1976 Olympics Ladies Free Skate - watch now on the Olympic Channel on Facebook!

[olympic]

I always wondered about Dorothy and triples. Did she ever do one in a competition? She was built powerfully and had good technique. She probably could have done a 3S in competition. I wonder why she never bothered. Coaching decision or her decision?

 

[bardtoob]

It would be fun to do this competition on FSU like we do the LP at Worlds or Skate America.

 

[bardtoob]

Regarding Dorothy's 3S, all I find are somewhat questionable articles like this:

Jumping Back in Time / '76 champ Hamill is no leaper

"At my age," Dorothy Hamill keeps saying . . .At her age, it is difficult to find the right music for her skating programs, she said. At her age, she has "no delusions." At her age, "it wouldn't be sa

www.newsday.com

that say she had an inconsistent 3S or a 3S for about a week.

"I had a triple salchow for about a week once," Hamill said. "But in those
days, you couldn't risk falling. I did the double Axel [21/2 revolutions] in
competition. I did a couple of double Axels last year for the first time in
about 12 years. But that's the most difficult I do, or ever did, in
competition."

 

[floskate]

Watched a bit. It was crazy to see how clean the dresses were and then you see Fratianne in that warm-up group all blinged out ready to disco. I always thought Dorothy had the best timing because she skated right before the triples era started to hit. It seemed her four years were a continuation of what Peggy and Janet Lynn’s era started regarding jumps -coming off of Carol Heiss/Tenley Albright and the battle of the double axels.

Interesting this because the writing was clearly on the wall. No one was winning anything after 1976 without at least a triple jump, preferably two. (Enter Linda with her toe and sal that were for the most part pretty consistent from 1976 Worlds onwards). Of all the competitors here at least 11 were actively planning triples in their freeskates. I didn't inlcude Kristofics-Binder because she was only 12 here and got her triples later on). Of course the number of skaters who executed their planned triples was a lot less but this was early days in terms of regular triples for ladies.

I always understood that Dorothy did practice a triple salchow but as long as she was winning the long program without one, why risk it? Her LP placements at Worlds from 1972 to 1975 were 5,4,1,1 so heading into 1976 she was clearly regarded as the best free skater in the world despite the fact that Christine Errath and Diane de Leeuw both had triples. In 1976 it clearly wasn't a requirement for the judges but from the next season on, it certainly was.

 

[VGThuy]

Thank you for the historical context. I’m not familiar with this period so it’s great to be educated about it. Honestly, when Dorothy skated like that, it’s hard not to give it to her in comparison to her competition. Her posture and carriage was simply divine. She also had speed and ease throughout that routine. She truly made it look so easy and she perfected the jumps she did. Now, if she competed against the likes of Janet Lynn in free skating, then that’d be a different story.

 

[olympic]

Thank you for the historical context. I’m not familiar with this period so it’s great to be educated about it. Honestly, when Dorothy skated like that, it’s hard not to give it to her in comparison to her competition. Her posture and carriage was simply divine. She also had speed and ease throughout that routine. She truly made it look so easy and she perfected the jumps she did. Now, if she competed against the likes of Janet Lynn in free skating, then that’d be a different story.

They were close to one another at '73 Nationals: Dorothy was a rising star and Janet was competing in her final season. IIRC, Janet edged her in the LP.

Interesting was that Lynn and Magnusson competed at '73 Worlds. Since triples were few and far between, I wonder how they would've fared in 1976 if they had stuck around. Maybe this belongs in my Missing thread!

 

[pollyanna]

They were close to one another at '73 Nationals: Dorothy was a rising star and Janet was competing in her final season. IIRC, Janet edged her in the LP.

You're right, Janet did win the LP at 1973 Nationals, but Dorothy won the SP.