Best Figure Skaters That Never Won Olympic Gold | Page 4 | Golden Skate

Best Figure Skaters That Never Won Olympic Gold

skylark

Gazing at a Glorious Great Lakes sunset
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Tai and Randy

Linda Fratianni

Underhill and Martini

Javier Fernandez
 

rain

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Jul 29, 2003
I'll echo others in saying:

Patrick Chan
Kurt Browning
Brian Orser
(Oh, that Canadian mens Olympic curse)

Also:
Michelle Kwan
Sasha Cohen
Mao Asada
Kaetlyn Osmond
Carolina Kostner

Underhill and Martini
 

skatingfan4ever

"Our blade takes us in the most amazing places."
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I agree with so many mentioned. Patrick and Kurt, definitely, and Buttle as well. Mao, Michelle, Sasha Cohen, Carolina, the list goes on.

TAI AND RANDY!!!!! Who knows if they could have won the Olympic gold in 1980, but what's done is done. They did have a long and glorious pro career (and never have officially "hung up their skates," as far as I've heard). It's been 40 years since their World Title and their friendship has lasted longer than that. IIRC, Mabel Fairbanks put them together when Tai was 8. Here is their historic LP at '79 Worlds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63cmIfO-u6k

End of scores & medal ceremony (Tai was so excited about the 6.0!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwvqSoNLoqM
 

AshWagsFan

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Michelle who?

Please don’t tell me you’re a Michelle hater?! I think noskates was a bit harsh with saying Alina will be forgotten, but Michelle was such a presence during her time. 5 World titles is an amazing feat, especially in a time when the sport was being advanced technically, Michelle showed that skating isn’t just about jumps!

It’s unfortunate that she doesn’t have an Olympic title. I thought she should’ve won it in 1998 (although Tara was also fantastic there). It’s also a shame that she was injured in 2006, IMO she could’ve skated to another Olympic medal (possibly the gold) if she was healthy and went clean.
 

Skatesocs

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I believe he was being facetious, but it bears saying that I think Kwan was just not that popular in Europe. His point is that Zagitova being forgotten in the Americas means nothing really.
 

AshWagsFan

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I believe he was being facetious, but it bears saying that I think Kwan was just not that popular in Europe. His point is that Zagitova being forgotten in the Americas means nothing really.

Very true, she’s one of the most well-known skaters in the US as she’s one of the most successful, however, Michelle’s main rivals were also European (Irina Slutskaya, María Butyrskaya, etc). I’m sure Alina will also be popular in Europe for years to come! Being an Olympic champ in a country where skating’s so popular and well-known 100% makes you popular in Europe.
 

TallyT

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Please don’t tell me you’re a Michelle hater?! I think noskates was a bit harsh with saying Alina will be forgotten, but Michelle was such a presence during her time. 5 World titles is an amazing feat, especially in a time when the sport was being advanced technically, Michelle showed that skating isn’t just about jumps!

Michelle was/is A Huge Name in North America, just as Alina is right now in Russia. We all underestimate our own unconscious parochialism, I fear, and forget that our own country's worldview isn't the world's worldview.
 

Skatesocs

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I also wouldn't say Kwan is a huge name in the US anymore. It's really not like Hanyu or Kim and maybe Asada who'll remain visible for years to come. It remains to be seen if any other skater will ever reach that. Maybe Russians can speak about the Russians.
 

AshWagsFan

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I also wouldn't say Kwan is a huge name in the US anymore. It's really not like Hanyu or Kim and maybe Asada who'll remain visible for years to come. It remains to be seen if any other skater will ever reach that. Maybe Russians can speak about the Russians.

I would say Michelle Kwan still very much lives in the public eye in the US. She now works for presidential candidates in America, and they often feature her in their campaigning! She’s also been featured on QueerEye, and still has articles written about her and her career today. She may not be as famous or notorious as Nancy K, Tonya, or Dorothy, but many people still remember her skating!
 

TallyT

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I also wouldn't say Kwan is a huge name in the US anymore. It's really not like Hanyu or Kim and maybe Asada who'll remain visible for years to come. It remains to be seen if any other skater will ever reach that. Maybe Russians can speak about the Russians.

Much as I think it should be otherwise, Yuzuru has a sizeable fan base but is not well known in the US, no current skater, domestic or foreign, is (from what I've read, the name most recognised... well, you can all guess :rolleye:).

Mao is huge is Japan, Yuna transcendantly so in Korea, and Yuzuru jawdroppingly so in Japan and in much of Asia. Again, it's different worldviews and we don't always - often - realise this.
 

