Vaytsekhovskaya's interview with Irina Slutskaya

[Coco]

I think she was unlucky in the 2002 Olympics short program because it was quite good and Michelle got away with a slight ur on her 3f. However, her 1-foot steps, while impressive, were a bit shallow and lacked diversity, which might have been deductions. Also, her final combination spin traveled quite a bit. And she did her jumping passes as the first three elements.

So I guess I say unlucky because her errors or compositional issues didn't seem as significant as Michelle's ur, but they couldn't be ignored.

 

[Tinami Amori]

On the other hand, as a performer you want people to focus on what you're doing and not on their snacks.

Popcorn at the movies is a cherished and enduring tradition - though probably not in Russia.

I can't attest that "Russians never took a bite during a skating show", or that "American ice arenas are full of hamburger gobblers each and every time".. Overall this is how i remember it..

- At an outdoor ice show, a show for kids, like they have in Moscow's Red Square during New Year, or in St. Petersburg, of course you'll see a kid with an ice cream or a lollipop, or people eating a priozhki or some street food sold around.

- At the more sophisticated ice shows, theatrical in-door productions, like Auerbuch's R/J, Carmen, Plushenko's Nutracker/Ice King, etc., yes Russian audience will dress up more, and behave like it is a "theatre" an "art production", and not a "circus" or a "kids show".

- American audience over all at any kind of ice show (that i've been to) will dress more casual, and behave more casual, and treat the event as a "spectacle" and not a "formal theatre".

But then seeing how people dress in USA to an opera and ballet events in major Opera houses and performance halls, it is too casual for my taste. I don't like it, but i figured it is their country, they can do what they want..... If i don't like it, i can fly to Vegas, see their ice shows, where one can walk into the show hall in a cocktail dress right out of a fancy casino.. Let's face it, Americans are not, over all, into "pageantry", and it will never be La Dolce Vita.. or the times of Fred and Ginger....
https://media.gettyimages.com/photo...il-party-for-la-picture-id856572400?s=612x612
https://static.greatbigcanvas.com/i...ers-fred-astaire-top-hat,2010661.jpg?max=1000

 

[stlcomet]

She is 100% correct. In terms of difficulty, there was no comparison between Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze and Sale/Pelletier. Under CoP, the bobble would have been a -1 or a -2. The Canadians couldn't handle the difficulty of their original free that season which is why they went back to Love Story.

Might want to check your own national bias on this.

I have no horse in this race but Japanfan is just stating the facts. You might want to rewatch the programs on YouTube, because the Canadian pair were far superior that day. Shen and Zhou were actually better then Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze as well and were screwed out of silver by the Russian/French collusion in a lot if peoples eyes.

To be frank, Anton let her down yet again. Remember, Anton/Elena had not skated a clean competition all year, so they didn't even deserve the benefit of the doubt to begin with. Though their choreography was creative and spins spectacularly done (especially that combo spin, wow) it was too hard for him, so their many 'bobbles' added up and were not unexpected. Anton's step out on 2a, Anton catching Elena late on the triple twist, Anton dropping her a half turn early missing their exit transition on the 5 lasso lift, Elena 2 footing the first throw right in front of the judges, Anton's hesitation on the forward entry 4 dead lift and that awkward forward flip entry into their last lift almost didnt make it up. And those were just the obvious mistakes. Their real mistake was they made the program look hard and if you watch them immediately at the end of the LP they knew they blew it, that wasn't Russian stoicism. Sale/Pelletier did their job and technically skated clean and brilliantly. David and Jamie's lifts went right up and were nothing short of spectacular highlighted with that double twist exit from the lasso lift. They deserved the gold, and the Russians the bronze but RusFed would never allow their streak of Pair Gold medals to end without a fight so they fixed it and ruined the already flimsy reputation of FS for almost a decade. Russia ruined it so bad that a complete overhaul of the sport was done to keep them from further corruption (which they continue to find ways around...Adelina Sotnikova in Sochi, hello) and that's not national bias talking...that's just the plain awful facts.

 

[illyria]

Brasseur and Eisler were terrible! Even more overmarked than Sale/Pelletier.

