Pro Skater's Children?

[april182000]

Just wondering if any world or olympic skaters have any children that are skating competitively? I know that Daria is skating, but does anyone think she will go to the next level? Is "jumpin' joe"'s son skating?

Thanks

[MQSeries]

Artur's son skates, but I don't know what level he's at.

I think it's best that the kids of famous skaters don't follow in their parents' footstep. I just think it would be too much pressure place on them.

[Terri C]

Artur's son skates, but I don't know what level he's at


Artur's son is in Intermediate.

[snoopysnake]

Yuka Sato's parents were both Olympic figure skaters for Japan.

[Ice T]

Petr Barna's daughter skates and she is getting quite good!

[Skatesail]

Artour Dmitriev and Daria Grinkova competed last weekend at the Charter Oak competition at ISCC in Simsbury. The results are posted here:

www.charteroakfsc.com/2004results.html

He competed at the Intermediate level and came in 4th (group 143) and she competed at the PreJuvenile level in group B and came in first (group 16)!

Congratulations to both of them!

[icedancer2]

I also noticed that Artur came in 6th in the Intermediate Men's Short Program (Group 3).

Thanks for the link. It's fun to imagine how they skated!!

[CanAmSk8ter]

Actually, I can tell you how Artour skated b/c I was there for his short. He's a cutie- I can't decide if he looks more like his mom or his dad, he looks a lot like both of them. Definitely built like his mom so far, though. I believe he and Daria are close in age, so I'd guess he's 11/12. He looked younger than a lot of the Intermediate guys. Anyway, choreography-wise, as one might guess, he's fantastic. Good in-betweens, can't remember what his music was, but as far as the complexity of the choreography I was impressed. I don't remember what jumps he landed (there were 14 Intermediate Men; after awhile they all kind of run together) but his air position is nice. I know someone said he was 4th in the LP, which I didn't see; I think he was 6th or thereabouts in the SP.

[newfieskates]

I know that Elizabeth Manley's niece is quite good and she did an ice show about 2 years ago that was called "SK8 with Elvis Stojko", it was on tv.

[gardana]

Actually, I can tell you how Artour skated b/c I was there for his short. He's a cutie- I can't decide if he looks more like his mom or his dad, he looks a lot like both of them. Definitely built like his mom so far, though. I believe he and Daria are close in age, so I'd guess he's 11/12. He looked younger than a lot of the Intermediate guys. Anyway, choreography-wise, as one might guess, he's fantastic. Good in-betweens, can't remember what his music was, but as far as the complexity of the choreography I was impressed. I don't remember what jumps he landed (there were 14 Intermediate Men; after awhile they all kind of run together) but his air position is nice. I know someone said he was 4th in the LP, which I didn't see; I think he was 6th or thereabouts in the SP.

Sounds cute. :)
And yes-Artour & Daria are the exact same age-both born in September 1992.
What is so cool is that from interviews, it sounds like neither Ilia & Katia Or Artur & Tatiana are pushing their children into skating. And I'm sure no one expects them to become athletes at the same level their parents were.

CanAmSk8ter: What was Artour's speed like? I'm just asking because I've heard before that he has nice speed-but I of course have never seen him skate.

SOT: Does anyone think it is not always the best idea to have skating competitions so late at night? I would imagine most of the kids would be dead tired at 10:00 PM. But then again-I've never skated competitvely.

[Trillian]

What is so cool is that from interviews, it sounds like neither Ilia & Katia Or Artur & Tatiana are pushing their children into skating. And I'm sure no one expects them to become athletes at the same level their parents were.

Well, Artur Jr. seems to be pretty advanced for his age--not quite 12 is on the young side for a boy at the intermediate level, so if he has the interest, work ethic, etc., and avoids injury, has a decent build for skating, etc., there could be an elite career in his future. Not that there's any guaruntee, but it's still a possibility.

