Your favorite skating rivalry of all time? | Golden Skate

Your favorite skating rivalry of all time?

Bijoux

Match Penalty
Joined
Jan 8, 2004
I guess because I remember post 1994 better, and it would be the most acrimonious ever debated on the internet...the tara/michelle rivalry. Why? Two great skaters/both phenoms who peaked early. One outjumped the other. One was called an artist, the other a better jumper. Fights still break out over the Nagano podium. (My choice was Chen Lu for gold for her exquisite mature artistry. I'm not saying I did not agree with judging. I think all 3 skated their best. I just admire Chen Lu's sublime skating though I loved MK and Tara in the day).

What rivalries were your favorite and why?
Here are some I recall:
Women
Witt/ Sumners
Witt/Debi Thomas
Yama/Ito
Nancy/Tonya
Nancy/Oksana
Kwan/Slutskaya
Kwan/Cohen
Kwan/Hughes
Men
Brian/Brian
Yagudin/Plushenko
Lysacek/Plushenko
the pairs and ice dance? Which pushed the sport, had lots of drama and got our attention? I hope some of you with the long great memories (old folks! LOL) weigh in here for fun...:biggrin:

I remember Punsalen /Swallow against Roca/ Sur

What was your favorite rivalry in which discipline and how did it affect the sport?
 

evangeline

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Yagudin/Plushenko, hands down.

Their rivalry pushed the technical boundaries of the sport, brought out the best in both men, skating-wise (e.g. Plushenko actually had choreography back then), and it was so deliciously personal.

Plus, it produced hilariously epic fluff pieces like this. Oh, and also this. Seriously, what's not to love?
 

cooper

Medalist
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Nancy/Tonya - Off/On the Ice, the drama, controversy, the court, talk shows, etc. and it was epic. Heck, even the non figure skating fans paid attention.

Yuna/Mao - Nuff' said.

Kwan vs. the rest.

Yagudin vs. Plushenko
 

Bijoux

Match Penalty
Joined
Jan 8, 2004
Yagudin/Plushenko, hands down.

Their rivalry pushed the technical boundaries of the sport, brought out the best in both men, skating-wise (e.g. Plushenko actually had choreography back then), and it was so deliciously personal.

Plus, it produced hilariously epic fluff pieces like this. Oh, and also this. Seriously, what's not to love?

thanks, Evangeline...great videos...a voodoo/hypnosis curse? Lol. It was the greatest mens rivalry I recall.
 

jennylovskt

Medalist
Joined
Oct 20, 2006
Lysacek/Plushenko

As much as you or anyone wish, there was NO such thing as Lysacek/Plushenko rivalry!:sheesh: We have to make that clear.

In 2006, Plushenko was a clear front runner for the gold medal in every competition he entered. Lysacek was then just a kid and a new comer. He wasn't even a top contender at 2006 Olympics. Plushenko retired after 2006 Olympics. Lysacek has competed in the next three years in Plushenko's absence. This past season, Plushenko came back. However, the one and only time they both competed in the same competition was at 2010 Olympics where Plushenko was among a few top contenders for the Olympic podium. There were quite a few top contenders including Lysacek. Even after men's SP, Takahashi was more of a closer rivalry to Plushenko than Lysacek to him. We all know what has happened in the LP. Lysacek came on top even to his own surprise because Plushenko was too confident so that he didn't collect enough points for himself while skating last. In the skating history, Plushenko was a skating giant and a legend, where Lysacek was only one of the skaters who won an important competition or two (also, he was famous at using the bypass for some prestigious element to win) Where was the rivalry?
 
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jian10

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 26, 2010
Witt v. Debby Thomas - they even had the same LP music, Carmen. Can you imagine Yu Na and Mao having the same LP music? I think a lot of us would have oxygen mask on hand and all the cardiologists work load would be doubled.:eek:

Brian v. Brian - they even had the same first name.

Yu Na v. Mao - as cooper said, "nuff' said"
 

ImaginaryPogue

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
Even after men's SP, Takahashi was more of a closer rivalry to Plushenko than Lysacek to him.

