Blades on Ice - All About Pairs

Mathman · Jul 29, 2005

The incredible Sonja remains in a class by herself no matter what Michelle does. But what other American skater has three Olympic medals? (Hint: one of them, a bronze, is in pairs).

MM

PS. Hey, wait a minute. Are you tricking me? Did Sonja Henie become a U.S. citizen when she moved to Hollywood?

Ptichka · Jul 29, 2005

Just read the article. My first comment is that the article seems to have been compiled from different sources with little cohesion. Also, don't they have an editor. Obertas & Slavnov attended Moskvina's seminar, as distinct from a seminary, which is what the article claims they attended :laugh:

.

Katya · Jul 29, 2005

I wasn't trying to trick you MM, I misread the question ... that's what I get for trying to answer trivia questions early in the morning on no sleep! LOL You must be referring to Beatrix Loughran then?

Does anyone know how many other (aside from Michelle) American ladies have won 2 Olympic medals?

Joesitz (RIP) · Jul 29, 2005

Tenley Albright; Carol Heiss, and I would have to look for any others.

Joe

purplecat · Jul 29, 2005

Also Nancy Kerrigan has won two Olympic medals (bronze and silver).

CzarinaAnya · Jul 29, 2005

did Nancy Kerrigan medal twice?

CzarinaAnya · Jul 29, 2005

purplecat said:
Also Nancy Kerrigan has won two Olympic medals (bronze and silver).

Hey! We posted at the same time! You telepathic PC?

Grgranny · Jul 29, 2005

Don't suppose it could be Kristi?
Boy, I must have been out in space when I wrote this. Please disregard. :rofl:

attyfan · Jul 29, 2005

According to Skatabase, Theresa Blanchard Welds competed in 1920, 1924 and 1928, but the only medal she won was a bronze in ladies in 1924. She also competed in pairs wiith Nathaniel Niles, but Skatabase doesn't list them as medaling.

purplecat · Jul 30, 2005

CzarinaAnya said:
Hey! We posted at the same time! You telepathic PC?

You know what they say - "Great minds think alike!"

Ptichka · Jul 30, 2005

purplecat said:
You know what they say - "Great minds think alike!"

Always amused me that the Russian version of this proverb says "Idiots think alike". Now, what does it say about the difference betwen Russian and American cultures? :laugh:

Mathman · Jul 30, 2005

Horray for Golden Skate. Where else can you learn things like that every day? :agree:

SkateFan4Life · Jul 30, 2005

Joesitz said:
I highly recommend fans to get this latest issue of Blades. It is a well written history of Pairs in ice skating. There may be some flaws in the stories and maybe somewhat biased in some opinions but overall it will give the newly addicted members to figure skating something to go on and remind more active fans that there was brilliant skating in years gone by.

Joe

Absolutely, Joe! I am a charter subscriber to "Blades on Ice", and I greatly enjoyed the wonderful, extensive article on pairs skating. I'm old enough to remember quite a few of the pairs, starting from the legandary Protopopovs. I had the privilege of seeing Ludmilla and Oleg compete at the World Pro Championships, and, WOW, were they ever fantastic. They won the event by a huge margin, and the fans were on their feet cheering their lungs out. Truly, they were the royal pair of pairs skating - at least for their era, if not for all time.

Other wonderful pairs included Wagner/Paul, the Kauffmann brother/sister pair,
Kitty and Peter Carruthers, the brilliant Gordeeva/Grinkov, and so on. The list goes on and on!

I can't wait to see the pairs competing at the Olympics next year! Hopefully, there won't be a controversy (of any kind) to diminish the beauty of this aspect of figure skating.

All the best to all the pairs! Go for it.

purplecat · Jul 31, 2005

Ptichka said:
Always amused me that the Russian version of this proverb says "Idiots think alike". Now, what does it say about the difference betwen Russian and American cultures?

How interesting! And unfortunately very often true (that idiots think alike)! :laugh:

CzarinaAnya · Jul 31, 2005

purplecat said:
How interesting! And unfortunately very often true (that idiots think alike)!

What are you trying to say, P.C.? :sheesh: jk...lol!
Idiots may think alike, but we're obviously on the other end of that spectrum! :laugh:

Ladskater · Jul 31, 2005

Joesitz said:
I highly recommend fans to get this latest issue of Blades. It is a well written history of Pairs in ice skating. There may be some flaws in the stories and maybe somewhat biased in some opinions but overall it will give the newly addicted members to figure skating something to go on and remind more active fans that there was brilliant skating in years gone by.

Joe

Yes, the history of pairs is well worth the read. The Pairs discipline has certainly gone through a lot of changes. Another book that discusses some great pair champions from Canada is : The Golden Age of Canadian Figure Skating by David Young. I read this book some time ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The pair teams of today would learn a great deal if they studied some of the great pairs like the Protopovovs and Wagner and Paul. Their programs were simpler, but elegent and graceful. They looked like pair teams, instead of indvidual skaters disjointingly skating together.

Kateri · Jul 31, 2005

Potatoes

Mathman said:
Michelle has also said that she cut down the length of her spirals because, after you hold each edge for the required number of seconds (counting "one potato, two potato") you don't get any more points, so you have to rush on to the next element.

Aaaaw.....now whenever I watch MK start into a gorgeous spiral, all that will come to mind is "she's counting potatoes in her head!" :laugh:

Kinda spoils the drama and emotion of the moment, ne?

k.

Joesitz (RIP) · Jul 31, 2005

SkateFan4Life said:
I can't wait to see the pairs competing at the Olympics next year! Hopefully, there won't be a controversy (of any kind) to diminish the beauty of this aspect of figure skating.

Unfortunately, from what I've seen in Moscow Worlds, the Pairs of today are trying desperately to become Cirque du Soleil. It will be fight to see who has the most acrobatic lifts. But, there is one ray of hope in the German Pair. They actually have a rapport with each other. JMO.

Joe

SkateFan4Life · Jul 31, 2005

Ladskater said:
Yes, the history of pairs is well worth the read. The Pairs discipline has certainly gone through a lot of changes. Another book that discusses some great pair champions from Canada is : The Golden Age of Canadian Figure Skating by David Young. I read this book some time ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The pair teams of today would learn a great deal if they studied some of the great pairs like the Protopovovs and Wagner and Paul. Their programs were simpler, but elegent and graceful. They looked like pair teams, instead of indvidual skaters disjointingly skating together.

And that was one of the great things about Gordeeva and Grinkov. They were truly a meshed pair team, skated as a team, and looked beautiful together. Their love shone through in all of their performances.

Mathman · Jul 31, 2005

Ptichka said:
Obertas & Slavnov attended Moskvina's seminar, as distinct from a seminary, which is what the article claims they attended .

But it's the next paragraph that is really funny. Tamara Moskvina says, about O & S,

"When they asked me if I would teach them, I saw a very attractive, cute girl and a very mediocre village boy. So I told myself, I have to do something so that the difference between them isn't so big. What? Posture, moves -- some original, attractive elements that shift the attention away from him..." :laugh:

Blades on Ice - All About Pairs

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