Best Olympic Bronze Medal Winning Ice Dance Team

[VGThuy]

Take the question as you will...it could either be best team overall, best performance at the actual Olympics, who you like the best, who had your favorite programs, etc.

Here are links to all the dances I could find on YouTube. Watching these in order really gives you a look into an entire history of Olympic ice dance.

1. 1976: Colleen O'Connor/James Millns (USA)
   1. Compulsory Dance No. 1: Quickstep
   2. Compulsory Dance No. 2: The Killian
   3. Turn down the volume of your headphones before clicking the FD as the sound of the first two videos above are super low.
   4. Free Dance: Some Funky mid-1970s music (something Africano)/Send in the Clowns/"Jet Dancin'"(?)
2. 1980: Irina Moiseeva/Andrei Minenkov (URS)
   1. Can't find videos of their compulsories
   2. Free Dance: Don't know the music but it's a cool program (Worlds because the Olympics video I found was poor quality)
3. 1984: Marina Klimova/Sergei Ponomarenko (URS)
   1. Can't find videos of their compulsories
   2. Original Set Pattern: Paso Doble
   3. Free Dance: The Circus Princess
4. 1988: Tracy Wilson/Robert McCall (CAN)
   1. Can't find a video of their Compulsory No. 1: Killian
   2. Compulsory No. 2: Paso Doble
   3. Compulsory No. 3: Viennese Waltz
   4. Original Set Pattern: Tango
   5. Free Dance: Elite Syncopations set to Scott Joplin music
5. 1992: Maya Usova/Alexander Zhulin (URS)
   1. Compulsory Dance No. 1: Paso Doble
   2. Compulsory Dance No. 2: The Blues
   3. Original Dance: Polka
   4. Free Dance: Vivaldi's Four Seasons (HD Version with limited camera angles)
   5. Free Dance: Vivaldi's Four Seasons (SD as broadcast on television)
6. 1994: Jayne Torvill/Christopher Dean (GBR)
   1. Compulsory Dance No. 1: Starlight Waltz
   2. Compulsory Dance No. 2: The Blues
   3. Original Dance: Rhumba D'Amour (placed 1st here)
   4. Free Dance: Let's Face the Music and Dance
7. 1998: Marina Anissina/Gwendal Peizerat (FRA)
   1. Compulsory Dance No. 1: Golden Waltz
   2. Compulsory Dance No. 2: Argentine Tango
   3. Original Dance: Jive: Snatch and Grab It
   4. Free Dance: Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev
8. 2002: Barbara Fusar-Poli/Maurizio Margaglio (ITA)
   1. Compulsory Dance No. 1: Quickstep
   2. Compulsory Dance No. 1: Blues
   3. Original Dance: Flamenco/Paso Doble: Espana Cani (the audience were really excited for them)
   4. Free Dance: I Will Survive
9. 2006: Elena Grushina/Ruslan Goncharov (UKR)
   1. Can't find a video of their compulsory dance
   2. Original Dance: Samba (Carneval of Batreada)/Rhumba (Historia de un Amor)/Samba (Mujer Latina)
   3. Free Dance: The Feeling Begins
10. 2010: Oksana Domnina/Maxim Shabalin (RUS)
    1. Compulsory Dance: Tango Romantica (placed 1st here)
    2. Original Dance: Folk: "Aboriginal" (time-stamped)
    3. Free Dance: The Double Life of Veronique with Requiem for a Dream (time-stamped)
11. 2014: Elena Ilinykh/Nikita Katsalapov (RUS)
    1. Short Dance: Finnstep/Quickstep (Bei Mir Bistu Shein), Slow Foxtrot (Sixteen Tons), Quickstep (Sing, Sing, Sing)
    2. Free Dance: Swan Lake
12. 2018: Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani (USA)
    1. Short Dance: Rhumba/Mambo (Mambo No. 5), Cha Cha (Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White), and Samba (Mambo Jambo/Mambo no. 8) Team Event video b/c couldn't find the video from the individual
    2. Free Dance: Paradise

I have to admit there was ONE video I hesitated a bit before linking. Took a lot for me to not make some sort of disparaging comment. I bet you guys know which one.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Without having watched any videos yet and just going from memory I’m gravitating towards 1992, 1994, 2002 and 2018 but I need to sit on this

If I could vote for 1/2 of the team maybe I would also consider 2014. Lol

 

[VGThuy]

Without having watched any videos yet and just going from memory I’m gravitating towards 1992, 1994, 2002 and 2018 but I need to sit on this

If I could vote for 1/2 of the team maybe I would also consider 2014. Lol

I haven’t voted yet because I’m stuck on two teams.

 

[jamesy]

Without having watched any videos yet and just going from memory

You have to watch the videos, that's what the thread tag says!

 

[tony]

If we are going with overall team for any reason, has to be Torvill/Dean. But I didn't love them as much in their comeback season so that would be a tough vote for best bronze medal performance, even if that was the closest race between three teams in an Olympics.

