Greatest Ladies Free Skates of All Time | Page 4 | Golden Skate

Greatest Ladies Free Skates of All Time

Sochi_2014

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 4, 2013
This is the perfect Swan Lake posted before from Sasha http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbppVoZ5Ymk
Sorry to post it again, but it's amazing.

This is another beautiful program, though not as perfect:
The Nutcracker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fmgitk1SLU


what about this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_MBCtlTbZE
It's worth posting again! I wish Sasha could have pulled it together for a few more clean freeskates. She was the best in the world, but never earned the title... :bang:
 

christinaskater

Medalist
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
Akiko Suzuki 2013-2014 Nationals
Yuna Kim 2013 Worlds
Carolina Kostner 2013 Worlds
Akiko Suzuki 2012 NHK
Carolina Kostner 2012 Worlds
Carolina Kostner 2011 Worlds
Yuna Kim 2010 Olympics
Mao Asada 2008 Worlds
Shizuka Arakawa 2006 Olympics
Irina Slutskaya 2005 Worlds
Michelle Kwan 2003 Worlds
Sarah Hughes 2002 Olympics
Michelle Kwan 2001 Worlds
Michelle Kwan 2000 Worlds
Tara Lipinski 1998 Olympics
Michelle Kwan 1998 Nationals
Chen Lu 1996 Worlds
Midori Ito 1990 Worlds
Katarina Witt 1988 Olympics

Great list!
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
It's worth posting again! I wish Sasha could have pulled it together for a few more clean freeskates. She was the best in the world, but never earned the title... :bang:

From 2003-2006 (apart from late 2004-2005 when Irina was on fire and delivering her best skating ever) she really was the best skater in the World. It was a shame it never amounted to a major title. She maybe should have tried hanging on longer. In 2007-2008 the favorites like Kim and Asada were never skating clean programs in major events either, so it would have put Sasha and her 1 or 2 errors in better stead as she wouldnt be having to defeat performance performances from her top competition like before. She also couldnt seriously try for 2010 without staying in that entire quad, too much was changing to just pop back last minute and think she was going to be successful.
 

Nadia01

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 10, 2009
From 2003-2006 (apart from late 2004-2005 when Irina was on fire and delivering her best skating ever) she really was the best skater in the World. It was a shame it never amounted to a major title. She maybe should have tried hanging on longer. In 2007-2008 the favorites like Kim and Asada were never skating clean programs in major events either, so it would have put Sasha and her 1 or 2 errors in better stead as she wouldnt be having to defeat performance performances from her top competition like before. She also couldnt seriously try for 2010 without staying in that entire quad, too much was changing to just pop back last minute and think she was going to be successful.

I agree that Sasha never fully realized her potential in many of competitions. :( I enjoyed her skating a lot.
 

LiamForeman

William/Uilyam
Medalist
Joined
Nov 24, 2006
At she skated flawlessly during the 2003 Worlds QR and the Marshall's!

I am wondering if you saw Sasha live in these performances or just on tv? Because unfortunately Sasha didn't 'pack the punch' live that she seemed to on tv. It wasn't her size necessarily, it was her weak skating. Oh she had beautiful lines, but there was no depth to her skating. In contrast to Lipinski who was probably smaller but dang could she get into the ice and own it... First time I saw Sasha live was 2000 Nationals and well she was astounding. She did silly junior mess-ups but wow. A few years later it was still all there. Arakawa was twice the skater she was. I called Arakawa as Oly champ before she even won 2004 Worlds. I was really surprised how long it took Arakawa to get the marks. I was like "Am I hallucinating?? She's the best skater out there!" Cohen was infinitely more telegenic, but in the arena, she just didn't do it. Never did.
 

christinaskater

Medalist
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
I am wondering if you saw Sasha live in these performances or just on tv? Because unfortunately Sasha didn't 'pack the punch' live that she seemed to on tv. It wasn't her size necessarily, it was her weak skating. Oh she had beautiful lines, but there was no depth to her skating. In contrast to Lipinski who was probably smaller but dang could she get into the ice and own it... First time I saw Sasha live was 2000 Nationals and well she was astounding. She did silly junior mess-ups but wow. A few years later it was still all there. Arakawa was twice the skater she was. I called Arakawa as Oly champ before she even won 2004 Worlds. I was really surprised how long it took Arakawa to get the marks. I was like "Am I hallucinating?? She's the best skater out there!" Cohen was infinitely more telegenic, but in the arena, she just didn't do it. Never did.

I have seen Sasha live and she has so much star power. She is a gorgeous girl with the greatest flexibility and spin positions. I have to agree that she lacked the edges and has never really put it all together when it mattered the most.


I have always loved Shizuka but I always felt she was stoic. When she started working with Tarasova, her skating was taken to the next level. She had the whole package. Text book jumps, artistry, superb spins and mind boggling flexibility. I am really glad she won the OGM.
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
Shizuka didnt develop much, or any, artistry to her skating until starting in fall 2003. She also had ghastly bad posture up to that point. She also had her federation liking other skaters more than her- Suguri and Yoshie Onda for instance. The 2004 Worlds was an event she should have had a row of 6.0s for technical merit (as for leaving room for short program leader Sasha, the way the scoring was that week they could easily have responded with a row of 6.0s for presentation for Sasha and still given her the gold if she skated spectacularly) and won more easily than she did, but her many years of taking to be built up to a contender is why her win was still so close. She wasnt close to the name of Kwan, Cohen, or even her teammates Suguri and junior senstation Ando at that moment, so she really had to WIN that event. By 2006 she had more clout thanks to being a past World Champion, despite having done little to build off that title up to then, and so won more easily with a less spectacular performance.

