The Top Ten Skaters of this Decade

[Figure88]

Despite all this, I would put her right behind Kwan because one crucial thing that is missing from her is longevity. Longevity is particularly important at her level, because as the top lady, she has extra responsibility of leading the sport and advancing it further by staying in the competition. Kwan stayed with the sport for a decade and made long lasting contributions, one of them being the inspiration she gave to young skaters around the world like, well, Yuna. If Yuna stays with competitions and contributes for a few more years as she has done for the last a few seasons, she will be the undisputed queen of the sport of the last half century, in my book.

I agree that Yuna should skate for another four years. For the moment, I would rank Yuna as the same level as Kwan because she does have the longevity factor. Yuna did mention that her decision to retire rests on whether she can maintain her competitive level. That's actually a very logical statement. She's an Olympic champion, after all. It would tarnish her reputation, if she can't maintain a gold-medal winning streak. So, I have mixed feelings about whether she should continue in the sport since there will be more pressure on her than ever. At the same time, I do think that if continues to compete and win gold, she would undoubtedly be considered one of the best female skaters ever, if not the best.

[wonbinfan86]

Ladies:
1. Mao Asada: Superior artistry, queen of the triple axel, what more can you ask for?
2. Shizuka Arakawa: diva on ice, gorgeous positions
3. Yuna Kim: OGM, best triple-triple in the sport
4. Fumie Suguri: amazing consistency, artistry, gigantic triple flip
5. Miki Ando: quad salchow, lovely triple loop in combination
6. Yukina Ota: wonderful spins, step sequences
7. Yukari Nakano: overall package
8. Yoshie Onda: huge jumps
9. Nana Takeda: triple loop to die for
10. Julia Sebestyen: triple lutz, longevity

Honorable Mentions: Sasha Cohen, Michelle Kwan (overrated imo, her programs kept on using the same elements over and over again, if you took out the music they would pretty much be identical), Elena Sokolova

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1000. Sarah Hughes: won OGM with 7 heavily underrotated triples

[BR@ZILIANSK@TER]

Only Men:
1 - Plushenko. Plushenko was the best jumper of the decade, no doubt about it, phushing the envelope more and more with 4/3/2 , 4/3/3, 3axle/half loop/3flip combos and even trying a quad lutz (in 2004 Cup of Russia I guess). He won 3 worlds and 2 OSM and an OGM in this decade. In my opinion in this decade he beats Yagudin.
2 - Yagudin. Yagudin had the hole package, he was a great artist and was consistent in all jumps. He skated with passion and always had great charisma. He won 2 world titles (2000 and 2002) and an OGM in this decade.
3 - You may think I'm crazy but... Timothy Goebel. He was trully "the quad King" being one of the very few men able to land 3 quads in the same FS. His artistry was terrible (But his "American in Paris" program was ok) but he won OBM and 2 WSM competing against Yagudin and Plushenko in their best.
4 - Takahashi. He is a great all around skater (Although there´s something I don´t like in his jumps). He is consistent in thw jumps and has GREAT skating skills.
5 - Lambiel. Great artist with great quad toe. His Four Seasons program is a masterpiece! Won 2 Worlds and an OSM. If he had mastered his 3 axel he would have been even greater.
6 - well well well... Joubert. I don´t like him but i have to agree he´s been very consistent this decade winning some important titles and always in the podiums. He had done better in both Olympics he could have placed better here.
7 - Buttle. Now we reach the "no quads" squadron on men fig. skating. Buttle was just GREAT!!! His musicality, edges, landings, spins, interpretation.. wow... it´s very sorry his jumps weren´t great all the time and he lacked the Quad (and had many mistakes on the 3 Axels). If he had the jumps he would beat all men in my opinion.
8 - Lysacek. He has grown throughout this decade. I honor his effort to become more artistic (I don´t think he is a great artist but he has improved A LOT) and he is really consistent in the triples. Anyway HE IS World champion and OGM.
9 - Takeshi Honda. He was a great skater. Good artistry and great technique. Had 2 WBM and was another of the few man able to land 3 quad in FS (2003 4 countinents I guess).
10 - TIE - Weir, Chan and Oda. Weir had some very good and some terroble moments in this decade but he is very good, somewhat consistent with the triples and always had great interpretation, music choices, presence on the ice. Chan has apeared in the end of this decade with good jumps but no quads and some shaky 3 axels. Although he managed to win 2 WSM after all. Nobunari Oda is one of my favorite skaters and I thougth this season would be HIS season... but he disapointed me not including quads this season and faded when faced the entire field of men. But I still have hope in him.

