Alexei Yagudin 1999 Worlds LP "Lawrence Of Arabia"

[9akashi]

he would destroy patrick chan or any of these new contenders

[MaggieMaggieable]

this man is extraordinary...best skater and artist who has ever lived, and the way he squeezes all the energy out of himself and skates through exhaustion, pain...still with a great expression bringing his characters to life and making us smile!!!

[officeaddict33]

Yagudin is so loose and wild in the air but good lord, did he know how to leap in the air.

[speakingtruly]

This is my favourite free program by Yagudin.

[almurabiton]

Yagudin is a Muslim.

[s3dh3k]

@almurabiton Yagudin could be a Martian and nobody could compare to his skating...just saying.

[manilva37]

Мне нравятся все его программы, а эта - сама восточная нежность на льду! И он такой молоденький и так хорош!

[ChachouMiaou]

This is really a simple, but wonderful piece of choreography. And although the music is Hollywood material like most of Yagudin's programmes, this one is not a big, dramatic story, it's got energy but it's quite subtle... I like it much more than a lot of the things he did later.

[Tzar221]

alexei yagudin U r The Best!

[unicorn410]

He skated the first of the last group, that's why the marks weren't high. It's still amazing enough he got a 6.0, that performance was really something

[ILoveS07]

@unicorn410 I agree! he should have got at least 3 perfect 6.0 for presentation

[trapezanchik]

Потрясающе!!!

[dogcat126]

his foot work is the best!i love him! i agree with what jojo and rickram!

[DivaOnIce]

Amazing!

[nAdDlEkAtI]

5.8 WHAT THE FUCK?! bloody judges

[everyoneissleeping]

@nAdDlEkAtI Exactly... The polish judge was the only smart one (6.0) :-)

[JPPT1974]

Guy has it all. Jumps, footwork, spins, everything. Wished that people would go all-around. Like he does. As he is the best skater I have ever, ever seen. Also he is a class act off the ice as well. And a hunk LOL!

[KiaOra53]

Stupid bloody judges - 6's all round. Complete brilliance.

[ErinosukeNoNeko]

look at his flying sit spin!

he jumps so high before the spin begins…

the quality&height of his jump reminds me of Midori Itoh (who had already retired)…

series of quad by skater after skater, what a amazing era of figure skating!

[diegokace]

i believe he deserved much more... i believe in technical merit 6.0 perhaps one or two 5.9.. and in presentation all 6.0... that's perfection... 4T, 3A3T, 3A, 3L, 3Lz,3F3T, 3S... all the landings were perfect... no flutz... verygood footwork, an excellent coreography... well it was just BRILLIANT.

[Luukashist]

HE IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

[smellab1000]

He is at the same level at the champions nowadays perhaps better

[MrAlexeiyagudin]

amazing

[0403margo]

Каждый разкак мини-спектакль.только наш Леша Ягудин владеет таким мастерством.Спасибо тебе Лешенька за твое искусство.

[her0esfan]

triple axel is so high!

[haachang1998]

yagudin's jump is so high, unbelievable.

[Irina94379]

Одна из моих самых любимых программ ! Алексей не только чувствует музыку - он в ней живет !СПАСИБО!!!!

[nestersg]

This was the first time I saw him and I instantly fell in love. I still remeber I was home sick that day and then I saw this beautifal man skate across the ice in a way I have never seen before or since. I never thought I'd see a Lawrence more beautiful the Peter O'Toole.

[esquibelle]

Allora! The sheer beauty and brilliance of this performance! This man had it all. Thanks so much for posting this video.

[oriskany]

I was a professional athlete; not a skater, and yet this performance had me practically in tears; I do remember being in that "zone".

[PoisonedApathy]

He was Art... Gosh, how much I miss seeing him skate...

[zhangshinyi]

holy, 8 triples and a quad???? crazy!!

[ketricken1]

The best figure skater ever. Damn, he had it all....

[jojo26111]

for me Alexei Yagudin is perfection in figure skating, he has everything: high jumps, footwork, sensitivy, an amazing way of feeling and interpreting the music he skates on, for me he remains the best skater I have ever seen.

Today I like Brian Joubert also because he seems so much with Yagudin, it remembers me of him.

[FroMDreamS]

I couldn't have said it better, jojo26111.

