She is the last American woman to win Olympic Gold. Although Sasha Coen won an Olympic Medal in 20006 by taking silver, since then no American women medal at the Olympics.
@@Yuhon100 Maybe some of these coaches will get smart and finally start pushing the women to do quads like the Russians have. (Though hopefully with better sportsmanship!)
I've watched the Sarah Hughes gold medal routine at least a hundred times, The innocent joy , by her coach and Sarah is what sports is great at , giving you true human beings in extraordinary circumstances, All three skaters were wonderful, however the best of the night won the gold
She is the last American woman to have win the Olympic Gold, four years later Sasha Cohen winning the silver in 2006, but since then no USA women had been on the podium.
Sarah Hughes had the performance of a lifetime. She made ice skating look easy. In her free skate program it looked like she was throwing those triple loops in for FUN. If the announcer hadn't said that she was "scheduled" to make them I would have sworn she was making it up as she went along. Then she did the REALLY smart thing. Having achieved her goal she retired on top. Smart girl.
She competed for two more years, until she graduated from high school. Then she went to college at Yale and ended her competitive career and never competed professionaly
@@lovintube25 It's a accident that Sarah won the Olympics gold. Sarah never dreamed about it. Sarah deserved it and she was lucky because the other better skaters like Michelle and Irina made mistakes at 2002 Olympics.
Actually, the next year Michelle won the 2003 World championship again. Sarah got the 6th place there, she was a middle skater even she won the 2002 Olympics.
Well deserved win by Sarah. It was refreshing to see the skater who skated best won and not the "one" with the reputation. That's why they skate. Sarah delivered on the biggest stage one could possibly deliver. But at the same time I do feel bad for Michelle, it would have been nice for her to win an Olympic gold, but heck 2 olympic medals aren't bad. Not too many have achieved that either. Sarah and Michelle are both great champions.
I agree she was the best that night... But both Sarah and Tara had a very difficult program and won , but neither Sarah nor Tara had the career and impact of Michelle .... ps her coach was hysterical in a ridiculous way
@@annhellas just to be clear, which of the 3 skaters mentioned in your remark is the one you're saying was hysterical in a way? I am asking 2 fold: if it's Robin Wagner, justifyably so if its in regards to her reaction after Sarah's win in the LP, plus needing Irina to place higher in the LP for Sarah to therefore win by breaking a rare 3 way ordinal tie. First keep in mind that after placing 3rd at the US trials, it's well documented that about a handful of us judges at that Nationals approached Robin and suggested a change in the program as far as music to give or to add more of an artistic impression effect and thus higher scores to Sarah's overall performance. Because those judges believe that she had the talent potential to score high once she got to the Olympics but only if they were willing to switch to a classical music program. And that therefore did end up giving Sarah hi artistic impression scores. Another thing don't forget especially in ice skating there is an unusually high number of Olympic champions by far who were also the world champions the year prior to an Olympic games. The final thing you have to keep in mind is that the previous year's world champion, Michelle Kwan, not only was a prohibitive favorite but in the skating world still back then nationalism existed and also the hometown favorite if also the overall favorite was basically guaranteed a win unless of an unexpected fall or error. Which is exactly what happened to Michelle in her long program. So the final thing I would say is that keep in mind that Robin Wagner is just finding out that her skater who placed fourth in the short program and she's well aware that very unusual circumstances would need to occur and all occur together in addition to Sarah's skating perfectly in order for her to win and come up that high from fourth place to first. Also she's a huge rarity and as far as an Olympic champion and that she was never at all a national champion in the United States. A very most unusual phenomenon, perhaps something no other US Olympic ice skating champion has claimed to. So if you're saying that she was hysterical if she were not hysterical I would be very concerned for her mental well-being. Wouldn't you? Third place at Nationals having never won a Nationals, going to the Olympics 4th place after the short program. Meaning that even to get a medal that would be only if Sarah did a perfect program with no falls and she needed other skaters to skate poorly well she had all three skaters have at least a hand down if not falls & stumbles or multiple stumbles. And not one of the top four ladies other than Sarah landed two triple triples in combination. To say that's an underdog and totally unexpected I would expect somebody to be flabbergasted and slightly hysterical. If you're talking about Tara lipinski's coach I knew where I am acquainted with her coach that she had here in Newark Delaware who refused to allow her to try the triple loop triple loop that her mother was trying to pressure her to do. And that was to my understanding one of the main reasons why Tara left and went to Richard Callahan and who was okay with a not yet fully developed pubescent young girl on attempting a very difficult triple loop triple loop, a jump that only the first man did the year before at the 96 worlds. And actually did it very well. A Frenchman and the long program named Eric millot, considering the fact that he has to go into his first triple with a lot of speed stop the rotation completely after the first jump and then somehow land the second one in combination without a toe pick and did it so well, far better than Tara, its amazing. And Eric the Frenchman who did it had fully developed as a male, a friend of mine who was a skater out here in Delaware and now knows Eric confirmed that Eric has no hip issues as a result of doing those triple loop triple loop combinations whereas it's a fact that Tara has had horrible horrible hip issues thanks to the pressure of her mother.
