A painful sight: Hughes, Meissner after the fall(s)

I don’t know which makes me sadder.

Watching Kimmie Meissner or watching Emily Hughes.

The two 19-year-olds were the Nos. 6 and 7 finishers at the 2006 Olympics, the 1-2 finishers at the 2007 U.S. Championships and remain two of the nicest young women I have met during three decades of covering figure skating.

Yet, the way both have skated over the past two seasons makes me wonder how much joy each still can be getting from a sport that seems to be tormenting them.

Meissner has changed coaches in an effort to revive her flagging career, but still staggered through her first Grand Prix appearance of the season, falling once in the short program and twice in the long program (where she placed ninth of 11) to take eighth overall, her worst finish ever (by two places) in a Grand Prix event.

Hughes, a Harvard sophomore, was painfully poor Friday and Saturday at the Bompart Trophy Grand Prix event in Paris. She finished ninth in a 10-woman field that featured only two highly ranked skaters, reigning world champion Mao Asada of Japan and Joannie Rochette of Canada.

One fall in the short program. Three in the free skate. Twenty points behind fourth finisher Candice Didier of France, who was 38th at the 2008 worlds.

And this for Hughes on a day when everyone other than Caroline Zhang of the United States and Rochette made major contributions to another of the error-filled slopfests that have become de riguer in skating.

Rochette, who had fallen in the short program, got through the free skate with only a popped triple loop marring a performance that rightfully made her an easy winner for the second time in her two Grand Prix events this season, with 180.73 points to 167.59 for Asada, 156.54 for Zhang –- and 115.48 for Hughes.

Asada made about 7 million mistakes -– a fall, popped jumps, two-footed landings and a high yuck level.
Zhang appeared to have been nearly clean.

For what it is worth, Zhang stayed upright in both programs, the only one of the top five to do that.
Emily Hughes was in free fall.

-- Phillip Hersh

Photo (top): Emily Hughes falls during her ladies short program during the Eric Bompard Trophy Figure Skating Grand Prix in Paris on Friday. Credit: Francois Mori / Associated Press

Photo (inset): Kimmie Meissner. Credit: Robert Duyos / Sun Sentinel

Comments

[JohnR,NYC]

Perhaps part of the problem is the lack of interest in figure skating? With the Grand Prix not even being televised this year (except for Skate America) -- I can't see much of a future for training in a very expensive sport that offers very little reward.

[Jessica]

I also think that lack of support has something to do with it. The last time the World Championships came to the U.S. was five years ago. Michelle Kwan regained her title and "Quad King" Tim Goebel won the silver medal. All of this was just one year after the Winter Games were also held in the States. Since then, another Olympics has come and gone and the United States had only two silver medals to show for it. Regenerating interest in figure skating is no easy task for several reasons, not the least of which is the fact that the sport has morphed into a nearly unrecognizable shell of its former self. Hopefully the Worlds in LA and the upcoming Olympics just across the border in Vancouver can help give figure skating a much needed boost.

[DEREK HULME]

I am an figure skating fan from Sydney, Australia and luckily we get coverage of a lot of the major events on cable. Whatever their performances now, I just want to say how much joy and inspiration I have had seeing Kimmy and Emily skate over the past few years.Life goes on, and perhaps they will once again reach the heights they have done previously, but if not, their past achievements I'm sure have bought the same amount of enjoyment to many other fans all over the world as they have done for me.
Kimmy's World Championship victory is still one of my TOP 5 sporting memories of all time and I follow a lot of different sports!