If this was her Olympics performance back in 1992.. I'm sure she might had taken that Gold medal from Kristi Yamaguchi and also 1994 with Oksana Bauil... But at the same time Kristi Yamaguchi and Oksana Baiul are more known for their artistry not technical skills. So it might have been a very close competition.
I have never seen a skater since Harding have this much power and strength behind her movements. "Graceful" skaters are a dime a dozen, and in fact it's pretty much expected. But the height she gets with her jumps, the power and force behind her moves, they're unmatched...to date, I haven't seen this kind of strength. What a brilliant skater.
@mageezy And she knew how to choreograph and then some! It seems between the 91 short and long programs, and the ones going into '92, they couldn't be beat....
I wonder if she had more severe problems with her ankles than anyone really knew about....I mean, she broke the eyelet on her skate in this program. Think about the power she had to harness in on those jumps. Her joints must have taken a beating.
The jumping she did in this program is better than what most of the women are doing today, 20 years later. Especially her triple axel, along with Ito's, much better than the ones the women are doing today (barely rotated).
Best female jumper in the history of the sport. Look how distinct her edges are going into her jumps, the height, the distance covered. Her lutz off a long outside edge is just so beautiful.
@LDVTennis: I would say she was the second best jumper in the history of the sport, but the first has GOT to go to Midori Ito. She landed the triple axle many more times than Harding, and just wowed the audience time and time again.
@cesarartistrivera She never hired anyone, she found out about who attacked Kerrigan, but never told the cops. She took full responsibility for that. Gotta give her some props though. Even if she did, she wouldn't need to. Look at her here.
I know this sounds crazy, but I miss seeing her skate...such an amazing athlete. A shame what happened. She woulda won anyway, none of that was necessary.
@BarleyJack72 It's not crazy. You're not the only one who likes Tonya Harding. If only there was a reincarnation one. We need another American girl to do a triple axel. If she competed the the new system, she'd get +3's
What is particularly worrisome is that the American judge had placed Tonya second after Kristi.. despite Kristi falling on the combination, falling out terribly on the triple loop and popping the salchow. Technically, this performance remains the greatest free skate in women's figure skating. Tonya was indeed about American judges and officials within USFSA pressuring her to conform and also stay with her abusive ex husband. IMO she remains the greatest talent known to skating.
I like her brazen strength. She doesn't try to be a thoroughbred or a fairy princess, she is powerful. I wish there had never been the attack on Nancy Kerrigan. We lost a wonderful skater in Tonya when it happened.
Tonya Harding was a very exciting figure skater to watch. I think because she chose to focus more on her natural athletic ability, it gave us (the viewers) more opportunity to cheer her on as she attempted the more complicated jumps of her time. I feel the skaters today lack a lot of the personality skaters seem to have in the 90's-early 2000's. Hopefully, we will once again see some raw talent with fearless ability rise in with the newer skaters.
She was fantastic. It's a shame how everything turned out. To take away her ability to earn a living through skating for LIFE because of the 1994 Kerrigan incident was not right. I'm not defending her participation, but even murderers in prison get paroled. Her punishment did not fit the crime. I'm suprised American hasn't been more forgiving to her. I'd like to see her do commentary for competitions.
Ironically, exactly what the USFSA told her NOT to do... A divorced champion was very undesirable to them, so she stuck with him, and the rest, is, well, infamy...
19 years later, reminiscing about her alleged involvement in an attack on Nancy Kerrigan, I watch this performance, and see why Tonya was right when she claimed Nancy was NOT an obstruction in her path to the Olympics. I see some here say this was the best presentation in the history of the sport. Maybe it was. 19 years later maybe we finally tend to rate the performance and not the innuendo! How many American females today have done a triple axle in competition ? You know, Tonya was
A terrific performer on skates -- a pleasure to watch. So sorry for the mess that happened in her life/career. Just seems that if she could have kept going, she would be a top female skater to be remembered always.
i LOVE the speed on her ending spin combination. Im not a fan of theo obvious mess that Tonya was involved in but i really LOVE to see truly talented athletes. I was a gymnast and understand that no sport is free of a scandal.