I like Brian Joubert too,and for the same reasons, he remids me of Alexey,but Lambiel is one of my favourites these days too, he has his own stile,powerful with a story to tell and he unlike Plush he feel the music. And what a great comeback in Euros despite all the mistakes which,I hope,will be taken care of in Olympics so another one of Plush technical good but boring programs doesn't win

[officeaddict33]

@jojo26111 - Perfection?? I'm thinking you've not watched videos of John Curry, Robin Cousins, Paul Wylie, Jeffrey Buttle, etc. Yagudin's posture is average at best, knees are bent almost continuously, arms are robotic more often than not. He does not know the meaning of the word "extension." Technically, he is brilliant. Artistically, he is average.

[kisssable]

Lesha!!! kak po maslu!

[outthehead]

AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish I could go back in those days when he skated! I remember watching this on TV, and rooting for him :))

he IS figure skating!

[dmsullen]

WOW....I honestly didnt realize how good he was until I saw this...one of the best ever!!!!!

[vstasov]

What a beautiful, virtuosic artist.

[portishphonic]

perfection

[Iris3492]

Those footworks are AMAZING.

[preciousbash]

only Kurt Browning and Scott Hamilton can f'k with this man's footwork!!! Incredible!!

[bedfordjumpergirl]

Such height on the jumps...he makes it look effortless!

[lovelyunakim]

he is god of figure skating.

[jadeforu]

Well now I know Patrick has a long way to go...

[scodes77]

when I know what Patrick said, I feel like that he insulted Alexei.. Patrick should learn how to repect the legend..

[clgilray]

This program is phenomenal - - eight triples, a quad with jumps even at the end of the program!! What a difference it made for him to leave Mishin (who degraded him) and train with Tatiana Tarasova, Those folk songs he was previously skating to were uninspiring - - in this program he focuses on interpreting music with arm movements; he doesn't merely try to build up speed to perform a jump. By 2000, his NUTROCKER program shows outstanding spins, jumps AND footwork!!

[tolstoy67]

You are correct; however, it's hard to compare the two. Alexei is an "outward" skater, a performer, and Chan in an "inward" skater who seems in his own world. The requirements are so different now. It's interesting to see how the sport has changed.

[jadeforu]

Yes. But look at Alexei's arm movements: powerful and precise, all very well done. It seems that Chan needs to get stronger to easily perform all the movements in his programs.

[mlc2005]

I adore him and love his skating... I just wonder why he uses his arms so much in his skating... it's a llittle distracting to me.

[roxallanna]

I'm watching him after all these years and I still can''t get enough of his magnificent work! The best!!!

[crazyasianman07]

Alexei's the man!!!!!

[byashka1]

very beautiful program!

[Martynka83]

I appreaciate your effort. It's not all black and white. I'm a big Yagudin fan, yet I never "plus" messages like "Plushi sucks, Yagi is the king" - there's no substance in them, they're not elaborated and they're insulting to others. Yet I "minused" some of your comments under this video, not simply because you like Plushi better, but because I absolutely disagree with what you said about Yagudin not feeling the music and Plushi doing it better. Suprised me a lot someone can see it that way.

[ChachouMiaou]

Well I guess the problem is that this plus / minus system results in treating spam, racist or insulting comments in the same way as controversial comments, i.e. it erases them, which means that when a lot of people disagree with you, you're erased. My problem with Yagudin & the music is about sheer accuracy, not so much the musicality of the moves themselves. He anticipates on the music very often. But I tend to be very fussy about music so I guess not everyone is disturbed by this as I am...

[Martynka83]

Hm, I'm not happy you got minuses again. You wrote a lot of reasonable stuff. I don't like it when people vote like that -- you summed it up well. I have the same experience from commenting Plushenko in Torino. It's futile, some fans are that biased about their idols that they only accept those who agree with them completely. Still, as for Yags and the music, I never analyzed it (like you did), probably because I liked him immediately, I never analyzed his "accuracy", just love the passion.

[Ardenis9]

i think Alexei is really artistic, but sometimes in this program he cant follow the music properly,esspecially in his footwork section.Anyway evgeni does a completely different job,but i think his moves are only good because of the speed.I cant imagine Evegni doing an emotional program with artistic, musical movements but SLOWLY.i didnt want to say that its a bad thing,i just wanted to say,that its completely DIFFERENT from yagudin.I actually prefer Alexei,but i dont like this program very much.