*** Ghosts from the past christmas (worth mentioning): Verner, Abt, Klimkim (do you remember him?), Van Der Perren, Samuel Contesti, Emanuel Shandu (When he was on!!!!!!)
***Ghosts from the future christmas (worth watching closely next decade): Brezina (HE IS GREAT, reminds me buttle, but with better jumps!!!!), Amodio (he was bonr here in Brazil!), Jeremy (he still young), Denis Tan, Kozuka, Schuits... I don´t know his name (I guess he is from Sweden).

That's all

[dlgpffps]

Ladies:
1. Mao Asada: Superior artistry, queen of the triple axel, what more can you ask for?
2. Shizuka Arakawa: diva on ice, gorgeous positions
3. Yuna Kim: OGM, best triple-triple in the sport
4. Fumie Suguri: amazing consistency, artistry, gigantic triple flip
5. Miki Ando: quad salchow, lovely triple loop in combination
6. Yukina Ota: wonderful spins, step sequences
7. Yukari Nakano: overall package
8. Yoshie Onda: huge jumps
9. Nana Takeda: triple loop to die for
10. Julia Sebestyen: triple lutz, longevity

Honorable Mentions: Sasha Cohen, Michelle Kwan (overrated imo, her programs kept on using the same elements over and over again, if you took out the music they would pretty much be identical), Elena Sokolova

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1000. Sarah Hughes: won OGM with 7 heavily underrotated triples

You have a very interesting list. Could I ask that you elaborate on your criteria? I just don't understand how Michelle Kwan, Irina Slutskaya and Sasha Cohen are not on your top ten, while some very obscure names are. I have no ulterior motive in asking. You're entitled to your opinions, but I can't help but be curious.

[BR@ZILIANSK@TER]

Ladies:
1 - Irina. She had a wonderful come back after her illness. Always been technically stronger than Kwan, improved dramaticaly her artistry in this decade and won 2 worlds, an OSM and an OBM.
2 - Kwan. She is just great and I would place her higher than Irina if we came back to 1996-2006. But in this decade, Irina wins.
3 - Mao. Her jumping ability in phenomenal, unparalled in this decade. The only ladies to land 3Axels really consistently since Midori Ito. Has very good artistry, won a lot of titles, 2 worlds, an OSM, and who knows what would have happen if she had been to Torino?
4 - Kim. I think she's been a little overscored (How could she win the FS in this last Worlds???) in every competition she entered. She can´t even do a 3loop. Anyway, she has great speed, excellent technique, good interpretation and won worlds and an OGM with a stellar performance.
5 - Arakawa - Wonderful jumper (with her 3/3 combos) won 1 world and OGM. She has the important titles. But she repeated her "Puccini" program a lot of times.
6 - Sasha. I hate her jumps but she is maybe the great artist fo the decade along with kwan. Her had somo masterpieces SPs. The better spirals I have ever seen in the history of Fig. Skating (and I have watched a LOT of old time skater), great spins. If she had consistent jumps and more titles she could be at the top. But her up and down history was disaponting.
7 - Ando. One of the best jumpers in this decade, poor artistry, some strange costumes along the way, but I really like her. She won a deserved world championship.
8 - Rochette. I like her attack in the jumps, her speed. Her artristry is good but somehow "artificial" for me, like something that was learned after some efffort but is not natural to her(the same impression I have from Evan Lysacek). She's been a little overscored too.
9 - Suguri. Consistent in the begining of the decade winning 2 WBM. She had very good artistry and music choices. Unfortunatly faded as the decade proceeded.
10 - Kostner. In my opinion she is here only because of her speed and her 3/3 combos.

*** Worth mentioning: Julia Sebestyen (Great 3 Lutz, good artistry), Yoshie Onda (Huge Jumps)², Nakano, Lepisto, Rachel Flatt (CONSISTENCY), Hughes ( for her OGM only!)

[fairly4]

my top ten of 2000 are this

1) michelle
2) irina
3)shizuka
so far those are it-i didn't put in the skaters who are still competiting because their careers and accomplishments aren't over for figure skating. I don't know and can't predict the future--so the list is incompelete

men are incomplete because of decade
i don't know future both evan and evgeny hasn't stated they would retire etc. even though they might i still don't know the future

pairs
zhen/zhou
2006 olympic champs
pang tong

dance
2006 olympic champs
dubreil lauzon
belbin and agosto

my list is incomplete the ones i listed will be on the list no matter what who still skates or doesn't not listed -the future accomplishments are up for grabs.

