Which skater has the best skating skills this century?

[Ic3Rabbit]

Jeremy Abbott should be among the contenders me think

I know dancers have different blades(shorter?) from singles/pairs. Does it make it easier for them in some way?

Yes, dance blades are different in many ways, including shorter, and the toe picks don't drag close to the ice like freestyle blades. But no, it does not make it easier. I've skated both disciplines BTW.

 

[anonymoose_au]

I don't know a lot about interpretating skating skills, but when I think about smooth, effortless skating, I think of Han Yan.

 

[silveruskate]

I'm deliberately misinterpreting the intent of the post as "in the last century" rather than "in this century."

That way, I can name Janet Lynn.

Quite a list from me... and it depends on what your start and cut off are for "This century".


Males: Jeremy Abbott, Patrick Chan, Paul Poirier, Scott Moir, Adam Rippon, Han Yan, Alexander Johnson, Keegan Messing, Jean-luc Baker, Zachary Donohue, Daisuke Takahashi. (Kurt Browning, Paul Wylie, Robin Cousins, Christopher Dean, Brian Boitano, Brian Orser, Stephane Lambiel).
Females: Alissa Czisny, Tessa Virtue. (Yuka Sato, Michelle Kwan, Jayne Torvill).

I may add more later as I think about this more...

Play with this thread however you like! It would really be cool to see you have to choose only one from the list afterwards that represents the pinnacle for you. And @TontoK , Janet Lynn is A-ok. But rack your brain for an accompanying 2000- option if you can too!

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

LOL! This century, hmm, I'd have to say Patrick Chan, Han Yan, The Shibutanis.

Last century, Janet Flynn and Dorothy Hamill come to mind, along with the best figures competitor in the business, Trixi Schuba (not a great free skater, but she had blades of magic). And also, Gordeeva/Grinkov.

ETA:
I see someone mentioned Yuka Sato. I definitely agree! But Yuka is not this century, she's last century as a competitor, and this century more-so as a coach and a show skater.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Play with this thread however you like! It would really be cool to see you have to choose only one from the list afterwards that represents the pinnacle for you.

But each I named have their own style and quirks when it comes to their excellent skating skills.

 

[Fireplace7890]

Sasha Cohen

 

[moonvine]

Quite a list from me... and it depends on what your start and cut off are for "This century".


Males: Jeremy Abbott, Patrick Chan, Paul Poirier, Scott Moir, Adam Rippon, Han Yan, Alexander Johnson, Keegan Messing, Jean-luc Baker, Zachary Donohue, Daisuke Takahashi. (Kurt Browning, Paul Wylie, Robin Cousins, Christopher Dean, Brian Boitano, Brian Orser, Stephane Lambiel, John Kerr).
Females: Alissa Czisny, Tessa Virtue. (Yuka Sato, Michelle Kwan, Jayne Torvill, Sinead Kerr).

I may add more later as I think about this more...

Keegan!

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Adding to my prior post, I think there are a lot of ice dancers with superb skating skills. Paul Poirier is very high on that list!

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Chan and Cizeron. They are like to figure skating what Stephen Curry is to basketball and his shooting range. They change the “geometry” of the sport because of how much they lean into their edges and the speed they’re able to generate. Hanyu and Kostner are close seconds. Kwan/Cohen is up there but because of how she is able to blend her musicality with her edge work and blade control.

 

[4everchan]

ETA:
I see someone mentioned Yuka Sato. I definitely agree! But Yuka is not this century, she's last century as a competitor, and this century more-so as a coach and a show skater.

funny.. i took it as in MY century... Yuka is definitely part of my century...

 

[WednesdayMarch]

Jeremy Abbott should be among the contenders me think

I know dancers have different blades(shorter?) from singles/pairs. Does it make it easier for them in some way?

Easier? Oh lordy. No. MK Dance are the pinnacle of dance blades and are different from freestyle in so many ways. They are thinner, shorter, with tiny toepicks. I love them for their speed and slickness (nothing else comes close) and the ease and speed with which you can change edge. The shortened heel means that you are far less likely to step on the back in close footwork. But I dislike them for turns from backwards to forwards (probably just me and my dodgy leg and ageing, shredded nerves) and spinning on them is just not fun.

