Favorite Figure Skaters? | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Favorite Figure Skaters?

janetfan

Match Penalty
Joined
May 15, 2009
Too many to mention, but I must admit I have a general tendency to love headcases and former headcases. There is something in them that intrigues me endlessly. Thus not being easy being a figure skating fan... sigh...

:biggrin:

How interesting and true for many of us :)

I did like Olympia's mention of "Dmitriev and anybody" :thumbsup:
But I admit I had a big crush on Natalia M.

I am not going to offer a list because as mot said there are too many.

Speaking of current skaters, Laura is a favorite of mine. Not sure if she falls into the "headcase" category but I do hope someday to see a perfect program from here.

I think if that happened her score would be high enough to cause alot of grumbling. :)

I like Laura because I know she has had to overcome injuries but I mostly like the way she moves over the ice and I find her choreo quite distinctive and her performance style very expressive.

I was once engaged to a Finnish girl who I never quite got over. Now and then I find myself listening to Laura's interviews because hearing her speak brings back such memories.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwyFE5vaeMY

Some like the hustle and bustle of a city but paradise for me once was walking through a beautiful Finnish forest with a girl whose name translated to "the crunching sound walking on snow that has melted and frozen again makes. :eek:

Glad we will get to see Yuna at Worlds but I will miss Laura. Akiko and Mirai too.
 
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prettykeys

Medalist
Joined
Oct 19, 2009
Skaters whose programs I rewatch again and again for pure enjoyment:

YuNa Kim (so hot)
Michelle Kwan (so hot)
Kurt Browning (so hot)
Mao Asada (so hot)
Alexei Yagudin (so hot)

Honorable mention to Tara Lipinski because I just discovered her 1996-1997 LP at some event and it was awesome. I'm thinking I should watch it again to make sure it's still awesome.
 

ankka

Rinkside
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Ladies:

Chen Lu (the ELEGANCE!)
Oksana Baiul
Maria Butyrskaya
Laura Lepistö (nice that someone else likes her as well :D )
Denise Biellmann
Lucinda Ruh
Carolina Kostner
Miki Ando

Men:

Stephane Lambiel
Adam Rippon
Viktor Petrenko
Brian Joubert

Pairs:

Shen/Zhao
Gordeeva/Grinkov
Gerboldt/Enbert (they're just so entertaining)

Ice Dance:

Rahkamo/Kokko
Kerr/Kerr
Krylova/Osviannikov
Ilinykh/Katsalapov
Virtue/Moir
 
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JuliusFelix

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
For some reason, my circle of known associates has tagged nicknames onto most of the men's field of skaters. I'm not sure how it started... but there you have it. I think most of them are pretty guess-able! I consider them all positive. My favorites, more or less in order...

the Tsar
the Rival

Mongoose
Remix
Hot Chocolate
French Toast

Samurai

oh, and DomShabs. They don't get a nickname; I just love their 2007 GPF gala too incredibly much for words.
 

Layfan

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 5, 2009
These type of threads never get old :)

Michelle Kwan
Sasha Cohen
Kim Yuna
Kristi Yamaguchi
Midori Ito
Mao Asada
Chen Lu
Alissa Czisny
Mirai Nagasu (well... her potential)

**Soft spot for Irina, Oksana and Tara

Brian Boitano
Kurt Browning
Alexei Yagudin
Paul Wylie
Stephane Lambiel
Daisuke Takahashi
Rudy Galindo

** soft spot for Patrick Chan (potential future favorite if he produces a true skate for the ages), Ryan Bradley, Brian Orser, Tim Goebel

Moir and Virtue got me interested in ice dance - I have to admit for the first time really :eek:: and see what I've been missing. So, I pay attention to it now and read the threads on it but honestly I still don't know enough to comment on the threads, much less pick favorites.

I fell in love with Shen/Zhao and love as much as G/G. I now vow to pay attention to pairs (which I at least watched at major events, unlike dance) more now.

Tessa and Katia are among my favorite female skaters period ... it's the way they move that is immediately arresting.
 

ImaginaryPogue

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
For some reason, my circle of known associates has tagged nicknames onto most of the men's field of skaters. I'm not sure how it started... but there you have it. I think most of them are pretty guess-able! I consider them all positive. My favorites, more or less in order...

the Tsar
the Rival

Mongoose
Remix
Hot Chocolate
French Toast

Samurai

oh, and DomShabs. They don't get a nickname; I just love their 2007 GPF gala too incredibly much for words.

The Tsar/the Rival: Gotta be Yagudin and Plushenko, right?

Remix: Brian Joubert?

Hot Chocolate: Hmm.... Stephane Lambiel did a program to Chocolat which was among his first to get him really noticed. Could that be it?

