Kaetlyn Osmond retires from competition

One thing I liked which showed at Pyongchang and worlds is her genuine surprise when she got a big score. Big smile and disbelieving look at Ravi. Particularly at Worlds when the expected leaders fell by the wayside. In the arena interview she shook her head in absolute disbelief. Said she had no expectations of winning.

it's an amazing story. Coming back from so many injuries. I'm American but will definitely be missing her.
 
Good for her. I fully support this move on her part.

This is a wonderful situation for her - she's had a fantastic skating career that she will carry with her for her entire life (with a country that is grateful to her) and is now pivoting to her new beginning while in her early 20s. A perfect scenario for Kaetlyn.

I'm always happy to see skaters go on to Great. New. Things - but I'm particularly thrilled when I see them make the move in their early 20s...these kids give up so much with their training when they're young...I think it's very healthy when they move into post-adolescence with a clean slate and the world at their feet.
 
To bad Osmond has decided to hang up the skating boots. It doesn't feel like she was around for very long because of all of the injuries that plagued her from 2013-15. In fact she only competed in eight GP events because of all the injuries.
 
essence_of_soy said:
Her repertoire of short programs were iconic, too.
Click to expand...

Totally agree! I've been going down memory lane on youtube a bit and just for fun, a list of KO's greatest short program hits:

1) Baby KO in 2012, bursting through the triple/triple-less door of the Phaneuf-Lacoste era, winning the SP at her first senior nationals
https://youtu.be/b6He7VoOye8?t=53

2) Mambo 2013. Casually knocking it out of the park at her first worlds, in her home country, with the pressure of olympics spots on line. Finished 4th in the SP, despite being fairly unknown and skating very early in a large group. Also, the improvement from 2012 to 2013 is :eek:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4ZTh-gTIUY

3) Sweet Charity 2014. Coming through for the team in Sochi, and coming back from a tough fall season filled with injury.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cqjZPayKZo

4)La Vie En Rose 2016. Never skated quite to it's potential, but showcased the polish she'd attained during the time off to heal her leg.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7iSuGEqSxg
*The first 30 seconds of this version are glorious...may want to turn away after that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzPI7E_rj8k

5) Edith Piaf 2017. The program that really elevated her career. Perfectly suited to her, and IMO clearly the strongest SP in the world in 2017 and 2018. I still get :angryfire thinking of how she lost to Medvedeva (and then Zagitova) every time out with this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu_TdQAINfc

6) A Piaf encore in 2018. Perhaps saving her very best for the most important time, at the olympics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtA8QVZgT1I
That link might not work outside of Canada, so 2017 SCI is a good substitute :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRbV_MUmkuk

Quite an impressive list :encore:
 
honey said:
4)La Vie En Rose 2016. Never skated quite to it's potential, but showcased the polish she'd attained during the time off to heal her leg.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7iSuGEqSxg

6) A Piaf encore in 2018. Perhaps saving her very best for the most important time, at the olympics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtA8QVZgT1I
That link might not work outside of Canada, so 2017 SCI is a good substitute :)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRbV_MUmkuk
Click to expand...

Quintessential Kaetlyn!

Always so vivacious, with a ready sparkle in her eye. :)
 
honey said:
Totally agree! I've been going down memory lane on youtube a bit and just for fun, a list of KO's greatest short program hits:

1) Baby KO in 2012, bursting through the triple/triple-less door of the Phaneuf-Lacoste era, winning the SP at her first senior nationals
https://youtu.be/b6He7VoOye8?t=53

2) Mambo 2013. Casually knocking it out of the park at her first worlds, in her home country, with the pressure of olympics spots on line. Finished 4th in the SP, despite being fairly unknown and skating very early in a large group. Also, the improvement from 2012 to 2013 is :eek:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4ZTh-gTIUY

3) Sweet Charity 2014. Coming through for the team in Sochi, and coming back from a tough fall season filled with injury.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cqjZPayKZo

4)La Vie En Rose 2016. Never skated quite to it's potential, but showcased the polish she'd attained during the time off to heal her leg.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7iSuGEqSxg
*The first 30 seconds of this version are glorious...may want to turn away after that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzPI7E_rj8k

5) Edith Piaf 2017. The program that really elevated her career. Perfectly suited to her, and IMO clearly the strongest SP in the world in 2017 and 2018. I still get :angryfire thinking of how she lost to Medvedeva (and then Zagitova) every time out with this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu_TdQAINfc

6) A Piaf encore in 2018. Perhaps saving her very best for the most important time, at the olympics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtA8QVZgT1I
That link might not work outside of Canada, so 2017 SCI is a good substitute :)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRbV_MUmkuk

Quite an impressive list :encore:
Click to expand...