@@annhellas just to make another point of this shock reaction by robin Wagner- in that old 6.0 ordinal based scoring system, unlike the current points based system, was such then that to go from 4th to 1st was by virtue extremely unusual. The only other huge jump that I can recall happening among the elite skaters at an international competition was at the 82 worlds when Elaine zayak went from 7th after the short program to winning the world championship. No she was ranked at 7:00 after the short program because of how poorly she had done in the ordinals. But then everybody above her in the long program just one after the other they were falling all over the place. And that was back before they had they being that international skating Union instituted a rule called the zayak rule- which was done because Elaine in winning her world title did multiple triples of the same jump and it was deemed to be an unfair advantage. So that once that rule came into effect I someone could correct me if I am wrong but it's my understanding that for every specific triple jump performed, let's say for example a triple lutz. You can do a triple lutz, but if you want to do another one it must be done in combination with either another triple jump that's not a lot or a double jump. If a skater goes on to skate a third triple lutz, there are heavy penalties. So basically when she won her world championship she almost is like five of the same triple. Or something to that effect. No one had done that before. And no one had also ever I believe gone from 7th after school figures and short program to 1st. And so when school figures we're eliminated that made only two chances with judges to score points. Which makes it perhaps as remarkable for someone to go from 4th to first. Without having a third part of the competition that is judged and given an ordinal. But just as with Elaine who skated a perfect program in her long program, so did Sarah but she needed the other three in the top four with her to make crucial mistakes and all three of them to do that in order for her to create a three-way tie for the long program and by winning the long program she there for won in overall ordinals.
Tara and Sarah won their gold medals - the gold medal goes to the best performance of the day - it's not a cumulative award. If artistry were the only element judged, Sasha Cohen should have walked away with all the gold medals. Michelle is a beautiful skater, but her "longevity" is a result of her not winning the gold medal - if you're being honest and fair.
She and Adelina Sotnikova (2014 Olympic Gold Medalist) are the only two skaters who won the Olympic Women's Figure Skating Gold without a World title, but at least Hughes did win a world medal a year before her Olympic victory where she took the bronze medal, Sarah deserves this gold because she skate great and perfect, and the three skaters who finished ahead of her after the short program couldn't matched her perfect performance, and it was so close between her and Slutskaya 5-4 vote from the nine judges, Michelle Kwan could have won it and it is a tossed up between the three of them.
I'm a huge Kwan Fan but I was Blown away by Sarah Hughes she was so fantastic! Difficult program skated perfectly with perfectly beautiful artristy....I will always remember her coming from 4th and just blowing everyone away!!!!!!!!!!!1
I remember watching this live. There's something to be said when the world has expectations of 3 other skaters and you just go out there and enjoy yourself at the Olympics. Sarah Hughes took full advantage of that sweet spot and earned that gold 🥇 It was incredible to witness!
You just don't get it, do you? he 5.6 for Irina is JUST A MEANS TO RANK THE SKATERS. A judge could give her a 3.9, but as long as he gave everyone else a lower score, the 3.9 would be a "1" ordinal. The German judge, for example, gave Sarah 5.7 and 5.7 to start the night, to give herself some leeway. When she saw no one else skated better than Sarah, SHE HAD to give Irina a 5.6. If you want to argue, argue about the PLACEMENT, not the MARK.
Once again, certain athletes begin the Olympic games thinking, even in the remote corners of their minds, that they are the pre-ordained champions, only to have another competitor demonstrate more heart and soul and to end up snatching the gold medal. Deservedly so. The best skater on that night won the gold , which is how it should be.
Michelle really should have pushed herself technically. She had the lutz in her grasp so why not try for some triple-triples? It astounds me how she thought her superior artistry would always land her on top. Irina slowed her normally fast skating down, which was a bad idea as it drew attention to her clunky, non-artistic skating and bizarre choreography. Had Sasha had a clean program I think her artistry would have beat Sarah by several tenths of a point.
