Most Memorable Skating Moments Ever | Page 3 | Golden Skate

Most Memorable Skating Moments Ever

R

rgirl181

Guest
Re: most memorable

I think Ingo Steuer was one of the most beautiful and exciting male skaters I've seen in pairs skating. I thought he was more fluid than Mandy, who tended to tighten up from nerves. I haven't seen Ingo in years, but man, could that guy move.

Everyone has mentioned almost all my memorable skating moments. One that only I and those seated around me got was at the '99 SOI show in NYC. Ilia Kulik did his 3Axel right in front of me and I mean as if it had been planned just for where I was sitting. He took off about 8-9 seats to the left of me, hit the peak of the parabola just at my seat, and landed about 8-9 seats to the right of me. He was only about 10 feet in front of me, so close I could feel the breeze created by the jump, and his skates were about even with my head, that's how high he was. It was one of the most spectacular human athletic feats I have ever seen, if not the most spectacular. I knew he was setting up for a jump as he was stroking down the left side of the rink and then I could see it was going to be the 3Axel. I remember thinking, "I can't believe he is going to do that jump <strong>right here!</strong>" and next thing I knew, he was flying over my head. I've seen other skaters do other jumps up close, but never anything even remotely close to IK's 3A. As I've said before, for those of you who remember those old ads for Maxell--the audio equipment--where the guy is slumped low in an armchair in front of some stereo speakers and the sound is so supposedly so strong his hair and clothes are blowing back and he has to hold on to the chair, that is <strong>exactly</strong> how I felt watching Ilia do that 3Axel. At last year's Hallmark competition, when IK did his '98 Olympic LP, "Rhaphsody in Blue" with almost all the jumps, Scott Hamilton said, "Every moment he spends in the air is a gift to us all." Of course it's hyperbole, but seeing the guy live and that close, I have to concur: It was a gift.

That and having John Zimmerman all to myself at the buffet table at an SOI reception in '99 before anybody really knew who he was:lol: He was such a sweetie! I went up to talk to him because he was all by himself--if you can believe it! Everybody else was waiting for the SOI skaters or glomming onto Evgeni Platov and Maya Usova, who were among a number of skating "royalty" at the reception. I glommed onto Maya and Evgeni later;) Maya Usova has the softest hand I've ever felt and Evgeni, who I had such a crush on, looked so old--and not in a good way, sad to say.

