Wachsman - Waggoner

[olympic]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8XUr...eature=related

I always thought this pair had great potential. They got together in '85 and won the US Natl. Title in '86 after just a year together. They were quite young and retired after 4th at '88 Worlds, and a final group pair at Calgary [I don't know where they finished].

Does anyone have any info on them? Why they retired so young when they seemed to be developing?

He was kinda hot

[barbk]

That was lovely.

[DaveRocks]

I'd also be interested to know the reason why they retired.

Olympic: they ended up fifth in Calgary. Thanks for posting the video.

[Aaron MB Fan]

Wow that was amazing. I really enjoyed them! Too bad they didn't continue.

[orbitz]

4 minutes of Maleguena ...

That was one of their best performances, but I don't remember them as being a very consistent pair though. Weren't they placed ahead of W&P after the SP at Calgary but then made one mistake after another to drop out of medal contention ?

I think Rob was a pilot of some sort in the Air Force Academy back then and probably wanted to pursue that career option after 88.

[~tapdancer~]

4 minutes of Maleguena ...

That was one of their best performances, but I don't remember them as being a very consistent pair though. Weren't they placed ahead of W&P after the SP at Calgary but then made one mistake after another to drop out of medal contention ?

I think Rob was a pilot of some sort in the Air Force Academy back then and probably wanted to pursue that career option after 88.

Rob? Are you thinking of someone else? His first name is Todd. I remember them from that time period but it's been so long I can't remember why they retired. Apparently they were thinking of it already during 88 worlds since Scott mentioned it during the commentary. I loved their "Maleguena".

[DaveRocks]

4 minutes of Maleguena ...

That was one of their best performances, but I don't remember them as being a very consistent pair though. Weren't they placed ahead of W&P after the SP at Calgary but then made one mistake after another to drop out of medal contention ?

I think Rob was a pilot of some sort in the Air Force Academy back then and probably wanted to pursue that career option after 88.

By W/P, do you mean Watson and Oppegard? In Calgary, W&O were 3rd in the short and 3rd in the long. W&W were 4th in the short and 5th in the long.

[RFOS]

Thanks for posting, that was quite nice. They had some particularly good transitions and unison.

[CaptCrunch]

I think by 1988 they both had had enough of skating and were ready to move on with their lives. Gillian had been 4th at US Nationals in 1984 with former British skater Robert Daw but they were ineligible for Olympics cause Robert had skated in Lake Placid in 1980 for Great Britain (a rule that has since been changed).

As someone else mentioned Todd went on to get his pilot's license. I think he is still married to former US ice dancer Kristen Lowery who oddly enough is the daughter of Rita Lowery who coached Watson/Oppegard to the bronze medal at 88 Olympics.

After competing I want to say Gillian went to Paris to study ballet and the arts. I "believe" she later got married and had a couple of kids.

W/W were a really inconsistent team. More often than not their performances were disappointing. They pretty much bombed at both 86 and 87 worlds before getting it together and skating well in 88. They should have won US Nationals in 1988. Their win in 86 was a big surprise. They really didn't skate much better than the favorites and defending champions Watson/Oppegard but for some reason, in a time when the favorites always got the benefit from the judges, W/O didn't that day and W/W ended up winning in an upset.

[easilydistracte]

I remember watching a [made-for-TV?] pro competition in the early 1990's where W&W had come out of retirement to compete. In the fluff piece prior to their performance, the focus was on Gillian and it was mentioned that she had attended Columbia University. The story didn't say much about Todd. They surprised everyone by pulling 10's (pro scoring system) and won the competition. Don't know the name of the music they used (and Dorothy Hamill used the same music in the same competition), but their performance was lovely and they looked really secure despite having been off the ice for so long. (As far as I know, it's not on Youtube; I've been looking for it and haven't been able to find it.) I don't remember ever hearing anything else about them since then.

[Lacey]

Wow, they should have kept going, what a great long program.

