U.S. Women [#3]: Skating Clean

[kalle]

This is really sad although not a big surprise given she has not displayed any motivation to continue. For me, she has everything to become a World and Olympic champion and I would have love to see her grow as a skater. Despite her young age, she has that artistic flare and openess to her skating that very much draw your eyes to her.
I know she got so much critic for her jumps but I will always remember her competitive spirit by consistently going for that 3A and two 3/3's..really remarkable.
I will forever cheerish her competitions this year and so very glad she ended her career with a medal at Worlds.

I am sure the future will hold her many other golden moments outside the world of skating.

 

[Karen-W]

Looking forward -

Unknown status - Mariah Bell, Karen Chen, Bradie Tennell, Starr Andrews, Amber Glenn, Gabriella Izzo
Continuing - Audrey Shin?, Lindsay Thorngren, Isabeau Levito, Hanna Harrell, Jill Heiner, Kate Wang?

I really hope the younger generation can step up competitively because the older skaters are inconsistent at best.

 

[Sonata]

As a fan, I’m disappointed because she had such joy in her skating and it was exciting to watch her progress so well. But part of me thinks good for her, it sounds healthy that she doesn’t see skating as all encompassing and has chosen to move on and do other things. She has gone to Olympics, medaled at worlds, broken national records, traveled the world and hopefully secured some level of financial security at a young age. All by age 16. Sounds like a great beginning to me.

 

[clairecloutier]

I'm happy for Alysa, because this is what she wants. Good for her for going for it, and knowing that there's a life outside skating, and choosing that for herself.

As a skating fan, however, it's most definitely bittersweet. Alysa was pretty special even at 16, and I'm convinced she hadn't even really touched her full potential yet, particularly artistically. In my opinion, she'll be remembered as one of the great "what-ifs" of U.S. skating. Much, much more might have been possible for her.

In retrospect, the wisdom of going for all that difficult content at such a young age, considering the pressure it subsequently created, is definitely open to question IMO. I can't say whether it contributed to her early retirement. But, I sure would like to know if it did.

 

[Frau Muller]

Other hopes for the future: Maybe Clare Seo & Kanon Smith…and Mia Kalin if she stops trying to emulate Sambo-70…which suddenly is no longer in vogue.

 

[Trillian]

That leaves Bradie to keep the US ladies relevant until the younger girls like Lindsay and Isabeau get experience and take over. I'm sure there is some 13, 14 year old who's name we don't even know that will come out of nowhere and become the face of US skating by 2026.

Isabeau is the 14-year-old. We don’t have any other top secret wunderkinds stashed in a vault somewhere. There are a few other girls besides Isabeau and Lindsey who’ve shown some promise, but none who set the JGP on fire.

We don’t know if Bradie will fully recover from injury. We don’t know what Mariah, Karen, Amber, etc. will do next. I like Clare Seo, Kate Wang, and Ava Ziegler, but they’ve got a ways to go to be really competitive at the senior level. Might be interesting to see what Gracie could do with another season. I think there’s going to be a lot of room at the top in the U.S., but the top Japanese and Korean women are going to be hard for most of the Americans to beat.

 

[Rukia]

Looking forward -

Unknown status - Mariah Bell, Karen Chen, Bradie Tennell, Starr Andrews, Amber Glenn, Gabriella Izzo
Continuing - Audrey Shin?, Lindsay Thorngren, Isabeau Levito, Hanna Harrell, Jill Heiner, Kate Wang?

I really hope the younger generation can step up competitively because the older skaters are inconsistent at best.

Amber Glenn said in a news report during the Olympics that she was continuing for what it's worth (I'm adding that because obviously things can change but all indications seem to be she plans to compete next season).

 

[Karen-W]

Amber Glenn said in a news report during the Olympics that she was continuing for what it's worth (I'm adding that because obviously things can change but all indications seem to be she plans to compete next season).

Good to hear! I think she has the potential to be really good if she's able to relax and stress less over the pressure of trying to compete with the Russian jumping beans.

 

[Frau Muller]

Look no further than this local (DC area) star - Sofia!

Local 11-year-old ice skater has Olympic ambitions

Alexandria local Sofia Bezkorovainaya has Olympic ambitions in figure skating.The 11-year-old recently won the 2022 U.S. National Figure Skating Championship, scoring the highest ever recorded score for the competition. And according to Fox 5, she studies at an online school, “I do online...

www.stridelearning.com

 

[DreamSkates]

I wish Alyssa all the best in her future plans. She accomplished so much in figure skating. Hope all her FS memories become positive ones!

