Tuesday, February 19, 2002
Robinson not ready to retire
By STEVE BUFFERY -- Team Sun
SALT LAKE CITY -- Canadian figure skating queen Jennifer Robinson is getting ready to jump on the quad bandwagon.
Robinson, who finished eighth at the 2000 world championships in women's singles skating, said yesterday that she has begun practising a quadruple salchow with the hopes of attempting it one day in competition.
Which raises another point. There had been thoughts that the Windsor native, who trains at the Mariposa club under coaches Michelle and Doug Leigh, might retire after next month's worlds in Nagano, Japan.
But the four-time Canadian senior champion, who is known more for her artistry on the ice rather than her technical wizardry, said yesterday that she may in fact stick around the competitive scene for at least another year, even though she will marry former pairs skater Shane Dennison in September. There are not a lot of married women in the highest level of figure skating.
"I'm thinking about it, but we'll see what happens after the season when I sit down and talk with my coaches and Skate Canada," Robinson, 25, said. "I'd like to."
Robinson would love to land a quad salchow in competition but the jump won't be ready this year. Perhaps next year.
Meanwhile, Tiger, as her friends call her, is nailing her triple salchow-triple loop combination jump with great consistency during workouts at these Games and she's confident that the jump will be there for her when the women's free skate is contested on Thursday at the Salt Lake Ice Center.
"It's pretty solid," said Robinson, who has yet to land the combo in competition. "I have to raise the bar higher and higher (to be able to compete at the highest level)."
The women's short program begins today and all eyes will be on America's Michelle Kwan and Russia's Irina Slutskaya, who have been battling it out for international superiority during the past couple of years.
2002 Games Figure Skating Coverage
