Natalia Mishkutenok & Artur Dmitriev

[olympic]

BTW, I've seen her name spelled Mishkutenok and Mishkutenyuk. Is Mishkutenok correct? I know that -yuk is a normal or common, final syllable in either Belarus or the Ukraine, maybe Russia? Not sure about which nation, TBH.

 

[Sylvia]

"Mishkutionok" (Мишкутёнок in Cyrillic) is the spelling/transliteration used when Natalia's 11-year-old daughter, Natasha, competes.

 

[clairecloutier]

How sad--I did not realize her second husband had died. Sad for their daughter.

 

[blue_idealist]

BTW, I've seen her name spelled Mishkutenok and Mishkutenyuk. Is Mishkutenok correct? I know that -yuk is a normal or common, final syllable in either Belarus or the Ukraine, maybe Russia? Not sure about which nation, TBH.

I've also seen Mishkuteniok.

 

[Vash01]

'Greatest Russian team of all time' is a tall order.

The P's and G&G are the two pairs vying for the 'greatest ever' title, particularly in terms of Russian pairs. IMO.

Nonetheless, B/S did have magic. Their 'Meditation' at SLC was a true work of art IMO, regardless of their having to share the gold medal.

Elena had a fragility about her, like a china doll, and Anton treated her as such. I think this was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it made the pair exquisite. But on the other hand, it made them vulnerable. It didn't help that she was as expressionless as a china doll - which did emphasize her fragility, but again, that worked both for and against her.

I think B/S will be remembered as one of the great Russian pairs, if not the greatest.

S/P may be remembered by some as one of the great pairs, as well, but in my view, their career was cut too short for them to qualify as such. Even though I was a huge fan.

Ultimately the SLC scandal cut the careers of both pairs short, and that's a shame in retrospect.

Elena gets a bum rap as being 'expressionless'. Natalia didn't have much expression either (compare her with Oksana K.), but somehow the pairing worked, partly because they were so innovative in their choreography. Validation and Vasiliev had been innovative too, but they didn't get the kind of attention M&D did. They were eclipsed by G&G, I think.

About Elena - if you watch her programs before the accident, she was very lively, despite her problems with Shliakov. Also in the first year skating with Anton, (1997 worlds) she looked very happy, just to be skating and competing again. She was also the more calm partner in that pair. There was a quiet strength about her, and she expressed the music through her body movements, instead of forced facial expressions. They became a great pair, but probably not the greatest, partly due to bad luck (disqualification in 2000 derailed their career) and politics. Their inconsistency did not help, but with the exception of the 1998 Olympics and worlds they usually delivered in big competitions.

M&D's career was too short, or they could have challenged G&G for GOAT. I was so disappointed when they suddenly parted ways in 1995 (?) after their stunning performance at the 94 Olympics. IMO Natalia was not emotionally tough back then, or may be she just lost the desire to compete. They had the potential to skate even better programs. They had such magic, but they never received the kind of praise they deserved.

I loved G&G but I don't see them as GOAT either. They were the greatest of their era, where eligible competitions were concerned. Professionally they were definitely GOAT. That's where M&D lost a lot. Their pro career was very short and not very successful. Again, had they continued to skate, they would have been.

 

[Vash01]

BTW, I've seen her name spelled Mishkutenok and Mishkutenyuk. Is Mishkutenok correct? I know that -yuk is a normal or common, final syllable in either Belarus or the Ukraine, maybe Russia? Not sure about which nation, TBH.

In Russian, when there are two dots on e, it is pronounced 'yo'. Since in English We don't have that alphabet, I used to assume (before I studied Russian) that it was just e. Later I understood the difference.

 

[Sylvia]

M&D could use a few more votes in this Russian top 3 pairs poll thread : https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...ur-top-3-favorite-russian-pairs-teams.101478/

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Elena gets a bum rap as being 'expressionless'

I never saw her as expressionless with her body. Just from the shoulders up. To me she usually looked too worrisome or unhappy or "theres something wrong" for me to fully engage in the performances. In contrast they shared the OGM with Sale who was full of expression from the shoulders up. So for me (maybe my culture) it was easier for me to get into Sale's performances.

However having said that I can't believe Elena was able to continue skating. What a true testament to her... Incredible and inspiring!

