Your Favourite Olympic Competitions

[Aussie Willy]

Okay I would like to know which Olympic competitions people have thought were the best over the years in each section (Pairs, Mens, Dance and Ladies). It must be on the quality of the skating and no debates over who was robbed can be entered into. Just nominate what you enjoyed the most. Also only just a summary of what you enjoyed most about it. You can also nominate more than one year if you can't decide one over the other. Anyway I will start with my list.

Pairs - toss up between 94 and 2002 - 94 I loved because the top teams were so good and enjoyed them all. 2002 because the general quality of many of the teams was really "top rate" (to quote Uncle Dick).

Mens - 88 - the Battle of the Brians was so exciting with both top skaters giving their best performances. Shame that one of them had to come second. And Petrenko was not bad either, plus with skaters like Bowman, Wylie and Browning - really was a top field.

Dance - 84 - T&D were the ultimate in dance, but again I loved most of the teams from this year, including K&P, Fox & Daley, Wilson & McCall. Plus the Paso Doble was one of the best original dance/OSP sections I recall. My dance tape of this event is my all time favourite.

Ladies - 88 because it was very dramatic and we got to see Midori Ito for the first time which technically had a program which would give most skaters a run for their money today. And who could forget Liz Manley. Plus Thomas's SP is still one of the my all time favourites.

[ceceB]

Good one!!

Unfortunately, I'm pretty young and don't remember the Olympics from before '92 (when I was 7) so my choices are more limited.

I loved the pairs from '94, especially B&E (my bias shinning through!) because I always remember how satisfied they looked with their skate, even though they kinda got screwed by the whole Pro's being reinstated thing.
I think I'd have to say '92 in women's, because I remember watching Kristy Yamaguchi win and being thrilled.
I can't say I have a favorite for dance, because in 1992 and 1994 I wasn't too into it and '98 and 2002 were disapointing for me.
Mens I'm not sure about right now, I gotta think some more about that.

[pasopaso]

I have 4 favourites, 1 for each discipline:


'84 Sarajevo - ladies final Witt vs Sumners (I still remember that beatiful white dress, music and that 6.0 for presentation)

'92 Albertville - dance K&P vs Duschenay's (I enjoyed both teams but especially loved West Side Story)

'88 Calgary - battle of the Brian's for sure - they were both amazing!!!

'94 Lillehamer - short of the ladies media fiasco, the pairs were unbelievable (with the return of G&G vs Canadian's vs other Russian team)

[Alexeiskate]

I think that for the last three Olympics, the ladies event provided the most drama and thrills:
- 94: Nancy and Oksana
- 98: Michelle and Tara
- 02: Sarah


The best Olympic men event that I've seen was the "Battle of the Brians" in 88.

[icenut84]

I didn't watch all the Olympics at the time, but I have them on video. My favourites:

Ladies - Not sure. Either 94 or 98 I think. 94 had so many great programmes and performances - Oksana's SP, Tanja Szcewcenko's SP, Surya's SP, Yuka Sato's LP, Kat Witt, plus the Nancy & Tonya thing, to name but a few. 98 was great too - Tara's amazing skate, Michelle, a young Irina, Lu Chen's comeback, Surya's backflip, etc.

Mens - Again, I'm not sure. Probably either 88 (Battle of the Brians) or 02 (Yags vs Plushy, plus Takeshi Honda's wonderful SP. I even liked both Tim's programmes too).

Dance - I'd say 94, purely for the reason that there were so many great routines, and so much variety. Plus T&D were there. It's the first year I ever watched skating (I was 10).

Pairs - either 94 or 02. I'd probably go for 94, all the medallists were amazing in the free. 02 was great too though, for the SKATING though, not the controversy, which ruined it.

[annkirstin]

I agree with Aussie Willy on Ladies 88. Midori's LP was so exciting and I loved the reaction of Elizabeth Manley at the end of her great free skate!! This was also the first Olympics I ever watched (I was 7), and I watched the video a million times 'cause we couldn't get TV, so it's also my fav sentimentally.

[melbo]

Men: I'd have to say 1988, although I've only seen tapes of it. I haven't really been into the men's competition at the Olympics ever...my two favourites, Kurt and Todd, have that Olympic medal curse. :(

Ladies: 1998 was incredible, as far as the skating went, but one thing completely ruined it for me. I'd have to say 1994, then.

Dance: I think that 1992 is still the best for me...Klimova & Ponamarenko's and the Duschenays' free dances are still two of my favourites. 1998 had some incredibly skating as well...but it was a little ruined also.

Pairs: 1994 edges out 2002 for me. In 1994, the top six teams all had amazing performances and are all some of my favourite pairs. In 2002...not as many performances did that for me, although it was thrilling to see my favourite pair skate a perfect program...but not so thrilling when it came to the rest of the controversy that overshadowed the sport. I also have to throw in that 1992 was also incredible - but then again, M&D's long program is the first piece of figure skating I ever saw, so it will always have wonderful memories for me. :D

[Dilng]

My all time favorite Olympic competiton was the 1998 Ladies final free skate. I think everyone thought Michelle was going to walk off with the gold and then Tara came and skated the absolute best skate of her life and won. That was just so wonderful because I wanted her to win very badly and she did. My second favorite win was the 1994 ladies event when Oksana beat Nancy -- that was also very special!! I think my favorite dance win was Torvill and Dean in 1988. They were the last Olympic dance team that won that I really loved their performance. My favorite pairs win was in 1992 when the Russian team Dimitrev/Mish. won. I loved there free skate and they skated magnificently. Illia skated great in 1998, but I didn't really like his program or music, but I was happy that he won.

