Sonja Henie - The Pavlova of the Ice (1928 Figure Skating)

[macerface]

she was a good skater. not trying to diss on the skaters of years before but i cannot STAND all the bent limbs! to me there isn't much grace in that.

[bowdowntoanette]

The concrete ground floor of her practice rink still remains at Finse, I see it whenever I go by along the Bergen Railway. Well, not so much now, it's covered in snow.... But in summer!

[HattieLovesCattie]

Her skating wouldn't work today at all,like one poster also said.I bet that outdoor patch of ice in St.Moritz is now a fancy hotel.I have been to Davos and the water hadn't been poured yet.:(I was so hoping to see the natural rink there but it was early Nov.and I think the ice was ready two weeks later.

[k9henrydog]

Wonderful, gorgeous film.............she actually copied the PAVLOVA moniker from CHARLOTTE Oeschlagel......best wishes

[shirley2458]

I think with the coaches they have today and the equipment, she would outshine the rest. She was dedicated and part of the ice. It flowed in her heart. I'm 82 and enjoyed watching her.

Her Hawiian War Chant Dance brought down the house in her professional years.

You youngsters look for what is wrong instead of what is right!!

[hamstergeisha76]

@shirley2458 I wonder how it was like to skate in those high ankle skates. Was it easier or harder to skate in the skates of those times than the more recent models?

[shirley2458]

@hamstergeisha76 The high ankle thing made it easier because of the support, but the skates had longer blades and that was difficult.

[hamstergeisha76]

@shirley2458 I can see why some models of skates recently have a bit of a high ankle made of some kind of plastic material. Must be less strain on the ankle joints than lower ankle skates.

[ItsEmmalicious]

look at the travel on that spin!

[berthesghost]

this is so fun!

between the fangirl gushing and the slo-mo playbacks, it's like one of those YuNa Kim videos that have flooded youtube as of late lol

daring for it's day, the outfit is so matronly for a 15 yo, especially the baggy granny panties! She was dressed much more youthfully in 1936, she she was dissed as "over the hill".

[ItsEmmalicious]

she was 24 & over the hill? i thought most of the skaters at that level back then where in there late 20s-early 30s?

[berthesghost]

she is often dissed by her detractors as having been held up in '36 over 15 year old Cecilia Colledge.

[quillerpen]

I wonder how she would fare in modern competition? I'm sure should would have had the talent to learn modern technique (multiple jumps etc). Her leg extensions on spirals are good and her stage preseence would knock spots of most modern performers!

[nolaughingmatter]

Using the skills of the 20s today wouldn't work. But her drive, tenacity, and presence would definitely help her develop the necessary skills and style that will make her competitive... and probably very, very, very competitive. It's her character that will take her far.

[npe1]

Gosh! How the sport has come in 80 odd years. Today we would laugh at someone doing cheated axels landed on 3 turns at club novice level - in fact they would have probably laughed as early as the 1950's, but in 1928 Sonja was at the cutting edge of the sport, nobody in singles skating has ever won more than she did in terms of international titles.