What a beautiful tribute to the body of her skating career, honey. Such growth in maturity in skating skills, her edges, speed, quality, confidence and delivery over the course of the years, not to mention those great memories...thank you! :respec::respec::respec:
 
Last edited:
aml78 said:
Kaetlyn launched her website. Kaetlynosmond.com. Her blogs are worth reading. She reveals some of her personal challenges. It’s very eye opening to know what she’s been going through this year.
Click to expand...

Those entries break my heart a bit. I hope she can find peace and happiness from skating again, because it doesn't sound like it's been there for a while. I admire her honesty and willingness to put thoughts like this out for everyone to see.
 
honey said:
Those entries break my heart a bit. I hope she can find peace and happiness from skating again, because it doesn't sound like it's been there for a while. I admire her honesty and willingness to put thoughts like this out for everyone to see.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I had no idea she was going through this. I thought she was living it up this year. But seems that wasn’t entirely the case.
 
Athletic dedicate their lives to their chosen sport, it must be exhausting and even they get burned out. The constant pressure and scrutiny would take a toll on anyone. Kudos to her for being open about this. I also love pictures and her pets. Fur babies can be very therapeutic
 
Flora said:
Oh wow. I'm totally shocked. She's always come across as a very happy person. Social media can be so horrible and I hope she stays away. I hope she gets the support and help that she needs.
Click to expand...

One of the worst things that people often say is "What do you have to be depressed about?".
Considering the pressure athletes face especially at the Olympics, it's completely understandable that they can go into a dark place. I remember Sale/Pelletier saying that before they left for Salt Lake City, no matter where they went, people would tell them "Bring home the Gold" and similar comments. That must weigh on these athletes after a while.
 
Flora said:
Oh wow. I'm totally shocked. She's always come across as a very happy person. Social media can be so horrible and I hope she stays away. I hope she gets the support and help that she needs.
Click to expand...

Also on FSU there were people writing that Kaetlyn only won because the others fell which, if she read that, would contribute to her feelings. Makes me more aware that I need to be sensitive about all skaters, even those I don't care for, in case they read my posts. I'm quite worried about Gabrielle Daleman right now too.
 
I read one of the entries - such a shame what we do to ourselves. One thing I know is that many people have trouble with the success of others. The expressions - "it's lonely at the top" and "It's not enough I succeed. My friends have to fail" - aren't there for no reason.

When you are ultra-successful it can be difficult to return to a normal life. Nothing is likely to give the kick of a world or Olympic medal.

I wish Kaetlyn the best. I LIKE her womanly shape; sick of little sticks getting medals.
 
bbkenn said:
Also on FSU there were people writing that Kaetlyn only won because the others fell which, if she read that, would contribute to her feelings. Makes me more aware that I need to be sensitive about all skaters, even those I don't care for, in case they read my posts. I'm quite worried about Gabrielle Daleman right now too.
Click to expand...

Saying a skater only won because others faltered smacks of sour grapes. She delivered her performances when she needed to whereas Costner and Zagitova did not. That's not luck, she earned her World Title. I remember how much people were fretting over her lack of consistency during the 2017-18 GPS. She was a late season skater. Skaters aren't robots.

One line that comes to mind is from the made-for-TV movie "Blades of Courage". In one scene, the main character is confiding in her old coach why she quit skating and tearfully said she feels like she doesn't matter to anyone. Her former coach says "They love gift but not the gifted one". That seems to sum it up.

SkateFanBerlin said:
I read one of the entries - such a shame what we do to ourselves. One thing I know is that many people have trouble with the success of others. The expressions - "it's lonely at the top" and "It's not enough I succeed. My friends have to fail" - aren't there for no reason.

When you are ultra-successful it can be difficult to return to a normal life. Nothing is likely to give the kick of a world or Olympic medal.

I wish Kaetlyn the best. I LIKE her womanly shape; sick of little sticks getting medals.
Click to expand...

Another expression is "Heavy is the head that wears the crown".

