Which famous skater inspired you to become an On Ice Skater yourself?

[FSWer]

Ok follow skaters!!!! What I want to know from you today is....which famous skater inspired you to become an On Ice Skater? LOL,or a skater yourself? For me ummmmmm....I guess you could say it was Sasha Cohen who really inspired me. As when I first saw her skate I knew right away that anyone can be a skater.Now look at me. LOL. Ok follow skaters....GO!!!!

[Skittl1321]

Kristi Yamaguchi is the first skater I can remember watching (though I'm sure I watched others before her) and I credit her with inspiring me to skate. I remember pretending to be her on roller skates in the driveway, and on those very very lucky days, once or twice a year, when my family drove all the way across the city to go to the ice skating rink.

[icedancer2]

Carol Heiss.
1960 Olympics.

[Sessy]

Evgeni Plushenko.

The only guy who does a biellmann spin, the top of my skating ambitions at the time, I said I wanted to learn a biellmann spin but prolly never would...

[Mrs Redboots]

Nobody - it was discovering that you could have a great deal of fun and enjoyment from skating without having to be top-rank that did it for me!

[jazzpants]

Nobody - it was discovering that you could have a great deal of fun and enjoyment from skating without having to be top-rank that did it for me!
Here here!!! The 'skating drug" was addicting enough as is that I don't need a famous skater to "inspire" me. 8O :twisted:

In fact, the ones that "inspires me to skate better" are all around me - my primary coach (particularly around the time that he was competing, though he's probably "famous" (infamous? :twisted: ) amongst the "adult skaters" circles :lol: ), my NYC coach (particularly around the time he was on "Skating Next Star" on the WE Channel given what I know of his knee problems.), my fellow morning freestyle competitive adult skaters gang (who are ALL older than me and are attempting/successfully landing their axels!!!), people on this board (Cinderella On Ice, doubletoe, daisies w/her gorgeous edges, FrankR...)

I feel truly blessed!!! :bow: :bow: :bow:

[Mel On Ice]

Tonia Kwiatkowski, Nancy Kerrigan and Dorothy Hamill

[Bill_S]

When my parents bought their first TV (with a round screen!), it opened up a new world. I vaguely recall fellows in bow ties and tuxes competing on the ice. I always admired the 'tricks' they performed.

Then came Peggy Fleming in the 1968 Olympics -- BAM! what a vision of loveliness! I knew that I'd never really meet her, or be part of the Olympics, but it inspired my pond skating to be as good as it could be.

[TiggerTooSkates]

I grew up watching the Winter Olympics, glued to the set at bizarre hours (depending on where they were held) to watch the figure skating, but we never lived near an ice rink.

Once I moved to Durham and found out the nearby gym had an ice rink, I thought - hey, I'm a grownup - I can do this if I want! And then I started watching Sasha Cohen on YouTube and got all excited about it.

So while I could count many as "inspirations" (I used to pretend to be Dorothy Hamill on roller skates as a kid!), I became a huge Sasha fan in 2006 and finally got off my butt, as it were, this year. But like others have said, I get inspired every day at the rink, by those both younger and older than I. We have a 78 year old man at our rink who takes ice dancing lessons, and I covet his chasses - just as I covet the lovely, lovely footwork of one of the twelve year olds at the same rink!

[miraclegro]

Definitely Dorothy Hamill,

It was the age, i guess, just a few years older than me, but i had already been bitten by the skating bug when i first tried it as a child, when the Marriott Hotel had frozen over their pool and made it into an ice rink on top of their building!

But, Dorothy Hamill was the package in my opinion, the grace, the strength, and of course, the HAIR! ha ha, i'd still love to meet her in person. She would never have to do another spin, and she is still just mesmerizing!

[AnnM]

It was a female singles skater with dark brown hair circa '81 or '82, competing in something that aired on ABC's Wide World of Sports. I was 5 or 6and started trying to do spins nonstop in the living room after seeing her. Fortunately there was an ice rink three blocks from our house at the time and my parents were able to get me into group lessons soon afterwards. The first skater I really remember by name is Tiffany Chin.

[queen ale]

Hi, I'm Alessia and I'm 24. This is my first time on Skatingforums.
My favourite skater is Katarina Witt: she inspired me.

P.S.: if I wrong something, I'm sorry but my English is not so fluently :giveup:

[Thin-Ice]

Hi, I'm Alessia and I'm 24. This is my first time on Skatingforums.
My favourite skater is Katarina Witt: she inspired me.

