Steven Cousins
Brian Orser
Brian Boitano
Scott Hamilton
Kristi Yamaguchi
Katarina Witt
Philippe Candeloro
Sale/Pelletier
Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze
Ina/Zimmerman
Bourne/Kraatz
Brasseur/Eisler
~Next destination:Gotta skate, October 18 2003, Hamilton, Ontario !!~
Re: Favorite pro skaters
I absolutely LOVE Kurt and Kristi
In my book they are simply the Best
Years ago skaters like Dorothy Hamill and Irina Rodnina & Aleksandr Zaitsev amazed me and added to my love of the sport and will always hold a special place in my heart.
Also Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler are favorites of mine.
Also the person at Ice Capades who fired Scott Hamilton is my hero
If it wasn’t for his (or her) poor choice, there would probably have never been a Stars On Ice
Thank You Tina / The Kurt Files for the SSU Photo/Avatar
Dance - Torvill & Dean, Roca & Sur, Krylova & Ovsiannikov, B & K (have they turned pro yet?), Drokiazko & Vanagas (I think they've gone pro)
"When I'm skating, I feel like an eagle - the way I can soar across the ice like a bird on a wing. When everything is just right, there's nothing I can't do."
Todd Eldredge - Hallmark Salute to Gold 10/01
I just went for the pros in this list. I do like Sasha Cohen, Michelle Kwan, Takeshi Honda, Belbin & Agosto, Inrina Slutskaya and a few other eligibles, but Pros are my faves also!!
Kathie
Todd Eldredge ~ THE THINKING WOMAN'S SEX SYMBOL
"His MISERERE by Bocelli is vintage Eldredge. Passion, smooth edges, clean line, and dazzling spins. Professional skating just doesn't get a whole lot better today."- Monica Friedlander/Blades on Ice/June 2003
Re: Favorite pro skaters
Sorry....I can't make a list w/o including Kurt ! lol
Well....Alexei Yagudin {although I don't know if he's actually a pro skater or has kept his elligable ranks}
-Brian Orser
-Steven Cousins
-Scott Hamilton
-Katerina Witt
-Isabelle & Lloyd
-Jamie & David
-Elena & Anton
-Shaye & Vic
-Lu Chen
-Yuka Sato
and the ones I really miss that aren't skating anymore are
-Barbara Underhill & Paul Martini
-Christine Hough & Doug Ladret
and of course
Ekaterina Gordeeva & Sergei Grinkov
Tracie Wilkes & Rob McCall {although I've only seen them on tape}
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Good girls go to Heaven. Bad girls go to Montreal.
Re: Favorite pro skaters
LOL ... bella77 ... love your siggy!!
Yeah, I'm more partial to the pro world as well, and many of my long-time favourites have retired (or are slowing down), like Underhill/Martini, Denise Biellman, Paul Wylie, Brian Orser, Toller Cranston, Hough/Ladret, Torvill/Dean.
Among the current pros, I know it's redundant ... KURT!!!
And ... Kristi, Oksana, Yuka, Tara
......... Scott, Steven, Alexei (is he pro yet? do we know?)
......... Jamie & David, Isabelle & Lloyd
......... Shae & Vic
And we don't see her much, but I could watch Lucinda Ruh spin for hours!!
Re: Favorite pro skaters
Even though I love most of the skaters already mentioned in this thread, I'll try to keep my own answers to only a few per discipline (otherwise, my list would be just too long!):
Men (other than Kurt, of course): Brian Orser, Steven Cousins, Paul Wylie
Ladies: Josée Chouinard (all-time favorite), Kristi Yamaguchi, Katia Gordeeva (close runners-up)
Pairs: S&P, B&E (out of those still skating), Underhill/Martini, Hough/Ladret (out of those who have retired)
Dance: B&K (out of those still skating), T&D (out of those who have retired. If D&V (the Lithuanian team) have turned pro yet, they'd be on this list, too.
BTW, I've always considered Hough and Ladret to be probably the most underrated Canadian pairs team (and two of the most underrated pro skaters) ever, so it's great to see other fans of theirs on this board. I think it's a real shame they never had the same international success as B&E (they couldn't do SBS 2-axels like B&E, but all their other elements were just as strong) they retired just when they were really starting to reach their peak as pro skaters. They were also probably the most versatile pairs team I've ever seen before Jamie and David came along.
I'm glad you got to meet Doug at Dreams On Ice, brenlynn. What was he doing there? I know he helped out with SOI in some capacity a few years ago, so I wonder if he helped with the choreography or any other aspect of that show.
Edited by: jcspkbfan at: 10/14/03 8:57 am
Re: Favorite pro skaters
lol, thanks Jeanine, I saw it on a t-shirt once and just love it, lol.
*sigh* yeah....I really miss Tuffy & Doug. I've always felt that {especially as a pro team} they were always overshadowed by everyone else....but they were always a crowd favorite at the CSOI shows. I loved thier gutsty throws and lifts.
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Good girls go to Heaven. Bad girls go to Montreal.
trust me you don't want me to name all my favorite pro skaters or we'll be here for the next 10 years! So I'll just name a few
Bourne and Kraatz
Sale and Pelletier
Kurt Browning - of course!!
Steven Cousins
Katarina Witt
Tara Lipinski
Kristi Yamaguchi
Brian Boitano
Scott Hamilton
Josee Chouinard!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Meno and Sand
Anissina & Peizerat
Brasseur & Eisler
Ina & Zimmerman
Roca & Sur
Liz Manley
Brian Orser
Ok I think I made my point..... I LOVE pro skaters especially this one.....
*~Luv Karen~*
Kurto is the man!
"No garlic bread before Ice Dancing!"
- Victor Kraatz
Re: Favorite pro skaters
Oh, I so agree about Tuffy and Doug!! Absolutely underrated ... and such incredible showmanship !! I really miss them too!! There's very few female pair skaters that can "turn it on" the way Tuffy did ... and Doug always knew exactly how to show her off to the best advantage. Just a superb team!!
Re: Favorite pro skaters
dough was at dreams on ice because he did all of the cheorograhy for the show. i really think he was flattered that we asked him for his autograph and for pictures! he was really sweet. he told me christine just moved to houston, because her hockey player husband got traded there!
Re: Favorite pro skaters
Brenda, did Doug mention where he and Lara are living now? I haven't heard much about Doug in a long time ... he was in Arizona coaching at one point. With all the travelling he must do, I was wondering if that's still his home base.
Talking about Doug, in particular, always brings back happy memories for me about the years that the Preston Skating Club in Cambridge, Ontario was the mecca for pair skaters, producing most, if not all, of Canada's pair champions. Back then, all the pros we know had different partners. Tuffy was with Kevin Wheeler, Doug with Lynn Frasson, I think, and Lloyd was with Lori Baier .... way before Isabelle. Their club carnivals were extravaganzas that rivaled any of the professional touring companies of the time. Great memories.