what if...what if...what if?

[essence_of_soy]

Hair pulling hypothetical question, I know. But if Josee Chouinard put together a clean sp and lp at worlds, could she have won?

I remember watching her skate in person at 94 Canadians and all I could think was, wow! It was quite an amazing year for the ladies, with Karen Preston, Susan Humphreys and Tanya Bingert (whom I was sorry to see retire before 95. She reminded me a lot of Midori Ito, ) and Netty Kim.

Nick

[olivia]

Yes, yes, yes. Josee really had it all, including a wonderful lutz, full of height and spring. She did and still does interpret music beautifully. Josee also has/had the "it" factor -- tons and tons of charisma.

O-

[~RL~]

Absolutely! Josee really had it all when her jumps were there, and if she could have put two clean programs together there's no doubt in my mind she would have been a world champion.

[Ellyn]

She was good enough to beat any of the other top ladies in 1993 or '94 on any given day. But if any of them also skated clean programs, she wouldn't *necessarily* be the winner.

[jcspkbfan]

If Josée had been able to skate her long program at 1993 and 1994 Worlds as well as she did at 1993 and 1994 Canadians, there's no doubt in my mind she would have been a serious contender for gold (or at the very least, have at least a couple of world medals to her name right now.)

I actually think Josée would have been also been able to make the podium at 1992 Worlds had she skated a clean LP--except for Kristi, none of the other top contenders had particularily outstanding LPs at that event. I don't think Josée would have been able to overtake Kristi for the gold that year, but I definitely think she would have been able to beat Nancy and Lulu that night--had she been able to perform to her potential. Sigh... :(

[blades]

8)

she SKATED???!!!....(sigh!) never even noticed she had skates on....;)

[loveskating]

I agree, Josee was and is an incredible skater...not just on the jumps either but her jumps were so great. BTW, I think her Ina Bauer is among the best ever.

[skelly]

Agree, agree, agree. She reminded me of Paul Wylie--gorgeous skater, somehow never able to pull it all together at the key moment. Then, Wylie had his defining moment, and I waited, and waited, and waited, for the same magic to happen for Josee...

[memememe76]

Had she skated cleanly in 1993 and 1994? You bet, although she probably would've only gotten a bronze at the Olympics behind Kerrigan and Bauil. And as for 1996 when she returned, she would've won a bronze, since Lu Chen (ROBBED!) and Michelle Kwan were so good.

[Snowflake3939]

Shame on you, Blades! I thought that if someone asked "you" that question, your answer would have been - "YES, YES, YES!!!!!!

[ILoveAllSkaters]

What if Michelle Kwan was a two-time Olympic women's figure skating [color=yellow:397a540595]GOLD[/color:397a540595] champion ? :D

[Mistyeyed]

[quote:9e357e2284="essence_of_soy"]Hair pulling hypothetical question, I know. But if Josee Chouinard put together a clean sp and lp at worlds, could she have won?

I remember watching her skate in person at 94 Canadians and all I could think was, wow! It was quite an amazing year for the ladies, with Karen Preston, Susan Humphreys and Tanya Bingert (whom I was sorry to see retire before 95. She reminded me a lot of Midori Ito, ) and Netty Kim.

Nick[/quote:9e357e2284] Honestly I don't know because I never did watch her skate that much. All I really remember about Josee was the Olympics when Tonya H. had problems and Josee had to go out unprepaired and skate and it totally messed her up. I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT WAS SO UNFAIR THAT SHE WAS DONE THAT WAY!!! Anyhow, I did see Josee skate later with KURT BROWNING IN YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS. And I thought that she was breathtakingly wonderful and they she and Kurt have great chemisty. Secretly, I thought they could have been a couple.

[jcspkbfan]

I'm glad you're not the only one who thought Kurt and Josée (my two all-time favorite skaters, BTW!) could have been a couple--I was convinced they were an "item" back when they both competed as eligibles and even thought the reason why Josée moved to Toronto to train with Kurt just before the 1994 Olympics was to be closer to him. ;)

Imagine my surprise when they both became engaged (and later happily married) to other people in 1995...and when I later found out (in Josée's recently-published book All That Glitters) that the "furthest" Kurt and Josée ever got was *one* kiss back when they were both still competing in the junior ranks!

They do share a very close "brother-sister" type relationship, though!

[Mistyeyed]

A kiss in Juniors? OMgosh! That's it!!!!! So sad. Anyhow, thanks for enlightening me. :wink:

[princessthumby]

Hadda ask this question....what was Tanya Bingert like when she skated?

She coaches at a nearby club, and my coach and her are good friends :) I've talked to her a bit too, and definitely see her all the time.


Kortney :oops:

[bcskater]

she had an amazing triple lutz!!!! thats all i remember i was only 8 lol

[mkice]

Josee, even without the jumps, is a spectacular skater. Skaters today could learn so much from her about edge quality and performance abilities. I think Josee could have won a World Championship very easily if she had gotten the jumps together. Her successful pro career proves what she is capable of.