Figure skaters that drew you into Figure Skating?

[ChelleC]

Kurt Browning, I first watched during the 1993 World Championships, and Casablanca is my favorite movie. Needless to say, I LOVED his Casablanca program.

 

[Jeschke]

Tanja Szewczenko '97/'98

 

[Wyliefan]

I am surprised that no one mentioned skaters like Hanyu yet? There are no younger viewers here at all?

Nope, we're all geezers.

 

[chapis]

I am surprised that no one mentioned skaters like Hanyu yet? There are no younger viewers here at all?

I think that his fans prefer to concentrate in golden skate because his big fan fest thread.

 

[viennese]

Skating on TV, certainly, that's what made my skating-fan mother sure that I would love ice skating lessons/pond skating at age four. I was an Olympics watcher even as a toddler.

What got me mad for skating was being taken to the Harvard and BU skating shows/benefits as a child, and seeing skaters like John Misha Petkevich, Toller Cranston, Lisa Marie Allen, Tiffany Chin, and Elaine Zayak. I remember all of them making a big impression on me.

 

[skatesindreams]

What got me mad for skating was being taken to the Harvard and BU skating shows/benefits as a child, and seeing skaters like John Misha Petkevich, Toller Cranston, Lisa Marie Allen, Tiffany Chin, and Elaine Zayak. I remember all of them making a big impression on me.

How fortunate you were!

 

[Susan M]

Would anyone believe it if I said Carol Heiss? I don't have any memory of the 1960 Olympics, but I know I must have been a big fan because I do remember reading her biography targeted to kids. That used to be pretty standard for selected OGM athletes in those days. I don't know if it is still done. I remember a passage where she recounts her emotions watching her first 6.0 marks.

I think my real answer, though, is probably Peggy Flemming and the 1968 Olympics, generally. My brother, IIRC was esp impressed with the Protopopovs.

 

[luvsasha2]

Sasha Cohen, 2003 Skate America. I've been following skating basically ever since then.

 

[Lovemyvike]

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.

This is almost my exact same story. Except I think I was 9. I watched the VHS tapes over and over again too. I even would record the music on my cassette tapes to listen to it!

 

[viennese]

I remember being a little kid at my local skating club end of season ice shows, where the "big kids" - regional, sectional, sometimes national skaters did exhibitions for the big fundraiser. I don't know who they all were, but inspired me and made me very excited about skating. Our coaches and parents tried to impress on us who they all were, what they had achieved, even if we hadn't seen them on TV.

Pretty sure I was able to see local exhibition skates by the Carruthers, Franks & Botticelli, along with many US-level singles and dance competitors. It was so exciting, as a little kid, being in a group number or being a flower girl!

 

[Vagabond]

Nope, we're all geezers.

Eys.

I was going to say that Sonia Henie and Cecilia Colledge drew me into figure skating, but then I thought better of it.

 

[skatesindreams]

Would anyone believe it if I said Carol Heiss? I don't have any memory of the 1960 Olympics, but I know I must have been a big fan because I do remember reading her biography targeted to kids. That used to be pretty standard for selected OGM athletes in those days. I don't know if it is still done. I remember a passage where she recounts her emotions watching her first 6.0 marks.

I would.

I was six when she delivered the Athlete's Oath during the 1960 Games.
It is the first time I remember seeing skating on TV.
I read the same book as you did, also.

 

[meggonzo]

Midori Ito

 

[algonquin]

Kurt Browning & Josée Chouinard

 

[Roux]

There are no younger viewers here at all?

Here you go:

2014, Riverdance. I think I saw it on BuzzFeed!
Then I spent a few days watching every other video of Jason Brown that I could find, and I've followed everything he's done since.
I still mostly watch the men's event, but this season I actually watched all disciplines in the GPF and I'm planning on the same for Worlds (!!).
Shoma Uno has also gotten me more internationally invested (and maybe he's why I had the enthusiasm to watch the entire GPF). He's so intense on the ice and then so adorable!

