Also, GOAT isn't just for Olympic medalists. Fabulous skaters like Kurt Browning, Janet Lynn and Michelle Kwan have won multiple titles - the only one to elude them was Olympic gold. However, you shouldn't dismiss multiple national and world titles.
At 17, she already has the Grand Slam: Olympics, Worlds, Europeans and GPF. I have respect for past greats but the competition is much tougher these days and the skaters are pushing the boundaries with quads, so it's amazing that she's achieved all that with this level of competition. She still has many years left in her career including a possible second Olympic gold but even with what she has I'm ready to call it for now. What do you guys think?
Well, i don't know a lady in modern era who won everything but an olympic medal. Kwan, Slutskaya, Asada, Kostner, they won all major titles, don't have oly gold but olympic medals.
A skater like Asada who won multiple times GPF (record holder with slutskaya), 4CC (record holder with Suguri), Worlds (just behind Kwan in modern era), all GPs (the only one, and record holder with 15 GPs), an oly silver, can pretend to be amond the GOATs .
Tuktamysheva. She has won Worlds, Euros, and GPF. Unfortunately not only has she never been able to win an Olympic medal, she hasn’t even been able to go to the Olympics.
The GOAT for me is Madge Syers. The only one who competed with men and beat almost all of them And the one who made ISU create Women world championship.
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I have the same experience too in Australia haha... whenever I say I am going to a skating competition, people's first reaction is "oh you compete in skating?" Now I have to say I am watching a skating competition.
Honestly, if Alina or Yuzuru, or anyone else can breakthrough the sport into the popular awareness I’ll be so happy!
Or in the near future for the ladies - the way things are going - 21.
GOAT is subjective.
The notion of GOAT in figure skating is a travesty to me. We do not compare apples and apples. I watched a couple of times recently Rodnina/Zaitsev and Pahomova/Gorshkov, arguably GOAT in pairs and dance. I felt nothing. It was a different figure skating 40 years ago. It was a different figure skating 10 years ago. I have no idea if Katarina Witt with all her achievements back then could be competitive today - the last several seasons to win was about 7 triples, 3-3 combos, backloading, and consistency. Would Katarina be able to do it - I have no idea. But the negative answer is possible. There is progress in figure skating.
Give her some time to leave a lasting legacy.