This is my favorite program of Elvis's. I was a huge Bruce Lee fan so naturally I was drawn to this. His jumps sometimes looked a bit muscled I think and occasional he really leaned out of it but otherwise one of the great jumpers by far. I think his mistake probably seemed worse in the judges eyes than Urmanov's step out on the triple flip.
Does anyone remember - or want to remember - which competition it was that he and Kurt lost 1st and 2nd place to a Russian who got perfect scores even though he fell several times during the performance?
@USAGymnast Even under the 6.0 system, there were jump limits. I've been competing for over ten years, which includes the old system. If there wasn't a limit on jump attempts, everyone would be doing jump after jump after jump.
Elvis' big problem was always his sameness. Even at the 2002 games, he skated to Asian-inspired themed programs back to back. He never really took any risks as an artist and that always hurt him with the judges and honestly...made him kind of predictable with the fans of skating. I say that having a lot of respect for him, but it really wasn't the judges. Elvis was Elvis' biggest road block.
@lcowles I disagree! On the contrary.... He skates like he is one with ice... His mastery of the edge of the blade and movement is so perfect that there is no need for lace, drama and over the top performance. I found back then as now, that his more subdued skating went 20 feet over the judges head... Way ahead of his time! Personally, my favourite ever figure skater!
Oh Man. When male figure skaters were actually manly. The 2010 olympics for male skaters were good, like I'm happy with the medallists, but seriously.. I feel like male figure skating is turning into a bit of farce from the days of Elvis Stojko and alexi Yagudin. Those were the days.
And for those who like stats and history...... Elvis is one of only 3 male skaters to have been chosen by his country to compete in 4 Olympics ('92, '94, '98, '02). The other two being Gillis Grafstrom and Jan Hoffman. If Plushenko competes in Sochi in 2014 he will join them.
@Hozms It's not BECAUSE he never won gold. If he had he'd have the same opinions! Maybe his tone would be softer. Elvis could have watched his tone toward Evan. I think he was trying to mitigate it (sorry, Evan, you're great but...) yet it seemed sarcastic. Elvis received so much flak himself while he competed and stayed so positive through it at the time I admired him for that. It's a shame his negative critics are the models he's following as a commentator himself. He can do better.
The quad would have made the difference. And choreographically, the program was lacking a bit. Urmanov was prissy and affected, but that is what the judges wanted.
@smartbomb33 I think when they single something it's an accident, they meant to do it right but they slip up... sometimes they fall when that happens, but sometimes they land it under-rotated.
This is a skating performance that has always stuck with me. Always thought that Elvis shoulda gotten the gold here. I don't even remember what Alexei Urmanov's performance was like this year. Elvis definitely brought it!!! Judges be damned!
Elvis was ahead of his time...his style paved the way for many of the creative men's programs we see today. He was a true original and has never really been given his due.
Elvis is great. Too bad scott never shuts up, he reduces the performance. The others are pansies compared to him. It may have kept him from the gold-but he did it his way!
I don't see what the big deal is. Urmanov and Stojko were tied technically because although Stojko did a Triple axel Triple Toe, and Urmanov only Triple Axel Double Toe, Stojko popped a jump and Urmanov had the Salchow/Wally/Toe Loop combination. Urmanov won bc Stojko has no presentation skills at all.
Urmonov threw in a bunch of extra shit into his performance, abandoning his original performance altogether. Yes, a skater can change things, add things, omit things. But come on? Urmonov won because he's frilly, lacey, and fufu, whereas Stojko is leather, chrome, and balls-to-the-wall. Judges don't like that.
Urmanov won because the judges didn't respect innovation .. they liked the same old classical music ballerina routine that most skaters give. Elvis dared to skate the way he wanted to and for that he paid. He should have won gold. Technically, he skated better than any other man there. It's not that he doesn't have presentation skills..it's that they didn't respect them.
I just want to agree. Years ago in the era of Elvis and Kurt, you could not drag me away from watching an event they were in. Now, I try to watch the new guys, but it's just not the same! :(
I couldn't agree w/ you more. So many people want to believe that Judging is different simply because of the point system, but the reality is that the judges themselves are exactly the same.
The skaters who are innovative, creative and gutsy, like Elvis was in his time may not always win the gold, but without them this sport would be as dull as... well 90% of the programs today lol
i agree that SOME of the top men skaters today are not creative in their programs...but i do think that some are. Look at skaters lyk ryan bradley at the 2010 US nationals....best choreography ever and had 2 quads. even johnny wier, is a little out there, but is simply one of the most creative skaters out there. skaters lyk them (especially ryan bradley) don't always win, but have the best/gutsiest programs
even after all these years, I watch this legendary program by Elvis...I still can't help but feel extremely dissapointed that he did not win the Gold Medal that was so deservingly his..
