National Title Records Holders in ALL Disciplines

Copied & pasted & modified from a post I originally made over in the Japanense Nationals thread in regards to Mao Asada's desire to win 10 National Championships in her lifetime (she has 4 thus far):


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source of reference ~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_championships_in_figure_skating):



MEN

Ivan Dinev (BULGARIA) = 14 (3-time GP Bronze Medalist in 1999 & 2001 respectively; btw bio says 11, but Nationals site states 14; he's also the 1st Bulgarian to land a quad in competition and the 1st to medal at a GP event; he coaches now with his wife Angela Nikodinov of the USA).

*Honorable Mentions with 11 =
John Ferguson Page (BRITAIN; 1924 World Silver Medalist in pairs & 1926 World Bronze Medalist in singles)
Oliver Honer (SWITZERLAND; he founded the Art on Ice Show in 1995; coached Lucinda Ruh)
Werner Rittberger (GERMANY; 3-time World Silver Medalist in 1910, 1911, 1912 and 4-time European Medalist; creator of the 3R jump; later became a coach).

*Honorable Mentions with 10 =
Carlo Fassi (ITALY; 1953 World Bronze Medalist, 2-time European Champion, 9-time National Pair Champion; became legendary coach renown in the f.s. world)
Nobuo Sato (JAPAN; 1965 Winter Universiade Champion; legendary renown coach)
Bo Mathander (SWEDEN)
Hans Lindh (SWEDEN)
Alain Giletti (FRANCE; 1960 World Champion and 1954 & 1958 World Bronze Medalist; 5-time European Champion)
Laszlo Vajda (HUNGARY)
Marcus Nikkanen (FINLAND; 1933 World Bronze Medalist & 1930 European Bronze Medalist)
Gregor Urbas (SLOVENIA; 6-time Slovenia Trophy Champion, 5-time Triglav Trophy Champion, 3-time Golden Spin of Zagreb Champion, 2006 Ondrej Nepela Memorial Champion)
Martin Stixrud (NORWAY; at 44 yrs. old he is the oldest person to ever win an Olympic Medal in an individual winter sport; also 2-time European Medalist; coached Sonja Henie).

WOMEN

Vaike Paduri (ESTONIA; hard to find info. about her; btw she also won the USSR/SOVIET UNION National Title in 1945) = 14.

*Honorable Mentions with 10 =
Gabriele Seyfert (EAST GERMANY; 1968 Olympic Silver Medalist, 2-time World Champion, 3-time European Champion)
Andree Joly (FRANCE; also 11-time National Pairs Champion; 1928 & 1932 Olympic Champion in Pairs & 1924 Olympic Bronze Medalist in Pairs; 4-time World Champion in Pairs and 1932 European Champion in Pairs)
Olga Vassiljeva (ESTONIA; 2000 Tallinn Cup Champion; btw bio says 4, but Nationals site states 10)
Mojca Kopac (SLOVENIA; 1993 Ondrej Nepela Memorial Champion & 1996 Golden Spin of Zagreb Champion)
Tatiana Malinina (UZBEKISTAN; 1998 Golden Spin of Zagreb Champion, 1999 & 2002 NHK Trophy Champion, 1999 GPF Champion, 1999 Asian Winter Games Champion, 1999 4CC Champion)

