Skaters who revolutionized/made an impact in Figure Skating

Olympia · Apr 21, 2014

jenaj said:
Peggy Fleming, for elevating the artistry of free skating and Janet Lynn, for making free skating the "main event."

Interestingly, Peggy Fleming, who was very graceful and a good jumper, was also good at school figures. In fact, if I recall correctly, it was the school figures section of her skating that put her ahead at the 1968 Olympics, and it kept her ahead even though she skated conservatively in her free program. So Peggy was really an all-around skater at a time when that description had to include school figures. Janet Lynn, on the other hand, was strong in free skating (both artistically and in terms of jumps) but generally faltered in school figures. These two ladies did a lot to usher in the era of artistic ladies' skating. They were a kind of one-two punch: Peggy's era of dominance was from about 1965 to 1968 (three World championships and then the OGM), and then Janet took center stage in the U.S., though she never won a World or Olympic gold medal. Her most immediate rivals were Trixi Schuba and Canada's Karen Magnussen, who won the World Championship in 1973 when Janet fell. (Magnussen was also the Olympic silver medalist in 1972, behind Schuba and ahead of Lynn.)

I feel that had the plane crash that killed the 1961 American team not happened, the change in ladies' skating would have happened earlier, because Laurence Owen seems to have had that quality of grace plus athleticism that might have turned the tide then. I am too young to have seen her live, but there are one or two YouTube videos available, and no less a voice than Toller Cranston thought very highly of her skating.

gkelly · Apr 21, 2014

skatedreamer said:
Whoa, hang on there! I understand and completely agree w/ your basic point, but the figures portion of the competition wasn't just figure 8's -- there were many others. See link below, and also the USFSA website (search "compulsory figures").

Well, the school figures are all in the shape of an 8 (two tangent circles), except for the three-circle figures, which is a variation on the same theme.

But the turns and loops and changes of edge on the basic 8 pattern are what made the more advanced figures more demanding.

skatedreamer · Apr 21, 2014

el henry said:
Thanks for the more detailed explanation; I think it is a great guide for (not just of a certain age). I did go overboard for purposes of illustration.
Then again, as an American teenager, I was completely dismayed with Trixi's win myself, so all I remember are the figures eights.

el henry -- you're actually right re: figure 8s and I stand corrected (post from gkelly).

Loads of people were upset about Trixi's win. Which makes sense b/c if they hadn't watched the figures judging and/or didn't know that scoring @ the time was heavily weighted toward the compulsories, her OGM would have seemed off the wall. I myself didn't discover Janet Lynn until many years later when a friend clued me in. A few weeks ago, just for the heckuvit, I looked up some videos of figures competitions on YouTube. Watching the skaters' concentration and realizing the kind of precision it took to produce the figures gave me a new respect for specialists like Schuba.

jenaj -- Re: addition of the SP for Janet L & devaluing the figure score, I completely forgot that part of the story. To you & gkelly, thanks and a big :bow:

!

Poodlepal · Apr 21, 2014

Anyone with a move or rule named after them, definitely; or who instituted any sort of a change in scoring
Elaine Zayak (rule)
Janet Lynn (short program)
People back in the day, like Axel and Salchow (moves named after them)
Denise Biellmann (spin)
Evan Lysacek (quads were re-scored, partially because of his win)
Sale and Pelletier (their complaint contributed to the change in scoring system)
Tonya Harding (for bringing a lot of (negative) attention to the sport and starting the pre-reality show skating blitz of the 90's)

People who greatly influenced the style of skating:
Michelle Kwan--I credit (or blame) her for the change to very soft music, tasteful costumes and sober buns that you see today. Because of her, routines like Nancy Kerrigan's or Oksana Baiul's look completely dated now--gold dress, pony tail, Neil Diamond or show tune music. . .

Torvill and Dean--the first or one of the first to add modern dance elements to ice dancing.

Excellent skaters I don't think were revolutionaries:
Yuna--she's the best of her generation, but didn't do anything that much different than anyone else
Mao--along with Kimmie, did the triple-axel without being a powerhouse like Tonya or Midori--but I don't know if she's a revolutionary.
Alexei Yagudin, Evgeni Plushenko, Shizuka Arakawa, etc.--excellent gold medallists, but not revolutionaries
Davis and White--can't tell. They might be or they might be just the fastest and twizzliest of the fast/twizzly ice dancing era.
Virtue/Moir--definitely not. Someone said they brought romance back, but Sale and Pelletier and the 2006 Canadians also did romantic themes.
Patrick Chan/Hanyu--almost started a trend of winning while skating badly. Let's hope it doesn't catch on!