Okay, my other memorable moments (some or repeats of what others wrote):
Todd putting the gold medal around his mom's neck at 1996 Worlds. That's class.
Sergei Grinkov's death, albeit a heartbreaking memory.
Drobiasko and Vanagas's Freedance from '02 worlds. What an incredible last hurrah.
Ilia Kulik's '98 Olympic LP. Most technically difficult program ever executed at the Olympics up to that time and virtually flawless. And I loved the shirt:smokin:
Grishuk/Platov's '94 Olympic FD. I loved it and thought it deserved the gold. G/P ushered in a whole new level to ice dancing: speed and inctricacy.
Wylie's '92 Olympic silver medal performances. He was such a gentleman throughout, too.
Talking to Paul at an SOI reception in '99. A genuine and genuinely nice guy.
Lu Chen after her LP at the '98 Olympics. Bowing to her coaches before she stepped off the ice as she wept--just killer.
Lu Chen's '95 World title.
Lu Chen and Michelle's '96 World LPs. Best head-to-head ladies competition I've ever seen.
Michelle's transformation from '95 to '96.
Todd Eldredge, Ilia Kulik, and Rudi Galindo at '96 Worlds. What a great podium!
Rudi's '96 Nats win in his home town. You could feel San Diego shaking all the way to NYC.
Oksana's Olympic SP and LP, '94
Olympic '94 Pairs LP: G&G, Mishkutenok&Dmitriev, Brasseur&Eisler--but especially G&G vs M&D--Beethoven and the Moscow School vs. Rachmaninoff and the St. Petersburg School.
Candeloro's "D'Artanigan" LP at '98 Olympics
First time I saw Plush do the 4-3-2. The 4-3-3 was great, of course, but the 432 came out of nowhere. After that, you knew the 433 was just a matter of time.
Yag's "Lawrence of Arabia"
Midori's 3Axel in her '92 Olympic LP after missing the first one. She hit the second at almost the 3:30 mark and literally brought the house down.
Seeing Kristi perform "Bridge Over Trouble Water" live.
Seeing Kurt do "Anteaus" and "Nyah" live.
B&S and Kaz&Dmitriev at the '98 Olympics. B&S were favored to win and had it until the last lift of their LP, on which they fell and slid across the ice (unhurt, thankfully). K&D rose to the occasion and became the champions they were destined to be that very night.
Yuka winning this year's Hallmark. More beautiful than ever.
Sasha's second place finish at '00 Nationals. Serving notice as the new kid on the block.
Naomi Nari Nam's second place finish at '99 Nationals. Serving notice that was never to be fulfilled, sigh:(
Sasha's debut of her "Malaguena" SP at SC--standing O even with the fall on the fw. Sasha's "Rach" performance at Lalique.
Vika at COR
Irina's comeback in 2000 with the first 3Lutz/3loop ever done by a woman at the GPF after not even making the world team in '99.
Tiffany Chin at '84 Nationals, seeing it live. I went to see Scott and Roz, but Tiffany stole the competition.
G&G doing "Vocalise" at World Pros.
A&P doing "Romeo and Juliet" and G&P doing the Michael Nyman FD at '98 Olympics. Great stuff and another turning point in ice dance.
G&P exhibition to Madonna's "You'll See." Surprisingly effective considering the music.
'92 Olympic ice dance FD-- Klimova&Ponomorenko, the Duschaneys(sp?), Usova&Zhulin. Every skate could have been a gold medal winner, IMO.
Witt in '84 and '88--"Madonna on Ice."
'88 Ladies Olympics, Manley upstaging Witt and Thomas in the FS.
'88 Olympics: G&G's short and long. So young and fresh and unbelievably amazing.
'88 Olympics: Battle of Brians, especially given what happened to both of them afterwards. I can't help but wonder, "What if the gold had gone to the other Brian?"
'93 COI: Seeing Brian Boitano skate live for the first time. Mr. Whoosh and the first and only skater I've seen to skate without friction between his blades and the ice. I swear, it's true. It's as if he sprays his blades with silicone.
'96 COI: Seeing Irina skate live for the first time. She was virtually unknown and skated in a costume that wasn't much more than a stretch-lace practice outfit. She opened the second half of the show, skating to "I Saw You Dancing" and set Madison Square Garden on fire. A standing O.
'96 COI: Seeing Tara skate live for the first time. She had an energy and spark that could not be stopped. Sadly, after '98 and the hip problems, I haven't seen it since.
'94 COI seeing Oksana live for second time, doing "The Swan" as Olympic champion. A completely different skater from the gangly girl I'd seen in '93.
Oksana's "Ave Maria" for "Tribute to Sergei Grinkov."
Katia's Mahler program for the Tribute to Sergei. Such raw emotion and power on the ice as I've never seen. Perfect choice of music.
'84 Olympics T&D "Bolero" AND their "Paso Doble"
Dorothy Hamill around '98 (I think), returning to performing and skating to Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Requiem."
'94 Olympic Candeloro's "Godfather" and Elvis's "Enter the Dragon" LP
Seeing Abt live at "Stars, Stripes, and Skates." That's when I "got" Abt.
Sitting next to Sir Button at "SS&S."
SOI '02: Seeing Lucinda Ruh skate live. Such a gift.
Irina's "Schindler's List" Interpretive Free Program in '00 or '01 and her "Piano Waltz" SP at the Nagano Olympics.
Michelle skating "Rush."
Bumping into Todd Eldredge by accident as he was going into the arena at the '98 GWGs. I managed to ask for an autograph and Todd was very gracious. Callaghan gave me a dirty look though:lol:
By chance sharing a cab with Cupcake and Vika on way to '98 GWG, back when they were just Elena Sokalova and Viktoria Volchkova. Yes, I did get their autographs;)
Talking girl-talk with Yuka Sato at the '98 SOI reception.

Sorry these are long and boring, but I did leave quite a few out:eek: Better to have too many than not enough.
Rgirl
 
I

icenut84

Guest
Re: most memorable

Rgirl, they weren't long and boring! Well, maybe they were long :p but that's not a bad thing, it's interesting. You're so lucky to have seen so many skaters live! And to have met them too.

"Ilia Kulik did his 3Axel right in front of me and I mean as if it had been planned just for where I was sitting. He took off about 8-9 seats to the left of me, hit the peak of the parabola just at my seat, and landed about 8-9 seats to the right of me. He was only about 10 feet in front of me, so close I could feel the breeze created by the jump, and his skates were about even with my head, that's how high he was. It was one of the most spectacular human athletic feats I have ever seen, if not the most spectacular."