Brausseur and Eisler were without a doubt more overmarked than Sale and Pelletier. I have no idea how they have two Olympic bronze medals, especially the 1992 bronze medal after having 3 falls (1 in the SP, 2 in the FS). Kovarikova/Novotny and Shishkova/Naumov deserved those medals.

 

[MsZem]

Popcorn at the movies is a cherished and enduring tradition - though probably not in Russia.

But it is not a cherished tradition when attending most theatrical productions, where there are actual performers present.

 

[VGThuy]

I wish Broadway theaters wouldn't sell candy and stuff, but they do now. Some say can hear other people's wrappers but I haven't had that experience yet. They're also really expensive. I heard two glasses of wine and a large size bag of M&Ms (only size they had) can cost $50. In London theatre, apparently they sell ice cream, but I have to think it's less noisy than candy wrappers.

 

[nlloyd]

How do people like their hamburgers?

With a tango. Anything else just doesn't do them justice

 

[MacMadame]

I wish Broadway theaters wouldn't sell candy and stuff, but they do now. Some say can hear other people's wrappers but I haven't had that experience yet. They're also really expensive. I heard two glasses of wine and a large size bag of M&Ms (only size they had) can cost $50. In London theatre, apparently they sell ice cream, but I have to think it's less noisy than candy wrappers.

The theater company I have season tickets with won't let you bring the food they sell at intermission into the theater.

 

[illyria]

Irina talking about a team doctor giving her doping to try to get her kicked off the team, another skater calling her to tell her she hopes she messes up at the Olympics, and the police questioning her about Maria's car being burnt is wild. The doping story reminds me of the story about a Japanese kayaker testing positive for doping and then it coming out that another Japanese kayaker spiked his drink with steroids and has a history of trying to sabotage competitors by stealing equipment.

Irina's memory is very off or maybe she's deluded herself a little about the scoring and GOEs at the 2006 games. But it's very cute that she still skates in Shizuka's ice shows nowadays.

I totally agree with her about SLC pairs though. The only positive outcome of the situation is that it got rid of 6.0, which I despise since deductions and scoring are very vague and the system was placement based with so much weight on the free skate rankings. There was of course cheating with Didier pressuring the French judge, but regardless, I think Elena and Anton were clearly the superior pair and deserved to win. I also think Jamie and David's 2001 Worlds win with a fall from Jamie on the 3T in the short and a single axel in the free was much more questionable than Elena and Anton's SLC win with a step out on the 2A in the free from Anton.

In the context of 6.0 and just SLC though, this is a very unbiased analysis of the free programs of S/P and B/S that describes both pairs strengths and weaknesses and the content of their programs: http://www.frogsonice.com/skateweb/articles/slc-pairs.shtml I think everyone should read this since it analyzes each element in the program and makes a case for both pairs deserving the free skate win in that COP, which under 6.0 would be the overall win.

As a 6.0-anti and under the lens of the overall performance and BOTH THE SHORT AND FREE, I think Elena and Anton were clear winners. The short program is not even a question. Elena and Anton had one of the finest short programs of all time. Their pairs left forward outside arabesque spiral into their throw triple loop was absolute perfection. I think that S/P should have not only been behind B/S in the SP, but also Shen and Zhao. S/P's throw triple loop did not have the amplitude of either teams, their SBS 3Ts were clearly out of sync (I do not understand Sandra Bezic's commentary saying that they can't be done any better), and of course there was the fall on the ending pose... In the free program, Anton had the step out of the double axel, but he was still able to complete the 2A-2T sequence. Even with this mistake, Elena and Anton had better skating skills, much more transitions, and much more complex footwork, field moves, and holds. I adore Elena's layback spread eagles. Jamie and David had cleaner landings on 2A-2T sequence and throw jumps, but they also had an illegal grip on their lift and their program was much less complex with lots of separations and side by side skating instead of complex holds and partner work.

 

[kwanfan1818]

- At the more sophisticated ice shows, theatrical in-door productions, like Auerbuch's R/J, Carmen, Plushenko's Nutracker/Ice King, etc., yes Russian audience will dress up more, and behave like it is a "theatre" an "art production", and not a "circus" or a "kids show".

The only art production ice shows I can recall in the US were John Curry's shows, which he brought to the Metropolitan Opera House, and the Ice Theatre of New York. Maybe Cranston had something as well?

