Am I the only Maria Butyrskaya fan? | Golden Skate

Am I the only Maria Butyrskaya fan?

Elsie

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 21, 2016
Not sure if this is a silly question or not, but are there any more people like me who absolutely adore Maria Butyrskaya? Her name doesn't seem to come up often anymore since her retirement, even though for me she is still the greatest who ever lived. Not in terms of technical abilities, I know that, but because of her presentation on the ice. So it would seem only obvious that she is regarded as a model for current skaters, but that doesn't seem to be the case, or not that I'm aware of.

We all know she had her flaws. Her jumps were not all that: shaky landings (she had a tendency to stiffen up her legs and land on two feet), not very consistent, no true 3-3 combo (she had one with an Euler in between), slow spins etc. But it's what she did in between the jumps, including the preparation of her jumps, that always impressed me. And when she did land her jumps, some of them were just spectacular, most notably her lutz (really deep edge) and her loop (looked really pretty).

I would like to know what skaters think of her. I don't skate myself so all my opinions are based on what I see on TV and that's it. I've only been to one of two ice shows in my life (I think it was Disney on Ice), but never to watch a real competition, where skaters show all of their technical abilities.

So how do you skaters judge Maria Butyrskaya? How would you rank her in the list of "greatest skaters of all time"? I have never seen anyone like her, and the current skaters don't do it for me like Maria did. It's all about acrobatics now, and some mime, but not the balletic touch and her "woman"-like skating that Maria added.
 

OS

Sedated by Modonium
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Uhhh I think Mrrice shall be your GS bestie. :biggrin:
 

Elsie

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 21, 2016
mrrice, Sir? You are needed in the forum! ;)

Sorry, I don't know who mrrice is. I suppose he's also a huge Butyrskaya fan?

I forgot to mention her phenomenal speed and ice coverage. Or did I imagine that? It appears to me as if she was skating much faster than most if not all of today's top skaters.
 

Ender

Match Penalty
Joined
May 17, 2017
She had some bad programs and some bad costumes (and many bad performances). Her stiff knee is still remembered. But she was very elegant and when she's on she's amazing.
 

Elsie

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 21, 2016
Part of my obsession with Butyrskaya is due to the fact that I was totally new to figure skating when I got to know her, and so I didn't really compare her to the other skaters, certainly not to the ones from before her, and it was around 1998-1999 which were her best years. She was my first love so to speak, and you know how it goes with first loves. You never forget them!

Still, I think she had a lot going for her. Her elegance for one, but also her determination. Even when her jumps weren't going well and she struggled with each and every one of them during her programs, you always got the impression that she was determined to get them right and to win the competition. She did win Worlds once, and also Europeans several times, plus Russian Nationals more than anyone else I think, and that's the toughest of all competitions.
 

StitchMonkey

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Sorry, I don't know who mrrice is. I suppose he's also a huge Butyrskaya fan?

I forgot to mention her phenomenal speed and ice coverage. Or did I imagine that? It appears to me as if she was skating much faster than most if not all of today's top skaters.

I think we should all let mrrice make their own introductions;)
 

solani

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 8, 2014
Country
Austria
Elsie, I consider myself to be a fan. Not the biggest or the most devoted but still. ;)
It was great to watch a seasoned performer and artist like Maria peak so late in her career. She still has to be an inspiration for all young skaters.
 

Elsie

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 21, 2016
Elsie, I consider myself to be a fan. Not the biggest or the most devoted but still. ;)
It was great to watch a seasoned performer and artist like Maria peak so late in her career. She still has to be an inspiration for all young skaters.

OK, then I'm normal, I guess! She did have a long career, didn't she, winning her most important titles in her late twenties.

This is what I meant with her beautiful jump preparations. Watch how she goes into that jump from 3:10 onward. Who does that nowadays? It's pure elegance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1BnZAFcnzE

By the way, what's the element called that she's doing before the jump? Is that a mohawk? It looks like she makes one or two single turns to prepare her body for the rotation of the actual jump.

And then her magnificent loop here at 1:25 minutes into the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkJwO3eKUNQ
 

mrrice

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
:coffee: I need coffee..........I have to feed the dogs, the rabbit, and the fish. Elsie, we're going to have a LOT to talk about!!!
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
:yay: you've met! Have fun talking about Maria B! :)
 

mrrice

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
Chapter #1.........I had actually gone to see Tonya Harding at Skate Canada way back in 1992. Unfortunately, Tonya was out of shape and skated badly. However, there was a skater from Moscow who showed up wearing a Neon Pink Skirted Unitard....Her hair was long and amber back then. No one in the audience, including myself had ever heard of her. She ended up winning the event and from that moment on, I began to follow her career. She had so many ups and downs during her career and one of things I truly admired about her was her fierce determination to continue after she was dropped from the Russian Team due to her poor performances in 1993. This is the first time I ever saw Maria perform live...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl9yRZOapKc

Here's a recent photo of Maria looking relaxed and beautiful......http://iv1.lisimg.com/image/5905372/516full-maria-butyrskaya.jpg
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Am I the only Maria Butyrskaya fan? are there any more people like me who absolutely adore Maria Butyrskaya?

:laugh2:

Someone is preparing to bomb you. KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!

Maria is awesome. Outside her skating....... oldest Lady World Champion, (maybe just oldest WC, period?) best legs in the business, married someone 10 years younger, and, congratulations, just had her third child this last May, at almost 45. She la bomb! A beautiful national, European and world champion.
 

mrrice

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
:laugh2:

Someone is preparing to bomb you. KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!

Maria is awesome. Outside her skating....... oldest Lady World Champion, (maybe just oldest WC, period?) best legs in the business, married someone 10 years younger, and, congratulations, just had her third child this last May, at almost 45. She la bomb! A beautiful national, European and world champion.

Here's a good example of Maria's genuine appreciation for her fans.....She stays out on the ice taking flowers "directly" from her fans and just like she did in 1999, she kisses them on the cheek and if these fans are anything like I was, it meant the world to them. This is her LP from the NHK Trophy in 2000, she lands 6 triples and doesn't leave the ice until after the begin to read her scores....This performance was bitter sweet because she loses to country woman Irina but, I focus on the performance only.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_dBn64w78w
 

mrrice

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
OK, then I'm normal, I guess! She did have a long career, didn't she, winning her most important titles in her late twenties.

This is what I meant with her beautiful jump preparations. Watch how she goes into that jump from 3:10 onward. Who does that nowadays? It's pure elegance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1BnZAFcnzE

By the way, what's the element called that she's doing before the jump? Is that a mohawk? It looks like she makes one or two single turns to prepare her body for the rotation of the actual jump.

And then her magnificent loop here at 1:25 minutes into the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkJwO3eKUNQ

I LOVED this performance....It's too bad they didn't get a close up of her face during her footwork sequence. When she did that slide at 2:00 into the program she winked right into the judges eyes and was playful from that point until the end of her program. She won the SP by a mile and never looked back...This was a spectacular win and she silenced every critic she ever had.

Here she is on TOP of the podium with Michelle and Julia Soldatova...http://cfile235.uf.daum.net/image/166ED2464E5AEA931DC44C
 
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