Skaters who won the Olympic Gold, skating on home ice

[Vash01]

I am wondering how many skaters (pairs/ice dancers) who won the OGM when the Olympics were held in their country?

Virtue & Moir (2010 Canada) and Sarah Hughes (2002 USA) are the only ones that I can think of. Did Sonja Henie win any of her OGMs in her country?

Some others came close, but I can't think of anyone else that won in their own country.

Some close calls:

Orser (silver):1988 Calgary (Canada)

Dushenays (sp?- Silver): 1992 Albertville (France)

Liz Manley (Silver): 1988 Calgary (Canada)- she was never an OGM favorite though

Michelle Kwan (bronze): 2002 Salt Lake City (USA) came very close to winning the OGM.

Tim Goebel (2002 Bronze) and Wilson-McCall (1988 bronze) were never gold medal contenders.


That makes me wonder-

Will Russia win at least one OGM in 2014 Sochi Olympics, or will their top skaters have to settle for silver medals (or worse)? They cannot win in men or ice dance. They have a chance in pairs and ladies, but V&T can be beaten by S&S, and we don't know yet how good the younger ladies really are.

[falling_dance]

Madge Syers won the first ladies' singles OGM in London in 1908. Carol Heiss and David Jenkins won the singles gold medals in 1960 at Squaw Valley, California.

Did Sonja Henie win any of her OGMs in her country?

No. Henie won her gold medals at St. Moritz, Lake Placid, and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, respectively.

[Vagabond]

The only other figure skaters to win Olympic gold medals on home ice were Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier, who won the pairs competition at Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

They are noteworthy for being the first pair to perform side-by-side jumps in competition.

Their respective Wikipedia pages make them sound like a textbook example of why pairs who skate together should not get married.

[Twilight1]

My bet is that we will see a couple gold medals go to Russia in Sochi. IMHO I think ladies and pairs will be Russian gold medalists.

[Domshabfan]

There is also a team event this year, so added chance for gold for russia

[blue_idealist]

I agree, ice dance is a total no go, unless for some reason V&M and D&W aren't skating.

Plushenko has an outside chance in mens, but he'll have a hard time getting past Chan.

[mia joy]

I don't see Plushenko beating Chan, if both clean. He didn't even manage to beat the quadless Lysacek, let alone Chan with his quads and enormous PCS's.

Now the team event is another matter (my God, I even forgot about it until Domshabfan mentioned it...). Russia is very likely to win it.

[A.H.Black]

Carol Heiss in Squaw Valley in 1960. Not her home area as she was from New York, but it was her home country.

[Vash01]

My bet is that we will see a couple gold medals go to Russia in Sochi. IMHO I think ladies and pairs will be Russian gold medalists.

Skating Gods, you did not hear this.

[Vash01]

I don't see Plushenko beating Chan, if both clean. He didn't even manage to beat the quadless Lysacek, let alone Chan with his quads and enormous PCS's.

Now the team event is another matter (my God, I even forgot about it until Domshabfan mentioned it...). Russia is very likely to win it.

That was under a different set of rules- rules that did not give high marks to quads. Plushenko should have had a much bigger lead in the SP over the "quadless" Lysacek. Also I believe there were some politics involved in that, considering that the Olympics were in N.America. After all, FS is a political sport, not just an athletic one.

In any case, I don't see Chan losing ANY competition, including the 2014 Olympics, and Plushenko will be too old to be competitive. It will be a minor miracle if he wins the bronze.

[judgejudy27]

If Plushenko skated like he did at Europeans in the LP especialy he would have crushed Lysacek in Vancouver.

In any case there is definitely no shot of a clean 30 year old Plushenko coming anywhere close to a clean Chan but there is no shot of a clean anyone coming anywhere near a clean Chan right now. Chan is the 2014 OGM winner, it is just a question of how well he will skate to win it, and how many points he wins by. That doesnt rule him out of being competittive with the others. Takahashi skating like he did this season so far would probably be too much for Plushenko too, but anyone else is game after seeing Plushenko's European performances. He really seems to be tackling COP much better than he did in Vancouver. It is now about pacing and preserving his body, while still training the jump and continuing the hard work he obviously did on his non jump elements since Vancouver.

