Figure Skating Champions SURVIVOR: Pairs Round 1 Reloaded

[allezfred]

If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

[gingercrush]

Woetzel & Steuer. Ewww. BTW I hope the Canadians are elimated early and some patriotic Canadian comes in to defend them.

[Mafke]

Gotta go with Eltsova/Bushkov, the skating equivalent of Kristin Stewart's "acting" face...

[Marco]

V&T was so close to making this poll, twice...

[antmanb]

Gotta go with Eltsova/Bushkov, the skating equivalent of Kristin Stewart's "acting" face...

[eurodance2001]

E/B were so blah!! Out!!

[Cherub721]

I'm voting for Pang & Tong until they go. All of their programs except the 2010 LP were completely interchangeable to me.

[judgejudy27]

Woetzel & Steuer by a landslide. Eltsova & Bushkov atleast did the technical elements properly and well.

[Vagabond]

If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

• Shishkova & Naumov: Worlds 1994
• Kovaříková & Novotny: Worlds 1995
• Eltsova & Bushkov: Worlds 1996
• Woetzel & Steuer: Worlds 1997
• Kazakova & Dmitriev: Olys 1998
• Berezhnaya & Sikharulidze: Worlds 1998, 1999, Olys 2002
• Petrova & Tikhonov: Worlds 2000
• Sale & Pelletier: Worlds 2001, Olys 2002
• Shen & Zhao: Worlds 2002, 2003, 2007, Olys 2010
• Totmianina & Marinin: Worlds 2004, 2005, Olys 2006
• Pang & Tong: Worlds 2006, Worlds 2010
• Savchenko & Szolkowy: Worlds 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012

[Cherub721]

Woetzel & Steuer by a landslide.

I never realized people disliked them so much considering Steuer is respected as a coach. I didn't follow their career "live" so I've only seen some of their major winning performances and didn't think of them as being inconsistent (which I guess is the issue here?). I thought they usually came across with nicely choreographed, pleasant, but not masterpiece programs and didn't have a big problem with them. I'd rank them above both P&Ts and E&B at least. What am I missing?

[judgejudy27]

I never realized people disliked them so much considering Steuer is respected as a coach. I didn't follow their career "live" so I've only seen some of their major winning performances and didn't think of them as being inconsistent (which I guess is the issue here?). I thought they usually came across with nicely choreographed, pleasant, but not masterpiece programs and didn't have a big problem with them. I'd rank them above both P&Ts and E&B at least. What am I missing?

I dont dislike them. Technically they were so weak though. Their triple twist was poor and their double twist was one of the tiniest in the World. Their lifts barely covered any ice, were slow, and shaky. Their death spirals were weak, she never got low or in a good position. Their footwork sequences were easy. Their side by side jumps and spins were sometimes strong, and sometimes out of sync (and sometimes she fell of course). They were very inconsistent too, hardly ever skating cleanly, and even having some epic meltdowns in major events (eg- 1994 Olympics, 1995 Worlds, 1998 GP final).

Technically they are below all the other teams on this list, and it is not artistically they blow many of them out of the water even if they had a few nice programs. E&B were boring as heck but they atleast did the technical elements much better if you compare the two teams, apart from spirals, pairs spins, and sometimes jumps.

[allezfred]

• Shishkova & Naumov: Worlds 1994
• Kovaříková & Novotny: Worlds 1995
• Eltsova & Bushkov: Worlds 1996
• Woetzel & Steuer: Worlds 1997
• Kazakova & Dmitriev: Olys 1998
• Berezhnaya & Sikharulidze: Worlds 1998, 1999, Olys 2002
• Petrova & Tikhonov: Worlds 2000
• Sale & Pelletier: Worlds 2001, Olys 2002
• Shen & Zhao: Worlds 2002, 2003, 2007, Olys 2010
• Totmianina & Marinin: Worlds 2004, 2005, Olys 2006
• Pang & Tong: Worlds 2006, Worlds 2010
• Savchenko & Szolkowy: Worlds 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012

If people don't know who Eltsova and Bushkov are, well......






they should consider themselves lucky.

[RumbleFish]

I didn't realize that Eltsova & Bushkov had won a world title before this pole.
I guess their win wasn't that memorable. zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Vash01]

Yeltsova-Bushkov were better skaters than Woetzel & Steyer. They had better positions, lines, and were quite pleasant to watch. Her rotation in the air was lovely. W&S's world title was undeserved, IMO. They were slow, and really did not have any qualities that set them apart from the rest. IIRC they had problems on both their throws when they won their world title (or am I confusing it with the previous year?). Y&B did have a fall on the sbs 3t, but should have won over W&S.

I think the judges did not want to make Y&B back to back pairs champions because they were really not a great pair. They did, however, beat B&S and K&D at the 1998 Russian nationals, and that's not too shabby, since K&D and B&S won gold and silver at the Olympics just a few months later. After 1994, the pairs field was quite weak until 1998.

I never understood the hatred for Y&B. I was not their fan, but they were OK.

P.S. I did not vote for W&S, just to clarify.

[judgejudy27]

Yeltsova-Bushkov were better skaters than Woetzel & Steyer. They had better positions, lines, and were quite pleasant to watch. Her rotation in the air was lovely. W&S's world title was undeserved, IMO. They were slow, and really did not have any qualities that set them apart from the rest. IIRC they had problems on both their throws when they won their world title (or am I confusing it with the previous year?). Y&B did have a fall on the sbs 3t, but should have won over W&S.

I think the judges did not want to make Y&B back to back pairs champions because they were really not a great pair. They did, however, beat B&S and K&D at the 1998 Russian nationals, and that's not too shabby, since K&D and B&S won gold and silver at the Olympics just a few months later. After 1994, the pairs field was quite weak until 1998.

I never understood the hatred for Y&B. I was not their fan, but they were OK.

P.S. I did not vote for W&S, just to clarify.

I think people dont like Y&B since they showed no personality on the ice, and they used that tedious free program they won Worlds with two years in a row. I agree with everything you said though, and they were definitely a better team than W&S. Who did you vote for btw.

[Mafke]

I never understood the hatred for Y&B. I was not their fan, but they were OK.

Just so. Okay and no special personality for me.

I don't hate them by any means (if I did I probably wouldn't go for them first). I mostly just don't have much feeling about them at all...

On the other hand, W/S were misguided enough often enough that they're more memorable even if they're technically weaker.

[Plusdinfo]

I enjoyed Woetzel and Steuer A LOT, though I agree that they were stronger artistically than technically.

[SamuraiK]

Kovarikova & Novotny. I admit I wasnt a fan back then and I hardly remember them. Plus they won as a payback for being robbed at Euros that year. Two wrondg don't make a right IMO.

[briancoogaert]

Difficult.
I'd say Eltsova&Bushkov, but they were a strong team technically, compared to the others of the era.

So, my vote goes to Pang&Tong, because they ever did anything to me.

[shady82]

I liked Eltsova/Bushkov's style, actually. They were a strong team, but didn't have the consistency. I'm going to vote for them first.

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Petrova/Tikhonov so far. They won 2000 Worlds with a solid but hardly memorable program, which in some years may not have even medaled. Their skating improved quite a bit in their last couple seasons (terrific SPs 2004-2006), but they never truly contended for the top spot. I'm probably voting for them next.

Pang/Tong actually won an Olympic medal and two World Championships (though both were in somewhat weak fields). I like their style more too - terrific interpretation and artistry in some of their programs, and classic Chinese mastery of throws and lifts.