"Dorothy Hamill in Sneakers" | Golden Skate

"Dorothy Hamill in Sneakers"

silverpond

On the Ice
Joined
Jun 18, 2011
The US Open Tennis Tournament started today. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who suffered loss during this storm, as well as my sincere gratitude to the wonderfully brave first responders, police, and firemen whose actions surely saved countless lives.

Was thinking back to an article written about the great Australian Wimbledon champion Evonne Goolagong (1971, 1980). She was an incredibly graceful, fluid tennis player, and was cat-quick in racing across the court. The sports writer termed her "... a Dorothy Hamill in sneakers".

Are there any other great athletes - past or present - who could be "equated" with one of the champion figure skaters?

Ladies and Gentlemen, what do you think? :biggrin:
 
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silverpond

On the Ice
Joined
Jun 18, 2011
Well, here's a suggestion, for what it's worth. Michael Jordon, the high-flying basketball star and Robin Cousins, the high-flying 1980 Olympic champion. Both Michael and Robin put several feet under them when they lept into the air for jump shots and delayed axels.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
I like that idea! Cousins does have sort of an Air Jordan quality about him.

This is actually a very hard exercise for me, because >blush< I don't actually know very much about what other sports look like. So I have only vague general thoughts to offer.

For example, might a fencer resemble the movement patterns of some skater?

Ooh, I might have one: how about Andre Agassi and Yagudin? Both of them are kind of compact, fast, and catlike. Agassi was known as the best returner of serves of his time.

Maybe Anna Kournikova and Kiira Korpi? Both of these ladies are glamorous and graceful though not at the top of their sport.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
I read once (I don't know if this is true) that Michael Jordan took his daughter to an ice show where Michelle Kwan was performing. Afterward the daughter said, "Gee, Dad, you're the Michelle Kwan of basketball!"

(By the way, Jasmine Jordan is starting college this year at Syracuse. Make me feel old!)
 

jcoates

Medalist
Joined
Mar 3, 2006
People have made comparisons between Peggy Fleming and Chris Evert over the years. The comparison tended to be more about their physical beauty, feminine grace and universal appeal, than what they did athletically. Both made the very difficult and demanding elements of their sports look elegant and graceful, almost to the point that you forgot they were well trained, physically strong athletes. Both became marketing icons at a time when female athletes rarely earned endorsements. They were and still are widely recognizable to casual sports fans and non-fans alike even though decades have passed since they each retired. I remember a poll from the early nineties (several years after she retired) which showed that Chrissie was the most recognized athlete in America, even more so than Michael Jordan who was dominating the NBA at the time. This was quite a coup.

I could also make a comparison between Tara Lipinski and Tracy Austin. For those who don't know, Tracy remains the youngest US Open champion in history at 16 years 9 months when she won in 1979. She won the Open again in 1981 along with the Wimbledon mixed doubles in 1980 and of course becoming the youngest World No 1. Like Tara she was a young prodigy who came along and unceremoniously bumped the undisputed queen of her sport, Chris Evert (who like Kwan was herself a former teen prodigy), from her throne. Tracy and Chris, like Tara and Michelle, had a brief but intense rivalry which was virtually even in the end. Also like Tara, injuries quickly took their toll on Tracy and eventually forced her out of the sport. She made a few valiant attempts to come back over the years, but the game had passed her by the time she got really healthy. Tracy eventually went on to become a respected tennis commentator for USA, TennisChannel, BBC and NBC. Tara is similarly carving out a broadcast career.
 
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