[ChachouMiaou]

Thank you :D This is absolutely my point, I'm not a Plushy fan, as I said I love only 2 of his LPs and was disappointed by what followed. Kulik would be my favourite skater. But I agree, Plushy and Yagudin are completely different, they each have their strengths and weaknesses. I tend to appreciate Plushy's musicality, weird moves and music, more than Yagudin's emotional and powerful interpretations and more "mainstream" music taken from American films, but that depends on evb's own sensitivity.

[belleys82]

Oh..my. I've watched this more than hundred times and still got the goosebumps.

His first 3axel(combo) is sooooo easy almost look like a double.

[kitkat9288]

I really like Brian Boitano as a commentator. He definitely knows his stuff and always has constructive things to say. I wish Brian would do more commentating instead of Scott Hamilton or Dick Button who sound cranky a lot of the time.

[ladyfromchicago]

Перед этим прокатом Леша сказал ТАТ: "Сейчас всех порву!" :))

[hardvillage2]

Yagudin is the best skater that has ever lived. Plushenko is nothing next to him.

Figure skating is lost without Alexei.

I can't even bear to watch men's skating anymore...the only one is joubert..and he was trained by Yagudin...AND...hes a poor imitation.

YAGUDIN FOREVER.

By the way....plushenko is now dressing up as a baby and dancing to britney spears. If you don't believe me take a look at this:

youtube dot com/watch?v=mVZRTui-gQ4

[achille25]

you intimate plushenko...don t forget that their confrontation made both of them try even hardly and as a result...made both of them even better.....they have different way of skating but i think they belong to the same class...the highest one....

[rickram1961]

Alexei Yagudin is far of better skater anyday over Evengi Plushenko. I have never been a fan of Plushenko since he has such a "cocky" attitude unlike the down-to-earth attitude of Yagudin. Yagudin is much more of a natural skater compared to Plushenko who's program seem forced.

[ILoveS07]

@rickram1961 I agree with you TOTALLY. Yags was passion on the ice, a well-rounded skater and a lovely person. Plushenko is an arrogant and his skating says nothing to me, he leaves me empty. Yags can always make me cry.

[mariasimona]

I do like them both,but still I have to say Yagudin has something special,something more that Plushenko needs to learn:naturalness.That is why from a drama he makes a soap-opera,when he skates he tells you 'look who i'm pretending to be' instead of saing 'look who I am,this is me' like Yagudin

[mariasimona]

And when you think that a year before,in 1998, he was just a great jumper but artistically suffering!Now he is a hole package of powerfull jumps,passion and distinction.Thank God he left Mishin at time!

[DarrenInCA]

What Yagudin has is passion, power, and selling a program from head to toe. What Plushenko has is precision, speed, and unrivaled mastery of the blade.  The two are incomparable. Yagudin had bigger jumps, Plushenko was more consistent jumps. Yagudin had expressive footwork that went with the music, Plushenko had difficult footwork that I wouldn't put into the realm of expressive or fitting his musical choices but harder than anyone else's. Both are great. It's just a matter of taste.

[mariasimona]

you're quite right and precise when you describe their technique and sure,it is always a matter of taste.Personally I like best Yagudin becouse he seems to be natural all the way,I always get the story he creates on ice and he makes me feel I am invited to skate with him instead of watching him

[hardvillage2]

YAGUDIN IS THE KING. Anyone who believes otherwise, is a moron....its not a matter of taste. its as clear as the day is long

[nadaschka]

each program of alexei is an explosion of incredible tachnical and artistic ability combined with beautufully interpreted music and breathtaking expression from head to toe.And even he's so succesfull he appears not half as dogged and cool as plushenko!

[nadaschka]

And I have really to reject the statement that alexei is not as musical as zhenia.zhenia is a great performer but his movements steadily grow well-worn and he is not half as passionate as yashka.he often seems artificial just not to compare with yashka honest and sympathetic behaviour!

[nadaschka]

even his face describes the character by expressing fear,pain and a steely will(eg Gladiator).He does not act it,he becomes the gladiator.His performances are always done wholeheartedly, he really pushes it to the edge, what plushenko does not do that often.

