PJ Kwong's All-Time Top 10 Ladies

[YunaBliss]

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/figureskating/opinion/2011/11/pjs-all-time-top-10-ladies.html

a few surprises, which includes 3 Canadians, but Yuna is No. 2!

 

[evangeline]

Well, I think I can pretty much guess who would be #1 on PJ's list when it comes to men's, pairs and ice dance as well!

But based on her blurbs, her criteria for all-time top 10 is kind of...interesting.

 

[seniorita]

She put Sara Hugues in top ten, put Michelle lower and there is no Mao, Shizuka or a tone I can think of before Sara Hugues?

 

[Olympia]

Good Greek word for you, Seniorita--what an idiosyncratic list! I can understand why a Canadian would put Barbara Ann Scott at the top of the list, but Sarah Hughes higher up than Michelle Kwan? And no Mao? No Janet Lynn? I guess she's just using gold medalists (except for Manley and Magnussen, also understandable), but even on those grounds, Shizuka would be ahead of Hughes, because she has a world championship and has better overall skating skills than Hughes.

If she does a men's list, she certainly has an excuse to put heaps of Canadians on it, including (I hope) Browning, despite his lack of Olympic medals. But if she pulls this with pairs, there will be no explaining it.

 

[evangeline]

What I'm trying to figure out is why on earth PJ would put Sarah Hughes on her "all-time top 10" list when she blatantly characterizes Hughes as a one-hit wonder.

 

[seniorita]

I wouldnt put her to any list, unless wanting to make a list of Olympic Champions, I mean Shizuka was also OC if you put it this way and the first Japanese to win, and Irina and Mao have more influence, titles and many many more.

 

[miki88]

What I'm trying to figure out is why on earth PJ would put Sarah Hughes on her "all-time top 10" list when she blatantly characterizes Hughes as a one-hit wonder.

That's what I'd like to know! Also, she omitted Janet Lynn. And included Dorothy Hamill but not Peggy Fleming. This is such a strange list.

 

[museksk8r]

I'm sure she's the only person on planet Earth who deems Sarah Hughes to be more influential and better than Janet Lynn. I guess she also thinks that Evan Lysacek is better than John Curry too.

 

[Mathman]

P.J. rocks!

Here's my list.

1. Barbara Ann Scott (obvious)
2. Karen Magnussen
3. Elizabeth Manley
4. Constance Wilson
5. Joannie Rochette
6. Jose Chouinard
7. Jennifer Robinson
8. That Korean girl who was coached by Brian Orser
9. That American girl who was choreographed by Lori Nichol
10. Can't think of any more.

 

[seniorita]

^
LOL that was more funny at least!

 

[KKonas]

P.J. rocks!

Here's my list.

1. Barbara Ann Scott (obvious)
2. Karen Magnussen
3. Elizabeth Manley
4. Constance Wilson
5. Joannie Rochette
6. Jose Chouinard
7. Jennifer Robinson
8. That Korean girl who was coached by Brian Orser
9. That American girl who was choreographed by Lori Nichol
10. Can't think of any more.

LOL Yes, but Sarah Hughes' father is Canadian.

 

[Buttercup]

PJ is so LOLsy. It's like she thinks they'll take away her citizenship if she isn't sufficiently pro-Canadian.

P.J. rocks!

Here's my list.
...
10. Can't think of any more.

You totally forgot Jessica Dube! She won a JGP medal in singles and a worlds medal in pairs - how many ladies can say that?

 

[Boeing787]

Well, I think I can pretty much guess who would be #1 on PJ's list when it comes to men's, pairs and ice dance as well!

But based on her blurbs, her criteria for all-time top 10 is kind of...interesting.

It's easy to guess the top 2 of her men's list, but who will be #1? Patrick or Kurt?

 

[lavender]

Way off...:sheesh:

 

[gkelly]

P.J. rocks!

Here's my list.

