Years Before Olymipcs | Golden Skate

Years Before Olymipcs

skatergirl45

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 1, 2008
So, I have noticed that many skaters who do not do well the year before the Olymipcs do great in the Olympics.


Shizuka Arakawa
Alexei Yagudin
Evgeni Plushenko


And then the opposite
Carolina Kostner
Michelle Kwan(2002)
Irina Slutskaya
Evgeni Plushenko(2002)


Those are just a few.

Does not doing well the year before motivate skaters MORE for the Olympics????

Just wondering..................
 

Antilles

Medalist
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
For quite a number of years, the man who wins World Gold in the year preceding the Olympics does not take home Olympic Gold. This goes back to Brian Orser in 1987.

Not winning might provide more motivation. It might also relieve some of the pressure if expectations are lower. I think it really depends on the skater.
 

moviechick

On the Ice
Joined
May 7, 2008
You can also add Ilia Kulik to the list of those who didn't do well the year before the Olympics.

Also, not doing "well" in a season can have many meanings for different people. It depends on whose standards you're using. Like Plushenko in 2005 still won every competition that season except Worlds since he withdrew. Yagudin in 2001 got a lot of 2nd places in the big events, which isn't really that terrible to most people but it does suck more to be on top for 3 years and then fall to 2nd.
 
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blue dog

Trixie Schuba's biggest fan!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 16, 2006
I don't know what you mean by "doing well"--is it simply winning Olympic gold? Because there have been OG winners who didn't do well...and there have been silver medalists who had the performance of their lives...

On that note, people who didn't do well the year before and had the night of their lives at the big O--

Paul Wylie
Nancy Kerrigan
Philippe Candeloro
Chen Lu (1998--from not even qualifying for the FS in 1997!)
 

hockeyfan228

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Chen Lu was badly injured in 1997 and was forced to skate by her Federation. She had recovered by 1998.
 

blue dog

Trixie Schuba's biggest fan!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 16, 2006
True, but by definition (or not) she had a horrible 1997 and a good O.

Other skaters who weren't quite there the year before but redeemed themselves in time:

Annet Poetzsch
Dorothy Hamill
Klimova/Ponomarenko (ice dance?!)
Grischuk/Platov in 1993/1994
Wolfgang Schwartz
John Curry
Robin Cousins
 

Jaana

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Country
Finland

Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 28, 2006
Goes to show you that predictions are never reliable. in 2006 everybody thought it would be either Sasha or Irina. In 2002 it was either Irina or Michelle. Where was Kimmie in 2005? or Sarah in 2001? Sucessful, yes, but not top step quality.
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
So, I have noticed that many skaters who do not do well the year before the Olymipcs do great in the Olympics.


Shizuka Arakawa
Alexei Yagudin
Evgeni Plushenko


And then the opposite
Carolina Kostner
Michelle Kwan(2002)
Irina Slutskaya
Evgeni Plushenko(2002)


Those are just a few.

Does not doing well the year before motivate skaters MORE for the Olympics????

Just wondering..................

Michelle Kwan, Irina Slutskaya and Evgeni Plushenko all won medals at those Olympics where they "didn't do well". I wouldn't call that "not doing well".
 

Jaana

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Country
Finland
Michelle Kwan, Irina Slutskaya and Evgeni Plushenko all won medals at those Olympics where they "didn't do well". I wouldn't call that "not doing well".

Generally speaking a skater does well, if she/he medals at the Olympics. On the other hand skaters expected to win, do not do quite that well if the achievement is a silver or bronze medal.
 
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skatergirl45

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 1, 2008
Oops. I COMPLETEY am a beleiver that doind well is not a gold medal. I was typing in a hurry. I really meant won gold.............
 

heyang

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
You forget that there have been many who have won the World Championship the year before the Olympics and then also won the Oly Gold medal. Kristi won Worlds in 91 and 92, as well as Oly's in 92.

While Brian Boitano did not win World's in 1987, he did go into the Oly's as 4 time National champion. So, I wouldn't say that 'only getting silver' at Worlds in 87 was a bad year, but it did lead him to work on his artistry some more.

As someone else mentioned, not winning World's at the prior Oly's does not equal a bad year. The only blatent example of a really bad pre-oly year to standing on the Oly podium is Lulu going from World Champion in 1995 & 2nd in 1996 to barely making the cut at World's in 1997 and then coming back to win the bronze in 1998 at the Oly's.
 

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
This is a really interesting question and one that there is no "pat" answer because skaters peak at different times and also in the past figures were part of the Olympic games. So a skater "not doing well" at an Olympics could have been due to a poor mark on his/her figures portion of their total standing. Toller Cranston is an example of that - he won the free skate portion but was marked down in his figures portion so was awarded the bronze. The same thing happened to Brian Orser in 1987 - he did not do well in the figures portion although of course was in the top standing for the short and long programs.

Now the figures are not a part of the games or other skating competitions, but skaters do still have peak times in their lives and the grind of competing sometimes becomes a factor. That is why I say there is no pat answer.
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
The best skater does not always skate the best every night. However, I could also list Sarah Hughes who beat out Cohen, Kwan, and Slutskaya. It happens.

The best skater is a figment of a mind, and that skater will always be the best to that person. Medals do not matter.

I personally think, a silver and bronze medal is quite impressive.

Some wonderful skaters do not have that: Todd, Ilya, etc. Still I continue to like them.
 
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