She won the free here. :yes: There's a very good reason she's the only singles skater to win all six events.
Skaters Who've Won All Six Grand Prix Events
- Thread starter anyanka
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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.
Interesting, thanks for the tidbit. I've seen that three-event exception noted in several places but never knew when it applied and to whom.
The wins are a nice achievement for the listed skaters but this also sheds light on the Grand Prix system's flaws. As understandable as it is to allow favoritism towards local athletes, should the politicking be more regulated?
Good points. Will go back and edit to clarify.
And as you said, nothing is set in stone. I had a feeling Yuna wouldn't repeat for gold, but not many of us predicted it would be Adel who would have won it! It's entirely possible V/T would have not performed well in either event.
True, but I was talking about being "invited" not "winning." Yuna was never invited to NHK, thus lowering her chance of winning all series. She "could've" won SC in 2013, but there is no "could" or "would" on her being invited to NHK as long as Mao was competing. Too bad both retired at the same time (not 100% sure on Mao)
You do know that she could have chosen to go at NHK both in 2009-2010 and 2013-2014 (since she was WC she had first pick), but chose not to do so, dont'you?
Uh, the WCs don't get to pick their events either: http://isuprod.blob.core.windows.net/media/99763/announcement-gp-2013-14.pdf
Or how about the politicking be eliminated? Until every skater/team has a way to earn complete control over selecting their own events, the achievement of winning all 6 events is meaningless--to me. Note that I am not saying every skater/team gets complete control--just that they need a way to earn that right, i.e., top 6 in the world, you automatically get at least one choice that will automatically granted.
In order to judge the value of this achievement, you have to at least look at how many skaters get the opportunity to compete at all 6 events. When very few skaters even get the chance to try, and even fewer succeeded, then it makes it difficult to determine the value of that achievement. If only 3-4 people are allowed to even get to the starting line of a metaphorical footrace, and only 1 person finishes, then that person has defeated exactly 2 or 3 other people. Big whoop. You can't claim that the victor has defeated all the people who weren't even allowed to get to the starting line. It's a nice feather in the cap of the skaters who did this, but a distinction that will stand the test of time? No.
It's a sign of how immune fans are to the politics of figure skating that we just accept the politics of GP selection as a fact of life. Imagine if highly ranked golfers couldn't get invitations to certain top tournaments because the organizers wanted to protect the chances of their hometown players! Even lower-ranked skaters get screwed with the current system. Lower-ranked skaters who represent a strong federation that hosts a GP have a higher chance of getting a GP slot than skaters who don't (all else being equal), because at the very least, the home country can use a host pick on them. Yes, there are rules about rankings and seasons best, and to a certain extent, a skater can increase their chances of getting 1 or 2 slots, but we see time and time again, the politics that come into play influencing who gets which slot, if any, and where.
Yes, exactly. They are not guaranteed anything.
You can also add Maria Butyrskaya. She won Nations Cup, Lalique, NHK Trophy, Skate America, and Skate Canada.
Sorry, I remembered that the first two seeds could pick their events and then the third one was left with the remaining two, same for the 4th- 6th skaters...
: it's seems I was wrong 
anyway the seeded skaters aren't invited by the federation going by that document, but are assigned to it by draw, interesting since it put to rest all the discussion about why top contender A chose to skate here instead of there and why skater B chose always chose to skate in Paris even though he was Canadian or Japanese or whatever...Just a question: the hosting federation pick (rule 2.2 point f) is applied before the Draw of the seeded skaters right?
Excellent find!!
Of the current series she got 4/6, taking SA, SC, NHK and TEB/Lalique into account. We can make it 5 (but not of the current series) if we add Nations Cup. Thank you for contributing!I don't think anyone would say winning all the different GPs is some kind of game-changing achievement. Yuna never got invited to NHK... is that such a big deal? Winning the whole GP series is an interesting achievement, but it certainly doesn't define a skater. No one's going to say, "Mao Asada is greater than Yuna Kim because she has won all the different GPs." 
No one's going to call Kavaguti/Smirnov (and I do like them) a greater Russian pair than Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze. No one's going to say Virtue/Moir or Michelle Kwan aren't true greats of the sport because of their GPs.
I wouldn't be against giving skaters the chance to choose, but imo, it's not a huge deal.
No one's going to call Kavaguti/Smirnov (and I do like them) a greater Russian pair than Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze. No one's going to say Virtue/Moir or Michelle Kwan aren't true greats of the sport because of their GPs.I wouldn't be against giving skaters the chance to choose, but imo, it's not a huge deal.
Sorry, I remembered that the first two seeds could pick their events and then the third one was left with the remaining two, same for the 4th- 6th skaters...
Just a question: the hosting federation pick (rule 2.2 point f) is applied before the Draw of the seeded skaters right?
