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Flashback - 1982 World Championships
My recollection of the 1982 World Championships, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, include the unlikely, come-from-behind
victory of Elaine Zayak of the United States. Zayak was in seventh place after the school figures and the long program, and it seemed unlikely that she would be able to medal in that competition. She had fallen in the short program at Worlds, and having fallen several times at Nationals (where she lost her title and wound up in third place), she was a bit
"spooked" concerning her ability to land her jumps. Elaine had a long talk with one of her coaches on this subject, and that enabled her to regain some of her confidence.
Zayak went out and landed a six-triple jump long program that completely blew away the competition. None of the women came close to matching her, jump for jump. She won the long program and won the World title. It was amazing.
The ISU, however, wasn't quite as thrilled, as it saw this as the dawning of a "jumping bean" syndrome for the women in which the women would focus primarily on landing triples and ignore or at least place less emphasis on artistry and presentation. The ISU institute the ruling that became known as the <strong><span style="text-decoration:underline">"Zayak Rule"</span></strong> - a triple jump could be repeated in the long program only once, and if a triple jump was performed twice, one of those times it had to be landed in combination. This ruling took away much of Zayak's competitive edge, as she consistenly landed three or four triple toes and two triple salchows in her long programs.
Katarina Witt of East Germany skated to the soundtrack from the movie "Superman" and won the silver medal. Peggy Fleming, commentating, remarked that Katarina was "such a pretty girl. She's just adorable on the ice". This was Katarina's first World medal.
Scott Hamilton won his second World title. The really interesting skater in the men's field that year, in my opinion, was Norbert Schramm of West Germany. Norbert struck some very unusual positions in his spins and jumps, and, well, some people thought his style was quite bizarre. The judges liked his skating, though, and he won the silver medal. Canadian Brian Pockar won the bronze medal.
In the exhibition, Norbert skated over to the King and Queen of Denmark and said hello to them. Dick Button asked Norbert what he had said to the royal couple. Norbert said, "I just said hello to them". When asked what the King and Queen said in response, Norbert said, "They said hello to me".
My recollection of the 1982 World Championships, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, include the unlikely, come-from-behind
victory of Elaine Zayak of the United States. Zayak was in seventh place after the school figures and the long program, and it seemed unlikely that she would be able to medal in that competition. She had fallen in the short program at Worlds, and having fallen several times at Nationals (where she lost her title and wound up in third place), she was a bit
"spooked" concerning her ability to land her jumps. Elaine had a long talk with one of her coaches on this subject, and that enabled her to regain some of her confidence.
Zayak went out and landed a six-triple jump long program that completely blew away the competition. None of the women came close to matching her, jump for jump. She won the long program and won the World title. It was amazing.
The ISU, however, wasn't quite as thrilled, as it saw this as the dawning of a "jumping bean" syndrome for the women in which the women would focus primarily on landing triples and ignore or at least place less emphasis on artistry and presentation. The ISU institute the ruling that became known as the <strong><span style="text-decoration:underline">"Zayak Rule"</span></strong> - a triple jump could be repeated in the long program only once, and if a triple jump was performed twice, one of those times it had to be landed in combination. This ruling took away much of Zayak's competitive edge, as she consistenly landed three or four triple toes and two triple salchows in her long programs.
Katarina Witt of East Germany skated to the soundtrack from the movie "Superman" and won the silver medal. Peggy Fleming, commentating, remarked that Katarina was "such a pretty girl. She's just adorable on the ice". This was Katarina's first World medal.
Scott Hamilton won his second World title. The really interesting skater in the men's field that year, in my opinion, was Norbert Schramm of West Germany. Norbert struck some very unusual positions in his spins and jumps, and, well, some people thought his style was quite bizarre. The judges liked his skating, though, and he won the silver medal. Canadian Brian Pockar won the bronze medal.
In the exhibition, Norbert skated over to the King and Queen of Denmark and said hello to them. Dick Button asked Norbert what he had said to the royal couple. Norbert said, "I just said hello to them". When asked what the King and Queen said in response, Norbert said, "They said hello to me".
