I believe that would naturally be the case?
Best Figure Skaters That Never Won Olympic Gold
- Thread starter AshWagsFan
- Start date
I believe that would naturally be the case?
I think for pairs and dance, the best usually rose to the occasion and were awarded.
True for some like Kwan, Ito, and Chen Lu, but for instance sometimes two legends went gold-silver like Mao and Yuna, or Plushy and Lambiel. Only one every four years OGM, but more world titles, and definitely lots of skating to make a legend. Idk, maybe need to think for more time.
I recently watched the 1984 Olympics men's competition. Orser really got undone by figures. He out skated Scott Hamilton in both the short and free skate sections. On the bright side, his Olympic disappointments spurred him to become a coach of Olympic champions.
I said overall list not individual matchups. OGM list includes skaters like Adelina Sotnikova, Tara Lipinski, Sarah Hughes, hardly legends in my opinion. Then there are skaters like Alexei Urmanov and Viktor Petrenko who are pretty great but not as well remembered like Browning, Orser, or Takahashi for that matter.
I said overall list not individual matchups. OGM list includes skaters like Adelina Sotnikova, Tara Lipinski, Sarah Hughes, hardly legends in my opinion. Then there are skaters like Alexei Urmanov and Viktor Petrenko who are pretty great but not as well remembered like Browning, Orser, or Takahashi for that matter.
? I get that. I'm not saying it's not true that there are more legends in the non-gold list. Just that with the way we define legends in skating and the way a lot of the times these legends are inconsistent or go against other legends in match-ups, or both, it's natural, at least in singles.
Pairs and Ice Dance, with stronger trends of rep judging, at least less likely to have same results. And usually a top team is far and away better than second best to really ignore that. And the really strong teams tend to stay at the top for a really long time to get multiple shots at gold (like Shen and Zhao).
But again, might be wrong and have to think more.
Pairs and Ice Dance, with stronger trends of rep judging, at least less likely to have same results. And usually a top team is far and away better than second best to really ignore that. And the really strong teams tend to stay at the top for a really long time to get multiple shots at gold (like Shen and Zhao).
But again, might be wrong and have to think more.
If nothing else, the pool of skaters that never won Olympic gold, even if you limit that pool only to skaters who did win other Olympic medals and world medals of all colors, is much larger than the pool of Olympic champions.
So of course if we want to name great skaters from over the years, we can come up with more names of those who don't have Olympic gold than those who do.
There is also the point that skaters who win Olympic gold earlier in their careers sometimes change their focus away from eligible competition and therefore don't end up trying to sustain long careers that contribute to legendariness.
E.g., Baiul, Lipinski, Kulik, Sotnikova
Think of legendary skaters who have had long careers. Would they be quite so legendary if, for example, Orser had won Olympics in 1984, Ito in 1988, Browning in 1992, Stojko in 1994, Kwan in 1998, Plushenko in 2002, Slutskaya in 2002, Asada in 2010, etc., and then promptly retired/turned pro.
Would they still make a list of legends based only on their accomplishments up to those dates?
Or, for example, if Shen/Zhao had won in 2002 or even 2006, or Savchenko (with Szolkowy) in 2010 or 2014, and then retired, would we consider them legends?
So of course if we want to name great skaters from over the years, we can come up with more names of those who don't have Olympic gold than those who do.
There is also the point that skaters who win Olympic gold earlier in their careers sometimes change their focus away from eligible competition and therefore don't end up trying to sustain long careers that contribute to legendariness.
E.g., Baiul, Lipinski, Kulik, Sotnikova
Think of legendary skaters who have had long careers. Would they be quite so legendary if, for example, Orser had won Olympics in 1984, Ito in 1988, Browning in 1992, Stojko in 1994, Kwan in 1998, Plushenko in 2002, Slutskaya in 2002, Asada in 2010, etc., and then promptly retired/turned pro.
Would they still make a list of legends based only on their accomplishments up to those dates?
Or, for example, if Shen/Zhao had won in 2002 or even 2006, or Savchenko (with Szolkowy) in 2010 or 2014, and then retired, would we consider them legends?
Yes, and for that matter, we can take my point about Pairs naturally lasting longer, and put it against singles. Asada did try for three Olympics, yet couldn't keep up with her jumping for so long. Plushenko continued with big breaks after 2006, still couldn't complete 2014. Browning could do three because of the change in OWG schedules. Kwan missed 94, but still even she couldn't do 2006 even if she wanted to. It's a more dynamically changing discipline than the other two. Really only Slutskaya as a top contender currently comes to mind for three full cycles, if we consider she at least skated at 2004 worlds. Oh, and Stojko. Currently, we see Hanyu.
But I need to dig at it for all disciplines more to see if this is true lol
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- Feb 24, 2012
In no particular order
Brian Orser - under different systems he might even have two gold medals
Michelle Kwan - a legend
Elvis Stojko - may have been robbed and regardless two silvers means so close
Kurt Browning - a legend again
Patrick Chan - a different time would have had gold; the most amazing skater ever - not jumps or spins not that he was bad at those but skating - amazing actual pure skating - edge work, gliding...
Mao Asada
Underhill and Martini sp?
