Best Olympic Rivalries in Skating History

[ladyjane]

Although I had some fun with the 'nothing' , the video @Arigato put in there reminded me of the rivalry between Butyrskaya and Slutskaya which was fierce in the 90s. I loved watching both women at the time.

 

[NanaPat]

This would be my pick for the best - in no small part because I still find it almost impossible to take a "side!" To this day I watch them both and all I can think of is how lucky we all were to have both of them competing at the same time.

And how unlucky it was for them.

 

[noskates]

Plushenko and Yagudin - without a doubt. They weren't only rivalries on the ice but bitter enemies.

 

[Isk]

More of an internal rivalry of two olympic hopefuls.

 

[Arigato]

Plushenko and Yagudin - without a doubt. They weren't only rivalries on the ice but bitter enemies.

Indeed. That was a time when the TV networks had no problem showing the skaters for who they really were. No hype. No varnish. No bull.

At the 2002 OLYG Yagudin said of he and Plushenko, "We are not close, we kind of . . . hate each other." Where the heck would you hear that in sports today?

 

[Mathematician]

Me vs. The Judges

 

[Magill]

I am not really interested in rivalries so I have no "favourite rivalries" but as for those mentioned my picks would be:
Nathan vs Yuzuru - Yuzuru. Always. While I actually liked Nathan, Yuzuru is just a way greater skater and a charismatic performer with iconic programmes that will be remembered and cherished for years to come. Competition results are one thing, "iconic" is beyond any scale and is judged mostly by history and the public at large. And we can see some of their judgement already by now.
But... having said that, it might be my "favourite rivalry" after all because of the utmost respect they always treated each other with (yes, I know fans would have their wars about them, but fans are fans, and athletes are athletes and are supposed to be good sports). And, no, expressing how much you hate your rival is not my kind of thing and is not what I am interested in watching. Puts me off instantly, and I bet I am not the only one with an allergic response to skaters disrespecting their rivals or icons of the sport.
V/M vs P/C - P/C. Always. V/M just never were my thing, sorry.
Yuna vs Mao - Yuna. See the bit on Nathan and Yuzu above. Yes, Mao was great. Yuna was iconic.
Evgenia vs Alina - Evgenia. Always. Zhenya and Yuzuru were the ones who brought me back to watch FS in my adult life (I used to watch it as a child in the 6.0 era as my mom was a fan of the sport and it was a family pastime, and I even did some skating myself for fun then at the local rink, but it was these two that revived my childhood admiration).

 

[TallyT]

Ummm. I tend to veer between Plushenko and Yagudin for the sheer bitchy, reality TV entertainment value of their unabashed but never uncomfortably cruel (because they could both dish it out equally) snarkfesting. And Yuzuru and Javier for the exact opposite, two sportsmen and TCC teammates who competed ruthlessly on the ice but also cheered each other on throughout that quad.

 

[Mathman]

Yagudin versus Plushenko was interesting in other ways, too. Yagudin presented himself as more of an international and cosmopolitan personality, with Plushenko the unabashed son of Russia. Yagudin, in fact, never won a Russian national championship in eight tries (while winning 4 world championships and an Olympic gold medal) -- this must be some kind of record!

This was the very early days of the internet, but Yagudin had the biggest world-wide fan army ever at the time. He was especially popular among Russian expatriates living abroad.

What I remember most about Plushenko, the times that I saw him skate in person at competitions and shows, is that he was unfailingly gallant in his conduct toward the ladies. When the men's portion was over he would sometimes pulll up a chair to rinkside for the ladies part and cheer heartily for every performance. (I have wondered if this is part of the Russian national character -- I have known several Russian colleagues -- scholars, not athletes -- who are like that. )

 

[Magill]

Ummm. I tend to veer between Plushenko and Yagudin for the sheer bitchy, reality TV entertainment value of their unabashed but never uncomfortably cruel (because they could both dish it out equally) snarkfesting. And Yuzuru and Javier for the exact opposite, two sportsmen and TCC teammates who competed ruthlessly on the ice but also cheered each other on throughout that quad.

Yuzuru and Javier, OMG, you're right, they were awesome, better than anyone!!!!
I omitted them because although they formally were rivals on the ice they were so much more friends and brothers in arms, and still are, despite everything!!!! So I do not think of them immediately when rivalries are mentioned. But you're right, so right!!!
How could I ever forget? Just look! The video below is time stamped for that Kiss and Cry moment that went iconic, lol!

