Who would have won the 1996 Winter Olympics in pairs, dance, and men?

[Cherub721]

Not a poll, just discussion. I see the umpteenth thread has just been posted about who would have won the hypothetical ladies event, but I rarely see threads about the others, so I thought I'd start one.

Dance: Pretty easily G&P. T&D probably wouldn't have returned (assuming this was allowed as it was in 94)... would U&Z have stayed in? As for the rest of the podium, could K&O win a silver in their second season together, would B&K have won an Olympic medal without a previous Worlds one? I am guessing R&K would have stayed in and won a medal.

Pairs: Really interesting, because it was in a great flux at that time. Would M&D have come back? I don't see Elstova/Bushkov being the OGM... I can't see anyone on the Worlds podium that year being the OGM. K&D weren't ready yet (if they'd have gotten together at all). Maybe Shishkova & Naumov would've timed their peak for 1996... strange event.

Men: Can't see any of Eldredge, Kulik (not at that time anyway), or Galindo winning the OGM. I guess Urmanov, Stojko, and Candeloro could've peaked just like they did in 1994.

[railroad38]

Dance: Battle between Gritschuk & Platov and Usova & Zhulin for the gold. U&Z definitely would have stayed for this one. U&Z couldnt have had a worse program than that crap thing they did in 94, and G&P had blah programs this year, so I could see U&Z winnning this one. Bronze battle between Rahkammo & Kokko and Krylova & Ovsiannikov with the more experienced Rakhammo & Kokko probably winning. I dont see T&D returning but if they did they would be in tougher than 94 and have a hard time even getting the bronze.

Men: Urmanov, Eldredge, and Stojko the podium in some order I think, any order possible. If one of them skated bad Kulik gets the bronze, and if he messed up as well possibly Millot, Candelero, or Galindo get it. I guess Browning might have stayed for this one in which case he would be among the gold contenders, but I doubt he stays.

Pairs: I dont see Miskutienok & Dmitriev coming back as she seemed like she had enough of skating by then. I think Shishkova & Naumov probably would have won, they were the best pair around then but had some bad luck at Worlds. I dont see Kovarikova & Novotny or Brasseur & Eisler staying for an Olympics in 96, instead of 94. Silver and bronze probably some combination of Woetzel & Stueer, Eltsova & Bushkov, and Kazahkova & Dmitriev. Meno & Sand dont medal if it is an Olympics.

Ladies- Total wide open. If I had to guess a podium maybe Sato gold, Chen silver, Baiul bronze or something like that. Would Kerrigan have stayed in. Would Harding, Bobek, or Bonaly be around and in better shape if it were an Olympic year. Would Kwan have risen anywhere near the top by then if more older skaters with more past reputation been around and skating well. Would Ito have come back, would Yamaguchi, would anyone else have. Any combination of medals is possible, the only thing safe is Slutskaya wouldnt have medalled like she did.

[judgejudy27]

Dance: G&P pretty easily regardless of if U&Z were still around or T&D came back. G&P were much improved from 94 by that point, U&Z were struggling to stand to be on the ice together by then, and T&D would have been 2 years older having already been old for amateur skating in 94. It wouldnt have been even close, nothing like the exciting 94 battles. If U&Z and T&D were around then probably them for the other 2 medals largely by reputation. If 1 or 2 of them were not there then the other medals going to K&O, Moniotte & Lavanchy if they didnt get injured, quite possibly Rahkammo & Kokko. Bourne & Kraatz and Anissina & Peizerat would not have medal contenders at all.

Pairs: Total crapshoot. Miskutienok maybe comes back for this, and if they do then they probably win but they might have been struggling more than that they did in 94 by this point all things considered. A bunch of contenders for the medals, just like 96.

Men: I dont see why the podium wouldnt have been like Worlds. Stojko was having an off year, and without being on home ice would have struggled even with one of his better skates. Urmanov usually choked at big events, the 94 Olympics notwithstanding. I still see Eldredge and Kulik probably going 1-2, but maybe with a different order. Bronze is wide open, maybe still going to Rudy.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

I think I'm pretty sure that G/P would have had a different FD for the hypothetical 1996 Olympics than they did for the actual 1996 Worlds. I don't think there's anyway they would've went with that dance for that big of an event. Not that Worlds isn't a big and prestigious event, but the years leading up to the Olympics can be treated as experimental ones and I think Grishuk/Platov probably wanted to experiment with a Latin-style dance.

