I also want to clarify something for all of the posters on here, who feel Tonia was marked too low and deserved a higher placing. I do agree with that somewhat, but you also must remember this is an ALTERNATE with very little world success; she often didnt skate cleanly in international competitions, other than the short programs. And unfortunately, the judges couldnt give her 5.7 and 5.8 being that she was one of the earlier skaters in the SECOND group.
All of the skaters who were placed ahead of her were capable of skating better programs than Tonia ( the two Americans, the two Russians, and even the horrendous Bonaly), so I think her reputation and lack of exposure had a lot to do with it.
The final flight here was not all the skaters you mentioned. It was Kwan, Irina, Maria, Anna Rechnio, Laetitia Hubert, and Liashenko. Still your point is correct. Of course Kwan, Irina, and Maria would be expected to skate better programs and all did. Anna had an amazing short program and was 2nd after the short, so had potential to skate better though her long wasnt so good it turned out. Laetitia is blah but was is a veteran who was 3rd after the short. Liashenko is a solid veteran.
Her problem is she is a journeywomen. Plain and simple. Even if she skates well there is just nothing noteable enough about her jumps, spins, footwork, style, look, choreography, flair, or anything to lift her above the main pack. Sorry for any Tonia fans who take offense at my comments but her career is a good solid journeywomens career and based on her talent level that was all she was destined to be.
@MusicBlaster08 Kwan, Slutskaya, Butyrskaya, all had excellent performances. None were even close to crappy. No way did Tonia deserve to beat any of them. Rechnio had a much better short program. Even if Tonia beat her in the long, which would have been fine, she wouldnt have overall. Hubert also had a better short program so was higher coming in.
It was this program that opened the door for a certain Sarah Hughes, who would have otherwise been age ineligible, to compete at the 2002 Olympic by virtue of having competed at the 1999 World Championships.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
I think she should've beaten Maria Butyrskaya in the SP and the LP--which would've given her the bronze medal. Neither Maria nor Tonia did the combination in the SP, but Tonia at least completed the triple lutz, three turn double toe--Maria popped hers into nonexistence. This FS was also better than Maria's.
This was not better then Maria's. Maria's skated almost cleanly in the longly, landed all her jumps, and only had a fall on stroking. An almost clean Tonia is not better then an almost clean Maria, that is crazy. As for the short the deduction for Tonia was a .3, for Maria a .4, the difference would have to be more then that for Tonia to be ahead since Maria is a superior skater.
Maria sucked? Isnt that harsh. She did win a World title in 1999 and fully deserved it. She did win the short program at the 2000 Worlds and deserved to. She also had a great performance when she won the 98 Europeans. She wasnt the greatest ever, but she didnt suck, and she was alot better skater then Tonia as much as I admired Tonia for her perserverance. Actually both Maria and Tonia were similar in a sense, very determined and hard workers with limited talented, overaged overachievers.
"maria sucked and should not have medaled in THIS CHAMPIONSHIPS" she did no combination, not even a single jump in the short program, it was the most pathetic attempt Ive ever seen, and there was no way she should have been close to medals with a short that bad...and her long, with the crash on the footwork and stiff landings, not good either, she was eurpoean champ with a panel that held her up despite. yes she deserved to win in 99, but Im commenting on this year,
Ok sorry I misinterpreted you. Still in the free skate I think it would be hard to not have her in the top 3 since even with that big fall at the end she did 6 triples clean even with stiff landings, and managed every triple she tried. I agree she should not have been over Liashenko, Malinina, possibly Kwiatkowski (although she had a mistake) in the short.
@diskplaying i agree with you on the long program that there was no way this was better than Slutskaya or Butyrskaya but I beg to differ about the short program. Tonia took a step in between her 3lutz into 2toe and landed a 3flip while Maria completely omitted her combination all together and landed a wobbly 3loop. There was no way Maria was justified being 5th to Tonia's 8th in the SP. Consider Malinina in 7th and Liashenko in 6th after the SP who also were clean.
I think Nicole was a better skater, but the moment she was named to the Olympic team I could not stop thinking of the immense liklihood that she'd just splat out.
Tonia was alway a gracious skater to her fans. I met her at 93 and 94 Nationals and then again at 96 Worlds. She definetly was ripped off at both 98 Nationals and Worlds for her short programs. It was nice to see her do such a great performance at 98 Worlds. Her best performance in my opion was at 96 Nationals. Does anyone have a copy of that. I do but am not sure how to download on You Tube.
I watch this almost everyday because of the great music...and I disagree with some things. 1. No, only 1 triple was 2 footed. 2. She did 2 lutzes. 3. She landed a total of 5 triples THAT BEING SAID... Out of a 5.9 -1 on the 1st lutz for telegraphing -1 for the flip for the rough landing -2 on the loop -1 on the salcow -2 on the 2nd lutz for telegraphing and the rough landing and -2 for her weak footwork So for technical merit that gives her a 4.9
I dont think there would be such a big deduction for telegraphing. I had this performance at 5.5 I felt a .1 for the sal and .1 for the loop. The flip was ok, the footwork was ok., and .1 for the double footed lutz. An overall deduction for telegraphing of .1 would be appropriate, so her base mark may have started at 5.7 with the judges I had this for me ( im usually spot on) as 5.5 technical, 5.5 artistic
Her free skate marks should have been higher too, with two triple Lutzes and six triples completed. IIRC, one of the judges gave her something like a 4.8 for technical merit for this performance. This Worlds had all sorts of craziness going on with the judging and trying to manipulate placements.