@AAPSG Group So what ? Sarah was lucky because the other better skaters like Michelle and Irina made mistakes which means Sarah was a middle skater who never won any World champion or the National titles.
Many of the little girls who have Olympic dreams skate at a rink near my home upstate and there is a giant wall mural of Sarah there! All the little girls there watch here performance and strive to be like her! If you ask any of them she is always one of the first in conversation they want to strive and be like! She is a true Olympic champion, and she will be remembered forever, just as she is well known and looked up to right now by all the skating community, amateur as well as professional!!!
Even with a clean skate, Michelle should not have beaten Sarah imo. Sarah put down a pair of triple-triples, had more speed and flow, a superior layback and just looked remarkable, skating with no tension that you could see in her demeanor. Sarah was a pleasure to watch, where everyone else brought a touch of anxiety to the ice with them.
@Novak D Agree with you. Sarah never dreamed that she would be the Olympics winner. Actually, no one supports that Sarah could get the gold. Sarah was lucky.
Actually, Sasha didn't get screwed over . . . if you look at her long program she fell once AND she toe footed BOTH her Triple Lutz and Triple Flip. Irina did not fall in the long. The placings here are correct.
Irina saved herself from landing on her rear with two of her jumps and they were obvious mess ups. Both Michelle and Sasha both fell once. Sarah Hughes may have won gold but not a single mark should have been below 5.8 and there were many.
Sasha should've placed above Michelle in the free skate. Sasha fell on a triple-triple combination and 2 footed a triple flip, Michelle fell on a solo triple flip and 2 footed a triple toe in her triple-double combination. I also think Sasha was really underscored on artistic impression, like come on, a 5.6 for presentation?
@@metsdudenj Well....should anyone learn anything from a middle skater who never won any World champion or the National titles like Sarah ? Watch yourself.....🤭
I saw this in SLC in person, and I had never watched a skating competition in person. It was so obvious that she skated faster and more freely than anyone else. Her program at Nationals had been boring so I expected little but was wowed here. The underdog at the Olympics often can deliver that kind of performance.
That was one of the best finals ever. I enjoyed ALL three of the medalists' performances. There's always debate in 'judged' competitions, sadly. Forget the final standings....just enjoy 3 awesome performances. Hasn't been any like that since.
I saw this in SLC in person, and I had never watched a skating competition in person. It was so obvious that she skated faster and more freely than anyone else. Her program at Nationals had been boring so I expected little but was wowed here. The program changes to make it more dynamic was very effective in addition to underdog position at the Olympics often can deliver that kind of performance.
Not true 😂. All top females fell at '92 Albertville including Gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi. Hers was covered easily to routine and she started the 3+3 standard bam on that night.
Today, Ms.Hughes is a 36 year old attorney with a doctorate in law. Irina Sluskaya needn't have been so downhearted, because she has had a long-term career (in Russia) as an ice show performer, even today, in her late 30's. Sarah's two ice show tours (at age 19 & 26) caused her to find that being an ice show performer wasn't for her. It was what her parents expected (and wanted) her to find.
Slutskaya was way over marked. Technically, all she had is some triples. Her positions were ugly. All those bent knees. No spiral sequence. I don´t remember any interesting spins. And, what were those vogueing bits at the end? I would have put her below Cohen.
was watching the skating from this olympics yesterday on a special program, and it dawned on me how much she looks like Reba Macintire the country singer, they could be sisters
Irina "The Truck" was waaaaaay overmarked during the free skate, which should have had Sarah, Michelle, Sasha, and Irina - in that order. Which also means that based on the ordinals, Michelle should have kept her first place overall rank (that she had even after Sarah's impressive free skate) and won the gold after both the short program and the free skate (since Sarah's unimpressive skate in the short program left her in fourth place for that portion of the competition).
Just in case anyone was wondering, I have removed all the comments from an idiot who seemed to have nothing better to do with their day than insult others. If you are going to be rude, you will be held to account. User is now blocked.
no idea what you deleted but censoring people on a globally interactive platform like youtube is absurd. if someone gets trolled online then let that person decide how to deal with it. trolling is part of internet life. if they cant take the heat then get out the kitchen !
