Okay, but how much of that has to do with the presence of a strong American contender (in those years you mention) vs a foregone conclusion?
How much of what exactly?
Both played a factor.
Okay, but how much of that has to do with the presence of a strong American contender (in those years you mention) vs a foregone conclusion?
I was on the edge of my seat in 1998. Same in 2002. And even 2006, to a lesser extent.
Agree to disagree. In the post-figures era, I don't think a lady that won the SP won the title, and we'd already seen Kim meltdown at Skate America and she'd only broken 130 once. If Kim had a skate closer to her GPF/SA LP and Asada matched Four continents (or Rochette matched nationals) we'd be talking about a different result. I knew she'd won after she'd skated, but everyone did. It was that kind of astonishing skate.
Drama or not I prefer top notch skating. Considering the gold medalist in 2010 would have crushed the gold medalist in 2002 and 2006 (and beaten the gold medalist in 1998), the silver medalist in 2010 would have crushed the silver medalist in 2002 and 2006, and the bronze medalist in 2010 would have crushed the bronze medalist from 2002, 2006, and 1998, I dont see how anyone could prefer the 2002 and 2006 Olympic ladies competition to 2010, but to each their own.
Still, it would have been even more exciting under 6.0 judging, where the top three skaters cannot rely on a cushion from the short program. Although Kim skated great in the LP, she didn't have to in order to win.
True, thank goodness she did. 6.0 or COP it's still astonishing what she did. Of course, I knew she would win if she skated well ... but I was still on the edge of my seat to see if she would and just crossing my fingers that she wouldn't have some shocking implosion. I still felt like I needed a drink to get me through her LP
1998 and 2002 were more emotional for me because, well, Michelle Kwan was there and other US ladies I was attached to and because the competition was closer. But in 2010 the excitment came from the expecation that you were going to see one of the greatest Olympic performances ever - and that happened. It was almost superhuman.
I get what you mean.
From a technical standpoint, yeah, 2010 was the best competition ever. Yu-Na's performances, Mao's three 3As, and nearly all of the skaters in the top 6 turned in amazing clean performances. But from a competition standpoint, 2010 was pretty much a wrap after Yu-Na skated...actually before she even finished I knew she'd won (after the 2a-3t I was like, "Yep, that's it. She won." Lol!). Yu-Na was flawless that night. In previous competitions when Yu-Na would pop a jump or even fall she'd still score through the roof and win, so after getting through that entire program without a mistake I knew even if Mao hit all of her jumps and skated flawlessly there would be no way for her to come close to catching Yu-Na. Essentially, the competition was over. Amazing competition but anticlimactic in results IMO...
Now 1998, 2002 and 2006 were drama-filled which is why I found them more exciting. Michelle and Tara going head to head in 1998 and both turned in amazing performances; Michelle and Irina going head to head in 2002 with Sarah being the underdog spoiler; and in 2006 you had nearly a three way tie at the top going into the FS and another underdog winner with Shiz beating out Sasha and Irina. More drama and less predictable results made those Olympic competitions more entertaining and exciting to watch than Vancouver for me.
True, thank goodness she did. 6.0 or COP it's still astonishing what she did. Of course, I knew she would win if she skated well ... but I was still on the edge of my seat to see if she would and just crossing my fingers that she wouldn't have some shocking implosion. I still felt like I needed a drink to get me through her LP
1998 and 2002 were more emotional for me because, well, Michelle Kwan was there and other US ladies I was attached to and because the competition was closer. But in 2010 the excitment came from the expecation that you were going to see one of the greatest Olympic performances ever - and that happened. It was almost superhuman.
Okay, but people are operating from the position that the only drama/narrative value is in the winner. I disagree with that contention. But, as kwanatic implied, it comes down to drama vs brilliance. I'd agree that 2010 was less dramatic than the earlier races. But I'd argue that the class of 2010 featured the greatest stretch of amazing performances from these athletes, which triumphs in my mind.
So, the most-debated question of any Olympics has an answer now. Who should be the face of these Games?
Kim, for certain.
Not Lindsey Vonn, not Apolo Ohno, not Bode Miller.
Kim Yu-na.
Kim Yu-na.
Remember her name, and never forget how she dazzled the 2010 Winter Olympics. Remember her astounding agility, and never forget the tears she shed while gliding off the ice this night.
"I still can't believe my performance," she said. "Watching previous figure skaters, I always wondered why they cried after their performance. Crying for the first time today, I still don't know why I did."
Kim overwhelmed a worthy competitor, Mao Asada, of Japan, the silver medalist. She made you cheer when your heart said to give all your support to Canadian Joannie Rochette, who skated to a bronze medal just five days after losing her mother to a heart attack.
Kim won Korea's first gold medal in women's figure skating and its first gold in any Winter Olympics event other than speedskating. She was as electric as the stunning blue dress she wore, flawlessly executing triple flips, triple lutzes and double axels at full speed, landing so softly each time that it felt like you were watching a feather float to the ice. Then Kim would wow the crowd with her flexibility during combination spins.
The performance was so impossibly artful, so in tune with her musical selection — George Gershwin's "Concerto in F."
How about that? A 19-year-old performed to a song written 85 years ago and matched its brilliance, maybe even amplified it. She truly is Queen Yu-na.
That's her nickname back home. On this night, she fulfilled all lofty expectations with her world-record 150.06 score. Combine that with a world-record 78.5 in Tuesday's short program, and you have a 228.56 total that's every bit as impressive as Usain Bolt running 100 meters in 9.58 seconds.
1998 the field lacked depth outside the top 2, Tara and Michelle were literally 5 falls better than the rest, which for didnt appeal, but I can understand how some loved it with the close battle of Tara and Michelle and both skating great (in all time Olympics they would probably be silver and bronze behind 2010 Kim)
It's an apples and oranges comparison but both Michelle and Tara did 6 triples in 1998 to Yu Na's six. Both did the full set of triples (except the 3axel) and Tara did both a triple-triple as well as a 3-seq-3 practically at the end of her program. Yu Na did one 3-3 and didn't do the loop. I would say both were at least as strong in presentation as Yu Na--maybe stronger. Yu Na probably wins on speed (though Tara was pretty fast) and the two 6.0 skaters win on spirals. Spins are a draw. The bottom line is these are three of the best Olympic long programs ever.
^ That is, Tara and Michelle each did 7 triples (with Tara doing a triple loop/triole loop.)