U.S. Ladies [#25]: Method in the Madness

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Maximillian said:
Ugh, I live in Europe and can't get access to the vid. Could anyone give me the gist? TIA
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It started when a coach told her "Look at your butt" and spiraled into a "game" of how little could she eat. She is taking responsibility for her mistakes though. She is thinking about 2022 but would love a World medal even more. Nothing about her current training. Recovery is ongoing.
 
Not sure this was brutal honesty on Gracie's part... as recovery from depression and eating disorders is a long process, not something, as she pointed out, is "fixed" instantly. But glad she is telling her story. Her quick wit is still readily apparent ;-) The better interview, in my opinion, would have been a larger story, detailing the pervasiveness of eating disorders and mental health issues in skating. There have been number of athletes that have come forward in the last few years who have talked about restrictive eating as well as full blown eating disorders, and the mental health component as well. Gracie acknowledged that the judges are looking for a certain "phenotype" ie physical look, and her descent into her disordered eating started with an off-hand comment from a coach about the size of her le derrière...and how that one comment started the snowball. As this sport tends to draw perfectionists to its ranks, it doesn't surprise me that one comment could derail an athlete. If I am not mistaken, there was a PSA or USFS seminar in Detroit that was presented to coaches on eating disorders, IIRC. But, the acknowledgment by USFS of how pervasive disordered eating is in their sport...not sure that will ever happen.
 
I think it's interesting that Gracie cited a desire to win a World medal as something almost closer to her heart than another Olympics. It makes sense. She did the Olympics in a Sochi, won a team medal, did very well in singles. The World medal is something that was so close, almost in her grasp, from 2014-16, something everyone was just waiting for and expecting, but it never quite happened.

I'm glad, though, that she says "medal" now, not winning Worlds, as she did in fall 2016, before Boston Worlds. I'm convinced the pressure she put on to win in Boston ("I need for this to happen") led to her downward spiral. I take it as a sign of healing that a sense of reality has returned and that she recognizes, with the incredible level of competition right now, that any World medal would be a triumph.

In other news, Polina Edmunds tweeted today that it's the 5-year anniversary of her senior debut in Sochi: https://twitter.com/PolinaEdmunds/status/1098692715305267200.

I thought about that tweet and realized that Polina only skated one full senior season in her whole career. Which was the year after Sochi, 2014-15. At least, her career to date.
 
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At her high point she was one of my favorite skaters. At the time people were asking was she the next Michele Kwan? Story goes there was tremendous pressure from USFS - a return to US dominance in the ladies. Not recognized was that the sport changed. There would be no more Michele Kwan's dominating for a decade. IJS 3A's and 4's among juniors will probably eliminate the 3/3 gals; it just won't be enough.

It would be great for Gracie to have another successful competition or 2. But, it's a big job. I hope she can keep things in perspective.
 
SkateFanBerlin said:
At the time people were asking was she the next Michele Kwan? Story goes there was tremendous pressure from USFS - a return to US dominance in the ladies.
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Yes, and something we should all keep in mind when thinking about the current crop of up-and-coming U.S. ladies. It's a long road and a career is a marathon, not a sprint. There will be bumps in the road, no one can be perfect all the time (not even Michelle), so let's enjoy their performances and celebrate their accomplishments without expecting them to be the next OGM.
 
GreatLakesGal said:
Gracie Gold Today Show Interview
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I love it! she is not blaming anyone.. "it is not skating, it's my own decisions that i made while skating".

If one has the physique/body type where, in order to stay competitive/do the required tech content, one has to eat 1 apple and drink two coffees as day..... quite and do something else, or skate for fun. don't cut off your toes to fit that one glass slipper. there any other glass slippers out there that fit your size...

Gracie looks much better, good for her.
 
And it was skating. Not that skating made her do it, but she did it because she had something to communicate. Something she needed people to listen to. And her forum was skating. What she rebelled against was skating. Smart girl, actually. She was crying for help, and used a place where she was beloved to make her point.
 
Both our top two Intermediate ladies, Lindsay Thorngren and Isabeau Levito, are moving up to Juniors next season. Lindsay confirmed that she is going to be a Junior next season on Instagram and Isabeau stated that she was moving straight up after Nationals. Both ladies already have multiple 3-3’s and Lindsay said that apart from the 3A, she wants to learn even harder combos and jumps.
 
IloveFS said:
I think that Gracie (in top form), and assuming that the US has 3 ladies spots, has a legitimate shot of making the 2022 Olympic team.
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It depends on who’s coming up. THIS COULD CHANGE — three years to go — but right now I see Liu, Tennell and Harrell (or Ting) as America’s team for Beijing. Of course, Gracie might prevail due to her POTENTIAL brute strength in jumps. Let’s see. She needs to forever throw the “pretty princess thing” out the window.
 
Debbie S said:
Yes, and something we should all keep in mind when thinking about the current crop of up-and-coming U.S. ladies. It's a long road and a career is a marathon, not a sprint. There will be bumps in the road, no one can be perfect all the time (not even Michelle), so let's enjoy their performances and celebrate their accomplishments without expecting them to be the next OGM.
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We should think of this about ladies from all countries, not just the US. Maybe you could post this in the Canadian ladies thread too, to counteract the "oh no, nobody has a triple Lutz, all the senior ladies suck" narrative :rolleyes:
 
natsulian said:
Challenge Cup Ladies Short Program:
1. Amber Glenn, 70.25 with a 3F-3T, 2A, and 3Lo layout and all Level Fours
3. Starr Andrews, 64.76 with a 3T-3T, 3Lo, and 2A layout and three Level Fours and one Level Three
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Oh Dear... do you have me a link to the results pages? I didnt realize this was happening.... My girl Amber nailed a SP again? But its the free..... that goes south....

Does this accrue ISU points?

(BTW where has @Sylvia been these days?)
 
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