*Honorable Mentions with 9 =
Maribel Vinson-Owen (USA; 1932 Olympic Bronze Medalist, 2-World Medalist, 1934 European Bronze Medalist, 1937 North American Champion in singles & 1935 North American Champion in Pairs, 6-time National Pairs Champion)
Michelle Kwan (USA; 1998 Olympic Silver Medalist & 2002 Olympic Bronze Medalist, 5-time World Champion; 7-time Skate America Champion; 1995 GPF Champion, 1998 Goodwill Games Champion)
Chen Lu (CHINA; 1994 & 1998 Olympic Bronze Medalist, 1995 World Champion, 1996 Asian Winter Games Champion, 1998 Karl Schafer Memorial Champion; btw bio says 9, but Nationals site states 7 ?)
Midori Ito (JAPAN; 1992 Olympic Silver Medalist, 1989 World Champion, 6-time NHK Trophy Champion; 1st woman to land a 3axel in competition, 1st woman to land a 3/3 combo. in competition, 1st & only woman to land six different triples in competition)
Surya Bonaly (FRANCE; 3-time World Silver Medalist, 5-time European Champion, 5-time Trophee Lalique Champion, 1991 Nebelhorn Trophy Champion)
Constance Wilson-Samuel (CANADA; 1932 World Bronze Medalist, 4-time North American Champion, 6-time National Pairs Champion, 3-time North American Pairs Champion)
Anne Karin Dehle (NORWAY)
Karen Venhuizen (DUTCH; 2007 International Challenge Cup Champion)
Julia Sebestyen (HUNGARY; 2004 European Champion, 3-time Ondrej Nepela Memorial Champion, 2009 Golden Spin of Zagreb Champion, 2010 Crystal Skate of Romania Champion)
Shirene Human (SOUTH AFRICA; btw bio says 10, but Nationals site states 9)

PAIRS

Danielle Carr-McGrath/Stephen Carr (AUSTRALIA) = 19 (they both now coach)

*Honorable Mention with 12 =
Mariusz Siudek (POLAND; with 3 different partners!, 1999 World Bronze Medalist, 4-time European Medalist, 2-time Ondrej Nepela Memorial Champion)

*Honorable Mention with 11 =
Andree Joly-Brunet/Pierre Brunet (FRANCE; 1928 & 1932 Olympic Gold Medalists and 1924 Olympic Bronze Medalists, 4-time World Champions, 1932 European Champions)

*Honorable Mentions with 10 =
Sarah Abitbol/Stephane Bernadis (FRANCE; 2000 World Bronze Medalists, 7-time European Medalists, 2-time Trophee Lalique Champions, 2001 Bofrost Cup on Ice Champions, 2000 GPF Silver Medalists)
Alexia Bryn-Schoien/Yngvar Bryn (NORWAY; 1920 Olympic Silver Medalists, 2-time World Medalists)
Piotr Sczypa (POLAND; with 3 different partners!)
Pierette Dubois/Paul Duboisp (SWITZERLAND)
Tatiana Granatkina-Tolmacheva/Alexander Tolmachev (USSR/SOVIET UNION; she became one of the founders of the Soviet figure skating school and established another, and was also a renown legendary coach; her husband, Alexander, later became head of the Figure Skating Federation of Moscow)

ICE DANCE

Margarita Drobiazko/Povilas Vanagas (LITHUANIA) = 13 (they remain the only figure skaters in history to have competed in 5 Olympiads!; 2000 World Bronze Medalists, 2-time European Bronze Medalists, 3-time GPF Bronze Medalists, 2006 Karl Schafer Memorial Champions)
And Albena Denkova (BULGARIA; with 2 different partners!; 2-time World Champion, 3-time European Medalist, 2007 GPF Champion, 5-time Finlandia Trophy Champion, 2-time Bofrost Cup Champion, 1999 Karl Schafer Memorial Champion)

*Honorable Mentions with 11 =
Albena Denkova/Maxim Staviski (BULGARIA; 1st Bulgarians to medal at Worlds; 2-time World Champions, 3-time European Medalists, 2007 GPF Champions, 5-time Finlandia Trophy Champions, 2-time Bofrost Cup Champions, 1999 Karl Schafer Memorial Champions)
Galit Chait/Sergei Sakhnovski (ISRAEL; 2002 World Bronze Medalists, 5-time Skate Israel Champions)

*Honorable Mentions with 10 =
Shae-Lynn Bourne/Victor Kraatz (CANADA; 2003 World Champions, 3-time 4CC Champions, 2-time GPF Champions, 6-time Skate Canada International Champions)
Ivan McDonald (NEW ZEALAND; with 4 different partners!)

