Alina Zagitova, the Greatest? | Golden Skate

Alina Zagitova, the Greatest?

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Sam L

Sam L

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Mar 23, 2014
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?
 
Dear, maybe you opened this thread with a good purpose, but i think that unfortunately this thread will get closed in a few hours, with the amount of hate that will be spread here soon...
 
She's great, and I think she totally deserved the Grand Slam and would not be surprised if she pulls it off again (or close to it), but I don't think she's the greatest.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be waiting in my bomb shelter until after this thread explodes. :laugh:
 
I wouldn‘t say she‘s the greatest yet, personally, I feel like she‘s way too young for that and has much more to give artistically as well as on a whole in this sport. There‘s no question though that she is one of the greatest. What she has achieved at her age is just outstanding.
 
No hate intended, but she’s probably not the Greatest ever. She needs that epic signature performance and that superior quality that is unquestionable. She’s not quite there yet but she will be in a couple of years.
 
In my heart she is, and I think she has gone a long way (in a very short time) toward staking that claim. She has skated some of the most amazingly technically difficult programs and delivered them cleanly in the moments when it mattered the most.

But I also hope that her best skating days are ahead of her. I fervently hope that I get to see her become the best skater she can be, not just technically, but as an artist. I want to see what qualities she has that only maturity can bring.

She will be remembered for many things and ultimately I hope and pray that one of the things will be the longevity of her career. :pray:

Thank you so much for having the courage to start this thread. You have my undying gratitude. Getting out now before the dumpster fire starts!
 
The GOAT for me is Madge Syers. The only one who competed with men and beat almost all of them:biggrin: And the one who made ISU create Women world championship.

However, Zagitova is not that far if we consider that having the grand slam at this age weighs a lot.
And imo her free skate at olys, in team comp like in individual comp is her epic signature performance that showed a superior quality.
 
Well with that achievements she had at a very young age i guess so, she might not be the greatest yet but i think shes not far from there, she's not claiming she's the greatest so be nice guys and dont troll this thread.
 
Sam L said:
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?
Click to expand...

If she continues winning next season, then we can consider it... but she’s only been senior for two season. Just two. Why do we need to rush to call her the GOAT? Let’s see and enjoy watching her skating grow and develop.
 
She is, for me. She drew me back to figure skating after years of not paying attention to it. She just has this pull which impossible to resist.

As posters above, I'm sure she will become even greater, both technically and artistically, and I hope to enjoy her performances for years ahead!
 
I think it's unfair to call any skater the greatest just because they've won everything.... particularly the Olympics given it happens only once every 4 years and has become extremely dependent on when you turn senior. Not to mention quads have hardly even come yet so which seniors have faced this competition?

Alina is such a wonderful skater, but others are too....Yuna's résumé surpasses hers, Slutskaya's aside from 1 Olympic medal also does in all fields, Zhenya is of the same generation and aside from the Olympics has more of everything else. Alina is already one of the great skaters as almost any Olympic and World champion is, I'm not sure why it's necessary to say anymore.
 
There are several measures to a champion. And also to being called the greatest ever.

Yuzuru Hanyu, undoubtedly one if the greatest figure skaters ever and worthy to be called GOAT, said something to this effect "to be called a true champion you need an Olympic Medal'. I can make the case for Nathan Chen being a GOAT, and he doesn't yet have his Olympic Medal, but he has achieved so much and has moved the sport forward, just like Yuzuru does.

Alina is only the second skater in modern history, the first being Kim Yuna, another GOAT, to collect all the Grand Slam titles of Figure Skating. This is no easy feat, many great skaters have skated before Alina (and after Yuna) and have not managed to achieve that, so this is a gigantic accomplishment.

Alina pushed the sport forward by being the first, and only because that door is now closed, female to do a fully backloaded program. That's a feat of endurance, skill and talent. She has a grace, a serenity, a performance quality and amazing figure skating skills, at a level that is far beyond her young years.

She will forever, well in the future, be in the history books, and she is one of the greatest figure skaters of all time. A title granted to her by her talent and by her achievements.

At the same time Alina is only 17 years old, to me she is all kinds of amazing to watch right now and the only show in town for me, but I would be naive if I said she cannot get any better. Of course she can. Yuzuru and Nathan at her age where pretty awesome and as their careers progressed they got even better. People improve on a curve, through experience and polishment. Sure there are some trade offs: like stamina and physical strength ceding more space to grace, refined movements and better performance projection.

Alina will continue to skate for many years, I hope, and as she does she will gain new skills, improve on what she has, fix some minor kinks, and get even better. Since she is already pretty awesome to me her "even better" will be a marvel to see. She will reach her full potential and develop her talents to the max and when she does this she will be a GOAT.
 
silveruskate said:
I think it's unfair to call any skater the greatest just because they've won everything.... particularly the Olympics given it happens only once every 4 years and has become extremely dependent on when you turn senior. Not to mention quads have hardly even come yet so which seniors have faced this competition?

Alina is such a wonderful skater, but others are too....Yuna's résumé surpasses hers, Slutskaya's aside from 1 Olympic medal also does in all fields, Zhenya is of the same generation and aside from the Olympics has more of everything else. Alina is already one of the great skaters as almost any Olympic and World champion is, I'm not sure why it's necessary to say anymore.
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It isn't necessary. It's fun and the standard kind of discussion on that forum. There have been countless GOAT or "the best that, the best this" threads.

But i agree that olys are not enough to call someone GOAT. It's just one competition, even if it's the most prestigious.
 
Sam L said:
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?
Click to expand...

That lady is sure something! She is phenomenal, and an absolute joy to watch.

however, in this particular discipline, what inspires awe in me personally is someone who still stands on the podium at 30. Which I hope she might achieve.

Greatness require a universal familiarity, and it builds overtime. The shorter are the career spans, the harder it is for an athlete to become embedded into the cultural fabric of the time as The Skater.
 
I’ve been watching skating for well over 40 years (with a break).

My requirements for GOAT status:

A minimum of two Oly golds.

A minimum of three WCs

and/or

Changed the sport, not in that Skater X did a bazooka mega jump, or 8 bazooka mega jumps in one program, but *truly* changed the sport.

Torvill & Dean.
Toller Cranston.
John Curry.
Janet Lynn.

They don’t need the gold.;)

So I think we need to wait and see. Could happen, could not. Time will tell:)
 
lariko said:
However, in this particular discipline, what inspires awe in me personally is someone who still stands on the podium at 30.
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You made me look it up! Yes, there was an Olympic medalist in ladies' single skating who was over 30. Ethel Muckell of Great Britain got bronze in 1924 at age 38. :rock:

Coincidentally, the youngest was also from Great Britain. Cecelia Coledge got silver in 1936 at age 15 years 79 days. (Alina is fifth and sixth on the youngest list, counting her team silver and individual gold.. :) )
 
If she can win back to back Olympic gold, it would be epic considering the amount of new talent coming into the senior debuts and to be able to hold them off!
 
Fluture said:
I wouldn‘t say she‘s the greatest yet, personally, I feel like she‘s way too young for that and has much more to give artistically as well as on a whole in this sport. There‘s no question though that she is one of the greatest. What she has achieved at her age is just outstanding.
Click to expand...
Fair. But even at the tender age of 16 Alina was already one of the GOATS due to the fact she won all major competitions as a Junior and senior by age 16. Completely unprecedented to do it by that age. But yes she still has more to give as long as that tricky left knee of hers holds up.
 
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