Rank the world championship winning LPs, 1930-1939

[alchemy void]

In case you need a quick refresher here they are:

1930: Sonja Henie
1931: Sonja Henie
1932: Sonja Henie
1933: Sonja Henie
1934: Sonja Henie
1935: Sonja Henie
1936: Sonja Henie
1937: Cecilia Colledge
1938: Megan Taylor
1939: Megan Taylor


Well, Henie had the eville European blok, plus wasn't she politiking with Hitler? Megan Taylor sounds like a bratty kid from the 80s so I think Cecilia Colledge is the definitive winner here.

Thoughts?

[Aussie Willy]

Cecilia Colledge for my mind. Henie had all the judges and Hitler on her side.

[bardtoob]

Cecelia Colledge for sure.

Her Free Skating Programme is by far the most difficult attempted by anyone, man or woman, in the Skating World, but she brings off these staggeringly difficult combinations of jumps and spins with such ease and sureness and at such speed that even experts are sometimes deceived as to the real worth of her programme.

Cecilia Colledge - A Figure Skating Pioneer

ETA: Cecelia Colledge performed the first double jump by a women, the double Salchow featured in the video, in 1937.

[aftershocks]

Any vids available? Kinda before my time, but what the heck, figure skating fans tend to have long memories, even for stuff that happened before we were born.

Have to rate Cecilia Colledge the highest, as she did after all nearly break her back inventing/ mastering the layback, if I'm not mistaken. I think Henie not only had Hitler, the judges and Hollywood on her side, but also her wealthy, influential father. Still Henie deserves credit for her talent, hard work, costume innovations, and for popularizing figure skating.

Never heard of Megan till now, but can't hold that against her. Henie's early performances likely close seconds to Colledge with Megan following, and then Henie's later career performances when the younger competitors were hot on her heels/ skate blades, which according to Wiki "infuriated Henie" so much that she once "swiped the paper [which listed] the result [for a section of the competition] and tore it into little pieces."
______________________________

Thanks bardtoob, for the link to that great Colledge montage, which only cements her position at the top, in my mind.

[essence_of_soy]

Never heard of Megan till now, but can't hold that against her. Henie's early performances likely close seconds to Colledge with Megan following, and then Henie's later career performances when the younger competitors were hot on her heels, which according to Wiki "infuriated Henie" so much that she once "swiped the paper [which listed] the result [for a section of the competition] and tore it into little pieces."

I don't know if this is apocryphal or not, but after one performance when Henie was presented with a lavish bunch of roses, she beamed her million dollar smile to the crowd. Backstage however, she trampled them with her skates while screaming, "Only orchids for Sonja"

[IceJunkie]

I don't know if this is apocryphal or not, but after one performance when Henie was presented with a lavish bunch of roses, she beamed her million dollar smile to the crowd. Backstage however, she trampled them with her skates while screaming, "Only orchids for Sonja"

Classic Sonja Henie.

[Fashionista]

How can we rank them not seeing the performances??
Or should we rely on all these "evil Europeans" theories?

[Squibble]

How can we rank them not seeing the performances??

People on FSU do that all the time.

[briancoogaert]

People on FSU do that all the time.

I admit that I can do it, sometimes

[VIETgrlTerifa]

How can we rank them not seeing the performances??
Or should we rely on all these "evil Europeans" theories?

Sigh...the humor is lost on some people.

[aftershocks]

How can we rank them not seeing the performances??
Or should we rely on all these "evil Europeans" theories?

Any vids available? ... what the heck, figure skating fans tend to have long memories, even for stuff that happened before we were born.
______________________________

Thanks bardtoob, for the link to that great Colledge montage, which only cements her position at the top, in my mind.

What "evil Europeans"?* Hitler was one person who obviously had a huge impact on world events, not so much on figure skating politics. Having a friendship with him and being courted by Hollywood was surely not considered a bad thing in the early days of the 1930s before WWII. If you read biographies of Sonja, you can find out more about the connection or friendship she had with Hitler. After all, the Duke of Windsor was enamored of Hitler too, and apparently lots of people admired/ feared him in those days. Please note too: There is such a thing as exaggerating and being humorous.