I agree about Kaetlyn's physique. She's toned and athletic.
 
coppertop1 said:
Saying a skater only won because others faltered smacks of sour grapes. She delivered her performances when she needed to whereas Costner and Zagitova did not. That's not luck, she earned her World Title. I remember how much people were fretting over her lack of consistency during the 2017-18 GPS. She was a late season skater. Skaters aren't robots.

One line that comes to mind is from the made-for-TV movie "Blades of Courage". In one scene, the main character is confiding in her old coach why she quit skating and tearfully said she feels like she doesn't matter to anyone. Her former coach says "They love gift but not the gifted one". That seems to sum it up.



Another expression is "Heavy is the head that wears the crown".

I agree about Kaetlyn's physique. She's toned and athletic.
Click to expand...

A fantastic post! Thank you for sharing.

On a side note, Blades of Courage was great. I believe it is also a thinly - veiled telling of Tracy Wainman's triumphant comeback.
 
essence_of_soy said:
A fantastic post! Thank you for sharing.

On a side note, Blades of Courage was great. I believe it is also a thinly - veiled telling of Tracy Wainman's triumphant comeback.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

That would makes sense that BOC could be a fictionalized telling of Tracy Wainman's return. Lori was like Tracy, a teen skating prodigy who lost her way then found her way back. I hope her coach wasn't like Bruce, though.
 
coppertop1 said:
Thanks.

That would makes sense that BOC could be a fictionalized telling of Tracy Wainman's return. Lori was like Tracy, a teen skating prodigy who lost her way then found her way back. I hope her coach wasn't like Bruce, though.
Click to expand...

Me, either. Although, the actress Patricia Hamilton (who played Lori's first coach, Anne Petrie) definitely had a ballpark resemblance to Ellen Burka.
 
Wow Kaetlyn! Thanks so much for your honesty and your courage in sharing your thoughts and experiences. My admiration for you and your journey is growing. :cheer2: It's lovely gaining insight into who you are as a person, at a level we can't really know in the drama and surface spotlight of a figure skating career.

http://kaetlynosmond.com/thoughts

Kaetlyn: "I thought that when I finally reached the ultimate prize of competition that everything I was looking for would appear in front of me. I would be loved. I would be seen. But in reality, I was being naive, my life didn’t change at all. I won, but it felt like I lost a huge part of me..."

I hope Kaetlyn continues just staying in touch with her feelings and not judging them, just giving voice to them. Something new is being birthed. And it's excellent for her that this is happening in her twenties, with practically a lifetime of a skating career behind her. There are a million new adventures ahead! 'The world is your oyster,' Kaetlyn! :saint:

We have definitely recently been seeing a lot of introspection and deep personal reflection by a number of skaters, including Gracie Gold, Ashley Wagner, Gabby Daleman, Mirai Nagasu, Liza Tuktamysheva, Julia Lipnitskaya, Marissa Castelli, and to some degree, Alexa Knierim, et al. I recall that Michelle Kwan often opened up a bit about her journey, though not in a journaling capacity, which I think is a very special way of sharing. Newly developing pairs skater, Olivia Serafini, has also started a blog to chart her new journey in life and in skating. Meagan Duhamel shares a lot with us on her blog, which is chiefly about nutrition and healthy recipe tips.
 
Last edited:
bbkenn said:
Also on FSU there were people writing that Kaetlyn only won because the others fell which, if she read that, would contribute to her feelings. Makes me more aware that I need to be sensitive about all skaters, even those I don't care for, in case they read my posts. I'm quite worried about Gabrielle Daleman right now too.
Click to expand...

Yes, there are some who wish to take down others in a pinnacle of a career, as justification for something they or their favs. have not earned. Their actions speak more about them than those they wish to deny.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)

Similar threads

jkl
Scott Hamilton & Friends Holiday Show
Replies
9
Views
2K
Sylvia
Sylvia
Sylvia
Healing a Broken Sport: My Story - by Morgan Matthews
Replies
12
Views
7K
BrightSkates
BrightSkates
overedge
Pat Noddin, Canadian Adult Skating Pioneer, Passes Away
Replies
1
Views
510
sk8girl
S
Sylvia
"MAO RINK" has opened in Tachikawa, western Tokyo
Replies
2
Views
2K
Sylvia
Sylvia
shutterbug
2025–26 Canadian Women: News and Updates
2
Replies
37
Views
7K
Jay42
Jay42
Back
Top
Do Not Sell My Personal Information