Jeremy Abbott, a four-time U.S. figure skating champion, said he will retire if he can’t land two different quadruple jumps in training by June, according to examiner.com.
“I have set some really high goals and standards for myself that I have to see through by June, and if not, that’s all right,” Abbott said, according to the report.
Abbott, 29, fell on his one quadruple jump attempt, a toe loop, at his last competition at the U.S. Championships in January, where he finished fifth, his lowest result in nine senior Nationals appearances.
He attempted zero quads in his other two competitions last season. He fell on quad toe loop attempts in the team event and individual event short programs at the Sochi Olympics and landed one of two quad toe loop attempts at the 2014 World Championships.
This past season, Abbott missed making the World Championships team and with it his goal of earning his first individual medal at a Worlds or Olympics, a reason why he went back on a planned retirement after his second Olympic appearance in 2014.
“If there were still pro competitions and tons and tons of tours and shows to go around, this wouldn’t even be a conversation. I would have retired immediately after [the Sochi 2014 Olympics],” Abbott said, according to the report. “I would still get the opportunity to compete, and I would still get the opportunity to perform and get to do everything that I love about skating, but just in a different aspect. I still have that fire and drive to compete, but there’s no professional opportunities anymore, so I feel like people really aren’t retiring because there’s nothing there. People are sticking it out longer than they probably want to or should, myself included, but there’s just no opportunities anymore, and I think it’s such a shame.”