American ice skaters rock! They are the absolute best! Free, easy and flowing, they always come across as flawless! Many countries do not know that sense of feeling and cannot bring it to their performances like the Americans do! It is hard to know a feeling that your country does not allow of you and that is sad, this is why American athletes always dominate and endure everything with confidence and ease. This is why it was so easy for Sarah to win!!!
Melinda Pelham not anymore, thanks to the new system, Americans are not in the podium anymore. That's why I love the new system, now is your skating what really counts, not your country.
Wow, I forgot that Irina was in the same position as she was in 2006 when she had to wait to see if she will be first. Heartbreaking for her a second time as I was for Michelle Kwan.
Irina was not more "technical" than anybody. Her one attribute is that she jumped higher than Kwan or Hughes but unfortunately landing is never something she had mastered. Her skating was a sloppy mess. If you knew anything about skating you would understand that nobody even came close to Hughes that night. Also, she was slightly under rotated on the first triple loop in the combination but still within the quarter turn. She would have gotten credit for all of it. Her skate was perfect.
Sarah Hughes skated a clean program in the LP. Nobody else did. It was a perfect storm of interchangable low marks for everybody except for Sarah. Of course she won. Did she cheat on her jumps? Maybe. But she didn't fall down and go boom like everybody else. All Michelle or Irina or Sasha had to do was skate clean like Sarah. But they didn't. End of story.
@redmustang03 Falling doesn't keep someone from winning gold. Under the 6.0 system, a skater who was first in the short program doesn't have to be first in the long program as long as someone else beats the skaters who are in second and third place going in. Also, if everyone else in contention falls or misses jumps, a fall won't preclude a skater from finishing first in the long program. Under the new system, a skater can build up a big lead in the short program and win with a fall.
yes there was a problem, and that judge was removed. It's the reason the skating goes by a different formula now. The point is that in the end sarah completed her jumps, did two triple-triple combinations, and Irina did not skate well. It's about as black and white as it could possibly be
I got news for you, if Irina had won the SP, the judges would have scored her 3rd place this night. The only reason they placed her above Kwan was so that Sarah would win the medal. Neither Kwan nor Irina deserved it. Sarah skated clean with two triple triples, you like kolbeanta need to learn about skating
My favorite underdog story in sports! Irina and Michelle were understandably inconsolable, but they were cleanly outskated. Artistry is subjective (I'm not sure I agree with Sandra Bezic saying Sarah had an equally artistic program as Michelle's) but Sarah had the only clean program of the top 6 (I think) AND the most technical content (if I remember right). Any other result would have caused a scandal at least as big as the pairs' one. Anyone with eyes could see that she had the perfect program, at exactly the right time in her amateur career.
@anubethc45 Because Irina didn't agree with the judging and demanded they award her a second gold medal, since they did the same in pairs. Then in 2006 she threw her bronze medal in a locker after the ceremony. That is being a poor sport.
God is just ! For recent years prior to 2002 Olympics, Sarah accepted the bias decisions of judges in favor of other skaters. God has reserved the glory for Sarah Hughes in this 2002 Olympics ! To God be our praises & gratitude !
I have to say even before the Scandal with the Pairs of this Olympics, I didn't like the old judging system of Figure skating and am so happy with the system they came out with following the scandal, which unfortunately overshadowed everything else.
I do not know why Slutskaya was so upset. She clearly was second. Kwan in my opinion deserved fourth place behind Sasha Cohen, fyi, had Sasha skated clean, she would have won the gold medal.
m j actually the only two who could possibly have been trying to "figure it out" that way were the U.S. and Finland. If you notice, of the five judges who put Sarah 1st, three of those five still had Michelle ahead of Irina, and that result still would have left Michelle first overall. But it's possible that the US and Finnish judges could have been specifically trying to ensure that Sarah actually won, and to do so, they also had to place Irina ahead of Michelle. The ones who put Irina ahead of Sarah, though, are crazy.
Great reaction for someone who skated for the win and unquestionably deserved it. Kwan's and Slutskaya's childish tears wouldn't have done a thing. No technical difficulty at all, just came in assuming the judges love them.
I think she's more upset because she thought she'd have a good shot after Michelle messed up, and then she blew it. I mean this could have been her moment, it's what skaters dream of and she messed up, that's pretty upsetting.
