The most "unbeloved" Olympic Champion(s) - what do you think?

[FunnyBut]

How can S/P and Hughes be nearly tied?! At least S/P are greatly beloved in their own country, while in the US , Hughes is criticized more than any other ogm. Hughes for the win (loser)!

[DimaToe]

Wolfgang Schwarz. I think he always had the reputation of being the man who won mainly because Emmerich Danzer made a big mistake in the school figures, and he also has a reputation here as the guy who robbed Tim Wood of that very same OGM. Also, as Vagabond pointed out in the men's OGM Survivor thread, he's a convicted human trafficker.

My vote goes for him now, IMO he should have been included on the list over say, Petrenko, whose inclusion on this list makes no sense to me, and for others it seems because he has yet to get a vote.

[AnnieBgood]

Urmanov.

I have absolutely nothing against him. But I'm not sure I've ever seen evidence of Urmanov ubers here or elsewhere. No gushing about him. No reminiscing of his programs or anything. He doesn't make anyone's lists of favorite skaters or programs or anything. He is just sort of forgotten.

He was my first favorite male skater!
(btw, Alexei Yagudin idolized Urmanov)

[l'etoile]

How can S/P and Hughes be nearly tied?! At least S/P are greatly beloved in their own country, while in the US , Hughes is criticized more than any other ogm. Hughes for the win (loser)!

That's why I didn't vote for S/P and have some in my head looking at result

[DickButtonFan]

I voted Hughes because of the underrotations. I'd have Evan second because of the 3A.

[aftershocks]

The question is: Who is the "most unbeloved," and the question is being asked on FSU. The answer is a no-brainer ... "easily S/P," as can be ascertained from all the pairs "survivor" polls on here, not to mention numerous threads debating SLC, and hating on JS. Who's kidding who? I don't think it is about who deserves to be "most unbeloved," but who actually is "most unbeloved" by peeps in these here ramparts.

Urmanov is just another victim of judges' stupidity, shortsightedness, and paralyzed stuck-in-the mud gutlessness. He's a superb skater, IMO better than Plush and Yagudin combined, and obviously loads better than Mishin's current youngster Gachinski. Urmanov never really had the chance to catch on and become popular among fans because he was foolishly and shortsightedly rewarded too soon over Elvis who deserved gold at '94 Olympics.

[Plusdinfo]

For me, unbeloved doesn't mean disliked but rather lacking love. I think that there are plenty of people who love Salle and Pelletier and Sarah Hughes even if those skaters also have many "haters". However, I think that Alexei Urmanov gets the least amount of love of the people on the list. Rarely does it seem that he is loved or remembered fondly.

[Twilight1]

I would have put G&G or Yagudin in there. IMHO I loved them far more than most on that list.

[sk8ingcoach]

Voted for Sale/Pelletier. I dont know why people hate them so much. They deserved their gold medal. In the current system, S/P would have won by a mile. With all other competitions and controversies aside, they skated perfect at Olympics and had a wonderful program.


My next vote would have been Sarah Hughes. People only hate her because she had a small career and she beat Michelle.

[mossop]

THEY got the GOLD. You got a say in this poll. Which is better?

[Susan M]

I would have put G&G or Yagudin in there. IMHO I loved them far more than most on that list.

Does not compute
The question was not who is loved most, but rather who is (or was?) loved the least. That's why I voted Hughes. I don't dislike her, but she was the most nondescript OGM since Annette Poetsch and very few people got all excited over her, even in her home country.

[escaflowne9282]

I have to say I agree S&P are not terribly beloved; however, I think it has more to do with the fact that their off ice antics (nasty comments about other skaters, multiple affairs) have been a major turn-off over the past few years. While was never a big fan of theirs, and will never be convinced they were robbed in SLC , I do think they were stronger skaters than many here give them credit for. They do have a very strong following in Canada from what I can tell.

For me, it’s Sarah Hughes who is the most “unbeloved”. Many consider her a one hit wonder, and there are very few who name her as their favorite skater. Most fans of American Ladies preferred Kwan or Cohen; many European fans thought Slutskaya was robbed. She also never really contributed to the sport the way she should have in order to really reach that beloved status. I remember in 2006, when Arakawa won , really being struck at the difference between the way that she responded to becoming champion as opposed to Sarah Hughes. With so much excitement over her win, Arakawa used that opportunity to perform at as many venues as she could; she did many appearances on Japanese TV. I remember reading that she helped re-open a childhood rink where she had trained . She also was very involved the Tokyo Worlds the next season, did commentary for Japan in 2010…etc.

Sarah won, did a Wheaties ad, showed up out of shape the next season and on SOI , then went to college, and never really capitalized on the initial excitement over her win or promoted the sport. While she had no obligation to do so, it’s not hard to see why she wouldn’t be so beloved as a skater.

Heck, one thing I’ll even say for S&P, is that they were consummate professionals and performers on the ice after their win.

[leafygreens]

I voted for Tara because her win was so controversial. I do not believe Sarah's win was as controversial, because Michelle faltered that year. In 1998 she did not. Sarah had the best performance that Olys even if she didn't win anything else. So, it was fair. I think that Tara *used to be* less beloved, but as an adult she has "given back" to the sport through her commentating, and people tend to forget how annoying she was as a youngster.

I think S&P are not beloved simply because of all the drama surrounding their personal lives. They did give a good Oly performance, and it wasn't their fault the judge cheated. What happened afterwards, though, makes people not like them.

[kwanette]

Voted for Sale/Pelletier. I dont know why people hate them so much. They deserved their gold medal. In the current system, S/P would have won by a mile. With all other competitions and controversies aside, they skated perfect at Olympics and had a wonderful program.


My next vote would have been Sarah Hughes. People only hate her because she had a small career and she beat Michelle.

"Hate" is a pretty strong word.

[UGG]

I will never understand why Sarah did not choose to capitilize on her OGM. It's almost like her "people" tried so hard to make her seem like "just a regular 11th grader" that they missed opportunities for her. She had like zero endorsements and I cannot imagine it was from lack of offers. Anyone know if this is the case, or did she really get little endorsements?

[kwanette]

I will never understand why Sarah did not choose to capitilize on her OGM. It's almost like her "people" tried so hard to make her seem like "just a regular 11th grader" that they missed opportunities for her. She had like zero endorsements and I cannot imagine it was from lack of offers. Anyone know if this is the case, or did she really get little endorsements?

She was on a soup can and IIRC she did have a contract with GE.

[shine]

Just realized how tough this poll is. I didn't realize until now that so many OGM's are so unlikable.

[DannyCurry]

TT/MM were the rightful winners in 2006 but I don't think many people wanted them to get the OGM, compared with other pairs.

[Triple Butz]

I voted for Tara because her win was so controversial. I do not believe Sarah's win was as controversial, because Michelle faltered that year. In 1998 she did not. Sarah had the best performance that Olys even if she didn't win anything else. So, it was fair. I think that Tara *used to be* less beloved, but as an adult she has "given back" to the sport through her commentating, and people tend to forget how annoying she was as a youngster.

Sarah's win was on a 5/4 split while Tara's was a more convincing 6/3, not to mention Sarah's sp ordinals were all over the place and as low as 10th. I think S/P's gold medal was far more controversial than anything else on this poll. I was okay with the original decision but then after La Gougne started running her mouth and sounding all crazy something had to be done...I'm still not sure what the best solution was but I'm not convinced that duplicate gold medals was a good one.

[DORISPULASKI]

Schwarz.

Why he isn't on the Poll, I have no idea.

1. His medal was very controversial
2. He is a total criminal scumbag

How is anyone even close?