I browsed through my Spring 1993 issue of Patinage magazine, and read some interesting comments. The question is, do they still have bearing today?
From Sandra Bezic,
"Watching the Ladies' event in Prague, with so many women cleanly executing so many difficult jumps, it was clear that a new technical plateau had been reached. Although we were charmed by young, bright personalities, when we compare their artistry with, for example, that of Janet Lynn from 20 years ago, it is quickly apparent that little progress has been made."
From Irina Rodnina,
"What was there to see [in Prague]? Five or six pairs with similar technical elements; you know, double axel, a triple jump, either a sal. or a toe loop, the same lifts... and the only suspense: who would skate cleanly."
and something very interesting, still from Ms. Rodnina...
"Most of them [the judges] can't assess the degree of difficulty of the different lifts. For example, they think that the lift is more difficult if the girl changes positions during the course of the lift. It's quite the opposite. It's much more for the couple [...] for one of them to remain absolutely immobile while the skater does turns."
Betty Callaway (T/D's coach) commented the dance competition. She didn't seem to like G/P at all. SOme random quotes:
"Gritshuk and Platov were completely "off", according to Betty, 'I don't know what the problem is, but their Waltz was out of time and the presentation was poor as well. They should really have been marked fifth in this section. [They were second]"
"[About the free dance] G&P, again, showed no sign of improvement, and Callaway thought that overall, they should have dropped to fourth. 'Their blues was not skated well at all. Again, they were "off" with the timing of music and their interpretation, with Oksana smiling all the time, was dull'. "
"Rakhamo and Kokko's 'Valse Triste' free dance was, Betty agreed, artistically the best, and technically very good. [...] They are beautiful skaters, so they should have no problems in coming up with something within the [new] rules, but I felt because of the music selection, the judges dropped them out of medal contention."
Callaway's personal choice for the top 5:
1. U/Z
2. R/K
3. K/Fedorov
4. G/P
5. M/L (France)
She added: " However, what you feel and what the judges feel are totally separate issues"....
From Sandra Bezic,
"Watching the Ladies' event in Prague, with so many women cleanly executing so many difficult jumps, it was clear that a new technical plateau had been reached. Although we were charmed by young, bright personalities, when we compare their artistry with, for example, that of Janet Lynn from 20 years ago, it is quickly apparent that little progress has been made."
From Irina Rodnina,
"What was there to see [in Prague]? Five or six pairs with similar technical elements; you know, double axel, a triple jump, either a sal. or a toe loop, the same lifts... and the only suspense: who would skate cleanly."
and something very interesting, still from Ms. Rodnina...
"Most of them [the judges] can't assess the degree of difficulty of the different lifts. For example, they think that the lift is more difficult if the girl changes positions during the course of the lift. It's quite the opposite. It's much more for the couple [...] for one of them to remain absolutely immobile while the skater does turns."
Betty Callaway (T/D's coach) commented the dance competition. She didn't seem to like G/P at all. SOme random quotes:
"Gritshuk and Platov were completely "off", according to Betty, 'I don't know what the problem is, but their Waltz was out of time and the presentation was poor as well. They should really have been marked fifth in this section. [They were second]"
"[About the free dance] G&P, again, showed no sign of improvement, and Callaway thought that overall, they should have dropped to fourth. 'Their blues was not skated well at all. Again, they were "off" with the timing of music and their interpretation, with Oksana smiling all the time, was dull'. "
"Rakhamo and Kokko's 'Valse Triste' free dance was, Betty agreed, artistically the best, and technically very good. [...] They are beautiful skaters, so they should have no problems in coming up with something within the [new] rules, but I felt because of the music selection, the judges dropped them out of medal contention."
Callaway's personal choice for the top 5:
1. U/Z
2. R/K
3. K/Fedorov
4. G/P
5. M/L (France)
She added: " However, what you feel and what the judges feel are totally separate issues"....
