I was a figure skater in my previous life, or at least I pretended to be one. My calendar was measured by the Nationals, Worlds, and the Olympics, plus other competitions when networks decided to air them. A few events dominated our VCR, particularly the 1992 Albertville Olympics. But then skating got tabloidy, beginning with the Harding-Kerrigan debacle in 1994, and manufactured skating shows exploded on the telly. The skating snob in me was turned off by the plebeian interest in the sport, and snippy upstarts started inching onto the podium...like Michelle Kwan. (Joking, she's grand. I only ever saw her early performances though. Shame.) Anyway, after a night wasted on youtube, here are the programs that I still fall in love with.
Elvis Stojko's long program from the 1994 season to the music of Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, making him officially awesome.
Gordeeva and Grinkov's 1994 Olympic gold medal winning long program to Moonlight Sonata. Beauty. Perfection.
I know the Chinese are dominating the pairs event now, but back in the day, sort of, it was the Soviet machine that churned out champion pairs skaters. Maybe it's the water, or the politics. Anyway, another favorite of mine - Natalia Mishkutenok and Artur Dmitriev's 1992 Olympic gold medal winning long program.
And since I came of skating age before Michelle Kwan, here's my hero Kristi Yamaguchi in her 1992 Olympic gold medal winning long program to Malaguena. I even remember Scott Hamilton's commentary. Memories...
And since I came of skating age before Michelle Kwan, here's my hero Kristi Yamaguchi in her 1992 Olympic gold medal winning long program to Malaguena. I even remember Scott Hamilton's commentary. Memories...