Slutskaya was performing in Champions on Ice, which was a series of exhibition skates between loosely choreographed group numbers and interspersed with the Hula Hoop Girl and the ice acrobats. We're not talking high art here, whether it was she or Michelle Kwan was skating, although there were some individual programs over the years that were, albeit in isolation, but not theirs, however enjoyable their programs might be.

In London theatre, apparently they sell ice cream, but I have to think it's less noisy than candy wrappers.

At the London Coliseum they sell ice cream with their own logo on it inside the auditorium during opera and ballet. When I saw Madame Butterfly there, the young 20-somethings next to me, who were totally enthralled with the performance, left their empty ice cream cups and used spoons under the seats like it was Madison Square Garden.

In Seattle, they allow you to bring drinks into the theater in most major venues, as long as they're in official sippy cups. (I think I have almost as many of those as re-usable Trader Joe's shopping bags )

 

[SkateFanBerlin]

Ridiculous. All evidence points to a fixed result in Oly 2002 pairs. Not going to bother reading such nonsense.

I recall a couple years ago Raf saying that the time Slutskaya was out with a "heart" ailment was really drug related. She had been taking something illegal and her time away was to wash it out of her system.

 

[TAHbKA]

Popcorn at the movies is a cherished and enduring tradition - though probably not in Russia.

Certainly is in my country, which is a reason I don't go to the movies. Can't stand the smell.

Irina talking about a team doctor giving her doping to try to get her kicked off the team

Erm... reading comprehension much? She is talking about the doctor warning her her test results were weird and her going and immediately re-doing all the tests. Aka someone sabotajed her tests and the doctor told her about it.

 

[Tinami Amori]

I recall a couple years ago Raf saying that the time Slutskaya was out with a "heart" ailment was really drug related. She had been taking something illegal and her time away was to wash it out of her system.

Bull....
Raf never said anything like this, or made ANY comments about doping and Slutskaya’s heart condition.

It was an insinuation, made by Dave Lease (DL) of The Skating Lesson (TSL) way back during WADA/Russia issues.

Dave Lease took an interview from RA, it was posted on Golden Skate. Rafael does not say one word about Slutskaya. At some point Rafael “waved his head” in a way that made David Lease “assume” whatever he wanted to “assume”.

Based on his assumption, David Lease then added HIS OWN editorial comments saying that “Rafael did not say Slutskaya, but at some point, he waived his head, which probably meant that he thinks Slutskaya’s heart issues were invented, she was clearing her system. Because sometimes such heart issues can come from taking steroids”.

Here is a copy of the Golden Skate link, which has a small part of the interview. The TSL’s interview link was soon removed…
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/showthread.php?60017-Rafael-Arutyunyan-on-Russian-Doping

The link (removed) but the heading describes the story
http://www.theskatinglesson.com/tsl...fael-arutyunyan-on-the-russian-doping-scandal

That interview was translated on the Russian sites. There is a copy in Russian, of Dave Lease's "assumptions" and "editorial" (the russian poster did not speak english, google-translated it from english to russian, and the paragraph is not grammatically correct).

David Lease thinks...
Хотя Arutyuanyan не упоминает ее по имени, Ирина Слуцкая поднял брови, когда она вернулась конкуренция сильнее, чем когда-либо после того, как поставлен диагноз синдрома Чарга-Стросса, форма васкулита. Когда поставлен диагноз болезни, врачи сообщили, Слуцкая она имела увеличенное сердце. Увеличенные сердца известный побочный эффект использования стероидов.

Although Aratunyan never mentions her name, Irina Slutskaya, he frowned; (so that means that Rafael thinks) when she returned to competition, she was not as strong as she was before she was diagnosed with the heart condition. When diagnosed, Slutskaya's doctors determined she has an enlarged heart. Enlarged heart is known as a side effect of using steroids.

 

[illyria]

Certainly is in my country, which is a reason I don't go to the movies. Can't stand the smell.


Erm... reading comprehension much? She is talking about the doctor warning her her test results were weird and her going and immediately re-doing all the tests. Aka someone sabotajed her tests and the doctor told her about it.

