I would definitely list Browning v Stojko. l liked both skaters ( but Browning more ) and they genuinely seemed to respect and like one another, which made the whole of their rivalry that much more accessible. Since they were pleasant in their jousting, their fans tended to follow suit.
hm. I don't think Elvis was all that civil. didn't he whine about Kurt sticking it out for one mroe go in 1994? and he makes jabs at his 'artistry'. but maybe I read more into it than it was.
How about Arakawa vs. Fumie?
I heard that was one fierce rivalry.
as I recall he was pretty impressed with himself when he 'beat' Kurt (though really Kurt beat himself more than anything else. Kurt + Olymics = do not mix). I think there were some snide hasbeen comments on Elvis' part.Yah, now that you mention it, I do recall some sour grapes coming from Elvis, but nothing that seemed particularly vindictive or personal. Perhaps there might have been more had Elvis not had a more successful Olympics than Kurt in 94.
I'm glad Kurt didn't respond in kind. But then, Kurt seems to be a gentleman--a trait I'm valuing more and more as time goes on.
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
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.
Cerulean, that's a lovely feature about the two Brians. It shows their character as well as their achievements. And it demonstrates that the rivalry between Orser and Boitano was one of the great ones in terms of its contributions to skating, because of the technical advances that resulted from it. What's nice is that both Brians remained active in skating as pros in competition and also in innovative programming. Anyone remember the Carmen they did with Katarina Witt? I believe Boitano was Don Jose while Orser was Escamillo. Also, there was a really interesting narrative skate-dance done to Holst's The Planets, starring the Duchesnays and choreographed by Lar Lubovitch. Brian Orser portrayed Mercury, on skates, while most of the other gods were played by dancers. The long arm of coincidence: Venus was played by a ballerina...none other than Sonia Rodriguez, later to become Mrs. Kurt Browning. I located at least part of it on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwa3vct-kiU
And now Orser is a coach of Olympic caliber! Don't you love it when things turn out well?
Roca/Sur and Punsalen/Swallow was a friendly rivalry that ended unwell. The 2 US dance teams were very friendly until P/S objected to the expediting of Sur's citizenship for the 1994Olympics.
Yes that was funny I remember that one
Brians
Kwan vs. Slutsk
I wouldn't consider Mao vs Yuna a rivalry since Yuna has to mess up for Mao to win. Maybe in the future when Mao's improved her technique.
I'm suprised that only one other person has mentioned the Johnny vs. Evan rivalry. I guess its not so much a rivalry on the international field, but it is/was in the US. My first skating rivalry was Tara vs. Michelle.
My favorite rivalries are:
Ladies:
-Tara vs. Michelle
-Michelle vs. Irina
-Sasha vs. Irina
-Yuna vs. Mao*
*I'm not sure if I would techincally consider this a rivalry because Yuna is in a league of her own. Yuna has to mess up big time for anyone to even come close to beating her. A perfect Mao can not beat a perfect Yuna. Take Michelle vs. Irina for example--a perfect Irina could beat a perfect Michelle. I hope all that makes sense.
Men:
-Lysaceck vs. Weir
-Plushenko vs. Yagudin
Pairs:
-Elena/Anton vs. Jamie/David
-Shen/Zhao vs. every other pair
Dance:
-Tanith/Ben vs. Meryl/Charlie
-Tessa/Scott vs. Meryl/Charlie