Ladies skating idols | Golden Skate

Ladies skating idols

linda vanwormer

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 5, 2005
Hi,

I love and respect this forum so I have a request from you.

I am writing a book on the history of women's figure skating and feel that it would become much more significant with the help of the wonderful people that post at Golden Skate.

What I would like is What ladies are your heros and why and permission to use your interviews in my book.

For me one of my first memories was Carol Heiss and recently (at Regionals) I was able to get an interview with her and she more than lived up to my expectations.

My book goes back into the skating crazes of the 1860's and the early 1900's plus a little before and a lot after. Anything you have would be appreciated. I want the book to be something for all people who care about this beautiful sport.

Thank you.
 

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Wow! That sounds like a wonderful idea for a book. My greatest lady skating idol is of course, Karen Magnussen from North Vancouver, BC. Karen hit her stride in the 70s era when I was still a skater and involved in figure skating. I remember watching her skate live many times.

Karen was five time Ladies Canadian Champion and inspired many young girls to take to the sport of fiugre skating.

Here is more info on Karen:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Magnussen

All the best with your book.
 

linda vanwormer

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 5, 2005
Thanks for your reply.

I'm at the point now (after visiting Karen Cover and her wonderful group at the World Figure Skating Museum) that I want to add a personal twist to the book. So any thing that any one would like to talk about I would appreciate.

I'm hoping to find a publisher and have this out before the 2010 Olympics.

Linda
 

mskater93

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 22, 2005
My idol has always been Dorothy Hamill. I was really young when she won her Olympic title and made me want to take up skating! :rock:

I've also followed Lisa Marie Allen, Elaine Zayak, Tiffany Chin, Debbie Thomas, Midori Ito, Tonya Harding, Michelle Kwan, etc
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
My idol is Lori Nichol. To me, she has extraordinary musical intuition and choreographic vision, great originality, and impeccable attention to detail.

As a person, she is the very spirit of kindness and generousity.

She touched my life (unknowingly), at a time when I needed it most.
 
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lmarie086

Medalist
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Mine would have to be Michelle Kwan. I remember being six years old and turning on the tv to randomly find her about to skate and I just thought it was so cool. She won too :biggrin: (I think it was Worlds).

I didn't like her programs after 2002 as much but, her programs from Lori Nichol were simply fantastic. Looking back I appreciate how her team went out of their way to choose music that was not overused, and some of her programs are what I consider staples for the sport.
She is one of the standards to which I compare other ladies skaters. It doesn't matter that others may have been better, Michelle has just always been my favorite.
 

CzarinaAnya

Medalist
Joined
Aug 29, 2003
I've been fascinated by Sasha Cohen's abilities since she appeared.
I'm impressed not only by her flexibilty, but by her style and attention to beauty.
She's a theatrical skater. The type I'd want to be if I were in her shoes.
 

Bennett

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
I like Katarina Witt. I actually know only a couple of performances of hers: the legendary Carmen and the two programs at her last Olympics. But she is like Audrey Hepburn to me who has the eternal presence. I think that she had a lot of charisma as the legendary beauty on the ice. I like the theatrical aspects in these performances and the beautiful techniques that are pleasant to watch (like those of Alissa).

I also like Midori Ito. She seems to have faced a lot of barriers making her own way. I heard that she changed the norms in ladies that used to be only pretty and elegant. As I now watch her performances, I think that she had everything in her techniques. In particular, her spins were fab, not to mention her phenomenal jumps.

I have my soft-spot for Yukina Ota who has recently retired. I would not feel hesitant to describe her performances as arts. She had the real class on the ice. I wish she had not had injuries. But that may be the life. I actually feel that she may shine even better from now on as a pro skater because of her superb artistry that is undervalued in competitive skating.

I think that Mao and Yuna have legendary talents and I root for them. But I do not find them my skating idols, perhaps because they are comtemporary skaters who are still in their late teens.
 
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iluvtodd

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 5, 2004
Country
United-States
I have a soft spot for Midori Ito, still my all time favorite ladies skater, and the lady who got me totally hooked on the sport (for the men it was the "Battle of the Brians"). We never got to see her skate live, but I always pulled for her to do well. She always made me smile, and her 1988 Olympic free skate was amazing. I was so nervous for her during the 1992 Olympics, but seeing that smile back on her face in her free skate was so reassuring. :bow: :clap: :) I also loved the years when she competed against Kristi (whom I also really admire) professionally.

For a number of years I had and loved my Dorothy Hamill wedge cut.
 

Patty1983

Spectator
Joined
Feb 7, 2007
I would like to mention Tugba Karademir. I know that she never won a major title, but I think that she skates lovely programs. I also think that it is a major accomplishment to be the first skater from Turkey to qualify for the Olympics.
 

sillylionlove

Medalist
Joined
Oct 27, 2006
I would have to say all of the above. But I would like to mention Ekatarina Gordeeva. She went from an Olympic Medalist in pairs to a wonderful singles skaters. I can't think of anyone else that has been able to accomplish this.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
^ she also came back to skating in order to heal her story is inspirational (she found love for and on the ice again too!)
 

dizzydi7

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 31, 2004
Peggy Fleming has made her mark on figure skating. She has been in the public eye all these many years--continuing her connection to figure skating long after others disappeared. She certainly represents love of the sport in my opinion.