 

[Skater Boy]

It is always fun to see rivalries. I thought it was intriguing to hear what Johnny and Evan had to say about each other. Yevgeny and Alexei was afierce o n and off the ice. the battles - of the Carmen's - Katarina v Debi was thrilling though Liz Manley really stole the show from both on home ice. The battle of the brians was an earlier battle of Yvgeny and Alexei though they were not so full of hatred Gritschuk and Platov versus Usova and Zhulin was truly a battle on and off the ice and for love or lust. I honestly don't consider Michelle v. Tara or Sarah; or Alina versus Evgenia or Nathan versus Yuzuru or Shomo as they seemed kind of short. Nancy versus Tonya was of course so much hype though sometimes peopel forgot tonya did not doing the knee bashing.

 

[Mathman]

... the battles - of the Carmen's - Katarina v Debi was thrilling though Liz Manley really stole the show from both on home ice.

Yeah, the anticipated showdown between the two front-runners ended with a whimper not a bang, as Debi gave a mistake-filled ierformance and Katarina was able to back into the gold medal without doing much pf anything. Liz was definitely the star of the show (the LP), and not just to Canadian fans.

 

[lariko]

My impression was that Yagudin retired due to injury very fast, but from what I saw of the two men skating (not much tbh), Plushenko was far more to my liking since he was so dramatic. Both of them have grating, querulous personalities in their present career, but I like Plushenko in professional sphere more, since at least he gets into fights on behalf of his students not for the sake of just bashing random skaters on TV.

 

[Mathman]

My impression was that Yagudin retired due to injury very fast, but from what I saw of the two men skating (not much tbh), Plushenko was far more to my liking since he was so dramatic.

Yagudin's career was not terribly short, he competed at Europeans 7 times (winning 3) and at worlds 6 times (winning 4). He did retire due to injury in the season following his Olympic win.

[Aside: I was there (in the audience) at his last competition -- Skate America. 2002. This event was originally billed as a big showcase for all theOlympic gold medalists of the year before, but both of the pairs teams, Berezhnaya & Sikharulidze and Sale & Pelletier withdrew, as did Sarah Hughes (Sarah at the last minute). The organizers were in a panic -- their blockbuster show had just collapsed!

The USFSA quickly put in a panic call to Michelle Kwan's agent Shep Goldberg (RIP ) , twisted his arm and made him an under-the-table "offer he couldn't refuse" (so it was rumored) for Michelle to.come jetting in to sane the day. (Michelle hd planned to take the fall season off.)

On the subject of rumors, when Even Lysacek was defending Olympic champion after the 2010 Olympics he entered negotiations with Skate America 2010 for a similar sweetheart deal for his participation, but it didn't work out. So I heard. Probably;y not true. ]

Anyway, rumors and gossipy speculation aside, Yagudin did skate the short program at 2002 Skate America, withdrew from the long, and then retired after an exhibition skate at Skate Canada that year. Plushenko had a somewhat longer main career, plus a n extension after his comeback following a three-year hiatus.2006-2009.

As for personalities, I felt that Yagudin was self-burdened by his efforts to maintain his "oh, I'm such a bad boy, don't you just love me for it" image -- and still is.

 

[Weathergal]

Tara vs Michelle- Tara was my girlfriend
Yagudin vs Plushenko- Team Yagudin
Tonya vs Nancy- Tonya all the way
Kristi vs Midori- Team Kristi (although I always loved Midori's spirit and smile when she skated)
Boitano vs Orser- Team Brian
Plushenko vs Lysacek- Team Evan

Which Brian?

 

[Magill]

Incidentally, saw it today on X and could not resist an urge to repost here.
What could have been one of greatest FS rivalries but never came to be.
Two greatest talents of their generation, both broken by injuries and bad coaching.
Both coaches awarded ISU Best Coach Award.

 

[Take2cnsdr]

Michelle vs. Irina (won by Sarah)

 

[labgoat]

Chen/Hanyu

Loved them both - so grateful that both got their day in the sun.

 

[Mathman]

Nikolai Panin and Ulrich Salchow. Each refused to participate if the other showed up and the panel of judges was perceived to favor the other.

When Panin arrived in London for the 1908 Olympics, he looked over the judging panel, saw the handwriting on the walk, and withdrew. But he did participate in the "special figures" competition (Salchow didn't) and won -- the only time this discipline was contested at the Olympics.

The reason why Panin was so good at special figures is that as a child his parents could afford only one pair of skates to be shared between Nikolai and his sister. He got the left and she got the right. He became a whiz at "one-footed- skating" He could work miracles of artistic twists and turns on the left foot.

Later he coached his protege Ivan Malinin to silver at 1912 Europeans. I don't know whether Malinin was the great-great-grandfather of our boy Ilia or not.

 

[Skater Boy]

I think it is interesting to see for example of the Battle of the Carmens when the real winner on so many grounds was Liz Manley. Likewise Irina v. Michelle was won by Sarah. Usova and Zhulin v. Gritschuk and platov. Lobacheva and Ablbervuh v. the french.