Slutskaya complains about 2002 and 2006 Olympic Placements

[bardtoob]

The judges didn’t “dump” Slutskaya, although her awful posture and technique in her basic skating — was she ever close to upright if she wasn’t gliding on two feet? — and little nuance skating after Asada in the SP gave them reason to. They simply didn’t inflate her when another skater skated up to her, which no one else had done all season.

Slutskaya was dumped because they didn't make Asada "wait for her turn". That was very unusual, given figure skating was just coming out of the 6.0 era; they let a Jr. skater beat the reigning World Champion and an OGM contender at the GPF.

ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final

ETA:

Post in thread 'Ladies FS Thread' https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/ladies-fs-thread.31641/post-723332

Post in thread 'Ladies FS' https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/ladies-fs.11350/post-151083

I forgot this gem:

"Slutskaya, the 2002 Olympic silver medalist, tasted her first defeat this season and complained that the judges gave her an unreasonably low score of 60 for her artistic performance. She usually earns 64-65."

"I did not lose," she said sarcastically. "I don't understand why my programme component score was so low."

 

[orbitz]

Well Irina definitely should've placed 1st in the SP at SLC. She then would've won overall if everyone had skated exactly like they did on the night of the FP.

 

[attyfan]

Well Irina definitely should've placed 1st in the SP at SLC. She then would've won overall if everyone had skated exactly like they did on the night of the FP.

Agreed that she should have placed 1st in the SLC SP. However, Michelle Kwan had a great track record of coming back after being behind in the SP (think Worlds 2000, 2001) so the chances of everyone skating as they did in the FS are not good.

 

[Coco]

Her 2002 sp was impressive. I wonder how it would have scored under IJS.

And ITA about Kwan coming from behind. Sigh...

 

[olympic]

OMG. She is bitter. It really is something to hear a Russian skater complain about politik, as if Russian skaters have never been politicked for

 

[Excidra]

I used to be a huge Slutskaya fan during her competitive years. I wonder if her daughter still skates. I remember she was coaching her at one point.

 

[viennese]

Well Irina definitely should've placed 1st in the SP at SLC. She then would've won overall if everyone had skated exactly like they did on the night of the FP.

She did do a super SP in 2002. And win in 2005 was well deserved.

 

[puglover]

I used to be a huge Slutskaya fan during her competitive years. I wonder if her daughter still skates. I remember she was coaching her at one point.

I also absolutely loved Irina. I have a strong preference for female skaters who really jump. I recall my family was much younger when she competed and we had a net nanny or something and it would always block my requests for her results due to the first four letters of her last name. Every time I see her name I have to smile now.

 

[Fiero425]

I also absolutely loved Irina. I have a strong preference for female skaters who really jump. I recall my family was much younger when she competed and we had a net nanny or something and it would always block my requests for her results due to the first four letters of her last name. Every time I see her name I have to smile now.

I was a fan of hers, only unhappy when she took down Surya Bonaly in '96 taking over the European Chp.! Supposedly the OG judging was very strict & picky, but they seemed to turn a blind eye to an obvious fault in Kwan's 3-Flip giving her a "homer" over Irina! I loved that SP of Slutskaya since I first saw it "down under" being performed at the 2001 Goodwill Games also defeating Michelle!

 

[bardtoob]

Let's be clear, Irina was a great champion. She earned and deserved what she actually got. She deserves to be remembered.

To be honest, I do think it is heartbreaking that among Irina, Michelle, Sasha and Maria, none of them have an OGM despite being clearly the class of the field in their time ... and I know Lulu, Surya, Tara, Sarah, and Shizuka were there ...

 

[Excidra]

Let's be clear, Irina was a great champion. She earned and deserved what she actually got. She deserves to be remembered.

To be honest, I do think it is heartbreaking that among Irina, Michelle, Sasha and Maria, none of them have an OGM despite being clearly the class of the field in their time ... and I know Lulu, Surya, Tara, Sarah, and Shizuka were there ...

ITA

She is a champion for sure. Say what you will about Irina, but she is the only skater in her era who was not okay with Kwan dominating and did something about it. She disappeared for s period and came back to skating stronger, better and dominant. Not many skaters can reinvent themselves and come back as a force to be reckoned with and Irina did just that.

Some people may not like her personality or agree with her assessment of SLC and Turin games, but one cannot deny the champion she was during her era of female.