I do wonder if they would have left Linichuk before the 1996 Olympics, and although Evgeny was already being affected by injuries, if they would have stayed to try to win a second gold medal in 2000.

Would Roca/Sur have stayed? Assuming that they would have still placed in the top 10 at 1995 Worlds, we could've seen Punsalan/Swallow vs. Roca/Sur match at the biggest international stage. Would Punsalan/Swallow stay for the 2000 Olympics? Would they have built up their reputation with that brilliant Tango in 1998? (They most likely wouldn't have changed their FD from Elvis to the Tango if not for the stakes being as high as they were that season with the Olympics and all).

[essence_of_soy]

Pairs in 1996 was such a transitory event.

I always thought that Sargeant and Wirtz and Ina and Zimmerman were never given their due on the world stage, and would have liked to see both teams competing for a medal as well as Abitbol and Bernadis. As world bronze medallists in 1995, Meno and Sand were in with a chance for a spot on the podium as well.

[Jaana]

Ilia Kulik was in a very good condition at the Centennial on Ice which was held in St. Petersburg in February 1996. In my opinion he would have won the men´s competition at the 1996 Olympics.

[judgejudy27]

Pairs in 1996 was such a transitory event.

I always thought that Sargeant and Wirtz and Ina and Zimmerman were never given their due on the world stage, and would have liked to see both teams competing for a medal as well as Abitbol and Bernadis. As world bronze medallists in 1995, Meno and Sand were in with a chance for a spot on the podium as well.

I felt I&Z were given their due. They were wildly inconsistent until their final amateur season. Then in their final amateur season they got it together but technically they were still not as strong as Berezhnaya & Sikharulidze, Sale & Pelletier, or Shen & Zhao, and artistically they were not as strong as the first two. Totmianina & Marinin had more consistent and stronger jumps and throws, but weaker lifts and pairs connection, so they were more a toss up. The field was too strong for them to ever medal in SLC and they did capatilize and medal at the post Olympic Worlds, which given the other performances could have easily been silver or gold had they delivered but they didnt.

I agree Sargeant & Wirtz were heavily underrated though, especialy at the 98 and 99 Worlds. I thought they skated better than the bronze medalists both those years (and the silver medalists in 98 too).

[essence_of_soy]

I felt I&Z were given their due.

Sorry, I meant Ina and DUNJEN.

[judgejudy27]

Sorry, I meant Ina and DUNJEN.

Oh ok. In that case I agree. I feel they should have medalled at the messy 97 Worlds, and their SP at the Nagano Olympics was undermarked too. It was a shame they had to miss the 98 Worlds due to injury. They probably would have won silver there.

[Vash01]

Pairs in 1996 was such a transitory event.

I always thought that Sargeant and Wirtz and Ina and Zimmerman were never given their due on the world stage, and would have liked to see both teams competing for a medal as well as Abitbol and Bernadis. As world bronze medallists in 1995, Meno and Sand were in with a chance for a spot on the podium as well.

Ina & Zimmerman were not a pair in 1996. They paired up after 1998.

I&Z were more than given their due at the 2002 worlds when they were gifted with a bronze after an awful skate. Pet-Tik were robbed.

Sargeant & Wirtz were never a podium worthy pair. I think they got what they deserved. I can see Meno & Sand winning a bronze in 1996. Shishkova-Naumov would have peaked by then, and also Kovarikova-Novotny. So I see these three on the 1996 podium, with gold & silver going to S&N and K&N in any order. Yeltsova-Bushkov would have had an outside chance for a bronze, if one of these three did not deliver. Not sure if Zagorska-Siudek would have been in medal contention in 1996- may be for a bronze.

[judgejudy27]

Ina & Zimmerman were not a pair in 1996. They paired up after 1998.

I&Z were more than given their due at the 2002 worlds when they were gifted with a bronze after an awful skate. Pet-Tik were robbed.