Amazing! I have this on VHS but no longer have a VCR so it's so neat to see this routine again. It was one of my favs EVER by Elvis. Thanks for sharing!! :)
I'd just like to be a total ass to all those who abandoned VHS and say that any one of my disorganized pile of tapes have invariably lasted waaaaaaay longer than any DVD I've ever obsessively protected in hard cases, dust jackets and hermetically sealed environments.
Elvis was artistic but just in a martial arts way as opposed to a float on air way. I am disappointed in mens skating today because now it is all about being "beautiful" and everything Kurt Browning and Elvis fought to bring in is going down the tubes. Now you can win a world metal without a quad. Why are they reverting? Note that the Russians were great technical skaters also and followed Elvis in his jumping. I miss him so much in skating
Of course, Elvis was a great jumper but I have never been impressed by the artistic side of his skating, his choreography was so poor, the coherence of elements was so dull. The olympic gold medal is not onle the jumps. Urmanov was brilliant from the artistic side and merited his gold.
Just my opinion but to me Alexei Urmanov was completely forgettable as a skater. Unlike, Elvis Stojko, who's Bruce Lee program still packs a punch, Urmanov had no such impact.
I still remember this event. And it must have been so difficult for the judges... Compare Urmanov to Stojko! Its like apples and oranges. Im canadian and I still remember poeple raging against Urmanov winning the event! Thats when the passions rised in Canada! This and not winning at hockey :P
I apologize for completely removing a set of posts here, but I'm sick of seeing utter bullshit spewed on my videos. If someone is so pussy about having a fair conversation that they need to veto someone else's opinion w/ repeated thumbs downs, they don't get to have an opinion on my video at all. I apologize in particular to Kwadruple, who was actually able to maintain a degree of respect, logic and sanity in her/his posts. YouTube's comment ratings are brutally revealing of human idiocy...
I agree with that last part (I agree with all of it, but especially that LAST part).... and on that note I'd rate that comment with a thumbs up (if youtube would allow it.)
The reason Urmanov won was because his style was what the judges liked; Conservative. Elvis has a different style. It was more modern and the judges in their arrogance robbed him because he would not skate the way all skaters have skated in the past.
Haha, this still pisses me off when I watch it. I was cursing at the TV back in 94. He was robbed. Urmanov's jumps didn't have the difficulty and he still didn't land them all cleanly. However, if Elvis didn't pull out of that triple, or if he landed the quad the judges probably would have been forced to give it to him.
I agree, he doesn't lack grace.... Elvis was also very involved with martial arts and I can see that in his chirography, whereas Aleksei probably had classic ballet training which was typical of (former) Soviet skaters.
As far as M&D & G&G are concerned, I would have hated to have had to made a decision there. Both pairs had me floored with their programs. G&G had the advantage of skating after M&D but I'll always wonder what would have been if the skate order were reversed.
Yes,Urmanov's interpretation of his music was good. His moves reflected the character of the music as well as the changes of the mood through the peices. I can't find any move that I could tell - "no, it doesn't go with the music ,it's ridiculous",the choreography suited Rossini style. I personally think Mishin could find something better than Rossini for Urmanov's elegance,but it was ok too.
Urmanov's posing lasted 40 sec., Stojko's 1.40 sec.- half of the program.
Normally, if the skaters are too close technically, the first thing judges look for is the speed and the basic skating skills ,only after this - on the interpretation as it is very difficult to judge it.
You know, I agree with you about style not being a factor. It's supposed to be the commitment to the theme of the program and interpretation of the music that's judged, not the style. But I totally disagree that they were somehow close technically and in basic skating here. Neither skater was perfectly polished, but Elvis was never a "slow" skater, nor was he here, and he displayed difficulty and quality in a much cleaner program, and performed with conviction and awareness of the music.
You think Elvis was supposed to get higher marks for presentation? He didn't have the lines, the flow ,edge quality or speed of Urmanov. So why would he get higher marks?
Based on your opinion I believe you preffered Slutskaya anytime Kwan or Hughes won with the presentation.
I didn't say anything about marks, I was disagreeing with you that Stjoko had poor speed, basic skating and presentation.
And actually, I would usually prefer Hughes when Kwan and Slutskaya won the high marks for presentation. In other words, I take the skating a lot more seriously than the judging.
This was a great program with clean, deep edges, good speed, unique choreography and an obvious commitment to the theme. Seems like you're the one getting hung up on 'style'
You're confused - I didn't mean style. Style is the manner of the movement. I mean exstention, body position, stretch, posture, knees work etc. For an example ,in the diving (as well as in gymnastics) body position ,posture, pointed toes, knees - are crutual even if the element is done flawlessly. Those are the rules of the game, this is what judges expect to see for the presentation ,it doesn't have much to do with the style. Urmanov had it, Stiojko - didn't.