He's one I HAVE seen live though. He didn't do a triple axel, but I have to agree about his jumps. I saw him in July at the Nottingham Gala, and before then I wasn't really "into" him, I'd only seen his 98 LP and one or two other LPs before, and not watched them many times, so I wasn't particularly a fan or anything. But when he came out with Kurt B and Steven C at the beginning, the 3 of them did sbs russian split jumps and double axels (IIRC) and I was stunned at Ilia's jumps. They were SO high, and light, and floaty! They looked easy! It was amazing. It must have been incredible to see his triple axel that close up...
 
I

icenut84

Guest
Re: most memorable

P.S. I also gotta agree with Midori's triple axel in the 92 Olympics LP, and also her LP in the 88 Olympics, it was totally amazing! And her reaction afterwards was so cute it was funny. :)
 
N

NCMKNEW02

Guest
Re: most memorable

Tonya Harding propped her leg on the judges' table at the 94' Olympics. Does this count as skating moment?
 
L

Lcp88

Guest
Re: most memorable

John Zimmerman all to yourself. Must have been Heaven.:D
Laura
 
D

DORISPULASKI

Guest
Re: most memorable

Torville and Dean's Paso Doble OSP, Ottawa 1984 World's with the audience on their feet for the entire program, and applauding for the entire second iteration.

B&S's Lady Caliph short program at Oly's 2002 - my husband turned to me and said that he had never seen a better pair SP.

Toller Cranston commentating on Europeans in Budapest for the dance, criticizing Usova and Zhulin's Middle Eastern belly dance number as being totally over the top and needing only lights and fountains to belong in an ice show (talk about the pot and the kettle) This was the first time I had ever seen them, maybe 1983?

Brian Boitanos spiral and flying sit spin in Calgary 1988 and his expression when he finished his program-you could see that all his dreams had come true even before the marks came up, some how winning was secondary to skating his programs to the best of his abilities.

Seeing S&P's Love Story program at Skate America for the very first time - amazing. The audience was in tears. Fall 1999.

Rudi Galindo winning Nationals 1996-amazing program, an amazing performance of that program, and amazing drama to do it in his home time.

Martini and Underhills winning LP at Ottawa 1984.

Jill Watson and her partner previous to Oppegard doing a pancake lift and being pitched out of the rink in Ottawa. I thought she would die!

Doug Ladret skating an entire season in a hockey helmet due to an injury.

Michelle's Romanza (Worlds) and Lyra Angelica (Nationals)

dpp
 
H

heyang

Guest
Re: most memorable

Martini & Underhill's performing Unchained Melody and then the someone announcing that the audience did not see 2 people on ice - thus announcing Underhill's pregnancy and their retirement.

This performance amazed me with its sensuality. I surprised to find out that they weren't married to each other.

It was also sad to hear when U&M returned to competition that one of the twins (so - yes, we actually had 4 people on the ice) had died in a swimming pool accident. I believe that Barb returned to the ice to seek solace from her grief.
 
G

Grgranny

Guest
Re: most memorable

That was so sad. I don't think a person could ever get over something like that. And I really loved their skating.
 
R

rgirl181

Guest
Re: most memorable

Thanks, Icenut, that was nice of you. I'm glad you got a chance to see IK at the Gala. There is a quality to his jumps--the ease and that floaty thing--that is just breathtaking. Never seen anybody else who has it. I was impressed with him from TV, but after seeing him live I felt as if I was watching a different skater.

Lcp88 re JZ: You know, I was so agog at his physical beauty that I had a hard time enjoying the experience of talking to him:lol: Living in NY, you see stunningly beautiful people all the time, but JZ was exceptional even by NY model/actor standards. And you know what? It made me feel kind of bad for him. I didn't relate to him the way I normally would have because I was so distracted by his looks. Not that it was his big loss or anything:smokin: , but later when I was thinking about it, I thought about how we hear people who have amazing good looks talk about how being beautiful has a down side. Usually when I hear such things, I think, "Yeah, yeah. Gimme a violin," but experiencing it with someone who seemed very genuine and warm, like JZ, made me think about the reality of that down side. Don't worry, I'm not weeping for the woes of gorgeous people:rolleyes: , but I was just reminded that it's not always a ridiculous concept.