Thank you for the clarification . I was under the impression that someone was trying to give her doping and that the team doctor was in on it and trying to make sure she took it. I was very wrong. Still someone trying to sabatoge her tests is very wild and I’m glad the team doctor let her know and all her tests were redone and clean.

 

[Eeyora1]

I think the book was “On Edge” by Jon Jackson from 2006 where he also alluded that irina’s heart issue was caused by steroids. I’m not 100% sure because my copy burnt in a fire.

It’s interesting hearing everybody’s perspective of the Salt Lake Pairs competition. I myself thought Elena and Anton were better. Unfortunately the American Media convinced everyone else in the US otherwise.

That competition is where I lost my respect for Scott Hamilton. “One more jump and the gold is theirs” I remember him saying. He then proceeded in the men’s competition to say Alexei Yagudin had surrendered the long program to Plushenko. Further more in the ladies he said Michelle Kwan was smart to double out her combo. A lot of Americans respect and trust Scott more than anybody in the skating community.


Does anybody have the link to Maria Butyrskaya’s post Olympic interview where she praised the American ladies and then slammed Slutskaya?

 

[UGG]

I wish Broadway theaters wouldn't sell candy and stuff, but they do now. Some say can hear other people's wrappers but I haven't had that experience yet. They're also really expensive. I heard two glasses of wine and a large size bag of M&Ms (only size they had) can cost $50. In London theatre, apparently they sell ice cream, but I have to think it's less noisy than candy wrappers.

Yes, the wine is very expensive. I think when I saw Hamilton a few months ago, it was like $20 for a double glass. But I only paid $40 for my ticket so I considered it a win LOL. Seeing a Broadway show, in general, has become very casual. Nothing like the 80's and prior. When I saw the Les Miz revival a few years ago, it was a Saturday evening show and people were wearing sweatpants. I would probably buy a hamburger if they sold them, though. hehehe

 

[tony]

Does anybody have the link to Maria Butyrskaya’s post Olympic interview where she praised the American ladies and then slammed Slutskaya?

I remember the interview, but just Butyrskaya being extremely complimentary of Sasha Cohen’s skating and saying she felt Kwan should’ve ended up with the gold medal on that night.

I don’t remember anything too anti-Irina.

 

[Eeyora1]

I remember the interview, but just Butyrskaya being extremely complimentary of Sasha Cohen’s skating and saying she felt Kwan should’ve ended up with the gold medal on that night.

I don’t remember anything too anti-Irina.

I recall her saying Slutskaya didn’t deserve her medal but she could have also been referring to “the gold” medal she got when she returned home.

 

[Tinami Amori]

Does anybody have the link to Maria Butyrskaya’s post Olympic interview where she praised the American ladies and then slammed Slutskaya?

https://www.kp.ru/daily/22607/19494/ (from 2002)
I believe she said the following (it is a long interview, so just the relevant parts).
- that at SLC all placements (in ladies singles) were pre-determined already. One of the 3 American ladies was to get the Gold, how else if the Olympics were in USA, it's unfortunate that the "lesser one" of the three (Hughes, not Kwan or Cohen) got it. That Irina's place was set from the start to be no higher than 2nd, and she should have just realized it in advance and accepted it.

А в США? - В Америке моей ошибки не было. (Делает паузу, взвешивая слова.) - То есть там все решали игры вне льда? - Шли игры не просто на высшем - на высочайшем уровне... Даже не игры - настолько все четко было расписано... - Что значит «расписано»? - Серебряная медаль Слуцкой - она была расписана. Ире можно было не плакать - надо было просто спокойно радоваться... - Но разве возможно расписать падение Кван, которой прочили «золото»? - Это личная трагедия Кван. А «золото» должна была получить любая из трех американок. Медаль досталась Хьюз - не лучшей из трех. Но Америка не могла отдать это первое место, ведь это почти заключительное олимпийское шоу перед хоккейным финалом.

 

[Deleted member 221]

Love this interview!

The number of delusions that Slutskaya has in that interview is amusing. My favorite two are that she was the first to do the triple sal-triple loop (nope, that would be Tara Lipinski who did it at 1996 Worlds and 1996 Skate Canada...

I think Slutskaya is right on this. Slutskaya did the triple salchow-triple loop at 1995 Trophee de France (1:30): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFPV4iao7wI. It was the only time I remember her doing it that season and one of her better executions of this combination.