So you agreed when Hughes won over Slutskaya with the pesentation. Don't you find it good comparison? Urmanov vs Stojko, Hughes vs Slutskaya. Both winners had only advantage over their rivals - better body lines and flow. And yes Urmanov had better speed and this was obvious.
Obvious to you, perhaps. And I would probably draw a very different comparison between that group of skaters: both Sarah and Elvis were consistently undermarked for presentation.
Maybe Urmanov's program isn't well-representative of his skating, but what I drew from it was that he was rather sloppy. With the exception of the slow section, I didn't find his flow or edging to be impressive at all. Seemed to me that Elvis based his skating from the edges up, Urmanov from the upper body down...
I know exactly what you mean, actually. Keeping in mind that I'm comparing these two performances, not Stojko vs. Urmanov in general, I found the nature of Elvis's movment to be different- less "classical" (aka, the style), but I found his execution of that style to be just fine. The lines were not balletic, but they were there, and many of them came from real positions that exist in martial arts. The biggest difference here is style, not quality, in my opinion of course.
You may call it 'balletic', 'classical', 'stupid' - this is the requirement of this sport. There have been plenty of skaters who performed in contempurary style but still had great posture, body positions, extentions, pointed toes,soft knees ... Stojko istead of working on this with his choreographer, preffered to keep whining how stupid judges are. It was pretty clean it would cost him once a title and it happened .
Slutskaya never got high marks for the presentation (until 2002 Worlds) for the same reasons Stojko didn't. Kwan at least had better lines, posture and flow.
So why do you prefer Hughes over Slutskaya in the presentation (objective reasons ,such as skating skills, body lines,speed, choreography)?
ok I can't believe I did this just to respond to a comment, but I used an online stopwatch to try to recreate your ludicrous numbers. With the stopwatch on (whose time I didn't look at while running it), in timing moments in the programs of little to no speed, I made it to 37 seconds for Urmanov and by the same standards, could only make it to 26 seconds for Stojko... And in watching Urmanov's program for the first time in a while, it's just as ludicrous to say that Elvis did more "posing."
What do you mean by choreo going with the music ?The interpretation ?In my opinion the interpretation of both was good, just different style and there is no mark for the style.The timing of Urmanov was perfect.And yes, once they were technically very close, it came to the presentation - since the interpretation is too subjective ,Urmanov's better skating skills,lines and higher speed were enough to win. Stojko skated 1.40 min of his program with almost no speed, slow posing.
You may like or dislike his choreography but he was doing his posing with the speed as well as the whole program was skated with obviously higher speed ,that itself is enough for placing him over Stojko .
Man, this was GREAT. I remember watching this back in '94 and wishing he would win gold. Too bad he didn't! I also heard he's a martial artist as well so this was just the perfect choice of music too.
I saw the entire figure skating competition and Elvis should have won.. the only reason he didn't is cause he wasn't what you would call a Conservative skater.. his performance was the best of the night...
He should have won. If I recall correctly, pretty much all of the decisions made during the figure skating portion of the olympics had an air of controversial decisions.
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You're right. The only gold medal that wasn't really controversial in its merit was Gordeeva and Grinkov, but even still many were upset that two professional teams came in and stole the show. This silver medal is still inexcusable in my eyes. Whatever your artistic taste, Urmanov couldn't do anything really well other than jump. His spins and footwork were atrocious. The judges gave him too much credit for his "style" and didn't consider the merit of what these two actually did on the ice.
that's a matter of opinion... even as a fan of classical music, I found Urmanov's program jejune and not particularly original, and his technical elements were sloppy. Also, his program was not as difficult or clean as Elvis's. I was emotionally moved by Stojko's performance much more than I was by Urmanov's.
You are right. Urmanov had pathetic spins, basic and mediocre footwork, simple and lackluster choreography. It is ironic that Elvis was potrayed by some (wrongfully IMO) as a great jumper who wasnt that strong at anything else. When I watch Urmanov skate that description fits him even better to me then Elvis, since other then strong jumps there is nothing else there other then as you said his classic "style" which is more subjective then any thing of real substance or quality.
It's not about style at all,as skaters don't get any marks for it. It's about Urmanov having much better basic quality of the skating - edges ,flow, body lines,much better speed.The choreography of Stojko would be may be better hadn't he used it over and over again through many years, in addition his choreography was mostly performed through posing or very low speed.
@hatula87 All skaters have "slow" portions of their program. Elvis used his thoroughly for choreography and dramatic effect. I think he did re-use many elements of this program without as much new creative development as he could have. I don't know why, except that this program felt to many observers and perhaps to his coaches and choreographers, as a kind of pinnacle and they didn't know how to go beyond it. Too bad.
How did this guy not win? How?!!! Awesome, awesome skater. As it seems with so many Canadian skaters, he lost with such dignity and grace. Ditto Brian Orser and Kurt Browning - American athletes could learn a thing or two from these fellows!
