Olympic figure skating, past and future
Since this is a comparatively slow day at the Olympics (though the Swedish team group hug after the 30km cross-country event today was precious), I thought I'd take this chance to showcase some highlights of the Olympic figure skating past and talk a little bit about the future.
I think most people's favorite Olympic performance would have to be Torvill & Dean's "Bolero" at the 1984 Olympics, and it's mine as well. This is the quintessential ice dance. They are absolutely mesmerizing and at one with the music.
If asked to choose my favorite skater of all time, the answer would have to be Paul Wylie. I just adore everything about his skating. Here's his silver medal-winning performance to Henry V at the 1992 Albertville Games:
Paul went on to perform many other fabulous routines in the professional arena. He always gained extra points in my book by choosing wonderful music. Here he skates to "Go the Distance" from Hercules, music from The Untouchables, and Schindler's List.
I would be much remiss if I did not include Brian Boitano's free skate from the 1988 Olympics in Calgary:
One pair always stands out in my mind when I think of the Olympics: Ekaterina Gordeeva & Sergei Grinkov of Russia. Here is their long program from the 1994 Games in Lillehammer:
Poor G&G. The very next year, Sergei Grinkov suffered a massive heart attack and died. I remember how heartbroken Ekaterina was. They still had a young child. But some years later, she married Ilia Kulik, and I think they live here in SoCal now. :-)
One of my other favorite ice dancing couples was Maya Usova & Alexander Zhulin. Like Paul Wylie, they never won gold, but I always loved them best...until I found out that Zhulin had an affair with another skater and he's been in my doghouse ever since. How anyone could cheat on the gorgeous Maya Usova is beyond my comprehension. Anyway, here they are in Albertville in 1992:
And if my mom knew I was making this post and neglected to include the Protopopovs, she would be very disappointed in me (she's still disgruntled that skaters aren't required to do school figures). Here's some footage of their gold medal-winning pairs performance at the 1964 Olympics:
Now, looking to the future of figure skating, most of my favorite current skaters were already medal contenders at this year's Olympics, so I'm going to focus on three skaters who are still developing and will be fun to root for as they make their way up the ranks.
My favorite up-and-comer is Adam Rippon. Just look at this:
The field of U.S. men was too strong for him to make the Olympic team this time around, but in four years, I think he will be a serious contender. Also, look at those curls. ;-)
Adam skates under Brian Orser along with Kim Yu-Na of South Korea (who I'm rooting for to win gold in the ladies competition), and they are adorable friends:
After flailing over him in my men's competition posts, it should be obvious that my number 2 is Florent Amodio of France. ♥
My third is Takahiko Kozuka of Japan. He has so much potential.
So, those are my favs. If you have any others, feel free to share!
I think most people's favorite Olympic performance would have to be Torvill & Dean's "Bolero" at the 1984 Olympics, and it's mine as well. This is the quintessential ice dance. They are absolutely mesmerizing and at one with the music.
Click to viewIf asked to choose my favorite skater of all time, the answer would have to be Paul Wylie. I just adore everything about his skating. Here's his silver medal-winning performance to Henry V at the 1992 Albertville Games:
Paul went on to perform many other fabulous routines in the professional arena. He always gained extra points in my book by choosing wonderful music. Here he skates to "Go the Distance" from Hercules, music from The Untouchables, and Schindler's List.
I would be much remiss if I did not include Brian Boitano's free skate from the 1988 Olympics in Calgary:
One pair always stands out in my mind when I think of the Olympics: Ekaterina Gordeeva & Sergei Grinkov of Russia. Here is their long program from the 1994 Games in Lillehammer:
Poor G&G. The very next year, Sergei Grinkov suffered a massive heart attack and died. I remember how heartbroken Ekaterina was. They still had a young child. But some years later, she married Ilia Kulik, and I think they live here in SoCal now. :-)
One of my other favorite ice dancing couples was Maya Usova & Alexander Zhulin. Like Paul Wylie, they never won gold, but I always loved them best...until I found out that Zhulin had an affair with another skater and he's been in my doghouse ever since. How anyone could cheat on the gorgeous Maya Usova is beyond my comprehension. Anyway, here they are in Albertville in 1992:
And if my mom knew I was making this post and neglected to include the Protopopovs, she would be very disappointed in me (she's still disgruntled that skaters aren't required to do school figures). Here's some footage of their gold medal-winning pairs performance at the 1964 Olympics:
Now, looking to the future of figure skating, most of my favorite current skaters were already medal contenders at this year's Olympics, so I'm going to focus on three skaters who are still developing and will be fun to root for as they make their way up the ranks.
My favorite up-and-comer is Adam Rippon. Just look at this:
The field of U.S. men was too strong for him to make the Olympic team this time around, but in four years, I think he will be a serious contender. Also, look at those curls. ;-)
Adam skates under Brian Orser along with Kim Yu-Na of South Korea (who I'm rooting for to win gold in the ladies competition), and they are adorable friends:
After flailing over him in my men's competition posts, it should be obvious that my number 2 is Florent Amodio of France. ♥
My third is Takahiko Kozuka of Japan. He has so much potential.
So, those are my favs. If you have any others, feel free to share!