Nathalie Krieg

[kzarah]

I was looking at the pearl done by Carolyn Zhang and a video of Nathalie Krieg came up. Check out her spins.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtzeD38uTvg

 

[Kati]

Nathalie was an amazing spinner and you have to remember, difficult spins with so many positions and that kind of speed were rare those days! She was so bendy and quick. That LP of hers was one of the best, if not THE best she skated in her career. What a great pity she didn't learn the triple jumps, and later seemed to lose even the doubles. But all credit to her as one of the greatest spinners in skating history! (Those Swiss skaters are just wonderful spinners aren't they: Denise Bielmann, Lucinda Ruh, Stephane Lambiel... )

 

[Mafke]

Krieg was my favorite spinner ever. Unfortunately she couldn't jump for beans, but the positions, speed and centering of her spins has yet to be equalled imho.

 

[dutchherder]

Will I be called insane if I said that the flexibility and speed of her spins are impressive, but the quality of the positions isn't really? Shouldn't she be down lower in her sit spins and have her leg turned out in her layback? :think:

 

[ks777]

yes, her spins were fast and creative but the positions on those spins could be better. That's why I love Lucinda better.

 

[kappa_1]

Will I be called insane if I said that the flexibility and speed of her spins are impressive, but the quality of the positions isn't really? Shouldn't she be down lower in her sit spins and have her leg turned out in her layback? :think:

BLASPHEMY


In all seriousness though, I think her brilliant speed and centering make up for her lack of turnout on the layback. Her turnout did improve by the time Lilehammer rolled around, and so did her sit position: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnoRJ8gZpZU
I like when she drops her leg and then picks it back up again while accelerating. I also like her Biellman variation where she drops down into a "pearl" and goes back up again into the full Biellman. She also did the butt-in-the-air spin way before Emmauel, and the front split catch foot way before every lady today. She was truly a wonder and an innovator.

Also to the poster above- I looooove Lucinda Ruh, but during her day she had some imperfections on her spins as well. For example although she had, imo, one of the best laybacks ever but she never really had a classic position.

Stephane Lambiel is carrying on the spinning tradition beautifully, although they are not as sensational as they once were due to the demands of COP.

 

[Mafke]

Krieg's positions did get better, but even with the imperfections there's just something about them that .... (grasping for words)

Hmmm .... I'll put it this way. Krieg's spins remind me of Ito's jumps in that despite some imperfections in technique, both project a kind of ...joy or exhilaration of execution I don't really find anywhere else.

 

[feraina]

Maybe the word is "exuberance" -- she exudes such infectious exuberance when she's skating.

Phenomenal spinner: great centering and speed!

But she's not hitting exactly the same position as Caroline's "pearl". To be a "pearl" in an "oyster" shell, the head has to be inside the ovular enclosed by the arms and the leg. Nathalie's head is level with her shoulders/arms, or maybe even slightly higher, which makes her spin more like a catch-foot layback than a "pearl." Obviously the pearl is also a variation of a catch-foot layback. I just think that if the "pearl" (head) is no visible in the spin then it shouldn't be called a pearl spin.

However, Korea's Ji Eun Choi does do something like the pearl spin, apparently since 2004: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_A9x9hWznk
She keeps her head lower than Nathalie Krieg, though she doesn't stay very long in this position fr you to enjoy it.

Isn't it a shame that most amazing spinners aren't great jumpers: Nathalie Krieg, Ji Eun Choi, Lucinda Ruh... Maybe skaters back then only concentrated on getting their spins amazing when they really loved the spins and were not very good at or interested in jumps, since the 6.0 system didn't reward the spins much. Now we have some great spinners who are also good jumpers (Caroline), or great jumpers who are also good spinners (Mao). For this, maybe we have the CoP to thank.

 

[Mafke]

Isn't it a shame that most amazing spinners aren't great jumpers: Nathalie Krieg, Ji Eun Choi, Lucinda Ruh... Maybe skaters back then only concentrated on getting their spins amazing when they really loved the spins and were not very good at or interested in jumps, since the 6.0 system didn't reward the spins much.

