Which man has had the hardest competition during his reign as king

[Fiero425]

Urmanov made one mistake as well. I don't remember exactly what it was, but it involved a stumble that took him close to the boards for sure, and perhaps an UR.

It could have gone either way in terms of technical content, and came down to artistry. IIRC the judges were split 6-3. And I agreed with the decision to award Urmanov the Gold.

Urmanov probably was never as strong as Stojko, but his artistry and playing directly to the judges won him extra points IMO! Time and time again, even if Alexei made an error like turning a 3 Axel into a double during his long program, he still out-shown Elvis! He had the same trouble as Surya; pure jumpers that the judges didn't particularly care for! His "Dragon Heart" program in '97 was unmatched and they had to award the GOLD to Elvis that year at Worlds! Elvis probably lucky Alexei pulled a groin muscle and WD after the SP; that helped!

 

[briancoogaert]

Urmanov probably was never as strong as Stojko, but his artistry and playing directly to the judges won him extra points IMO! Time and time again, even if Alexei made an error like turning a 3 Axel into a double during his long program, he still out-shown Elvis! He had the same trouble as Surya; pure jumpers that the judges didn't particularly care for! His "Dragon Heart" program in '97 was unmatched and they had to award the GOLD to Elvis that year at Worlds! Elvis probably lucky Alexei pulled a groin muscle and WD after the SP; that helped!

I wouldn't call Urmanov an artistic skater. It was more about his amazing technical qualities, as a skater. His jumping technique was perfect, his skating skills were pure. He was a very good technical skater, definitely not an artistic one.
Stojko was more about power than technical pureness, although his technique was not bad.

 

[ohashibiles]

Hoffmann clearly. He had to deal with Curry, Cranston, Kovalev, Volkov, Kubicka, Ovchinnikov, all in the 73-76 quad. Then had to deal with Cousins, Kovalev, Ticker, Santee, and that great Japanese skater who won the long at the 77 worlds and some other events (forget his name) in the 77-80 quad. To win as much as he did, especialy not being the most talented or technically or artistically gifted skater, with that field, was incredible, even more when he was probably robbed a few times including the 1980 Olympics.

 

[ohashibiles]

I wouldn't call Urmanov an artistic skater. It was more about his amazing technical qualities, as a skater. His jumping technique was perfect, his skating skills were pure. He was a very good technical skater, definitely not an artistic one.
Stojko was more about power than technical pureness, although his technique was not bad.

Urmanov was not really an artistic skater, but the judges considered him one. His artistic scores made that clear. And his technical abilities were pulled down by horrible spins which are a major technical element, along with average footwork, even if his jumps and speed were impressive.

 

[lala]

Urmanov is not an artistic skater...hmmmmm...OK, maybe much more elegant as anyone else at that time??

 

[Fiero425]

Urmanov is not an artistic skater...hmmmmm...OK, maybe much more elegant as anyone else at that time??

Nothing more elegant than his "Swan Lake" performance of '95: - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_o5Wv8-004 -

 

[Japanfan]

Urmanov is not an artistic skater...hmmmmm...OK, maybe much more elegant as anyone else at that time??

Or anyone else at any time, IMO. Urmanov was pure elegance IMO, which was enhanced by his classical style and natural sense of flair. Not to mention, he's such a beautiful man, with a smile that can light up an arena.

He had the same trouble as Surya; pure jumpers that the judges didn't particularly care for! His "Dragon Heart" program in '97 was unmatched and they had to award the GOLD to Elvis that year at Worlds! Elvis probably lucky Alexei pulled a groin muscle and WD after the SP; that helped!

I still remember when Alexei withdraw from Worlds in '97, IIRC he was in first place after the SP. It did help Elvis, because when tech content was equal, the judges tended to prefer Alexei.

 

[Fiero425]

Or anyone else at any time, IMO. Urmanov was pure elegance IMO, which was enhanced by his classical style and natural sense of flair. Not to mention, he's such a beautiful man, with a smile that can light up an arena.

I still remember when Alexei withdraw from Worlds in '97, IIRC he was in first place after the SP. It did help Elvis, because when tech content was equal, the judges tender to prefer Alexei.

You are correct; like Plushenko several years later, he was in 1st place when WD from Worlds costing them a spot the following season in the Olympics and Worlds! Alexei was at the top of his form and had just come off a European's victory coming back from 7th place!