Your favorite worlds?

[iluvtodd]

1996 - Todd & Michelle win gold! Rudy wins bronze! A very impressive Ilia Kulik (I really enjoyed his Aladdin program), A very strong free skate for Elvis (following his tough short program - I hated the headline from the Canadian press after his short program - "The King is Dead," or something like that ).

1994 - Elvis & Yuka win gold! Michelle's first Worlds!

2003 - attended it in person - Shen & Zhao, Michelle win gold. Fumie & Takeshi win bronze! Bourne & Kraatz win gold!

2016 - attended it in person - Javi wins gold, Ashley Wagner wins silver, all three US men finish in the Top Ten (Adam, Max, & Grant) !

 

[Arbitrary]

1999. The legendary one.
The one which killed Russian FS. Why? Coz ISU had to decide...

 

[rugbyfan]

Probably 1993 with Kurt Browning coming back and winning with his Casablanca programme after the disappointment of the previous year's Olympics and the added bonus of Brasseu and Eisler. Also loved 2010 and 2017 (and for personal reasons 1996 because it is the only one I went to live, and on that day Lu Chen was absolutely spell binding live; seeing it live was the first time I had ever really appreciated the women's discipline. Kwan was good, but Chen cast a spell on me that still holds me. I have looked at her performance on video since and though still lovely, it doesn't have quite the same feel).

 

[ladyjane]

1999. The legendary one.
The one which killed Russian FS. Why? Coz ISU had to decide...

? It's not legendary to me. I don't see why there was the killing of Russian FS. It was the first time a Russian woman won!

 

[treblemakerem]

As a big fan of mens skating, I will say 2017. Luckily the whole event is posted on youtube so I can rewatch it!

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

1999. The legendary one.
The one which killed Russian FS. Why? Coz ISU had to decide...

How did that kill Russian figure skating and what did the ISU decide?

Yeah, in 1999 they got all 4 golds. But it's not like they stagnated much after that.
In 2002 they won gold in 3 disciplines (men, women, dance) and came 2nd in pairs (to a very strong Shen/Zhao at that).
In 2004 they won gold in 3 disciplines (men, pairs, dance). Slutskaya/Sokolova did poorly in women.
In 2005 they won gold in 3 disciplines (women, pairs, dance), and a WD from Plushenko.
In the 2006 Olympics they won 3 disciplines (men, dance, pairs) and came 3rd in women.
Of course then they didn't win any World golds from 2006-2008, and were very nearly denied a medal in 2008. But then their women's and pairs program started coming on strong after that.

Hard to say what my favourite Worlds was, but I did really enjoy 2016 Worlds (Javi and Ashley especially).

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

2019 was actually probably my favourite and one of the best Worlds ever, I'd say... and kinda notable in that skaters from North America, Asia, Europe (non-Russia), and Russia each won a discipline. Yeah, Canada was shut out of the medals for the first time since 2004, but there was so much strong skating to enjoy from those Worlds and medalists I was thrilled for.

2019 was also the first year in quite a while that every winner had clean shorts and longs - 4 of the strongest winners ever (perfect levels too for P/C in dance, too!). And still very strong skates by the other medalists. I honestly think a lot of that had to do with the positive vibe of the crowd and Japanese fans uplifting all the skaters to do their very best. So many records were set: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_World_Figure_Skating_Championships#Records


Men's was an awesome FS showdown between Chen and Hanyu, but some great skates by Zhou/Jin/Kolyada. http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1819/wc2019/data0105.pdf

Zagitova was flawless and wonderful comeback from 2018. First senior quad by Tursynbaeva - and medal for Kazahkstan. Kihira had a brilliant free (even with the fall) and maybe should have got bronze over Medvedeva (who was still impressive herself). http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1819/wc2019/data0205.pdf -- 2nd to 5th were so close and all above 222.

The pairs FS was excellent - top 6 teams were pretty much clean. http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1819/wc2019/data0305.pdf

Ice dance was very well skated (even though it was a clear runaway for P/C) - perfect levels by the top 4 teams in the FD too. http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1819/wc2019/data0405.pdf

 

[moonvine]

The last one.

 

[4everchan]

The last one.

with Shoma, Kaori, Loena, James/Radford and others, I liked the last ones too BUT : I cannot call it favourite because of Ash and Tim. That was scary and heartbreaking

 

[mrrice]

It's not legendary to me. I don't see why there was the killing of Russian FS. It was the first time a Russian woman won!

That is THE reason this was such a HUGE event for Russia. They Won Gold in every event. Men, Ladies, Pairs, and Ice Dance and that made it a huge night for the the team.

 

[Mathman]

2003 for me. Although there were not a lot of competitive nail-biters, every discipline produced memorable -- even historic -- performances.

In ladies, speculation had been flying that Michelle Kwan might retire, following the 2002 Olympics. Reportedly she was persuaded to compete only because the event was held in the United States and she felt that she owed it to U.S. skating fans.

In my humb;e opinion her Aranjuez program was her most perfectly composed and choreographed of her entire career. In the performance she was in total control from beginning to end. (In her closing pose she began kneeling toward the audience, then rising with arms outstretche like a maestro commandoing the orchesta to rise. The audience rose as one.)

Granted, Irina Slutskaya was not there to contest the championship -- although Elena Sokolova skated the performance of her career, hitting 7 triples, and stole one first place ordinal.

In dance, Bourne and Kraatz broke through at last to become the first team from North America to win the wotrld championship.