And now having seen that gala, wow!!! Because of the Olympic bronze/terrible programs, people tend to forget that they had the potential to be all time greats; his injury stands as one of the damndest shames in figure skating. Their 2007 tango OD is one of my favourites and that gala... gorgeous.
 

gio

Medalist
Joined
Jan 23, 2006
That is nice!

I try to guess, but it's not that easy.


the Tsar - Plushenko (I guess it should be the reverse, but Plush is know in Italy as the Tsar)
the Rival - Yagudin

Mongoose - Johnny Weir
Remix - Brian Joubert
Hot Chocolate - Lambiel ???
French Toast - Buttle ??

Samurai - Daisuke Takahashi
 

Bluebonnet

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 18, 2010
Too many to mention, but I must admit I have a general tendency to love headcases and former headcases. There is something in them that intrigues me endlessly. Thus not being easy being a figure skating fan... sigh...

So true! Too many to mention! I feel that to list some but not others is not accurate. So I'll just say the skaters I absolutely love all these years ever since I knew them no matter what:

Men:
Kurt Browning - so brilliant on everything he did and does, on and off ice.

Ladies:
Sasha Cohen - the ballerina on ice.

Pairs:
Gordeeva&Grinkov - timeless classic.

Dance:
Virtue&Moir - the most beautiful pair I've ever seen. The reality hurts - they are not a couple off ice.:scowl:
 

Snoopy

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 7, 2011
Some of mine:

Pairs:
Shen & Zhao
Sale & Pelletier
Gordeeva & Grinkov

Men:
Kurt Browning
Paul Wylie
Adam Rippon
Stephan Lambiel
Evan Lysachek
Ilia Kulik
Brian Boitano

Ladies:
Michelle Kwan
Lucinda Ruh
Carolina Kostner
Mao Asada
Tara Lipinski
Kristi Yamaguchi
Katarina Witt
Sasha Cohen

Ice Dance:
Klimova & Ponomarenko
Davis & White
Rocca & Sur
Torvall & Dean
 

Pikachuusb

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 27, 2005
I'll probably forget some, but here are some of mine:

Ladies:

Michelle Kwan
Mirai Nagasu
Kristi Yamaguchi
Alissa Czisny
Mao Asada
Sasha Cohen
Lucinda Ruh
Naomi Nari Nam
Yukina Ota
Surya Bonaly

Men:

Shawn Sawyer
Brian Joubert
Alexei Yagudin
Kevin Van Der Perren
Johnny Weir
Kurt Browning
Ryan Bradley
Alexander Abt
Nobunari Oda
Scott Hamilton

Pairs:

Shen & Zhao
Savchenko & Szolkowy
Tai & Randy
Ina & Zimmerman
Totmianina & Marinin
Sale & Pelletier
Gordeeva & Grinkov
Dube & Davison
McLaughlin & Brubaker
Nam & Leftheris

Ice Dance:

Denkova & Staviski
Lang & Tchernyshev
Anissina & Peizerat
Belbin & Agosto
Delobel & Schoenfelder
Kerrs
Davis & White
Torvill & Dean
Bourne & Kraatz
Shibutanis
 

Big Deal

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
Men
John Curry
Alexei Yagudin
Stephan Lambiel
Toller Cranston


Ladies
Denise Bielmann
Yu-Na Kim
Lu Chen
Kristi Yamaguchi



Pairs

Shen-Zhao
Gordeeva-Grinkov
Protapopovs
Mishkutionok-Dmitriev

Dance
Torvil-Dean
Klimova-Ponomarenko
Anissina-Peizerat
Virtue-Moir
 
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76olympics

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 4, 2004
Men

Paul Wylie
Toller Cranston
Matt Savoie
Kurt Browning
Ilia Kulik

Women

Dorothy Hamill
Janet Lynn
Michelle Kwan
Sasha Cohen
Liz Manley
Caryn Kadavy
Yuka Sato

Pairs

Gordeeva/Grinkov
Babilonia/Gardner
Berezhnaya/Sikh
Underhill/Martini
Shen/Zhao

Dance

Torvill/Dean
Blumberg/Seibert
Klimova/Pomarenko
Bourne/Kratz
Dubreil/Lauzon
Virtue/Moir
Belbin/Agosto
Davis/White


I never noticed dance except for a few outstanding pairs, but I have really warmed up to it in the last ten years...
 