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One of the most fascinating things I discovered during my enjoyable research was the fact that quite a bit of the aforementioned record holders come from the former USSR/SOVIET UNION, which began in December of 1922 and broke up into 15 different republics in December of 1991, as follows:

1.) ARMENIA
2.) AZERBAIJAN
3.) BELARUS
4.) ESTONIA
5.) GEORGIA
6.) KAZAKHSTAN
7.) KYRGYZSTAN
8.) LATVIA
9.) LITHUANIA
10.) MOLDOVA
11.) RUSSIA
12.) TAJIKISTAN
13.) TURKMENISTAN
14.) UKRAINE
15.) UZBEKISTAN


And now for a little bit of trivia ~ Evgeni Plushenko (RUS) and Irina Slutskaya (RUS) both individually hold the record for most GPF wins (4 apiece respectively). As for pairs, Shen/Zhao (CHN) hold the record with 6! And Navka/Kostomarov (RUS) hold the record in ice dance with 3. ^)

Nadine, wooow this is really impressive. Thank you very much for the list. There are some skaters that I have never seen them skating. I am going to start looking for them on youtube. This is going to be a lot of fun!!

Thanks so much, Nadine! That took a lot of hard work, and how fascinating to see all that data in one place.

History is one of my favorite aspects of skating. One of the first things I did as a fan was to research the 1961 plane crash that wiped out the U.S. skating team. (And now we can see Laurence Owen and the others skating on YouTube!) So getting to view these stats is a real treat. Some of them are mind-boggling, notably the Australians who were champs for almost two decades. It's really impressive when one sees countries like Lithuania with smaller federations producing a few stellar skaters who kept their countries in the spotlight for a decade or more. And isn't it interesting that both Nobuo Sato and Carlo Fassi, who became such important coaches, were record-holders as national champions.

Cool info -- thanks.

Nadine said:

Midori Ito ... 1st & only woman to land six different triples in competition)

Click to expand...

First, yes, but not only.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buQXBXmjumU

Nakano might have done it at least once, and most of her competitions were in IJS so we could comb the protocols, but she also tended to get downgrades on the 3A. But it's late, so I can't stay up and do the research tonight.

Please bare with me, as when I get stuck on a tangent I can't stop, therefore I also started composing a list of EUROPEAN RECORD HOLDERS IN ALL DISCIPLINES:


MEN:

Ulrich Salchow (SWEDEN) = 9. Also, he's the 1908 Olympic Champion, 10-time World Champion, 3-time Swedish Champion, Creator of the 3Salchow jump, and was the President of the ISU from 1925-1937.

*Honorable Mention with 8 =
Karl Schafer (AUSTRIA). He's also a 2-time Olympic Champion, 7-time World Champion, 7-time Austrian Champion, and the Karl Schafer Memorial Competition is named after him in his honor.

*Honorable Mentions with 6 =
Willy Bockl (AUSTRIA); 2-time Olympic Silver Medalist, 4-time World Champion, 4-time Austrian Champion.
Evgeni Plushenko (RUSSIA); 2006 Olympic Champion, 2-time Olympic Silver Medalist, 3-time World Champion, 4-time GPF Champion, 8-time National Champion, 8-time COR Champion, 2002 GWG Champion, and is the most decorated Russian figure skater in history, man or woman, with more National Titles than all of them in any discipline. He's also the 1st skater to land a 4/3/2 in competition (26 times thus far), 1st skater to land a 4/3/3 in competition (4 times thus far), has officially landed more than 100+ ratified quads in competition thus far, is the youngest male skater in history at age 16 to receive a 6.0 (he received 75 of them all together in his career under the old scoring system), and is the second & only male skater in history to have medalled in 3 Olympiads, with Gillis Grafstrom holding the record at 4.