Tonia Kwiatkowski was always one of my favorite skaters. It's too bad she hit her prime in the time of Lipinski/Kwan/Bobek. I mean, the judges just couldn't see anything beyond them. She was robbed at this World Championships. Her SP was much better than she was given credit for (even with the slight step out on the triple Lutz). This was a nice LP, would have been nice to see her land Triple Salchow JUST ONCE!! :)
That's true, she really reached her best(skating, consistency, style and look) at the time when those GIRLS made their way to the top in US skating. But remember she did have some opportunities and nods from judges like leading SPs ahead of the three girls, but Tonia couldn't sustain it for LP.
Tonia finished 6th in that performance, but if I remember correctly, she got ripped off by judges in her short program marks, and should've been higher. However, it was her highest finish ever in a World's competition. Definitely the way to end a carreer!
I thought that Tania was a great skater I just never liked her music choices and some of the choreography.
jprush 1 year ago
my name is ketlyn kwiatkowski, i am brazilian...'será q somos parentes??'
Ketlyn61 2 years ago
That was a really good performance! I hate the music, but great skating.
courtneysk8s 2 years ago
I also want to clarify something for all of the posters on here, who feel Tonia was marked too low and deserved a higher placing. I do agree with that somewhat, but you also must remember this is an ALTERNATE with very little world success; she often didnt skate cleanly in international competitions, other than the short programs. And unfortunately, the judges couldnt give her 5.7 and 5.8 being that she was one of the earlier skaters in the SECOND group.
metsdudenj 2 years ago
All of the skaters who were placed ahead of her were capable of skating better programs than Tonia ( the two Americans, the two Russians, and even the horrendous Bonaly), so I think her reputation and lack of exposure had a lot to do with it.
metsdudenj 2 years ago
The final flight here was not all the skaters you mentioned. It was Kwan, Irina, Maria, Anna Rechnio, Laetitia Hubert, and Liashenko. Still your point is correct. Of course Kwan, Irina, and Maria would be expected to skate better programs and all did. Anna had an amazing short program and was 2nd after the short, so had potential to skate better though her long wasnt so good it turned out. Laetitia is blah but was is a veteran who was 3rd after the short. Liashenko is a solid veteran.
quirotmutolafan 2 years ago
Her problem is she is a journeywomen. Plain and simple. Even if she skates well there is just nothing noteable enough about her jumps, spins, footwork, style, look, choreography, flair, or anything to lift her above the main pack. Sorry for any Tonia fans who take offense at my comments but her career is a good solid journeywomens career and based on her talent level that was all she was destined to be.
quirotmutolafan 2 years ago
6th place? The performances placed higher than her were sorta crappy....I would have given her the bronze medal with that.
MusicBlaster08 2 years ago
@MusicBlaster08 Kwan, Slutskaya, Butyrskaya, all had excellent performances. None were even close to crappy. No way did Tonia deserve to beat any of them. Rechnio had a much better short program. Even if Tonia beat her in the long, which would have been fine, she wouldnt have overall. Hubert also had a better short program so was higher coming in.
grafgirl27 10 months ago
It was this program that opened the door for a certain Sarah Hughes, who would have otherwise been age ineligible, to compete at the 2002 Olympic by virtue of having competed at the 1999 World Championships.
visceraltuning 3 years ago
Wasn't Sarah 16 in SLC?
CoCoNuTsiopatHic 2 years ago
I was so happy to see her perform this well, and to do it here was brilliant! She looked so happy! =-)
Nevelstraum 3 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
I think she should've beaten Maria Butyrskaya in the SP and the LP--which would've given her the bronze medal. Neither Maria nor Tonia did the combination in the SP, but Tonia at least completed the triple lutz, three turn double toe--Maria popped hers into nonexistence. This FS was also better than Maria's.
sekretaznman81 4 years ago
This was not better then Maria's. Maria's skated almost cleanly in the longly, landed all her jumps, and only had a fall on stroking. An almost clean Tonia is not better then an almost clean Maria, that is crazy. As for the short the deduction for Tonia was a .3, for Maria a .4, the difference would have to be more then that for Tonia to be ahead since Maria is a superior skater.
diskplaying 4 years ago 5
maria sucked and should not have medaled in this championships
bendonna 4 years ago
Maria sucked? Isnt that harsh. She did win a World title in 1999 and fully deserved it. She did win the short program at the 2000 Worlds and deserved to. She also had a great performance when she won the 98 Europeans. She wasnt the greatest ever, but she didnt suck, and she was alot better skater then Tonia as much as I admired Tonia for her perserverance. Actually both Maria and Tonia were similar in a sense, very determined and hard workers with limited talented, overaged overachievers.
