Most favorite comps | Golden Skate

Most favorite comps

Joined
Aug 16, 2009
1998 U.S. Nationals, because of Michelle's two immortal performances.

2002 Olympics because of all four disciplines: both of the gold-medal-winning pairs plus Shen/Zhao, the ice dance (Annissina/Piezerat), the men's (Yagudin at his best), and the ladies, despite the disappointment of Michelle's fall. She, Irina, Sarah Hughes, and Sasha were all there and all did at least well, if not perfectly. Also, the Games occurred just months after 9/11, and it was a moment when we were picking ourselves up off the ground.

The 2010 Vancouver Games, especially the ladies and ice dance events. To get to see both YuNa and Mao at their best was a privilege that future generations will envy us for. And the ice dance had both V/M and D/W at their respective bests.

1993 Worlds had that wonderful Casablanca by Kurt Browning. The ladies' event was not so great. Everyone fell all over the place except for Oksana Baiul.
 

lulu

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 4, 2003
1994 Lilihammer. It was so much more than Nancy vs Tonya with all the great pros coming back in every division.

THIS

Nothing has ever been able to compare to this competition in my opinion.If I had to package all I love about figure skating in once single competition-it would be the 1994 Olympics. The greatest pairs competition in Olympic history. G&G and M&D performing their signature routines. As you mentioned, the return of the pros in every division. The rise of skaters such as Alexei Urmanov, Elvis Stojko, Philippe Candeloro. Katerina Witt's amazing short program to Robin Hood, and her return to Olympic competition, this time representing a unified Germany. Surya Bonaly's programs. On paper, the ice dance competition with T&D, G&P and U&Z should have been one for the ages-three of the greatest ice dance teams of all time competiting against each other. However, I think the ice dance competition didn't quite meet those high expectations, because I don't think any of the teams brought their very best material to the ice that year. But the exhibitions were excellent, Oksana's "Swan" program, M&D's panflute, G&G's Reverie, and the highlight for me-T&D bringing back Bolero, 10 years after they won the Olympic Gold Medal in Sarajevo with that program.
 

iluvtodd

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 5, 2004
Country
United-States
1988 - Calgary Olympics - The Battle of the Brians, Midori Ito, and G&G :love: - still my favorite Olympics (winter or summer)

1994 Worlds - Yuka & Elvis win, Michelle's world debut! With all due repsect to Alexei Urmanov, I felt Elvis should have won the 1994 Olympics, so I was thrilled to see him win here.

1996 - Worlds - Todd & Michelle win the World title. ABC showed the top 2 flights of men! - still my favorite Worlds, Elvis' fantastic free skate

1998 - US Nationals - being there for the whole experience!

1998 Goodwill Games - Amazing Todd :love: & :love:fest from the audience (wish we could have been there)

2003 Worlds - Shen & Zhao, B&K, Michelle's performances, seeing Sarah Maier & Jeff Buttle for the first time, meeting Paul Wylie in the concourse ...

2011 Worlds - North American sweep in ice dance! Taka winning the silver medal
 
Last edited:

bibi24

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 31, 2009
1997 GPF Men - Kulik, Urmanov, Elvis all landed 4T, with Elvis landing first 4-3, Eldredge was amazing as always

1997 Worlds Men - Kulik, Urmanov, Elvis, Eldredge battle it out, only 3 out of 4 could be in top3 for SP. Elvis got 4th but came back to win.
 

miki88

Medalist
Joined
Dec 28, 2009
1996 Worlds: Ladies (Michelle vs Lulu!)

1998 US Nationals: Ladies (The competition that made a skating fan out of me :))
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Nationals 2006 for me was pretty awesome. Got to watch an Olympic Team be made, and I was with a ton of my friends.. met one of my heroes (Browning)... Melissa and Denis rocked it out and made the olys... yup... great 10 days.
 

Rachmaninoff

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 10, 2011
Overall, definitely 2010 Olympics. Some great skates, great memories, and in spite of all the questioning of CoP, I thought the right people still ended up in the right places here.

Didn't hurt that my favourites won in three of the four events: Shen & Zhao, Virtue & Moir, and Yu Na Kim. I was particularly happy to see Shen & Zhao win after such a long career. Pang and Tong's surprise silver, and Joannie Rochette's strong performances after that tragedy, were memorable moments, too.
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
1981 Worlds-Denise Biellman wins with the first triple lutz by a lady and her spin that made her look like a rotating Christmas ornament. Elaine Zayak in 2nd with a great free skate. Scott Hamilton & David Santee duke it out for gold. The dashing Robert Wagenhoffer has a great LP. Torvill Dean win their first Worlds. Moiseeva & Minenkov (my second favorites) second.

