Shizuka Arakawa 荒川 静香 (JPN) - 2001 Skate America, Ladies' Free Skate

[vietgrlterifa1]

I remember enjoying this routine at the time but I had no idea that I was witnessing the 2004 World Champion and 2006 Olympic champion.

[nondescriptnyc]

You know, now I think of it, Shizuka skated like this for years and years--until she went to Minoru Sano in 2002-3 (?)--then to Tarasova and Morozov the following year. It is simply amazing how much she improved so rapidly under their supervision. Kumiko and Nobuo Sato as well as Richard Callaghan are good coaches, but I suppose they did little to give her that tremendous "polish" she displayed a couple of years following this performance.

[barkingtree88]

She skated better than Volchkova.

[shawntaylorcassidy]

haha, i had no idea she skated to turandot so many times! she did really good here! i can't believe she didn't make the olympic team that season.

[Chalkare]

so she skated to Turandot at least three times in her whole career?

Duh, that's a bit uninspiring. It was perfect at 2004 worlds. But to see this as her programm for the 02 season and also as her program for the 06 season is making it less spectacular :/

[Dylvente]

Thanks for sharing! She was very good here, but she improved so much in later years!