Kurt Browning never won an Olympic medal but I'd argue he's one of the greatest skaters that ever lived.
Beautifully said.Mao Asada -she's just like a butterfuly; when she was doing her beautiful, graceful programs, she really was magical. Very soft and lyrical - soft and quiet like a warm summer's day.
SOme people have very funny choices, like Miki Ando for eg. Like... hello?
Anyway in order of merit:
1) Michelle Kwan
Yeap heard it all before but before her I never saw artistry as it was. And after her everyone strove to be like her in terms of artistic expression, phrasing to the music combined with technical merit. Enuff said.
2) Yu Na Kim
I think for some reason she will still improve, esp on the artistic front although that is already excellent. I think she will skate to more mature type music and take things to the next level. DOn;'t know if her technical abilities will hold for many years to come though. But she has absolutely nothing to lose.
3) Mao Asada
Shame she is forever under the shadow of her Korean mate, because she could well be the real star had it not been for Her. SHe still has the highest degree of softness on the ice, although not very quick, she is a bit like bubble bath on water or ice. Not to mention the incredible triple axels. We keep forgetting, just because she has done so many of them, how difficult they actually are to land. Go Mao.
4)
just because a skater has a ton of medals it doesn't mean they're the greatest at SKATING, at least that's what I'd argue. Kurt Browning never won an Olympic medal but I'd argue he's one of the greatest skaters that ever lived.
My top ten. Just for fun, I added my 6.0 marks for each skater at their very best (Technical-Artistic), allowing for differences of 0.05:
Midori Ito, 6.0 5.75 (just awesome; her sheer power and energy made up for any lack of "pretty" moves)
Lu Chen, 5.8 6.0 (she just flowed; it always looked like she was just spontanously moving to the music right then and there)
Michelle Kwan, 5.85 5.95 (consistency and ability to show her emotions more than anyone else)
Katarina Witt. 5.75 6.0 (not the best jumper, but watch that Carmen program and see how her moves go perfectly with the music)
Kristi Yamaguchi 5.85 5.95 (solid in all areas, worked hard to improve both technically--adding the t.lutz-t.toe years before Yu-na--and
artistically)
Yu-na Kim, 5.9 5.9 (not in the Top 5 quite yet, but well on her way; I do think she's the greatest Short Program skater ever already)
Tonya Harding, 6.0 5.75 (so unpredictable in so many ways...)
Nicole Bobek, 5.75 5.9 (when she was on... wow... that spiral was !!!)
Sasha Cohen, 5.75 6.0 (like others have said, some of her positions were simply moving art)
Elizabeth Manley, 5.85 5.85 (amazing LP at '88 Olympics)
Only the ones I've seen in actual competitions on tv (from Albertville and on)
Michelle Kwan Long live the Kween!
Yuna Kim Long live the Queen!
Oksana Baiul Although her skating as a pro really scared me
Kristi Yamaguchi The first one I remember watching at Albertville (my first real memory of watching figure skating)
Midro Ito The second one I remember watching at Albertville
Sasha Cohen Well, not my fave, but the beauty in her skating cannot be denied
Mao Asada Light as a feather!
Irina Slutskaya Daring and athletic
Tara Lipinski Not my fave, but she did win OGM
Shizuka Arakawa A solid skater all around
Skaters with GREAT ARTISTRY
1. Yu-Na Kim
2. Mao Asada
3. Kristi Yamaguchi
4. Sasha Cohen
5. Katarina Witt
6. Oksana Baiul
7. Tara Lipinski
Buh?
Don't get me wrong. Tara made my list of favorites, too. But I've heard so few people call her artistic ... I'm curious to hear why you do ...:think:
Just watch her Olympic performance! She won the 1998 Olympic with ARTISTRY. Hard to believe?
The judges fell in love with Tara with that performance... except U.S. judge.Yes.
Bwaha. Just kidding. Maybe.
I hope you're not ranking her on artistry on just one competition though.
Just watch her Olympic performance! She won the 1998 Olympic with ARTISTRY. Hard to believe?