People often say Tonya's shoulder pads were off-putting to the conservative judges and world of ice skating - too unfeminine. But, this was soon after the '80's "Dynasty" shoulder pad fashions. Wow, China and Germany gave Tonya a 6.0 technical. Love Tonya's "Come on, baby!"
I agree. This judging system is killing the sport. When do we ever get excited now? Everything is the same, even music choices. Who will ever forget the excitement of the 90's with Tonya, Midori, Kristi & co. Even more so - Witt's 'Carmen and West Side Story' and Liz Manley's Olympic skate of 88. These we can remember - can anyone recall certain outstanding programmes from the last 5 years? Hardly leave a lasting memory do they? Bring back the old 6.0 and let us know WHO is judging the events!
@JP852 We care about Yuna kim why? I don't see Yuna kim doing triple axels or having speed like tonya harding. seriously. you have no appreciation for skaters from back then. So what if Yuna Kim won the olympics, this video is not about her. girl please.
Amazing. She's still basically the only American female skater to complete a Triple Axel properly. The so-called "triple axles" women try doing these days are completely cheated and are totally crap to watch. None of them can hold a candle to the ones Tonya turned out back in the day.
If you could send Dr. Emmet Brown and Marty back in time,with the delorean, to the day this video was shot to tell Tonya that she would later become persona non grata in the skating world and embark on a career in Porn, entertainment wrestling, crime, and womens pro boxing, I wonder what her reaction would be. What would she say to that?
@cfqpa She'd have someone hit you in the legs from behind for talking crap....kidding. I am so disappointed in the public re: her. She's "served" her time re: that whole Nancy Kerrigan deal...why doesn't everyone leave her be and let her live? I am asking rhetorically, of course...she was an amazing skater.
That's true, NorthEast81--and I blame the CoP for it. Skaters today are so focused on performing the intricate steps (i.e., no speed), changes of edges and positions, not falling, placing the edges correctly, etc. etc. that DYNAMIC skating has been lost. Akiko Suzuki is the closest thing you get to "excitement," and most others are way too delicate and cautious.
this is by far her best ever performance shes ever done... If she performed exactly like this at the Olympics in 1992...there could be a chance she could had won the Gold.
Phenomenal! Had she not messed up the short and had skated like this at Olympics, the gold would have been hers. Unless the judges went against her of course, Always thought she should have won Worlds 91 but it was not to be.
yes! i think at the 94 olympics she couldnt have done better considering what happened but in 92 i felt sorry for her! she could have won those olympics!
this is the same LP she did at the 92 olympics and it is just like night and day how different she performs...if she did this at olympis she would have got no less than the silver medal....so sad
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I actually was a nationally ranked skater and knew tonya so yes, I can say that....she could have done so much better if she didn't have the trailer park mentality, she made some very stupid choices for herself and yes, she did lie about the attack....
Had Tonya just focused on skating instead of, well, you know, one wonders what might have been. Perhaps the Olympics could have been hers. We'll never know.
If she just stayed this way - her late 80s/1991 form and formula, then she would have really battled Ito and Yamaguchi for years. She would have also easily swept aside Baiul at the Olympics as well.
One of my favorite programs ever. I wish she hadn't changed the placement of her axel in the program because it's so triumphant at that point in the music. And there's that incredible chord just before too when she's setting up. (0:48)
This was a phenomenal performance. Given how both Kristi and Midori skated at the 92 Olympics, this would have easily been your Olympic Champion had she duplicated this again in Albertville.
The 3-Axel here gives me chills...how she could have BARELY made the Olympic team and then bombed in Albertville is beyond me...Couldn't she just practice?
She basically slacked off after this competition, twisted her ankle at 92' Nationals and arrived so late to Albertville that she was effected by jetlag.
I know that. But if you watch her interview on FOX, the interviewer asked why she failed in Albertville and she admitted that she got lazy during the months prior to the Olympics.
So she seemed unbeatable at this point. WTF happened afterwards this season? NHK, Nationals, and the Olympics... where she looked like a different skater.