That's it for now, but I will say that Irina Slutskaya of RUSSIA holds the women's record with 7 European Titles, followed closely by Katarina Witt (EAST GERMANY) with 6, and of course the incomparable Sonja Henie (NORWAY) with 6 of her own. ^)

Lol, I've decided to calm down because it's taking too much of my time, and also I've become OCD.

Therefore, I've just decided just to concentrate on singles, list their names and number of such & such titles won, for the most part, enjoy!


EUROPEAN RECORD HOLDERS IN SINGLES (continued)


WOMEN:

Irina Slutskaya (RUSSIA) = 7

*Honorable Mentions with 6 =
Katarina Witt (EAST GERMANY)
Sonja Henie (NORWAY)

*Honorable Mentions with 5 =
Sjoukje Dijkstra (NETHERLANDS)
Surya Bonaly (FRANCE)


*************Note: Europeans is the oldest of the 4 annual f.s. competitions; began in 1891! :thumbsup:************

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WORLD RECORD HOLDERS IN SINGLES

MEN:

Ulrich Salchow (SWEDEN; 1901-1911)) = 10

*Honorable Mention with 7 =
Karl Schafer (AUSTRIA; 1930-1936)

*Honorable Mention with 5 =
Richard "Dick" Button (USA; 1948-1952)


WOMEN:

Sonja Henie (NORWAY; 1927-1936) = 10

*Honorable Mentions with 5 =
Herma Szabo (AUSTRIA; 1922-1926)
Carol Heiss (USA; 1956-1960)
Michelle Kwan (USA; 1996-2003)

*Honorable Mentions with 4 =
Lily Kronberger (HUNGARY; 1908-1911)
Katarina Witt (EAST GERMANY; 1984-1988)


****************Note: Worlds is the second oldest of the 4 annual f.s. competitions; began in 1896!****************

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FOUR CONTINENTS (AKA 4CC) RECORD HOLDERS IN SINGLES

MEN:

Takeshi Honda (JAPAN), Jeffrey Buttle (CANADA), Evan Lysacek (USA) = 2 apiece respectively

WOMEN:

Fumie Suguri (JAPAN) = 3

*Honorable Mention with 2 =
Mao Asada (JAPAN)


******************Note: 4CC is the newest of the 4 annual f.s. competitions; began in 1999.*********************

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OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES RECORD HOLDERS IN SINGLES

MEN:

Gillis Grafstrom (SWEDEN) = 4 (1920, 1924, 1920 Olympic Champion & 1932 Olympic Silver Medalist)

*Honorable Mention with 3 =
Evgeni Plushenko (RUSSIA; 2006 Olympic Champion and 2002 & 2010 Olympic Silver Medalist)

WOMEN:

Sonja Henie (NORWAY) = 3 (1928, 1932, 1936 Olympic Champion)

*Honorable Mention with 2 =
Katarina Witt (EAST GERMANY; 1984 & 1988 Olympic Champion)


************Note: Olympic Winter Games is the most prestigious & oldest quadrennial event; began in 1908!**********

Nadine said:

WORLD RECORD HOLDERS IN SINGLES

MEN:

Ulrich Salchow (SWEDEN; 1901-1911)) = 10

WOMEN:

Sonja Henie (NORWAY; 1927-1936) = 10

Click to expand...

Well, statistics is a nice and interesting thing. But in case of FS I would stick with the modern history of the sport only. It doesn't sound like really fair to compare competitions and chances to win in 1910 and in 2010.

Ooops, forgot to add one more competition.


GRAND PRIX FINAL RECORD HOLDERS IN SINGLES

MEN:

Evgeni Plushenko (RUSSIA) = 4

*Honorable Mentions with 2 =
Stephane Lambiel (SWITZERLAND)
Alexei Yagudin (RUSSIA)

WOMEN:

Irina Slutskaya (RUSSIA) = 4

*Honorable Mention with 3 =
Kim Yu-Na (SOUTH KOREA)

*Honorable Mentions with 2 =
Tara Lipinski (USA)
Mao Asada (JAPAN)

***************************Note: The GPF began in 1995.******************************

Hi, let's talk.