If we are going for performance, I can quite confidently say it wouldn't have been Fusar-Poli/Margaglio, Grushina/Goncharov, or Domnina/Shabalin. All three had meh performances in one or more portions and I think other teams in each instance made the case to be ahead of them.

Anissina/Peizerat weren't as 'on' in Nagano as they were elsewhere, but they'd still be at or near the top. Shibutanis were great and really held it together there, but they wouldn't be my choice because the FD, for me, was less effective than 2016. Ilinykh/Katsalapov were great and very high up my list, but what could've been..

I'm surprising myself here, but I'm giving my vote to Usova/Zhulin in 1992.

 

[VGThuy]

You have to watch the videos, that's what the thread tag says!

I was wondering how many people would actually read the tags much less follow them,

 

[mjb52]

I just went with top performance in the Olympics itself, easy call for me to go with I/K on this one. I know there's criticism of the choreography but when you have the magic you have the magic. U/Z my next choice which is sort of funny. Oh, or maybe A/P are tied with them. That's a tough call.

 

[alchemy void]

Damn. Those bronze medalists from 02-10 are BLEAK.

 

[jamesy]

Damn. Those bronze medalists from 02-10 are BLEAK.

Those are the videos I went to first.

 

[alchemy void]

Those are the videos I went to first.

I've always been a bit of a Hermes House Band groupie...

HD is not kind to FP/M's FD at all--just a godawful program, executed very poorly. And I actually loved their Lord of the Dance and Romeo&Juliet free dances, which were MUCH more effective at camouflaging Maurizio's weaknesses and infinitely better constructed. B/K easily deserved bronze over this slop.

Back on topic, I haven't yet voted in the poll as I'm deeply torn between A/P and Shibutanis.

 

[VGThuy]

I've always been a bit of a Hermes House Band groupie...

HD is not kind to FP/M's FD at all--just a godawful program, executed very poorly. And I actually loved their Lord of the Dance and Romeo&Juliet free dances, which were MUCH more effective at camouflaging Maurizio's weaknesses and infinitely better constructed. B/K easily deserved bronze over this slop.

Back on topic, I haven't yet voted in the poll as I'm deeply torn between A/P and Shibutanis.

This is was where I was stuck. Honestly, had A/P skated in Nagano the way they did at Worlds a month later, it would have been even closer. That Nagano audience was kind of dead. The Olympics can be a mix-bag because you don't only get skating fans in the audience.

 

[alchemy void]

This is was where I was stuck. Honestly, had A/P skated in Nagano the way they did at Worlds a month later, it would have been even closer. That Nagano audience was kind of dead. The Olympics can be a mix-bag because you don't only get skating fans in the audience.

Yes, although the crowd at Worlds in Minneapolis was so pro-Bourne, A/P still didn't get the reception they deserved for both that immaculate OD and masterpiece FD.

Not to sound too much like an old biddy boomer permanently stuck in the past, but watching all these old programs really makes me miss 6.0 era dance so much. I could barely make it through dance at Worlds.

 

[VGThuy]

Yes, although the crowd at Worlds in Minneapolis was so pro-Bourne, A/P still didn't get the reception they deserved for both that immaculate OD and masterpiece FD.

Not to sound too much like an old biddy boomer permanently stuck in the past, but watching all these old programs really makes me miss 6.0 era dance so much. I could barely make it through dance at Worlds.

I actually thought the 1998 Worlds audience, though pro-B/K, were really supportive of A/P and gave them an excellent reception, just judging from the audience reaction from the video (I actually thought the extra fire they had at Worlds was due to them feeding off the audience). Maybe there was something I'm missing.

 

[Vash01]

Based on Olympic performance alone, I picked Ilynikh/ Katsalapov in 2014.

 

[MsZem]

Damn. Those bronze medalists from 02-10 are BLEAK.

DomShabs did a fabulous CD in Vancouver, and that's the best I can say about all three teams.

But really it was superb. They should have led by more.

ETA: and their FD introduced me to that gorgeous piece of music from The Double Life of Veronique, so it wasn't a total loss

 

[VGThuy]

DomShabs did a fabulous CD in Vancouver, and that's the best I can say about all three teams.

But really it was superb. They should have led by more.

ETA: and their FD introduced me to that gorgeous piece of music from The Double Life of Veronique, so it wasn't a total loss

That CD really was fire.

