Favorite figure skaters--??

[verte76]

Does anyone else like figure skating? I think it's beautiful. Who's your favorite skater? Gosh, that's tough! I like Michelle Kwan, Irina Slutskaya, Sarah Hughes, Sasha Cohen, Denkova and Stavyiksi, Alexei Yagudin, and a whole slew of others I won't mention right now. Maybe the next note.

 

[Ana]

I saw Slutskaya weeks ago on tv and she's definitely good

 

[verte76]

I saw Slutskaya weeks ago on tv and she's definitely good

Irina is the only lady skater to ever land a triple-lutz triple-loop jump combo. She did it at the 2001 Grand Prix Final to win. That's incredibly difficult. In fact, I'm not sure a man has ever landed that thing either.

 

[The_Sweetest_Thing]

..don't even get me started Sula, are you out there??

 

[cell]

my favorite ice/figure(?) skater has been and will always be Scott Hamiliton. He was awesome in his days

 

[verte76]

my favorite ice/figure(?) skater has been and will always be Scott Hamiliton. He was awesome in his days

OMG, I love Scott. What a fantastic entertainer on the ice he was. There's no skater quite like him. Talk about personality!! Charisma! Talent! He had it all.

 

[verte76]

DAMN! I forgot to mention Torvill and Dean! My God, those guys were total *geniuses*. "Bolero" is still the most amazing thing I've ever seen on ice. I know some people don't like ice dancing because the skaters don't do jumps. Trust me, some of those dance moves are unbelievably difficult, requiring great balance, strength, and control. They require just as much skating skill as jumps do. Jumps are cool but they're not all skating is about IMO.

 

[sulawesigirl4]

here I am.

Ummm, off the top of my head, I would say Victor Petrenko, Kristi Yamaguchi (duh), Mishketonek and Dimitiev, Elvis Stojko, Brian Orser, Kurt Browning (when he could stay on his feet...aka any competition except the Olympics), Michelle Kwan, and you gotta love him...Paul Wylie.

more when I think of them.

 

[Kariann]

Love figure skating! Michelle Kwan is my favorite female skater...she makes it look so easy and beautiful. I love Todd Eldridge. When Alexi Yagudin first came onto the scene I didnt really care to much for him but he has grown on me. Scott Hamilton...how could you not love the man! I miss Paul Wylie. His JFK program is one of my all time favorites.

 

[verte76]

Ooh, another one of my faves--Paul Wylie. The guy was a brilliant stylist. His programs were always dramatic and very intense. The best program I ever saw him do was "Carmina Burana". Wow! I miss him too. Kurt Browning, too, when he wasn't in the Olympics. I loved "Casablanca". He even had a dramatic version of "Casablanca" on a TV special, with him as the detective and Kristi Yamaguchi and Josee Chuinard as the pretty girls and someone else (I forget who) as the villain. I liked Elvis, too. He had so much originality and I think he was undermarked because his programs were based on martial arts and not ballet. He should won the gold in Norway, not the silver. The judges always wanted ballet. Ballet is cool but I get tired of everyone doing it. Mishketunik and Dmitriev got ripped off in Norway--should have won the gold, not the silver. Oh well. The judges are human.

 

[Kariann]

I loved Casablanca. I enjoy watching the men the most because it seems like they more varied styles than the women. In pairs I loved Gordeeva and Grinkov and of course Torvill and Deam in dance. I liked Josee Choinard. I would have loved to seen her do better in competition. I've always kind of wondered how things would have turned out in Norway when she had to skater earlier due to the Tonya Harding skate lace thing. For some reason I dont care to much for Plushenko.

I'm taking my Mom to Stars on Ice in a couple of weeks...kind of getting excited now! I usually dont until the week before.

 

[hotpepper]

Other people that like the event of figure skating and those people who are so great at it.

I like all of those people that you mentioned verte76 but my all time favs are Brian Boitano and Katerina Witt.

 

[The_Sweetest_Thing]

I liked Elvis, too. He had so much originality and I think he was undermarked because his programs were based on martial arts and not ballet. He should won the gold in Norway, not the silver. The judges always wanted ballet. Ballet is cool but I get tired of everyone doing it. Mishketunik and Dmitriev got ripped off in Norway--should have won the gold, not the silver. Oh well. The judges are human.

Definetely. I think the judges felt guilty because Gordeeva and Grinkov wee older, but I felt that Mishkoutnek and Dimitriev skated much better.
..and Elvis was INCREDIBLY ripped off....Alexei Urmanov? Come on! Aggh! I can't even get started!

...other favouites: Kurt Browning (I ADORED his Casablanca. I have it on tape somewhere), Brasseur and Eisler, Bourne and Kraatz, Anissina and Peizeralt (sometimes. They can be a bit over the top), Kristi Yamaguchi, Michelle Kwan..

Timothy Goebel is up and coming...um, Zimmerman and Ina..Sasha Cohen.

I admit it. I once had a HUGE crush on..Phillipe Candeloro!

I'm sure there's more that I'll come back to list later...

 

[Kariann]

I totally forgot about Alexei Urmanov!