1. Barbara Ann Scott (obvious)
2. Karen Magnussen
3. Elizabeth Manley
4. Constance Wilson
5. Joannie Rochette
6. Jose Chouinard
7. Jennifer Robinson
8. That Korean girl who was coached by Brian Orser
9. That American girl who was choreographed by Lori Nichol
10. Can't think of any more.

How about the American girl who was choreographed by Sandra Bezic and trained in Edmonton to win the Olympics?

 

[Dragonlady]

PJ is so LOLsy. It's like she thinks they'll take away her citizenship if she isn't sufficiently pro-Canadian.

I think the list is very personal to PJ. These were skaters who influenced her, inspired her, and many that she knew personally.

I wouldn't put Janet Lynn on my list either. Growing up, I wasn't even aware of her but I sure knew who Petra Burka was. It was only after I started learning about some of the history of the sport that I heard about Janet Lynn and it wasn't until there was YouTube that I saw her skate. I think she was a lovely skater but I think that Americans vastly overstate her artistry.

Who you would put on your list depends in part on where you live and grew up.

 

[demarinis5]

What a silly list. IMO I think she put the Kween on her list as an afterthought.

 

[Buttercup]

I think the list is very personal to PJ. These were skaters who influenced her, inspired her, and many that she knew personally.

I wouldn't put Janet Lynn on my list either. Growing up, I wasn't even aware of her but I sure knew who Petra Burka was. It was only after I started learning about some of the history of the sport that I heard about Janet Lynn and it wasn't until there was YouTube that I saw her skate. I think she was a lovely skater but I think that Americans vastly overstate her artistry.

Who you would put on your list depends in part on where you live and grew up.

In that case, it's not a top ten of all time list as it purports to be; it's a "skaters I like and who were nice to me list". I mean, I met Paul Wylie shortly after Albertville and he was very gracious, but I'm not going to argue that this makes him one of the best skaters ever.

I come from a non-skating country, and have always picked my favorites based on their skating rather than nationality and/or who appeared most on TV. And Michelle Kwan was never a favorite of mine, but Kwan >>> Hughes.

 

[Olympia]

In that case, it's not a top ten of all time list as it purports to be; it's a "skaters I like and who were nice to me list". I mean, I met Paul Wylie shortly after Albertville and he was very gracious, but I'm not going to argue that this makes him one of the best skaters ever.

I come from a non-skating country, and have always picked my favorites based on their skating rather than nationality and/or who appeared most on TV. And Michelle Kwan was never a favorite of mine, but Kwan >>> Hughes.

Now that the U.S. is practically a non-skating country (grrrr), I've been branching out myself. Actually, I did a little mental inventory last night, and I realize that my Greats list of men has about one American on it--the rest are mostly Canadians, Japanese, and Curry and Yagudin. (The American is Paul Wylie, though I'm sure Boitano is more deserving. I just love Wylie's skating.) But for women, I do confess I'm weighted toward Americans: Lynn, Kwan, Fleming, Yamaguchi. The rest are I think all Japanese except for YuNa.

The American ignorance about Canadian women is interesting to me, though. My skating knowledge goes back to about the mid-1970s, with sparks from earlier skaters (mainly Fleming and Lynn), and I know absolutely nothing about Petra Burka except for her name, and I've also never seen Magnussen skate. I should hunt them up on YouTube. Was Karen Magnussen really a greater artistic skater than Janet Lynn? I know that several Japanese skaters revere Janet Lynn, but I've never heard of Magnussen's having any influence outside of Canada. I'm not arguing, just asking for more information.

 

[blue dog]

People forget that Lori Nichol was born and grew up in the very Canadian city of...Philadelphia, PA =P

At any rate, we knew PJ's all-time list would be chock-full of Canadians. I'm surprised Heather Kemkaran didn't make her list. I do wonder if on her men's list, she'll include Vern Taylor, who didn't even win a Canadian championship.