[nadaschka]

I was a convinced fan of plushenko until I saw Alexei for the first time and the next thing that happend was a fundamental change.i'm now much more a yagudin fan than I had ever been a fan of plushenko.Yagudin has everything a skater needs and even more!he has the comlete control,he almost never looses tension,he's the higgest jumper of all skater,he has a unique footwork,his movements can be cool,elegant and everything else,

[nadaschka]

I was a cinvinced fan of plushenko until I saw Alexei for the first time and the next thing that happend was a fundamental change.i'm now much more a yagudin fan as I had ever been a fan of plushenko.Yagudin has everything a skater needs and even more!he has the comlete control,he almost never looses tension,he's the higgest jumper of all skater,he has a unique footwork,his movements can be cool,elegant and everything else,

[miramiro]

This is such a magical performance. The culmination of male figure skating. Program-wise, my favorites are Gladiator and MITIM though:)

[ChachouMiaou]

I was actually speaking of Gladiator and the Man in the Iron Mask and whatever he did after this. I am one of the few people who dislikes what every one sees as Yagudin's workpieces. I think this one has history, it is beautiful, it is honest and simple. I hated what he became after this, IMO not an artist but a crowd pleaser. I found his expression very artificial and conventional. I still admired him as a competitor though, he had amazing self-control even in the toughest competitions.

[ChachouMiaou]

Love this program, beautiful music and beautiful choreography. My problem with Yagudin though is that, whatever people might say, he is not good at skating to the music. You can tell he does not feel it, compared to someone like Plushenko for instance. Still the skating was brilliant, I would have liked his most recent programs to look more like this.

[tuerush]

Well, his most recent programs simply can't look more like this 'cause he has a very serious injury which prevents from him to do almost all the jumps...

In this specific program I saw more jumps and less history, character. "Gladiator" and MITIM from this point of view are much better, IMHO.

[PetraLilly]

someone like Plushenko?!! Is this a joke or what?

I think Plushenko is one of the least artistic skaters of all and believe me, I'm not the only one.

[ChachouMiaou]

I would not be so sure about Plushenko not being seen as an artistic skater! Yagudin's fans are so confident that he is the best skater ever... Plushenko, at least, skates to the music, he IS the music. Unlike Yagudin, Plushenko is a dancer. He uses his whole body while Yagudin is very limited in his corporal expression. Plushenko is also much more original, even strange and I understand that some might not like him. Another that was IMO way better than Yagudin on this point was Ilia Kulik.

[miramiro]

I wholeheartedly disagree.

[ChachouMiaou]

People can disagree with the fact that his more recent programs were not as good as this. I have my reasons for thinking this, everyone does not have to share my opinion. Still, it is impossible to disagree on the fact that Yagudin does not have the best musicality and that others like Plushenko and Kulik were far better on this. But there is such a consensus around Yagudin and his being the best skater of all time that even pointing out an obvious fact like this is almost seen as sacrilegious.

[kitkat9288]

Kulik, I agree, had great artistry once he went to Tarasova. Plushenko improved later on, but so many of his programs seem to have those cringe-worthy hip shakes that just don't fit the music at all (OUATIA was great but Bolero? that music is the complete opposite of hip shaking). And his arm movements are largely ridiculed for having no relation to the music at all. I certainly wouldn't count musicality as one of his big strengths, which were definitely his jumps and mental toughness.

[kitkat9288]

Then again, Plushenko never left Mishin so his programs often feel like Yagudin's early ones-- unbelievable jumping technique with completely random choreography. Then once he knew had no rival, he slacked off even more on artistry.

[ChachouMiaou]

I agree with you to a certain extent, if you consider the later Plushenko programs. When I speak of Plushenko's musical qualities, I'm thinking of his earlier routines, namely the Gipsy Dance and the Mortal Kombat compilation. His later programs became somewhat "decadent"(the word is too strong) by using too many movements indeed. But the 2 programs I'm thinking of are undeniably extremely musical, there are hip shakes and shoulder twists but they do fit the music perfectly.

[PoisonedApathy]

I totally agree about Plushenko's musicality in his early years. Those programs that you named were amazing -and probably the last ones by him that I really loved-. He used to train with Mishin in my country during the summer, and a friend of mine showed me a video of him skating to Carmen when he was about 15 and his artistry was incredible...I don't know what the hell happened to him... From 2001 onwards, Alexei took his place as the best of that era, and probably the best of all time...