Memorable Pairs Short Programs in the Olympics

[JasperBoy]

My favourite will always be Shen and Zhao's SP at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Who Wants to Live Forever, introduced by PJ Kwong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqfNnTITWvE
They were the first skaters on the ice, having been away from competition due to injury. The media had no idea that they would eventually be the gold medallists and didn't even show up until the last 3 groups.
I was in the audience, and we knew what we had seen.

 

[TAHbKA]

When am asked to show one programme to someone who have never seen figure skating or is skeptical about it etc - Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze's 2002SP. Iconic.

 

[Vash01]

G/G's unison was great but I never like any of their programs. At all.

Usually their unison was great but in the 94 Olympics SP they had a small error on the sbs camel spins. They recovered quickly and the performance was great despite the error.

 

[Rock2]

My favourite will always be Shen and Zhao's SP at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Who Wants to Live Forever, introduced by PJ Kwong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqfNnTITWvE
They were the first skaters on the ice, having been away from competition due to injury. The media had no idea that they would eventually be the gold medallists and didn't even show up until the last 3 groups.
I was in the audience, and we knew what we had seen.

I would have voted for this over Kismet but I didn't like the abrupt ending. Kind of ruined it for me. Still, the opening moves and the footwork were real moments.

PS I was in the audience, too. They skated first. Not only did we know what we had seen but we were laughing all the way through the event that the late arrivers would miss the first place team.

 

[thunderbolts]

Usually their unison was great but in the 94 Olympics SP they had a small error on the sbs camel spins. They recovered quickly and the performance was great despite the error.

And it still cost them some in the marks. Miskutienok & Dmitriev and Brasseur & Eisler got 1st place rankings in the short too which given the pre Olympic hype on G&G as the overwhelming favorites after their dominant season, probably does not happen had they performed the spins solidly.

 

[Rock2]

I'm in agreement with the list being shared, and I'll add some, a few of which are off the beaten path a bit.

I'm a Shishkova/Naumov fan. I would have had them first in 1995. I think their best short was Ave Maria in 1996.

And for all the classic and imperial G&G shorts, I point to this fun 1987 short for being way ahead of its time for difficulty and transitions in an era that didn't feature many of them.

Speaking of fun, I thought Hough and Ladret's short from 1991 was a risk worth taking. This is a video from nationals where they skated clean but the sound is bad. You can look up their world's short which has better audio but not the same energy because she missed the jump.

Remaining in Canada, I know S/P are polarizing (unsure why but let's not start that up again). At the time I liked 2000 better than 2001 but over time my opinion switched in favor of their 2001 short

Brasseur and Eisler are mentioned here. I think by far their best short was this one in 1992. This was the last year they skated with speed.

I always enjoyed the work done through John Nicks' school. Kuchiki and Sand had innovative and interesting programs in 1991 and 1992 (I linked 1991 which I liked better)

Sui/Han achieved their long-awaited maturation with this 2016 short which to me is iconic (PS why did Mark Henretty think you could do a quad in the short??)

Lastly, and maybe a forgotten one, Takahashi and Tran skated a beautifully-choreographed and tender short in their medal-winning year in 2012.

ETA: need to add more Europe. I love me some German pairs. For Wotzel and Steuer, I'll go with 1994.

And then I'll highlight Schwarz and Muller in 1998. Awesome concept program.

 

[thunderbolts]

I thought about many pairs performances in the Olympics that were memorable to me, so I made a list of short programs only. Here are 15 of those (not necessarily in order, but the first 6 are definitely in the order I liked them). I am sure there are many that I am forgetting, and I didn't look at anything before 1988. The 1988 Olympics made me a fan of pairs skating.

1.Berezhnaya Sikharulidze Lady Caliph 2002- This was poetry, and I saw it live, in SLC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAJUcgMZMO4

2. Volosozhar Trankov Masquerade waltz 2014- Awesome skate! The best Masquerade waltz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8t1F9TtOsc

3.Gordeeva Grinkov 94 Flamenko: Despite a small mistake, they were clearly the best

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkKmA08l__Y

4.Totmianina Marinin- Snow storm 2006- I loved their crisp, clean movements

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgyDlHDMWXk

5.Mishkutenok Dmitriev 92 - Don Quixote: After watching both 92 and 94, I decided that the 92 skate was better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUTg6MlqvHY

6. G&G 1988 (Carmen)- Even at such a young age, they were perfect!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObXthZ7UECc

7.Shishkova-Naumov 92 - Take Five- First time I saw them skate and I loved this program.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tUeEcE7_Bk

8.Savchenko Szolkowy 2010 (Send in the clowns)- Always original

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcuddZ9E9Ls

9.Brasseur –Eisler 94- Hungarian dance (?)- Isabel was injured but they delivered

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2BQ8y8x1cs

10. Kovarikova Novotny 92 – I loved their style and her posture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDp91b1PGYU

11. Stolbova- Klimov 2014 (Surrender)- They established themselves at these Olympics as one of the top pairs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg-p_vemC4k

12.Kawaguchi Smirnov- 2010 The swan-( After so many sacrifices Yuko was able to skate in the Olympics, and they were Russia's top pair)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRCmRT3FoMA

13. Shen & Zhao 2002 (Kismet) (This was better than their 2010 SP, IMO, and I saw it live, in SLC)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-Qt0-uxWWo

14.Savchenko-Szolkowy 2014 (Pink Panther)- I loved her pink costume and they did have big elements (despite Aliona’s complaints later)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z39oW1DdZms

15.Inoue-Baldwin: 2006 (Landed the throw 3A in the SP! That took guts. They were underscored perhaps, but they did only sbs 2A; may be that’s why?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QCbAYc2GSg

Carry on.

Wow that is an amazing list. With great descriptions of each. You are a true pairs fan.

 

[thunderbolts]

I remember being very nervous before they skated. I couldn't help thinking about their mistake in 1998. When they finished, I was ecstatic.

It was an amazing skate. The speed and power was there, but it was also delicate, creative and emotional. That's a rare combination. Every element was done extremely well. I alwayes loved their throw triple loop after the spiral. Their BIDS was criticized earlier in the season but at the Olympics even Sandra said it was well done. Anton had the best posture and lines, very reminiscent of Sergei Grinkov (I think it was Peggy or Dick who had said that earlier), but with more raw emotion. They deserved higher marks for that skate.

Even worse, Sale & Pelletier had 2 1st place ordinals even though they fell and their SBD triple toes were badly out of sync. A disgrace.