@kolbeanta And yet, you still haven't been able to state information that would back this comment up. Also when I said that the judges would place Irina 3rd, it was under the scenario that if Irina had won the short program. And they would have done this to make sure Sarah won the gold. I never claimed to be of master knowledge. But it's obvious who skated better, heck, just listen to the commentators, and the fact that the Olympic judges placed Sarah in 1st is proof enough for me
Honey, if Slutskaya or Michelle had won GOLD, they would have raced off into the distance as well. Sarah won her GOLD -- nothing could ever top that. She accomplished what she wanted to do. So did Lipinski. I guarantee if Michelle or Irina won here, they would have been off to Disneyland. But they didn't, so they stuck around to try again in Torino (whoops).
@kolbeanta Overscored?? Are you nuts, 7 triples completed all clean, 2 triple triple combinations. Who would you have given it to? Kwan who fell, or Irina who messed up a couple of her jumps. Learn about how figure skating is judged before comenting
irina didn t deserve to win the free skate and the polemic was ridiculous. the only problem is that irina shouldbhave wun the short programm and it would have been enough to be 2nd in the free to stay in 1st place overall.
i don't know how the judges figured it all out for sarah hughes to win…definitely the right decision. but irina's marks looked higher than sarah's. all very confusing but the right woman one that night.
Irina is SUCH a poor sport! She demanded they give her a duplicate gold after the pairs scandal! LOL. Then in Torino she threw her bronze in a locker after the ceremony.
Sarah Hughes may never had won a national or world championship, but she can forever say she is an olympic champion which is something Michelle Kwan can never say despite all the national and world championships.
I remember this too, and it was pretty devastating. Even though I felt Sarah had the skate of the night, as a long time skating fan, I wanted to see Kwan and Irina battle it out for the top prize (as they did so electrically in 2000 and 2001 worlds)!!! We all know that Kwan and Irina are better than Hughes, but Hughes nailed it this night, and it was both nice to see her happy, and saddening that the icons weren't on top.
@Jukka70 Oh sure the Olympic judges...the same judges that was in the "clean competition" in pairs no?. Salt Lake judges were all except good judges and somebody knows this fact.
@ Kolbeanta. okay, she doubles the second jump on her first combo, messed up the second one by stepping out of it, third one she two footed, and almost wiped out on the 5th one by being way forward. Sorry, but you know nothing about figure skating if you think that performance was better then sarah's. As for this whole BS American thing, I love the Russian skaters, many of them. The difference is that I know when they've done a good program and when they haven't as opposed to you who doesn't
Obviously Sarah's night, she deserved to win, she skated the best long, whoever skates the best long ultimately deserves to win. I think Michelle should've received second, because she is a technically almost perfect skater with much more artistry and poise than Irina, and also cause I was really rooting for her here. In fifty years, Sarah will still be champion, Michelle will still be the most decorated skater in American history, and Irina will still be known most for her being sloppy.
And just which judges were the "bad" ones exactly? As I recall, it involved the RUSSIANS making a backroom deal with the French to keep their precious pairs title. So if I were you, I wouldn't be bringing that up. If anything, in light of that situation, these judges were under more pressure and were forced to score these skaters correctly. And under these circumstances, if ANY skating experts felt that Sarah Hughes' win was undeserved, they could have easily spoken up. But none did.
most skaters end their carers after they win the olympic gold medal. its the smart thing to do unless you are absolutely sure of yourself that you can win it again. if you cant and are not the best you will go out there and ruin the titl you had.
1970s to early 2000s bias and spoonfeeding to Russians or former Soviets. It's not a surprise Slutskaya got those marks because this Olympics was the same one with the judging corruption in pairs. Then you had Baiul in 94, Petrenko in 92. Disgusting period but also great performances and skaters. A shame.
well that's just a crap comment. This was a lousy program for Irina, but if you watch her short program she was nothing short of brilliant, beautiful artistry, and deserved to be ranked 1st ahead of Michelle on technical merit alone. While I love that Sarah won as hers was far and away the best free skate, if Irina had been placed 1st as she should have in the SP then there would have been no way for Sarah to catch her.
Irina was more techinical than Sarah Hughes, but she make mistakes in her presentation that Sarah Hughes did not make. Even at the end of Irina performance you could see Irina a little upset at herself, because she knew she did not win it.
Yes!Exactly! I feel that they have prepared their whole lives for that one moment, and it is normal to feel disappointed not to achieve their dreams. As long as they do not intend to portray negative emotions in front of the whole world, on TV it's fine. I always feel that athletes are athletes, not politicians. In the temple of sports what they do is to compete their best. They have the right to be themselves outside that spotlight.
