Tall Ladies Skaters

[snoopysnake]

Oksana Baiul grew a lot after the Olympics, to about 5 foot 6. Trixi Schuba was about 5 foot 7.

[TheIronLady]

The ISU bio says Jennifer Robinson was one of the longest ladies of recent times at 170 cm (5'6 9/10"). The extra cm just may be her hair

She was an inspiration to taller ladies with hips. She seriously was an attractive, curvy woman. I remember at 2003 worlds being struck that she was much prettier in person. I think she made good use of her long legs and physical presence toward the end of her career-- definitely from 2002 onward. She seemed to grow more comfortable with her body and image, and it paid off in better programs.

We joke about her third rotations on the ice, but with her height and butt, she had to keep herself pretty trim and work hard to even do a 2A.

[Rex]

Jennifer Robinson was not only tall for a ladies' skater, but also rather on the curvy side. She had a nice body.

[victoriaheidi]

Alexe Gilles hasn't ever had that much success, but she's, like, 5'8. Piper, on the other hand, is only about 5'3, I think.

Ashley Wagner always looks very tall to me, but she's only 5'4. It's her body type and carriage.

[pinky166]

Ashley is actually only 5'3" or maybe a bit less! Quite petite, she just carries herself very well.

The french ladies Meite and Silete I think are both pretty tall, maybe 5'6" or so. Mae especially is very statuesque. Silete might not be quite as tall but has really, really long legs. The voidy cat suit girl, Gilleron-Gory, is listed as 165 cm but looks like she's grown recently.

[l'etoile]

Jenna McCorkell is 5'6''-5'7''. She is quite tall.

[l'etoile]

Joshi Helgesson is 5'7"
Sarah Hecken is 5'7"
Kiira Korpi is listed as 5'6" but I think she's likely pushing 5'7" judging from pictures
Ksenia Makarova is listed as almost 5'6" (167 cm) on her ISU bio, but lists her height as 170 cm (5'7") on social media sites
Polina Shelepen is listed as almost 5'6" (167 cm) on the Russian site, her ISU bio says 163 cm (5'4") but that hasn't been changed for a couple seasons and she looks much taller than that
Not that she's a top skater but Elena Glebova is 166 cm so about 5'5.5" and has a very striking appearance on the ice.
Cynthia Phanuef was 5'7" or at least 5'6"

Apart from Agnes, the US doesn't have any really tall top level skaters but Christina Gao, Alissa Czisny, and Gracie Gold are all around 5'5" according to their bios. Barbie Long also looks pretty tall, listed a 5'4" but she's likely grown since the bio was last updated and is maybe closer to 5'6" by now.

Anyways it seems like 5'7" is the cutoff height for ladies skaters these days, quite a few between 5'5" and 5'7" are successful, but it's rare to see an internationally competitive lady over 170 cm.

Also icenetwork lists Sasha as 5'2". I think she's likely pushing that, definitely more than 4'11" at least. And I have a hard time believing Tuktamysheva is 159 cm....maybe in skates. She is really really small. I would guess more like 149 cm barefoot, I would be surprised if she's over 5 feet and think 4'10" or 4'11" is more likely.

About 5'5"-5'6". She was listed as 166 cm on her ISU bio.

I also wonder about the height of Yu Na Kim. She's always listed as 5'4" or 5'4.5", but looking at her, she appears to be more 5'5" or 5'6". I wonder if she maybe grew a few cm slowly over the last few seasons and her height simply was not updated, meaning is is more 166-167 cm now instead of the 163-164 cm she was as a teenager but is still listed as being. It could just be her build though.

This picture tells that Yuna is at least an inch shorter than Viktoria and Ksenia.

[all_empty]

I'd say Cynthia is 5'7". I was shocked by how much she grew. Too bad she never found consistency, because she is gorgeous and developed a great figure.

Jennifer was about 5'5, maybe 5'6". I liked her final two seasons' programs and wish they were on YouTube.

Lucinda Ruh is quite tall too, I believe. Tatiana Navka was about 5'9 to 5'10 in skates - taller than me .

[pinky166]

Oh you are right, Yuna is not that tall. Very long legs though!

[Jot the Dot Dot]

I'd say Cynthia is 5'7". I was shocked by how much she grew. Too bad she never found consistency, because she is gorgeous and developed a great figure.

Jennifer was about 5'5, maybe 5'6". I liked her final two seasons' programs and wish they were on YouTube.

Lucinda Ruh is quite tall too, I believe. Tatiana Navka was about 5'9 to 5'10 in skates - taller than me .

Lucinda is 5' 9", according to Wikipedia.

[overedge]

Claudia Leistner from Germany was 5'9" without her skates.

[TheIronLady]

Claudia Leistner from Germany was 5'9" without her skates.

I like how Claudia towers over Midori on the second platform of the 1989 Worlds Podium. So does Jill Trenary for that matter, but Leistner vs. Ito is most amusing.

[Vagabond]

Jo Jo Starbuck and Sandra Bezic were as tall as their partners as well

Which partners?

According to www.sports-reference.com, Sandra Bezic is 5'4", and her brother, Val, is 6'1".

According to the same source, Jo Jo Starbuck is 5'5". Kenneth Shelley isn't much taller than she is, but he is 5'7".

If you watch these videos, you can clearly see that the man in each of these pairs is taller than his partner:

Sandra & Val Bezic, 1982 Stars on Ice
Starbuck & Shelley, 1972 U.S. Nationals Free Skate

I think actual height difference between Sandra and Val Bezic is somewhat less than nine inches, but there is still a significant difference. Two inches between Starbuck and Shelley looks about right to me.

[victoriaheidi]

I don't know how tall she really is, but Ashley Cain seemed pretty tall on TV last night. Taller than I remembered her, anyway.

[TheIronLady]

Which partners?

According to www.sports-reference.com, Sandra Bezic is 5'4", and her brother, Val, is 6'1".

According to the same source, Jo Jo Starbuck is 5'5". Kenneth Shelley isn't much taller than she is, but he is 5'7".

If you watch these videos, you can clearly see that the man in each of these pairs is taller than his partner:

Sandra & Val Bezic, 1982 Stars on Ice
Starbuck & Shelley, 1972 U.S. Nationals Free Skate

I think actual height difference between Sandra and Val Bezic is somewhat less than nine inches, but there is still a significant difference. Two inches between Starbuck and Shelley looks about right to me.

To the original poster, I was going to say, her brother would have to be a midgit if shorter! Sandra is short. She looks in the commentary booth like she would be a model, but she is not model height.