This is indeed strange, since IIRC the man who more than any other single individual invented modern free-skating Gustave Lussi* claimed that a jump is merely a spin (spefically a back scratch spin) done in the air. Theoretically, the two skills should mostly go together unless Krieg et al had some kind of physical problem with the jumps (not fixable by better coaching) and developed their spinning ability in compensation.

... or (thinking on the keyboard) how good were the back scratch spins of Ruh and the others?

*(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_Lussi)

 

[gkelly]

... or (thinking on the keyboard) how good were the back scratch spins of Ruh and the others?

Ruh had a good back scratch spin, which she could do with a "headless" position, but her other backspins weren't that great, especially her flying camel. Krieg's flying camel wasn't great either, and I don't remember other backspins from her offhand.

 

[feraina]

, the two skills should mostly go together unless Krieg et al had some kind of physical problem with the jumps (not fixable by better coaching) and developed their spinning ability in compensation.

Well, I seem to recall Lucinda Ruh saying that she learned to skate on crowded public sessions and had only a small area fenced out for her use, so she got a lot of practice with spins, and relatively little with jumps.

 

[kappa_1]

Well, I seem to recall Lucinda Ruh saying that she learned to skate on crowded public sessions and had only a small area fenced out for her use, so she got a lot of practice with spins, and relatively little with jumps.

I heard a commentator saying during one of Krieg's performances that her rink was monopolized by hockey players, so she was forced to train in a little corner of the rink and not get to spend enough time on jumps. She could only practice spins in that little corner, so spin she did!

 

[Tinymavy15]

fun to watch, thanks for posting. Nathalie skates with so much exuberance and looked so happy it was hard not to smile. Her jumps were mostly doubles and a few of the easier triples... not up to snuff even back then, and so over used that pearl position, but a lot of fun to watch.

 

[skatergirl45]

WOW
Really awesome spins. However, I have to admit that by the time the 5th spin came along, I was getting a little but bored. Makes me appreciate the CoP for the spirals, transistions, footwork. etc. etc.

 

[jsteam4501s]

This is for Mathman or Red Dog : If there were only one skater that could be called cute, this girl was her. She was cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, cute - CAYUUUUUUUUUTE!!

 

[passion]

Maybe the word is "exuberance" -- she exudes such infectious exuberance when she's skating.

Phenomenal spinner: great centering and speed!

But she's not hitting exactly the same position as Caroline's "pearl". To be a "pearl" in an "oyster" shell, the head has to be inside the ovular enclosed by the arms and the leg. Nathalie's head is level with her shoulders/arms, or maybe even slightly higher, which makes her spin more like a catch-foot layback than a "pearl." Obviously the pearl is also a variation of a catch-foot layback. I just think that if the "pearl" (head) is no visible in the spin then it shouldn't be called a pearl spin.

However, Korea's Ji Eun Choi does do something like the pearl spin, apparently since 2004: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_A9x9hWznk
She keeps her head lower than Nathalie Krieg, though she doesn't stay very long in this position fr you to enjoy it.

Isn't it a shame that most amazing spinners aren't great jumpers: Nathalie Krieg, Ji Eun Choi, Lucinda Ruh... Maybe skaters back then only concentrated on getting their spins amazing when they really loved the spins and were not very good at or interested in jumps, since the 6.0 system didn't reward the spins much. Now we have some great spinners who are also good jumpers (Caroline), or great jumpers who are also good spinners (Mao). For this, maybe we have the CoP to thank.

Choi looks a lot like Yu Na Kim. I think they have a similar body type, similar type of dress they wear, and similar way they move. Choi is a good skater. Why don't we see her internationally?

 

[fourclover]

Choi looks a lot like Yu Na Kim. I think they have a similar body type, similar type of dress they wear, and similar way they move. Choi is a good skater. Why don't we see her internationally?

Are you serious? To me Choi doesn't even remotely resemble Yu-na. Choi reminds me of either Yukari or Miki - short limbs, short stature- and her skating doesn't "flow" like Yu-na's.