As far as Natalia I did see her expression... her expression as her connection to and into Artur. For me they were truly 2 skating as 1, just like G&G. Also Natalia would smile at the end of performances most of the time not so much Elena.

 

[nguyhm]

I just came across my Favorite M&D performance.

Thought Id share it!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhz3b_tA9ps

I love this program too, thanks for posting. I've always wondered about what the commentator was saying that this program was created during the 1994 Olympics yet we never got to see it then. Could it be that it was intended to be their short program but in the end they decided to go back to Don Quixote. Oksana and Artur used it as their short program one year. It was not the same magic and passion.
I found the program on Youtube but the sounds are very bad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICTv3hBsXPY

 

[nguyhm]

So sad to hear about Natasha's father's passing. He must have been much older than Natalia since she should still only be in her 40's.

 

[nguyhm]

I never saw her as expressionless with her body. Just from the shoulders up. To me she usually looked too worrisome or unhappy or "theres something wrong" for me to fully engage in the performances. In contrast they shared the OGM with Sale who was full of expression from the shoulders up. So for me (maybe my culture) it was easier for me to get into Sale's performances.

However having said that I can't believe Elena was able to continue skating. What a true testament to her... Incredible and inspiring!

As far as Natalia I did see her expression... her expression as her connection to and into Artur. For me they were truly 2 skating as 1, just like G&G. Also Natalia would smile at the end of performances most of the time not so much Elena.

I see Elena and Natalia's expressions as the "calming" side in the pairs since both Anton and Artur were more explosive whereas Sergei was the calm one versus Katia's being more expressive. They all complimented each other perfectly in their relationships.

 

[Vash01]

I never saw her as expressionless with her body. Just from the shoulders up. To me she usually looked too worrisome or unhappy or "theres something wrong" for me to fully engage in the performances. In contrast they shared the OGM with Sale who was full of expression from the shoulders up. So for me (maybe my culture) it was easier for me to get into Sale's performances.

However having said that I can't believe Elena was able to continue skating. What a true testament to her... Incredible and inspiring!

As far as Natalia I did see her expression... her expression as her connection to and into Artur. For me they were truly 2 skating as 1, just like G&G. Also Natalia would smile at the end of performances most of the time not so much Elena.

I guess you didn't see Elena's smile at the end of their 2001 worlds LP or their 2002 Oly SP, or at the end of their 1999 worlds LP, or the end of their 2000 Euro LP (it didn't count in the end due to the failed drug test). When they skated well, it showed in her face. You didn't see her tears at the end of their 1998 Oly LP either. However, how does a smile at the end of a performance make someone a great skater? I hated Jamie's OTT facial expressions while completely ignoring the posture, lines, unison, which are finer points.

You seem to have completely ignored the great unison B&S had, and superb basic skating skills.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

^^^ I LOVE B&S but for ME it was kind hard to fully invest (for ME) because she usually had a troublesome look. again for meeeee. not you. Me.

Aside from M&D (again for my taste) I like the Alexa Scimeca, Valentina Marchei, Megan Duhamel, Jamie Sale, Babs Fusar-Poli (dance) firebird personality. Maybe because of how I grew up. NOTHING against Elena, I put her in the poll as the all time greats.

For ME it didn't matter if they had the best unison, best skating skills and were lifetime members of Congress I couldn't fully invest because she seemed so unhappy or worried or something.

You hated Jamie. Congrats. Thats your taste. No sense arguing because you had an apple and I had an orange.

 

[Vash01]

^^^ I LOVE B&S but for ME it was kind hard to fully invest (for ME) because she usually had a troublesome look. again for meeeee. not you. Me.

Aside from M&D (again for my taste) I like the Alexa Scimeca, Valentina Marchei, Megan Duhamel, Jamie Sale, Babs Fusar-Poli (dance) firebird personality. Maybe because of how I grew up. NOTHING against Elena, I put her in the poll as the all time greats.

For ME it didn't matter if they had the best unison, best skating skills and were lifetime members of Congress I couldn't fully invest because she seemed so unhappy or worried or something.

You hated Jamie. Congrats. Thats your taste. No sense arguing because you had an apple and I had an orange.

I hated Jamie's skating and expressions, not Jamie the person (though I admit I didn't like her behavior at the 2002 Oly). You and I clearly have very different tastes because I don't like any of the skaters you mentioned. (except for M & D ). I don't hate them, I just don't like their skating.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

^^^ But I enjoy you! And thats what matters

 

[Bellanca]

I see Elena and Natalia's expressions as the "calming" side in the pairs since both Anton and Artur were more explosive whereas Sergei was the calm one versus Katia's being more expressive. They all complimented each other perfectly in their relationships.