Tara did the triple salchow-triple loop two weeks later at 1996 Junior Worlds (November 1995), with some underrotation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A31FpynMZT8 (2:43).

If these were the first two executions, Slutskaya is right. I don't think Slutskaya tried it in 1994-95, and she didn't do it at Skate America; the question is whether Tara did it earlier in 1995 - Nebelhorn?

 

[WillyElliot]

Brausseur and Eisler were without a doubt more overmarked than Sale and Pelletier. I have no idea how they have two Olympic bronze medals, especially the 1992 bronze medal after having 3 falls (1 in the SP, 2 in the FS). Kovarikova/Novotny and Shishkova/Naumov deserved those medals.

Lloyd was a strong men's pair skater. Isabelle was a novice level skater who let Lloyd throw her around. A totally mismatched couple (Lloyd had shown evidence of line and body position, unlike Isabelle). God, all those broken at the waist landings which were usually two-footed, the fact that even when she wasn't falling on her 2x it still was a VERY weak and ugly jump. They were meant for show skating in drag, and not the Olympics, IMO. She was just an awful skater, sorry. 1992 Olys was robbery that they placed above Kov/Nov. I didn't much like Shish/Nau so I don't care about that bronze, but let's just say their GOE on everything except lifts would have held them down and out of any podium.

 

[Marco]

https://www.kp.ru/daily/22607/19494/ (from 2002)
I believe she said the following (it is a long interview, so just the relevant parts).
- that at SLC all placements (in ladies singles) were pre-determined already. One of the 3 American ladies was to get the Gold, how else if the Olympics were in USA, it's unfortunate that the "lesser one" of the three (Hughes, not Kwan or Cohen) got it. That Irina's place was set from the start to be no higher than 2nd, and she should have just realized it in advance and accepted it.

1. I think it's a bit of a stretch to say the podium was pre-determined to be USA-RUS-USA, because the final outcome was a result of various 5-4 splits or split panels, and if any of those went the other way, Slutskaya would have won gold (i.e. if Sarah had placed 5th instead of 4th in the short, Michelle 2nd instead of 1st in the short, Irina beating Sarah in the free, etc).

2. Judging from the GPF immediately prior to the SLC Olympics, if the judging was rigged, it wouldn't be rigged for USA but for her.

3. Is this mentality "how else if the Olympics were in USA" how Slutskaya explained why Sotnikova won in 2014 or how she won in 2005?

4. This whole attitude just screams "sore loser".

 

[bardtoob]

1. I think it's a bit of a stretch to say the podium was pre-determined to be USA-RUS-USA, because the final outcome was a result of various 5-4 splits or split panels, and if any of those went the other way, Slutskaya would have won gold (i.e. if Sarah had placed 5th instead of 4th in the short, Michelle 2nd instead of 1st in the short, Irina beating Sarah in the free, etc).

2. Judging from the GPF immediately prior to the SLC Olympics, if the judging was rigged, it wouldn't be rigged for USA but for her.

3. Is this mentality "how else if the Olympics were in USA" how Slutskaya explained why Sotnikova won in 2014 or how she won in 2005?

4. This whole attitude just screams "sore loser".

To be fair, who really thinks Sarah was the best skater in SLC

At least Irina calls herself disabled compared to Lipinski and telegraphed her jumps compared to Kwan.

IS: That’s something to thank my mom. After every competition we would sit down and go through Michelle Kwan’s programmes in details. Mom would tell me stuff like: see, you beat her on a lutz, but she beat you on a spiral. Here while you are doing one jump it’s enough time for Michelle to land two.

A couple of days ago I opened Tara Lipinski’s Instagram, where she published her skate from the 1997 Worlds. Such a energizer bunny who goes with no stops with a beaming smile and does all those combos and jumps. We looked almost handicapped next to her. Even though we were doing the 3/3 combos and all that.

 

[Finsta]

Sarah skates the best LP that night. It was close skate between Irina and Kwan. I would’ve given edge to Kwan. Irina must review tapes and surely she should accept reality

 

[Japanfan]

I think the book was “On Edge” by Jon Jackson from 2006 where he also alluded that irina’s heart issue was caused by steroids. I’m not 100% sure because my copy burnt in a fire.

