Why Tonya Harding Is The Greatest Skater Of All Time

[leafygreens]

Theoretically she can coach in Canada or elsewhere, can she not?
But even if she moves, willskaters go to her?

Would love to see that - but if she is too unstable enough to skate herself, how can she be stable enough to coach? Would she show up every day on time to teach? Would she be there for all the competitions? Would some life event get in the way (arrest, relationship, etc.)? It would be awful if she subconciously sabotaged a student the way she sabotaged herself.

[museksk8r]

She's easily the best female jumper in the history of US figure skating. I even liked her 3Axel better than Midori Ito's, personally. I also thought she was a powerful spinner and she had great skating skills. She should have won Olympic bronze in 1992, IMO. Sure, she didn't have Kerrigan's body line/spiral and choreography, but everything else about Tonya's skating was superior over Nancy's from 1991-1992. It just once again goes to show how extremely important it is in figure skating to skate a clean SP. Nancy's SP saved her the bronze spot on the podium in 1992.

[Marco]

She's easily the best female jumper in the history of US figure skating. I even liked her 3Axel better than Midori Ito's, personally. I also thought she was a powerful spinner and she had great skating skills. She should have won Olympic bronze in 1992, IMO. Sure, she didn't have Kerrigan's body line/spiral and choreography, but everything else about Tonya's skating was superior over Nancy's from 1991-1992. It just once again goes to show how extremely important it is in figure skating to skate a clean SP. Nancy's SP saved her the bronze spot on the podium in 1992.

[museksk8r]

I totally understand why you would laugh at Nancy's choreo, generally speaking. I generally would laugh too, but her '92 LP was one of the couple times I felt she had good program construction, at least in comparison to Tonya Harding. The other time was the Beauty and the Beast LP in 1993. Plus, I felt Nancy's music in '92 and '93 for the LP was much better than Tonya's music choices for her LPs those years. Every other program of Nancy's I agree was laughable in terms of music choice and choreography. Her SP music in 1992 and her LP music and choreo in 1994 in particular were pants wetting in its cheesiness. Tonya's long programs were so disjointed in their music cuts and laugh worthy too.

[Triple Butz]

I totally understand why you would laugh at Nancy's choreo, generally speaking. I generally would laugh too, but her '92 LP was one of the couple times I felt she had good program construction, at least in comparison to Tonya Harding. The other time was the Beauty and the Beast LP in 1993. Plus, I felt Nancy's music in '92 and '93 for the LP was much better than Tonya's music choices for her LPs those years. Every other program of Nancy's I agree was laughable in terms of music choice and choreography. Her SP music in 1992 and her LP music and choreo in 1994 in particular were pants wetting in its cheesiness. Tonya's long programs were so disjointed in their music cuts and laugh worthy too.

I would agree if it weren't for the spanish porn aerobics mid section. That arm variation on the sit spin in her combination set to the siren noise in the background cracks me up, too. How did Paul Wylie get away from Mary's awful choreography?

[museksk8r]

I would agree if it weren't for the spanish porn aerobics mid section. That arm variation on the sit spin in her combination set to the siren noise in the background cracks me up, too. How did Paul Wylie get away from Mary's awful choreography?

Speaking of porn, how about Tonya Harding's slow section music in her '92 LP. Her music goes from sounding so Olympic to porno music.

[chipso1]

15-year old Tonya winning the long program and the silver medal at Skate America in 1986. Her pivot at 2:10 is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJuZuqr8nXQ

2A, 3T, 3Lz, 3L-2T, 2F-2T-2L, 2A-2T, 3S-2T, 2Lz, 1F-2T.

A young Tonya defeats soon-to-be World champ Jill Trenary at the 1989 Skate America:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq9MFnFMKRE

3Lz, 2A, 3T-2T, 3S, 3F, 1A, 3L-2T, 2A-2A sequence.

Tonya, the 1989 US bronze medalist, was in 2nd place heading into the FS in 1990. It's too bad she bombed there...she was MUCH more talented than Holly Cook (who ended up going to worlds in 1990...and winning the bronze there).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2dHL6kKdDE

^^Just a total meltdown.

Still, she's one of the best ever. Think of how great she could have been with a coach like Frank Carroll, far, far away from Oregon, her family, and that crazy mo-fo Jeff Gillooly.

[judgejudy27]

It was nice for Cook to have her own career high point moment though at the last ever event with figures at the 1990 Worlds. Even with figures winning the bronze and beating people like Yamaguchi and Lebedeva (a much more seasoned figured specialist) was a big surprise and thrill for her. Once the figures were abolished her career was over basically. She dropped to 6th at U.S Nationals the very next year.

[CaptCrunch]

Its so funny that in the last year figures were contested the judges finally started to judge them accordingly. In previous years I seriously doubt if a skater like Holly Cook would have come anywhere near 4th place at her first worlds. I still say Yamaguchi should have won the bronze medal at 90 worlds. Cook had no business being 4th in the LP there. She should have finished behind skaters like Sargent and Grossman in the LP. Didn't Grossman land 3 different triples in that LP (?) and she certainly had much better presentation than Cook.

