Figure Skating Champions SURVIVOR: Pairs SEMI-FINAL

[allezfred]

Totmianina & Marinin are banished to a street corner, but who will be the final two?

• Berezhnaya & Sikharulidze: Worlds 1998, 1999, Olys 2002
• Shen & Zhao: Worlds 2002, 2003, 2007, Olys 2010
• Savchenko & Szolkowy: Worlds 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012

[gingercrush]

Berehnaya & Sikharulidze. Did they deserve to win Gold in 2002? Yes. But had they not made crucial mistakes that allowed the media to engineer a scandal they would be the unanimous champions. Thus it is time they went.

All for Shen & Zhao taking this and very happy for the Germans to be runner-ups. And o.o I can't believe Shen & Zhao is losing this.

[Macassar88]

Personally I find Savchenko and Szolkowy to be more interesting than Shen and Zhao and I'll be voting for the Chinese pair despite their huge medal count over the years.

[sk8ingcoach]

Savchenko and Szolkowy should win this. All their elements are amazing ( except maybe twist ) and have had some truly amazing and innovative programs that will never be forgotten. Like their "send in the clowns" short program and their " Pink Panther" long. JUST BRILLIANT

[snoopysnake]

Are you freaking kidding me? Shen and Zhao should finish first, not third.

[DaiKozOda]

I really like S&S but I'll vote for them in this round.

[love_skate2011]

S/S are still in the list

[Kunstrijdster]

S/S's main and maybe only weakness is their consistency. And for such a top pair their glitches are often quite memorable. But even with more consistency it did never feel like they could have set themselves up as the really dominant pair and with decent competition will never run away with a title.

That said, I'll try to vote them into the great finale based upon their ever changing and ever interesting body of work.

[TID]

I'll go with S/S this round. IMO, they lack the connection with each other that B/S and S/Z have. They always leave me the impression that two beautiful individual skaters(especially her) are skating together.

[kwanette]

I'll go with S/S this round. IMO, they lack the connection with each other that B/S and S/Z have. They always leave me the impression that two beautiful individual skaters(especially her) are skating together.

That's why I voted for them. I like them, a lot. But I see no real connection.

[DimaToe]

....It was difficult to vote, I love all Three pairs!

[casken]

What I said last round.

Shen and Zhao

Technique > Emotion.

[julieann]

But even with more consistency it did never feel like they could have set themselves up as the really dominant pair and with decent competition will never run away with a title.

If there's decent competition in skating (or any sport) no one will run away with any title.

I'll go with S/S this round. IMO, they lack the connection with each other that B/S and S/Z have. They always leave me the impression that two beautiful individual skaters(especially her) are skating together.

I feel S/S have just as much connection as any pairs skaters but I always have felt as if Elena B always had somewhere else she would have rather been. She always had a vacant look on her face like she was bored.

[judgejudy27]

Berezhnaya & Sikharulidze > Shen & Zhou > Savchenko & Szolkowy without even the slighest bit of doubt IMO. S&S are very good but capatilized on a really weak pairs era with no competition. When an old past their prime Shen & Zhou who werent even skating clean long programs anymore returned, they immediately stopped winning. S&Z are great but only dominated after B&S and S&P retired, and even then only really dominated when Totmianina & Marinin werent around. B&S had consistency problems, and were victimized by the over the top political push for S&P for awhile, but they are truly one of the top 3 pairs teams of all time IMO and a class above he other two.

On another note funny the heat B&S take for being supposably inconsistent, when most of their errors their final couple competitive seasons were minor ones (exagerrated by TPTB in an attempt to build up S&P) while S&S who rarely get through a competition without a huge crash get a free pass by comparision.

[Grannyfan]

Really haven't kept up with the polls, but as much as I love Shen & Zhou, the skating of B & S is the most beautiful I've ever seen. Nothing these days compares, in my opinion. I know people rave about S & S today, but I miss the pre-2002 pairs.

[berthesghost]

Berezhnaya & Sikharulidze > Shen & Zhou > Savchenko & Szolkowy without even the slighest bit of doubt IMO. S&S are very good but capatilized on a really weak pairs era with no competition. When an old past their prime Shen & Zhou who werent even skating clean long programs anymore returned, they immediately stopped winning. S&Z are great but only dominated after B&S and S&P retired, and even then only really dominated when Totmianina & Marinin werent around. B&S had consistency problems, and were victimized by the over the top political push for S&P for awhile, but they are truly one of the top 3 pairs teams of all time IMO and a class above he other two.

On another note funny the heat B&S take for being supposably inconsistent, when most of their errors their final couple competitive seasons were minor ones (exagerrated by TPTB in an attempt to build up S&P) while S&S who rarely get through a competition without a huge crash get a free pass by comparision.

While ITA with your ranking, I don't agree with your reasoning. Both S&Z and B&S were superior teams who let lesser teams T&M and S&P (both long gone from poll) sneak in for wins when they faltered. S&Z were very injured and Torino still break my heart. It's completely unfair to dismiss S&Z for lack of dominance while propping up B&S by claiming unfair political pull. B&S are better skaters than S&Z. Thats all, no need for twisted facts or off-ice type justifications.

[miffy]

I think S/Z are completely overrated - they were a very good team but I never got the fuss about them. I don't even think they should have won their Olympic title But I do think the one thing they did have was pretty good consistency - which sadly S/S and B/S lacked.

[flipforsynchro]

I have an irrational dislike of S/S.

[blue_idealist]

I voted for S/S because of their consistency issues and their lack of an Olympic Gold medal. I think I'm going to vote for S/Z eventually to win because they have Olympic medals from three different Olympics, while B/S have only two and their gold was highly disputed. I also feel they had consistency issues as well.

[Proustable]

Really haven't kept up with the polls, but as much as I love Shen & Zhou, the skating of B & S is the most beautiful I've ever seen. Nothing these days compares, in my opinion. I know people rave about S & S today, but I miss the pre-2002 pairs.

Yep. It's sorta ridiculous just how good B/S actually were. I love S/S too. S/Z have enough flaws that they got my vote, but as long as B/S win, I don't really care who's in second.