I distinctly recall a commentator saying that Irina had a heart condition, and that she took medication for it, which sometimes made her tired. Recall nothing about the condition being caused by steroids.

It’s interesting hearing everybody’s perspective of the Salt Lake Pairs competition. I myself thought Elena and Anton were better. Unfortunately the American Media convinced everyone else in the US otherwise.

And did the Russian media convince everyone in Russia that B&S were better?

Probably, but even so, people are able to make their own decisions about who they think was best in a given competition, and may even disagree with commentators - particularly in the case of a close call. Plenty of people in the west thought B&S were better regardless of commentators' opinions, and some Russians thought S&P were better.

That competition is where I lost my respect for Scott Hamilton. “One more jump and the gold is theirs” I remember him saying.

He probably believed it. I felt the same and expected S/P to win.

He then proceeded in the men’s competition to say Alexei Yagudin had surrendered the long program to Plushenko. Further more in the ladies he said Michelle Kwan was smart to double out her combo. A lot of Americans respect and trust Scott more than anybody in the skating community.

Well, he probably believed that Plush surrender to Yags, although I never had that thought myself.

I respect Scott, but don't particularly like him. Something about his voice grates on me.

 

[Tinami Amori]

Here are few more paragraphs from Butyskaya's post Olympics 2002 interview, explaining her view about medals in Ladies Singles.
https://www.sovsport.ru/articles/35799-marija-butyrskaja-pozor-i-prestuplenie

Из-за этой Олимпиады я осталась в большом спорте. И никто не имел права так распоряжаться моей судьбой. То, что вытворяли — позор, преступление! Я чуть ли не единственная, кто безошибочно прыгнул в короткой программе тройные флип и лутц. Но откуда-то взялись оценки 4,9 и 5,2. Естественно, я старалась сделать все, что могла. Но шансов подняться на пьедестал у меня не оставалось. Честно говоря, когда я закончила выступления в короткой программе, то подумала, что буду первой. А Слуцкая будет "разбираться" с Кван в борьбе за второе место. Но когда я увидела свои оценки, мне не то, что нехорошо стало, но комок к горлу подступил. Такого удара я еще не получала от спорта, от фигурного катания. Я поняла, что даже если бы "прыгнула через голову" в произвольной композиции, то все равно оценки были бы аналогичными.

I stayed in sports because of these Olympics (2002). Nobody had the right to treat my faith so (badly). What took place (at the event, with judging) - is shame and a crime! I was practically the only one who had a clean 3F and 3L in the SP. But out of the blue came marks 4.9 and 5.2. Of course i tried to do my best. But they left me no chances to be on the podium. To tell you honestly, when i finished my SP, i thought i would be in 1st. And then let Slutskaya and Kwan fight it out for 2nd place. But when i saw my marks, not only i felt ill, i had a spasm in my throat. Never had i received such a blow in figure skating, in sports. I realized that even if i jump over my head in the FS, my marks will stay in the same range.

Я с самого начала предполагала, что нам будет очень тяжело противостоять американкам, потому что они могли завоевать золото только в женском одиночном катании. Более того, после короткой программы судьи, уверена, не без помощи хозяев Олимпийских игр настолько грамотно распределили места, что мне, например, сквозь кордон из Кван, Хьюз и Коэн пробиться было невозможно. Причем ставки были сделаны не на конкретную личность, а на любую из трех этих одиночниц. Кто-то из них должен был чисто откататься. Не могло быть такого, чтобы все упали. И, пожалуйста, получили результат - олимпийскую чемпионку с четвертого места в короткой программе.

I estimated from the start, that it will be very hard for us (me and Irina) to skate against Americans, because their chance for Gold was only in Ladies Singles. Further more, after the SP, i am sure, the judges, not without help from the "hosts of the Olympics", quite carefully and wisely pre-allocated the placements, to such extent that i could not break through the shield made up of Kwan, Hughes, Cohen. Clearly, the bet was not placed on any particular girl, but on anyone (who breaks forward). (it was assumed) that one of them would skate clean. It would be impossible for all three to fall. And there it was, the results - and Olympic Champion came from 4th place in the SP.