Evidently 2.2 point f does get precedence. An important rule you're forgetting is that the WC 1st-3rd place and 4th-6th place are not allowed to compete within one GP event. If you want to use Yuna/NHK as an example--not only has Yuna never finished off the Worlds podium but she's also always shared that podium with a Japanese skater. Effectively, the hosting organization can eliminate their competition as an option for their top skaters' immediate rivals.
I guess "politicking" is a strong word here. These kinds of exceptions allow strong federations to remain strong, but they can also lead to competitive imbalances per each event which ultimately put some skaters at a disadvantage for qualifying in the final.
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- Nov 13, 2012
I feel a bit sorry because Yuna missed Skate Canada last year due to injury, unless she would be there so the "little Russia girl who is super flexible" hype wouldn't start that soon
NHK ... never mind, lol
NHK ... never mind, lol
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- Apr 15, 2013
Yet DW and VM have been skating in the same events for ages: DW in SA and NHK bar 2011 when they went to Russia and VM in SC (since their senior debut!) and TEB bar 2007 when they went to Japan and 2012 when they also went to Russia.
But as jace93, I was sure worlds' gold and silver medalists could chose their events. I've always thought YuNa never went to Japan because a Japanese skater placed ahead of her had already taken it or becuase when she had the chance she didn't take it to leave them their home event
But as jace93, I was sure worlds' gold and silver medalists could chose their events. I've always thought YuNa never went to Japan because a Japanese skater placed ahead of her had already taken it or becuase when she had the chance she didn't take it to leave them their home event
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- Mar 24, 2010
Although the ISU does put the skaters where they are, the skaters do have preferences and the ISU does accommodate when they can.
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- Mar 23, 2010
Just thinking out loud. Wouldn't it be fairer if the top 3 national skaters are not allowed to compete at home GP events? Surely that makes it fairer for everyone. In their place, give the lower ranked skater a chance. That should even out the field, remove unfair home advantages and minimise the politicking.
On the other hand, federations do want to sell tickets.
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- Apr 16, 2006
I don't think anyone would say winning all the different GPs is some kind of game-changing achievement. Yuna never got invited to NHK... is that such a big deal? Winning the whole GP series is an interesting achievement, but it certainly doesn't define a skater. No one's going to say, "Mao Asada is greater than Yuna Kim because she has won all the different GPs."
I wouldn't be against giving skaters the chance to choose, but imo, it's not a huge deal.
Speaking of what defines a truly great skater, I'd say that never placing off the podium in one's entire career definitely defines it.
Yep. Thought the same here.
Agree that it was a shame she wasn't able to do anymore SC's.People: to be clear, I didn't intend to start this as a thread to claim it is some sort of definitive achievement. It was merely a point of interest when I was reading up on Mao on Wikipedia due to Skate America research (since she won last year), noticed she won the entire series and I thought "huh, I wonder who else got all six titles?" and it led to my post.
That being said, there's plenty of good discussion about GP assignments, the power of skating federations, and ticket sales.
My estimation of skaters I love, like Yuna, Yagudin, Kwan, Slutskaya, Elena & Anton, Albena & Maksim, N/K, P/T etc. is in no way diminished simply because they didn't win all six titles and the GPF. Yuna's Les Mis and Gershwin will always lift me on a bad day, Yagudin's SLC OG FS makes me swoon (especially in the K&C), Elena will always be inspiring because of how she overcame her struggles, and Michelle's elegance are all different aspects that make true champions, titles or not!
That being said, there's plenty of good discussion about GP assignments, the power of skating federations, and ticket sales.
My estimation of skaters I love, like Yuna, Yagudin, Kwan, Slutskaya, Elena & Anton, Albena & Maksim, N/K, P/T etc. is in no way diminished simply because they didn't win all six titles and the GPF. Yuna's Les Mis and Gershwin will always lift me on a bad day, Yagudin's SLC OG FS makes me swoon (especially in the K&C), Elena will always be inspiring because of how she overcame her struggles, and Michelle's elegance are all different aspects that make true champions, titles or not!
I know you had good intentions, that's why I offered up an actual answer in one post.
But as I feel strongly about the unfairness of the GP selection system, I also felt obligated to respond to another poster and express my opinion on the matter. Just had to get it off my chest. There are some things I love about the sport of figure skating, and some I don't. I think winning all of the GPs could be more of a noteworthy achievement one day if the federation politics in the selection process were removed one day. But until it's gone, for me, it's a bit like discussing baseball records prior to the color barrier being broken down, if ya know what I mean. Right now, only the skaters from strong federations have even a glimmer of hope of getting the opportunity, or they need to be a pair, because the lack of depth in pairs means they have more opportunities to skate at all the GPs.
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