Katarina Witt's 1994 Olympic "Robin Hood" SP | Golden Skate

Katarina Witt's 1994 Olympic "Robin Hood" SP

Vash01

Medalist
Joined
Jul 31, 2003
This program (Robin Hood) is on one of my most hated skating programs of all time. Sorry. Kat's costume was hideous- she did not need to dress like the character- and her skating belonged to another era of eligible competitions. I enjoyed her LP though; her artistry came through much better. To her credit, she skated the SP well enough to be in the last group of skaters for the LP.

Vash
 

Eeyora

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 4, 2003
I always called Robin Hood the cursed music because of the horrible program of Tonya Harding and Kat's disaster at Europeans. What can I say I was a young kid.
 
S

SkateFan4Life

Guest
Come on, already! I strongly disagree with you that Katarina’s “Robin Hood” costume was “hideous”. In my opinion, this outfit was perfect for the music and the program.

I also take exception to your criticism of Witt’s technical skills, stating her skating belonged to another era. May I respectfully remind you that Katarina won six European titles, four World titles, and two Olympic gold medals. By any measure, the woman deserves some respect.

I’ll certainly grant you that the technical aspects of women’s figure skating greatly increased after Witt left the amateur scene in 1988. Between 1988 and 1994, women added the triple lutz to their long programs as a matter of course, and skaters such as Kristi Yamaguchi landed two triple lutzes, as well as triple flips and loops. And Midori Ito and Tonya Harding had the triple axel in their arsenal.

When Katarina decided to return to eligible competition and try to win a spot on the German Olympic team, she knew she had to train extremely hard, and she knew she would not be “given” a place on the team – she had to earn it. I remember her disastrous European “Robin Hood” short program in which she missed practically every jump. Yet, to her great credit, she rebounded strongly, skated a very good long program, and qualified for the German Olympic team.

When Witt arrived at Lillehammer, she stated that she had no expectations of winning a medal. She was there because she wanted to have one more Olympic experience. Despite the fact that her short program triple combination was “only” a triple toe/double toe, she qualified for the final flight in the long program.

Well done, Katarina!
 

mpal2

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Wasn't Lillehammer the only time her parents got to see her compete internationally? I'm sure that had a lot to do with her desire to come back for one more Olympic experience.
 

chipso1

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 20, 2004
mpal2 said:
Wasn't Lillehammer the only time her parents got to see her compete internationally? I'm sure that had a lot to do with her desire to come back for one more Olympic experience.

Nope. They were there when she won her last world title in 1988.
 

Vash01

Medalist
Joined
Jul 31, 2003
SkateFan4Life said:
Come on, already! I strongly disagree with you that Katarina’s “Robin Hood” costume was “hideous”. In my opinion, this outfit was perfect for the music and the program.

I also take exception to your criticism of Witt’s technical skills, stating her skating belonged to another era. May I respectfully remind you that Katarina won six European titles, four World titles, and two Olympic gold medals. By any measure, the woman deserves some respect.

I’ll certainly grant you that the technical aspects of women’s figure skating greatly increased after Witt left the amateur scene in 1988. Between 1988 and 1994, women added the triple lutz to their long programs as a matter of course, and skaters such as Kristi Yamaguchi landed two triple lutzes, as well as triple flips and loops. And Midori Ito and Tonya Harding had the triple axel in their arsenal.



Well done, Katarina!

Your third paragraph clearly supports my statement that her technical skills belonged to another era. That does not mean she did not deserve her gold medals in 1984 & 1988, or the European titles.

A costume is a matter of taste and I do think hers was terrible. It is unnecessary for a skater to dress like a character, particularly for a woman to dress like a man. Skating is about musical interpretation, not theater. If you read my post correctly, you will notice that I did mention she made it to the final group. How is that disrespctful?

Vash
 

soogar

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 18, 2003
What was wrong with Katarina dressing like a man? She had done this before in her career (I downloaded an old SP where she was skating to Mozart and was dressed in breeches and a ruffled shirt). Her program may not have been as great technically as the other ladies, however Kat was very proud of her '94 SP as she said that it was the best SP she had ever skated.

I personally loved both of Kat's programs in 1994 Olympics. They were the best programs of the competition and she showed that she could sell a program without a lot of technical difficulty. Take away Nancy's and Oksana's triples and there wasn't a whole lot to their programs (though there was more for Oksana than Nancy).
 
S

SkateFan4Life

Guest
Vash01 said:
A costume is a matter of taste and I do think hers was terrible. It is unnecessary for a skater to dress like a character, particularly for a woman to dress like a man. Skating is about musical interpretation, not theater. If you read my post correctly, you will notice that I did mention she made it to the final group. How is that disrespctful?

Vash

Why should it matter to you if Katarina wears pants? And why can't a woman figure skater choose to wear pants? If may be "unnecessary" for a skater to dress like a character, but if you follow the sport, you will know that many skaters do exactly that - military-theme costumes, Broadway "show" costumes, Russian "folk" costumes, Spanish costumes, "Carmen" costumes, etc.!
 

thisthingcalledlove

Final Flight
Joined
Sep 24, 2003
Where Have All The Flowers Gone?