 

[berthesghost]

Would anyone believe it if I said Carol Heiss? I don't have any memory of the 1960 Olympics, but I know I must have been a big fan because I do remember reading her biography targeted to kids. That used to be pretty standard for selected OGM athletes in those days. I don't know if it is still done. I remember a passage where she recounts her emotions watching her first 6.0 marks.

I think my real answer, though, is probably Peggy Flemming and the 1968 Olympics, generally. My brother, IIRC was esp impressed with the Protopopovs.

Skating on TV, certainly, that's what made my skating-fan mother sure that I would love ice skating lessons/pond skating at age four. I was an Olympics watcher even as a toddler.

What got me mad for skating was being taken to the Harvarmd and BU skating shows/benefits as a child, and seeing skaters like John Misha Petkevich, Toller Cranston, Lisa Marie Allen, Tiffany Chin, and Elaine Zayak. I remember all of them making a big impression on me.

So many great skaters back then! Early childhood memories are so weird. We too watched all the winter olys as a family. One of my earliest memories is Peggy winning in Grenoble, it made such a huge impression on me. But then years later I did the math and figured out I was so young I must be mistaken. Further fueling the doubt was that I remembered the arena as being dark with none of the names and logos on the boards like they do now, so I convinced myself I'd gotten it confused with a later pro event. But then I watched the 68 olys at the museum of tv and radio and sure enough, the lights were low and the boards were clear glass. Not at all like the Lillehammer clip I just watched on YouTube where the arena is all bright and white like I just opened the fridge door.

 

[SkateFanBerlin]

The very first was Peggy - first time ever seeing competitive figure skating. I was aware of ice shows though never went. Next was Kwan - her longevity and consistency gave me a long time to get familiar with the sport. My current obsession was triggered by Yuna Kim at Olympics. I was not a Kim fan. She looked like a lot of other elite skaters to me. But at Olys skating perfectly to those two great programs was unbelievable to me. Med may have inched past Kim's score but it doesn't represent what a trouncing Kim gave to the ladies field at the time. What kind of sore would a current skater have to put up to hold a record for 4 years?

 

[viennese]

I would.

I was six when she delivered the Athlete's Oath during the 1960 Games.
It is the first time I remember seeing skating on TV.
I read the same book as you did, also.

My aunt and my mother remember her and talk about her.

 

[gymnastics]

Fell in love with FS because of Tessa and Scott!
Skate Canada 2011

 

[Rina RUS]

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Sorry. I was one of those people who watch only the Olympics. I still know nearly nothing.
Now when I try to watch somebody besides Yagudin (even the best skaters), usually I start to think: "yet the body can be more musical". I see, that some of them can do things which Yagudin never was able to do, but... the body can be more musical!
And his energy. His relations with people.
In 2002 I was a teenager, I liked them both: Alexei and Evgeni. Later... I nearly forgot about Yagudin. In 2011 I watched "Bolero" because of Yagudin, but somehow I didn't think, that I can go to the internet and watch something else. I didn't watch the "Ice Ages", because our family's opinion about this show wasn't good. I started to watch Yagudin's videos in 2015 (autumn).
I was impressed, that people from "Alexei Yagudin Discussion Group" (who don't know Russian) were trying to watch even the "Ice Ages". I didn't even understand, that AYDG was not alive, because some comments were posted in 2015... I was impressed by the comments "we miss him" and "translate, please" on Youtube. I didn't know, where were they now - those people who ask to translate...

Browning is in my short list now, I admire Volosozhar and Trankov, Medvedeva, Lipnitskaya, I like Sotnikova more than before, yet... sorry, people often say, that they would choose this or that skater, if they had to choose only one. I don't even say so. I nearly watch only one indeed.