I think the judges like Urmanov's classical balletic style over Stojko's more modern approach. Stojko also singled a triple axel at 1:06. Urmanov fumbled on a triple flip, but on paper it still gets more credit than a single axel. But you are deluding yourself into thinking Canadian lose with dignity and grace. S&P whined their way to a gold in 2002, while Browning had the most sour attitude towards Urmanov--check out the clip from Urmanov's FP and watch him act like an ass at the end.
I don't know how you can call Urmanov's style "classical or balletic" it was more like funky town! Even with the singled axel, Stojko had more technical content ON PAPER including a difficult 3axel/3toe. I'm honestly not a Stojko fan but he deserved gold here hands down.
You know? Elvis, Kurt and Brian..They all deserved more than they did in the Olympics..But I love them and remember them as the world's greatest..This program and the music are addictive, though..
Elvis is by far the most athletic men's figure skater of all time. He ranks supreme as a good technical skater however he lacks as an artistic skater. Elvis is one of the best skaters of all times.
This is my favorite program of Elvis's. I was a huge Bruce Lee fan so naturally I was drawn to this. His jumps sometimes looked a bit muscled I think and occasional he really leaned out of it but otherwise one of the great jumpers by far. I think his mistake probably seemed worse in the judges eyes than Urmanov's step out on the triple flip.
faeryquene 5 months ago
Does anyone remember - or want to remember - which competition it was that he and Kurt lost 1st and 2nd place to a Russian who got perfect scores even though he fell several times during the performance?
canajaneh 8 months ago
So ahead in his time! This is what perfection is! I cried then and I'll stick to my beliefs today.... This is figure skating at it's absolute best!!!
Chachanine 1 year ago
Where and win did he do his first Quad qas it at the Hamilton Collassiam?
awsome107 1 year ago
Elvis should have win GOLD
Botanyhill 1 year ago
@USAGymnast Even under the 6.0 system, there were jump limits. I've been competing for over ten years, which includes the old system. If there wasn't a limit on jump attempts, everyone would be doing jump after jump after jump.
Parawhore5150 1 year ago
Elvis' big problem was always his sameness. Even at the 2002 games, he skated to Asian-inspired themed programs back to back. He never really took any risks as an artist and that always hurt him with the judges and honestly...made him kind of predictable with the fans of skating. I say that having a lot of respect for him, but it really wasn't the judges. Elvis was Elvis' biggest road block.
lcowles 1 year ago 2
@lcowles I disagree! On the contrary.... He skates like he is one with ice... His mastery of the edge of the blade and movement is so perfect that there is no need for lace, drama and over the top performance. I found back then as now, that his more subdued skating went 20 feet over the judges head... Way ahead of his time! Personally, my favourite ever figure skater!
Chachanine 1 year ago
@USAGymnast Thank god!!We don't have to see his smirk and pompous attitude in Sochci.
HattieLovesCattie 1 year ago
Anyone have his short prog?I loved the music of that one.
HattieLovesCattie 1 year ago
I didn't like every program Stojko skated, but this one certainly is one of my favorite programs ever.
speakingtruly 1 year ago
Oh Man. When male figure skaters were actually manly. The 2010 olympics for male skaters were good, like I'm happy with the medallists, but seriously.. I feel like male figure skating is turning into a bit of farce from the days of Elvis Stojko and alexi Yagudin. Those were the days.
BeeVan19 1 year ago 3
@BeeVan19 RIGHT ON!!
HowDareThey1970 1 year ago
This was one of the most amazing programs ever. I never get tired of watching it.
HowDareThey1970 1 year ago
And for those who like stats and history...... Elvis is one of only 3 male skaters to have been chosen by his country to compete in 4 Olympics ('92, '94, '98, '02). The other two being Gillis Grafstrom and Jan Hoffman. If Plushenko competes in Sochi in 2014 he will join them.
npe1 1 year ago 2
Stojko thinks Lysacek "killed" figure skating? All this program was was jump, do nothing, jump do nothing, jump do a sloppy spin.
beeharbour 1 year ago
How are his spins sloppy? legs were extended, spins were centered, good speed...
qwakcookie 1 year ago
@beeharbour Wrong, that's not a good description of Elvis' program at all.
HowDareThey1970 1 year ago
@beeharbour Blame the ISU.They took away figures and added more jumps.Why blame Evan?He was a kid when those rules were decided in the late '80's.
HattieLovesCattie 1 year ago
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Elvis's criticism of Evan was ridiculous. Just cuz he never won the gold.
Hozms 1 year ago
@Hozms It's not BECAUSE he never won gold. If he had he'd have the same opinions! Maybe his tone would be softer. Elvis could have watched his tone toward Evan. I think he was trying to mitigate it (sorry, Evan, you're great but...) yet it seemed sarcastic. Elvis received so much flak himself while he competed and stayed so positive through it at the time I admired him for that. It's a shame his negative critics are the models he's following as a commentator himself. He can do better.