[Rhonya]

I´ll just pick my top 5:

Men:
1. Plushenko: The One and Only. He´s got incredibly strong technique, jumps are far above to any other skater.
Pure artistry, breathtaking charisma and powerful presence on the ice; it´s mesmerizing to see him skate.
2. Lambiel: He´s got it all: effortless quad jumps, amazing spins, great artistry. I can´t take my eyes of him when he is on the ice.
3. Yagudin: May be as good as Plushenko, but there´s something about him that I dislike, can´t define precisely what it is (that´s why the third place).
4. Joubert: I actually dislike him a lot, but can´t deny his achievements
(although in all honesty: he wouldn´t have reached so many medals if Plushenko didn´t had his three seasons break).
5. Takahashi: Strong and flawless technique. Still, there´s something missing..

Women:
1. Slutskaya: Unique. Passionate and charismatic skater with ability to make just perfect performances.
2. Asada: Incredibly talented and powerful skater with great artistry. Looks like she didn´t have to make an effort at all.
3. Kwan: Unforgettable performances, beautiful to watch.
4: Kim: Amazing skater, but I think she hasn´t skated for long enough to get into the top 3 yet.
5: Ando: Technically she´s great skater, but not very artistic. A bit boring to watch, I think.

[frodenofan30]

Pairs:

1. Sale & Pelletier- unbeatable unless there was a judging scandal
2. Totmianina & Marinin- technically best and most consistent pair of decade.
3. Berehznaya & Sikharulidze- second best artistic pair of decade after Sale & Pelletier.
4. Shen & Zhou- kept waiting for others to retire to win big events. Way overrated.
5. Savchenko & Szowkoly- great pair, poor competitors under pressure.
6. Pang & Tong- take advantage of others mistakes for biggest successes.
7. Zhangs
8. Petrova & Tikhonov

Mens:

1. Yagudin
2. Plushenko- better record than Yagudin but less inspired skating
3. Takahashi
4. Lambiel
5. Lysacek
6. Joubert
7. Buttle
8. Chan
9. Weir
10. Honda or Goebel

Dance:

1. Anissina & Peizerat
2. Navka & Kostomarov
3. Virtue & Moir
4. Belbin & Agosto
5. Delobel & Schoenfelder
6. Bourne & Kraatz
7. Domnina & Shabalin
8. Drobiazko & Vanagas
9. Barbara Fusar Poli (since she alone was all that mattered of that team)
10. Davis & White


Ladies:

1. Kim- her best skating this decade beats everyone elses best
2. Slutskaya
3. Asada- her best skating would probably beat Slutskaya's but Irina was a bit consistent when healthy
4. Kwan- why is everyone ranking her #1? She clearly doesnt have the best record of this decade overall even if you counted her 3 World titles. And if we are talking about last 10 years and counting only 2 of those her overall record is well behind the other 3 listed above. Her best in the 2000s would also not beat Kim, Slutskaya, or Asada at their best in the 2000s under either scoring system.
5. Arakawa- although her best skating this decade beats Kwans best
6. Cohen- her best skating would beat both Kwan and Arakawa's best but she rarely produced it.
7. Hughes- fluke Olympic Gold, still have to give her credit.
8. Rochette
9. Suguri
10. Ando- ugh skater. Only put her on the list out of respect for her record

[Layfan]

I think the decades fall wrong for this comparison. If we go from 1996-2005 (or 1995-2004), that's the Michelle decade. All the others can fight it out for 2005-2014.

This is how I feel and why I find it impossible to rank skaters of this decade. Michelle and Kim never even competed against each other. They are from different eras, not the same one.

But it made me think of something. How do you determine whether a skater is truly great? Having a certain period defined as an era because a certain skater competed in it seems like a pretty good criteria to me!

So.

Is there a Michelle Kwan era? Obviously.

Is there a Kim Yuna era? Yes even if she doesn't keep competing.

Is there an Irina Slutskaya era? Well, there is at least a Michelle Kwan-Irina Slutskaya era. And a good case to be made for an Irina era, as she has two world title and two Olympic medals and was a favorite for gold for so long. So she's also on the list.

Is there a Mao era? There is obviously a Yuna-Mao era. And again, a case to be made for Mao with her two world titles and record-breaking triple axels. So she's on the list.