How so? I agree with your premise though. One event does not create a rivalry.

Yagudin-Plushenko is probably the right answer, but the aftermath wasn't pretty.

Linichuk/Karponossov vs Regöczy/Sallay

Asada vs Kim, of course. Has anyone tallied their head to head totals?

Davis/White vs Virtue/Moir... this potential rivalry could be legendary. But I don't think it'll get that far (certainly hasn't yet).

Duchesnays vs the Ice Dancing Establishment.
 

aurora100

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Witt v. Debby Thomas - they even had the same LP music, Carmen. Can you imagine Yu Na and Mao having the same LP music? I think a lot of us would have oxygen mask on hand and all the cardiologists work load would be doubled.:eek:

Well said. A you tube video of Yuna practicing to Bells of Moscow (which is a normal thing as all skaters practice other skaters music on competition ice when it's not their turn), caused a controversy. But boy, it would be really interesting if they skated to the same music. May be not.
 

Bijoux

Match Penalty
Joined
Jan 8, 2004
As much as you or anyone wish, there was NO such thing as Lysacek/Plushenko rivalry!:sheesh: We have to make that clear.

In 2006, Plushenko was a clear front runner for the gold medal in every competition he entered. Lysacek was then just a kid and a new comer. He wasn't even a top contender at 2006 Olympics. Plushenko retired after 2006 Olympics. Lysacek has competed in the next three years in Plushenko's absence. This past season, Plushenko came back. However, the one and only time they both competed in the same competition was at 2010 Olympics where Plushenko was among a few top contenders for the Olympic podium. There were quite a few top contenders including Lysacek. Even after men's SP, Takahashi was more of a closer rivalry to Plushenko than Lysacek to him. We all know what has happened in the LP. Lysacek came on top even to his own surprise because Plushenko was too confident so that he didn't collect enough points for himself while skating last. In the skating history, Plushenko was a skating giant and a legend, where Lysacek was only one of the skaters who won an important competition or two (also, he was famous at using the bypass for some prestigious element to win) Where was the rivalry?

no twasn;t a big rivalry as eveyone was ready to crown evgeni in torino. Evan started competing in2004 and made 4th at Olympics so he was a rival even then. As far as the last year Evgeni has been concerned mainly with Evan, the reigning world champ going in, It had to have been a rivalry or plush would have not trash talked Evan/results. There are many more, I just threw out examples.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Michelle/Tara for that year and a half or so from 1997 to the '98 Olympics were true rivals, because they competed for the same national and international medals and were the main front runners much of the time.

I'd like to say John Curry and Toller Cranston, though it's not really accurate. Curry was in command, while Cranston was held back by his weakness in school figures. But between the two, they elevated men's skating by bringing in two different types of artistry, classical ballet-based by Curry and rather Bohemian by Cranston. The other top guys from the era, Vladimir Kovalev and Sergei Volkov of the USSR and Jan Hoffmann of East Germany, have left little comparable legacy. (All three were workmanlike skaters with great school figure skills.) So Curry and Cranston could be considered a rivalry of sorts; their names are certainly spoken with one breath much of the time.

Of course the two Brians! They probably pushed each other to greater heights than either would have achieved alone, and they were gentlemen about it: no sniping or trash talk.

Michelle/Irina: they seemed to alternate World Championships through the early 2000's. I'm sure Irina's spacious jumps pushed Michelle to sharpen her technical level, while Michelle's flow and musicality spurred Irina to do more artistically. Like the two Brians, they were friendly rivals. In fact, I think they were actual friends.

YuNa and Mao--and I hope this one goes on for at least another four years!
 
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janetfan

Match Penalty
Joined
May 15, 2009
The battle of the Brians! :love:

I would agree with the "Battle of the Brians." It was so big it pushed all of the other skating events into the background. The Witt/Thomas rivalry had been going on for a few seasons but even with the added "Carmen" intrigue the "Brians" ruled the '88 Olympics.
 