You're absolutely right on. People tend to forget that these athletes are human too and shouldn't be excempt from showing true human emotion. Being upset is just being real. I respect Irina for that, but I hate that the crew zooms in on athletes who need their space.
I must be missing something because you are not the first to say that Irina was upset over her placements. I don't see that here and I know that behind the scenes is totally different but with Kwan's thumbs down and her 'gracious'??? little wrinkled nose right in the judges faces and not the first time either...where is Irna's fit here? Irna smiled through the whole kiss and cry. Sasha DID get screwed over here. That BRONZE belongs to her.
@purpleblumidnite Yes but Sarah has something that Sasha and Michelle don't have...an olympic championship and a gold medal...take that,Sarah is the best in the world!!!!
what was all that weird stuff she did at the very end of her program? It's like she had back up moves just in case she didn't finish on time/finished too early, and so she did a whole bunch of finishing moves-- it looked very silly. She is athletic, but went through this rather perfunctorily- plus she looks bad kvetching behind the red curtain. no pun intended!
Fair...Kwan....did you actually use those two words in the same sentence? Kwan has been held up, propped up (even here), babied, pampered, handed titles, medals, and lapped up praise and gushing and gushed about herself...fair...2006? Thank GOD that Kwan will never ever wear Olympic Gold for our country (unless some dip decides to create an honorary gold just for poor little Shelly)....here, she didn't even deserve the Bronze...THAT was Sasah's but poor little Shelly had to have a shiny.
Irina has ALWAYS been a sloppy skater -- a daring jumper (I give her that), but none of her jumps are clean (same as Sarah Hughes with the cheated jumps and bad form). Sarah was indeed GIFTED with this gold. She earned her top spot in the long program, but she had a lackluster 4th placer short program, whereas Kwan was flawless in the short and just had that one mistake in the long. I do agree that Irina should have been 4th in the long after Crash-a Cohen. Kwan was robbed of this OGM.
@wickedfan5172 Irina wasn't artistically bad compared to her other programs of that season. Somehow, some judges downgraded her presentation. Also, Hughes' jumps weren't fully rotated. She may made clean landing, but if this competition was judged by new judging system her jumps would be marked as 'downgraded'. Now once again, how DARE you defend up for such a cheater like Huges?
20 years ago & I still get goosebumps as I watch Sarah Hughes realize that she has won 🥇 Gold! Well deserved! ❤️🥇
Sarah never dreamed that she would be the Olympics winner. It's a accident and a surprise, Sarah was lucky and deserved it.
She is the last American woman to win Olympic Gold. Although Sasha Coen won an Olympic Medal in 20006 by taking silver, since then no American women medal at the Olympics.
@@Yuhon100 Maybe some of these coaches will get smart and finally start pushing the women to do quads like the Russians have. (Though hopefully with better sportsmanship!)
I've watched the Sarah Hughes gold medal routine at least a hundred times,
The innocent joy , by her coach and Sarah is what sports is great at , giving you true human beings in extraordinary circumstances,
All three skaters were wonderful, however the best of the night won the gold
Sarah was lucky, but she deserved it that night.
She is the last American woman to have win the Olympic Gold, four years later Sasha Cohen winning the silver in 2006, but since then no USA women had been on the podium.
There is nothing more exciting in sports than seeing an athlete come from behind to win it all. Absolutely incredible!
Sarah Hughes had the performance of a lifetime. She made ice skating look easy. In her free skate program it looked like she was throwing those triple loops in for FUN. If the announcer hadn't said that she was "scheduled" to make them I would have sworn she was making it up as she went along.
Then she did the REALLY smart thing. Having achieved her goal she retired on top. Smart girl.
She competed for two more years, until she graduated from high school. Then she went to college at Yale and ended her competitive career and never competed professionaly
@@lovintube25 It's a accident that Sarah won the Olympics gold. Sarah never dreamed about it. Sarah deserved it and she was lucky because the other better skaters like Michelle and Irina made mistakes at 2002 Olympics.
Actually, the next year Michelle won the 2003 World championship again. Sarah got the 6th place there, she was a middle skater even she won the 2002 Olympics.
i have never seen such beautiful skating in my life sarah was fantastic and her skate was beaytiful
spelling
Well deserved win by Sarah. It was refreshing to see the skater who skated best won and not the "one" with the reputation. That's why they skate. Sarah delivered on the biggest stage one could possibly deliver. But at the same time I do feel bad for Michelle, it would have been nice for her to win an Olympic gold, but heck 2 olympic medals aren't bad. Not too many have achieved that either. Sarah and Michelle are both great champions.