Sonja's success had more to do with hard work and talent, but her father's wealth, influence and politicking certainly helped. Still as noted Sonja deserves a lot of credit. The really interesting thing is that in figure skating, in terms of politics, not much has changed -- the judges' decisions are based on subjectivity, reputation, politics (and now the machinations of CoP). Sonja was such a diva though ... and that kind of behavior obviously would not be tolerated today. Correct me if I'm wrong.


* $peedy perhaps?

[aftershocks]

Sigh...the humor is lost on some people.

So right. Maybe first it would help to check some of the other similar trash can threads ... maybe then the funny bone might kick in?

Or maybe not.

[Tarasirius]

We do not know enough to rank the best LP, I think.
If Henie won the world championships- did she always win the free skating? If she won the compulsory and somebody won the Long program, she could win the medal.
So I don't know who won the LP's.
I know Hilde Holovsky was so good in 1931 that Henie became afraid.
I could never watch her skating. there are no videos of megan Taylor. What about Vivianne Hulten? She was a good free skater.

Or maybe did I misunderstand the question?

Regards
Tara

[Fashionista]

So right. Maybe first it would help to check some of the other similar trash can threads ... maybe then the funny bone might kick in?

Excuse me, was a story about friendship with Hitler and wealthy father a funny joke?
I mean the thread was a fun as long as we don't have ANY videos of all those performances but what about comments? OK, Sonja had a friendship with Hitler and wealthy father but do we now how much it helped her to win her titles? Do we know for sure what advantage Sonja got due to all these facts? I don't think so. And that's how legends begin. That's why I don't like such speculations about the things we have no clue about.

BTW I would appreciate if some one could give us links to any films about skaters mentioned above or maybe their memoirs if there is any.

[Tarasirius]

Megan Taylor 1939:
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=22663

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=24296

[Tarasirius]

Cecilia Colledge
http://www.britishpathe.com/results....cilia+colledge

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=58316

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=9803

[Tarasirius]

It hasn't got to do anything with the a.m. skaters, but I was surprised to watch such old pictures:

skating 1927!
Jaross-Szabo and willy boeckl:
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=8555

[aftershocks]

Excuse me, was a story about friendship with Hitler and wealthy father a funny joke?
I mean the thread was a fun as long as we don't have ANY videos of all those performances but what about comments? OK, Sonja had a friendship with Hitler and wealthy father but do we now how much it helped her to win her titles? Do we know for sure what advantage Sonja got due to all these facts? I don't think so. And that's how legends begin. That's why I don't like such speculations about the things we have no clue about.

BTW I would appreciate if some one could give us links to any films about skaters mentioned above or maybe their memoirs if there is any.

No, Fashionista, I wasn't making a joke about Sonja's friendship with Hitler and her wealthy father. If I'm not mistaken, this thread was started partly as a humorous reaction to some of the similar threads in trash can. Yes, people are attempting to offer comments (some tongue-in-cheek) without actually having seen the performances. Some video links and references to print material have been provided, thanks to bardtoob and Tarasirius. Perhaps if you read biographies written about Sonja it might shed more light regarding her career and the era in which she skated. I believe there is enough evidence that exists to conclude that Sonja was very talented, worked hard, made a number of innovations (skating costumes, ice shows), and that she helped popularize figure skating. The fact that her father was wealthy obviously made it possible for her to receive the best training, plus he also apparently had some political influence in the skating world. I'm not an expert, so my comments are based only on my general knowledge of skating as a fan, books I've read, old skating films I've watched. There's always more to learn. It would make an interesting project to research more about that era in skating.



Thanks a lot for all the links Tarasirius! These skaters' performances were state of the art back then, but they sure held their arms out in a stiff, mannered way. Jaross-Szabo (also spelled Jarosz), according to Wikipedia, "wore a skirt cut above the knee" at the 1924 Olympics. "Despite this, Sonja Henie is usually credited with being the first to wear short skirts in competition."

What little I've seen of Megan Taylor in these clips, I think I much prefer the skating clips I've seen of Cecilia Colledge and Sonja Henie.

[chipso1]

Maribel Vinson-Owen wuzrobbed in 1930!