Getting back to Harding....that 2A at the start of her LP at 89 US Nationals is probably the best 2A I've ever seen in ladies skating. It had such amazing height and power.

[viennese]

Harding did seem unbeatable in 1991.

Somewhere in that '91 program, she did a hitch kick, a totally unnecessary but awesome crowd pleasing move -- *nobody* does those. You hear the crowd go crazy for it. For moves like that and the death drop, she was so explosive and strong. It was painful to see her lose that fire.

It did seem that she was, as so many have said, her own worst enemy as far as sustaining that greatness.

[Ziggy]

Ziggy, that can't be the first time you've ever seen that performance is it?

It was.

but before Rosenburg could get her any more work, Harding assaulted her boyfriend with a hubcap when she was drunk, had to serve jail time, got put on probation for a couple years, etc. Rosenburg dropped her like a hot potato and that was the end of her pro skating career. Pretty typical of Harding to completely screw up any opportunity she had by doing something totally stupid, IMO....

What's stupid is putting people into prison for an offence like this (unless it's grevious bodily harm).

I do wonder, though, what might have happened if Harding had shown up at that pro event trained and prepared with new programs and used it as an opportunity to reestablish herself as a serious skater instead of just another opportunity to collect a paycheck for being the notorious Tonya Harding.... But I think it's pretty clear that Harding is more interested in continuing to try to cash in on her 15 minutes of fame than on doing anything that requires real work to earn a living.

She looked very much trained and prepared at that one pro event she took part in. And she did place 2nd.

For me, the 2nd-greatest jumper in the history of this sport (sorry, noone beats Midori in my books)

Tonya didn't wrap.

Yeah, that's what I want to know. He's knows every OES ever but never seen Harding's 91 performance?

I was 8 years old in 1991. You think I would have remembered it, even if I've seen it? ;P

P.S. US Nationals was not broadcast in Poland back then anyhow (and still isn't).

[casken]

I was 8 years old in 1991. You think I would have remembered it, even if I've seen it? ;P

P.S. US Nationals was not really broadcast in Poland. Still isn't.

So what, I was 13, in the US, and didn't see it then either.

What I meant was, it's been talked about so much over the years that I figured anyone who was a hardcore skating fan and regularly posts here had seen it.

Anyway, have you seen her 93 SA sp? One of the best 6.0 sp performances ever. One of the best Lutz combos ever, and even her spirals are great in this program.

[Ziggy]

I've only ever seen Tonya Harding talked about on FSU in the context of "look at funny white trash loser."

Speaking of which, I would really like to read on what is happening in her life now. In a context different to the above. ;P

I guess Jlai's links will have to do.

And why would I want to watch old skating videos? ;P

Ewwwww old judging system.

Spirals held a fraction of the second.

No attention paid to anything other than jumps.

Ewww judging being made according to who landed the most jumps unless you skated in the previous group in which case the judges already forgot about your existance.

I could go on and on.

[Coco]

I don't think it's hyperbole to say that Tonya's life would have been different had she grown up skating under COP.

She might have some issues getting high level spins and spirals, but imagine the GOE on her jumps! And her transitions mark should have been through the roof.

I think 6.0 could really drive you batty if you were prone to bouts of self-doubt or negativity. And batty's a nice word for it, really.

[jlai]

I've only ever seen Tonya Harding talked about on FSU in the context of "look at funny white trash loser."

Speaking of which, I would really like to read on what is happening in her life now. In a context different to the above. ;P

[snip]And why would I want to watch old skating videos? ;P

Tonya is no saint but I can't help but wonder if she looked worse than she did post-1994 because she's in skating and not in another sport. The US skating community by and large comes from an entirely different socioeconomic background and thus looks at her with their slightly conservative, middle-class bias.

I wonder how she would have been viewed had she been talented in boxing or basketball.

Where I grew up, I witnessed enough domestic violence ala Harding's episodes to not find anything "white trashy" about it.

[neptune]

Tonya didn't wrap.

But did she rap?

I shoulda won
The Albertville bronze,
Landed most of my tricks
And was cool as the Fonz.

Instead I got bested
By that Kerrigan chick.
We tried to get her back,
But only landed up a crick.

[Ziggy]

Jlai, I think you are right.

And Neptune, Tonya should definitely release a single as her next career move.

[MOIJTO]

Dear God...NO! And if she is ever considered to be, I will slit my wrists with my Klingbiles!

[Triple Butz]

Jlai, I think you are right.

And Neptune, Tonya should definitely release a single as her next career move.

She already tried that remember? It was called "Golden Blades" and she got booed off the stage.

[casken]

Yes, she tried her hand a singing.

Yes, she was booed.

Poor Tonya.