No chance of gold for Russia in mens or dance in Sochi. A medal would be best case scenario (with a variety of outside chances in both events), and a long shot still in both. The pairs and ladies gold could very well be Russia's but they will need to skate very well to make it happen. If there is a team event Russia has a great shot at winning that.

[Sasha'sSpins]

If Plushenko skated like he did at Europeans in the LP especialy he would have crushed Lysacek in Vancouver.

In any case there is definitely no shot of a clean 30 year old Plushenko coming anywhere close to a clean Chan but there is no shot of a clean anyone coming anywhere near a clean Chan right now. Chan is the 2014 OGM winner, it is just a question of how well he will skate to win it, and how many points he wins by. That doesnt rule him out of being competittive with the others. Takahashi skating like he did this season so far would probably be too much for Plushenko too, but anyone else is game after seeing Plushenko's European performances. He really seems to be tackling COP much better than he did in Vancouver. It is now about pacing and preserving his body, while still training the jump and continuing the hard work he obviously did on his non jump elements since Vancouver.

But Plushenko didn't skate like he did at Europeans at the Olympics. Lysacek deserved to win and I'm glad he did. Plushenko had zero transitions in his lame routines. I hardly think he deserved to be on the podium at those Games. It's futile to compare skates from one competition to another.

[PashaFan]

Skating Gods, you did not hear this.

Why?

[briancoogaert]

Skating Gods, you did not hear this.

I'm sure Plushenko will win, he is soooooooooo amazing.
Skating Gods, do you hear this ?

[briancoogaert]

Why?

Do you want to jinx them all ?

[icenut84]

In any case there is definitely no shot of a clean 30 year old Plushenko coming anywhere close to a clean Chan but there is no shot of a clean anyone coming anywhere near a clean Chan right now. Chan is the 2014 OGM winner, it is just a question of how well he will skate to win it, and how many points he wins by.

Chan is not guaranteed to be clean by any stretch of the imagination though. Aside from the pressure/nerves that can do funny things to normally consistent people at the Olympics, he's not known for being 100% consistent anyway! He quite often makes mistakes, despite the fact he's usually handed wins anyway. While I agree with you that if he's clean he probably won't be beaten (yawn), that scenario is far from guaranteed.

But Plushenko didn't skate like he did at Europeans at the Olympics. Lysacek deserved to win and I'm glad he did. Plushenko had zero transitions in his lame routines. I hardly think he deserved to be on the podium at those Games. It's futile to compare skates from one competition to another.

I think the point was that even though he 'couldn't even beat Evan' in Vancouver, Plushenko is now, IMO, better than he was in Vancouver. I saw his LP live at Europeans and he was phenomenal. The command of the ice he had leaves everyone else in the shade - he just looked in a different league, and I'm a fan of quite a few of the other guys. His routine was much better than the Vancouver one, he had more transitions, the circular footwork was beautiful, and he flew around the ice. It was a joy to watch.

And NOBODY else beat Evan in Vancouver. Plush is not the only one who lost to him.

On a side note, I think that if Plushenko carries on the way he is now, he could surprise a lot of people by being a serious contender in Sochi. He is competing when he can, and he is looking after his body at the same time (leaving out the quad in the Euros SP, having the surgery rather than risking worlds). He's not stupid - he would not compete if it would seriously jeapordise his health. He withdrew from 2005 Worlds IN MOSCOW due to injury, which he would not have done if there was any way he could compete. He wouldn't have gone to Russian Nationals and Euros this year unless he was ok to. He's looking after his injuries, he's working on the things he needs to work on - he's not just resting on his laurels. He's done choreo work with Lambiel, he works on his spins, he adds more transitions, he toned down his footwork and showed just how good he really is rather than looking frenetic.

Plushenko is going to be remembered as one of the greatest skaters and competitors in history. The fact that he's still competing the way he did at Euros, coming back to competition for the second time and with injuries to boot, and coming back looking as good as ever - IMO is simply phenomenal. Whoever you want to win, having someone there who loves the sport that much, has given that much to it, and is still as consistent as he is, deserves . JMHO.

