Rank the Mens Olympic medal winning long programs from 1992 to 2010

[key65man]

1. Kulik 1998 Gold -- Harmony of power, speed, and grace. Wonderful skating with flawless strokes and effortless acceleration. Purity in jumps. Every movement so well articulated. Tarasova like a shy young girl shedding tears at the first sight of her lover emerging out of the train from a long war. Hideous constume.

2. Yagudin 2002 Gold -- Tremendous jumps and great theatrics. Yagudin at his best at communicating (without overacting).

3. Plushenko 2002 Silver -- Of shamelessly bad-ass. Probably, the most entertaining Olympic program I have seen. Some shady technical details, tho.

[Holley Calmes]

I wish I could give rep.

I can and I did.

[skatesindreams]

As did I!

[mariek]

1-Alexei Yagudin 2002
2-Evan Lysacek 2010
3-Daisuke Takahashi - Bronze 2010
4- Viktor Petrenko - Gold 1992
5=Paul Wylie 1992 silver
6-Jeffrey Buttle 2006
7-Elvis Stojko
8-Ilia Kulik - Gold 1998
9-Phillipe Candeloro - 1994 Bronze
10-Stephane Lambiel 2006 silver
11-Alexei Urmanov 1994 gold
12-Tim Goebel Bronze 2002

[Meredith]

I wish I could give rep.

I can and I did.

As did I. Spinner, you're covered.

[shady82]

Unfortunately, I can only go from 2002 again.. here it is:

1. Yagudin 2002 - no explanation necessary.
2. Lysacek 2010 - This goes ahead of Plushenko 2006 for the strength of the spins, footwork, and connecting elements. Though his presentation style was awkward and certainly not elegant, his execution of the program was first-grade, and it had more spark than Plushenko's.
3. Plushenko 2006 - read above explanation
4. Plushenko 2010 - "Plushenko 2006 Lite." Even more lacking in connecting elements, choreography, and execution.
5. Takahashi 2010 - my favorite program choreographically of the whole group. He would be #2, maybe even #1, had he not faltered on his opening quad.
6. Plushenko 2002 - the best Plushenko Olympic program, content-wise. His jumps weren't all successful, but the program was decent choreographically, and he portrayed Carmen's spirit well.
7. Goebel 2002 - strong jumps, and not surprisingly, relatively poor artistic presentation. But the program was neat and decently constructed, and he didn't deserve the bashing for his presentation that he has gotten.
8. Lambiel 2006 - This may partly be due to personal taste, because I disliked the costume, the program itself, and the inherent sloppiness. Artistry aside, he wasn't, from a technical point-of-view, brilliant either.
9. Buttle 2006 - I never cared much for his skating. Unsurprisingly, he faltered on his jumps once again, which affected the quality of the rest of the program significantly, though he did make a good comeback later in the program.

[NONKO]

1 Alexei Yagudin 2002 – He is the Skate King. Everything was brilliant. His performances were remembered in hearts and souls of people in the world better than Olympic records.

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1000 Daisuke Takahashi 2010
1001 Evgeny Plushenko 2002
1002 Stephane Lambiel 2006
1003 Phillipe Candeloro 1998

If you ask me, Alexei is much higher than others

[PUNKPRINCESS]

1. Alexei Yagudin 2002 gold

[ciocio]

1.Yagudin 2002 gold-amazing programs, best olympic programs ever!
2.Plushenko 2002 silver/Takahashi 2010 bronze- I adore Carmen and La Strada
3.Ilia Kulik 1998 gold/Plushenko 2006 gold-I didn't like Ilia's costume and the olympic version of Godfather
4.Candeloro 1998 bronze
5.Stephane Lambiel 2006 silver
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1000. Lysacek 2010 gold/Plushenko 2010 silver-

[ZuZu]

.......
1000. Lysacek 2010 gold/Plushenko 2010 silver-

So true! What a disgrace this result has been, after having Curry!!!, Boitano!!!, Kulik!!!,
Yagudin!!! , back down to primitive stone age of figure skating!

[Jenna]

So true! What a disgrace this result has been, after having Curry!!!, Boitano!!!, Kulik!!!,
Yagudin!!! , back down to primitive stone age of figure skating!

Here we go again. Yes, I know, a flawless 8 triple program and a quad from the silver medalist is so terribly disgraceful.