Mathman · Apr 21, 2014

Thanks for the discussion of the Schuba-Lynn-Magnussen era. Fascinating stuff for figure skating history buffs.

Beatrix Schuba was the greatest skater of school figures of all time. Her figures were huge, plus she was so precise that she deliberately went a little off on her second tracings so the judges could tell she actually traced the figure twice.

She absolutely 100% deserved every title that she won.

But television must be served. Janet Lynn was the poster girl for free skating, but it was ISU councilperson Sonia Bianchetti who deserves primary credit for actually bringing about the changes to the sport that made it more viewer friendly (hence more lucrative). Interestingly, the large federations, including the USFSA, were against diminishing and eventually eliminating figures. The new deal was pushed through by a coalition of smaller ISU powers that felt they had no chance to compete with the major powers in figures because they did not have the facilities and resources for skaters to train hour after hour on their own little patch.

Janet Lynn turned pro and signed a 1.5 million dollar contract with Ice Follies, making her the highest-paid woman athlete in the world. Dick Button started the Landover world professional championships in 1973 just to feature (and make money off

) Janet Lynn.

Neverdull45 · Apr 23, 2014

I'm going to go for an old-time skater who changed figure skating for the better. (Flexibility and balletic style well before Sasha)
Belita Jepson-Turner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDvAFbi-ats

And, for one, unsung hero, who taught many to become better-to-watch skaters.
Ann-Margreth Frei

Dick Button for his media contributions.
Scott Hamilton for carrying the Olympic flag, Stars on Ice & his many, audience performances.

CanadianSkaterGuy · Apr 23, 2014

Neverdull45 said:
I'm going to go for an old-time skater who changed figure skating for the better. (Flexibility and balletic style well before Sasha)
Belita Jepson-Turner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDvAFbi-ats

Wow! So elegant, and that back spiral... :clap:

BusyMom · Apr 23, 2014

CanadianSkaterGuy said:
Wow! So elegant, and that back spiral...

I'm with you there. She was calm and totally in control of her performance. Love how she used her body language. The last spiral was amazing even for this year and age. Can't believe someone mention spiral as an ugly part of skating.

Never saw her video before but love it so much. Thanks Neverdull45 for posting it. :love:

CanadianSkaterGuy · Apr 23, 2014

BusyMom said:
I'm with you there. She was calm and totally in control of her performance. Love how she used her body language. The last spiral was amazing even for this year and age. Can't believe someone mention spiral as an ugly part of skating.

Never saw her video before but love it so much. Thanks Neverdull45 for posting it.

I loved that little stop she does in the arabesque position.

A spiral is only ugly if a skater executes it poorly... and while it seems like a simple move, it's really difficult to execute well.

skatedreamer · Apr 23, 2014

Neverdull45 said:
I'm going to go for an old-time skater who changed figure skating for the better. (Flexibility and balletic style well before Sasha)
Belita Jepson-Turner

Holy moly. :jaw:

So soft and fluid. This, ladies and gentlemen, is how it's done!

I'd never heard of her -- thanks so much for the link.

BusyMom · Apr 23, 2014

CanadianSkaterGuy said:
I loved that little stop she does in the arabesque position.

A spiral is only ugly if a skater executes it poorly... and while it seems like a simple move, it's really difficult to execute well.

Definitely. Controlling the edge is essential. Position of the free leg is not the easy tasks either. I just wish they bring back the spiral sequences. Just one set of step sequence is more than enough.

Neverdull45 · Apr 23, 2014

skatedreamer said:
Holy moly.

So soft and fluid. This, ladies and gentlemen, is how it's done!

I'd never heard of her -- thanks so much for the link.

Bellita is the bomb of women's figure skating. Her camel spins are worlds above what is done today, even at World's level. My old lady back (45 years old) can't make that beautiful arched back. I envy it greatly, and try, try, try to get my head and foot both above my hip. Only to sadly fail.

Bellita is the reason I tell the moms at the rink to emphasize real ballet at a real ballet school for their daughter's skating. Yes, a real school is going to do some of the moves differently and it's going to take some time away from ice . . . .but, Bellita type skaters are the result. Bellita was also a high tested and performance ballerina.