Is there a Sarah Hughes era? No.
Is there a Shizuka Arakawa era? May more than Sarah Hughes. But nah.
Is there a Miko Ando era? No.
Kim Meissner era? Definitely not.

So I say there are only 4 truly "great" skaters who competed in past decade:
Michelle Kwan
Kim Yuna
Irina Slutskaya
Mao Asada

With honorable mention to Sasha Cohen and Shizuka Arakawa since they were great rivals to Michelle and Irina. I might even say there was a Michelle-Sasha era but that's really only from a U.S. perspective. Just like a "Shiz era" would be from a Japanese perspective.

[miki88]

This is how I feel and why I find it impossible to rank skaters of this decade. Michelle and Kim never even competed against each other. They are from different eras, not the same one.

But it made me think of something. How do you determine whether a skater is truly great? Having a certain period defined as an era because a certain skater competed in it seems like a pretty good criteria to me!

So.

Is there a Michelle Kwan era? Obviously.

Is there a Kim Yuna era? Yes even if she doesn't keep competing.

Is there an Irina Slutskaya era? Well, there is at least a Michelle Kwan-Irina Slutskaya era. And a good case to be made for an Irina era, as she has two world title and two Olympic medals and was a favorite for gold for so long. So she's also on the list.

Is there a Mao era? There is obviously a Yuna-Mao era. And again, a case to be made for Mao with her two world titles and record-breaking triple axels. So she's on the list.

Is there a Sarah Hughes era? No.
Is there a Shizuka Arakawa era? May more than Sarah Hughes. But nah.
Is there a Miko Ando era? No.
Kim Meissner era? Definitely not.

So I say there are only 4 truly "great" skaters who competed in past decade:
Michelle Kwan
Kim Yuna
Irina Slutskaya
Mao Asada

With honorable mention to Sasha Cohen and Shizuka Arakawa since they were great rivals to Michelle and Irina. I might even say there was a Michelle-Sasha era but that's really only from a U.S. perspective. Just like a "Shiz era" would be from a Japanese perspective.

Unfortunately, Irina had to compete with Michelle when she was at her prime, and was mostly overshadowed until around maybe 2005. Irina adapted much better to the CoP than Michelle and emerged as the frontrunner. I guess it could be argued that she had an "era" during the last few years of their rivarly albeit a brief one. On the other hand, Mao clearly had her "era" so to speak. From the moment she emerged on the scene in 2005, she has caught attention and the hype only died down after she won her first championship in 2008 and teamed with TAT. If Yuna is the model of the present CoP, then Mao was the star of the early days of the system.

[blue_idealist]

This is how I feel and why I find it impossible to rank skaters of this decade. Michelle and Kim never even competed against each other. They are from different eras, not the same one.

But it made me think of something. How do you determine whether a skater is truly great? Having a certain period defined as an era because a certain skater competed in it seems like a pretty good criteria to me!

So.

Is there a Michelle Kwan era? Obviously.

Is there a Kim Yuna era? Yes even if she doesn't keep competing.

Is there an Irina Slutskaya era? Well, there is at least a Michelle Kwan-Irina Slutskaya era. And a good case to be made for an Irina era, as she has two world title and two Olympic medals and was a favorite for gold for so long. So she's also on the list.

Is there a Mao era? There is obviously a Yuna-Mao era. And again, a case to be made for Mao with her two world titles and record-breaking triple axels. So she's on the list.

Is there a Sarah Hughes era? No.
Is there a Shizuka Arakawa era? May more than Sarah Hughes. But nah.
Is there a Miko Ando era? No.
Kim Meissner era? Definitely not.

So I say there are only 4 truly "great" skaters who competed in past decade:
Michelle Kwan
Kim Yuna
Irina Slutskaya
Mao Asada

With honorable mention to Sasha Cohen and Shizuka Arakawa since they were great rivals to Michelle and Irina. I might even say there was a Michelle-Sasha era but that's really only from a U.S. perspective. Just like a "Shiz era" would be from a Japanese perspective.

I agree with you - as I had the top four being Kwan, Slutskaya, Kim, and Asada, in that order.

[janetfan]

This is how I feel and why I find it impossible to rank skaters of this decade. Michelle and Kim never even competed against each other. They are from different eras, not the same one.

But it made me think of something. How do you determine whether a skater is truly great? Having a certain period defined as an era because a certain skater competed in it seems like a pretty good criteria to me!

So.

Is there a Michelle Kwan era? Obviously.

Is there a Kim Yuna era? Yes even if she doesn't keep competing.

