Skaters Who've Won All Six Grand Prix Events

anyanka · Oct 26, 2014

I’m unsure if anyone’s done this, but I’d like to start a list the rather short list of skaters who’ve won all six of the current Grand Prix events.

The first skaters I’ve found from my research to take all six titles were Dan Zhang & Hao Zhang. Here are their gold medals, in the order in which they first won them:

- TEB (2003, 07)
- COR (2004, 07, 08)
- SA (2004, 05)
- NHK (2005)
- SC (2006)
- COC (2008)

Their highest finish at the GPF was 2nd, in 2005, 2007 and 2008. Interestingly, each of those GPF silver medals also coincided with silver medals at the worlds at the end of each those very seasons.
They were followed by their compatriots Xue Shen & Hongbo Zhao, who were the first to also win the GPF and sweep the complete series:

- NHK Trophy (1997, 2000, 01, 02, 06)
- Skate Canada International (1998, 2004)
- Cup of Russia (2002)
- Cup of China (2003, 04, 06, 09)
- Trophee Eric Bompard (2004)
- Skate America (2009)
- + Grand Prix Final (1998, 99, 2003, 04, 06, 09)

The second who also swept were Aljona Savchenko & Robin Szolkowy. Their titles are:

- SC (2005, 07, 09, 12)
- COR (2006, 11, 13)
- NHK (2007)
- SA (2008, 10, 11)
- TEB (2008, 10)
- COC (2013)
- + GPF (2007, 10, 11, 13)

With today’s addition of Yuko Kavaguti & Alexander Smirnov (congratulations!!), that makes four pairs. Their titles are:

- SC (2008)
- COR (2010)
- COC (2011)
- NHK (2011)
- TEB (2012)
- SA (2014)
- Note: no GPF title to date (bronze in 2011 is their highest finish).

Interestingly, despite so many other celebrated Russian pairs, they were the first Russian team to accomplish this feat when they have not been considered their country’s #1 entry in years, and were unable to even qualify for an Olympics in the last quad due to injury. (As a longtime fan, that still guts me.)

Amongst singles skaters, there is only one: Mao Asada. Her titles are:

- TEB (2005, 07)
- NHK (2006, 08, 13, 14)
- SC (2007)
- COR (2011)
- COC (2012)
- SA (2013)
- + GPF (2005, 08, 12, 13)

I’ll continue this thread with a separate message listing those who didn’t win all six titles, but were close.

anyanka · Oct 26, 2014

A few competitors won 5/6 available titles. One team is Tatiana Volosozhar & Maxim Trankov:

- SC (2011)
- TEB (2011)
- SA (2012, 13)
- COR (2012)
- NHK (2013)
- + GPF (2012)

They have yet to win COC, and they likely would have in 2014 had they not withdrawn due to injury. Interestingly, their pulling out of SA 2014 likely would have prevented K/S from winning all six titles. It’s worth noting that Trankov also won TEB in 2009 with previous partner Maria Mukhortova.

I also note that Qing Pang & Jian Tong came close. Their titles are:

- SA (2003)
- COC (2007, 10, 12)
- NHK (2008, 09, 10)
- COR (2009)
- TEB (2013)
- + GPF (2008)

The highest finish for P/T at SC was 2nd in 2002 and 2004.

Brian Joubert also went 5/6:

- SA (2002, 04)
- TEB (2006)
- COR (2006, 08)
- SC (2007)
- NHK (2009)
- + GPF (2006)

He came close at COC, placing 2nd in 2003.

Reaching further back, Elena Berezhnaya & Anton Sikharudlize also went 5/6:

- TEB (back when it was the Trophee Lalique) (1997, 2000, 01)
- COR (1998, 2000, 01)
- NHK (1998)
- SA (1998)
- SC (1999)
- + GPF (1997, as Champion Series Final)

B/S never got the chance to compete in COC, as it started after their retirement.

anyanka · Oct 26, 2014

My research also dug up a number of other skaters won 4/6. These include:

- Evgeni Plushenko (SC, COR, NHK, TEB, and 5 if you include the now-defunct Sparkassen Trophy)
- Alexei Yagudin (SA, SC, COR, TEB, and 5 if you include the discontinued Nations Cup)
- Irina Slutskaya (SC, COC, COR, NHK, and 5 if you add in Nations / Skarkassen)
- Albena Denkova & Maxim Stavisky (SA, SC, NHK, TEB + Sparkassen)
- Miki Ando (SA, COC, COR, NHK)
- Yuna Kim (SA, COR, TEB, COC)
- Meryl Davis & Charlie White (SC, SA, NHK, COR)
- Tatiana Navka & Roman Kostomarov (SC, TEB, COR, COC)
- Tatiana Totmianina & Maxim Marinin (SC, SA, TEB, COR)
- Nobunari Oda (SC, NHK, TEB, COR: this one was interesting, that’s more than Daisuke or Yuzuru)

Feel free to update this list with others I may not have included! Perhaps we can get a little chart listing the wins in an Excel spreadsheet?