I agree she was the best that night... But both Sarah and Tara had a very difficult program and won , but neither Sarah nor Tara had the career and impact of Michelle .... ps her coach was hysterical in a ridiculous way
@@annhellas just to be clear, which of the 3 skaters mentioned in your remark is the one you're saying was hysterical in a way? I am asking 2 fold: if it's Robin Wagner, justifyably so if its in regards to her reaction after Sarah's win in the LP, plus needing Irina to place higher in the LP for Sarah to therefore win by breaking a rare 3 way ordinal tie. First keep in mind that after placing 3rd at the US trials, it's well documented that about a handful of us judges at that Nationals approached Robin and suggested a change in the program as far as music to give or to add more of an artistic impression effect and thus higher scores to Sarah's overall performance. Because those judges believe that she had the talent potential to score high once she got to the Olympics but only if they were willing to switch to a classical music program. And that therefore did end up giving Sarah hi artistic impression scores. Another thing don't forget especially in ice skating there is an unusually high number of Olympic champions by far who were also the world champions the year prior to an Olympic games. The final thing you have to keep in mind is that the previous year's world champion, Michelle Kwan, not only was a prohibitive favorite but in the skating world still back then nationalism existed and also the hometown favorite if also the overall favorite was basically guaranteed a win unless of an unexpected fall or error. Which is exactly what happened to Michelle in her long program. So the final thing I would say is that keep in mind that Robin Wagner is just finding out that her skater who placed fourth in the short program and she's well aware that very unusual circumstances would need to occur and all occur together in addition to Sarah's skating perfectly in order for her to win and come up that high from fourth place to first. Also she's a huge rarity and as far as an Olympic champion and that she was never at all a national champion in the United States. A very most unusual phenomenon, perhaps something no other US Olympic ice skating champion has claimed to. So if you're saying that she was hysterical if she were not hysterical I would be very concerned for her mental well-being. Wouldn't you?
Third place at Nationals having never won a Nationals, going to the Olympics 4th place after the short program. Meaning that even to get a medal that would be only if Sarah did a perfect program with no falls and she needed other skaters to skate poorly well she had all three skaters have at least a hand down if not falls & stumbles or multiple stumbles. And not one of the top four ladies other than Sarah landed two triple triples in combination. To say that's an underdog and totally unexpected I would expect somebody to be flabbergasted and slightly hysterical. If you're talking about Tara lipinski's coach I knew where I am acquainted with her coach that she had here in Newark Delaware who refused to allow her to try the triple loop triple loop that her mother was trying to pressure her to do. And that was to my understanding one of the main reasons why Tara left and went to Richard Callahan and who was okay with a not yet fully developed pubescent young girl on attempting a very difficult triple loop triple loop, a jump that only the first man did the year before at the 96 worlds. And actually did it very well. A Frenchman and the long program named Eric millot, considering the fact that he has to go into his first triple with a lot of speed stop the rotation completely after the first jump and then somehow land the second one in combination without a toe pick and did it so well, far better than Tara, its amazing.
And Eric the Frenchman who did it had fully developed as a male, a friend of mine who was a skater out here in Delaware and now knows Eric confirmed that Eric has no hip issues as a result of doing those triple loop triple loop combinations whereas it's a fact that Tara has had horrible horrible hip issues thanks to the pressure of her mother.
@@annhellas just to make another point of this shock reaction by robin Wagner- in that old 6.0 ordinal based scoring system, unlike the current points based system, was such then that to go from 4th to 1st was by virtue extremely unusual. The only other huge jump that I can recall happening among the elite skaters at an international competition was at the 82 worlds when Elaine zayak went from 7th after the short program to winning the world championship. No she was ranked at 7:00 after the short program because of how poorly she had done in the ordinals. But then everybody above her in the long program just one after the other they were falling all over the place. And that was back before they had they being that international skating Union instituted a rule called the zayak rule- which was done because Elaine in winning her world title did multiple triples of the same jump and it was deemed to be an unfair advantage. So that once that rule came into effect I someone could correct me if I am wrong but it's my understanding that for every specific triple jump performed, let's say for example a triple lutz. You can do a triple lutz, but if you want to do another one it must be done in combination with either another triple jump that's not a lot or a double jump. If a skater goes on to skate a third triple lutz, there are heavy penalties. So basically when she won her world championship she almost is like five of the same triple. Or something to that effect. No one had done that before. And no one had also ever I believe gone from 7th after school figures and short program to 1st.