Stolbova and Klimov
Tai and Randy
Usova and Zhulin
Krylova and Oksianikov
Liz Manley - deserved gold over Witt in 1988
Evgenia Medeveda
Brian Orser - under different systems he might even have two gold medals
Michelle Kwan - a legend
Elvis Stojko - may have been robbed and regardless two silvers means so close
Kurt Browning - a legend again
Patrick Chan - a different time would have had gold; the most amazing skater ever - not jumps or spins not that he was bad at those but skating - amazing actual pure skating - edge work, gliding...
Mao Asada
Underhill and Martini sp?
Stolbova and Klimov
Tai and Randy
Usova and Zhulin
Krylova and Oksianikov
Liz Manley - deserved gold over Witt in 1988
Evgenia Medeveda
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- Apr 23, 2018
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There are a whole 4 men (and at least three of them, whether you like them or not, you have to admit no list of greatests would be without) and 5 women awarded the OGM this millennium. There have been a whole 20 men and 22 women who have received those pretty and coveted golden baubles since it started in 1908 (if I have counted correctly, of course).
If the list of legends without it - especially since about the seventies, when more and more taped/videoed programs became possible and therefore champions became more than just names and still photos - did not outstrip this by some ways, we'd be a sorry old sport
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- Apr 23, 2018
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Shoma and one of the four ladies zanadude lists may still make it in 2022. It's a sobering thought though - only Kostornaia and Kihira meet the OP's other requirement (gold in one of the majors) and even if Shcherbakova and Trusova managed that... at least three of them still would be on any future version of this list.
The names I thought of have already been there, mainly Mao and Javi. And it would have been nice if just one of those brilliant Canadian men had done it...
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- Mar 8, 2015
Evgenia, Daisuke, Kurt, Michelle, Mao, Javier, Bryan, and many more tbh (these names have been mentioned many times but I agree with everyone haha)
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- Feb 11, 2018
Kwan
Mao
Javier
Lambiel
Orser
Mao
Javier
Lambiel
Orser
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- Jun 11, 2012
Sadly, the fact is that no matter how good you are you have to bring it for those very few minutes once every 4 years. Some have had the skates of their life - Hughes, Urmanov, Baiul - and weren't ever able to repeat that magical performance or quit while they were ahead. Some like Browning and Kwan never got the gold but were legendery just from their accomplishments on the World level repeating gold medal performances many times in their careers. Then they went on to prosper on the pro stage and were able to bring their artistic abilities to the forefront over the technical.
I guess I don't think a skater's worth or legacy should be based on the Olympics only or one World Championship. I think it should be cumulative successes over a period of time. I think 10 years from now if someone mentions Zagitova and you're not a figure skating fan or Russian you might say "who?" But many casual fans will remember Michele Kwan and Kurt Browning and Plushenko and quite possibly even Johnny Weir. And before I get bashed - I just used the names in this post as an example......There are many more that could be mentioned with the same thought process.
I guess I don't think a skater's worth or legacy should be based on the Olympics only or one World Championship. I think it should be cumulative successes over a period of time. I think 10 years from now if someone mentions Zagitova and you're not a figure skating fan or Russian you might say "who?" But many casual fans will remember Michele Kwan and Kurt Browning and Plushenko and quite possibly even Johnny Weir. And before I get bashed - I just used the names in this post as an example......There are many more that could be mentioned with the same thought process.
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- Oct 20, 2017
Miki Ando
Javier Fernandez
Stephane Lambiel
Mao Asada
Carolina Kostner
Evgenia Medvedeva (not retired, but unfortunately not likely to win one)
Yulia Lipnitskaya (she has a team one, but had a good opportunity to get individual one)
Obviously - Michelle Kwan
Sasha Cohen
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (had Sochi taken place one year later...)
Agree that the list of the best non OGMs from the past years looks better than the one of the winners. Probably because many skaters, especially younger ones, struggle to find motivation after winning the highest possible award and becoming well known just after their career had begun.
Javier Fernandez
Stephane Lambiel
Mao Asada
Carolina Kostner
Evgenia Medvedeva (not retired, but unfortunately not likely to win one)
Yulia Lipnitskaya (she has a team one, but had a good opportunity to get individual one)
Obviously - Michelle Kwan
Sasha Cohen
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (had Sochi taken place one year later...)
Agree that the list of the best non OGMs from the past years looks better than the one of the winners. Probably because many skaters, especially younger ones, struggle to find motivation after winning the highest possible award and becoming well known just after their career had begun.
Actually I'd say that Urmanov did have some better performances later in his career. But not at Worlds. And he didn't make it back to another Olympics.
Longevity definitely helps cement a skater's legacy, but I think a skater tends to get remembered if they possessed a special quality and/or helped to develop the sport in the country. For example, Janet Lynn was such a special skater and her style became very influential in the Western sphere of the skating world, and in Japan where her Olympics performance is still remembered. Midori Ito was a pioneer for her country and a groundbreaking athlete. Mao Asada and Daisuke Takahashi will be remembered for being the leaders in helping to transform Japan into a skating powerhouse. Even a skater like Trixi Schuba is getting renewed attention for being such a master at figures.
Michelle who?
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