I agree in basic skating she was the best (and although that is only one aspect of skating, that is the crux of it to many, just look at Chan's scores as ridiculous as they often seem), and in the last few years of her career she had a pretty good package going all around as well. However I understand why she struggled to get scores for many years of her career. She was also wildly inconsistent as her World results show. You never knew which Shizuka would show up for a given event.
 

Jaana

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Country
Finland
Kwan – 1998 US Nationals
Butirskaya – 1999 WC
Arakawa – 2004 WC
Arakawa - 2006 OG
Kim - 2010 OG
Suzuki - 2013-14 Japanese Nationals
 

karlowens2

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 6, 2012
Siuzuki skated so beautifully at Japanese nationals last month. So mature and complete.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeZpGgKC94s

I was in the arena for the Oly 2006 short program. Cohen brought down the house; still the best short performace I´ve ever seen. I agreed Arakawa deserved he medal. But, I never saw her skate as well as that.
 

RABID

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
It's worth posting again! I wish Sasha could have pulled it together for a few more clean freeskates. She was the best in the world, but never earned the title... :bang:

I was a fan once upon a time but I had to give her up ... for the sake of my heart and my scalp. :biggrin:
 

LiamForeman

William/Uilyam
Medalist
Joined
Nov 24, 2006
Shizuka didnt develop much, or any, artistry to her skating until starting in fall 2003. She also had ghastly bad posture up to that point. She also had her federation liking other skaters more than her- Suguri and Yoshie Onda for instance....

I agree in basic skating she was the best (and although that is only one aspect of skating, that is the crux of it to many, just look at Chan's scores as ridiculous as they often seem), and in the last few years of her career she had a pretty good package going all around as well. However I understand why she struggled to get scores for many years of her career. She was also wildly inconsistent as her World results show. You never knew which Shizuka would show up for a given event.

Well ghastly posture never held back Slutskaya. And I never 'got' either poor Fumie or Yoshie Onda. Yes, it was the fall of 2003 that I finally became a mega-fan, though I loved a lot of her programs the years before. Titanic for instance, and Bondage Lake.

What I enjoyed even more was that Arakawa became a better skater and performer after going professional. Just more wonderful programs to enjoy.
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
Well ghastly posture never held back Slutskaya.

True but she was Russian. :laugh: She also was the best overall technical skater in the early 2000s (especialy considering jumps, jumps combinations, spins, footwork, speed, all combined) so it was able to largely override many of her glaring artistic and stylistic faults. The ISU also needed someone who could atleast match or exceed Kwan technically, since nobody in the World could then rival her artistically (which wasnt easy as Kwan was technically very strong and uber consistent) and Irina was the only one who fit that bill, so she was overrated and promoted as the Kwan rival to give some interest to the event.
 

Nadia01

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 10, 2009
Michelle is one skater in particular who really breaks my heart for not having won OGM. Given her consistency, artistry and strong technique (even if she wasn't THE best jumper of her era, she was a top-level jumper), she really should've won it. :sigh:

(Sasha -- I wasn't too broken up about because she was just so inconsistent.)
 

christinaskater

Medalist
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
Siuzuki skated so beautifully at Japanese nationals last month. So mature and complete.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeZpGgKC94s

I was in the arena for the Oly 2006 short program. Cohen brought down the house; still the best short performace I´ve ever seen. I agreed Arakawa deserved he medal. But, I never saw her skate as well as that.


Suzuki really gave a performance for the ages! A Champions performance, A queen's performance!
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Suzuki really gave a performance for the ages! A Champions performance, A queen's performance!

Holy smokes! What a gorgeous skate. I was crying. There's an expression in English: her heart was in her eyes. That just about describes the expressive power Akiko showed in this program. I hope and pray she can skate like this in Sochi, because it is like watching a swan take flight.
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
Michelle is one skater in particular who really breaks my heart for not having won OGM. Given her consistency, artistry and strong technique (even if she wasn't THE best jumper of her era, she was a top-level jumper), she really should've won it. :sigh:

(Sasha -- I wasn't too broken up about because she was just so inconsistent.)

There are many women skaters in history who were potentially good enough for OGM and never won it but 5 in particular who stand out for me are:

Kwan

Midori Ito- an iconic skater far ahead of her time. Figures screwed her in 88, and in 92 the pressure form the Japanese media probably cost her the gold.

Janet Lynn

Irina Slutskaya- I know she has her detractors but for her incredibly long career at or near the top, should have managed the gold in atleast 1 of 2002 and 2006, both which she would have won with even a clean and cautious 6 triple effort.

Mao Asada- if she doesnt win in 2014 (and I dont think she will). Would probably have won in 2006 had it not been for the age rule keeping her out, and had a long career at the top like Irina, but Yu Na Kim emerged. A skater who pushed the envelope technically, landed 3 clean triple axels in some competitions, and is also a beautiful spinner and artist.
 

mskater93

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 22, 2005
Ito also got screwed in 1992 by Bonaly on practice. She backflipped right where Ito was setting up her 3A for the SP which she ended up crashing on in practice. This got in her head for the balance of the week. :bang:
 
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