The reason that dancers have by far the best skating skills is that they learn to skate properly. Nothing can be skipped over, because nothing is missed in a dance test or competition. Nothing.

 

[susanf]

I can't believe that no one has mentioned John Curry. I will not be bound by "this century" or "that century," he should always be included....

 

[kolyadafan2002]

Ooo. Excluding ice dance I'd say unequivocally Patrick chan with Mikhail Kolyada coming close (of course Hanyu also special mention).

 

[fallingsk8er]

Patrick Chan

 

[Colonel Green]

I'm talking about across all disciplines taken together. The best man and the best woman.

I don't watch Pairs or Ice Dance often so I'm completely uninformed. From what I do know, the best skating skills I've ever seen from a man is Patrick Chan. But are there a lot of skaters comparable in ice dance? Woman, I'm unsure.

If you're really talking about all disciplines, than it's ice dancers. Not even the best singles skaters like Chan, Takahashi and Kostner are on the level of the best ice dancers like Moir and Cizeron.

 

[ELEk3k]

Tutberidze. She owns the whole girls discipline of figure skating in the world. She took the most medals in international competitions.

 

[el henry]

Tutberidze. She owns the whole girls discipline of figure skating in the world. She took the most medals in international competitions.

Which has diddly squat to do with skating skills

If any coach has a claim to developing skating skills in this century, Marie-France and Patrice would claim that title

. And they do it with skaters from different countries and different systems, which is even more impressive to me than from just one country.

But the questions was for skaters with skating skills, and ice dancers would by virtue of the requirements of their discipline be at the top. I vote for JeanLuc Baker

 

[lurkerghost1]

Guys come on, I like singles as much as everyone else but not Mao Asada nor Patrick Chan nor Daisuke Takahashi nor even Yuka Sato (who I think had the best SS ever for a singles’ skater) could do three ice dance-quality step sequences in one program. And that’s not a ding at all on their talent, they just have to focus on more things in their training (jumps). We can see this in Daisuke’s transition to ice dance, it is difficult for him despite his incredible skating skills. He still struggles on the key pattern elements and synchronization of his turns with his partner, which is also part of blade control. On the other hand there was that ice dancer who transitioned to ladies singles who competed at US nationals, I don’t remember her name but her step sequence was ridiculously difficult although of course she had issues with the jumps.

The best of this century? Guillaime Cizeron, Scott Moir, Alex Shibutani, Meryl Davis.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

funny.. i took it as in MY century... Yuka is definitely part of my century...

LOL! I'm with Yuka Sato and her exquisite skating skills in any century. Infinity in fact.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Which has diddly squat to do with skating skills

If any coach has a claim to developing skating skills in this century, Marie-France and Patrice would claim that title

. And they do it with skaters from different countries and different systems, which is even more impressive to me than from just one country.

But the questions was for skaters with skating skills, and ice dancers would by virtue of the requirements of their discipline be at the top. I vote for JeanLuc Baker

Oh def, Jean-Luc Baker!!! No question! And I agree with @lurkerghost1's ice dancer picks too. Ice dancers tend to have great skating skills because what they are required to do demands acquiring such facility with the blades. Not that all ice dancers are equal in their technical abilities.

Another thing about this random topic is the questionable relevance of imposing a century/ numbers-related demarcation, since so much about life, history, and current happenings overlaps, and can't be bound or limited by our constricted perceptions. Plus, everyone who is worthy of being named for great SS doesn't immediately come to mind. I knew I was leaving out and we've all left out a lot of great skaters with exquisite blade skills. And, as has been pointed out by @el henry, some fans apparently hold mistaken notions of what great skating skills actually means. LOL

Some of the skaters mentioned in this thread do not actually have the best or the most remarkable SS in the world. Still, I would disagree with @lurkerghost1 in respect to eliminating singles skaters from consideration. Ummm, Patrick Chan is always going to be remembered for his exceptional skating skills, which many skaters of today in various disciplines simply do not have, largely due to not spending enough time practicing figures. Chan's coaches made him practice figures diligently and stressed the importance of learning figures. I believe that Chan's dedicated practice was combined with innate talent which is why he was so good. Great SS allow a skater to be much more efficient over the ice, and can also help tremendously with executing jumps, when the skater is taught, in tandem, solid jump technique.