After 1991 it was all downhill for her. She always had mental issues and wasn't very disiplined either when it came to her skating and staying in shape. So she could be great like she was here or just average at best. She wasted her talent.
I completely agree with you. If she only had the work ethic, maturity, and discipline of Kristi Yamaguchi, who does where Tonya would have been in 1992 and beyond.
It seems like she trained in a really public place - I would guess that she had people coming up to her every day, telling her that she was the best, she was better than everyone else, blah blah blah. She probably started to feel entitled. I think 1993 Nationals pissed her off more than anything.
Yamaguchi really trained, and was no technical slouch. I think that's why she went pro when she did, so she could take a break!
One of *her* greatest performances perhaps. The height on her jumps is just amazing. No one jumped like Tanya. It's a shame she just couldn't keep it together.
5.9s for presentation though? That's a bit much. Even with Kristi's falls I would have given her a higher second mark.
You're remarkable. Tonya won me over too. I really wanna know what Dodi Teachmann did to her behind cameras. I also want to know why she skated so well in Olympic season that she fucked up later on so shortly.
Extension, line, posture, choreography, musicality - not Tanya's strengths, which is why she falls behind on the second mark. With a skate like this, however, her first mark more than makes up for it.
It was the whole performance as a package as to why Harding had 5.9s for presentation. It was more than correct. The performance is inspiring. When she hits all her jumps combined with her natural sense of musicality, personality and natural artistry, she can beat anyone.
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That's the problem. She doesn't have the total package when it comes to the second mark. She is NOT naturally musical. Look at someone like Chen Lu or Yuka Sato for great musicality.
This program was also choreographically very simple and the music choices were horrible. I will concede that when she is on, she does create an air of excitement, but that alone does not warrant such a high 2nd mark. But as I said again, when she's on, her first mark more than makes up for it.
I would say that if she had had a better choreographer, she'd have been the total package, because she really does have musicality. Look at the feeling she gives in the middle section. And that ina bauer into triple flip was like wow!
This performance shows what she could have been...although notice after it's over she talks about her boot braking. Her bad luck with equipment failure started way back then.
@rfillangi I noticed that too. When you grow up poor, you think this is the way things are supposed to be. Mother married 6 times...Dad too sick to work much. How did she practice.Her mother even made her costumes. How did she get good equipment. Perhaps the answer is obvious — she didn't. Maybe we watched here, the best-ever talent, perform at a level way above everyone else with extremely sub-standard resources. I think this was truly exceptional!
If this was her Olympics performance back in 1992.. I'm sure she might had taken that Gold medal from Kristi Yamaguchi and also 1994 with Oksana Bauil... But at the same time Kristi Yamaguchi and Oksana Baiul are more known for their artistry not technical skills. So it might have been a very close competition.
giocurve 1 month ago
Wow I can't believe this is the same fat, out of shape woman we see on worlds dumbest today. What happened to her, drugs? Too much fast food??
preludeguy22 1 month ago
I have never seen a skater since Harding have this much power and strength behind her movements. "Graceful" skaters are a dime a dozen, and in fact it's pretty much expected. But the height she gets with her jumps, the power and force behind her moves, they're unmatched...to date, I haven't seen this kind of strength. What a brilliant skater.
Merrida100 2 months ago 3
I love Tanya, and she could have gotten so far except she had to press her luck and push it to where she couldn't re enact her famous 91 performance.
FlautistRedemptions 3 months ago
Happy Birthday Tonya!! (2011)
barkingtree88 3 months ago
omg, there are people in the stands. look at today's skate america.
thank you NBC
bucknut2000 3 months ago
that's my aunt barbara flowers with her at end!
mageezy 4 months ago
@mageezy And she knew how to choreograph and then some! It seems between the 91 short and long programs, and the ones going into '92, they couldn't be beat....
wildbrad 1 month ago
This woman was the best figure skater ever. I am glad she was around during my time. Nancy had nothing on this woman.
tasceaie1493 5 months ago 4
@tasceaie1493 i totally agree!!!
