Skaters who are "all that and a bag of chips"? | Golden Skate

Skaters who are "all that and a bag of chips"?

desertskates

Medalist
Joined
Nov 19, 2013
I feel a little bad about any negativity I generated with my "not my cup of tea" thread, and I want us all to be friends :)
So lets name a few skaters that stand out positively in your mind that may or may not be heavily decorated, but really caught your attention for some reason and made you their fan!
I'll start:
Tomas Verner--he just has a spark
Sarah Meier--that girl just really stuck around and tried her best
Shibs--seem like fun kids who really enjoy skating
 

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
Adelina. I just wish she'd dump Tarasova as a choreographer. I'll never forgive her for that god awful LP last year.
 

ks777

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 15, 2003
Actually I was impressed Patrick at the Olympics. He never said anything negative about Hanyu or anyone else.
 

BlackPack

Medalist
Joined
Mar 20, 2013
Sasha Abt, a beautiful skater, inconsistent, not mentally strong, but had the most long stroking edges and gliding. He can fly across the ice and was quite a dancer. His best performances were in Euro 2002, and he deserved to beat the legendary Yagudin for the gold. I had a crush on him too. Back in the day, I talked to another member on another forum who also had a crush on him. One day I had a cold and she sent me a pic of him smiling and holding flowers - she was so sweet but I lost touch with her :no: Best "Get Well" cheer I ever got! :love: As for gossip, years ago he had an altercation on the plane. He was drunk and started lashing at others, chastising them for not knowing he's the Russian champion. They had to find some belts to restrain him. His mother lectured him big time. :no:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfRJm3kIkPU

He was so close to winning a World Bronze in 2002 but lost to Takeshi Honda. The bronze could have gone either way IMO.

This defines his talent. The jump content wasn't impressive, but the technique was. Wow at the footwork.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Muh0ADzGAvk

This is the performance that should have given him the Euro gold in 2002. Even Uncle Dick was impressed, and as you know, if Uncle Dick is impressed, it must be good!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJMSdT6270k

He also had a TDF camel spin. He was like Kulik in many ways from the pure vertical jumping technique to body type.
 

aschiutza

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
I have to many, so i will give only a few:
- Kulik , his Romeo and Julia was so passionate and so elegant. Such a pity he went pro so quick.
- A Dimitriev & Co : he was a "larger than life" figure skater. I was over the moon when he took the second gold
- Plushenko : i just love people who dare like he did. From his first programm at worlds were he tryed two times the quad and till now, he pushed himself and dared to dream.
- Slutskaya : i loved the energy
- Abt: no one no one could ever skate on those arabian sound like he did
- Volchkova : she had such a good mix of elegance and athletic in her. I wish she would have better luck.
- Sasha Cohen: she could interpret any kind of music
- Rahkamo & Kokko : they were just different back in time
- Vlascenko; Lambiel, Buttle - great artists
 

moviechick

On the Ice
Joined
May 7, 2008
I'll second Alexander Abt. If he had competed in any other era, he would've been a European champion and a serious world contender. Unfortunately for him, he had to compete at the same time as the two legends.
 

lavender

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I'm going to mention one pair that never got the love they deserved but was all that...Drobiazko and Vanagas.
 

Ophelia

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 6, 2013
Actually I was impressed Patrick at the Olympics. He never said anything negative about Hanyu or anyone else.

Sorry to burst your bubble.

Sochi (Russia) (AFP) - Three-time world figure skating champion Patrick Chan said on Saturday it could take years to get over his disappointment of letting Olympic gold slip through his fingers. Ironically it was Canadian coach Brian Orser, who led Yuzuru Hanyu to Japan's first men's gold on Friday night, who provided a shoulder for his 23-year-old compatriot to cry on.

Orser said he felt more emotional hugging Chan than Hanyu and his other charge Spaniard Javier Fernandez who finished fourth because he knew the feeling, having twice stood in Chan's boots, as Canada once again failed to land the men's gold.

"I'm surprised he said that," said Chan. "I have worked with Brian a few times. As I told him when we hugged, I wanted to look at my whole journey, not just one bad program.

"It may seem ridiculous. We're so tough on ourselves for winning a silver medal but you train day in and day out to do that perfect skate and you want it so badly.

"I couldn't sleep last night I was so busy thinking about those moments those split second moments that could have changed everything.

"I'm lucky to have a great entourage and that's how you get through it. After that it's taking time for myself and reflecting on the amazing career I've had.

"It's tough, hopefully I can sleep better tonight and distract myself by watching other people having success.

"Like Brian said it's hard, it's going to take years for me to go to bed and not think about those split seconds that could have changed everything."

Orser -- who now coaches Hanyu in Toronto -- placed second in 1984 and 1988 while Elvis Stojko followed suit in 1994 and 1998 -- leading to talk of a "Canadian curse". Chan, the son of Chinese emigrants who settled in Canada, admitted he had desperately wanted the gold.

"I could definitely see the pressure growing in the last three years. Maybe winning three world championships didn't necessarily help," he said.

"I've had some restless nights because you're constantly thinking about it. You're imagining the glory of winning gold and changing history, and also fearing the possibility of not achieving that.

"It's unfortunate I couldn't make history but life goes on."

Chan, who trains in Detroit, said he would not be looking towards the world championships in Saitama, Japan next month nor the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

"I'm really not going to look that far ahead. It's going to be tough to go to Pyeongchang and start a new journey.

"I have to look at it in a positive fashion. Two silver medals is as good as a gold medal and not even Yuzuru can say he's had as much success as me in his career.

"I'm the only male skater to have ever have left the Olympics with two medals so that's really special to say I have achieved," added Chan, who also won silver with Canada in the team event.

"I think I'm still the best skater in the world for some time. I've above all pushed the sport in a new direction. We're really in a new generation."
 

Seruleane

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 11, 2014
Yeah, but he never said anything specific about Hanyu. That's a start. I think it would be difficult to say anything negative about Hanyu given how nice he seems to be :)
 

desertskates

Medalist
Joined
Nov 19, 2013
Yeah, but he never said anything specific about Hanyu. That's a start. I think it would be difficult to say anything negative about Hanyu given how nice he seems to be :)

Hanyu does seem like the kind of guy you want to hug and present with a stuffed animal :)
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
My usual longtime people like Michelle and Kurt, of course.

Of more recent people, Daisuke at the top, and Mao, Akiko, and YuNa.

Ice dancing is full of people I love. There are dancers who never got Olympic medals or maybe even world medals solely because it's always so crowded at the top, and others who did a bit better in the record books. I always adored Rahkamo/Kokko and also Dankova/Staviskiy. Nice that R/K have been immortalized in the adoption of the Finnstep as a dance step.

Davis/White and Virtue/Moir--in no particular order. I could watch either or both of these teams all day. I'm thrilled beyond words that both have OGMs, but I'd feel the same no matter what the outcome.
 
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