Figure skaters that drew you into Figure Skating?

[KatieC]

Toller, Babalonia and Gardner, Robin Cousins.

 

[nuge]

T/D Gordeeva/Grinkov Katarina Witt.Then I latched on big time watching G/Platov and now really love ID most of all!

 

[briancoogaert]

Figure Skating is my first passion.
But I started to follow FS very closely at 1992 Olympics. So, Kristi Yamaguchi, Laetitia Hubert and so on !

 

[skatesindreams]

John Misha Petkevich, Janet Lynn, and the Protopopovs.

I will never ever get over my first loves!

Add Toller to the list; and you have mine.
Of course, there are others who I have admired and followed, since.

 

[Nomad]

Brians Boitano & Orser, Midori Ito

 

[Jot the Dot Dot]

Liz Manley!

 

[alchemy void]

In chronological order

Nancy Kerrigan
Tonya Harding
Oksana Baiul

Maria Butyrskaya

 

[kittysk8ts]

For me, it all started with John Curry when I was a wee girl. Then when I was few years older, Torvill and Dean, Brian Orser, Tracy Wilson and Rob McCall. There are so many that I admire, past and present

Honourable mention to Michelle Kwan and Patrick Chan and Virtue/Moir none of whom drew me into the sport, but have inspired me and made me love it even more.

 

[AidenAiena]

Technically, mine would be because of the Nancy/Tonya incident in 1994. I was only 11 and had been ice skating a few times in my life, but did not know the sport of figure skating even existed. Subsequently, the Lillehammer Olympics was the first skating event I ever watched and fell in love with Oksana. I taped it on VHS and watched it a million times. I remember I watched Oksana, Surya, Tonya (first FS just to laugh, although I loved Tonya, the ugly cry face is so iconic) and Katerina Witt's "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," which still is one of my favorite performances, over and over.

 

[gotoschool]

I used to just watch the Olympics, but started following it a bit more closely with Kristi Yamaguchi, whose skating I liked a lot. I realize at the time that I basically followed whoever was the American favorite for a medal in the Olympics, though I always enjoyed watching.

But, Mao Asada is the one who made me really love to watch figure skating performances and to get super nervous and emotionally attached and see the great beauty and artistry in figure skating combined with an elegant athleticism I had never seen which I first saw her in her 2007 Worlds LP. Mao is also the one who opened the door to seeing many other performances that I began to enjoy a whole lot from Chen Lu, Midori Ito, Fumie Suguri, Debbie Thomas, Phillippe Candeloro, Denise Biellmann, Rudy Galindo at Nationals 1996, Jeffrey Buttle, Evgeni Plushenko and Victor Petrenko, Kurt Browning, Elvis Stojko among others from the past and a few current ones. A lot of my favorite performances by Mao also made me realize the importance of watching a lot of performances by skaters and not just those who win Gold or silver, though she has very many of these medals, because the performances that don't end up winning or even medalling are often my favorite ones.

 

[Ageless]

I have always loved watching skating, but what finally motivated me to start was the Battle of the Brians and the Battle of the Carmens in Calgary.

 

[Aerobicidal]

Khokhlova and Novitski.

 

[kwanatic]

My mom and grandmother always loved skating so the earliest I remember watching was in the early 90s. Kristi Yamaguchi and Oksana Baiul were my first loves. I also loved Kurt Browning and Viktor Petrenko. I didn't watch a ton of amateur competitions b/c pro skating was really big back then.

Then came Michelle Kwan in 1996 and my world was forever changed. From 1996-2006 I cheered for her and her alone. She was the center of my figure skating universe. And then she left and I was crushed.

I tuned into skating off and on in 2005 and saw Mao Asada at TEB for the first time and marveled at how light and airy her skating was and also how easy the jumps were for her. But I still wasn't really watching skating at the time.

I came back briefly in 2006 when Michelle was named to the Olympic team only to experience heartache when she had to withdraw. After that I stopped watching altogether for about two seasons.

I decided to tune into worlds in 2007 and saw Yuna Kim's SP and fell in love. I saw shades of Michelle in her expression and her delivery. I still wasn't really committed to getting back into watching though. Still going through my Kwan withdrawal...

Then I saw Caroline Zhang in 2008 and fell in love. She was so tiny but her spins were incredible and she was consistent and she had ties to Michelle. I really liked Mirai Nagasu too. I was just impressed with her and I thought she was so cute! So I was pulled back in to US skating by Caroline and Mirai.

I skipped watching the 2007-2008 GP but watched nationals in 2008 and worlds. There I re-fell in love with Mao and Yuna.

So at the start of the 2008-2009 season I was back to being a full-time skating fan. I found it refreshing and slightly less stressful to be a fan. Rather than cheering exclusively for one skater I had multiple favorites from different countries so that made it a lot easier to watch. I also was able to go back and gain an appreciation for the skaters I hated back when Michelle competed (Tara, Irina, Sasha).

And that is my love of figure skating story. The End.

 

[Taso]

First and foremost Mishkutenok & Dmitriev. And then these others

Surya Bonaly, Chen Lu, Oksana Baiul, Torvill & Dean, Rahkamo & Kokko, Usova & Zhulin, Klimova & Ponomarenko, and Elvis Stojko

 

[Vash01]

Gordeeva-Grinkov and Midori Ito in 1988

 

[Rock2]

Michelle Kwan. She's the reason for my skating obsession and why my poor family and now friends and fiancé have to endure it. When I saw her Nagano LP, I was never the same.

