Lillehammer 1994 - Ladies' Free Skate | Golden Skate

Lillehammer 1994 - Ladies' Free Skate

blue dog

blue dog

Trixie Schuba's biggest fan!
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Dec 16, 2006
(I'm sick, so rather than going to practice, I'm watching skating =P)

The 1994 ladies final was the night I fell in love with skating. I didn't care about the results; I just wanted to see the skating. I'm gonna post the programs of the final two groups in the order they were skated (as best as I can). Please feel free to opine =)

Although she wasn't in the second to last or the last group, she did well enough to beat several skaters in both groups, so I'll include her:
Mila Kajas (16th) http://youtu.be/GiFSOi0p66E

First up, Lenka Kulovana (11th after the OP)- http://youtu.be/husFBhv6qkA
Anna Rechnio (9th) http://youtu.be/LQSnZ7q26FQ
Krisztina Czako (12th) http://youtu.be/CQ945-KGfdk
Tonya Harding (10th) attempt 1 http://youtu.be/ms5Xk2vobiM
Josee Chouinard (9th) http://youtu.be/oa6KKL3HGaM
Yuka Sato (7th) http://youtu.be/ybGSG_ZU7xk
Tonya Harding (10th) re-skate http://youtu.be/k5_7Iu82gi8

Ice resurface/warmup http://youtu.be/P-Pt_z4UcOE

Chen Lu (4th) http://youtu.be/UfAo4rfrSn0
Nancy Kerrigan (1st) http://youtu.be/WTv3CnSHSAA
Oksana Baiul (2nd) http://youtu.be/N-LpQ9Q773k
Surya Bonaly (3rd) http://youtu.be/k5ugmU-_EXc
Tanja Szewczenko (5th) no vid BOO
Katarina Witt (6th) http://youtu.be/8GrhyrZOdtM

Final results:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_skating_at_the_1994_Winter_Olympics
 
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Olympia

Joined
Aug 16, 2009
That was some night to discover skating, Blue. Talk about a roller coaster ride. One thing I remember was being very disappointed that Yuka Sato popped that jump and was out of the running; I really loved her. Her Worlds was a wonderful vindication. I forgot that Surya was in third place going in. I'm looking forward to Chen Lu's performance. Thanks for the links!
 
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silverpond

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Jun 18, 2011
Several items come to mind concerning the 1994 Olympic Ladies' free skate:

-- Oksana Baiul narrowly defeated US champion Nancy Kerrigan, in a controversial 5/4 voting finish. This competition had been a media circus, due to the infamous knee clubbing of Kerrigan at the US Nationals. Kerrigan quickly became the overwhelming sentimental favorite, and her second-place finish was not particularly well received by the US media. While waiting for the medal ceremony, Kerrigan was caught on camera complaining about the delay – which had been caused by a frantic search for the Ukrainian national anthem. Kerrigan ungraciously said – about Baiul – “She’ll probably come out and cry again.” Guess Nancy thought Oksana was backstage, re-applying her makeup.

-- Lu Chen skated a brilliant long program and won the bronze medal. For me, that was the highlight of the women's long program. Seeing Chen's emotional happiness at returning to the podium - after a disastrous 1993 competitive season - was a highlight of the entire competition, IMHO. :thumbsup:

-- Tonya Harding's ridiculous near-disqualification for running late in appearing on the ice for her long program, as she had to relace her skates. The clock was ticking at the scoreboard, and she nearly did not appear at the ice on time. When she finally did race out, she shouted, "It's not going to hold me." And sure enough, she missed her opening triple jump, then bailed out shortly thereafter, skated to the judges, stuck her foot on the table, and cried and cried, gesturing that the skate wasn't tied correctly. Quite frankly, it was a kind gesture on the judges to allow Harding to get away with a lame excuse such as "my laces weren't tied", and she was allowed to return to fix her skates. That caused the skater in front of her, Canadian Josee Chouinard, to skate before she was supposed to go on. It goes without saying that the skaters have a pre-skate routine – mental and physical – and Josee was not permitted to complete this preparation. It’s not as though she was expected to medal; however, she did not have a fair shake at the competition. Harding was given an undeserved break, in my opinion, and when she finally did skate, she flubbed a number of jumps and finished fall out of the medals.

My two cents, of course.
 
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Olympia

Joined
Aug 16, 2009
I remember thinking that Tonya Harding managed to destroy everything she touched that season. She pretty much (what acceptable verb can I use without getting bleeped?) tanked the entire North American contingent. Not only did she very nearly get Nancy injured for life, but she ruined any chance that Josee Chouinard had to get a top-five finish. I was dumbfounded that the judges forced Josee to go out prematurely so as to give Tonya another chance after everything else that had occurred.