HowDareThey1970 1 year ago
DUUUUUDE I skated to this song too.... :P
rockinmysockies 1 year ago
with the quad no doubt
but...eh
Starrynova 1 year ago
The quad would have made the difference. And choreographically, the program was lacking a bit. Urmanov was prissy and affected, but that is what the judges wanted.
1814Brandan 1 year ago
I adored this program.
mpjrdldn 2 years ago
Why single a jump? Or triple the quad?
You either go all the way, or you don't.
With that said, Elvis was awesome. I wish Canada still had him in 2010.
smartbomb33 2 years ago 2
@smartbomb33 I think when they single something it's an accident, they meant to do it right but they slip up... sometimes they fall when that happens, but sometimes they land it under-rotated.
HowDareThey1970 1 year ago
how the hell did he get silver those judges are on crack he should have got gold, i remember watching him
GAGOPNOY 2 years ago
If the term 'heavy metal' could ever be applied to figure skating, it would most definately be applied here.
Crimsonsniper89 2 years ago 4
@Crimsonsniper89 lol
rkari120 1 year ago
Elvis won the gold in my eyes. He's a true star :)
cassacacia 2 years ago
loved the "who-hoa" and "you have to be great. and elvis is great."
cracked me up. hahaha. wonderful program. shame about the single, but oh well. otherwise flawless.
ginafaloola 2 years ago 2
This is a skating performance that has always stuck with me. Always thought that Elvis shoulda gotten the gold here. I don't even remember what Alexei Urmanov's performance was like this year. Elvis definitely brought it!!! Judges be damned!
videodoe 2 years ago
Or maybe he didn't win because he singled a triple axel... Just saying.
Parawhore5150 2 years ago 3
But the triple axel he singled he put right back in later, so no elements were lost.
diamonddog13 2 years ago
He still used up a jumping pass.
That can't be brought back.
Parawhore5150 2 years ago
This was by far better than Alexei Urmanovs program.
SuperArnold99 2 years ago
I wish the scores were included in the video.
ballinagra13 2 years ago
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his guy's a defeated piece of shit, read his reaction to Vancouver 2010 titled "the night they killed figure skating", sad pathetic man, Elvis...
ThePoopChef 2 years ago
Elvis was ahead of his time...his style paved the way for many of the creative men's programs we see today. He was a true original and has never really been given his due.
TheHaloTrickster 2 years ago 11
Elvis is great. Too bad scott never shuts up, he reduces the performance. The others are pansies compared to him. It may have kept him from the gold-but he did it his way!
strockm 2 years ago 3
I don't see what the big deal is. Urmanov and Stojko were tied technically because although Stojko did a Triple axel Triple Toe, and Urmanov only Triple Axel Double Toe, Stojko popped a jump and Urmanov had the Salchow/Wally/Toe Loop combination. Urmanov won bc Stojko has no presentation skills at all.
octopussy1234 2 years ago
Urmonov threw in a bunch of extra shit into his performance, abandoning his original performance altogether. Yes, a skater can change things, add things, omit things. But come on? Urmonov won because he's frilly, lacey, and fufu, whereas Stojko is leather, chrome, and balls-to-the-wall. Judges don't like that.
cjschle 2 years ago
You are right, the judges want to see a man skate as a woman. Just look at the uniforms of today, all frilly and fufu.
This was a disgrace that he was put second. I was disappointed then and still.
iamzbacku 2 years ago
@octopussy1234
Urmanov won because the judges didn't respect innovation .. they liked the same old classical music ballerina routine that most skaters give. Elvis dared to skate the way he wanted to and for that he paid. He should have won gold. Technically, he skated better than any other man there. It's not that he doesn't have presentation skills..it's that they didn't respect them.
SweetestMiss 2 years ago
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I just want to agree. Years ago in the era of Elvis and Kurt, you could not drag me away from watching an event they were in. Now, I try to watch the new guys, but it's just not the same! :(
ContessaKiya 2 years ago 2
I couldn't agree w/ you more. So many people want to believe that Judging is different simply because of the point system, but the reality is that the judges themselves are exactly the same.
The skaters who are innovative, creative and gutsy, like Elvis was in his time may not always win the gold, but without them this sport would be as dull as... well 90% of the programs today lol
Arinozian 2 years ago 4
@Arinozian
i agree that SOME of the top men skaters today are not creative in their programs...but i do think that some are. Look at skaters lyk ryan bradley at the 2010 US nationals....best choreography ever and had 2 quads. even johnny wier, is a little out there, but is simply one of the most creative skaters out there. skaters lyk them (especially ryan bradley) don't always win, but have the best/gutsiest programs
SMISCpreolympicparty 2 years ago
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even after all these years, I watch this legendary program by Elvis...I still can't help but feel extremely dissapointed that he did not win the Gold Medal that was so deservingly his..