 

[Coco]

Maybe she'll come back to competitive skating once she decompresses and gets her fill of college life without out skating. Best of luck to her!

 

[kwanfan1818]

Good for her! It's wonderful to see a skater who knows what she wants next, especially coming off of a series of senior career highs.

 

[Cachoo]

Years of hard work and she is a world medalist, US champion, an Olympian and now she gets to revel as an American teenager. I hope she has a blast!

 

[sk9tingfan]

I’m not surprised. She’s been hinting at this all along. But it is disappointing.

ITA. i think that the straw that broke the camel's back was having to move to Colorado away from two coaches she obviously liked and respected as well as her friends.

 

[Bouffantrex]

Retiring at 16? Jeez, even the Eteri students stay in until 17.

I'm happy she can make this decision on her own terms and has other interests outside of skating. But it really sucks for the development of US ladies, though. Let's hope Thorngren significantly improves this summer and Levito's technique holds up, because if not...yikes.

 

[sk9tingfan]

Retiring at 16? Jeez, even the Eteri students stay in until 17.

I'm happy she can make this decision on her own terms and has other interests outside of skating. But it really sucks for the development of US ladies, though. Let's hope Thorngren significantly improves this summer and Levito's technique holds up, because if not...yikes.

She has retired at the height of her career, without injury and her psyche intact. Not sure if we can say that about a number of Eteri's students.

 

[Bouffantrex]

She has retired at the height of her career, without injury and her psyche intact. Not sure if we can say that about a number of Eteri's students.

Don't get me wrong, I totally agree with you. I'm no Eteri fan, and I think she's done a phenomenally efficient job of ruining ladies figure skating in 8 years.

But I find it ironic af, after all the handwringing about the ages and short careers of Eteri's top skaters, America's top woman skater is retiring at the age of 16 after one senior season.

 

[sk9tingfan]

Don't get me wrong, I totally agree with you. I'm no Eteri fan, and I think she's done a phenomenally efficient job of ruining ladies figure skating in 8 years.

But I find it ironic af, after all the handwringing about the ages and short careers of Eteri's top skaters, America's top woman skater is retiring at the age of 16 after one senior season.

Sorry, but I think your assertion that she's ruining women's figure skating a bit much. At the end of the day, this is her life's path to determine, not yours or others. She is exhibiting courage in leaving figure skating on her own terms and understands that she has a whole life to live. Hopefully, she will find another way to serve others as well as herself in this second act.

One should get ready for the real possibility that Nathan, after 2 years completing his undergraduate studies may elect not to return to competition. Regarding Eteri's past students, it would be interesting to find out how many of them are successfully functioning in a role outside of skating, coaching, choreographing or other related fields.

 

[Karen-W]

Don't get me wrong, I totally agree with you. I'm no Eteri fan, and I think she's done a phenomenally efficient job of ruining ladies figure skating in 8 years.

But I find it ironic af, after all the handwringing about the ages and short careers of Eteri's top skaters, America's top woman skater is retiring at the age of 16 after one senior season.

Well, one senior international season. I do think, though, that it would be of some benefit to the USFS to put an age min on skaters competing at the senior level domestically, especially since the ISU is all but certain to raise the age minimum itself again this summer. It isn't anymore of a good look for the US to have a bunch of international juniors winning senior Nats than it is for Russia.

 

[alj5]

I'm not surprised. Comments at both the Olympics and Worlds also led me to believe she was definitely not sticking around until 2026. I thought maybe she would give it another year or two in an effort to win back her national title, then go to college with her peers.

And tbh, she looked like she "liked" but didn't "love" skating. If that makes sense.


Though what is sitting with me right now is that if the proposal to raise the minimum age to 16 or 17, then someone like Alysa (or Tara, Sarah, Kimmie, etc) would never be able to compete internationally as a senior let alone win their Olympic/World titles.

 

[Trillian]

Look no further than this local (DC area) star - Sofia!

Local 11-year-old ice skater has Olympic ambitions

Alexandria local Sofia Bezkorovainaya has Olympic ambitions in figure skating.The 11-year-old recently won the 2022 U.S. National Figure Skating Championship, scoring the highest ever recorded score for the competition. And according to Fox 5, she studies at an online school, “I do online...

www.stridelearning.com

I doubt we’ll see any 15-year-olds at the next Olympics (and not sure if she’s on the right side of 15 under the current rules) - but Sofia just finished 7th in her international novice debut this weekend. She wasn’t even the top American in the event. Not saying she won’t improve on that performance in the future, but it might be a little early to be jumping on this particular hype train.