That was a reserved skate. Imagine if you had seen the same program at 1998 Nationals. You might not have lived to tell about it....

 

[maatTheViking]

Anissina /Peizerat first, and then Slutskaya.

 

[tony]

I was 6 years old, at my great grandmothers house, and she just so happened to have the NBC broadcast of the 1993 World Championships playing. I remember the stories about Oksana, Nancy's meltdown, all of it. By 1994 Nationals, I would already consider myself to have been a hardcore fan. Remember how every weekend some pro event would be on TV? Those were the days.

As far as my absolute favorites-- I really started to follow Maria Butyrskaya in late 1997 (after having seen her for a few seasons), particularly because I really enjoyed Otonal. I remember I came home from school after the Nagano short programs and I went online specifically to see where she placed-- who cared about Lipinski and Kwan? I knew she had drawn first, and even back then, I was worried about how she would score.

And while we are at it, I still remember my mom driving me to elementary school during the Nagano ladies' free skates and our local radio stations were giving live updates. They said Kwan 'left the ice in tears' and and they called Irina Slutskaya 'Irina Slutskysky' and mentioned that she fell (fell out of her flip). I was dropped off after that point and decided to wait until that night to watch without spoilers. Some things just stick with you.. and I was a total nerd as an 11 year old if you don't get the picture yet.

 

[annie720]

Janet Lynn, Misha Petkevich, Jo Jo & Ken, Tai & Randy, Charlie Tickner, John Curry.

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

John Misha Petkevich, Janet Lynn, and the Protopopovs.

I will never ever get over my first loves!

Definitely the first two and Peggy Fleming, then Dorothy Hamill, the Brians, Debi Thomas, Kristi, Nancy and Tonya and finally the Kween and Maria Butyrskaya.

 

[VGThuy]

That was a reserved skate. Imagine if you had seen the same program at 1998 Nationals. You might not have lived to tell about it....

You may be right, but Yuna Kim also fell in love with her during that performance so I'm in good company. That Nagano performance also introduced me to heartbreak and disappoint of my fave not winning really early on in my skating fandom.

 

[bbkenn]

Brian Orser and Elizabeth Manley in 1988; Kurt Browning up to today; Klimova & Ponomorenko in 1992; Michelle Kwan; Joannie Rochelle (2010), Patrick Chan to now; Virtue & Moir 2010-now; Shen & Zhao; Kim Yuna; Josie Chouinard; Kristi Yamaguchi; Alexei Yagudin; Jeff Buttle; Stephane Lambiel; Gordeeva & Grinkov; B&K just to name a few..I could go on.....

 

[kalamalka]

I always enjoyed watching figure skating on TV, and Toller, Robin Cousins, Babilonia/Gardner, and Gordeeva/Grinkov were favourites in their times (I've consistently been more a men and pairs fan). But I fell for Kurt with his exhibition after his first Worlds win, and it was wanting to see Kurt in an eligible competition knowing he'd be retiring after Lillehammer that got me to go to my first live competition, Canadians in Edmonton in 1994. The temperature outside was below -30 all week, but I spent more than 12 hours a day in arenas including every men's and pairs' practice and was thoroughly hooked. It was the time of the Kurt/Elvis show, with a sold-out NHL arena, daily supplements in both newspapers, and hordes of fans lining up for autographs at every practice.

 

[lala]

I don't remember. I watched the FS in my whole life, from my very early age because of my mother. I saw Kovalev, Jan Hoffman, Anett Pötzsch, Dianne de Leeuw , Rodnina / Zaitsev...

 

[cocotaffy]

Beauty-strucked by Gordeeva/Grinkov
Mesmerized by the audacity of the Duchesnays
Transported by the passion of Anissina/Peizerat
Then I wandered off to be brought back by Hanyu, Yuna Kim and Virtue/Moir.
But it's Papadakis/Cizeron 2014 Cup of China performance which instantly transformed me in a FS fan and more specifically an ID fan wanting to dive in the forums, making me both desperately search for decent live feeds and a nuisance to my surroundings Now I bless Youtube which allows me to catch up on a lot of wonderful performances I've missed.

 

[Aussie Willy]

Torvill and Dean. Then a few years later the Duschaneys. Their jungle program was so innovative and mesmerising.

 

[whiteskates]

I was instantly drawn to it the first time I saw it on TV some time in the early sixties. I was only a little child and for some reason I woke up late one evening and saw it on TV. I remember saying to my parents "I want to do that". It was not possible where we lived but the next Christmas there was a big parcel for me. I opened it and it was a pair of beautiful white skates. The morning after, my father lifted me up so I could see out through the kitchen window and during the night he had made me a little ice of my own in the garden. As an adult I started watching it on a more regular basis some time in the mid seventies but had no special favourites that I remember. Torville/Dean were the first favourites I remember.

 

[Bookseller]

Peggy Fleming, John Curry, Tanith and Ben, Meryl and Charlie, Javier and most of all my return to enthusiasm is courtesy of JASON BROWN! My mom introduced me to skating but I lost interest over the years, but seeing Jason do Riverdance at Nationals got me hooked and now I'm really hooked.

 

[Habs]

Kurt Browning

 

[Bronxfan]

Dorothy Hamill way back in 1976. I stopped watching for a few years and then Katarina Witt in 1984 brought me back. I have been a faithful follower since then.