Edit: additions include:

- Maria Butyrskaya (SC, SA, TEB (Lalique), NHK + Nations Cup)
- Maria Petrova & Alexei Tikohonov (TEB, COC, COR, NHK)
- Marina Anissina & Gwendal Pezerat (TEB, NHK, SA, SC + Nations Cup)
- Evgenia Shishkova & Vadim Naumov (SA, SC, NHK, TEB + Nations Cup + GPF, although they curiously never won COR)

AprilS · Oct 26, 2014

I wonder if one reason that there are less people to have done this is because the "best" skaters are usually from big feds that host a GP event; meaning that one of their two GP assignments will always be their home GP and so they only have one other GP each year to try to win.

Sandpiper · Oct 26, 2014

Very interesting thread! I knew Mao Asada was the only singles skater to win all six GPs, but I didn't know quite a few pairs have done it.

Just personally, I would group those who won the Sparkassen/Bofrost/Nation's Cup among those who have won 5. Since during the years when they won that event, Cup of China didn't exist, so it's pretty much the same achievement. (Though I guess, in theory, Irina and Plushy could've won both since they competed through those years).

anyanka · Oct 26, 2014

AprilS said:
I wonder if one reason that there are less people to have done this is because the "best" skaters are usually from big feds that host a GP event; meaning that one of their two GP assignments will always be their home GP and so they only have one other GP each year to try to win.

There may be politics at play as well. For instance, notice that Yuna Kim never competed at NHK Trophy. It could be a manifestation of some of the hostility between the two countries, although that didn't stop Yuna from winning GPF at Tokyo when she qualified in 2009. It's probably more likely be that due to the presence of Mao, Miki, Akiko, Yukari, Shizuka and Fumie (that's a LOT in a decade!) that the hosts want to give the assignments to their local heroes. Of the skaters I've found, South Korea and Bulgaria aren't big federations by any means, and they still had skaters who won 4/6 and the GPF.

It could also be that certain feds might invite the same people year after year. I noticed that Virtue & Moir only won three: SC, TEB and COR. Their "usual" assignments tend to be SC / TEB, which means they weren't going to be sent elsewhere. If a skater is really top-notch in the international field, the feds seem to like reserving a spot for them to attract a home crowd. Ticket sales come into play.

One thing I'd like clarity on: can a skater turn down an invitation in favour of another tournament? E.g. let's say I'm a Russian single ladies competitor and I get invited to COR every year, and I usually also get invited to COC. If I want to try to win the series after having won both more than once, can I turn to the feds and request invitations from other federations? I'm sure there's some negotiating going on as well. If my great rival were American, SA won't be inviting me to compete against her. NHK might have Mao, so they wouldn't want her to lose to me (and I wouldn't want to lose to her). But I want to try and win SC and TEB. Could my fed approach them to negotiate to swap a slot? I'm curious.

Mathman · Oct 26, 2014

One reason there are so many pairs teams on this list is that for a few years a top pairs team was allowed to compete in three different events per year. This was because there weren't (and still aren't) enough pairs skaters in the world to fill up the slots.

Sandpiper · Oct 26, 2014

Actually, back in the day, I remember singles skaters were also allowed to compete in three events? But one of them would be designated a "non-scoring event."

Mathman · Oct 26, 2014

anyanka said:
One thing I'd like clarity on: can a skater turn down an invitation in favour of another tournament?

I think the short answer is "no," but it is more complicated than that. Skaters are invited[/] by the host federation who is putting on the show. But the top skaters at the previous wolds get to give their preferences as to whom they want to be invited by.

Gamesmanship certainly figures into it. A hosting federation doesn't want to invite a bunch of skaters who can beat their own (but since they have to invite one of the top three at worlds and one of 4-6, plus skaters in the top ranks are guaranteed a certain number of placememnts) sometimes they can help it. There is also the question of wheather you want your own top skaters in the same event, possibly knocking each other out of the finals, or wheteher you want ot grease the skids for you top favorite by politicking for easy competition.

By and large, I think it is the national federations who are playing the game, with the skaters serving as pawns.

Mathman · Oct 26, 2014

Sandpiper said:
Actually, back in the day, I remember singles skaters were also allowed to compete in three events? But one of them would be designated a "non-scoring event."

Oh, yeah, I remember that. That gave skaters an extra chance to knock their competitor out of the final even though they couldn't gain any more points themselves. :yes:

I believe that at first it was entirely up to the organizers of the event who they wanted to invite, and the choice was more a matter of who would be the biggest audience draw for that event. In the first year of the series Michelle Kwan won Skate America, Skate Canada, and the German event (now replaced by Cup of China), plus the final. It was called the Championship Series that year while the ISU straightened out copyright issues involvin the name "Grand Prix." The idea was that the "final" would consist of the the winners of the indivisual events, with some second place winners filling out the roster if the same skater won more than one event.