StarWerdMusic 2 years ago 5
Amazing! I have this on VHS but no longer have a VCR so it's so neat to see this routine again. It was one of my favs EVER by Elvis. Thanks for sharing!! :)
wis7dom 2 years ago 7
I'd just like to be a total ass to all those who abandoned VHS and say that any one of my disorganized pile of tapes have invariably lasted waaaaaaay longer than any DVD I've ever obsessively protected in hard cases, dust jackets and hermetically sealed environments.
Arinozian 2 years ago 4
the men's programs today all look the same because of the unbalanced point system. Very few originals
MrDolenz 2 years ago 3
In 1998 he gave one of the guttiest performances ever - so silver it was but won with a heart of gold!
Escort201 2 years ago 3
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Elvis was artistic but just in a martial arts way as opposed to a float on air way. I am disappointed in mens skating today because now it is all about being "beautiful" and everything Kurt Browning and Elvis fought to bring in is going down the tubes. Now you can win a world metal without a quad. Why are they reverting? Note that the Russians were great technical skaters also and followed Elvis in his jumping. I miss him so much in skating
Escort201 2 years ago
Of course, Elvis was a great jumper but I have never been impressed by the artistic side of his skating, his choreography was so poor, the coherence of elements was so dull. The olympic gold medal is not onle the jumps. Urmanov was brilliant from the artistic side and merited his gold.
lamarin777 2 years ago
Just my opinion but to me Alexei Urmanov was completely forgettable as a skater. Unlike, Elvis Stojko, who's Bruce Lee program still packs a punch, Urmanov had no such impact.
tvfanatic14 2 years ago
Oh wait! Stojko was a hockey player too I think :P So double the passion then!
heyheyheylolita 2 years ago 3
@heyheyheylolita I don't know if he played hockey on a serious level... he was in martial arts and motorbike racing I think.
HowDareThey1970 11 months ago
I still remember this event. And it must have been so difficult for the judges... Compare Urmanov to Stojko! Its like apples and oranges. Im canadian and I still remember poeple raging against Urmanov winning the event! Thats when the passions rised in Canada! This and not winning at hockey :P
heyheyheylolita 2 years ago 2
I apologize for completely removing a set of posts here, but I'm sick of seeing utter bullshit spewed on my videos. If someone is so pussy about having a fair conversation that they need to veto someone else's opinion w/ repeated thumbs downs, they don't get to have an opinion on my video at all. I apologize in particular to Kwadruple, who was actually able to maintain a degree of respect, logic and sanity in her/his posts. YouTube's comment ratings are brutally revealing of human idiocy...
Arinozian 2 years ago 6
I agree with that last part (I agree with all of it, but especially that LAST part).... and on that note I'd rate that comment with a thumbs up (if youtube would allow it.)
MelleAndKev 2 years ago
The reason Urmanov won was because his style was what the judges liked; Conservative. Elvis has a different style. It was more modern and the judges in their arrogance robbed him because he would not skate the way all skaters have skated in the past.
Denise7826 3 years ago 4
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Elvis was robbed by the judges and our hockey boys should've got gold as well. How does Kariya not score in the shootout, gaaaaaaaah!
oh Lillehammar...
Flamesfan7 3 years ago
You have to think had he landed that triple axel he would have been more than comfortable enough to put in the quad.
StewNWT 3 years ago
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Haha, this still pisses me off when I watch it. I was cursing at the TV back in 94. He was robbed. Urmanov's jumps didn't have the difficulty and he still didn't land them all cleanly. However, if Elvis didn't pull out of that triple, or if he landed the quad the judges probably would have been forced to give it to him.
miramichi30 3 years ago
the music is too cliched. i've heard it a million times. stojko was a great athlete but lacked the grace the judges were looking for.
koolaidnhemlock 3 years ago 6
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It wasn't too cliched 14 years ago doofus.
StewNWT 3 years ago
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He did not lack grace. What are you talking about?????
SpecialK0900 3 years ago
I agree, he doesn't lack grace.... Elvis was also very involved with martial arts and I can see that in his chirography, whereas Aleksei probably had classic ballet training which was typical of (former) Soviet skaters.
As far as M&D & G&G are concerned, I would have hated to have had to made a decision there. Both pairs had me floored with their programs. G&G had the advantage of skating after M&D but I'll always wonder what would have been if the skate order were reversed.
MelleAndKev 2 years ago
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Elvis was robbed. So was Nancy, Torvill & Dean, Mishkutenok & Dmitriev. The competitions were awesome, but the judging was terrible.
musicfan094 3 years ago
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I agree~!
I also love the Scott Hamilton commentary as well..
