Was 1999-2003 the most diverse period of dance champions?

[Mathman]

Mme LaGougue and M. Gailhaguet were up to something, no doubt. But according to this article, the true scoundrels were the Canadians. They tried to pressure poor Marie Reine, inviting her to parties, pretending to like her, from the moment her name was announced as a judge.

The Russians? Like Macavity in the musical, Cats, Piseev wasn't there!

http://www.joebobbriggs.com/specialreports/20020329.html

 

[JenFinFan]

Mathman, I am not taling about 2002, I was talking about 1998.

 

[Mathman]

Oh, OK. Sorry.

 

[slutskayafan21]

Escaflowne, during the 1998 olympic games cbc did an interview with him and he said "The French are not only strong on the ice but we are strong off the ice". Take that for what it's worth. Bezic also said that there was a fix in Nagano. Take all that and with Yuri Balkov on tape you got to admit something was weird during those games.

You are right. They mentioned multiple times on CBC, including before the compulsory dances began, that Didier came up to them before the event and bragged that his team, who had lost to Bourne/Kraatz convincingly at every event for almost 2 full seasons, was going to be on the podium in 3rd place over Bourne/Kraatz. He also did say in an interview "we are stronger on the ice then we have been in the past, and we are also stronger politicaly."

Yuri Balkov was caught on tape by Jean Senft, and she pretended to converse with him, but really taped him saying "France, 3, Russia, 4, Canada, 5, do you understand" and she said "yes" to him, while taping it. When she brought the proof in to the ISU they chose to worm out by suspending both, saying both were caught "cheating", and while Balkov was back judging once his suspension was over Senft was permenently blackballed by the ISU for exposing their nasties.

 

[JenFinFan]

Exactly slutskayafan. When they arrived in Nagano, Bourne and Kraatz were told they would not finish any higher than 4th place because there was a deal in place with the Russians and the French. Imagine being told before you step on the ice that there was no way to win a medal no matter how good you skate? I am sure that was demoralizing. It had to take the winds out of their (B&K) sails.

 

[escaflowne9282]

Mathman, I am not taling about 2002, I was talking about 1998.

Ahh,I also thought you were talking about 2002... yeah, in 1998 something was definitely afoot...

 

[Antilles]

There were all kinds of conspiracies before '98 about where B&K would finish. Everyone seemed to conveniently forget all but the fourth place predictions after the fact.

Correction on Jean Senft. She was suspended before she ever breathed a word about the tape. She kept the conspiracy quiet until she got in trouble, so I'd hardly look to her as a good example of trying to clean up the sport. She also had a history of giving higher scores to Canadian skaters than other jugdes. She actually placed B&K number 2 in the freedance at the Olympics, just like Balkov said on her tape. I think she's just as bad as everyone else involved in the debacle. I think the result was right, deals or no deals.

 

[discoduck]

You know we can argue about the results in Nagano until the cows come home and it won't change anything. Who fixed what, who screwed who..it doesn't matter. The thread topic was about whether or not 1999-2003 was the most diverse period of dance champions. Yes it was as there wasn't a repeat champion.

For the record, I am a B & K fan but I also like A & P. Romeo & Juliet versus Riverdance? Well I loved them both. My complaint has always been that G & P had mistakes in the CD which they weren't marked down for. I know I'm going to lynched for that but I stand by my opinion. Now excuse me while I go hide from the tomatoes that are about to be tossed in my direction

 

[JonnyCoop]

That whole Gritshuk & Platov Dominating Dance From Lillehammer To Nagano could be an entire thread unto itself; never have so many mistakes been made in Dance by a couple so dominant. But that's another issue.

And yes, this continues to go off basic topic and cover Nagano, but since it was mentioned... Actually, I think if ANYONE should have been marked down in the FD, it should have been Krylova & Ovsiannakov. Getting past the excess weirdness of the dance, there was WAY too much posing going on and not enough moving. A & P got some flack for that, too, for not moving, but that applied to the opening section of the program, which as far as I am concerned doesn't count. But then again I am a HUGE fan of that "Romeo & Juliet" free dance; I agree with Dick Button, who said it was one of the greatest free dances of all time.

 

[discoduck]

That whole Gritshuk & Platov Dominating Dance From Lillehammer To Nagano could be an entire thread unto itself; never have so many mistakes been made in Dance by a couple so dominant. But that's another issue.

And yes, this continues to go off basic topic and cover Nagano, but since it was mentioned... Actually, I think if ANYONE should have been marked down in the FD, it should have been Krylova & Ovsiannakov. Getting past the excess weirdness of the dance, there was WAY too much posing going on and not enough moving. A & P got some flack for that, too, for not moving, but that applied to the opening section of the program, which as far as I am concerned doesn't count. But then again I am a HUGE fan of that "Romeo & Juliet" free dance; I agree with Dick Button, who said it was one of the greatest free dances of all time.

Oh thank god, someone who agrees with me about G and P!! Anyway, I don't remember K and O's FD from Nagano that well. I do remember thinking it wasn't nearly as well put together as Romeo & Juliet or Riverdance in my opinion although I did like it.

 

[Antilles]

R&J and Riverdance were my preferred FDs too, but K&O and G&P also did good jobs with their programs. However, you can add me to the list of people who don't understand G&P's dominance. I think they very often deserved less than first place.

Maybe the constant changing of leaders from '99 to '03 had something to do with judges trying to atone for giving G&P everything for four years. '99 was the first year with real rules for freedances. They had a lot required moves added to the programs, which probably helped the judges assess programs with more ease.

 

[discoduck]

I think you may be right Antilles. If things had continued in the usual pattern, A & P would have dominated after K & O and G & P retired yet they didn't.