Category Archives: Figure Skating

A new start after 60: ‘I’m one of the world’s worst athletes – but I learned to skate in my 70s’

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Richard Epstein, a 78-year-old scientist with stage four prostate cancer, says that skating helps him to embrace uncertainty

The first time Richard Epstein went to his local ice-skating rink in Santa Fe, New Mexico, he was handed a free pair of skates. They had been left behind by a discontented customer. “I do things out of my comfort zone, and good things happen,” he observes.

This wisdom was borne out last December, when Epstein, now 78, skated in his first exhibition. His wife filmed his routine, which he performed with his coach, Teri Moellenberg, then his eldest daughter posted it on Twitter, along with a note that Epstein has stage four prostate cancer. Nearly 3 million people viewed it. Epstein is somewhat baffled by the response, describing himself as “just an old guy going around in circles”.

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‘It was dehumanising’: Jessica Shuran Yu condemns training abuse in China

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  • World championship skater describes culture of abuse
  • Urges IOC to better protect skaters before Beijing 2022

A world championship figure skater has urged the International Olympic Committee to do more to protect vulnerable young girls after detailing how she and others suffered abuse inside the Chinese system.

Jessica Shuran Yu, who was born, raised and trained in China and competed in the 2017 world championships before helping to coach junior skaters, told the Guardian that a “culture of physical discipline” was common in the country, with athletes also frequently criticised as “lazy”, “stupid”, “retarded”, “useless” and “fat”.

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‘A Bully and a Bigot.’ Trump Draws Fire From Democrats at Annual LGBT Dinner

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During his 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump pledged to be an LGBT-friendly president, featured an openly gay speaker on stage at the Republican convention and tweeted that he would be better on gay rights issues than Hillary Clinton. But when the nation's leading LGBT civil rights group met Saturday night for an annual dinner, a running theme for the night was that they could not imagine a president more hostile to their concerns.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal speaks to students at Danbury High School on May 2.

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Speed skater Bridie Farrell and figure skater Craig Maurizi, testifies before a Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security hearing about "Olympic abuse: The role of national governing bodies in protecting our athletes" on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, April 18, 2018. less Speed skater Bridie Farrell and figure skater Craig Maurizi, testifies before a Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security hearing ... more In this March 3, 2017, photo, former competitive speedskater Bridie Farrell poses for a photo in New York.