The123musicals 4 months ago
Tonya Harding is very hot in this tape!
fitadi3 7 months ago
Shes my favourite!!!
pelicanus11 8 months ago
I wonder if she had more severe problems with her ankles than anyone really knew about....I mean, she broke the eyelet on her skate in this program. Think about the power she had to harness in on those jumps. Her joints must have taken a beating.
MissFit29 8 months ago
She makes those triples look easy
victoriaindigo 8 months ago
WOW what a skater what a performance!
Taan123 8 months ago
2:28 look at the SIZE...
1980MF1980 9 months ago
Best jumper EVER!
fozngrace 9 months ago
NO ONE JUMPS LIKE SHE DOES ANYMORE.
Imogence 9 months ago
Her Ina Bauers were astounding!!!! Reminds me of Arakawa.
mlc2005 10 months ago
The jumping she did in this program is better than what most of the women are doing today, 20 years later. Especially her triple axel, along with Ito's, much better than the ones the women are doing today (barely rotated).
Dylvente 10 months ago
Tonya was a terrific skater, not graceful like the Russian woman but strong.
lorrainechatham 11 months ago
Love that she chose Europe by Gato Barbieri to skate for this terrific routine.
LorraineGC 11 months ago
Best female jumper in the history of the sport. Look how distinct her edges are going into her jumps, the height, the distance covered. Her lutz off a long outside edge is just so beautiful.
LDVTennis 1 year ago
@LDVTennis: I would say she was the second best jumper in the history of the sport, but the first has GOT to go to Midori Ito. She landed the triple axle many more times than Harding, and just wowed the audience time and time again.
mlc2005 10 months ago
Wow, I'm amazed how great a skater she was.
MissBelinha 1 year ago
dont mess with Tonya ...She will hire someone to kik your ass!
cesarartistrivera 1 year ago
@cesarartistrivera She never hired anyone, she found out about who attacked Kerrigan, but never told the cops. She took full responsibility for that. Gotta give her some props though. Even if she did, she wouldn't need to. Look at her here.
filipinoICEsk8ter 1 year ago
I know this sounds crazy, but I miss seeing her skate...such an amazing athlete. A shame what happened. She woulda won anyway, none of that was necessary.
BarleyJack72 1 year ago 2
@BarleyJack72 It's not crazy. You're not the only one who likes Tonya Harding. If only there was a reincarnation one. We need another American girl to do a triple axel. If she competed the the new system, she'd get +3's
filipinoICEsk8ter 1 year ago
DAMN!! Best landing speed and huge jumps!
filipinoICEsk8ter 1 year ago
I wish Tonya was as well trained as she was for this competition for Nationals and Olympics. The titles would have been her's.
skaterdude1962 1 year ago
I was always taken by Tonya Harding, I will always remember her for her awesome skating
surge2k7 1 year ago
What is particularly worrisome is that the American judge had placed Tonya second after Kristi.. despite Kristi falling on the combination, falling out terribly on the triple loop and popping the salchow. Technically, this performance remains the greatest free skate in women's figure skating. Tonya was indeed about American judges and officials within USFSA pressuring her to conform and also stay with her abusive ex husband. IMO she remains the greatest talent known to skating.
Greatass4 1 year ago
She used to be so pretty.
loveyourhooker 1 year ago
I like her brazen strength. She doesn't try to be a thoroughbred or a fairy princess, she is powerful. I wish there had never been the attack on Nancy Kerrigan. We lost a wonderful skater in Tonya when it happened.
yelloworangered 1 year ago
Tonya Harding was a very exciting figure skater to watch. I think because she chose to focus more on her natural athletic ability, it gave us (the viewers) more opportunity to cheer her on as she attempted the more complicated jumps of her time. I feel the skaters today lack a lot of the personality skaters seem to have in the 90's-early 2000's. Hopefully, we will once again see some raw talent with fearless ability rise in with the newer skaters.
