That's what Sasha Cohen and Timothy Goebel had done- both attended Columbia. Tim also has a great career as well. It's not clear if Sasha is still working or a full time mom, but she also had a job at MOrgan Stanley.

Anyone can be an attorney but very few people can headline Stars on Ice and have a marquee professional careet.

Then Sarah made the wise choice to eventually go to law school..Did you attend the 2005 SOI?

 

[CantALoop]

No I don't think there were any limits on number of combinations that could be done - it only became an issue under IJS where you could theoretically just built points adding numerous 2T/2T to every jump just to build points.

There was a period in the late 80s/early 90s where a lot of singles programmes had a jump sequences at the end which were always fun to see, by the time we were getting to mid 90s some skaters like Urmanov were doing sequences beginning and ending with triples and that was really good to see too.

There was a limit of no more than 3 combinations/sequences introduced in the mid/late-1990s. None before that.

And the definition of sequences was much vaguer.

Imagine if the ISU allowed it so that one of the combinations could have unlimited jumps (but with appropriate deductions/calls for underrotations, etc). It'd be a trainwreck at first, but a lot more interesting than the janky Euler combos we've been seeing this past quad.

 

[bardtoob]

Here's her bio from Proskauer Rose, a prestigious big law firm:

Now this, about Sarah, is admirable.

Fortunately for her, I think, because her dad is a lawyer, she knew what she was getting into. I have seen these people in action first hand, and it requires a lot of mental stamina in a subject I find rather dry. (I'd rather run the numbers than parse words.)

 

[kwanette]

Now this, about Sarah, is admirable.

Fortunately for her, I think, because her dad is a lawyer, she knew what she was getting into. I have seen these people in action first hand, and it requires a lot of mental stamina in a subject I find rather dry. (I'd rather run the numbers than parse words.)

Her dad WAS a lawyer. He passed away..

 

[bardtoob]

Her dad WAS a lawyer. He passed away..

I am sorry to hear that.

On the other hand, I am glad I am not up in her business enough to know that.

 

[Sparks]

I saw the news of his passing. It is common knowledge

 

[Fadeevfanboy]

That's the second half of the mess. I agree Hughes was way overmarked in the short . I also think Irina probably should have won the short, but I've heard people argue that Slutskaya should have finished as low as fourth in the free skate. She was uncharacteristically slow and her choreography was very barren even in comparison to Kwan's Schehereazade.

For me, this is one of those weird situations where nobody was robbed , but nobody decisively deserved to win. Everyone was just so mediocre.

Trying to figure out the right results of that competition is a hot mess. There is even a case someone like Suguri should have medaled, but that isn't clear by any means either.

 

[Anjelica]

Fumie Suguri looked better than Sarah is both phases

Fumie was also awesome!

 

[Excidra]

I remember that Sarah, at one point, was dating Rudy Giuliani's son. I wonder if she is a conservative.

 

[Kimkeb]

Hughes has always been hard to figure out for me. On paper, she had great qualities to her skating. Better spins than most of her competitors outside of Cohen, good enough spirals (especially looking at the IJS period in comparison), full choreography, pretty good flexibility (not Cohen level but better than most competitors), decent skating skills, and ambitious jumping passes (especially in 6.0 late 90s-early 2000s).

And yet, when you watch her...it just doesn't come together the way it should as she sounds on paper. It's not just the UR jumps or major flutz (both of those were so egregious that people were commenting on those aspects even in the 6.0 period), but her overall way of moving. There was a sort of clumsy, uncoordinated aspect to her skating and though her choreography was full, there was always a sort of haphazard quality to her Robin Wagner choreography that felt a bit amateur despite all the moves-in-the-field she was doing that really did affect the overall picture. Even though her Olympic performance was excellent and set the arena on fire, most fans still felt it was beatable by at least two of the three skaters who were ahead of her after the SP (Cohen is debatable) until nobody stepped up to beat it. I bet you most people on FSU think Irina's or Michelle's 6-triple non-3/3 but no fall/no mistake performances at Worlds (and in Kwan's case at Nationals too) could have still beaten Hughes' Olympic skate.