Otoh, if Daria's still in pre-juvenile at nearly 12, I think it's pretty much a given that no one's expecting her to be an Olympian at this point. Sounds like she's got above average talent if she's winning club comps, but most future international competitors would probably at least be in intermediate (juvenile at the very least) by now. I'm sure her mother knows the realities of all that--and from what I've heard, there was zero family pressure on Daria to skate when she was younger, so she's probably just having fun.

[Debbie S]

Otoh, if Daria's still in pre-juvenile at nearly 12, I think it's pretty much a given that no one's expecting her to be an Olympian at this point. Sounds like she's got above average talent if she's winning club comps, but most future international competitors would probably at least be in intermediate (juvenile at the very least) by now.

Well, this is probably true, but from what I've heard and read in interviews, articles, etc., Daria started seriously skating at a later age than typical future Olympians. But, she's advanced pretty far in not that much time. I remember Katia talking about Daria's preference for rhythmic gymnastics. It seems that Daria only really took up skating as a full-time activity around the time she and Katia moved to CA, and that was about 3 years ago or so - when Katia had her second baby. (I think they all moved back to CT about a year ago.)

It was maybe 2 years ago when someone posted results of a club comp in L.A. where Daria competed at pre-prelim. Given the difference bet. skills needed to be competitive at those 2 levels (from an axel at pre-pre to an axel and 4 doubles at pre-juv), it seems that Daria has picked up skills quickly. And when she performed in that Mother's Day show with Katia last year, she did a very good sit-back sit spin and then in the finale, she did a flying camel. I'm not sure I'd write her off - she might move up through the ranks quickly. And I think the lack of pressure and expectations may make her more relaxed and a better competitor.

[Trillian]

Well, this is probably true, but from what I've heard and read in interviews, articles, etc., Daria started seriously skating at a later age than typical future Olympians.

So did skaters like Sasha Cohen and Jenny Kirk, who were both at least eight or nine before they started skating seriously IIRC. However, both of them were in intermediate by the time they were Daria's age. It's fine for kids to start late, but there's still a certain rate of progression that happens after that point.

I'm not saying Daria should give up skating by any means, and if she really is serious about it, she may end up as a national-level competitor. But realistically, she's well behind where any of the current top-ranked seniors (Kwan, Cohen, Kirk, etc.) were at her age. If she's really serious about skating now she'll probably keep progressing quickly, but unless she's willing to give up any semblence of a normal life--which sure doesn't seem to be what her mom wants--there's a limit to how far she's going to go. It makes me pretty uncomfortable that people are tagging her a "future champion" on some forums (I'm not pointing at you directly, just a general comment), because while that's not impossible, it's a lot more likely she won't ever even make it to nationals.

[Sylvia]

I happened to catch Artour Dmitriev Jr. competing in the Intermediate Men's Final at the big Liberty Summer Competition in Newark, Delaware, about 2 weeks ago, where he placed 18th in a very strong field. His results can be viewed at: http://www.libertyskating.com/2004ResultsMens.html

His dad, Artour/Artur Sr., was coaching him at Liberty, and his mother was also present. This was the first time I had seen Artour Jr. skate, and my impressions were that he looked younger than, and small for, his 11-almost-12 years, and that he consequently lacked the power/speed of the older, bigger skaters in the event. IMHO, he would probably benefit from competing at the Juvenile level again this season (I don't know if he has already tested up to Intermediate -- at these club competitions, skaters are allowed to compete one level higher than their test level). At Liberty, he attempted a double axel but landed facing forwards and he also had some shaky landings on his other double jumps. He had a few Russian mannerisms in his skating, but if I hadn't recognized his dad beforehand, I wouldn't have known he was a Russian skater! ;) But, then again, at these lower levels, the young skaters are getting valuable competition experience, trying out new technical elements and, hopefully and most importantly, enjoying themselves!

[gardana]

Here is another competitive event that Artour Dmitriev did a few weeks ago:
http://lakeplacidskating.com/Sat.rslts.freeskatecomp.htm
You have to scroll down quite a bit to the Intermediate Men's LP.
Although at this age and level, it is hard to make anything out of any of these results.