SymphonySiren 1 year ago
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how good was she...............................
davidmarc09 1 year ago
outstanding, she got the potential
gjglrb 1 year ago
Spectacular! God I miss her!
hilljayne 1 year ago
I'm sad that Tonya can't compete anymore :( I wish the whole Nancy Kerrigan thing never happened.
sarahaudrey03 1 year ago
She was fantastic. It's a shame how everything turned out. To take away her ability to earn a living through skating for LIFE because of the 1994 Kerrigan incident was not right. I'm not defending her participation, but even murderers in prison get paroled. Her punishment did not fit the crime. I'm suprised American hasn't been more forgiving to her. I'd like to see her do commentary for competitions.
lcowles 1 year ago
Ironically, exactly what the USFSA told her NOT to do... A divorced champion was very undesirable to them, so she stuck with him, and the rest, is, well, infamy...
wildbrad 1 year ago
Very clean program.
Tonya totally earned this title.
safehaven11 1 year ago
Tonya Harding had more raw talent than any other skater.
Her performance here is electrifying. She had great speed and jumping ability.
It is sad to watch this though. She could have accomplished great things. Now we'll never know.
TheMiguelvalles 1 year ago
i love the saxaphone solo. i play this a lot just so i can listen to this
benrobinson77 1 year ago
@johnnyblack1974 She was certainly GREAT here!
tnlmtr 1 year ago
19 years later, reminiscing about her alleged involvement in an attack on Nancy Kerrigan, I watch this performance, and see why Tonya was right when she claimed Nancy was NOT an obstruction in her path to the Olympics. I see some here say this was the best presentation in the history of the sport. Maybe it was. 19 years later maybe we finally tend to rate the performance and not the innuendo! How many American females today have done a triple axle in competition ? You know, Tonya was
fabulous!
tnlmtr 1 year ago 10
@tnlmtr - She was fabulous ... for a time.
officeaddict33 1 month ago
I don't like the person that she is....however I like the figure skater Tonya....she was so good back then.
KEBokeh 1 year ago
She had Kristi Yamaguchi beat after the triple flip. Forget it. Hands down the easy winner.
greekluv85 1 year ago 2
The best programm ever
cc4505 1 year ago
@cc4505
I keep replaying and replaying and you know, you might just be right!
tnlmtr 1 year ago
@tnlmtr i do to she was so good
davidmarc09 1 year ago
Beautiful performance. Sorry to see that she messed her skating/personal life up though. Shame because she is so good here
edgeacebeaglebrady 1 year ago
i love that saxaphone melody for her second segment of her program
benrobinson77 1 year ago
Without a doubt the greatest triple axel ever landed by a man or woman in competition! The speed coming out of that is incredible!
Greatass4 1 year ago
A terrific performer on skates -- a pleasure to watch. So sorry for the mess that happened in her life/career. Just seems that if she could have kept going, she would be a top female skater to be remembered always.
apenny4urthots 1 year ago
LOL @ her "Hiiiiii" at 5:44. hahaha
laudese 1 year ago
i LOVE the speed on her ending spin combination. Im not a fan of theo obvious mess that Tonya was involved in but i really LOVE to see truly talented athletes. I was a gymnast and understand that no sport is free of a scandal.
benrobinson77 1 year ago
the US judge gave her a 5.8 .....
i have no problems with the 6.0. it was amazing.
lutz84 1 year ago
incredibly beautiful performance...
cmescal 1 year ago
why does she always start with the spin?
rlaguswjd1999 1 year ago
People often say Tonya's shoulder pads were off-putting to the conservative judges and world of ice skating - too unfeminine. But, this was soon after the '80's "Dynasty" shoulder pad fashions. Wow, China and Germany gave Tonya a 6.0 technical. Love Tonya's "Come on, baby!"
mpjrdldn 1 year ago 2
I agree. This judging system is killing the sport. When do we ever get excited now? Everything is the same, even music choices. Who will ever forget the excitement of the 90's with Tonya, Midori, Kristi & co. Even more so - Witt's 'Carmen and West Side Story' and Liz Manley's Olympic skate of 88. These we can remember - can anyone recall certain outstanding programmes from the last 5 years? Hardly leave a lasting memory do they? Bring back the old 6.0 and let us know WHO is judging the events!
premierrules 2 years ago 3
Outstanding performance? I thoroughly recommend yu na kim from the recent Olympics - a great, polished skater ;)
JP852 1 year ago
@JP852 We care about Yuna kim why? I don't see Yuna kim doing triple axels or having speed like tonya harding. seriously. you have no appreciation for skaters from back then. So what if Yuna Kim won the olympics, this video is not about her. girl please.