Your post highlighting these three exceptionally gifted teams remind me how grateful I am to have been able to enjoy them all during their competitive days. I am absolutely in agreement with you that these teams beautifully complimented each other. Such inspiring talent, then and now, continuing a rich tradition within Russian pair skating.

 

[Japanfan]

I hated Jamie's skating and expressions, not Jamie the person (though I admit I didn't like her behavior at the 2002 Oly). You and I clearly have very different tastes because I don't like any of the skaters you mentioned. (except for M & D ). I don't hate them, I just don't like their skating.

I thought Jamie Sale was luminous in expression - more so than in her skating. The blush of youth was exalted in her, IMO.

 

[trouble77]

this HTML class. Value is https://m.youtube.co

3Axel1996 posted his home made video of Natalia and Arthur skating at the 1992 World's. If the link doesn't work, look on YouTube.

 

[Sylvia]

3Axel1996 posted his home made video of Natalia and Arthur skating at the 1992 World's. If the link doesn't work, look on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG5MnAZLgiI

 

[canbelto]

I just found this video of Natalia and her daughter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfzkSqt3LHw

Wow mother and daughter look alike and are both so beautiful.

 

[Sylvia]

Natasha Mishkutionok (age 11) & Daniel Tioumentsev won the Juvenile Pairs event at Midwestern Sectionals and have qualified for 2018 U.S. Nationals in their first year as a team -- congrats to them! (ETA: They will compete on December 29, 2017 in San Jose, CA.)

 

[Xela M]

Nataliya (the elder) is still my favorite pairs girl of all time.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Nataliya (the elder) is still my favorite pairs girl of all time.

ME TOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! And then Isabelle Brasseur. 2 conflicting styles and I lurve it!!!!

 

[Vash01]

Nataliya (the elder) is still my favorite pairs girl of all time.

That brings to mind a possible poll but I already know who is likely to win so I may not create it.

 

[Limonite]

I just found this video of Natalia and her daughter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfzkSqt3LHw

Wow mother and daughter look alike and are both so beautiful.

Beautiful ladies! Two times and the announcer didn't pronounce her last name correctly. I think Natasha looked a little frustrated (in a cute way ). IIRC, Natalia said she approved the way Verne Lundquist pronounced her last name.

 

[Vash01]

Beautiful ladies! Two times and the announcer didn't pronounce her last name correctly. I think Natasha looked a little frustrated (in a cute way ). IIRC, Natalia said she approved the way Verne Lundquist pronounced her last name.

Adorable and talented. How old is little Natasha now?

If she continues to skate pairs, may be the USA will have an OGM in pairs? At least an Olympic medal of any color?

ETA: Just saw the earlier post- Natasha is 11. Can't wait to see her develop.

 

[Limonite]

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Y...llow-Olympic-Mothers-Footsteps-465237453.html

I just found this video from an NBC station where Natalia and her daughter are interviewed at the Dr Pepper ice rink in Dallas. Natasha is so cute! I love the fact that Natalia prefers her silver medal from the '94 olympics from the gold one she got in '92. The reason? she skated much better in Rach 2. Btw, at 47, Natalia Mishkutenok is just as beautiful as she was so many years ago when we saw her compete.

 

[GloriaW]

An extraordinary era in Pair skating overall. This was arguably when Moskvina was at her peak. She spoke of "hypnotizing" her athletes, who would then "hypnotize" the crowds. Liebestraum at 1991 Worlds in Munich was my absolute favorite from M&D.

 

[Aussie Willy]

Thanks for posting that interview. Natasha is a real cutie and seems to be very determined and hard working young skater. I love how Natalia didn't realise how good she was (but can now) but also is happier about the silver medal. And that at the rink she is known as "Natasha's mum".

 

[canbelto]

Thanks for that video! I think Natalia is even more beautiful now. When she was skating she was beautiful but sometimes looked sad. And she was always being compared (unfairly) to the tiny, slim ladies like Katia Gordeeva or Isabelle Brasseur. Now she looks happy, more relaxed, and the bone structure makes her just as beautiful. Her daughter is so cute!