[olympic]

I remembered liking W/W more than W/O even back then. They were inventive and even that '88 program of theirs was CoP friendly. Can I say it again? He was kinda hot.

W/O always struck me as being a little on the skittish side when they competed. Like their basics weren't solid or perhaps they were a little mismatched? I remember Jill nearly falling on the SBS 2x in the LP @ Calgary, and I think they botched another move. Can't remember which.

Funny that the US had the # 3 and # 5 pairs in Calgary '88, when both US teams were on the inconsistent side, apparently.

[reese]

Fluff from the '88 Olympics.

[easilydistracte]

. . . W/O always struck me as being a little on the skittish side when they competed. Like their basics weren't solid or perhaps they were a little mismatched? I remember Jill nearly falling on the SBS 2x in the LP @ Calgary, and I think they botched another move. Can't remember which.
. . .

Didn't Jill fall on a death spiral one year when W&O were at Worlds?

Getting off the subject for a bit, but I preferred Watson's pairing with Burt Lancon to her pairing with Oppegard. Here's one of W&L's 1984 performances at Sarajevo: Short Program. (Tried to link to their long program, too, but can't get the link to work!! Their helicopter lift in their LP is spectacular!)

Okay, back on subject: Yeah, I would have liked for W&W to have stayed together for a while longer. Lots of potential.

[Cloudy_Gumdrops]

That is a wonderful program. They were really good.

I favorite-ed it on YouTube.

[olympic]

Didn't Jill fall on a death spiral one year when W&O were at Worlds?

Getting off the subject for a bit, but I preferred Watson's pairing with Burt Lancon to her pairing with Oppegard. Here's one of W&L's 1984 performances at Sarajevo: Short Program. (Tried to link to their long program, too, but can't get the link to work!! Their helicopter lift in their LP is spectacular!)

Okay, back on subject: Yeah, I would have liked for W&W to have stayed together for a while longer. Lots of potential.

I think Jill fell on the Death Spiral in '85 Worlds? They finished 4th overall and it was her first year with Peter [Burt retired after '84; they were injured during '84 Worlds and had to withdraw during the SP I think?]

Yes! I remember thinking W/L were one good pair when I saw them at Sarajevo where they finished 6th overall. How long were they together? Any comps before Sarajevo? They didn't seem to be together long at all yet they did really well at the Olympics.


ETA - Here was W/L's disastrous SP at '84 Worlds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l454W...eature=related

From the commentary, they had only been together for 18 months prior, which means their 6th place at Sarajevo was something else!

[briancoogaert]

4 minutes of Maleguena ...

Exactly the same music as Surya Bonaly in 1989 and Kristi Yamaguchi in 1992 !!! (just 30 seconds more in the middle.)

I am really impressed by them.

[CaptCrunch]

Didn't Jill fall on a death spiral one year when W&O were at Worlds?

Getting off the subject for a bit, but I preferred Watson's pairing with Burt Lancon to her pairing with Oppegard. Here's one of W&L's 1984 performances at Sarajevo: Short Program. (Tried to link to their long program, too, but can't get the link to work!! Their helicopter lift in their LP is spectacular!)

Okay, back on subject: Yeah, I would have liked for W&W to have stayed together for a while longer. Lots of potential.

Funny you should mention Watson/Lancon. Their LP in Saravejo is one of my all-time favorite LP's in pairs skating. Loved it. There was a romantic quality to their skating that is absent in almost all other pairs. Technically the program was very easy (the sbs jumps and only 1 throw) but from an artistic and presentation viewpoint I loved it. I was so disappointed that Burt quit after the 84 season. However, I did become a big fan of W/O over the next 4 years. They were a very glamorous couple.

[CaptCrunch]

Hopefully this works. Watson/Lancon's LP from Sarajevo.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyGRF...eature=related

[skatesindreams]

For anyone interested:

Watson & Lancon (USA) - 1984 Sarajevo, Pairs LP:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyGRFlSOhN4

CaptCrunch beat me to it!