1984 Worlds
Men-Scott Hamilton skates the way he wished he had skated at Olympics. Brian Orser still loses, though. My first sight of
the quirky and always interesting Gary Beacom.

Pairs Underhill & Martini skate the way they wished they had at Olympics, winning at home in Ottawa!

Dance-the final triumphant appearance of Torville & Dean's wonderful Paso Doble OSP. Blumberg & Siebert got the bronze they should have got at Olympics (IMO, of course)

Katarina Witt wins, gorgeous as usual. Elaine Zayak, the only US lady there, wins bronze.

2003 Worlds
Michelle wins gold. Cupcake Sokolova has her best ever finish.

Plushy wins, and Goebel gives a good account of himself to win second.

Bourne & Kraatz finally win Worlds. The Iraq War is declared, and Wing & Lowe still have the guts to skate their FD to John Lennon, including Imagine, wearing prominent peace signs & (AFAIR) tie dye.

and Shen & Zhao have won of my favorite winning skates of any team, any time, conquering adversity, and bringing a cheering crowd to its feet long before the final note of music. It was even nicer somehow, since the rink is in the middle of DC's Chinatown, and there were many signs in Chinese there.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Yes, Doris, I agree that 2003 Worlds was a high point, most notably for Michelle and Shen/Zhao. Shen was injured and managed to complete the long program--one of their best long programs ever, "Turandot."

There's a moment in Michelle's program where she bends a bit and lifts her arms slowly, and as she does, the audience stands up in an ovation to her. A slow-motion video of it, shot from behind her, makes it look almost as if she's lifting the audience up by means of some enchantment.
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
And Belbin & Agosto, skating their Elvis free dance, finished seventh-ahead of Lang & Tchernyshev for the first time.

(I should have mentioned the whole 1988 Olympics, for that matter.

Gordeeva & Grinkov's first OGM! (and Watson & Oppegard's medal). But I have such a soft spot for the performances of Selezneva & Makarov :love:in 4th place. And Wachsman & Waggoner had a great SP.
Midoria Ito's wonderful SP & LP that for me completely overshadowed what the medallists did (Carmen's both + Manley)
The battle of the Brians, backed up by wonderful skating from Petrenko, Wylie, Bowman, Kotin, & Browning, and a for me, memorable SP appearance from Heiko Fischer.
The Olympic debut of the Duchesnays in their wonderful Argentine tango OSP & their Savage Rites free dance, and bidding good bye to Bestemianova & Bukin. The lovely FD to Elite Syncopations of Tracy Wilson & Rob McCall.

Plus ABC did the coverage...which I like much better than either the NBC or CBS crews from those days.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
That was the year I got a VCR! I remember taping things excitedly (bad tapes because I didn't have cable--kind of fuzzy), and I think they showed the compulsory dances so that we could all see what it was that put B & B into the lead. Also it was the silver medal of Klimova and Ponomarenko, the central medal of their complete set (to go with the bronze in 1984 and the gold in 1992). Definitely all the performances you mention added to the delight of the event. The battle of the Carmens wasn't the most spectacular skating in the world, but the Battle of the Brians certainly qualifies as one of the top men's events ever. And, sigh, Gordeyeva and Grinkov at their very best.
 

CoyoteChris

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 4, 2004
2003 Worlds
Michelle wins gold. Cupcake Sokolova has her best ever finish.

Cupcake! Doris, you are tooooo funny....I wonder where she is now? Hope she didnt go to work for Hostess!
 

iluvtodd

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 5, 2004
Country
United-States
Plus ABC did the coverage...which I like much better than either the NBC or CBS crews from those days.

The Battle of the Brians - IMHO, still the greatest night of men's fs ever (2nd favorite - 1996 Worlds - OK, I'm biased).

I'll take ABC's coverage of Olympics/Worlds over NBC any day. Those were in the days of the great Jim McKay!

The Battle of the Brians certainly qualifies as one of the top men's events ever. And, sigh, Gordeeva and Grinkov at their very best.

and I fell in love with Midori Ito's skating and personality. What a charmer!
 
Top