Ира, для того, чтобы завоевать золотую медаль, должна была, как мне кажется, попытаться прыгнуть каскад из двух тройных прыжков. В Америке ей нужно было это делать! Слуцкая сильный человек, я считаю. И если бы она прыгнула "ультра-си", то могла бы "выдрать" победу.

For Irina to win a Gold medal, i think, she would probably had to try to do a 3x3 combination. The event was in America and she needed to do that. Slutskaya is a strong person i think. If she would have jumped an x-factor jump, she could have possibly "tear out" a win.

 

[giselle23]

It wasn’t just Scott Hamilton. It was (Canadian) Sandra Bezic, too. I blame both of them for giving the ISU the excuse to ditch the 6.0 system in favor of the the IJS, which made cheating even harder to detect and prove.

 

[VGThuy]

Honestly though, the way the people in the arena erupted after S/P's performance and their reaction to the score, it wasn't just Scott and Sandra. Tai Babilonia said she was in the bathroom in the arena after the LP and this lady saw her and recognized her and was so upset at the result and asked why should she continue watching this sport, to which Tai (who thought S/P should have won) didn't have an answer to. Although I think B/S deserved to win, I think people either aren't being entirely honest about why the Western media and those who watched it in the U.S. (at least) had the knee-jerk reaction the way they did or need to take off their knowledgeable fan glasses and try to see what made S/P's program so appealing to the point where their loss convinced so many people that the sport was rigged. To me, a lot of things happened that made the optics seems bad for the sport for the U.S. casual fan who only knew landing a jump = win.

Sure the media didn't help and they sure didn't give a frogs on ice type of analysis to explain why under the rules B/S were also deserving winners, and the whole West v. East thing certainly didn't help matters, along with the idea of political bloc judging on East/West lines, and Russia/Soviet Union having that massive winning streak and here comes these TV-friendly seemingly nice Canadians who had a chance to topple the "machine" with the French judge scandal making things a hundred times worse. However, I do think for casual people (in America who had ties and memories of Love Story) they preferred S/P's charismatic/romantic/snow ball fight/tragic death performance and thought they were clean in the way casual watchers do, so it can't all be on Scott and Sandra. Honestly, Scott and Sandra were FAR from the only ones in that arena who thought what they thought. And yes I know there were people there who thought B/S should have won too, I'm not disputing that.

 

[Eeyora1]

Honestly though, the way the people in the arena erupted after S/P's performance and their reaction to the score, it wasn't just Scott and Sandra. Tai Babilonia said she was in the bathroom in the arena after the LP and this lady saw her and recognized her and was so upset at the result and asked why should she continue watching this sport, to which Tai (who thought S/P should have won) didn't have an answer to. Although I think B/S deserved to win, I think people either aren't being entirely honest about why the Western media and those who watched it in the U.S. (at least) had the knee-jerk reaction the way they did or need to take off their knowledgeable fan glasses and try to see what made S/P's program so appealing to the point where their loss convinced so many people that the sport was rigged. To me, a lot of things happened that made the optics seems bad for the sport for the U.S. casual fan who only knew landing a jump = win.

Sure the media didn't help and they sure didn't give a frogs on ice type of analysis to explain why under the rules B/S were also deserving winners, and the whole West v. East thing certainly didn't help matters, along with the idea of political bloc judging on East/West lines, and Russia/Soviet Union having that massive winning streak and here comes these TV-friendly seemingly nice Canadians who had a chance to topple the "machine" with the French judge scandal making things a hundred times worse. However, I do think for casual people (in America who had ties and memories of Love Story) they preferred S/P's charismatic/romantic/snow ball fight/tragic death performance and thought they were clean in the way casual watchers do, so it can't all be on Scott and Sandra. Honestly, Scott and Sandra were FAR from the only ones in that arena who thought what they thought. And yes I know there were people there who thought B/S should have won too, I'm not disputing that.

I agree the American audience could definitely relate to Love Story. Especially the baby boomers who were the figure skating audience. I remember being seventeen and thinking to the rest of the world Jaime and David are just two kids skating in grey sweaters.

 

[bardtoob]

Sarah skates the best LP that night.

It is easy to forget the value of an apparently "clean" program back then.

Now, I just notice that her first combination is a 2.5S-2.5Lp, which is something I wouldn't have even known how to identity back in 2002.