MiRé · Oct 26, 2014

Congrats Mao for being the only one!! But I think it may be unfair to skaters like Yuna who was never invited to NHK. Some skaters will never be able to have this achievement because of federations' power of inviting skaters.

anyanka · Oct 26, 2014

Mathman said:
One reason there are so many pairs teams on this list is that for a few years a top pairs team was allowed to compete in three different events per year. This was because there weren't (and still aren't) enough pairs skaters in the world to fill up the slots.

Singles, too. We had that in 2011/12, as a one-time option (at least in the current system). That was when K/S were able to sweep up COC and NHK back-to-back (although the latter also owed a lot to S/S missing a lift entirely and leaving precious points off the table). That was also when Alena Leonova placed 4th, 3rd and 2nd. Based on the "best 2 out of 3" placements she was able to get to GPF where she won bronze. Otherwise if she didn't have that third slot, she would have missed the GPF entirely.

anyanka · Oct 26, 2014

Sandpiper said:
Very interesting thread! I knew Mao Asada was the only singles skater to win all six GPs, but I didn't know quite a few pairs have done it.

Just personally, I would group those who won the Sparkassen/Bofrost/Nation's Cup among those who have won 5. Since during the years when they won that event, Cup of China didn't exist, so it's pretty much the same achievement. (Though I guess, in theory, Irina and Plushy could've won both since they competed through those years).

I think that's perfectly acceptable too, although I had originally written this to see who won amongst the current GP series, and S/B/N is no longer part of the series. That being said, your point is well taken.

Meoima · Oct 27, 2014

Melon said:
Congrats Mao for being the only one!! But I think it may be unfair to skaters like Yuna who was never invited to NHK. Some skaters will never be able to have this achievement because of federations' power of inviting skaters.

Yuna won 4/6, not 5/6. She needs more than just NHK.

Sandpiper · Oct 27, 2014

Mathman said:
Oh, yeah, I remember that. That gave skaters an extra chance to knock their competitor out of the final even though they couldn't gain any more points themselves. :yes:

That's an... evil but possibly effective strategy. :laugh:

anyanka · Oct 27, 2014

Meoima said:
Yuna won 4/6, not 5/6. She needs more than just NHK.

Yes, she never won SC. Strangely, she lived and trained in Canada for years but the only time she went to SC was before she made the move to Orser, and finished 3rd (2006). She would likely have won SC 2013 had she not missed the entire series due to injury.

minze · Oct 27, 2014

Mao busted her tush to win all of the events. That girl was committed to the max. She NEVER withdrew from an event, not even when her mother was very sick. Good Job super Mao on winning all the events and the final 4times

chasingpolaris · Oct 27, 2014

Minze2001 said:
Mao busted her tush to win all of the events. That girl was committed to the max. She NEVER withdrew from an event, not even when her mother was very sick. Good Job super Mao on winning all the events and the final 4times

The only event she withdrew from was GPF when her mother passed away. But other than that, she was fully committed. Never missed anything else despite all her struggles.

gotoschool · Oct 27, 2014

chasingpolaris said:
The only event she withdrew from was GPF when her mother passed away. But other than that, she was fully committed. Never missed anything else despite all her struggles.

I just think of how magnificent Mao skated when she didn't even win the GPF. Her 2007 LP performance to Fantasie Impromptu in the GPF is a remarkably redemptive skate as Mao sheds tears of joy for overcoming the mistake in her SP, while performing with great athleticism and exquisite artistry. The program has so many things that captivate me: the 3A and the 3F / 3T and the 3F / 3Lo combos, balletic grace, dexterous steps, as well as incredibly flexible spirals and spins, and her light flitting like a butterfly style. The base tech score of over 70 for what looked clean to me was overwhelming. I never noticed any 2 footed landings on the jumps. They all seemed rotated and wonderfully symmetrical, with intricate and graceful movement on entry and exit, though I can understand the edge call on the lutz, I miss Mao so much now that Grand Prix season is underway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYJ_mG6Qvno

mousepotato · Oct 27, 2014

anyanka said:
Interestingly, despite so many other celebrated Russian pairs, they were the first to accomplish this feat when they have not been considered their country’s #1 entry in years, and missed an Olympics during their eligible period.

They may have been 'eligible' to compete in the Olympics but couldn't due to injury. 'Missed an Olympics' makes it sound like they competed and didn't make the team. Semantics perhaps but it's certainly worth noting.

No one knows how V/T would have skated in Chicago. Just like Yuna getting the silver or S/S losing the bronze to S/K, nothing is set in stone.

Skaters Who've Won All Six Grand Prix Events

anyanka

anyanka

anyanka

AprilS

Sandpiper

anyanka

Mathman

Sandpiper

Mathman

Mathman

MiRé

Match Penalty

anyanka

anyanka

Meoima

Match Penalty

Sandpiper

anyanka

minze

chasingpolaris

gotoschool

mousepotato

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