 

[zigzig]

Ugh GO AWAY GIRL. I had almost fully blocked her trash-heap dumpster fire skating out of memory.

Slutskaya was only a rival to Kwan because the Euro PTB didn’t like the North American and emerging Asian dominance of skating that started growing in the 90s. They shoved her down everyone's throat with insanely inflated marks that she never deserved to keep Europe in the mix at major events.

European women were pretty bleak in that era so they looked at her and thought "guess she'll have to do" and handed out marks that weren't rooted in any sort of reality.

 

[bardtoob]

I always liked this program.

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[orbitz]

ITA

She is a champion for sure. Say what you will about Irina, but she is the only skater in her era who was not okay with Kwan dominating and did something about it.

Not sure what you mean by the above statement. You believe that Kwan competitors back in the days simply just sighed and rolled over whenever they went up against Kwan? Maria B. defeated Kwan in 1999. Arakawa won over Kwan in 2004.

 

[orbitz]

Agreed that she should have placed 1st in the SLC SP. However, Michelle Kwan had a great track record of coming back after being behind in the SP (think Worlds 2000, 2001) so the chances of everyone skating as they did in the FS are not good.

I don't think Michelle had ever had to skate immediately after someone who had blown the roof down with a once-in-a-lifetime performance like Sarah did in SLC. Also remember that Michelle made 1-2 really questionable career decisions for the 01-02 season that impacted her personally (IMO). The Michelle Kwan who stepped out onto competitive ice throughout the 01-02 season was not the same confident Kwan of the 99-00 and 00-01 season, so I would not bet on her coming back from behind with a great skate at SLC.

 

[Lynn226]

Not sure what you mean by the above statement. You believe that Kwan competitors back in the days simply just sigh and roll over whenever they went up against Kwan? Maria B. defeated Kwan in 1999. Arakawa won over Kwan in 2004.

And of course, Sarah Hughes in SLC. Tara Lipinski in Nagano.

 

[attyfan]

I don't think Michelle had ever had to skate immediately after someone who had blown the roof down with a once-in-a-lifetime performance like Sarah did in SLC. Also remember that Michelle made 1-2 really questionable career decisions for the 01-02 season that impacted her personally (IMO). The Michelle Kwan who stepped out onto competitive ice throughout the 01-02 season was not the same confident Kwan of the 99-00 and 00-01 season, so I would not bet on her coming back from behind with a great skate at SLC.

Maybe she wouldn't, but I wouldn't bet on her not doing it either. She had too many comebacks over too long a period (think also the Championship Series leading to the '96 Worlds and her FS in 1997 Worlds) to assume the contrary.

 

[Fiero425]

Not sure what you mean by the above statement. You believe that Kwan competitors back in the days simply just sigh and roll over whenever they went up against Kwan? Maria B. defeated Kwan in 1999. Arakawa won over Kwan in 2004.

There was literally a period w/ & w/o Irina that Kwan was expected to win no matter what! Judge impartiality was definitely on people's minds w/ inexplicable results! OTOH, I can still remember how they tried to make Kwan the champ even w/ 2 or 3 egregious errors in her performances! Ilia Malinin's mom, Tatiana outskated Kwan @ that '99 Worlds in the SP, but wound up behind her in 5th to keep the Queen in the running! Butyrskaya skated well enuf to hold on as Michelle committed a couple more errors in her LP disappointing Frank Carrol on the sideline! Michelle was definitely in decline after so many yrs. at the top, no matter how much they tried to elevate her performances! They weren't bad, but weren't awe inspiring either! There were a couple instances where the judges actually "broke her face" w/ the results! One was at the 2000 GP Final where Irina beat her w/ maybe 3 completed triples! Then there was a Canadian Pro/AM held "way back when!" Hometown fave, Josee Chouinard beat her out even though she fell all over the place in her performance! Michelle & her supporters could only smirk & look quizzingly to what had happened! Michelle just rolled her eyes!

 

[Vagabond]

@Fiero425 The emoticon is for Oksana Baiul, not Kwan.

 

[bardtoob]

I don't think Michelle had ever had to skate immediately after someone who had blown the roof down with a once-in-a-lifetime performance like Sarah did in SLC.

1996 World Figure Championships Free Skate was fairly pressure packed. It's not the exact scenario you described, but when a reigning World Champion has already received 6.0 it is easy to presume the winner is already chosen.