Meoima · Apr 24, 2014

Poodlepal said:
Excellent skaters I don't think were revolutionaries:
Yuna--she's the best of her generation, but didn't do anything that much different than anyone else
Mao--along with Kimmie, did the triple-axel without being a powerhouse like Tonya or Midori--but I don't know if she's a revolutionary.
Alexei Yagudin, Evgeni Plushenko, Shizuka Arakawa, etc.--excellent gold medallists, but not revolutionaries
Davis and White--can't tell. They might be or they might be just the fastest and twizzliest of the fast/twizzly ice dancing era.
Virtue/Moir--definitely not. Someone said they brought romance back, but Sale and Pelletier and the 2006 Canadians also did romantic themes.
Patrick Chan/Hanyu--almost started a trend of winning while skating badly. Let's hope it doesn't catch on!

- Yuna: I agree. Her consistency is incredible but not revolutionary. Still, it's to die for.
- Mao: Not sure. But I suppose there will be more ladies with 3A from now on. I suppose she has influence somehow.
- Alexei Yagudin, Evgeni Plushenko: excuse me!!! if these 2 are not revolutionary, then who else? They are the best of their generation. They push each other so much, at the same time they push figure skating to a new barrier. Their dramatic program, their jumps, their footworks!!! :biggrin:

- Shizuka Arakawa: Not her fan but her Ina Bauer is to die for. It's easy to write off her jumps, technique or anything else but you can't write off her Ina Bauer. :rolleye:

- No comment about the ice dancers.
- Patrick Chan/Hanyu: Excuse me, they are young, so of course they are not revolutionary yet. Doesn't mean that they won't make any impact in the next three or four years. Isn't it too premature to write them off this time?

Meoima · Apr 24, 2014

Neverdull45 said:
Dick Button for his media contributions.
Scott Hamilton for carrying the Olympic flag, Stars on Ice & his many, audience performances.

:agree:
And Brian Orser, his second triple Axel at the end of the program at WC 1987 was a first.

BusyMom · Apr 24, 2014

Meoima said:
:agree:
And Brian Orser, his second triple Axel at the end of the program at WC 1987 was a first.

In this video, they talked about his revolution of 3 Axel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frWn06X2fZ4

Also his delayed axel was something. Love to see someone bring it back in present time.

GF2445 · Apr 25, 2014

Ice Dance
Tessa and Scott & Meryl and Charlie have taken Ice Dance to new heights. They made ice dance so exciting and they helped raised the standard of dance by making those below them chase after them. From the 90s- platov, grishuk, Zhulin and Ussova and Krylova made a big impact

For pairs- the chinese pairs program- Shen/Zhao, Pang/Tong etc. as well as russian classics like G/G and B/S
It also must be said that Sale/Pelletier made an impact because they got caught in the 02 scandal but that is another can of worms that nobody wants to reopen.

Franklin99 · Apr 25, 2014

Poodlepal said:
Excellent skaters I don't think were revolutionaries:
Yuna--she's the best of her generation, but didn't do anything that much different than anyone else
Mao--along with Kimmie, did the triple-axel without being a powerhouse like Tonya or Midori--but I don't know if she's a revolutionary.
Alexei Yagudin, Evgeni Plushenko, Shizuka Arakawa, etc.--excellent gold medallists, but not revolutionaries
Davis and White--can't tell. They might be or they might be just the fastest and twizzliest of the fast/twizzly ice dancing era.
Virtue/Moir--definitely not. Someone said they brought romance back, but Sale and Pelletier and the 2006 Canadians also did romantic themes.
Patrick Chan/Hanyu--almost started a trend of winning while skating badly. Let's hope it doesn't catch on!

Meoima said:
- Yuna: I agree. Her consistency is incredible but not revolutionary. Still, it's to die for.
- Mao: Not sure. But I suppose there will be more ladies with 3A from now on. I suppose she has influence somehow.
- Alexei Yagudin, Evgeni Plushenko: excuse me!!! if these 2 are not revolutionary, then who else? They are the best of their generation. They push each other so much, at the same time they push figure skating to a new barrier. Their dramatic program, their jumps, their footworks!!!

By consistently putting a 3a in her SP during the 2009-2010 season, didn't Mao have a big effect on the rule change in the ladies SP by allowing the 3a to be used without adding a 2a, as opposed to having to do both 2a and 3a in the sp. Tonya didn't have that effect. Kimmie didn't effect the rule change. Neither did the incomparable Midori Ito, who was the best and most consistent 3A jumper, ever caused the judges to change the rules in regards to the 3A. That to me is revolutionary. Mao may not be the best 3A jumper, but she did have a BIG effect in the ladies competition with that jump:

1. The first lady to successfully land 3 3axels in a competition.
2. The first to effect the rule change in the ladies SP regarding 3A.
3. The first lady to land 8 triples with a 3A in the LP.

chairmanmao · Apr 25, 2014

Cherryy said:
I think that Sasha needs to be put on this list. She was probably the first one to promote flexibility and innovative spins so strongly. It was only after her that I-spin became so popular and it's clearly visible she inspired many skaters. Kiri Baga had just the same short program to Dark Eyes, Fumie had similar clothes, Julia's music choices especially in the 2011-13 seasons were clearly inspired by Sasha. I would say many young skaters followed her path and these are just some examples.

