The Year That Was | Page 3 | Golden Skate

The Year That Was

slutskayafan21

Match Penalty
Joined
Mar 28, 2005
The Good:

This generation of Russian skaters, perhaps the last truly great generation of Russian skaters, ending their careers, for the most part in style with Totmianina/
Marinin, Navka/Kostomarov, Plushenko, garnering Olympic Golds(well Plushy might return but I doubt it); and Petrova/Tikhonov medaling at their final Worlds, Slutskaya medaling at her final Olympics(although dissapointed with that).

The strong showings overall of the Canadian skating team with Rochette doing very well at the Olympics, and leading the qualifying round at Worlds; Buttle adding another GP final silver and an Oly bronze to his resume despite no quad and inconsistent jumps, rewarded for his quality overall skating; Marcoux/buntin rebounding from a tough Olympics to have a wonderful Worlds, and adding a 3rd straight Canadian title; Dube/Davison having a wonderful debut at both Olympics and Worlds, showing great promise; Dubreuil/Lauzon having their best year ever despite the crushing fall and subsequent withdrawal in Turin.

The World title won by Pang/Tong, and their wonderful performances at the Olympics even if the judges shafted them for it and denied them the medal they should have won. Their emergence from out of the longtime shadows of the older Shen/Zhou and the younger Zhang/Zhang and into some of their own spotlight.

The courage and continued emerging greatness of Stephane Lambiel, battling judges hatred of him, massive injuries, fans rooting against him, still winning an Oly silver and his second straight World title after having to nearly withdraw from both events up until the days before due to chronic knee problems.

Citizenship being granted both Belbin/Agosto and Savchenko/Szowkowlsky before Turin, it is never good when any prospective contenders are forced to miss the Olympics leaving the event with a void.



The Bad:

The gross overscoring of both Sasha Cohen and Evan Lysacek, the and the extreme overhype of them from the mass U.S media, which probably explains the extent of overscoring, the USFSA likely had some part in that. Part of the problem with the sport that continues even under the new COP.

The somewhat deflating end to Irina's season and possably her career. An inspiring comeback that had been all a dream up until the GP final and looked headed to a storybook ending with the elusive Oly gold and a 3rd World title hit its first roadblock with the unexpected loss to highly touted upstart Asada at the GP final. Then the crushing bronze in Turin, a second missed attempt at the elusive Oly Gold, ala Kwan, sadly neither of these great Champions get the Oly gold they so coveted.

Asada and Kwan both missing from the womens event in Turin, leaving the field without two of its key players, always you hope to see a full field at global event, especialy the Olympics. Kwan's likely end to her career was a deflating one.

The many withdrawals from Worlds by top skater, none of the Olympic Champions showing up, only 1 defending World Champion returning, dissapointing to see that trend continuing.

Worst of all though the proposterously generous treatement from the judges Zhang/Zhang received towards the end of the year, outrageously high PCS scores, being allowed to take an unreasonably long break to resume their skate in Turin, the outrageously inflated scores, particularly in PCS to hand them the Oly silver medal bumping Pang/Tong's wonderful performance right off the podium, true robbery, their undeserved World silver where a great short was followed by a long that should have dropped them to 3rd place but was again overmarked.
 

Kwanford Wife

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 29, 2004
Hey slutskayafan21... I've been waiting for your review of the year that was... :bow:

Some of your thoughts I agreed with (you know which ones...), some I didn't... some made me giggle (are you ever gonna give Evan a break?:laugh: ) but no one can deny ya gotta major style! :rock: :rock:
 

attyfan

Custom Title
Medalist
Joined
Mar 1, 2004
Jaana said:
She is not, not even nationally. Dick Button has two Olympic gold medals and five World golds ... .

(I noticed that, on your list of "most decorated" ladies, no Americans were mentioned -- and USFS only describes Michelle as "the most decorated American". She has more World medals than either Button or Carol Heiss (and I suppose medals other than gold qualify as "decorations", and her total number of Nat titles also figures into the equation.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Actually, Carol Heiss :love: won five world championships (same as Michelle) and an Olympic gold (1960) and a silver (1956) medal.

BTW, if you want to see a bunch of Michelle's decorations, you will soon be able to visit the Michelle kwan trophy room at the East-West Ice Palace. Sunglasses recomended, because of the sparkle and shine! :rock:

MM :)

PS. Dick Button also won five world championships, plus Olympic gold medals in 1948 and 1952 -- but who's counting?
 

slutskayafan21

Match Penalty
Joined
Mar 28, 2005
Kwanford Wife said:
Hey slutskayafan21... I've been waiting for your review of the year that was... :bow:

Some of your thoughts I agreed with (you know which ones...), some I didn't... some made me giggle (are you ever gonna give Evan a break?:laugh: ) but no one can deny ya gotta major style! :rock: :rock:

Why thank you Kwanford Wife, I have missed you posting here more regularly lately by the way. :biggrin:

Will I give Evan a break? Hmmm, maybe the next time he skates the competition of his life, the top skaters all fall, and the judges place him out of the top 5 I will ease up on him atlast. :biggrin:
 

Jaana

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Country
Finland
Mathman said:
By "most decorated" I think they mean, if you took all the skaters and hung all their medals about their necks at the same time, who would be the most weighted down? This is different from "all time best" -- a subjective judgment on which there might be a difference of opinion.

Michelle has won 42 championships. Since no one has 43, by the numbers that makes Michelle "the most decorated skater in U.S. figure skating history," as proudly proclaimed on the USFSA site.

http://www.usfigureskating.org/AthleteBio.asp?id=2267

MM :)

PS. And this doesn't even count winning the Reader's Choice award (now called the Michelle Kwan trophy) 7 straight times. Not even Ulrich Salchow (10 world championships) can say that! ;)

Aaah, yes, now I understand. Here counts the quantity and not the quality of achievements, so to speak, LOL.
 

hockeyfan228

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Jaana said:
Aaah, yes, now I understand. Here counts the quantity and not the quality of achievements, so to speak, LOL.
Another take on this is that US Nationals for Ladies is considered one of the most pressure-filled competitions in the World, and Kwan has acquitted herself nicely there for over a decade. And while there have been far more competitive opportunities for skaters in the last 15 years, there is that much more pressure to be on and win, and to get up for lesser competitions, keeping the quality high. There are also far fewer opportunities to be wuzrobbed out of the public eye than there were in the age of figures and before figure skating was broadcast widely.
 
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