Dizzy
 

Star85

Rinkside
Joined
Dec 21, 2008
Please let us know when your book comes out! I'm sure if you do, you will selling a few more copies ;)

I have something to bring to the table, that probably isn't the first thing that's going to come to most people's minds when it comes to idols and heros in figure skating: What's happening right now in Japan and South Korea, thanks to female skaters. The sport is sadly becoming less and less popular in the US (and in many other countries from what I hear), but over in Asia, the opposite is happening. Yu Na Kim has single handedly turned figure skating into a popular sport in South Korea. Japan has an overflowing field of dominating, champion female skaters. Shizuka Arakawa won the 2006 olympics, and skaters like Miki Ando, Mao Asada, and Fumie Suguri have been forces to recon with the past few years too. If you're a champion figure skater in those countries, you're a big celebrity. People are going crazy for figure skating over there right now thanks to female skaters (and Chinese pairs skaters too, to be fair).

Mao Asada is huge is Japan right now, and she is my favorite skater. Although it's hard to compare her to some of my old favorites, because of the completely different scoring system, and skaters continuosly pushing the envelope by doing more difficult elements, and routines. Still, something about her skating brings me so much joy. There's just something extra beautiful, and elegant about it. Not to mention her great technical ability - like doing the triple axel. Few skaters can touch me emotionally, and even bring tears to my eyes when I watch them skate. She is currently the only amature skater who can do that to me.
 

flying camel

Medalist
Joined
Nov 16, 2005
The skaters I admired that made me fall in love with the sport were :

Debbie Thomas - She had powerful jumps, but she was also very musical. Not to mention she was attening college while skating.

Jill Trenary - To this day her 1 foot axel into the triple salchow is my favorite jump combination. I use to love to see her do that jump.

Caryn Kadavy - She was extremely musical. She made you feel the music. Also she had one of the best triple loops in the business.
 
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lcd

Match Penalty
Joined
Mar 11, 2007
My word... how could it be that no mention yet of Janet Lynn? She inspired so many - even beyond the sport. First woman to sign a $million contract if you want to look at it from a commercial/barrier exceeding standpoint... a contemporary of Billie Jean King so to speak. Her difficult-to-comprehend (for the general public) results at World level competitions (owing to the weighting of compulsories, and the nearly impossible to overcome point spreads) played a pivotal role (along with television) in changing the competitive dimensions of the sport.

Tenley Albright! Won her gold with a foot injury. A great lady from Boston!! Practiced on hockey ice at the Boston Garden. Become a top surgeon at Harvard. Still an amazing graceful presence, completely under-appreciated by the current generation.

And what about the leading ladies of pairs and dance? Singles gets so much of the attention, but I think of many of the outstanding ladies in these disciplines as being such important contributors to the sport. Your thesis/outline may exclude them, but I never would when considering "great women in this sport"... I could go on and on...but of course... JoJo Starbuck, Tai Babilonia (first World Champion since the Kennedy's, and none from the US since), ... and what about Judy Blumberg, Tanith Belbin (break through Olympic medalist)... I'll shut up... but had to throw in my two cents that these ladies too often get the short shrift in a singles focused world.
 

Star85

Rinkside
Joined
Dec 21, 2008
Also, I'm sure Michelle Kwan is going to be in your book, but I just wanted to add on top of my last post, that she is a big reason I like figure skating so much. I always liked watching skating as a kid, but one day I caught her Pocahontas program on tv, and I just thought it was too cool. I loved that movie (I was about 10 or so at the time), and I thought it was so cool someone was skating to it. I also thought she was super good, and I started getting even more interested in figure skating from then on.
 

linda vanwormer

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 5, 2005
I'm in the process of writing to publishers. I would love to see this out before the Olympics, but then I think maybe after so we have a record through 2010. I would like to see it published as a notebook so that pages can be added.

I was so frustrated by not being able to find even US national results. (Have them now). I want a place where people who love history can go and say, "oh yeah, that's what happened."

So again, any stories, any thoughts. I really appreciate everything.

I agree that there are so many amazing ladies, choreographers, dress designers, coaches. Of course pairs and dance is important. I have included some, but my book is already over 2000 pages. Skating history is long and wonderful.

A lot of former ladies didn't just do singles. Theresa Weld Blanchard a great example.

So you're absolutely right, yes a chapter celebrating the "other ladies" would be great.

Michelle is one of my favorites. Like the rest of the world I would have loved to see her 2006 Olympic program.
 
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Star85

Rinkside
Joined
Dec 21, 2008
I was so frustrated by not being able to find even US national results. (Have them now). I want a place where people who love history can go and say, "oh yeah, that's what happened."

A complete list of US nationals results is on wikepedia. I remember looking at it a while back. LOVE that site. If you can't find what you're looking for on google or wikepedia... then gee, Idk...lol
 
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