But I still lurves me some Takahashi too

[Dilng]

Chan is not guaranteed to be clean by any stretch of the imagination though. Aside from the pressure/nerves that can do funny things to normally consistent people at the Olympics, he's not known for being 100% consistent anyway! He quite often makes mistakes, despite the fact he's usually handed wins anyway. While I agree with you that if he's clean he probably won't be beaten (yawn), that scenario is far from guaranteed.





On a side note, I think that if Plushenko carries on the way he is now, he could surprise a lot of people by being a serious contender in Sochi. He is competing when he can, and he is looking after his body at the same time (leaving out the quad in the Euros SP, having the surgery rather than risking worlds). He's not stupid - he would not compete if it would seriously jeapordise his health. He withdrew from 2005 Worlds IN MOSCOW due to injury, which he would not have done if there was any way he could compete. He wouldn't have gone to Russian Nationals and Euros this year unless he was ok to. He's looking after his injuries, he's working on the things he needs to work on - he's not just resting on his laurels. He's done choreo work with Lambiel, he works on his spins, he adds more transitions, he toned down his footwork and showed just how good he really is rather than looking frenetic.

Plushenko is going to be remembered as one of the greatest skaters and competitors in history. The fact that he's still competing the way he did at Euros, coming back to competition for the second time and with injuries to boot, and coming back looking as good as ever - IMO is simply phenomenal. Whoever you want to win, having someone there who loves the sport that much, has given that much to it, and is still as consistent as he is, deserves . JMHO.

But I still lurves me some Takahashi too

So do I and I hope he wins the Olympics as far as I'm concerned he is so much better then Chan or anyone else.

[paulee]

This thread got me investigating who has won a medal when Olympics are in their home country. According to Skatabase, here is the list:

Mens
1936 - E. Baier (GER) (2nd)
1948 - H. Gerschwiler (SUI) (2nd)
1960 - D. Jenkins (USA) (1st)
1968 - P. Pera (FRA) (3rd)
1980 - C. Tickner (USA) (3rd)
1988 - B. Orser (CAN) (2nd)
2002 - T. Goebel (USA)

Ladies
1908 - M. Syers (GBR) (1st)
1908 - D. Greenhough-Smith (3rd)
1960 - C. Heiss (USA) (1st)
1960 - B. Roles (USA) (3rd)
1964 - R. Heitzer (AUT) (2nd)
1980 - L. Fratianne (USA) (2nd)
1988 - E. Manley (CAN) (2nd)
2002 - S. Hughes (USA) (1st)
2002 - M. Kwan (USA) (3rd)
2010 - J. Rochette (CAN) (3rd)

Pairs
1908 - Johnson/ Johnson (GBR) (2nd)
1908 - Syers/ Syers (GBR) (3rd)
1924 - Joly/ Brunet (FRA) (3rd)
1932 - Loughran/ Badger (USA) (2nd)
1936 - Herber/ Baier (GER) (1st)
1960 - Ludington/ Ludington (USA) (3rd)
*** interesting to note that if a Russian pair medals at next Olympics, would be the first time in over 50 years that a host team does so.

Ice Dance
1988 - Wilson/McCall (CAN) (3rd)
1992 - Duchesnay/ Duchesnay (FRA) (2nd)
2010 - Virtue/ Moir (CAN) (1st)

[JasperBoy]

As a side note. Although the Duchesnays skated for France they were actually Canadians.

[judgejudy27]

Chan is not guaranteed to be clean by any stretch of the imagination though. Aside from the pressure/nerves that can do funny things to normally consistent people at the Olympics, he's not known for being 100% consistent anyway! He quite often makes mistakes, despite the fact he's usually handed wins anyway. While I agree with you that if he's clean he probably won't be beaten (yawn), that scenario is far from guaranteed.

I dont think he has to be clean to be guaranteed to win either. He has a good mistake margin over the field unless someone improves by a huge margin. That would also have to be a younger skater, it is unrealistic for Plushenko at his age to reach a level anywhere close to Chan right now IMO, and I say that as a Plushenko fan who doesnt even like Chan. I was thrilled to see him skate so well at Europeans, a much higher level than Vancouver. If the field stays as is presently is, he could be a contender for a medal (not gold) in Sochi.

I should point out IMO the judges are willing to "hold up" Chan in the case he makes mistakes, even alot of them. I am factoring that into my overall analysis, not that I think he deserves as big a margin as he has.