Yuka Sato 佐藤 有香 (JPN) - 1994 World Figure Skating Championships, Ladies' Free Skate

Chiba-Makuhari, JAPAN - 1994 World Figure Skating Championships, Ladies' Free Skate - Yuka Sato of Japan skated a near flawless program that excited the home audience and impressed enough judges to edge out Surya Bonaly of France to win the Free Skate in a 5-4 vote. By doing so, she would win her only World Title here. What I love about her straight line footwork here is the speed and flow she gets across the ice, unlike the overly complex footwork sequences these days that move across the ice with little speed and impact.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Yuka
• Sato
• 佐藤
• 有香
• 1994
• figure
• skating

[detectiveonline]

No really, with a program like this you can't even now win a single competition !! No creativity, no originality, no sparrow !! no footwork ! one little combination ! a missed triple jump !!!

HELLO! someone can explain to me how she had this score ?????

[3Axel1996]

@detectiveonline Rules were different 17 years ago. Hello! Sports advance, rule change. Heck 17 years before this performance, women were bairely doing 2 triple jumps. You cannot apply today's standards to the past. Back in 1994, this was difficult. The footwork Sato did moved across the diagonal twice as fast as the footwork done these days. You try replicating it successfully, then we'll talk about lack of difficulty.

[detectiveonline]

Is that what you call a footwork ?? two steps and much speed ??

[3Axel1996]

@detectiveonline Yes for 1994. The standards for footwork didn't change until 2000 when the Russians such as Yagudin & Plushenko revolutionized the sport. But no matter how difficult the footwork, it is also not easily to zip across from one end of the rink to the other in a matter of 3 seconds doing the footwork that Yuka Sato did. It would be more impressive had you seen it in person. But that's the sacrifice, you either had the complexity in steps or the speed, not both.

[fjn219]

Her English was very good, surprisingly~

[3Axel1996]

@fjn219 That came from being coached in Canada for 4 years. She obviously felt the need to master the English language, whereas most other skaters just learn enough to get by living and training in a foreign country.

[EmmaTav]

Her win here was such a no-brainer. I can't believe anyone, even Surya, was surprised/outraged.

[metsdudenj]

@EmmaTav Exactly, Surya didnt even deserve to be on the podium, she should have been fourth

[BlackRoseKonan]

@detectiveonline Wow... if you don't know anything, than at least try to voice your opinion in a respectful way, rather than this childish nagging.

And it's not just that the technical standard went up generally... ever heard the term "basic skating skills"? Guess what, Yukas are THAT good, she would get huge scores these days in PCS, even if just for her skating skills. And at least she did 3Lz + 3F.

[slater4cc]

When she landed her triple flip you can see her coach in the background jump up with excitement!

[macerface]

just watched bonalys performance before this, there was no question yuka had won. she might not have had the technical difficulty, but she had so much more grace, better lines/positions, and presence than bonaly. it was very unsportsmanlike for her to act the way she did in the medal ceremony, she should have been happy for yuka.

[snofagun1814]

yuka's final spin was better than surya's entire program pppppp lolols

[KatrinchenOnIce]

Figure skating changed a lot! But I'm not sure if I like it or not...

[Dylvente]

I agree with your comments in the description about the footwork. I actually think the technical mark, as well as the artistic, should go to Sato based on skating skills in general, such as that great footwork. Is that not technically demanding and difficult? Bonaly wins on the jumps, but Sato wins on everything else.