正式宣布了,祝福小熊未来一切顺利!
http://canada.com/sports/story.html?id=C058B709-434C-4BA0-8D35-3886DA645DB3
[B]Olympic champion Alexei Yagudin quits top competitive figure skating circuit[/B]
Canadian Press
Thursday, October 30, 2003
ADVERTISEMENT
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. (CP) - Olympic champion Alexei Yagudin, who announced Thursday that he’s bowing out of the top competitive level of figure skating, [B]will perform following the MasterCard Skate Canada International meet’s exhibition gala Sunday afternoon. [/B]
"Alexei asked for the opportunity to show his appreciation to all the Canadian fans who have supported his amateur career in Canada," said Pam Coburn, CEO of Skate Canada. "He has always enjoyed Canadian audiences."
[B]Yagudin will skate Sunday in the Hershey Centre and a special ceremony will be held to honour his achievements. [/B]
Yagudin, 23, won world titles in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2002, when in Nagano, Japan, he became the first skater to receive six perfect marks for a short program. In winning gold at the Salt Lake City Winter Games in 2002, he got the highest marks ever received by a single skater in Olympic history.
In an announcement out of New York by Dmitri Goryachkin, his agent, Yagudin said he was leaving the Olympic-eligible ranks "to pursue new challenges in his skating career."
"I have climbed all the mountains in amateur figure skating and now I am looking to find new mountains in life to push me each day," stated Yagudin. "My love for this sport and my desire to do something new for it are unsurpassed.
"I have so many interesting ideas and projects that will be keeping me extremely busy and I am really looking forward to new challenges."
Doug Leigh, a former coach of three-time world champion Elvis Stojko, always admired Yagudin’s aggressive nature on the ice.
"Yagudin, very simply, was a no-nonsense skater," said Leigh. "Every time there was a competition, count him in.
"He knew what it was like to stand on top of the podium and he didn’t like being off of it. And he knew what it took each time he came to an event to find what his best was. That was an unbelievable strength he had. He was a guy who, like Elvis would say, pushed the envelope. Every time there was a competition, he made it very special."
Richard Callaghan, who coached American Todd Eldredge in many competitions in which Yagudin skated, echoed others in describing the charismatic Russian as one of the most crowd pleasing athletes in the sport.
"Alexei brought to the forefront a great combination of athletic ability and tremendous entertainment," said Callaghan. "He skated from his soul and he always brought the crowd into his numbers."
Evgeni Plushenko, who is competing in the men’s event this week, is the reigning world champion and was runner-up to Yagudin at the 2002 Olympics.
"He is a great guy and a strong skater," said Plushenko. "I liked competing with him.
"Actually, I’ll miss him. Not like a friendship but on the ice. If he comes back, I will compete and fight with him. But we have right now a lot of guys . . . they’re also great guys and great skaters and I’ll compete with them."
Canadian champion Emanuel Sandhu always enjoyed being around Yagudin.
"He’s always been supportive of (coach) Joanne (McLeod) and myself," said Sandhu. "I feel very blessed to have had somebody of that calibre and who has achieved so much be a little bit of a part of who I am as a skater.
"It’s not sad because it’s his choice. If it’s his decision, kudos to him. He’s had an amazing career. He’s pretty much done everything he needs to do (in amateur skating). I’m sure there will be a lot to drive him in the professional world. I think that will suit him quite well. My hat is off to him."
Earlier this year in his native Russia, Yagudin was awarded the Order For Services to the Country, 4th Class, by President Putin.
He has lived and trained in Connecticut for the last three ye |