Sargeant & Wirtz were never a podium worthy pair. I think they got what they deserved. I can see Meno & Sand winning a bronze in 1996. Shishkova-Naumov would have peaked by then, and also Kovarikova-Novotny. So I see these three on the 1996 podium, with gold & silver going to S&N and K&N in any order. Yeltsova-Bushkov would have had an outside chance for a bronze, if one of these three did not deliver. Not sure if Zagorska-Siudek would have been in medal contention in 1996- may be for a bronze.

I agree S&W were not a podium worthy pair, but neither were the bronze medalists in 98 and 99, and they won the bronze with a fall and other mistakes, so I think S&W deserved to beat them (Schwarz & Mueller in 98, and Zagordska & Siudek in 99).

Why would Meno & Sand have been favored over Eltsova & Bushkov and Woetzel & Steuer in 96 though when they lost to them at the 96 Worlds, lost to them at the 96 GPF, and generally were losing to both teams thoughout their careers. I much prefer the skating of M&S to W&S but the judges sure dont, and the only time they ever beat W&S is if they had a huge meltdown (94 Olympics, 95 Worlds). They also didnt have side by side triple toes yet, and without those they would have been at the mercy of the other top teams making mistakes. I think even Kazahkova & Dmitriev, while still gelling and struggling with consistency, would have been more contenders for a medal in 96 than M&S.

I also question if Kovarikova & Novotny would have stuck around for a 96 Olympics. I got the feeling they only stayed around since Olympics were 2 years later, and then didnt want to end on a relatively low note of a sluggish 94 season so continued one more year to try for a World title, but if they did I agree they would have been fighting for gold in the hypothetical field probably.

[blue_idealist]

Ladies - I think Lu Chen would have won, because I can't see the likelihood of Michelle Kwan winning an Olympics without ever winning a Worlds, and not even a world medal as IIRC she was 4th at 1995 Worlds.

Men - I actually think it might have been Eldredge since he won the worlds in '96 and Stojko was having a bad season. Kulik wasn't really at his best yet. The other option is Galindo riding on his momentum from Nationals and pulling out another spectacular performance. I could see that happening since the Olympics would have been closer to the Nationals than the worlds were.. although there is the question of whether the judges would actually 'give' an OGM to someone who had not won a world medal, as I mentioned above regarding Michelle.

Pairs - I think it would've been either Shishkova and Naumov or Woetzel and Steuer. I'm pretty sure Brasseur and Eisler would not have stayed since Isabelle's Dad had recently died and IIRC from reading their book that she was kind of burnt out regarding amateur skating/competing. Kovarikova and Novotny may have stayed in and won, but that's a toss-up.

Dance - Since Grishuk and Platov were about to win in 1994 and 1998, I think they would have won 1996 as well. I bet Usova and Zhulin wouldn't have stayed because of their personal problems, and Torvill and Dean might have felt they were too old to come back.

[blue_idealist]

Ladies - I think Lu Chen would have won, because I can't see the likelihood of Michelle Kwan winning an Olympics without ever winning a Worlds, and not even a world medal as IIRC she was 4th at 1995 Worlds.

Men - I actually think it might have been Eldredge since he won the worlds in '96 and Stojko was having a bad season. Kulik wasn't really at his best yet. The other option is Galindo riding on his momentum from Nationals and pulling out another spectacular performance. I could see that happening since the Olympics would have been closer to the Nationals than the worlds were.. although there is the question of whether the judges would actually 'give' an OGM to someone who had not won a world medal, as I mentioned above regarding Michelle.

Pairs - I think it would've been either Shishkova and Naumov or Woetzel and Steuer. I'm pretty sure Brasseur and Eisler would not have stayed since Isabelle's Dad had recently died and IIRC from reading their book that she was kind of burnt out regarding amateur skating/competing. Kovarikova and Novotny may have stayed in and won, but that's a toss-up.

Dance - Since Grishuk and Platov were about to win in 1994 and 1998, I think they would have won 1996 as well. I bet Usova and Zhulin wouldn't have stayed because of their personal problems, and Torvill and Dean might have felt they were too old to come back.

[Gabybackhand]

Brasseur & Eisler would have probably stayed for 96 and won, especialy as Kovarikova & Novotny were so inconsistent and Shishkova & Naumov really peaked in 94 and were way stronger than any other season (and even there they lost to B&E at the Olympics, and barely beat an injured and faulty B&E at worlds).