Thank goodness for Chen Lu, who was stunning! And thank goodness that Nancy, who could be a head case, kept herself together and gave a splendid performance. I think she lost by one-tenth of a point, which is an honorable way to a silver. It's really regrettable that in the heat of the moment she made several sore-loser remarks that were not worthy of her. As for Oksana, I preferred her short program to her free skate, which I found a bit cutesy. The fluffy pink outfit and the Broadway tunes did not move me nearly as much as the Tchaikovsky program; I wished that the musical selections had been reversed. After all, it's not as if one couldn't squeeze out four minutes' worth of music from Swan Lake!

And meanwhle, back in a spare rink somewhere else in Norway, team alternate Michelle Kwan practiced so as to be at the ready. I remember feeling excited about her unfolding career, but even as an early fan, I could never have dreamed of what Michelle would achieve over the next decade.
 
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SugarCranberry

Rinkside
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Aug 15, 2003
silverpond said:
Several items come to mind concerning the 1994 Olympic Ladies' free skate:

-- Lu Chen skated a brilliant long program and won the bronze medal. For me, that was the highlight of the women's long program. Seeing Chen's emotional happiness at returning to the podium - after a disastrous 1993 competitive season - was a highlight of the entire competition, IMHO. :thumbsup:

My two cents, of course.
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Lu Chen's 1993 season was not disastrous, she placed 3rd at 1993 WC. You are referring to 1997 WC and 1998 OG
 
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silverpond

On the Ice
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Jun 18, 2011
silverpond said:
[
-- Lu Chen skated a brilliant long program and won the bronze medal. For me, that was the highlight of the women's long program. Seeing Chen's emotional happiness at returning to the podium - after a disastrous 1993 competitive season - was a highlight of the entire competition, IMHO. :thumbsup:

The above was an error on my part.....Lu Chen won the bronze at Lillehammer with two fine skates, then won the World title in 1995 and finished second to Michelle Kwan in 1996. Chen's 1997 season was the unfortunate one, with her failing to qualify for the freeskate at Worlds. Her comeback at Nagano, 1998, was inspirational!
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Olympia

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Aug 16, 2009
It sure was, Silver. Remember that lovely bow she took at the end to her coach in 1998?

I have to look up some more of Chen Lu's videos. She was a joy to watch.
 
Tonichelle

Tonichelle

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Jun 27, 2003
can't wait to sit down and watching these. probably tonight while working on the wedding shoot I have this afternoon. (speaking of which I better get in the shower and get ready to head out! setting up at noon!)
 
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ILoveFigures

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Feb 3, 2011
Has anyone uploaded full coverage of the ladies event at these games? Or does anyone know where I can download it. =)
 
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silverpond

On the Ice
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Jun 18, 2011
Olympia said:
It sure was, Silver. Remember that lovely bow she took at the end to her coach in 1998?

I have to look up some more of Chen Lu's videos. She was a joy to watch.
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Yes, Olympia, I remember the sweet and emotional bow Lu Chen gave to her coach as she approached the boards to receive her marks. She was crying uncontrollably with joy, and this young woman so deserved that medal! In my opinion, her medal was pure gold, and it was a testament to her hard work, dedication, and talent.
 
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silverpond

On the Ice
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Jun 18, 2011
Olympia said:
And meanwhle, back in a spare rink somewhere else in Norway, team alternate Michelle Kwan practiced so as to be at the ready. I remember feeling excited about her unfolding career, but even as an early fan, I could never have dreamed of what Michelle would achieve over the next decade.
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How true, Olympia. We saw 13-year-old Michelle practicing at another venue, just in case she was called in to compete. She was in the stands for both short and long programs, and I'm sure the Olympic experience, however bizarre, was an inspiration to her. I, too, did not envision what a beautiful skater Michelle would blossom into and how grand and glorious a career she would have!
 
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Olympia

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Aug 16, 2009
I recall that they told Josee that she had to compete right then or lose her turn. I'm sure Josee asked for a reprieve, and I'd be surprised if her coach(es) didn't contest the decision, but I think the referee would not rescind the order. Just one more casualty in Tonya's wake.

I'm just going by memory. I have a strong recollection of feeling really incensed that Josee was not given any time to get her bearings. If anyone has more accurate information, here's the place for it!
 