P.S.: if I wrong something, I'm sorry but my English is not so fluently :giveup:

Welcome to Skating Forums, "Queen"! I think Katarina is still inspiring. And your English is fine... much better than any language (other than English) that I speak! And that's after years of high school Spanish and French.

[queen ale]

Thanks! :)

[FSWer]

Hi, I'm Alessia and I'm 24. This is my first time on Skatingforums.
My favourite skater is Katarina Witt: she inspired me.

P.S.: if I wrong something, I'm sorry but my English is not so fluently :giveup:



Oh,no!!! Not at ALL Alessia. In fact....your doing VERY well.....Very well indeed. You actually seem very nice. My names Dana. If you should ever need any help...please don't hessitate to ask me or any of us. I myself would love to be your friend. Are you a skater btw?

[queen ale]

Oh,no!!! Not at ALL Alessia. In fact....your doing VERY well.....Very well indeed. You actually seem very nice. My names Dana. If you should ever need any help...please don't hessitate to ask me or any of us. I myself would love to be your friend. Are you a skater btw?

:D So do I. I would like to be your friend. I'm a medical student and I'm only an amateur skater. When I was child, I attended ice skating courses. But now I often go to the rink on Sunday for enjoying myself. I love ice skating since I was 4, but my performances are very basic. :cry:
I watch competitions or Galà live in my town and I watch tv competitions. I'm a supporter of this great sport! What about you? Skater?
Please correct me if I do blunders.

[flo]

I'm always inspired by Dorothy Hamill and I've had the good fortune to work with her on a show.

[FSWer]

:D So do I. I would like to be your friend. I'm a medical student and I'm only an amateur skater. When I was child, I attended ice skating courses. But now I often go to the rink on Sunday for enjoying myself. I love ice skating since I was 4, but my performances are very basic. :cry:
I watch competitions or Galà live in my town and I watch tv competitions. I'm a supporter of this great sport! What about you? Skater?
Please correct me if I do blunders.


Your doing very well my friend. Very well indeed. You can e-mail me at (removed)

[MQSeries]

Watching Linda Fratianne at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympic triggered my interested in skating. I had a "crush" on her for the longest time. When I watch old footages of Linda's programs now I actually can't figure out whey I ever liked her skating in the first place, LOL, but something about seeing her skate in the early 80s got me hooked.

[Mrs Redboots]

Hi, I'm Alessia and I'm 24. This is my first time on Skatingforums.
My favourite skater is Katarina Witt: she inspired me.

P.S.: if I wrong something, I'm sorry but my English is not so fluently :giveup:
Welcome, Alessia!

[Isk8NYC]

You can e-mail me at (removed)Dana - send email addresses via PM, please.

[xofivebyfive]

Kimmie Meissner inspired me at the 2006 Nationals with her LP.

[figure_eight8]

It was probably Katarina Witt, she had such determination
and will power.
A-lot of other skaters inspired me to. But she was the one who really stood out for me. :bow:

[ElinorD]

The skater who has always inspired me is Brian Boitano! :bow:
There are lots of skaters that I like (Jill Trenary, Michelle Kwan, Lambiel, etc) but Brian will always be my all time favorite!

[ibreakhearts66]

Michelle Kwan was my absolute favorite skater growing up, and she definitely got me to start paying attention to the sport.

[IceSkateRuth]

Michelle Kwan :bow: !! she really inspired me, and Caroline Zhang :)

[Isk8NYC]

Janet Lynn and Peggy Fleming. Not that I think I could ever be as graceful as they are, but hey, I can dream!

Debi Thomas was the first skater that I actually followed as a fan. I also scoped out Scott Hamilton.

It was easier to be a skating fan back then because the TV coverage was so much better. I remember watching figure skating weekend after weekend. Of course, I didn't realize it wasn't live and I couldn't get real-time results over the internet.

[katz in boots]

Hmm. Where I live we only get to see skating when the Winter Olympics is on. I do recall living in England at the time John Curry won the Olympics, and we did try to go skating but the queue was around the block so it didn't happen. I held that desire subconsciously until a rink opened here in 1980. So I guess John Curry's win was the impetus to try skating.

[londonicechamp]

Hi

Well, for me, it has gone to be Torvill and Dean. They are so good in their ice dancing moves, I so love their bolero. :) Only trouble I do not have a skating partner and I do not know how to do a bolero lol.

londonicechamp