I've noted your posts both on here & FSU, and for the most part I agree with them, *except* I think it is not only disrespectful but dangerous to discount those that came before. Yes, most have long passed on, but their memory lives on. Not only that I personally feel they become what we know as the "Skate Gods". And it's dangerous to ignore them.

On that note, I have to say I've been a bit unsettled lately with the way Evgeni has either ignorantly or else arrogantly ignored those greats that came before him, in particular Gillis Grafstrom, whom has competed & medalled in 4 Olympiads. Therefore, it is wrong of Zhenya to state that no male skater ever competed in 4 Olympiads. In fact he is wrong. As concerns single skaters, several have competed in 4 Olympiads ~ Sonja Henie, Gillis Grafstrom, Elvis Stojko and Julia Sebestyen are the first to come to mind. Yes, Gillis Grafstrom remains the only figure skater to have medalled in 4 Olympiads, but a handful of skaters have actually competed in 4.

Anyhow, I thought I would never have to say this, but a little humility on Zhenya's part wouldn't hurt. Yes, it is necessary to have total confidence in oneself & one's abilities in order to skate clean & remain on top of the world, however it should also be tempered with humility, otherwise it comes off as arrogance.

To tell the truth, I just keep having flashbacks of Michelle Kwan saying she wanted to be a legend, and how she wanted to compete in 4 Olympiads. This before she even competed in one per Christine Brennan's book. I still feel that she angered the skategods and therefore as a result failed to win an Olympic Gold Medal, let alone four to match Sonja Henie's record.

My last word on the subject, Evgeni Plushenko needs to be careful, and honor those that came before him. Read up on this sport he so loves, including its illustrious history!, and which I love to watch him compete in.

let`s talk said:

Well, statistics is a nice and interesting thing. But in case of FS I would stick with the modern history of the sport only. It doesn't sound like really fair to compare competitions and chances to win in 1910 and in 2010.

Click to expand...

Thanks Nadine for the time putting together these interesting records. I agree with let's talk. While we shouldn't forget the greatness of those before us, it sounds not fair to the modern skaters who would never be able to earn 10 straight world titles in their life time. It doesn't mean that these modern skaters are not as good as or better than those skaters before them. Figure Skating is not like track and field or swimming where the old records could be broken (actually, in swimming, it has relied on modern technology to break the old records much more easily.) In figure skating, those days of 10 straight world titles are gone forever.

Michelle Kwan is a legend because she was able to hold herself for so long for the record of 9 Nationals and 5 worlds titles. But it couldn't shake off the fact that ladies skating had not changed much in those years.

Hi, Bluebonnet (btw I've always loved your username as it reminds me of the butter & jingle by the same name).

I respect your opinion, but have to disagree. Nothing is impossible, records were made to be broken. And for those that may think the "old-timers" had it easy, I say it was even tougher, they had figures to contend with as well as skating outside in any condition ~ rain, shine, wind or snow. Compared to that, the skaters of today have it easy.

And of course the higher up one goes, the more the pressure, as Sonja Henie can attest to (please scroll down to post #9): http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/sh...tioned-on-BIOGRAPHY-S-Celebrity-Ghost-Stories

Back to records, Michael Phelps broke what some thought would never happen, Mark Spitz's record! And Irina Slutskaya broke both Sonja Henie & Katarina Witt's record at Europeans, not to mention Tara Lipinski broke Sonja Henie's long-standing record of being the youngest World & Olympic Champion, and on & on & on ad infinitum. Oops, and how can I forget, Mao Asada has broken records left & right with her fairly consistent 3axel, both in the SP & LP. And now she wants to break Yuna Kim's overall best PB record, which I'm sure will be broken if not by Mao by some other phenomenal skater. This is why there is no doubt in my mind that the records of the past set by the great ones will also one day be broken, some sooner than others, as records were made to be broken!

p.s. and with the limitless technology that is out there nowadays, I suspect that one day a skater will come along that will break ALL records!