Also, dpp, thanks for mentioning the way Brian reacted after his win in Calgary. I've always thought that the 10-20 seconds of facial expressions and body language he exhibited right as and after he finished his LP was one of the most emotionally revealing moments in sports ever. So many emotions crossed his face, from near-manic excitement to disbelief to tears to grateful joy and emotions I can't even describe. It was one of the most expressively "human" moments I've seen in sports and definitely one of the most memorable in skating.
Rgirl
 
L

Lcp88

Guest
Re: most memorable

rgirl - This summer, I spent a few weeks in Lake Arrowhead, Ca, Where MK is now and Zimmerman used to be. ITA agree with you on the downside of beautiful thing. Everyone there who knew him just talked about how Hot he is, How cute he and Silvia look together, ect. No one commented on his skating/personality. I've befeifly talked to him once, and he really is a nice guy and a great skater. Of course, I couldn't keep my eyes off his face, and he even had is southern drawl on.:D Best cowboy at SOI!!! Of couse, Kyoko is another story...
Laura
 
R

rgirl181

Guest
Re: most memorable

Thanks, Laura. I was hoping what I wrote didn't sound too whacked out.

And as for "Of couse, Kyoko is another story..." :rollin: I hear ya!
Rgirl
 
M

MSI83

Guest
Memories

-Midori and Tonya's 3 axels- stunning
-Kerrigan vs Baiul in Lillihammer 1994
-Battle of the Brians in Calgary 1988
-Browning's Lp in Lillehammer
-Chen vs Kwan in Edmonton 1996
-Lipinski vs Kwan in Nagano 1998
-Slutskaya's Lp at 00 GPF
-Kulik's Lp in Nagano 1998
-Sato vs Yamaguchi in the pro ranks
-Boitano vs Browning in the pro ranks
- Kwan's Lp in Nice 2000
-Browning's LP in 1991 worlds
-Chen's LP in Nagano 1998
 
J

Jaana

Guest
Re: Memories

On TV
1. Watching as my all-time favourites John Curry (1976), Robin Cousins (1980) and Ilia Kulik in 1998 skated and won the gold medal in their respective Olympics
2. G&G winning gold in 1988 Olympics
3. T&D´s "Bolero" in 1984 Olympics
4. Ilia Kulik´s skating in Hallmark Pro 2001
5. Ilia Kulik´s "Liebestraume" from 1997 Japan Open
6. Oksana Baiul´s White and Black Swan programmes from 1993-1994 season
7. Candeloro´s "Godfather 1" from 1994 Olympics
8. Battle of the Brians in 1988 Olympics
9. Paul Wylie´s skating in 1992 Olympics
10. G&P´s Oriental Dance performance from Europeans 1997

Live:
1. Katia´s and Ilia´s "DiBolero" in SOI 1999-2000
2. Ilia Kulik´s "Rockit" in SOI 2000-2001
3. Plushenko´s "Bolero" in Finlandia Trophy 2000
4. Cohen´s skating in Finlandia Trophy 2001
5. Susanna Pöykiö in Finlandia Trophy 2002

Marjaana
 
S

shanilia

Guest
Re: Most Memorable Skating Moments Ever

-Sergei Grinkov's death
-Michelle Kwan's transformation that debuted with Salome in the '95-'96 season
-When Tara Lipinksi skated with joy for the first time ever during her long program at the Olympics; that was her transforming moment
-The shock of Tara beating Michelle for the gold medal at the Olympics
 
D

Dee4707

Guest
Re: Most Memorable Skating Moments Ever

:eek: What was the year that Midori crashed into the cameraman?

Dee
 
I

icenut84

Guest
Re: Most Memorable Skating Moments Ever

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr> :eek: What was the year that Midori crashed into the cameraman?[/quote]

I haven't seen it myself (unfortunately), but I've heard a lot about it - I think it was during 1991 Worlds SP. I believe she was setting up for a jump (the combination?) and ended up jumping out of the ice area and landing in the camera pit! Then she jumped back on without missing a beat. Apparently she also apologised to the cameraman after, even though he had been sticking his camera too far out, or something like that. Can anyone else (who's seen it) clarify some of that? ;)
 
D

Dee4707

Guest
Re: Most Memorable Skating Moments Ever

I think that I am going to put this years Nationals Men's long program in my "Most Memorable Skating Moments Ever" book. I hope I never see a competition like that again. What does it say for our US male skaters?

Dee
 
H

heyang

Guest
Re: Most Memorable Skating Moments Ever

I have to add MK's performances at this year's nationals. She had a fierceness to her performance that IMO exceeded all of her other performances. It was similar to her determination at 95 Worlds. While I think her 98 Nationals performances were exciting, it was because of the Joy. You could feel how happy she was to be back on the ice.

Also memorable because Rgirl became a Kwaniac for a couple of days.
 
Top