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rtureck

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
MK and Slute of course. And many other listed in the above. BTW, I don't consider Kwan/Cohen had a rivalry. To me rivals need to have very close and similar accoplishments, and Cohen did not even come close to Kwan.
 

seniorita

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2008
My fav from videos
Battle of Brians
Battle of Carmens

My fav in real time
The Kween vs anyone, but the rivalry with Irina was the most adorable:love:
Yagudin vs Plushenko
Yuna vs Mao

Plushenko vs Lysacek? lol. Nope, not even for a fluff. Evan won Evgeni in the Olympics. Thats about all the rivalry. They were not the only two fabs for gold, like 2002 olys. Even Brian or Stephane vs Evgeni would be more valid to name it rivalry over the decade. Otherwise by result Plushenko vs Sandu was also a rivalry?I dont think so.
 

museksk8r

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 31, 2006
Country
United-States
Yagudin vs. Plushenko for the men and Kwan vs. Slutskaya for the women are the best I think.
 

dlgpffps

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 14, 2009
Yagudin/Plushenko, hands down.

Their rivalry pushed the technical boundaries of the sport, brought out the best in both men, skating-wise (e.g. Plushenko actually had choreography back then), and it was so deliciously personal.

Plus, it produced hilariously epic fluff pieces like this. Oh, and also this. Seriously, what's not to love?

ITA. I always relished the nastiness. What's a rivalry without public bickering? It's not as though it hurt anyone or Yags or Plushenko lacked sportsmanship. Some of their best programs were produced while trying to beat the other, and both had the mental strength to step it up when the other did well. Two of the best male figure skaters in decades were competing against each other. I don't think we could've expected any less.
 
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janetfan

Match Penalty
Joined
May 15, 2009
Lots of good rivalries listed here. A great one was back in the 50's between Tenley Albight and Carol Heiss.

For me a great skating rivalry needs good sportsmanship and for the skaters to show true sporting character.

Yuna and Mao show this - so did Michelle and Irina as well as Kristi and Midori. The "Brians" epitomized great sporting character.

I would have to rule out Plushy as he has this very unsporting attitude that we saw in 2002 and again in 2010. His feeling that "enemies" are out to get him removes him from my list as he does not feel like a fair minded sportsman. Certainly he has been a great skater but IMO never a great sportsman.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Battle of the Brians
Yagudin/Plushenko

and in the professional ranks
Browning/Boitano - probably my absolute favorite, they both pushed each other to stay as technically sound as possible and they were pretty much untouchable.
 

blue_idealist

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 25, 2006
For the men, Plushenko vs. Yagudin, because both of them were so technically proficient and technically ahead of everyone else at their time. There was also interesting drama added because they didn't like each other. Honourable mentions: Boitano and Orser (although I was too young to remember much of it), Browning and Stojko, and Lysacek and Weir.

For the ladies, I think I'll go with Michelle vs. Tara. Both were so close to perfection at the 1998 Olympics that it made it more interesting than say, Yu-Na vs. Mao in 2010 when Mao made some major errors. Honourable mentions: Yu-Na vs. Mao, Michelle vs. Irina.

For pairs, Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze vs. Jamie Sale and David Pelletier was the most INTERESTING, but it had a somewhat bad ending for both pairs so I'll say my favourite was Gordeeva and Grinkov vs. Mishkutienok and Dmitriev. Both ended pretty well with two Olympic medals for each team (although G&G won their first before the rivalry really started). It sounds like the G&G vs. Valova and Vasiliev rivalry was interesting too but I was too young to remember.

For ice dance I have to go with Davis and White vs. Belbin Agosto in the US. I don't remember ever before there being two ice dance teams from the United States that were so close and both so good. Honourable mentions: Grishuk and Platov vs. Usova and Zhulin (although G&P were established as the frontrunners), and Virtue and Moir vs. Davis and White (although I would say there is not really a contest as there is with B&A, V&M are the better team).
 
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