 

[verte76]

Oh, the Stojko/ Urmanov thing was a fiasco. Urmanov blew a triple flip jump, but because he had a classical, balletic style, he won the gold. Elvis singled his first triple Axel, but then threw in a triple Axel/ triple toe loop combo instead of his planned quad. Wow, do you know how tough it is to change your program while you're doing it under Olympic pressure? It's amazing that he could do it. He should have gotten the gold for that. He didn't. They gave Gordeeva and Grinkov the gold for superior technical skills, but I thought they were sort of cold and mechanical and M&D were on fire. I didn't agree with that but that's skating.

 

[Kariann]

I have to agree that M&D were better that G&G that year. I never did like Urmanov. Always thought he was a little dull.

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

Does anyone else like figure skating? I think it's beautiful. Who's your favorite skater? Gosh, that's tough! I like Michelle Kwan, Irina Slutskaya, Sarah Hughes, Sasha Cohen, Denkova and Stavyiksi, Alexei Yagudin, and a whole slew of others I won't mention right now. Maybe the next note.

i like Michelle, Irina and Sasha

 

[verte76]

I have to agree that M&D were better that G&G that year. I never did like Urmanov. Always thought he was a little dull.

So did I. I thought he was really flat in the presentation department and his presentation scores were a bad joke. The judges botched that one big time.

 

[verte76]

Bourne and Kraatz, Anissina and Peizeralt (sometimes. They can be a bit over the top),

Cool! Someone else who likes ice dance! Yeah, sometimes Marina and Gwendal overdid the theatrics. But I really liked them. They were always original and different. Bourne and Kraatz are great, too. I can't wait to see their new programs. They recently got a whole slew of perfect presentation scores from international judges at the Four Continents competition (which wasn't shown in my neck of the woods dammit) Worlds should be interesting. I'm going to be so nervous.

 

[Kariann]

What about Tara Lipinski? She's another one that hasnt been one of my personal favorites. I think she's a good skater but there isnt anything to really wow me.

 

[verte76]

What about Tara Lipinski? She's another one that hasnt been one of my personal favorites. I think she's a good skater but there isnt anything to really wow me.

Tara is a good technical skater but her presentation has always been weak, IMO. She's improved her performing ability since turning professional, however. Now she's sidelined with that bad hip. Bummer.

 

[AdamsMango]

i dont watch much figure skating now...but when i was younger I was obsessed with Kristi Yamaguchi. I loved her. I remember staying up late to watch her win her gold medal at the olympics! She was my favorite person in the world! I still like her alot-wish she hadn't retired

 

[Schmeg]

Me.

Just kidding!!! Sorry!

Kristi Yamaguch is my all-time favorite. She was the reason I started taking skating lessons.
Scott Hamilton is just awesome. Words cannot describe what he's done for skating and charities and everything else.
...I used to watch Torvill and Dean's Bolero literally three times a day...I knew every step...They got totally ripped off in '94.
Right now I love Michelle and Sarah. I didn't really care for Irina until Michelle hugged her at Worlds last year. For some reason that turned me over.
Tara never really did it for me. She won because Michelle flipped out. Really, so did Sarah, but at least she exuded grace and beauty.
I'll always miss G&G. That's the saddest thing ever.
I LOVE SKATING! I can't wait for Worlds!!!

 

[Mrs. Vedder]

Michelle Kwan is great!!

I used to love watching Oksana Baiul...not a great "technical" skater but she was wonderful artistic wise! Then she had all these personal problems!

 

[Kariann]

Schmeg-

Totally agree with you about Torvill and Dean being ripped off in 94. I loved that program. Bolero is one of the true classics.

I've never been all that impressed with Tara at all. She's good but not what I consider great. I have grown to like Irina more than I used to but doubt she will ever be a favorite. When I saw her skate here at the Hallmark Championship is when I started to like her more.

 

[sulawesigirl4]

hehe, i love chatting with other skating nerds.

urmanov totally didn't deserve the gold in Norway, but then again, I don't think there was a single gold medalist in Lillehammer (skating-wise) that did. G&G, while very good, did not even begin to match M&D. Urmanov over Elvis was a total joke and Oksana Baiul....oh I better not even get started on that little piece of fluff. Suffice it to say, the "look at the poor waif who makes her own costumes" angle works for television but it wore thin imo. Two-footed jumps anyone? And Torvil and Dean were undeniably screwed over. So it was a very bad Olympics in my view.

Tara Lipinski is another one of my dislikes. lol. Then again, that may be because she seems to like herself so much, she wouldn't even need fans.

You know who I want to keep an eye on for improvement? That Chinese pair that got bronze. Talk about raw power! If they can get themselves to a good choreographer and learn how to spin...they could be quite something.

 

[tiny dancer]

Men: Scott Hamiliton
Women: Michelle Kwan
Pairs: Gordeeva & Grinkov
Ice: Torvill & Dean

 

[verte76]

Oh, I love the Chinese pair bronze medalists! They have tricky names, don't they?? But they sure are fun to watch, and maybe someday they'll land that quad throw! I hope they win another Worlds, and then......maybe a gold in 2006! They'll have to improve their spins if they want to beat some of the other skaters. But they're great!

 

[verte76]

I agree, the judging in Lillehammer stank. Torvill and Dean got ripped off. It was probably re-instatement politics. Some of the people in the ISU were really against the professionals coming back and took it out in the scores. Stupid. Don't get me started on ice dance politics.

 

[Kariann]

I think the Chinease pairs are worth keeping an eye on. The bronze medalists are good and there is another pair that seem to be pretty good as well...cant remember their names but I was pretty impressed with them when I saw them skate here a couple months ago.