Many say that Mao made an impact but even though I truly love her, I would sadly say she didn't make much of an impact. Maybe after some time we will see more ladies trying the 3axel or in general programs with the highest difficulty level possible. As of now I think Kim is the one that had a bigger impact, as somebody already wrote, now most girls are relying on their 3Lz-3T, which became a standard combination for top female skaters partly because of Yuna.

The same with Midori - yes, she and Asada were pushing the technical envolope but who was in fact inspired by Ito? Well, except for Mao :

Cherryy said:

I think that Sasha needs to be put on this list. She was probably the first one to promote flexibility and innovative spins so strongly. It was only after her that I-spin became so popular and it's clearly visible she inspired many skaters. Kiri Baga had just the same short program to Dark Eyes, Fumie had similar clothes, Julia's music choices especially in the 2011-13 seasons were clearly inspired by Sasha. I would say many young skaters followed her path and these are just some examples.

Many say that Mao made an impact but even though I truly love her, I would sadly say she didn't make much of an impact. Maybe after some time we will see more ladies trying the 3axel or in general programs with the highest difficulty level possible. As of now I think Kim is the one that had a bigger impact, as somebody already wrote, now most girls are relying on their 3Lz-3T, which became a standard combination for top female skaters partly because of Yuna.

The same with Midori - yes, she and Asada were pushing the technical envolope but who was in fact inspired by Ito? Well, except for Mao

I'm not trying to diminish their achievements, as both Mao and Midori are my favourite skaters but it seems to me that sadly not many people follow their path.

Click to expand...

As if 3Lz-3T were not landed before Yuna came. The only thing she revolutionized was getting +3 GOE on every element. I supposed getting super inflated GOE to BV ratio is considered revolutionary.

Tutto · Apr 25, 2014

I feel that Sasha Cohen was not mentioned enough here. Sasha brought gymnastics into FS and did so with a balletic grace and elegance. Her moves have been copied endlessly since. In my book it is innovation.

Another lady skater I wish to mention is Elena Vodorezova. I risk to be politically incorrect (she is after all the coach of Adelina!) but where Soviet FS concerned she was a revolutionary no doubt. She was the first Soviet woman to win a European (1978) & World (1983) medals ever. Some might not remember that but for a very long time despite dominance of Soviet skaters in all other disciplines the ladies failed miserably. Elena was the first to break through and others followed. She was the first skater to complete a double flip, triple toe loop combination in competition. She was noted for a spectacularly high double axel. Some remember her as an ‘original jumping machine’ before Midori and others. Russian Wikipedia credits her with other four records as follows:
Triple jump in short program (1976)
Triple jump in combination (1976) (3 toeloop – double flip and double flip – triple toeloop)
Three triples in long program (2 toe loops and salchow) (1976)
Triple loop in the World Championship (1978)

There is no mention of those in English version of Wiki - I guess these records were not ratified but if anyone can comment on that, it would be interesting.
Here is a link to her lp in 1978 Worlds – her last appearance before her illness (juvenile arthritis) took over and robbed her of jumpong ability

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlopVpUPAQY

skatedreamer · Apr 25, 2014

Not to take anything away from Sasha but for those who haven't already done so, please do take a look @ this video posted a few days ago (#131 in this thread) by a new GS member. The skater is Belita Jepson-Turner, who skated for Britain in the 1936 Olympics. She was a mere 12 years old at the time and placed 16th behind Sonja Henie. There are aspects of her style that look a bit dated now (JMO), but the gorgeous spiral at the end is simply timeless -- a prototype for Sasha and for Michelle, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDvAFbi-ats

Jepson-Turner died in 2005. Below is her obit from The Telegraph (UK); she must have been a fascinating woman.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1506034/Belita-Jepson-Turner.html

Hope everyone enjoys. Also, very special thanks again and welcome to Neverdull45! :clap:

Skaters who revolutionized/made an impact in Figure Skating

Olympia

gkelly

skatedreamer

Poodlepal

Mathman

Neverdull45

CanadianSkaterGuy

BusyMom

CanadianSkaterGuy

skatedreamer

BusyMom

Neverdull45

Meoima

Match Penalty

Meoima

Match Penalty

BusyMom

GF2445

Franklin99

chairmanmao

Tutto

skatedreamer

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