Favorite Female Double Axel's and why ( limit 4)

arakwafan2006

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We are officially in the off season so I figured i'd lighten the mood. Who are your favorite Double Axel's by women? Here are mine though not necessarily in a particular order.

1- Oksana Baiul- Prior to her turning pro, her's was always great and I loved the pattern and snap she got on that jump.Later on, she stalked the jump big time but I actually liked it LOL.
2- Midori Ito- I don't really think this needs an explanation.I will say that I love how she was the one skater throughout time that turned a leg wrap into an effective jump technique. She actually used it to control the height and trajectory of the element which was amazing.
3- Michelle Kwan circa Riedell boots- Her Axel never lost speed and had a lot of height and flow.It was a hallmark of hers as a younger skater.
4- Anna Rechnio- It was textbook. The step through, speed and power were wonderful
 

gk_891

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I always loved Midori's for its height and power. Not to mention the entry she sometimes did going into it.

This one might sound strange but there's a Canadian skater from the 80s named Charlene Wong who had a strong double axel. Part of me wonders though if I was impressed with her double axels since triple jumps were her nemesis.
 

arakwafan2006

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2,907
I always loved Midori's for its height and power. Not to mention the entry she sometimes did going into it.

This one might sound strange but there's a Canadian skater from the 80s named Charlene Wong who had a strong double axel. Part of me wonders though if I was impressed with her double axels since triple jumps were her nemesis.

I saw her live and she skating to a song by Tamia. Her Axel was good! She coached Mirai Nagasu who had a strong Axel as well
 

gk_891

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I saw her live and she skating to a song by Tamia. Her Axel was good! She coached Mirai Nagasu who had a strong Axel as well

Oh ok, so it wasn't just my imagination then. Yeah, I remember being impressed with her double axels in 88 and 89.
 

Coco

Rotating while Russian!
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18,535
Ksenia Stobova...just amazing, landing position and glide to die for
Peggy Fleming....2 feet high, from a spread eagle, and this was before sports medicine was invented, lol!
Baiul...just a gorgeous jump...wish she'd stayed healthy and eligible, because I think a 3a might have been possible
Ito ... loved how she would pretend she was going into a lutz, then turn on her takeoff foot and spring into the air
 

Fiero425

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2,302
When I think of 2-Axels, I imagine Surya Bonaly performing them from a standing position while others need to stroke around the ice in a figure 8 before stepping up into it! I had stopped watching FS for a few years, nauseated with the top skaters and the constant fawning of Witt, Boitano, & Hamilton! Robin Cousins was my last fave back in that era! The Kerrigan/Harding drama brought me back in '94 and I was instantly taken by Surya; the effortlessness of that jump and others! That season, she skated to Vivaldi's "4 Seasons" and at the start of the program she just does a 2-Axel with no real preparation; sometimes 2 and goes about the rest of her program! It remained simple for her to execute while others need to build all kinds of momentum going into the jump! I think the reason it was easy is she trained to do a triple, but never performed it in her live program! It was the same reason Sasha Cohen "over-rotated" some of her jumps; she practiced quads! :rolleyes: :oksana1: :sarah1: :sasha1: :shizuka1:
 

Areski

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I always loved Midori's for its height and power. Not to mention the entry she sometimes did going into it.

This one might sound strange but there's a Canadian skater from the 80s named Charlene Wong who had a strong double axel. Part of me wonders though if I was impressed with her double axels since triple jumps were her nemesis.

Actually there were many ladies from the 80s who had very good double axels, often in surprisingly stark contrast to their lacking or otherwise poor triple jumps.

Now there are many ladies with triples up to lutz but otherwise so-so double axel (Radionova, Medvedeva - spring to mind).
 

Vash01

Fan of Yuzuru, T&M, P&C
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Midori undoubtedly number one

Sasha Cohen had a strong double axel.

Others:

Liza Tuk
Michelle Kwan
Mirai Nagasu
Gracie Gold

Already mentioned-
Peggy Fleming's spread eagles into 2A, back in spread eagles
 

AngieNikodinovLove

Frangi & Piazza & Paul & Hektor & Theo. Oh My! 😝
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^^^^^ I just read this thread and I was going to say Nicole Bobek. Dick Button: "She can do a double axel with her hands tied behind her back."

Others: Nancy Kerrigan, Kristi Yamaguchi (I loved all her jumps), Julia Sebestyen, Shizuka Arakawa
 

Fiero425

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2,302
Two of my favorites among current skaters are Karen Chen and Mirai Nagasu.

I love me a good axel.

OMG, Mirai; what a head case! Wins Nat'ls so young in '08 and is almost an afterthought; long after Wagner, Gold, Chen, & even Beatrisa Liang & Caroline Zhang if I can invoke an "also-ran" or 2 from the past! What was it; pressure, expectations, her rivalries with the other girls? :rolleyes: :sarah1: :sasha1: :revenge:
 

antmanb

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Shout out to Krisztina Czako, for the most different difficult ways to get into the 2A

If only she'd been able to pull off this one

:swoon: Krisztina Czako! I'd totally forgotten how much I loved her programmes!

Some of those transitions into the double axel are insane! And the spring she got into the jump and the flow out, despite the difficult transitions!

Thank you for reminding me!
 

antmanb

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:swoon: love that!

Would you call the jumps she did into it half inside axels, with a reverse inside axel before the double axel?
 

gkelly

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:swoon: love that!

Would you call the jumps she did into it half inside axels, with a reverse inside axel before the double axel?

I would say:
half-inside axel, half-inside axel, lunge, reverse half-axel (from normal outside edge axel takeoff in the other direction), lunge, double axel

Half-axel (1 revolution, landing forward) is sometimes also called a bell jump.

I don't know that there's any name for the 1-revolution forward inside takeoff jump that she does two of here, so I just call it half-inside axel. I've seen it occasionally from other skaters.
E.g., here
 

floskate

Vacant
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Midori Ito number 1 without doubt. 1988 Olympics SP - Lutz approach, counter turn entry, hands on hops in the air and the landing transition into attitude. Best. Double. Axel. Ever!!

Also loved Elena Vodorezova's - absolutely massive length and height back in the day.

Others from that time that spring to mind are Christine Errath and Gerti Schanderl.
 

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