EscoIceSk8 1 year ago
Amazing. She's still basically the only American female skater to complete a Triple Axel properly. The so-called "triple axles" women try doing these days are completely cheated and are totally crap to watch. None of them can hold a candle to the ones Tonya turned out back in the day.
NorthEast81 2 years ago 3
@NorthEast81 totally agree!!
BobtailTM30 2 years ago
If you could send Dr. Emmet Brown and Marty back in time,with the delorean, to the day this video was shot to tell Tonya that she would later become persona non grata in the skating world and embark on a career in Porn, entertainment wrestling, crime, and womens pro boxing, I wonder what her reaction would be. What would she say to that?
cfqpa 2 years ago
@cfqpa She'd have someone hit you in the legs from behind for talking crap....kidding. I am so disappointed in the public re: her. She's "served" her time re: that whole Nancy Kerrigan deal...why doesn't everyone leave her be and let her live? I am asking rhetorically, of course...she was an amazing skater.
tonks78 1 year ago
@cfqpa Here's one piece of advice they could give her which would change everything - Dump Jeff Gilooly!
SOLE2SOUL 1 year ago
What a great skater she was - pity she had the green eyed monster
bebebleau 2 years ago
World class athlete. Her story is so sad.
dsrtflwr 2 years ago 8
@dsrtflwr twenty years later she has a happy marriage and a beautiful child. things turn around for people, eventually.
barkingtree88 3 months ago
Does anyone know the title of the song she is skating to? ...Her music selection really accentuates her vibrant performance.
MultiDancing1 2 years ago
@MultiDancing1 the first part of the music was from Robin Hood-Prince of Thieves movie soundtrack with Kevin Costner.
kashaw077 2 years ago
Thanks so much kashaw077 for letting me know!
MultiDancing1 2 years ago
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She May Be Good But Nacy Kicks her butt Everytime
I mean come on I dont care about tonya Anymore
Since after she broke Nacys Kneecap
I mean what a Dooch!
KHbebekitty 2 years ago
Amazing performance! You don't see any female skaters of today delivering anything close to this kind of excitement!
NorthEast81 2 years ago 30
That's true, NorthEast81--and I blame the CoP for it. Skaters today are so focused on performing the intricate steps (i.e., no speed), changes of edges and positions, not falling, placing the edges correctly, etc. etc. that DYNAMIC skating has been lost. Akiko Suzuki is the closest thing you get to "excitement," and most others are way too delicate and cautious.
nondescriptnyc 2 years ago 2
Best skater ever. I hate Nancy
greff08 2 years ago 5
why? wwhhhyyyyy????
117mathieu 2 years ago
this is by far her best ever performance shes ever done... If she performed exactly like this at the Olympics in 1992...there could be a chance she could had won the Gold.
giocurve 2 years ago 7
omg! she looks like joan rivers :P
tracyterry 2 years ago
Phenomenal! Had she not messed up the short and had skated like this at Olympics, the gold would have been hers. Unless the judges went against her of course, Always thought she should have won Worlds 91 but it was not to be.
premierrules 2 years ago 18
yes! i think at the 94 olympics she couldnt have done better considering what happened but in 92 i felt sorry for her! she could have won those olympics!
cc4505 2 years ago
this is the same LP she did at the 92 olympics and it is just like night and day how different she performs...if she did this at olympis she would have got no less than the silver medal....so sad
BobtailTM30 2 years ago 2
Everyone's life has highs and lows......glad she had this moment.
nepadude 2 years ago 8
Well done!
exclusiveskills 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
White trash personified....such a waste of talent....
twilliger123 2 years ago
how could you say that you couldnt skate any better you probly cant skate
18jordang 2 years ago
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I actually was a nationally ranked skater and knew tonya so yes, I can say that....she could have done so much better if she didn't have the trailer park mentality, she made some very stupid choices for herself and yes, she did lie about the attack....
twilliger123 2 years ago
she is the best and always will be
sambuka72002 2 years ago
This performance is amazing but those 2 announcers, especially Scott Hamilton, are really distracting!
