- Joined
- Jun 18, 2011
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_skating_at_the_1998_Winter_Olympics
We've already had some interesting dialogue concerning the 1998 Olympic competition between Kulik/Stojko....so perhaps you'd like to see the 'wiki' write-up, which has the full results, judges' cards, etc.
I was rooting for Michelle Kwan to win the gold medal at Nagano. Based upon her brilliant skating at the US Nationals, in which she was awarded a slew of 6.0's, she was the favorite, with Tara Lipinski a slightly less favorite for the gold medal. At the opening ceremony, Kwan was a no-show, as she remained home in California to train until the competition drew closer. Lapinski, however, totally embraced the Olympic experience, marched into the stadium with the US team at the opening ceremony (and was "interviewed" while marching, thanks to a headset). She had a blast meeting athletes from the various countries and attending some of the events. Kwan stayed away from the Olympic Village and lodged with her family in private quarters. No problem with that, of course - whatever works best is what you need to do.
NBC broadcast a huge amount of coverage on the ladies’ competition, since this was to be a showdown between the two best skaters in the world, who just happened to both be Americans. Scott Hamilton, commenting at one of the long program practices, said it would be a complete shock if neither Kwan nor Lapinski won the gold medal, as they were both several levels above the rest of the competition.
Michelle won the short and finished second in the long, which gave her the silver medal. Lapinski did the opposite – second in the short, first in the long, which gave her the gold medal. In my opinion, had Michele skated the long program she skated at Nationals, even though she did not have the 3/3 loop that Tara landed, she would have won the gold medal. It seemed that Michelle was tentative and skated more not to lose than to win. Tara, on the other hand, charged through her long program with speed and verve – and she skated to win, period. The television cameras panned in Michelle's father, who paced throuigh the stands and shook his head when the technical scores for Lapinski were displayed. Clearly, they were higher than the scores his daughter had received.
As I wrote in a previous post, the sentimental highlight for me was Lu Chen’s bronze medal performance. This exquisite young woman overcame a horrendous previous season, skated two inspired programs, and finished third. THREE CHEERS! :thumbsup: Lu had lost her triple lutz jump prior to the competition, which she absolutely had to have in order to have any chance of medaling. She landed a triple lutz/double doe in her short program, and did the same in the long program.
Tara also deserves a great amount credit for having competed with a serious hip injury, one which had to have caused her pain. She certainly never showed any signs of discomfort and wore a beautiful smile throughout the competitions.
We've already had some interesting dialogue concerning the 1998 Olympic competition between Kulik/Stojko....so perhaps you'd like to see the 'wiki' write-up, which has the full results, judges' cards, etc.
I was rooting for Michelle Kwan to win the gold medal at Nagano. Based upon her brilliant skating at the US Nationals, in which she was awarded a slew of 6.0's, she was the favorite, with Tara Lipinski a slightly less favorite for the gold medal. At the opening ceremony, Kwan was a no-show, as she remained home in California to train until the competition drew closer. Lapinski, however, totally embraced the Olympic experience, marched into the stadium with the US team at the opening ceremony (and was "interviewed" while marching, thanks to a headset). She had a blast meeting athletes from the various countries and attending some of the events. Kwan stayed away from the Olympic Village and lodged with her family in private quarters. No problem with that, of course - whatever works best is what you need to do.
NBC broadcast a huge amount of coverage on the ladies’ competition, since this was to be a showdown between the two best skaters in the world, who just happened to both be Americans. Scott Hamilton, commenting at one of the long program practices, said it would be a complete shock if neither Kwan nor Lapinski won the gold medal, as they were both several levels above the rest of the competition.
Michelle won the short and finished second in the long, which gave her the silver medal. Lapinski did the opposite – second in the short, first in the long, which gave her the gold medal. In my opinion, had Michele skated the long program she skated at Nationals, even though she did not have the 3/3 loop that Tara landed, she would have won the gold medal. It seemed that Michelle was tentative and skated more not to lose than to win. Tara, on the other hand, charged through her long program with speed and verve – and she skated to win, period. The television cameras panned in Michelle's father, who paced throuigh the stands and shook his head when the technical scores for Lapinski were displayed. Clearly, they were higher than the scores his daughter had received.
As I wrote in a previous post, the sentimental highlight for me was Lu Chen’s bronze medal performance. This exquisite young woman overcame a horrendous previous season, skated two inspired programs, and finished third. THREE CHEERS! :thumbsup: Lu had lost her triple lutz jump prior to the competition, which she absolutely had to have in order to have any chance of medaling. She landed a triple lutz/double doe in her short program, and did the same in the long program.
Tara also deserves a great amount credit for having competed with a serious hip injury, one which had to have caused her pain. She certainly never showed any signs of discomfort and wore a beautiful smile throughout the competitions.
You are so awesome, Pogue!
YuNa Kim, but Mao had a dreary, flawed LP (despite the amazing triple Axels) and Joannie Rochette was burdened with tragedy. 1998 had the finest Olympic ladies' podium.
