1998 Olympics Ladies SP Surya Bonaly

1998 Olympics Ladies SP Surya Bonaly in Nagano. A great original program from Bonaly, and it was a shame she didn't get to use it more - and in my opinion should have been in 5th.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• 1998
• Olympics
• Ladies
• SP
• Surya
• Bonaly
• Nagano
• winter
• sports

[MTVMANN]

No one should ever do a 3 toe-3 toe in the SP, if you can do a 3 lutz- 2 toe. It's my guess that she couldn't do one at the time.

Then her solo jump is a 3 salchow and for someone who doesn't get the big presentation marks, she needed something harder.

So despite doing 3 triple jumps, they were the easiest two (the judges might have taken points off on them too), plus some deductions for the spins.

Surya probably starts at a lower base mark too.

1994 Olympics were hers to win.

[spenceAMS]

She was not able to do the 3 flip or lutz in this event due to injury, so the only option for her really was to to the 3 toe 3 toe - same for the free program.

[intldawn]

I love the Eurosport commentators. They point out mistakes you wouldn't normally catch and it makes the marks that much more understandable. Those comments about the sit spin and the straight-line step sequence were very shrewd. Considering the relatively easier content in the program, low 5's make sense.

[OapostropheC]

she did 3 triples in the SP and was placed behind Slutskaya's 2z-2toe combo and 3loop? No wonder she was ticked!

[Chutson353]

I think that her behavior at the '94 worlds ruined her - NOBODY likes a sore loser and her bad behavior was a black-mark on the sport - Having said that, it's a shame because this was a good program and I think she was scored too low.

[mlc2005]

I wonder if this is the same French judge that caused the 2002 Olympic debacle? Notice that the judge gave Bonaly a 5.7 tech mark and Kwan a 5.6??? Ummm okay.

[Peaceplatform]

@ImmaculateRecovery - good point!

[Peaceplatform]

@intldawn - thanks for clarifying. I still think any triple-triple (particularly in an SP!) should be rewarded though. I also like these commentators too - very technically savvy.

:-)

[intldawn]

@Peaceplatform Yeah, I know. It seems silly. But a triple lutz is one of the hardest triples whereas the triple toe is one of the easiest. It's hard to explain, but the base mark for doing a triple lutz is so much higher and is more valuable to do in a short program. That's why I said "relative" ease. A triple-triple of any kind is not easy.

[Peaceplatform]

@intldawn - relative ease of a triple-triple combo in a ladies' SP?!

[barkingtree88]

Definately, should've been 5th after SP ahead of Slutskaya.

[Chutson353]

I'm convinced at this point that when a skater has been around as long as Bonaly was at this point the judges want them OUT and they deliberately start underscoring them - They did it to Bonaly, and later to Kwan. It's a shame for the skaters but I guess the judges want to make room for the newbies.

[Chutson353]

She was always a short program skater - It's a shame she never seemed to hold it together for a full long program - she always seemed to stumble somewhere along the way -