Skatesocs

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Yes, I meant Hanyu, Kim and Asada are hugely visible in their own countries, not all across the world. After Hanyu retires, he'll probably fade across East Asia but still remain huge in Japan.

AshWagsFan, Kwan is recognized, but she was never as huge as those three in the US even, and as you mention even now she takes a backseat to notoriety. People are more interested in narrative, hence the interest in Kerrigan/Harding, or Bonaly for the positive side of it.
 

Finley

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Michelle who?

First of all, How Dare You?! :curse:

I'm kidding.

Kind of. You can't joke about this. It's still too soon.....

Michelle deserved all the Olympic Gold Medals!

As for this -

I think 10 years from now if someone mentions Zagitova and you're not a figure skating fan or Russian you might say "who?"

I think you really have to include the Japanese in the group that will remember Alina's name 10 years from now. They might even remember her dog's name in 10 years. :)

Unfortunately, the non-fans of figure skating in United States will have a hard time remembering any skater's name for 10 minutes. :(
 

flanker

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First of all, How Dare You?! :curse:

I'm kidding.

Kind of. You can't joke about this. It's still too soon.....

Michelle deserved all the Olympic Gold Medals!

As for this -



I think you really have to include the Japanese in the group that will remember Alina's name 10 years from now. They might even remember her dog's name in 10 years. :)

Unfortunately, the non-fans of figure skating in United States will have a hard time remembering any skater's name for 10 minutes. :(

I'm sorry to Michelle, but I despise the arrogance with which Noskates decides who will be remembered and who won't, and of course even in a thread that is not at all related to Alina he finds a way how to show his complete disrespect to her.

Though, to be completely honest, here it would require truly advanced figure skating fan (like me :) ) to remember Michelle Kwan now. Of the list of the skaters mentioned above, I'm afraid for non-skating fans or occational spectators only Plushenko will the the name they know. As for some other skaters not listed Plushy would be followed by Brian Boitano (thanks to South Park), than probably Carolina Kostner (she is with us for a long time so even those people have some knowledge about her) and maybe Zhenya Medvedeva.

As for Alina herself, well, it is a paradox that thanks to our media who have the view similarly disdainful towards particular russian athletes and always find the way how to put some negativity to their names (and Eteri's team is their favourite target) her name is relatively frequent in the articles about figure skating. Though thanks to that her name is relatively known (bad advertisement, still advertisement).
 

Skatesocs

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Ok, I also don't think noskates was being arrogant, just genuinely pointing out what will become of Zagitova in the US.
 

Skatesocs

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USA is not the whole world.

I mean I agree with you. I stated as much in a post on this thread, saying Kwan wasn't popular in the Europe, which is where you were coming from. But I don't believe noskates did it out of arrogance - rather because of where they live. Maybe they could've worded differently.
 

flanker

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I mean I agree with you. I stated as much in a post on this thread, saying Kwan wasn't popular in the Europe, which is where you were coming from. But I don't believe noskates did it out of arrogance - rather because of where they live. Maybe they could've worded differently.

I understand you, though Noskates has a history of similar unprovoked arrogant verbal assaults against Alina, I wouldn't make such response if this was an isolated case. And if he says others besides FS fans and Russians (while those he listed will be still known everywhere), than he obviously promoted his american view to a whole world (besides Russia), which in his mind shares his opinion. That is an arrogant attitude.

As for Alina, as Finley has pointed out, many people in the west tend to ignore her popularity in Japan (and she has a name in China as well).
 

Ballade88

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Besides Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding (for reasons totally unrelated to skating), Michelle Kwan is still the most recognizable skater in the U.S. I haven't talked to a casual skating fan in the US that don't know Michelle. I don't know about Europe but I have talked to Japanese and Chinese skating fans who know or at least heard of the name. Yes, it's not at the level of fame that the the big name Asian skaters achieved in their own country. But I thought we're referring to popularity among skating fans and not the general public. I mean skating is more or less a niche sport in most countries. The general public and media in the US haven't talked much about skating for the past 15 years. But for skating fans, I think the champion skaters are remembered. Of course, the ones most remembered will depend on the region.


As for current skaters, nobody I talked to in the US know any skater's name in the last decade. I've talked to few Chinese non-skating fans who know of Hanyu and Kim from the Olympics but nothing else. So I am not sure how visible Russian skaters are there. People mostly talk about Lionel Messi and Christian Ronaldo. :)
 
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