Is there an Irina Slutskaya era? Well, there is at least a Michelle Kwan-Irina Slutskaya era. And a good case to be made for an Irina era, as she has two world title and two Olympic medals and was a favorite for gold for so long. So she's also on the list.

Is there a Mao era? There is obviously a Yuna-Mao era. And again, a case to be made for Mao with her two world titles and record-breaking triple axels. So she's on the list.

Is there a Sarah Hughes era? No.
Is there a Shizuka Arakawa era? May more than Sarah Hughes. But nah.
Is there a Miko Ando era? No.
Kim Meissner era? Definitely not.

So I say there are only 4 truly "great" skaters who competed in past decade:
Michelle Kwan
Kim Yuna
Irina Slutskaya
Mao Asada

With honorable mention to Sasha Cohen and Shizuka Arakawa since they were great rivals to Michelle and Irina. I might even say there was a Michelle-Sasha era but that's really only from a U.S. perspective. Just like a "Shiz era" would be from a Japanese perspective.

I like your perspective on this and think you summed up the way I regard these great skaters very well.

[PROKOFIEV]

1. Michelle Kwan 11.Irina Slutskaya
2. Michelle Kwan 12.Kristi Yamaguch
3. Michelle Kwan 13.Sasha Cohen
4. Michelle Kwan 14.Midori Ito
5. Michelle Kwan 15.Mao Asada
6. Michelle Kwan 16.Katrina Witt
7. Michelle Kwan 17.Yuna Kim
8. Michelle Kwan
9. Michelle Kwan
10.Michelle Kwan Ooops, it is about the decade, so Midori, Katrina and Krisitina does not count. Not too many choices......

[BR@ZILIANSK@TER]

This is how I feel and why I find it impossible to rank skaters of this decade. Michelle and Kim never even competed against each other. They are from different eras, not the same one.

But it made me think of something. How do you determine whether a skater is truly great? Having a certain period defined as an era because a certain skater competed in it seems like a pretty good criteria to me!

So.

Is there a Michelle Kwan era? Obviously.

Is there a Kim Yuna era? Yes even if she doesn't keep competing.

Is there an Irina Slutskaya era? Well, there is at least a Michelle Kwan-Irina Slutskaya era. And a good case to be made for an Irina era, as she has two world title and two Olympic medals and was a favorite for gold for so long. So she's also on the list.

Is there a Mao era? There is obviously a Yuna-Mao era. And again, a case to be made for Mao with her two world titles and record-breaking triple axels. So she's on the list.

Is there a Sarah Hughes era? No.
Is there a Shizuka Arakawa era? May more than Sarah Hughes. But nah.
Is there a Miko Ando era? No.
Kim Meissner era? Definitely not.

So I say there are only 4 truly "great" skaters who competed in past decade:
Michelle Kwan
Kim Yuna
Irina Slutskaya
Mao Asada

With honorable mention to Sasha Cohen and Shizuka Arakawa since they were great rivals to Michelle and Irina. I might even say there was a Michelle-Sasha era but that's really only from a U.S. perspective. Just like a "Shiz era" would be from a Japanese perspective.

Excellent point... I totally agree...
It´s just that as the thread was about this last decade I tried my best hehe
About men, if we come back to 1995-2005 we will wnter in one of the most exciting eras of men fig. skating with names like Elvis Stojko, Yagudin, Todd Eldredge, Plushenko, Ilia Kulik, Timothy Goebel, Takeshi Honda, Joubert in his fresh days (he was better at that time) and even Urmanov ( I watched many wonderfull videos of him) Emanuel Shandu and Chengjang Li (for his jumps only, of course).

[shine]

4) Lambiel - It was a hard choice whether to pick him or Takahashi for 3rd, as there is not much difference in the results they achieved, but I think Takahashi has better skating skills and programs and he was a road-paver for Asian men in a way. Stephane's performances at the 2010 Olympics were also pretty underwhelming, and the fact that he lost motivation after winning worlds in the past makes him seem like less of a competitor than Takahashi.

IMO Lambiel easily has the most impressive body of work in this decade than any other male skater. Even more impressive is the fact that a lot of his memorable programs have been his LPs - Chocolat, Four Seasons, Poeta, La Traviata (I would count his Tango as well) - all with brilliant choreography. Not to mention just about every single one of his short programs. Can't say the same for that many skaters. Results-wise, don't forget he's actually a two-time world champion, world bronze medalist, and Olympic silver medalist.