Yo someone need to make a movie about this dude
So if you don’t know his story like, he ended up winning the Olympic gold, but he got badly injured first
and he did this routine right after he was badly injured oh my god though
this is the most phenomenal skater I’ve ever seen
and I’ve watched micheal Weiss skate with don laws (and my sister, who skated with terelpinsky Olympic gold champion and, who beat, the girl who won the Olympic gold, in previous competitions)
my sister dropped out when she had made it to the olympics, during the two year training period before the final competition
but if she would of just gone and done her routine, we know for a fact just based on statistics, her routine would of beat the girl who won that year, as she had beat her before, with the same routine
(They re-use routines in competitions)
It honestly pisses me off my sister didn’t go do it, but this is the thing- this sport, i watched my sister my whole life ya know, doing this. And it’s, so fucking hard.
And there is so much that goes into it, more than just being good or talented and doing a good routine
First of all you have to have the right build. There is a lot that goes into this, but basically, you are born into this class of perfect athletic composure to even, be “fit” for, this field of athletic wathever
like the sport, there is certain body types and muscle twitch standards etc, strength and flexibility, coordination standards that go into this. Some people have it, some people don’t. Only the ones who have it, make it to the top to compete.
So my sister was lucky she was born with talent so to speak. She had an “off the charts” capability when it came to strength and coordination that, they measure in babies when they’re first born- hers was higher than micheal Jordan’s. She is, incredibly strong. Like an ox made of steel. Her line, her grace, came naturally and she grew up dancing (on purpose) to make sure her finess, and her balance, was, perfect. As she got older she did private lessons in this to maintain this strength. Little known fact, all ice skaters, are dancers too. They train as dancers, as part of their skating training.
Growing up, they called my sister, “bam bam” from a young age (the joke about the kid in the flinstones with unusual strength) and she could move shelves that were 5x the size of her. Most kids played with toys, she liked move around the furniture. It was, unusual.
She also had ADHD, she could not sit still, very tightly wound, very hyper type A high strung personality. This is combination with my mom- who is naturally a managerial type personality, and my dad who is a statistical analysis wizard (and both of them combined are math wizards as well) this gave my sister a natural edge, in calculating and understanding the physical dynamics that go into, what makes you a good skater or, creating the perfect jump. In combo with her coordination and fast muscle twitch, and strength, she could do jumps that men did.
The hard part, is lean muscle mass. You have to be like a body builder, who appears like a thin ballerina. You have to be a certain height, weight, BMI- in order to pass for the olympic standard. You just won’t get the height you need in your jumps, if you are too heavy. So being strong is great, but you have to dial it back or you wont be able to get in the correct number of rotations in the air.
On top of that, my mom and grandmother were managerial types who pushed her to be excellent, who were excellent at marketing, promotion, and making sure she was part of the tight knit ice skating community that was considered, relevant, and the inside. She made sure she was watched my coaches who mattered, she made sure she skated with skaters and trainers who mattered. She went to rinks that mattered. Even, the costumes- and skates, and blades- had to be done just a certain way- custom. By people, who were excellent at their craft, and well known, for being the best. Connections. They were great at connections.
And lastly, there is a political element to it, with the judges. No one talks about it on the media, but, you get to know every single one of those judges personally. You buy them gifts. You take them out to dinner. There is like this whole interview / STALKING process that goes on, winning them over. Before the competition even starts- it has years and years in advance.
And then lastly, the obvious, is INSANE dedication to training. She trained, everyday, of her life, from the time she was maybe three or four years old. They video taped everything. There were injuries, falls, and psychological torment. Blood, sweat, tears. There is an element of bravery that goes into it- while people insult your ability, they judge your face, the expressions you make, they say you’re not enough, they grind you down to nothing. Her coaches were *horrible* to her (they were Russian and japanese). They tell her, she’s too fat. Don’t eat. To get rid of acne to be pretty. That her thighs were too thick, or her ankles, or her arms, or her belly, or her but. Etc. Perfectionism to a really high degree.
Imagine being a little girl growing up like that. Being sort of whipped into shape and, scolded when you fall and hurt yourself. I watched her practice, daily, for hours. And she would fall on her ass maybe 45 times in one session. This shit hurt. She was always covered in bruises.
On top of that, she was never allowed a normal life. Because they recognized her natural talent for skating very young, (she won competition after competition without even trying as a kid), she never got the chance to just grow up like a normal kid. She was pulled out of school. Always busy with, nutritionists and personal dietitians and personal trainers. Getting her body to be excellent. Specialists to train her joints, her muscles, her muscle twitch, her knees. Fine tuning every inch of her.
And she spent hours, every single day- and extra, on the weekends. On the ice. And off the ice- it was constant athleticism still. Jump ropes, suicides, push ups pull ups squats crunches, splits, lunges
She was flying around the country all the time for this that and the other. And as a kid it wasn’t summer camp, it was ice skating camp. Holidays were spent, far away, on competition grounds living in hotels.
And as things escalated, she completely had to drop out of school entirely, and dedicated 100% of her days to ice skating, and lived in a small hotel, where she could train with, the best of the best.
You don’t just, get to train with these people for fun or because you have lots of money. They select you. These are people who have won the Olympic gold already and want to pass on their, ability to someone who, they have faith can do it again and again. They invest all their time in this person.
It is a psychological game, too. Manipulating a person to be motivated to stay on the ice, even when it hurts.
Your feet, are always numb and your hands burn from having spent hours on the ice, i suppose she got used to the feeling of being so cold ur lips turn blue.
She was tired of not being able to eat, even 2 French fries.
And not having, a life.
She was missing the passion. She had unlimited drive, not because she wanted to win, but simply because she is just naturally that way. It’s hard to explain but, she’s like the ideal, work horse, that just, doesn’t have it in them to quit. It’s not an emotional thing, she just is hard wired that way naturally so.
Most people, where they have a stopping point with something, my sister just doesn’t have that. That’s what i mean when i say she is made of steel and like an ox. She just plowed through what seemed impossible to withstand, in regards to pain, pressure, and endurance- like it was nothing. No big deal. Just, shit doesn’t phase her. Hard to explain.
So she had that ability, but, she didn’t have the emotional desire, to win. Her routines weren’t that passionate, she never got into it- with the expression and the “performance” artistic side of it. She was just pure athlete, no, artist.
Which is ironic, because now, she runs an art company, and is an artist herself. Her passion lies in other art forms, not in skating.
She just happen to be really fucking good at it, and built for it, and had all the right circumstances around her to make it possible.
That being said, she was a phenomenal skater and she won time and time again, and she would of beat the olympic gold kid if she just would of stayed in the running.
But at the last minute, she just, walked away from it.
She just psychologically broke from the pressure. She really struggled with one thing- everyone has a weakness. Her weakness was, she had horrible stage fright.
She is an extremely quiet