[Panther2000]

Let me see:

Not in any order
1) 2002 Mens: Alexei vs Plush. That was a great competition. Eventhough, the Gold was gone after the SP. There was no way that Alexei would lose to all 3 ( Plush, Honda & Tim) in the LP. But, the way that Plush fought back for the silver. 2002 was Alexei year. He won everything that he enterd after his disaster at the GWG.:D

Ladies: 92, Nancy vs Oskana: Nancy skated great. Doubled 1 jump. But, no 2 foot landings. She was cheated out of the GOLD. But, in the long run that may have been the best thing to happen to her. Because, when all was said & overwith. Nancy cameout the real winner in ladies skating that year. No real scandals for her & more important no rehab. She joined tours, got married had a boy. Oskana on the other hand. proved the old addage that ALL THAT IS GOLD DOES NOT GLITTER. 8 or 9 years later she had finnally got her life together. & good for her

Pairs: G&G of course, I think it was 92. I loved seeing them comeback & win again. Not knowing at the time but, that would be the last time we would see them skate together on the Olympic stage. & a few years later that he would be gone. :cry:

Dance: Well they bore me so I don't even pay attention. :lol:

[Raine]

Although none of the previous posters will remember 1976 in Innsbruck, it's a favourite of mine. I'd love to hear from anyone else who remembers this event. Some of the highlights for me:

Toller Cranston's over-the-top SP to "Graduation Ball". I was on a cloud for days after watching this performance.

John Curry's sublime LP. Actually, the men's event was pretty interesting, as it included Terry Kubicka with his gazillion triples, and David Santee (who wiped out on a death drop IIRC).

Dorothy Hamill's SP to a piano piece. I also remember ABC's segment showing Dorothy at practice. The scratch and layback spins she did during this practice were so amazingly fast and powerful, they made the spins she did in the actual competition look pedestrian.

I remember being disappointed that ABC only showed a minute or so of Wendy Burge's wonderful program. She still is one of my favourite U.S. ladies skaters and a fabulous technician, although rarely mentioned today. Her program ended with three (!) splits and a difficult variation on the Hamill camel.

Pairs: Does anyone remember the second-place pair, Koemer and Osterreich from East Germany? I was a fan, even though they were somewhat mechanical. Their long program was set to one of my favourite movie scores, Michel LeGrand's "Three Musketeers".

The story of (married) British pair Erika Sussman and Colin Taylforth. She was from California and met him through an ad for a pairs partner. They were an incredibly good-looking couple. And except for one mistake, Babilonia and Gardner skated very well to "Paquita". They showed a lot of potential.

Cheers,
Raine

[tdnuva]

Originally posted by Dilng
I think my favorite dance win was Torvill and Dean in 1988. They were the last Olympic dance team that won that I really loved their performance.

You mean 1984 I think...

[A.H.Black]

Speaking of dates - Panther, I think you mean '94 on both Ladies and Pairs. '92 was Yamaguchi's year and Michkouteniok and Dimitriev. As for Gordeeva and Grinkov you might mean 1988.

Raine - I also remember 1976 and wondered if anyone would think of older games. It was Toller Cranston's performance that made me bound and determined to have a Video recorder by the next Olympics. I did and thus have Robin Cousin's fabulous exhibition to Michael Jackson on tape. I also love John Curry's performance.

I have a feeling that as far as Ladies competitions go, 1956 might have been one to remember. Tenley Albright - gold, Carol Heiss - silver. Carol Heiss won Worlds a month later.

Does anyone remember 1964?

[annkirstin]

Originally posted by A.H.Black
As for Gordeeva and Grinkov you might mean 1988.

Or 1994.

[slimpme]

The two things I remember from 1976 were John Curry's beautiful LP and watching Dorothy Hamill. My parents allowed me to stay up to see her in the LP (I was only 8 years old at the time) and aside from her skating, which I loved, and the music (which I remember to this day) I'll never forget the sight of the masses and masses of flowers thrown on the ice after she finished. I really became an avid fan of figure skating that night.

Unfortunately, I don't remember much of the rest of the comeptition although Lisa (?) Allen and Diane Deleuw (sp?) seem to come to mind.

[Oracle]

Ladies: '76 Dorothy Hamill's win & a close 2nd would be '98.
Men:'76 John Curry over Kovalov & Cranston. Battle of the Brians in '88 a close 2nd. '80 mens was exciting, too.
Dance: Definitely the '84 games! There was incredible depth in this event.
Pairs:'68, the Protopopovs & in a tie with '88, G & G. IMO the 2 greatest pair teams I've ever seen. (And Watson & Oppegard took the bronze in '88!)

[duane]

i didnt become a fan of FS until the famous WACK, meaning i've only seen 3 Olympic events. still, here are my choices:

LADIES
easy: 1994
the WACK made the competition so exciting. how would nancy and tonya perform under the intense pressure and media coverage? would tonya land the 3axel? of course, once the competition began, tonya vs nancy ended, and it became nancy vs oksana.
to this day, i still watch oksana's SP & LPs, as well as chen lu's LP. and, it is great to see all three medalists land perfect lutzes!

MEN
1998
kulik's performance was awesome! i also thought philippe gave an amazing performance, surprising many by winning his second bronze medal.

PAIRS
1994
g&g and m&d. enough said.

DANCE
1994
i'm not a dance fan, but who couldnt get into this competition? t&d's return, and of course, the "bitter rivalry" of g&p vs u&z. i loved t&d's rhumba, and g&p's free.