Best Male partner (pick 2) in a Pair from the Past

[Vash01]

There are different kinds of male partners that make a pair great.
One kind presents his partner and makes her the star. Another is an equal partner who gets as much attention as the lady. A few are more expressive than the lady and yet make it work.

I have selected only pairs from the past, none of the current ones.

I have excluded the pairs before 1986 partly due to the limited number of options in a poll. So you don't see Randy Gardner, and Peter Carruthers, and even some of the more recent ones. Hence the 'Other' option.

Others that I thought of were - Vasiliev, Makarov, Naumov, Eisler, Tong, Moskovich, Tikhonov.

So the poll Question is :
who was the best pairs male partner from the past?

For this poll you can select Two and tell us why you selected them.

 

[Skate Talker]

Paul Martini

 

[mjb52]

Dimitriev stands alone for me.

 

[jenny12]

I would go with Grinkov and Dmitriev in terms of how they supported their partners as well as their reliability. I think Sikharulidze moved the most beautifully but he was less reliable than the other two.

 

[shine]

Anton Sikharulidze <3

 

[flyingsit]

David Pelletier. In the years he competed with Jamie Sale I don't recall him making a single mistake.

 

[miffy]

Dmitriev because he presented Mishkutenok so perfectly and the fact he won with 2 partners is just a bonus.

I’ve gone for Massot just as a personal favourite and so strong and expressive by the last season he competed, but part of me is feeling wrong I didn’t tick Grinkov - obviously he was wonderful.

 

[alchemy void]

No Todd Sand?

 

[floskate]

Grinkov and for me, Alexander Zaitsev. Of all the performances I have seen of Zaitsev with Rodnina from 1973 Europeans to 1980 Olympics, I saw him make exactly two mistakes. He was an absolute ROCK and even Dick Button commented on how much he improved during their career to the point where she looked up to him as the leader of their on ice partnership which was not teh case obviously when they started out.

 

[ЭPiKUilyam]

Dmitriev and Sikharulidze. I'd say Grinkov, but to me he always just looked like a male understudy to the pair, the one who knows the steps and choreo but is only there as a warm body for Katia to skate with. Imagine if Grinkov actually emoted or expressed himself through his skating, the pair would have been even greater.

 

[SmallFairy]

There’s no way I can choose between Dmitriev, Grinkov and Sikharulidze. But if I absolutely have to…. Dmitriev. Wow, that man!

 

[Vash01]

There’s no way I can choose between Dmitriev, Grinkov and Sikharulidze. But if I absolutely have to…. Dmitriev. Wow, that man!

You are allowed two votes but even that is tough. Who would you leave out, out of these three great partners?

I think Dmitriev revolutionized they way male partners in pairs skated. He did not take a back seat to either of his partners. He was just as passionate as them And still presented their flexibility in a beautiful way. Plus he won OGM with two different partners, which is rare. Only Rodnina has done that, IIRC.

 

[puglover]

I picked David Pelletier because I never remember seeing him personally miss an element in all the times I saw them compete. I also remember hearing Jamie say the reason she was so consistent on landing throw jumps was because David threw her the exact same every time.

 

[briancoogaert]

Sergei Grinkov and Anton Sikharulidze <3

 

[Brenda_Bottems]

Despite recent questionable transgressions,I still voted for David Pelletier.

-BB

 

[blue_idealist]

I would go with Grinkov and Dmitriev in terms of how they supported their partners as well as their reliability. I think Sikharulidze moved the most beautifully but he was less reliable than the other two.

Agreed, and it's also a plus for Dmitriev that he was able to work with two different partners and get the OGM with both.