Skaters and their skates

[mkcrazy02]

What brand of skates do elite skaters skate in?

Klingbeil
* Sasha Cohen
* Sarah Hughes

SP-Teri
* Tim Geobel

Harlick
* Tara Lipinski
* Angela Nikodinov
* Krisit Yamaguchi

Riedeil
* Michelle Kwan

[mkcrazy02]

What blades too?

[luna_skater]

I could be wrong, but I thought that Michelle had a deal with Riedell one year, so she was wearing their skates. But they were causing problems for her, so she ended up going back to whatever she wore before. I think Sasha was also in Jacksons this past season, no?

[Roseline]

Does Michelle Kwan wear Reidell?

I thought that was a focus of Christine Brennan's first book -- she figured out that if Michelle's dad hadn't signed a deal with Reidell (I think that's who it is) for her to wear their skates, and she hadn't had problems with them (making her have to withdraw from a competition), and because Tara replaced her in whatever competition it was, she got grandfathered the rule which would have made her not age-eligible for skating at the 1998 Olympics.

[chattykathy]

The 2003 US National medalists at Senior and Junior got a free pair of Jacksons. We saw Peter T. get fitted for his at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Jackson owns Ultima Blades so I bet that they got blades too.

[fan]

tara was allowed to go to 97 worlds, where she won, because she went to 96 worlds. the usfsa sent her there b/c she won the bronze at nats, and was sent instead of nicole bobek. so, she was allowed to go to 97 worlds and olympics. she never replaced michelle in 97, michelle didn't go to gpf because of a broken toe.

[Debbie S]

After her year in Riedells (97-98), Michelle went back to SP-Teris. After the 98 Olys, I read a post by someone who saw her training at Ice Castle and said she was breaking in custom Harlicks. I don't know how long she skated in the Harlicks, or if she even competed in them, but at some point a few years ago, she switched to Grafs. I've read that in several places and someone on FSW once posted a link to the Graf website where MK was listed as one of the figure skaters using Graf skates. I believe Kristi Y also wears Grafs, along with Todd Eldredge, Oksana Baiul, and others (I can't remember all the names).

Michael Weiss skated in Grafs for a while (I remember there was an article about it prior to '01 Nats), but he is now trying Jacksons. B/c Jackson is offering free skates to Nats medalists, a lot of skaters have taken them up on the offer to try them. I believe there may have also been a special incentive for Worlds competitors, too. I went for a boot fitting at the store in Alexandria, VA where Weiss gets his skates (the fitter was highly recommended by local skaters) and the fitter gave me a rundown on who was trying out Jacksons (he brought out Jacksons for me to try on, as my feet are wide at the ball and the only skates that are good for me are SP-Teri and Jackson - I bought SP-Teris). He said Michael Weiss, Elvis Stojko, Sasha Cohen, Takeshi Honda, and Tim Goebel are trying them out for next season. He also mentioned that at Worlds, Alexei Mishin picked up a number of pairs of Jackson skates to take back to his skaters in Russia. I believe Plushenko may be trying Jacksons as well.

I think Irina S. wears Risports, but I read one post that said she wears Grafs.

[luna_skater]

Her skates look more like Grafs than Risports to me.

[supersk8er]

Originally posted by mkcrazy02
What brand of skates do elite skaters skate in?

Klingbeil
* Sasha Cohen
* Sarah Hughes



I've never heard of "Klingbeil" skates...Are they new? Are they only popular in the States?

[backspin]

Klingbeil is a little family owned skate business (mostly custom, but they have a few stock models too), in NYC. They are VERY popular, but I don't know how widely international they go. They are very high-end and well-respected.

Edited to add that they aren't new. The son (Don) now owns the company his father started.

[sk8rT]

I believe NNN also wore Klingeil's

Also in Harlick was Angela Nikodinov
Also in SP Teri was Nicole Bobek

[CanAmSk8ter]

Most of the elite dancers wear MK-Dance blades. A few wear the Ultima Dance.

I know Silvia Fontana wears Risport, and so does Shae-Lynn. Naomi and Peter both wear Harlicks. It'll be interesting to see which of the skaters who got the free Jacksons actually end up switching to them. FWIW, they're very dedicated to making them work for the skaters.

[BittyBug]

Originally posted by CanAmSk8ter
It'll be interesting to see which of the skaters who got the free Jacksons actually end up switching to them. FWIW, they're very dedicated to making them work for the skaters.

I know two skaters who have already chucked the Jacksons. Can't blame Jackson for making the marketing push, but skates are so personal, there's no way that they would work out for everyone.

[singerskates]

Originally posted by BittyBug
I know two skaters who have already chucked the Jacksons. Can't blame Jackson for making the marketing push, but skates are so personal, there's no way that they would work out for everyone.

Who?

[what?meworry?]

i'd be interested in knowing how many have chucked 'em, too.

this was a high-risk proposition for jackson, risking obvious rejection by elite skaters! they must have great confidence in their product.

however, the basic lasts for the skates vary from brand to brand, favoring wider feet vs. narrow, etc.

graf has been the boot of choice internationally for many dancers.

jackson doesn't make a dance blade (ultima) in that the blade is wide compared to the mk dance. yet they outfitted all the 1sr thru 3rd place senior, junior, and novice competitors at nationals!

so, please, do tell---who?

[skaternum]

Originally posted by CanAmSk8ter
It'll be interesting to see which of the skaters who got the free Jacksons actually end up switching to them. FWIW, they're very dedicated to making them work for the skaters.

That wasn't my experience. Although in my case, the skate pro / technician who sold them to me deserves as much blame as the Jackson company. I chucked my high-end Jacksons after almost 2 years of trying to make them bearable.

[arena_gal]

I have a skater friend who is a tester for Jacksons, the skates are essentially custom made, with new innovations. They try different innovations, some work out and some don't. If you've got tough feet and break in skates easily it's a nice perk, the skates are free.

[luna_skater]

I haven't heard much about the other models, but I have heard nothing but good things about their Synchro boot.