PishPosh99 3 years ago
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Yeah the wrong person won in all 4 disciplines at Worlds this year. It was terrible.
grafgirl27 3 years ago
Yes,Urmanov's interpretation of his music was good. His moves reflected the character of the music as well as the changes of the mood through the peices. I can't find any move that I could tell - "no, it doesn't go with the music ,it's ridiculous",the choreography suited Rossini style. I personally think Mishin could find something better than Rossini for Urmanov's elegance,but it was ok too.
Urmanov's posing lasted 40 sec., Stojko's 1.40 sec.- half of the program.
hatula87 3 years ago 4
Normally, if the skaters are too close technically, the first thing judges look for is the speed and the basic skating skills ,only after this - on the interpretation as it is very difficult to judge it.
hatula87 3 years ago 5
You know, I agree with you about style not being a factor. It's supposed to be the commitment to the theme of the program and interpretation of the music that's judged, not the style. But I totally disagree that they were somehow close technically and in basic skating here. Neither skater was perfectly polished, but Elvis was never a "slow" skater, nor was he here, and he displayed difficulty and quality in a much cleaner program, and performed with conviction and awareness of the music.
Arinozian 3 years ago
You think Elvis was supposed to get higher marks for presentation? He didn't have the lines, the flow ,edge quality or speed of Urmanov. So why would he get higher marks?
Based on your opinion I believe you preffered Slutskaya anytime Kwan or Hughes won with the presentation.
hatula87 3 years ago 3
I didn't say anything about marks, I was disagreeing with you that Stjoko had poor speed, basic skating and presentation.
And actually, I would usually prefer Hughes when Kwan and Slutskaya won the high marks for presentation. In other words, I take the skating a lot more seriously than the judging.
This was a great program with clean, deep edges, good speed, unique choreography and an obvious commitment to the theme. Seems like you're the one getting hung up on 'style'
Arinozian 3 years ago
You're confused - I didn't mean style. Style is the manner of the movement. I mean exstention, body position, stretch, posture, knees work etc. For an example ,in the diving (as well as in gymnastics) body position ,posture, pointed toes, knees - are crutual even if the element is done flawlessly. Those are the rules of the game, this is what judges expect to see for the presentation ,it doesn't have much to do with the style. Urmanov had it, Stiojko - didn't.
hatula87 3 years ago 4
So you agreed when Hughes won over Slutskaya with the pesentation. Don't you find it good comparison? Urmanov vs Stojko, Hughes vs Slutskaya. Both winners had only advantage over their rivals - better body lines and flow. And yes Urmanov had better speed and this was obvious.
hatula87 3 years ago
Obvious to you, perhaps. And I would probably draw a very different comparison between that group of skaters: both Sarah and Elvis were consistently undermarked for presentation.
Maybe Urmanov's program isn't well-representative of his skating, but what I drew from it was that he was rather sloppy. With the exception of the slow section, I didn't find his flow or edging to be impressive at all. Seemed to me that Elvis based his skating from the edges up, Urmanov from the upper body down...
Arinozian 3 years ago
I know exactly what you mean, actually. Keeping in mind that I'm comparing these two performances, not Stojko vs. Urmanov in general, I found the nature of Elvis's movment to be different- less "classical" (aka, the style), but I found his execution of that style to be just fine. The lines were not balletic, but they were there, and many of them came from real positions that exist in martial arts. The biggest difference here is style, not quality, in my opinion of course.
Arinozian 3 years ago
You may call it 'balletic', 'classical', 'stupid' - this is the requirement of this sport. There have been plenty of skaters who performed in contempurary style but still had great posture, body positions, extentions, pointed toes,soft knees ... Stojko istead of working on this with his choreographer, preffered to keep whining how stupid judges are. It was pretty clean it would cost him once a title and it happened .
hatula87 3 years ago
Slutskaya never got high marks for the presentation (until 2002 Worlds) for the same reasons Stojko didn't. Kwan at least had better lines, posture and flow.
So why do you prefer Hughes over Slutskaya in the presentation (objective reasons ,such as skating skills, body lines,speed, choreography)?
hatula87 3 years ago 2
ok I can't believe I did this just to respond to a comment, but I used an online stopwatch to try to recreate your ludicrous numbers. With the stopwatch on (whose time I didn't look at while running it), in timing moments in the programs of little to no speed, I made it to 37 seconds for Urmanov and by the same standards, could only make it to 26 seconds for Stojko... And in watching Urmanov's program for the first time in a while, it's just as ludicrous to say that Elvis did more "posing."
