Looking back on the careers of Yu Na Kim and Michelle Kwan
- Thread starter pangtongfan
- Start date
I always like to see how mods edit provoking titles.
I think this thread title is much better than the original one, especially since many posters actually have discussed the two skaters with equal admiration (which is what Kwan and Kim deserve, considering their accomplishments) rather than tussling over which of these two skaters is "better."
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2014
Of course I agree this title is better, I just wanted to say it's funny to see how provoking titles become tactful.
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- Sep 17, 2011
I saw someone claiming that Yuna's story "takes you back to when Korea was a developing country" which always induces
(like you said, Korea was developed, it hosted the Olympics two years before Yuna was even born) and decided to have some fun with it. But the first half of my post was mostly serious.:thumbsup:^ How's that?
Not that Korea just like stopped because a third world country, but it has been particularly ascendent in the last 5 years or so. It was only recently that Samsung because the largest electronics manufacturer in the world, Korean film directors started getting international recognition, and same for pop acts like Gangum Style.
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- Feb 18, 2014
in short this thread will continue to bringworthy...
Apropos of absolutely nothing in this thread, if
were an Olympic event I could totally be a GM contender. Which is maybe a good thing b/c it sure ain't gonna happen in figure skating, at least not in this life... 
Seriously, though, both Michelle and Yuna brought so much to skating, each in her own way. They're both wonderful champions, classy ladies, and represent the sport so very well.
An Olympic gold medal doesn't mean a thing, at least in contemporary history for singles. Few great skaters or performances have won more recent ones. Doesn't mean a damn thing anymore. In Sochi a mediocre skater with a relatively clean program won ladies and a mediocre skater with a disastrous program won mens. Who cares if Kwan got one or Kim another one, they have places in history most OGM winners could only dream of. Add Sotnikova to the list of skaters like Hughes and Lipinski who greatly devalued the award.
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- Jan 25, 2013
I don't think Sotnikova gave an Olympic performance that was unworthy of an Olympic gold medalist. I just think Kim and Kostner gave more OGM worthy performances.
As for Hughes and Lipinski, they deserved their OGMs. Lipinski thoroughly outjumped Kwan with two 3-3 combos. Hughes - even with URs - gave the cleanest, most OGM-worthy performance on the night where erroneous performances from Slutskaya and Kwan would not have been OGM-worthy. Similarly, Arakawa saved 2006 from having an unworthy OGM... I mean, Cohen being the OGM would have been ridiculous.
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- Feb 13, 2014
Yup. The only thing no one could save is the men event at Sochi. But given the fact that the organization was somewhat of a mess, I am trying to forgive the men for that nightmare.
if only we could switch the men event of worlds to Sochi.
:disapp: I can't imagine how you must live your life, to put down other peoples achievement like it means absolutely nothing (however it was earned) Regardless of what happens, these people work their asses off their entire lives for that one moment, they didn't just skip onto the ice and win that medal. They don't need bitter people like you degrading all their efforts because your not happy with some results. You can criticize the system but the way your belittling these athletes is disgusting. And by your logic, ANY medal is worthless because its not always the "best" or the most "elite" skaters who win, sometimes there is that underdog who comes and takes that opportunity and manages to grab that medal while the "best" skater fails and loses that medal. It doesn't make the win any less important.
Now if we're talking about unfair judging that's another matter but it still doesn't make the medal worthless because the winner still sacrificed a lot and worked their whole lives for it.
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- Feb 13, 2014
:agree: love you!
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- Jan 25, 2013
Yup. The only thing no one could save is the men event at Sochi. But given the fact that the organization was somewhat of a mess, I am trying to forgive the men for that nightmare.
I think the team event was a factor, and obviously the pressure of the occasion. Such a messy men's event. Although going by the season, it seemed Hanyu would win with a fall (on the salchow) anyways. The flip was unfortunate addition. I was kind of upset about the 3S being nullified, but rules are rules... he still won and deserved to win, even with 2 falls.
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- Feb 13, 2014
Still don't understand why they placed that team event before all individual events? Not to mention right before men free skate, there was another event or something happened (speed or blabla I don't remember), then all the men had to stay up very late for doping test, got up very early for practicing... I mean there was something wrong with the organization and the men had to suffer a lot. Actually I don't care who win OGM, if only it had been cleaner. Hanyu is young so he might wait for the next one. But lots of these men might never have that chance again. Then the whole thing was a mess.
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- Jan 25, 2013
Well, there's no guarantee that those undoubtedly resulted in a poor competition, but they might have.
You could even argue that the lame crowd in Russia compared to the supportive crowd in Japan resulted in a stronger competition in Japan, but we can't say for sure.
You could even argue that the lame crowd in Russia compared to the supportive crowd in Japan resulted in a stronger competition in Japan, but we can't say for sure.
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- Feb 13, 2014
Well, if I were a skater, When I go out to perform then people shout "Loser!" Or show hostility, I would fall right into the 2A. I have seen that before. There was a time I worked at a stadium (student day) and there were some guys with bad sportsmanship. They hated some certain athletes so they shouted: "lose, lose, mother******" it has been a long time so I don't remember the result but...if it were me, I would lose all the spirit anyways.
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- Feb 18, 2014
Please. Hughes, Lipinski and Sotnikova didn't devalue the OGM -- that was entirely the judges' doing. :disapp:
Still don't understand why they placed that team event before all individual events? Not to mention right before men free skate, there was another event or something happened (speed or blabla I don't remember), then all the men had to stay up very late for doping test, got up very early for practicing... I mean there was something wrong with the organization and the men had to suffer a lot. Actually I don't care who win OGM, if only it had been cleaner. Hanyu is young so he might wait for the next one. But lots of these men might never have that chance again. Then the whole thing was a mess.
Yes, this seems so unfair. People train for years--sometimes decades--to get to the Olympics, and then the thing is set up so no one can look good. Even the winner wouldn't be likely to feel good about gaining a gold medal under such circumstances. As much as people yelled at the results of Lysacek vs. Plushenko in 2010, the two men's performances were strong efforts, and they were satisfying to watch. No one could enjoy watching the debacle of this year's long program. It's like watching a football game (American football, I mean) played in a muddy rainstorm where every slides and falls and there's only one touchdown per team. The guys ought to have gotten a do-over. Was it in the Sydney Summer Games where the apparatus was made too high for the vault, and everyone fell? This error was figured out during the competition, and I think some gymnasts at least got to make another attempt. (Please correct me if I've misremembered.) But what could be done once this disastrous long program was all skated?
This kind of screw-up offends my sense of fairness, even more than the judging controversy I think, because at least everyone in the ladies' long program could feel the satisfaction of having skated well. On the other hand, imagine knowing that you come to the Olympics and skate before an audience of millions, watching from all around the world, and you can't stay on your feet--and no one else can, either. Really, too many people fell too often for it to be just a weak effort on the part of one or two skaters.
Its more than controversial its actually illegitimate to you and others.