 

[nuge]

Domnina and Shabalin. Their CD got 1st place. Unfortunately they were against D/W and V/M and with that awful OD and his bad strapped up knee ended up with bronze .I loved them. As commentators said any other olympics that FD would have been good enough for gold but against these two teams no

 

[maatTheViking]

I appreciate you finding all the videos. I'll see if I can watch (though I have my two favorite teams there, so I'm biased)

 

[VGThuy]

Domnina and Shabalin. Their CD got 1st place. Unfortunately they were against D/W and V/M and with that awful OD and his bad strapped up knee ended up with bronze .I loved them. As commentators said any other olympics that FD would have been good enough for gold but against these two teams no

One thing I really appreciated about DomShabs pre-Linichuk was just how much content they were able to do. When he was healthy, they had that raw power and Russian technique that really would have made them so formidable in Vancouver. Did they rush him out of recovery in time for 2009 Worlds and his knees just got worse or was his injury after 2009 Worlds?

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

You have to watch the videos, that's what the thread tag says!

Lol give a guy a break, between the White Lotus on HBO, my work schedule and housewives and below deck my schedule is fully loaded!!

 

[Vash01]

One thing I really appreciated about DomShabs pre-Linichuk was just how much content they were able to do. When he was healthy, they had that raw power and Russian technique that really would have made them so formidable in Vancouver. Did they rush him out of recovery in time for 2009 Worlds and his knees just got worse or was his injury after 2009 Worlds?

Domnina Shabalin was yet another team that could not achieve their potential due to injuries. It still amazes me that Platov was able to skate through hus injuries.

 

[escaflowne9282]

1980: Irina Moiseeva/Andrei Minenkov (URS)

1. Can't find videos of their compulsories
2. Free Dance: Don't know the music but it's a cool program (Worlds because the Olympics video I found was poor quality

It sounds like an instrumental version of Starmania?? I definitely heard "Les uns contre les autres" in there. Pretty voidy choice for 1980 .
Note: I would never have heard of Starmania, nor been curious enough to listen to it were it not for the Broadway RD and all the Francophone posters hoping someone would skate to it. Then there was also Dennis Ten and W&P's tribute program

 

[briancoogaert]

Marina Annissina & Gwendal Peizerat's 1998 FD was so fantastic, very powerful. I love this program (so much more than their 2002 program).

 

[gk_891]

Marina Annissina & Gwendal Peizerat's 1998 FD was so fantastic, very powerful. I love this program (so much more than their 2002 program).

Not only was it so artistically powerful but it had seamless content as well. I honestly thought they should've placed second at the Olympics. Their programs had much more ambitious content than Krylova & Ovsiannikov's. On another note, I also had A&P ahead of K&O at the 1996 Worlds, 1997 Worlds (A&P's programs really got the thumbs down that year but I still thought they were significantly better than either K&O or B&K), 1998 Worlds, and 1999 Worlds.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

I believe reading somewhere that Wilson and McCall's free dance was considered by several important judges the standard other teams should emulate. They really should have won the gold in Calgary with that skate, just as Torvill & Dean should have won a second gold with their comeback skate in Lillehammer.

 

[mjb52]

I love A & P and agree that in '98 K & O were not at their best (though I still rooted for them out of loyalty); however, in 1997 K & O were at their peak and should have won Worlds.

As for T & D, in '94 they were somewhat of a shadow of their former selves in the free. Why try to please the IOC? Why not be themselves? They only ended up with the bronze anyway. That's something I've never really understood.

 

[gk_891]

I love A & P and agree that in '98 K & O were not at their best (though I still rooted for them out of loyalty); however, in 1997 K & O were at their peak and should have won Worlds.

As for T & D, in '94 they were somewhat of a shadow of their former selves in the free. Why try to please the IOC? Why not be themselves? They only ended up with the bronze anyway. That's something I've never really understood.

I disagree that K&O should've won Worlds in 1997. In the Golden Waltz CD, they made a huge error in the Golden Waltz CD. Towards the end of the first pattern after the right inside swing of the open choctaw in foxtrot position, K&O failed to successfully change into a kilian position. That not only caused them to lose unison and go off-timing for the rest of that sequence in the corner of the ice but they also failed to skate the left inside swing of the open choctaw in an actual kilian position. The left inside edge of that part of the choctaw was also very shallow, shaky, not in sync with the music, and not in unison with one another. I thought they should've been outside of the top 5 for that dance. I also had them no higher than fourth for the Rhumba CD as I thought both Anissina & Peizerat and Moniotte & Lavanchy handled that dance better than they did. I did have K&O 2nd in the tango OD but I had them no higher than third in the FD. Masquerade Waltz certainly was very dramatic and commanded a lot of people's attention but the content was way below that of not only Grishuk & Platov's free dance (I still had them ahead even with their errors) but also Anissina & Peizerat's free dance. Both teams were way ahead of K&O in that regard.

 

[thvu]

Thank you for your analysis @gk_891 . I always learn so much from your posts.

 

[caseyedwards]

Domnina and Shabalin! No ice team ever looked more stunning in a CD! Fact end of story

 

[gk_891]

Thank you for your analysis @gk_891 . I always learn so much from your posts.

You're very welcome! I myself am still learning a lot about ice dance. There's so much to learn because there are so many intricacies to the sport.