NorthEast81 2 years ago
The musical timing with the triple axel was PERFECT!!!!
RedbeardNC 2 years ago 4
this is the best performance i've ever seen her do..... i've never seen her do a perfect program though, but this is the best i've seen
snofagun1814 2 years ago
She has done perfect SPs, of course you have to do perfect ones to win, but she has done a perfect LP. Look up her 1991 US Nationals LP.
lookscudkill 2 years ago
No one has ever mentioned on youtube that she does a VERY difficult pivot move in all her programs where she is almost defying gravity.
ncsapianist 2 years ago 2
eh?
snofagun1814 2 years ago
Incredibly difficult outside edge pivot. See video at about 2:43-2:44.
ballinagra13 2 years ago 3
Thanks for pointing these things out. I love watching skating and like to learn what some of these moves are.
RedbeardNC 2 years ago 2
Sexy body back then
LordRockman82 2 years ago
Had Tonya just focused on skating instead of, well, you know, one wonders what might have been. Perhaps the Olympics could have been hers. We'll never know.
wisdaniel 2 years ago 6
If she just stayed this way - her late 80s/1991 form and formula, then she would have really battled Ito and Yamaguchi for years. She would have also easily swept aside Baiul at the Olympics as well.
lookscudkill 3 years ago 2
and of course the no.1 of the mid-90s, Kerrigan.
lookscudkill 3 years ago
WOW - great performance!
sgarabato 3 years ago 2
What a GREAT ass!
MacoutesGabber 3 years ago
I'd never seen this performance before. I didn't realize she did this program well before Albertville (ShaefDawg-I got this right this time).
It makes me sadder to think that she had done so well for an extended period of time, then didn't do as well at the Olympics a few months later.
fliptopla 3 years ago 4
A smooth SP triple lutz combo at albertville and that long program and she would be on dancing with the stars now!
hilljacknutjob 3 years ago
One of my favorite programs ever. I wish she hadn't changed the placement of her axel in the program because it's so triumphant at that point in the music. And there's that incredible chord just before too when she's setting up. (0:48)
StewNWT 3 years ago
What an amazing skater she was, absolutely breathtaking. xxx
Lilia96 3 years ago 5
This was a phenomenal performance. Given how both Kristi and Midori skated at the 92 Olympics, this would have easily been your Olympic Champion had she duplicated this again in Albertville.
gayskatingfan 3 years ago 10
The saxophone music is a piece called Europa. It is by Gato Barbieri.
sithlord0033 3 years ago 3
Yes I love that piece of music. Very 1940's and Blade Runner-ish music. I love it!!!
mec441 3 years ago
She is great!!! did she win this comp?
coolieboyno1 3 years ago
yes she was 2nd after short program and win this competion she beats yamaguchi and bonaly
grolatav 3 years ago
I loved that jazzy saxaphone music in the middle. Reminded me of a 1940's Humphry Bogart movie.
mec441 3 years ago
wat was da music called at da start?? can somewone tell me coz im creating a new programme and thinking of usin dat kinda music plz someone tell me
georgiaxkatrinax 3 years ago
The beginning music is from the soundtrack of the movie "Robin Hood" starring Kevin Costner and Alan Rickman.
ballinagra13 3 years ago 2
the beginning music was from Robin Hood
Prince of Thieves; song #1 from the sdtrk
1andonlyCobra 3 years ago
The 3-Axel here gives me chills...how she could have BARELY made the Olympic team and then bombed in Albertville is beyond me...Couldn't she just practice?
thomstephens 3 years ago
She basically slacked off after this competition, twisted her ankle at 92' Nationals and arrived so late to Albertville that she was effected by jetlag.