As much as I loved the Robinhood SP, I preferred Where Have All The Flowers Gone? as a program. The music was beautiful, and I personally felt that she had the best edges and footwork in the whole competition (Yuka Sato and Josee Chouinard were other women in the competition who had better edges and spins than the women who medalled). I wish every year that someone would use that music again so that I can hear it, or that Kat would perform it one more time. Or, that it will be released in an album somewhere.

The message that program had came across so beautifully. It would be a fitting message, especially in today's world.
 

tdnuva

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Vash01 said:
Kat's costume was hideous- she did not need to dress like the character
Noone needs to dress in a specific way (besides staying within the rules). But I don't see why she MUST not do that? I like it if skaters think about the music and get in character one way or the other (there is not only ONE way). And I don't like it if skaters always wear the same kind of costume no matter what they skate to. It is part of the impression I get of a routine.
 

Vash01

Medalist
Joined
Jul 31, 2003
SkateFan4Life said:
Why should it matter to you if Katarina wears pants? And why can't a woman figure skater choose to wear pants? If may be "unnecessary" for a skater to dress like a character, but if you follow the sport, you will know that many skaters do exactly that - military-theme costumes, Broadway "show" costumes, Russian "folk" costumes, Spanish costumes, "Carmen" costumes, etc.!

Please reread my post. I did not object to 'pants'. I objected to dressing as the character, and I did object to a woman dressing as a 'man' (Robin Hood). Would you like to see Scott Hamilton dress as a lady just because he skated to a feminine music? As I mentioned a costume is a matter of taste and I disliked Kat's Robin Hood costume. You seem to take it personally.

Vash
 

Vash01

Medalist
Joined
Jul 31, 2003
As much as I liked her 'Where have all the flowers gone' program, she did not skate it that well in the 94 Olympics. The disappointment showed in her face. I thought she deserved better marks for artistry than what she received, but I have to disagree that she skated better than the ladies that medaled. Nancy, Oksana, and Chen Lu all skated great and they were better than Katarina in that competition, and it wasn't just about the triples. Katarina had more 'heart' in her program- she wanted to make a statement and she did. It does not necessarily mean her skating was better than the medallists.
 

ks777

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 15, 2003
tdnuva said:
Noone needs to dress in a specific way (besides staying within the rules). But I don't see why she MUST not do that? I like it if skaters think about the music and get in character one way or the other (there is not only ONE way). And I don't like it if skaters always wear the same kind of costume no matter what they skate to. It is part of the impression I get of a routine.

I agree.. Michelle Kwan dresses similar costumes every year, she even has the similar choreography to go with them year after year...
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
ks777 said:
I agree.. Michelle Kwan dresses similar costumes every year, she even has the similar choreography to go with them year after year...
LOL. Michelle has the same Vera Wang dress in every color of the rainbow. :love:

Help me decide which one she looks the most gorgeous in.

http://students.washington.edu/allism/michellekwan.fateback.com/michelle11.jpg salmom

http://images.art.com/images/PRODUCTS/large/10102000/10102936.jpg purple

http://news.theolympian.com/specialsections/TheGames/11741-5736.jpg red

http://www.dholli.com/boleroside.gif lavender

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/gfx/photogalleries/figureskating/Marshalls_intl/images/kwan3.jpg blue
 
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brad640

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 8, 2004
I loved both of Katarina's 94 programs, and I loved her Robin Hood costume. She looked great in that outfit and skated very well. I did not see it as a cross-dressing role so much as a female version of the Robin Hood legend. I'm glad she didn't choose to skate as Maid Marian.

Also, I don't think that music is cursed because KVDP used it and came in 5th in the LP in Moscow.
 

Shanti

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 26, 2005

tdnuva

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Btw - the pic of always the same costume I had in mind was not Kwan (that was only my second thought). I rather thought of those all-the-same female kitsch costume with raffles and sequines and rhinestones (?). It is so tiring to see dozens of little princesses which are already too old for the image.
 
S

SkateFan4Life

Guest
tdnuva said:
Btw - the pic of always the same costume I had in mind was not Kwan (that was only my second thought). I rather thought of those all-the-same female kitsch costume with raffles and sequines and rhinestones (?). It is so tiring to see dozens of little princesses which are already too old for the image.

I agree with you in that some of the women skaters continue to wear the same kind of overly "kitschy" costumes with the ruffles, sequines, and other stuff. It's especialy disconcerting - to me at least - to see a skater in her mid 20s trying to look "cute" and "young". I'm not referring to any specific skater, but I've seen several women of this age group wearing costumes that should have been placed in their closets a decade ago. IMHO, of course.

I love to see a skater wear a costume that carries the theme of her, his, or their music! In his book, "Orser, A Skater's Life", Brian Orser wrote of working with his coaches and choreographers to achieve "the total concept" - in which the music, costume, and choreography were in harmony and in the same theme.

IMHO, this is exactly the way to go! :thumbsup:
 
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