Just when I thought that those were scientifically, theoretically indisputable facts, here you come again. Well, I do admire your enthusiasm, Nadine. Nothing hurts, so keep dreaming.

One of my all-time favorite quotes, which sits on my computer desk btw:

"Only as high as I reach can I grow, only as far as I seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream can I be."

Nadine said:

I think it is not only disrespectful but dangerous to discount those that came before. Yes, most have long passed on, but their memory lives on. Not only that I personally feel they become what we know as the "Skate Gods". And it's dangerous to ignore them.

Click to expand...

It's not about respect or ignore. It's about numbers- statistics. The 10-time-world- champion is not gonna happen again. And in this case what's the point of keeping statistics if we know in advance that the record won't be beaten? The thing like who jumped the 3A first in ladies' or who was the youngest OGM is one thing and we can stick with the general statistics of FS history. Things like 10-time WC records of Ulrich and Sonja, or pre-war Olympic records should rest in history with all respect.

You can't really compare "World" championships of the past with the modern version. For the entire career of Ulrich Salchow and for quite a bit of Sonia Henie's career, too, the "World Championship" was a skate-off among two or three skaters from Scandinavia versus two or three Austrians/Germans.

1900. There were only two competitors. Salchow finished second (last). The Austrian finished first. There were four Austro-German-Swuss judges, 0 Swedish judges.

1901. Two competitors. Salchow first, the German second. There were four Swedish judges (out of six).

1902. Held in Great Britain(!) Four competitors. Salchow won, Madge Syers second.

1903. Held in St. Petersburg. Five competitors. One Russian, all the rest Austro-German or Swedish

1904. Three competitos. Salchow and two Germans.

1905 Five competitors. All Austro-German or Swedish.

1906. All 5 of the judges were German or Austrian. Salchow realized he didn't have a chance, so he did not compete. All of the 7 competitors were either Austro-German or Swedish.

1907. Al;l seven competitors were either Scandinavian or Austro-German.

1908. Three competitors. Salchow and two Germans.

1909. Five competitors. Three Swedish, 1 German, 1 Russian (he finished last).. Three of the five judges were Scandinavian.

In ladies, Lily Kronberger won the title. She was the only competitor.

Well, you get the idea. The "World champion" meant, who had the most judges on the panel, Sweden or Germany?

By the time Sonia Henie came on the scene the field had expanded...a little.

1927. In ladies, there were four competitors, two Norwegians, two Austro-Germans. The judging panel was three Norwegians, two Austro-Germans. Sonia Henie was first with three votes (the three Norwegian judges), with five-time defending champion Herma Szabo of Austria picking up the German and Austrian judges' votes.

This caused such a ruckus that the ISU passed a new rule that each country could have only one judge.

Who's comparing? I'm listing facts, statistics, records. Not speculation.

Anyhow, I see we are all at an impasse. I will agree to disagree.

And on that note, here's a video of Danielle Carr & Stephen Carr (National Pairs Record Holders with 19!) skating at the 1994 Olympics (btw love her cute outfit, she looks like Sonja Henie (;^):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7fgGMSzyLE

p.s. I honor you, Skate Gods, even if some do not.

^ I am not sure about gods, but figure skating does have a patron saint, St. Lidwina.

At the age of fifteen, St. Ludwina fell while ice skating and broke a rib. She never recovered, becoming increasingly disabled the rest of her life. She was known for being able to fast and also go without sleep for extended periods, and was credited with working miracles in healing (other peoples') illnesses.

Fascinating bit of info., Mathman, thank you. It made me want to find out more about her, thus my reading took me here:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09233a.htm

p.s. when I was a PCV in South America many years ago, I recall going to as many of their Catholic cathedrals as I could find, what an equally fascinating experience, such history!