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gkelly

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Jul 26, 2003
During the time it took for Harding to rush to fix the lace in the 2 minutes after her name was called, get on the ice, start the program, go over to the referee and cry that the lace wouldn't hold her, be told that she could skate at the end of the flight, and for Chouinard to be called to the ice (at which point she also had 2 minutes to take her position under the rules at the time), it pretty much was already the time she was scheduled to skate.

Events run a few minutes short or long all the time for various reasons. What if a skater starts the program, can't continue, and then withdraws? That would have the same effect on the next skater.

All they can really do is take the full time allowed between being called to the ice before taking the starting position. Which at that time was 2 minutes but since a recent rule change is now only 1 minute.
 
Tonichelle

Tonichelle

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Mathman said:
What would have happened if Josee had told the referee, "I have not completed my preparation. I will skate at the time for which I was scheduled?"
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she was told get out there in the next 2 mins or don't bother... I think it absolute ridiculous, but that's the way it was. She bombed, and well... so did Tonya.
 
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blue_idealist

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Yeah, I don't recall watching the competition, since I was young and maybe I didn't even watch the entire thing, but I read about the skate lace incident in Josee Chouinard's book and I feel sorry for her that that occurred. However, I don't think she would have medalled even if she'd skated at her scheduled time; her nerves worked against her too much.
 
Tonichelle

Tonichelle

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blue_idealist said:
Yeah, I don't recall watching the competition, since I was young and maybe I didn't even watch the entire thing, but I read about the skate lace incident in Josee Chouinard's book and I feel sorry for her that that occurred. However, I don't think she would have medalled even if she'd skated at her scheduled time; her nerves worked against her too much.
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Again, true, but she could have also had a Paul Wylie moment had she been able to prepare correctly. We'll never know because of a stupid (IMO) call from the ref. GRANTED, had he just pulled Tonya out and not given her the reskate it still would mean Josee would skate earlier, but still... not fair to let one girl change her skating order and not another.
 
blue dog

blue dog

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Chen Lu...and Tonya too

silverpond said:
How true, Olympia. We saw 13-year-old Michelle practicing at another venue, just in case she was called in to compete. She was in the stands for both short and long programs, and I'm sure the Olympic experience, however bizarre, was an inspiration to her. I, too, did not envision what a beautiful skater Michelle would blossom into and how grand and glorious a career she would have!
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Not just her, but also Lu Chen, the bronze medalist. It's amazing to watch their 1994 performances (Lulu's in the Olympics, and Michelle at Nationals) and then their performances even just two years after that! Much of what we appreciate in the skaters like Mao, Mirai, Yu Na, Alissa, etc are because those two teenagers chose to improve their artistry rather than just focus on jumping. As we can see from their performances back then, those girls could jump!

Back to Lu Chen-- although she was less consistent in 1998, I think her jumping improved, also. She jumped higher in 1998. Oddly, her mistake came on the same jump in both performances (3f).

***
I think what the ref should've done is let Josee skate when she was scheduled to skate. Gkelly makes a great point, in that Josee really only lost one minute of prep time. However, although Josee had the goods if she ever put it together, she seemed to me like a skater who was often affected by nerves. She did not have that mettle to get the medal. In fact, in her book, she stated that she often trained to peak at Canadians, and then after that, she would often see if she had any gas left for the end of the season. The one year she trained to peak later than Canadians (when she reinstated in 1996), she missed the world team.

Another thing I think the ref should've done is have Tonya skate from the point of interruption, which would've meant she picks up her program after the lutz. She should've gone to the ref right away, after her name was called to explain the situation. If the ref had made her skate nonetheless, she could've come up to him/her after the lutz to explain that "the lace wasn't gonna hold her up."
 
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Olympia

Joined
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Tonichelle said:
Again, true, but she could have also had a Paul Wylie moment had she been able to prepare correctly. We'll never know because of a stupid (IMO) call from the ref. GRANTED, had he just pulled Tonya out and not given her the reskate it still would mean Josee would skate earlier, but still... not fair to let one girl change her skating order and not another.
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Agreed. I never thought Josee missed out on a medal. She just had her performance screwed up by someone who had already wreaked enough destruction on the Olympic season, and that was painful to watch. Josee was like extra roadkill by someone who had already barreled through the American team, using the courts as a bulldozer to do extra damage. Surely the referee could have managed to come up with a decision that didn't slice through one additional person in that debacle. At one point in the proceedings, I actually feared that Harding would get her triple axel back and win a medal herself...at least that didn't happen. But I felt terrible for Chouinard, whose nerves were chancy at the best of times. And this in the year that Browning lost his last chance to win a medal of any color...just one more painful moment for Canada.
 
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