socalazn168 3 years ago
well actually the usfsa didnt want tonya to got to the olympics till one week before! then she went! no wonder she had a jetlag!!!!
cc4505 3 years ago
I know that. But if you watch her interview on FOX, the interviewer asked why she failed in Albertville and she admitted that she got lazy during the months prior to the Olympics.
socalazn168 3 years ago
So she seemed unbeatable at this point. WTF happened afterwards this season? NHK, Nationals, and the Olympics... where she looked like a different skater.
hikkirocks 3 years ago
After 1991 it was all downhill for her. She always had mental issues and wasn't very disiplined either when it came to her skating and staying in shape. So she could be great like she was here or just average at best. She wasted her talent.
dsfddsgh 3 years ago
I completely agree with you. If she only had the work ethic, maturity, and discipline of Kristi Yamaguchi, who does where Tonya would have been in 1992 and beyond.
adglen41112 3 years ago
It seems like she trained in a really public place - I would guess that she had people coming up to her every day, telling her that she was the best, she was better than everyone else, blah blah blah. She probably started to feel entitled. I think 1993 Nationals pissed her off more than anything.
Yamaguchi really trained, and was no technical slouch. I think that's why she went pro when she did, so she could take a break!
MissFit29 3 years ago
I love this program!
f2781 3 years ago 3
This is definitely one of the greatest performances of ALL TIME!!!
Greatass4 3 years ago 4
One of *her* greatest performances perhaps. The height on her jumps is just amazing. No one jumped like Tanya. It's a shame she just couldn't keep it together.
5.9s for presentation though? That's a bit much. Even with Kristi's falls I would have given her a higher second mark.
fong03 3 years ago
You're remarkable. Tonya won me over too. I really wanna know what Dodi Teachmann did to her behind cameras. I also want to know why she skated so well in Olympic season that she fucked up later on so shortly.
ncsapianist 3 years ago 3
Extension, line, posture, choreography, musicality - not Tanya's strengths, which is why she falls behind on the second mark. With a skate like this, however, her first mark more than makes up for it.
fong03 3 years ago
It was the whole performance as a package as to why Harding had 5.9s for presentation. It was more than correct. The performance is inspiring. When she hits all her jumps combined with her natural sense of musicality, personality and natural artistry, she can beat anyone.
delayedricochet 3 years ago 6
This comment has received too many negative votes show
That's the problem. She doesn't have the total package when it comes to the second mark. She is NOT naturally musical. Look at someone like Chen Lu or Yuka Sato for great musicality.
This program was also choreographically very simple and the music choices were horrible. I will concede that when she is on, she does create an air of excitement, but that alone does not warrant such a high 2nd mark. But as I said again, when she's on, her first mark more than makes up for it.
fong03 3 years ago
I would say that if she had had a better choreographer, she'd have been the total package, because she really does have musicality. Look at the feeling she gives in the middle section. And that ina bauer into triple flip was like wow!
spartyutube 3 years ago 3
I agree. Such incredible talent...only to be wasted. What a shame. A true shame!
mec441 3 years ago 4
This performance shows what she could have been...although notice after it's over she talks about her boot braking. Her bad luck with equipment failure started way back then.
rfillangi 4 years ago 4
@rfillangi I noticed that too. When you grow up poor, you think this is the way things are supposed to be. Mother married 6 times...Dad too sick to work much. How did she practice.Her mother even made her costumes. How did she get good equipment. Perhaps the answer is obvious — she didn't. Maybe we watched here, the best-ever talent, perform at a level way above everyone else with extremely sub-standard resources. I think this was truly exceptional!
tnlmtr 1 year ago 2
Technically one of the most amazing programs EVER!
maxthewonderpup 4 years ago 3
Nina Garcia would have to question her level of taste.
ICDaveIsGorges 4 years ago
Tonya always had the most WTF?! music combinations ever conceived.
shezcrafti 4 years ago
Amen :-)
prideman78 4 years ago
haha true that.
lauRA27icelove 4 years ago
haha true that.
lauRA27icelove 4 years ago
LoL
f2781 3 years ago
That was a good performance :)
ShaefDawg 4 years ago