Personally, I think Michelle Kwan is one of the greatest figure skaters of all time who did not win an OG. I also think she was artistically amazing and could make you feel during her programs. Sarah Hughes never had that same effect on me. Sarah had a great skate on a day when it counted the most and that is great but otherwise is pretty forgettable. It also didn’t help that she sort of removed herself from skating to pursue school and did not have the career or longevity of the other skaters.

 

[PRlady]

Personally, I think Michelle Kwan is one of the greatest figure skaters of all time who did not win an OG. I also think she was artistically amazing and could make you feel during her programs. Sarah Hughes never had that same effect on me. Sarah had a great skate on a day when it counted the most and that is great but otherwise is pretty forgettable. It also didn’t help that she sort of removed herself from skating to pursue school and did not have the career or longevity of the other skaters.

Sarah was fighting a body that didn't want to stay in skating shape (and I completely empathize.) Someone like Sasha who barely changed in puberty didn't have to cope with that one particular issue, others (like Alex Aldridge, for example) accepted the choice. I'm glad Sarah had other options for her life, all skaters should be so lucky.

 

[Maximillian]

I remember that Sarah, at one point, was dating Rudy Giuliani's son. I wonder if she is a conservative.

And so what if she is...

 

[Coco]

Sarah went to four World Championships over 5 seasons, so an impressive career by most standards. She just did most of this in the shadow of Michelle and Sasha.

 

[attyfan]

I remember that Sarah, at one point, was dating Rudy Giuliani's son. I wonder if she is a conservative.

IMO, that Sarah once dated a conservative's son is not a reliable indicator of her current political opinions. After all, IIRC, Michelle Kwan also once dated a conservative's son, but not too many conservatives worked on political campaigns for Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden. Further, when Sarah was dating,Guiliani was still a respected former mayor, not the sanctioned mouthpiece for the Mango Mussolini.

 

[olympic]

FWIW, Giuliani’s daughter is pretty liberal, so I don’t think we can really know anything about his son just based on who his father is

 

[kwanfan1818]

And Michelle Kwan dated the son of an ultra conservative.

 

[dewey]

FWIW, Giuliani’s daughter is pretty liberal, so I don’t think we can really know anything about his son just based on who his father is

I remember reading on this board at the time that the son was estranged from his father and sided with his mother during the divorce.

 

[Sparks]

True. He was a teenager when that happened. Times have changed

 

[eurodance2001]

I remember that Sarah, at one point, was dating Rudy Giuliani's son. I wonder if she is a conservative.

Well, she did attend 2018 Olympics as part of the Presidential delegation.. and we all know whom was Pres. in 2018 so we can just leave it there..

Sarah Hughes L’18, Olympic Gold Medalist, to attend Olympic Opening Ceremony in PyeongChang

Penn Law student Sarah Hughes L’18 has been named to the Presidential Delegation to attend the Opening Ceremony of this year’s Winter Olympics in PyeongC...

www.law.upenn.edu

 

[eurodance2001]

Trying to figure out the right results of that competition is a hot mess. There is even a case someone like Suguri should have medaled, but that isn't clear by any means either.

Exactly.. I posted ordinals on page 2 of the SP and the judges couldn't decide either as they were all over the place.. majority of judges had Sarah 5th or lower yet she winded up 4th.. it was a mess

 

[Vagabond]

I have no idea what Sarah Hughes' political views are or were when she was younger, nor do I much care.

As for Andrew Giuliani, his Wikipedia page indicates that he has played gold with Donald Trump since he was a teen, worked in the Trump administration, and is currently running for the Republican nomination for Governor of New York. Where does he stand on the issues, you may ask?

Andrew Giuliani on the Issues

ontheissues.org

Kneeling during anthem is a war on our police. (May 2021)
I'm a politician out of the womb; it's in my DNA. (May 2021)
Trump a father figure, helped him during parents' divorce. (May 2021)
As 7-year-old, upstaged father's inaugural address as mayor. (May 2021)
Roll back increased taxes on corporations, wealthy.

This apparently makes him a "Moderate."

 

[allezfred]

Hughes had the performance of her career in the free at Salt Lake and deserved her gold medal if we are basing it on the free alone. However, there is a strong argument that she should have been lower than fourth place after the short.

 

[kwanette]

I am sorry to hear that.

On the other hand, I am glad I am not up in her business enough to know that.

Up in her business? It was posted here on August 20, 2020..