FSU Watch Party: Sunday, April 5, 2020 1pm CDT/2pm EST/7pm UTC - 1995 World Figure Skating Championships Ladies Long Program

[alchemy void]

Damn. That was great.

It's startling how much she improved her basics in less than a year.

She seemed to have so much more power and command by 1996.

 

[alchemy void]

Kwan 5.9/5.6

 

[VGThuy]

Damn. That was great.

It's startling how much she improved her basics in less than a year.

She seemed to have so much more power and command by 1996.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

All the attention was given to her packaging and musical presentation, but she also improved the actual skating, power, and speed. That was really what allowed her new packaging to work. That, and it was always inside of her and wasn't put-upon her artificially.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

I can see the argument for Kwan getting bronze over Bobek but I also see the reasons Bobek got bronze. I'm ok with this overall because I'm not entirely sure we would have seen the 96 programs we got if she had medaled here.

 

[Kateri]

Fantastic comp, fantastic skates, and 6.0 WAS SUCH BULLSHIT OMG STAMP ON ITS GRAAAAAVE!

 

[VGThuy]

They were wrong about Kwan placing second. If she had placed second in the LP, she would have won the silver, but Bobek would have won the bronze because of factored placements. Bonaly would have placed 4th even with placing 3rd in the LP...like Kwan did in reality. Kwan helped Bonaly beat Bobek for a higher medal.

 

[VGThuy]

I can see the argument for Kwan getting bronze over Bobek but I also see the reasons Bobek got bronze. I'm ok with this overall because I'm not entirely sure we would have seen the 96 programs we got if she had medaled here.

I think Kwan deservedly placed third in the LP here. Had she placed any higher, she would have won silver or gold, but Bobek's bronze was safe. IMO, Kwan should have placed 3rd or 4th in the SP. 3rd would have had her edge Bobek out of the bronze with the same LP placements, and 4th would have resulted in the same exact final result as we got here. IMO, Bonaly's SP performance and program was simply horrendous...unlike her LP which I truly enjoyed.

 

[alchemy void]

Thank you for organizing this, @VGThuy!

Fantastic competition.

 

[jlai]

Why Kwan didn't beat Bonaly in that free baffled me.

 

[VGThuy]

Why Kwan didn't beat Bonaly in that free baffled me.

Or the SP. That was even more baffling.

 

[alchemy void]

I must say, the Kween was robbed. The soundest technically and she wasn't deficient in presentation.

I really liked her presentation and packaging here quite a bit. I think the biggest detriment here for Kwan was the lack of power and speed.

 

[skateboy]

Kwan was great here, but I do understand the result. Kwan's presentation and speed were not quite there yet, and her packaging was nothing like it would become... in just one year!

 

[skateboy]

Thanks everybody, and special thanks to @VGThuy !

 

[VGThuy]

I never watched the entire 1995 Worlds Ladies competition, and I'm truly glad I did. I enjoyed so many programs. I discovered the best Les Miz program ever. I'm about to rewatch it.

 

[Vagabond]

@skateboy @VGThuy

I was mistaken. I have done some sleuthing and found what appears to be the first use of "Freakin Liashenko."

https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/michelle-kwan-will-not-be-at-the-gp-final.3291/#post-58587

GO FREAKIN LIASHENKO

Taso

Taso

The context was that Michelle Kwan would not be going to the 2002-03 Grand Prix Final and the Elena Liashenko would be going in her stead.

 

[meggonzo]

Also notable is that this was the last competition where Kwan would be off the podium until 2005.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Ohhhhh. I’m just seeing this thread now, the day after your viewing party. When I first saw the title all I could think about was Nicole Bobek realness. She had a stellar short program right? First place? And then typical Nicole fashion bombed the free?

Did you all enjoy?