Name one skater and one performance ...

[labgoat]

Olga Markova. She and Maria Butyrskaya were the reason why I became a figure skating fan back in the 90s. Olga was the Russian champion of 94 and also the European bronze medalist, but sadly Russia had no spots for the 94 Olympics. Olga also had a great year in 95 but by the next Olympics in 98 she was bested by other Russians. Such a great skater with a unique style. It's fun to see her nowadays as a tech judge - she always looks fierce.

I liked Olga too. She had interesting choreography, was engaged with the audience and was always stylishly costumed with wonderful extension, posture and toepoint. I agree that she looks fierce on the judging panel. She also has a nice smile. I thought that Maria had to up her style game to compete with Olga and developed a very nice style of her own. She remained a bit stiff - probably nerves. Both are excellent examples of Russian women’s skating and memorable divas.