Arinozian 3 years ago
What do you mean by choreo going with the music ?The interpretation ?In my opinion the interpretation of both was good, just different style and there is no mark for the style.The timing of Urmanov was perfect.And yes, once they were technically very close, it came to the presentation - since the interpretation is too subjective ,Urmanov's better skating skills,lines and higher speed were enough to win. Stojko skated 1.40 min of his program with almost no speed, slow posing.
hatula87 3 years ago 3
You may like or dislike his choreography but he was doing his posing with the speed as well as the whole program was skated with obviously higher speed ,that itself is enough for placing him over Stojko .
hatula87 3 years ago 5
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Wow, the judges at these Olympics were ridiculous and bias... they favored the soviets, and didn't know real talent when they saw it.
barkingtree88 3 years ago
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Man, 1994 had the most iffy wins. Oksana vs. Nancy, Stojko vs. Urmanov, even G&G's win was a little controversial.
kitkat9288 3 years ago
go canada
Teethrynlo 3 years ago
bro, youn ROCK! ya, man,martiaml arts and vbeerything/ yoiu RUYLE.
baadpuddytat 4 years ago
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Man, this was GREAT. I remember watching this back in '94 and wishing he would win gold. Too bad he didn't! I also heard he's a martial artist as well so this was just the perfect choice of music too.
alaskagrl37 4 years ago
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I saw the entire figure skating competition and Elvis should have won.. the only reason he didn't is cause he wasn't what you would call a Conservative skater.. his performance was the best of the night...
Denise7826 4 years ago 4
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He should have won. If I recall correctly, pretty much all of the decisions made during the figure skating portion of the olympics had an air of controversial decisions.
Sportgirl34 4 years ago
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You're right. The only gold medal that wasn't really controversial in its merit was Gordeeva and Grinkov, but even still many were upset that two professional teams came in and stole the show. This silver medal is still inexcusable in my eyes. Whatever your artistic taste, Urmanov couldn't do anything really well other than jump. His spins and footwork were atrocious. The judges gave him too much credit for his "style" and didn't consider the merit of what these two actually did on the ice.
intldawn 4 years ago
Gerdeeva&Grinkov were the most controversial winners of that OG:)
As to men, Urmanov's artistry was second to none.Stojko has been a figure jumper ,not a figure skater, that's why he remained second.
hatula87 4 years ago 5
that's a matter of opinion... even as a fan of classical music, I found Urmanov's program jejune and not particularly original, and his technical elements were sloppy. Also, his program was not as difficult or clean as Elvis's. I was emotionally moved by Stojko's performance much more than I was by Urmanov's.
Arinozian 4 years ago
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Urmanov won based on his puffed sleeves :P
a44lee 3 years ago
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You are right. Urmanov had pathetic spins, basic and mediocre footwork, simple and lackluster choreography. It is ironic that Elvis was potrayed by some (wrongfully IMO) as a great jumper who wasnt that strong at anything else. When I watch Urmanov skate that description fits him even better to me then Elvis, since other then strong jumps there is nothing else there other then as you said his classic "style" which is more subjective then any thing of real substance or quality.
grafgirl27 3 years ago
It's not about style at all,as skaters don't get any marks for it. It's about Urmanov having much better basic quality of the skating - edges ,flow, body lines,much better speed.The choreography of Stojko would be may be better hadn't he used it over and over again through many years, in addition his choreography was mostly performed through posing or very low speed.
hatula87 3 years ago 5
@hatula87 All skaters have "slow" portions of their program. Elvis used his thoroughly for choreography and dramatic effect. I think he did re-use many elements of this program without as much new creative development as he could have. I don't know why, except that this program felt to many observers and perhaps to his coaches and choreographers, as a kind of pinnacle and they didn't know how to go beyond it. Too bad.
HowDareThey1970 1 year ago
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How did this guy not win? How?!!! Awesome, awesome skater. As it seems with so many Canadian skaters, he lost with such dignity and grace. Ditto Brian Orser and Kurt Browning - American athletes could learn a thing or two from these fellows!
pellebravesskylar 4 years ago
I think the judges like Urmanov's classical balletic style over Stojko's more modern approach. Stojko also singled a triple axel at 1:06. Urmanov fumbled on a triple flip, but on paper it still gets more credit than a single axel. But you are deluding yourself into thinking Canadian lose with dignity and grace. S&P whined their way to a gold in 2002, while Browning had the most sour attitude towards Urmanov--check out the clip from Urmanov's FP and watch him act like an ass at the end.
bunnyrabbit9999 3 years ago 4
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I don't know how you can call Urmanov's style "classical or balletic" it was more like funky town! Even with the singled axel, Stojko had more technical content ON PAPER including a difficult 3axel/3toe. I'm honestly not a Stojko fan but he deserved gold here hands down.
kwadruple 3 years ago
You know? Elvis, Kurt and Brian..They all deserved more than they did in the Olympics..But I love them and remember them as the world's greatest..This program and the music are addictive, though..
molly2222 4 years ago 4
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Yeah, I am still shocked years later that he didn't win gold. He should have placed on top!
GGW81 4 years ago 2
Elvis is by far the most athletic men's figure skater of all time. He ranks supreme as a good technical skater however he lacks as an artistic skater. Elvis is one of the best skaters of all times.
rickram1961 4 years ago