gayskatingfan 3 years ago
"maria sucked and should not have medaled in THIS CHAMPIONSHIPS" she did no combination, not even a single jump in the short program, it was the most pathetic attempt Ive ever seen, and there was no way she should have been close to medals with a short that bad...and her long, with the crash on the footwork and stiff landings, not good either, she was eurpoean champ with a panel that held her up despite. yes she deserved to win in 99, but Im commenting on this year,
bendonna 3 years ago
Ok sorry I misinterpreted you. Still in the free skate I think it would be hard to not have her in the top 3 since even with that big fall at the end she did 6 triples clean even with stiff landings, and managed every triple she tried. I agree she should not have been over Liashenko, Malinina, possibly Kwiatkowski (although she had a mistake) in the short.
gayskatingfan 3 years ago
@diskplaying i agree with you on the long program that there was no way this was better than Slutskaya or Butyrskaya but I beg to differ about the short program. Tonia took a step in between her 3lutz into 2toe and landed a 3flip while Maria completely omitted her combination all together and landed a wobbly 3loop. There was no way Maria was justified being 5th to Tonia's 8th in the SP. Consider Malinina in 7th and Liashenko in 6th after the SP who also were clean.
kwanlover0 9 months ago
This was such a great moment for her. I wanted her on the olympic team so badly but I'm glad she got another chance at worlds.
rfillangi 4 years ago
My heart went out for Tonia when she didn't make it to the Olympics. I've always preferred her over Nicole. I wish she had taken the place of Nicole.
topjazz69 3 years ago 2
I think Nicole was a better skater, but the moment she was named to the Olympic team I could not stop thinking of the immense liklihood that she'd just splat out.
CoCoNuTsiopatHic 2 years ago
This program brings tears to my eyes. How I miss such showy, but classy skating. I just love everything about it!
brunofttt 4 years ago
Tonia was alway a gracious skater to her fans. I met her at 93 and 94 Nationals and then again at 96 Worlds. She definetly was ripped off at both 98 Nationals and Worlds for her short programs. It was nice to see her do such a great performance at 98 Worlds. Her best performance in my opion was at 96 Nationals. Does anyone have a copy of that. I do but am not sure how to download on You Tube.
skaterdude1962 4 years ago
I have to disagree here.
All the triples are two footed exc. the first flutz, and both triple toes. So she only has three clean triples.
Concerning her SP, although I watched it many times, I could never find a step sequence in it !
stefrevollo 4 years ago
tenababy1 4 years ago
I'm positive about the two-footed landings which are obvious, maybe you can check the slow motion if you have it on tape.
She does not lutz but flutz and she had three clean triples : first flutz and both triple toes. The flip, loop and second flutz were two-footed.
stefrevollo 4 years ago
They are not that obvious...I've checked it...I can see it on the 2nd lutz slightly, but not on the flip, and those so maybe a total of 4.
tenababy1 4 years ago
Sorry you're right for the flip but the loop and 2d flutz definitely.
stefrevollo 4 years ago
I'd give two tenths back just for putting the second "flutz" late in the program. Plus, I'd start her off from the 6.0, not a 5.9.
So, her technical score would be a 5.2
ShaefDawg 4 years ago
I dont think there would be such a big deduction for telegraphing. I had this performance at 5.5 I felt a .1 for the sal and .1 for the loop. The flip was ok, the footwork was ok., and .1 for the double footed lutz. An overall deduction for telegraphing of .1 would be appropriate, so her base mark may have started at 5.7 with the judges I had this for me ( im usually spot on) as 5.5 technical, 5.5 artistic
metsdudenj 2 years ago
Her free skate marks should have been higher too, with two triple Lutzes and six triples completed. IIRC, one of the judges gave her something like a 4.8 for technical merit for this performance. This Worlds had all sorts of craziness going on with the judging and trying to manipulate placements.
orangejkel 4 years ago
Kwiatkowski is my family name O.O
NicoleK15 4 years ago
Tonia Kwiatkowski was always one of my favorite skaters. It's too bad she hit her prime in the time of Lipinski/Kwan/Bobek. I mean, the judges just couldn't see anything beyond them. She was robbed at this World Championships. Her SP was much better than she was given credit for (even with the slight step out on the triple Lutz). This was a nice LP, would have been nice to see her land Triple Salchow JUST ONCE!! :)
sbe79 4 years ago
That's true, she really reached her best(skating, consistency, style and look) at the time when those GIRLS made their way to the top in US skating. But remember she did have some opportunities and nods from judges like leading SPs ahead of the three girls, but Tonia couldn't sustain it for LP.
delayedricochet 4 years ago
Tonia finished 6th in that performance, but if I remember correctly, she got ripped off by judges in her short program marks, and should've been higher. However, it was her highest finish ever in a World's competition. Definitely the way to end a carreer!
blueworkboots 4 years ago
Tonia finished 6th, it can be argued that she should have finished much higher. Very good performance. We miss you Tonia!
renzy79 4 years ago
In whar place did she finish?
quelita28 4 years ago
She truly redeemed herself with this performance. She was so happy in the end. The 1998 Nationals were disastrous for her :(
yodabeesh 4 years ago