 

[orbitz]

Aww, a bit surprised to hear about Alyssa's retirement. But if that's what she wants then that's what she wants. I wouldn't be surprised either if her next step is to attend an ivy league university. Best of luck to her.

So I guess we won't see another American women on the World's podium again until Ilia's sister becomes Senior eligible. Is she practicing quads yet ?

 

[Rukia]

Alysa choosing to walk away after feeling like she's accomplished what she wants to accomplish in skating is vastly different from broken young women limping away from skating because they just can't do it anymore.

 

[Allskate]

Alysa choosing to walk away after feeling like she's accomplished what she wants to accomplish in skating is vastly different from broken young women limping away from skating because they just can't do it anymore.

ITA.

I thought she might wait until this summer to make a decision. The past couple of years have been crazy for her, especially the last four months. She must be exhausted. But, her decision is not entirely surprising.

I also think it's healthy that she has other goals that would be difficult to accomplish if she wanted to stay at her current level or higher. Nathan, Karen, and Vincent all took time off from college.

Plus, she has four siblings, and she may realize that what is best for her family in terms of finances and parental time and stability is to retire.

From a selfish point of view, I am disappointed because I think she had more to accomplish in terms of artistic development and would have been interesting to see her mature artistically.

 

[layman]

ITA.

I thought she might wait until this summer to make a decision. The past couple of years have been crazy for her, especially the last four months. She must be exhausted. But, her decision is not entirely surprising.

I also think it's healthy that she has other goals that would be difficult to accomplish if she wanted to stay at her current level or higher. Nathan, Karen, and Vincent all took time off from college.

Plus, she has four siblings, and she may realize that what is best for her family in terms of finances and parental time and stability is to retire.

From a selfish point of view, I am disappointed because I think she had more to accomplish in terms of artistic development and would have been interesting to see her mature artistically.

The top female skaters have been retiring so young lately that they don't have time to mature artistically.

I wonder if raising the age limit will result in more female athletes having the time to mature artistically like we saw in earlier generations of female figure skaters.

The last elite female figure skater that we had the chance to watch mature artistically was Carolina Kostner (and that was largely due to a lack of domestic competition that allowed her to stay in the sport for as long as she wanted).

 

[sk9tingfan]

ITA.

I thought she might wait until this summer to make a decision. The past couple of years have been crazy for her, especially the last four months. She must be exhausted. But, her decision is not entirely surprising.

I also think it's healthy that she has other goals that would be difficult to accomplish if she wanted to stay at her current level or higher. Nathan, Karen, and Vincent all took time off from college.

Plus, she has four siblings, and she may realize that what is best for her family in terms of finances and parental time and stability is to retire.

From a selfish point of view, I am disappointed because I think she had more to accomplish in terms of artistic development and would have been interesting to see her mature artistically.

Her father has five kids to put through college and that includes a set of triplets. He may be a lawyer, but the financial load is daunting for all but the wealthiest of families. And he is the sole income producer.

If she takes this next year and a half to maximize her show skating, perhaps she can make a dent in her future college expense.

 

[Coco]

Yeah, Berkeley in state tuition + room & board is $40k/ year. Smh...

 

[skatfan]

The top female skaters have been retiring so young lately that they don't have time to mature artistically.

I wonder if raising the age limit will result in more female athletes having the time to mature artistically like we saw in earlier generations of female figure skaters.

The last elite female figure skater that we had the chance to watch mature artistically was Carolina Kostner (and that was largely due to a lack of domestic competition that allowed her to stay in the sport for as long as she wanted).

Huh, we have Kaori Sakamoto and Lorna Hendricks. They’ve been around a fair amount and developed quite nicely IMO.

 

[baramin]

Actually, the top US ladies have a pretty good track record of sticking with the sport--maybe not as long as Carolina, but at least into their twenties. The last one to retire 'early' would be who, Meissner? And she was dealing with injury. Obviously Tara was in and out once she won, but even Sarah Hughes tried to make it another couple of seasons after her Oly win. The USFSA has been pretty good at letting its top skaters mature. Unfortunately, they rarely pick up the kind of clean technique we get from Loena and Kaori, but you can't have everything...

Her age is the only reason it's surprising Alysa is retiring. It's disappointing as a skating fan to see her go so soon, but the impression I got as the season went on is that she's someone who enjoys skating, but maybe not the professional & competitive aspects of it. Hopefully she enjoys college & finds something else she wants to do long term. And hey, maybe we'll see her in adult competitions once she gets a few years away

 

[bladesofgorey]

I heard Amber Glenn stole the show at Evening of Champions https://www.instagram.com/p/CcJ29JxuTQf/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link