Binthere

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 28, 2008
Ladies:
Michelle Kwan
Kristi Yamaguchi
Janet Lynn
Yuka Sato

Men:
Kurt Browning
Paul Wylie
Robin Cousins
Alexi Yagudin

Dance:
Torvill/Dean
Virtue/Moir
Shibutani/Shibutani
Blumberg/Siebert

Pairs:
Shen/Zhao
Gordeeva/Grinkov
Sale/Pelletier
Babilonia/Gardner
 

heyang

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Ladies:
Michelle Kwan
Kristi Yamaguchi
Chen Lu (as an amateur more than as a Pro)
Yuka Sato
Mirai Nagasu
Caroline Zhang ( just hope she can make a comeback)
Alyssa Czisny


Men:
Brian Boitano
Scott Hamilton
Paul Wylie
Jeremy Abbott (just needs to learn how to compete.)
Ilia Kulik - as a pro
Alexei Yagudin

Pairs:
Gordeeva & Grinkov
Shen & Zhao
Bechke and Petrov


Dance:
Torvill & Dean
Belbin & Agosto
Lang and Tchernyshev (didn't realize how much I missed them until they started touring again.)
Davis and White
Punsalon and Swallow (more as pros - loved their Umbrellas of Cherbourg)
Virtue and Moir
 

ciocio

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 27, 2010
I like a lot of skaters!!!!:yay:

Ladies:
Mao Asada
Yu-na Kim
Irina Slutskaya
Midori Ito
Mirai Nagasu
Alyssa Czisny

Men:
Evgeni Plushenko
Alexei Yagudin
Ilia Kulik
Alexander Abt
Kurt Browning
Stephane Lambiel
Daisuke Takahashi
John Curry

Pairs:
Gordeeva & Grinkov
Berezhnaya & Sikharulidze

Dance:
Grishuk & Platov
Krylova & Ovsyannikov
Anissina & Peizerat
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
You know what I realized about this great thread? Thanks to services such as YouTube, we can have favorite skaters from eras we weren't even around for. I bet that a lot of people who listed John Curry and Janet Lynn first watched them on YouTube. I missed out on Janet Lynn the first time around, for instance. The other thing is that though we might have seen some of these skaters during their time, we might have come to appreciate them later. I doubt I would have the respect I currently have for Midori without getting to rewatch her after listening to the insights offered by people in this forum.
 

JuliusFelix

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
To sate your curiosity :p

the Tsar - Plushenko. He made me fall in love with skating in the first place!
the Rival - it took me a while to warm to Yagudin [see: above] but once I got over my dumb initial bias, I grew to love his programs.

Mongoose - Lysacek. I'm not entirely sure where this came from. Maybe I read a story once, in which Evan called Johnny "Swan" and Johnny shot back with "Mongoose"? Either way, it stuck!
Remix - Takahashi. Ever since his hip-hop Swan...
Hot Chocolate - Lambiel. This came from my [Swiss] Aunt. Swiss chocolate is the best there is... rich and smooth... and of course, the play on Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate. And Lambiel's looks. ;)
French Toast - Joubert. Unfortunately it was after one of his programs fell apart, and I commented, "oh, no, he's toast now =/" and somehow the name stuck even when he does very well and wins.

Samurai - Oda. A recent nickname that came out of the 2010 Olympics...
 

Germanice

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Men:
- Alexei Yagudin
- Ilia Kulik
- Kurt Browning
- Viktor Petrenko
- Stephane Lambiel
Recent: Takahashi, Oda, Verner, Joubert, Weir, Rippon

Ladies:
- Lu Chen
- Irina Slutskaya
- Oksana Baiul
- Shizuka Arakawa
Recent: No one really ...

Pairs:
- Shen/Zhao
- Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze
- Mishkutenok/Dmitriev
Recent: Volosozhar/Trankov

Dance:
Klimova/Ponomarenko
Usova/Zhulin
Duchesnay/Duchesnay
Krylova/Ovsyannikov
Recent: No one.
 
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gio

Medalist
Joined
Jan 23, 2006
Welcome nixdh!! :)

Mine are: Michelle Kwan (the Kween!!, all time favourite of mine), and then in no particular order - Sasha Cohen (hot!! I agree), Debi Thomas (great programs to Dead or Alive and Frankie Goes to Hollywood :laugh:), Katarina Witt (hot), Lu Chen (so introspective), Kurt Browning (the best entertainer!!), Brian Boitano (I don't know why but I like him and his programs, especially the 88SP), Maria Butyrskaya (drama on ice), Silvia Fontana (hoootttt!!), Kristi Yamaguchi (always enjoyed her programs), Tonya Harding (great jumps!), Torvill and Dean (magic)

but many other skaters gave me many positive emotions!! And I'm grateful to them to have given to me that!! :)

Ouch, I forgot to list Denise Biellmann, how could I!
 
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