 

[IceAlisa]

Sasha Cohen US Nats 2002

 

[puglover]

I am a weird one - my daughter drew me into figure skating. When she was 12 we joined a winter club that offered a number of activities for children and adults. She begged to skate and even though we tried to tell her she was way too old to go out there with the little 3 and 4 year olds, she would not choose another sport. The skating pro offered to give her private lessons once a week and eventually she, her two younger sisters and her younger brother also took lessons. My older sons played the music for the skaters and made some money. She loved to skate and worked so hard to take her tests and started competing at little local competitions. She eventually worked her way up to being on the provincial team. Her brother did pairs at the novice level and did very well but he never did have the love his sister did for it. It was at one of our sons divisional competitions that I saw the most wonderful little dance team - Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. Even then I wondered if I was looking at future Olympic champions and then chided myself for being so silly. My children now have no interest in figure skating, although they are all good skaters who can land axels and some doubles. I am the one who got hooked and have stayed that way.

 

[nguyhm]

I was mesmerized by Mishkutenok & Dmitriev' s Liebestraum and have been "hooked" ever since although there were periods of on and off. My absolute favorites were M&D (obviously) and Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze. Although pairs skating has evolved so much the pair skating in their era still holds a special place in my heart.

 

[darya_russian]

Todd Eldredge, never cared much for figure skating before I saw him skate.

 

[VGThuy]

I was mesmerized by Mishkutenok & Dmitriev' s Liebestraum and have been "hooked" ever since although there were periods of on and off. My absolute favorites were M&D (obviously) and Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze. Although pairs skating has evolved so much the pair skating in their era still holds a special place in my heart.

I make sure not to watch M/D's "Liebestraum" too much because of all the programs I love, this is the one where I still feel like I'm seeing the absolute beauty for the first time when I rewatch it. I'm in love with that program.

 

[made_in_canada]

Liz Manley!

Elizabeth Manley's LP at the 1988 Calgary Olympics was the performance that made me a skating fan for life. I was barely old enough to have my own likes and dislikes at the time, but I will always remember that moment.

Liz Manley for me too. I was not quite 4 years old during the 88 Olympics but she made a huge impression on me. I begged my parents for skating lessons after watching her skate and apparently regularly threw tantrums that my parents had not named me Elizabeth Fortunately for me, it was the era of tv specials so all I watched for months on end were her tv specials my favourites were one called Dear Liz and a jack and the beanstalk one. I actually wore out the video tapes.

I remember Kurt Browning from the 88 Olympics too but he made less of an impression until I got to see him skate live a few months later (which was also the first time I ever skated). After that I was completely hooked.

 

[dramagrrl]

Liz Manley for me too. I was not quite 4 years old during the 88 Olympics but she made a huge impression on me. I begged my parents for skating lessons after watching her skate and apparently regularly threw tantrums that my parents had not named me Elizabeth Fortunately for me, it was the era of tv specials so all I watched for months on end were her tv specials my favourites were one called Dear Liz and a jack and the beanstalk one. I actually wore out the video tapes.

Back to the Beanstalk! LOL, my then-baby brother, who was about two years old at the time, was obsessed with the cow that Liz/Jack dragged around in the special, and would walk around the house dragging his toy cow and saying "Holy cow!" like Liz did in the special. My siblings and I still quote from that special whenever we see a large roast of meat - "GARBONZA! Giants EAT red meat!!!" "GARBONZA! Hand me that ox bone!!!"

She also had a later special called The Trial of Red Riding Hood (in which she was Red Riding Hood, obviously), but it wasn't quite as hilarious as Back to the Beanstalk.

 

[Aimless]

Strictly speaking, it was Tonya Harding. Purely by chance I happened to be watching, was it Skate Canada? when she hit her first triple axel in competition. I didn't know what it meant back then, but it was clearly a very big deal for the announcers and audience. I wanted to know more, and now I do.

 

[VGThuy]

The thing about Tonya is that even if one had no prior knowledge of what a big deal the triple axel was, she made you know it was pretty damn special by the way she executed it.

 

[Flip Jump]

My favorites which made me a life long fan are Dorothy Hamill, Caryn Kadavy, Paul Wylie, krist Yamaguchi, Jason Brown & Davis & White.