AFAIK: Artour has only been skating in competitions for less than a year. According to interviews with his dad, he is also into hockey & soccer.
So, skating is not his only activity.
So, who knows how serious he is about long time skating


Maybe I'm being oversensitive, but I do hope we don't compare Artour & Daria to each other as they continue to move up the competitive ladder. I would imagine it would be pretty hard to always have another kid recieve all of the attention & acolades, or to always have expectations from fans.

Who knows if Daria or Artour will ever become major skaters? However, even if neither of them becomes a star-they BOTH sound like such great kids! And if I was either of their parents, I would be proud of the way they turned out.

Besides, what is wrong with skating for fun?
Does anyone here think that Dick Button's kids lead less than fufilling lives than Yuka Sato because she is a champion skater & they aren't?

[blue111moon]

Tenley Albright's daughter Elin Gardner competed through Juniors or Seniors and with Boston Theatre on Ice.

John Baldwin's father competed at Nationals.

[Bogie88]

Maybe I'm being oversensitive, but I do hope we don't compare Artour & Daria to each other as they continue to move up the competitive ladder. I would imagine it would be pretty hard to always have another kid recieve all of the attention & acolades, or to always have expectations from fans.

You're not being overly sensitive. In fact, I was wondering as I was reading this thread how the competitors of these "famous" kids feel about skating against the progeny of such legendary skaters. Anyone have any experience with that?

[gardana]

You're not being overly sensitive. In fact, I was wondering as I was reading this thread how the competitors of these "famous" kids feel about skating against the progeny of such legendary skaters. Anyone have any experience with that?

Thanks. I was actually talking about not comparing Artour or Daria to one another. Or to see skating as the only aspect to them.
I just worry that it might happen if one of them became a major star and the other one didn't. And that would be so unfair to both of them.

You raise an interesting question. From reports online, a lot of people were interested in seeing Daria skate, but no one at the competition treated her any differently than any other competitor.
As far as Artour is concerned, his dad isn't as well known, so I don't think many of his fellow competitors knew he is the kid of a "famous" skater.

About either kids making it to "next level" it might happen if might not happen. In her second year in pre-juvenile Daria has been in the top 4 in all of her competitions so far; so if she does move up to juvenile next year she could do good.
Besides Liberty Final Round, Artour has been in the top 4 in every competition he has entered so far in his first year of as an Intermediate.
I'm really interested in seeing the Intermediate Men's Charter Oak LP, where Artour got a very consistant 4th/14 against some of the other people who have done Junior Nationals or who have made it to the Final Round in Intermdiate Regionals. So he could definently be someone to watch over the years.

But again, who knows? It sounds like they both fun skating right now-and that's all that matters. :)

[SkateGuard]

About either kids making it to "next level" it might happen if might not happen. In her second year in pre-juvenile Daria has been in the top 4 in all of her competitions so far; so if she does move up to juvenile next year she could do good.


It's kind of cool that skating is such a "close-knit" community that an Artur Dmitriev jr. or Daria Grinkova can compete at these club comps without anyone blinking an eye. I mean, they're just a couple of skaters, right?

As for Daria being competitive, I just want to remind all of you that there are _a lot_ of pre-juv/juv/intermediate girls out there, so statistically, the odds are not in her favor, regardless of the talent. It's just _way_ too early to tell at this stage, because there is always a lot of talent at the middle levels in ladies singles. I usually don't comment on the potential of a skater at this level unless: 1. They're competing at Junior Nationals or 2. I skate with them on a regular basis (so I see them skate at least once a week). And #2 only when I know who is reading/listening (meaning, not here, ;) ).

As for children of elite skaters, I had the pleasure of seeing a brother/sister pairs team compete today. They were adorable, and when someone behind me commented that these two were quite good, I said "You should see their mom." You see, their mom is one of the top adult ladies singles skaters in the US. Just another perspective on the topic.... :D

Erin
who is always saying "so _that_ is [so-and-so]" at all these club comps...once I mistook an elite coach for a grandma, lol.