In men's, with Yagudin having retired the previous fall season, Plushenko began his long period of total domination of the discipline.

Shen and Zhao won pairs with one of the most emotionally satisfying performances of all time. The audience was aware of their back-stories (including Shen's precompetition ankle injury). You can't go wrong with Turandot in any case, but this performance was in a class by iteff in terms of gripping the audience. Plus, there were a lot of Chinese and Chinese-American fans on hand to marvel and cheer.

 

[skylark]

being an American and a huge fan of Ashley Wagner, my biased answer is 2016. it was absolutely joyous to see a US woman finally get on the worlds podium after 10 years and her FS was absolutely chilling. it was not only the best international performance of her career, but also my favorite performance of all time to go back and watch. the emotions that build over the course of the program is intoxicating, and to finally see her put it together on the biggest stage and earn a medal after the trials and tribulations of her long career was just amazing.

I'd "bold" this whole paragraph!

And especially, the phrase about expressing emotions. It is all too easy for the technical mark to override skates that are gorgeous and thrilling for their emotional connections to the audience and the music. I really loved that Ashley and Evgenia are strong emotional skaters ... and also that they both perfectly illustrate the principle that figure skating performances are reciprocal ... the best skaters acknowledge that they receive energy from audiences, as well as giving it.

Also Javi's "Guys and Dolls." These two, Javi's and Ashley's FSs, are my all-time most frequent and favorites to re-watch. I also love what Javi said in his post-performance interview ... that the audience liked it, and "that's the most important thing to me." His quads were so beautiful; they matched the music and all the rest of his skating. There was no division between tech and performance marks; each fulfilled the other.

Also, I recall reading that because of his sore foot, Javi hadn't been practicing for 2 or 3 days before the FS. Brian Orser used this positively: he reminded Javi that Javi usually skated very well on Mondays at practice ... so a 2-day break from practice could (and did!) work out beautifully for him.

 

[SunnyCA]

I think I like the WC of 2019. The last year the world felt safe. The beautiful venue in Japan and lovely fans. Great champions all around, with high quality programs and execution. And of course Alina Zagitova winning her last missing title.

 

[Gia_Sesshoumaru]

I have a soft spot for 2016 because I was there.

 

[Arbitrary]

How did that kill Russian figure skating and what did the ISU decide?

Yeah, in 1999 they got all 4 golds. But it's not like they stagnated much after that.
In 2002 they won gold in 3 disciplines (men, women, dance) and came 2nd in pairs (to a very strong Shen/Zhao at that).
In 2004 they won gold in 3 disciplines (men, pairs, dance). Slutskaya/Sokolova did poorly in women.
In 2005 they won gold in 3 disciplines (women, pairs, dance), and a WD from Plushenko.
In the 2006 Olympics they won 3 disciplines (men, dance, pairs) and came 3rd in women.
Of course then they didn't win any World golds from 2006-2008, and were very nearly denied a medal in 2008. But then their women's and pairs program started coming on strong after that.

Hard to say what my favourite Worlds was, but I did really enjoy 2016 Worlds (Javi and Ashley especially).

ISU decided to prevent such mishaps in the future, especially on Olympics. Another swipe could easily zero further interest in the niche sport. People could vote by feet and not pay for tickets/translations anymore.

2002 Olympics weren't particularly bad for Russia, yet Tarasova said in her interview the situation with the next generation of Russian skaters nears "down below".
The situation slightly improved after 2018 with the Quad Race among ladies. But only slightly.
Remember the last Olympics? 5 golds, 2 for Russia, and 3 dissipated among 3 different countries. The next Olympics will be even better, with exactly 0 golds for Russia.

 

[Warwick360]

2013 Worlds. After Yuna sort of saved that event after Patrick Chan controversy.

And before Patrick Chan's fans attack me, I think he's a wonderful skater, but that was not one of his best events.

 

[4everchan]

2013 Worlds. After Yuna sort of saved that event after Patrick Chan controversy.

And before Patrick Chan's fans attack me, I think he's a wonderful skater, but that was not one of his best events.

All I will say is that his SP was wonderful indeed and allowed him to hold on. Happens all the time...

 

[MiraiFan]

2022 was fab--Kaori winning with two fantastic programs, the final two flights were wonderful. No predetermined results.

 

[skatingfan4ever]

2013 Worlds. After Yuna sort of saved that event after Patrick Chan controversy.

And before Patrick Chan's fans attack me, I think he's a wonderful skater, but that was not one of his best events.

All I will say is that his SP was wonderful indeed and allowed him to hold on. Happens all the time...

Also worth noting that the skaters have (comparatively) little to do with the scores they are given. The scores and results are ultimately in the judges' hands. Thus, the judges always deserve the blame for controversial results, not the skaters.

As a huge Patrick fan, I so wish his LP had gone better. It was such a letdown after his sublime SP. I was okay with the result, but it felt bizarre. Because, when I love a skater that much, my biggest wish for them is to skate clean/well. Fun fact: The first sentence I wrote in Patrick's Fan Fest after the LP was, "What a strange World Men's Event, again." (His 2012 Worlds LP was also less than desirable, so it felt like deja vu.)

 

[mrrice]

All I will say is that his SP was wonderful indeed and allowed him to hold on. Happens all the time...

It sure does....My Wife Maria Butryskaya won the SP over Irina by such a wide margin, that not even Irina's great LP could lift her past Maria at Europeans in 2002