I didn't know man was able to execute quadruple toeloops or triple axels in the stone age.

[judgejudy27]

Here we go again. Yes, I know, a flawless 8 triple program and a quad from the silver medalist is so terribly disgraceful.

I didn't know man was able to execute quadruple toeloops or triple axels in the stone age.

I think disgraceful is harsh but it wasnt especialy memorable. Lysacek is a solid skater and a great competitor, he isnt a truly great skater or really memorable in anyway, and Olympic Champions should be. Plushenko has been weakened a great deal through age and injury, and had his worst performance of the whole season in narrowly losing the gold in Vancouver. In a year like 2002 I doubt either would have even made the podium, possibly even a year like 1988 (under 6.0 rules anyway).

Takahashi winning would have been best for the sport, it is just such a shame he didnt have his World title winning performance in Vancouver.

[ciocio]

Takahashi winning would have been best for the sport, it is just such a shame he didnt have his World title winning performance in Vancouver.

[bardtoob]

EDIT: Not worth it.

[olympic]

I think instead of denigrating the hard work of the Olympic Gold Medalist [and all the medalists in 2010 for that matter] as 'unmemorable', we should redirect our disappointment/anger/whatever-it-is at the system that got us to the point where skaters no longer needed the money jumpsto move the sport forward. That is hardly EL's fault. He deserved the win that night and he got it. This should be the end of the debate.

I love analyzing and could go back through various Olympic/World competitions and find something to switch the results - 'oh, so and so didn't skate their best - or -wasn't what they were at one point in their life, therefore the gold defaulted to [insert winner].' It does get tedious and I think some of the above posters just don't like EL and false debates like these give them a platform.

[bardtoob]

I do not find Evan's skating particularly appealing, but Evan did the training, qualified for the competition, showed up, executed, got the scores, and got the Olympic Gold Medal.

He won ugly, but he won.

[screech]

I don't really remember all the performances, but from those I do recall...

1. Alexei Yagudin 2002 (I always found his jumps a bit wonky in the air, so I was actually tossed between him and Ilia, but ended up Alexei-ing it. I could really go either way with my top 2 though)
2. Ilia Kulik 1998 (so smooth and effortless and elegant. Plus the first O's won with a quad)
3. Evgeni Plushenko 2002 (Not perfect technically but probably the only program of his that I've been able to sit back and enjoy)
4. Evgeni Plushenko 2006 (technically great, otherwise blah)
5. Evan Lysacek 2010 (a true competitor and a great, though cautious, skate)
6. Daisuke Takahashi 2010 (if he hadn't tried the quad he would have been the champion. His program was the best of the night IMO, but his determination to attempt that one jump cost him the gold)
7. Evgeni Plushenko 2010 (his jumps were landed but very wackadoodle)
8. Timothy Goebel 2002 (jumps were 'wow' but the quality of everything just doesn't measure up)
9, Jeff Buttle 2006 (was actually 2nd in the LP at the O's, and if he had tripled his loop instead of doubling it would have been the silver medalist... oh the 'what if's)
10. Stephane Lambiel 2006 (many seem to forget that Stephane was 4th in the LP at these O's, and actually only 3rd in the SP)

I don't remember Philippe's skate in 1998, nor Elvis', but I am very against Elvis 1998 since he was just fine (though yes, I know, seriously injured) to go skate his LP but too injured to glide out to the podium, which took attention from Ilia. I get that he was injured but it rubbed me the wrong way. That's all I remember of him at the 98 O's. Well, that and the purple silk pajamas.

[mia joy]

Alexei Yagudin 2002 all the way. Perfection in every detail. He was one of the very best things that have ever happened to figure skating.

Everything else is just far behind. 2010 is light years behind. System or no system, the pathetic level of the past Olympics is still a fact.

[Marco]

1998 Kulik
2002 Yagudin
2010 Takahashi
2002 Plushenko
1994 Urmanov
2006 Plushenko
2010 Lysacek
2006 Lambiel
2002 Goebel
2006 Buttle
1998 Candeloro
1994 Candeloro
1992 Petrenko
2010 Plushenko
1992 Wylie
1992 Barna
1994 Stojko
1998 Stojko

[olympic]

...2010 is light years behind. System or no system, the pathetic level of the past Olympics is still a fact.

Stay Classy