Ladies at the Olympics - athleticism or artistry?

Ladies at the Olympics - athleticism or artistry?

There have been people who have agreed with or disagreed with the last few Olympics in ladies skating. I'm thinking 98 and 94 imparticular. In both cases, the gold and silver medallists were very much seen as one being more athletic and one being more artistic. (Oksana and Michelle - more artistic. Nancy and Tara - more athletic.) In 94, artistry won out, in 98, athleticism won out. What's your personal opinion on who the winners should have been?

Re: Ladies at the Olympics - athleticism or artistry?

I think Oksana had great athleticism along with her artistry, although her skate wasn't as clean as Nancy's in '94. However, I saw her skate live a number of times and her speed was phenomenal--much faster than Nancy's, her edging had great lean, and her jumps were big and powerful.

Similarly with Tara, in seeing both Tara and Michelle live in the same show (COI) several times, I thought Tara's artistry was actually better than Michelle's.
Rgirl

Re: Ladies at the Olympics - athleticism or artistry?

Usually I'm a lock for the artist, but I would have gone with Nancy in 94 and Tara in 98. Nancy was nearly perfect jump-wise and had nice presentation. While I am deeply moved by Oksana, I thought the flip and the messy combination at the end of the program left a sour impression for technical merit. Her spins were obviously superior to Nancy as were her emotions in some portions of the program, but I felt it wasn't entirely enough. Tara was just unstoppable in Nagano, her free skate was full of so much energy and joy. Both she and Oksana have impressive speed.
As for Tara having better artistry than Michelle, I disagree. After having seen both of them live, it was Michelle that moved me the most. I was in another world watching her skate. I enjoyed Tara, she had some nice moments, but I wasn't moved beyond words.

Re: My vote

Well, perhaps I'd need another voting category: Nancy, Tara, Sarah - once in a lifetime, stunning performances. I wanted Michelle to win both in 98 and 02 because I love her attitude and artistry, but she didn't deserve either title. But who knows, it may not be once in a lifetime for Sarah, she could still have some great moments left.

Re: My vote

<span style="color:blue;font-family:verdana;font-size:small;">Michelle should have been one of the winners in <strong>my</strong> mind, no doubt about that.</span>

Re: My vote

I agree -- seeing Oksana live confirmed for me that she deserved the gold medal, her artistry was beyond compare during that period of her career. As for Tara, I feel as if her artistry has improved greatly since 1998 - now I put her on even keel with other great artistic skaters, but in 1998 I think I would have given a very slight edge to La Kwan as Tara was still a little "tacky" in her skating style (not to mention outfitting, hair, gold ring on every finger tacky as well) She was young so I can forgive her, now she's quite stylish on and off the ice.

Re: My vote

<span style="color:teal;font-family:comic sans ms;font-size:small;">Bronze (can I call you BIG for short?), I agree with absolutely every word you wrote in your posts! It was like it was coming out of my own mouth!</span>

Re: Ladies at the Olympics - athleticism or artistry?

Bronzie - Right on! In other words, the best 'man' doesn't always win, and yes, Sarah could repeat.

Joe