1988 Olympic Games Men and Ladies

Jtsmith12 · Aug 20, 2011

The 1988 Olympic games for Figure Skating are my second all time favourite olympic games ( after 1994). I loved both the podiums of the men and ladies. Also who could forget the battle of the Carmens and the battle of the Brians. So much excitement

Mathman · Aug 20, 2011

Elizabeth Manley! :rock:

jcoates · Aug 20, 2011

Thanks for posting. Viktor's 3a was so massive.

Here is Petrenko's full LP. Unfortunately ABC's coverage came in part of the way into the performance. Japanese version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKj0E4U4zrY

silverpond · Aug 21, 2011

I LOVED the Calgary men's and women's figuer skating competitions. Without a doubt, it was among the finest Olympic competitions ever, and what thrills it brought to everyone!!!

This was the first time the Olympic figure skating competition was broadcast LIVE on network television. Since Calgary is only two hours "behind" the US East Coast, we saw much of the skating live, as it happened. Talk about drama, anticipation, emotional highs and lows, etc. !!

The "Battle of the Brian's" was such a momentous competition, with the former World Champion and the defending World Champion, both friends, competing for the coveted gold medal. Brian Boitano had worked long and hard to progress beyond a purely technical skater to an all-around skater, and he work with Sandra Bezic paid off, big-time. His long program to "Napoleon" featured eight triples, all landed cleanly, yet since he skated first in the final flight, the judges had to leave room for the other skaters. He received five 5.9s for technical merit and four 5.8s, while his artistic marks were 5.8s and 5.9s and one very hard-to-believe 5.7. Brian Orser skated very well to "The Bolt" but unfortunately fell out of his triple flip and doubled his second planned triple axel. He also appeared to tire at the end of his program, and his jumps were quite "small" towards the end. His received very high scores, and the decision was 5/4 in favor of Boitano. Frankly, I think Boitano should have won by a higher margin, but in any case, I believe the final results were correct. On that night, Boitano was the best, and he won. He and Orser hugged at the podium to celebrate their accomplishments.

We also had the opportunity see Viktor Petronko win the bronze and show his huge potential, as well as see future World and Olympic medalists Paul Wylie, Kurt Browning, and the late Christopher Bowman.

As for the women - WOW. I've already written about my admiration for Katarina Witt, for her great competitive spirit. The "Battle of the Carmens" was memorable, to put it mildly. Unfortunately, Debi Thomas, also skating to "Carmen", two-footed her planned 3/3 toe, then fell out of several other triples, and settled for the bronze medal. Witt's technical scores were quite low, reflecting her relatively weak technical content, but her slew of 5.9s for artistic impression carried the day. Had Thomas skated a flawless long program, I believe she would have won, but that did not happen. When she sat in the "kiss and cry" area and received her low scores - which were accurate - Peggy Fleming hugged her and said, "We all love you".

Jill Trenary skated well to finish fourth. It was heartbreaking to see Caryn Kadavy withdraw from the long program, due to the flu.

And Midori Ito, at the age of 18, skated a program that brought the audience to its feet. She was fantastic, and clearly was a champion of the future.

And...without a doubt, the highlight was Elizabeth Manley, the gutsy Canadian who shocked the figure skating world by winning the long program and the silver medal. Talk about an "Olympic moment" - to skate your best in your home country and win a medal. It doesn't get any better than that.

pangtongfan · Aug 21, 2011

What skating sorely lacks today. So many great rivalries, talented skater, different styles, different personalities, stars. It was great as a Canadian to follow the highs and lows of the Canadian team, Orsers heatbreaking silver, Manleys exilerating silver, Brownings strong debut, Wilson and McCall skating so well to win bronze but being a bit frusterated at not feeling they had any chance to do better.

Olympia · Aug 21, 2011

They were a great Games. And remember who won the pairs gold: Gordeyeva and Grinkov. They were so sublime, and for some reason this was the first time I had ever really seen them.

One lovely thing we got here in the States: there was some bad weather, I think, postponing some skiing. So we got to see several of the compulsory dances, done one after the other by the leaders. It was enlightening (especially with Button's commentary) to understand why Bestemianova and Bukhin were in the lead going into the later rounds: they were just about the purest embodiments of ice dance technique. In second place were Klimova and Ponomarenko, and I think this was where I started to fall in love with them as a couple. And then to watch Tracy Wilson and Rob McCall hold their own with European skating royalty...that hadn't happened for a North American couple since I think 1976.

Yes, definitely a sterling Olympics, for everyone except Debi Thomas, who really fell apart...and of course poor Caryn Kadavy, a delightful skater who recouped her losses in a fine pro career.

seniorita · Aug 21, 2011

I never saw these games but when I searched for the youtube videos much later I was really impressed with the men programs and how diversed they were and also pairs and not at all with ladies, except maybe Witt cause I knew her name. And her battle with Thomas cause I had read about it.

iluvtodd · Aug 22, 2011

1988 - such fond memories - still my favorite Olympics (winter or summer), and seriously the one that got me hooked on figure skating (particularly thanks to the "Battle of the Brians", G&G, & Midori Ito! :love:

From that point there was no turning back!

Melissa21 · Aug 23, 2011

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Olympics, Vancouver 2010 games were awesome, I found some very old FS olympic videos (1948) totally worth-watching.
http://www.olympic.org/figure-skating-individual-men, hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

1988 Olympic Games Men and Ladies

Jtsmith12

Mathman

jcoates

silverpond

pangtongfan

Match Penalty

Olympia

seniorita

iluvtodd

Melissa21

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