And so when school figures we're eliminated that made only two chances with judges to score points. Which makes it perhaps as remarkable for someone to go from 4th to first. Without having a third part of the competition that is judged and given an ordinal. But just as with Elaine who skated a perfect program in her long program, so did Sarah but she needed the other three in the top four with her to make crucial mistakes and all three of them to do that in order for her to create a three-way tie for the long program and by winning the long program she there for won in overall ordinals.
Tara and Sarah won their gold medals - the gold medal goes to the best performance of the day - it's not a cumulative award. If artistry were the only element judged, Sasha Cohen should have walked away with all the gold medals. Michelle is a beautiful skater, but her "longevity" is a result of her not winning the gold medal - if you're being honest and fair.
She and Adelina Sotnikova (2014 Olympic Gold Medalist) are the only two skaters who won the Olympic Women's Figure Skating Gold without a World title, but at least Hughes did win a world medal a year before her Olympic victory where she took the bronze medal, Sarah deserves this gold because she skate great and perfect, and the three skaters who finished ahead of her after the short program couldn't matched her perfect performance, and it was so close between her and Slutskaya 5-4 vote from the nine judges, Michelle Kwan could have won it and it is a tossed up between the three of them.
I'm a huge Kwan Fan but I was Blown away by Sarah Hughes she was so fantastic! Difficult program skated perfectly with perfectly beautiful artristy....I will always remember her coming from 4th and just blowing everyone away!!!!!!!!!!!1
Something similar happened where Savchenko & Massot in 2018 come from behind fourth to first.
It's a accident.
She was the only one who skated without making a mistake!!!!!
@@TT-ee4qp it's you who is an accident, talk to your mother about that, she will confirm it, sad cockroach
I remember watching this live. There's something to be said when the world has expectations of 3 other skaters and you just go out there and enjoy yourself at the Olympics. Sarah Hughes took full advantage of that sweet spot and earned that gold 🥇 It was incredible to witness!
I love Sarah's reaction to her gold medal 🏅
You just don't get it, do you? he 5.6 for Irina is JUST A MEANS TO RANK THE SKATERS. A judge could give her a 3.9, but as long as he gave everyone else a lower score, the 3.9 would be a "1" ordinal. The German judge, for example, gave Sarah 5.7 and 5.7 to start the night, to give herself some leeway. When she saw no one else skated better than Sarah, SHE HAD to give Irina a 5.6. If you want to argue, argue about the PLACEMENT, not the MARK.
I've tried to argue this point with many folks...you explained it really well with the 5.6 comment (she HAD to give Irina a 5.6).
Once again, certain athletes begin the Olympic games thinking, even in the remote corners of their minds, that they are the pre-ordained champions, only to have another competitor demonstrate more heart and soul and to end up snatching the gold medal. Deservedly so. The best skater on that night won the gold , which is how it should be.
Even Sarah won the Olympics gold, she still was a middle skater. Just like Tara Lipinski skated under Michelle's shadow.
Michelle really should have pushed herself technically. She had the lutz in her grasp so why not try for some triple-triples? It astounds me how she thought her superior artistry would always land her on top. Irina slowed her normally fast skating down, which was a bad idea as it drew attention to her clunky, non-artistic skating and bizarre choreography. Had Sasha had a clean program I think her artistry would have beat Sarah by several tenths of a point.
Sarah is a beautiful and elegant skater. Gold medal well deserved.
Amazing performance on the night by Sara Hughes! A true athlete 👏
Michelle and Irina, they were true athletes.
@AAPSG Group So what ?
Sarah was lucky because the other better skaters like Michelle and Irina made mistakes which means Sarah was a middle skater who never won any World champion or the National titles.
@AAPSG Group And Sarah's technique wouldn't get marks today.
Many of the little girls who have Olympic dreams skate at a rink near my home upstate and there is a giant wall mural of Sarah there! All the little girls there watch here performance and strive to be like her! If you ask any of them she is always one of the first in conversation they want to strive and be like! She is a true Olympic champion, and she will be remembered forever, just as she is well known and looked up to right now by all the skating community, amateur as well as professional!!!
Even with a clean skate, Michelle should not have beaten Sarah imo. Sarah put down a pair of triple-triples, had more speed and flow, a superior layback and just looked remarkable, skating with no tension that you could see in her demeanor. Sarah was a pleasure to watch, where everyone else brought a touch of anxiety to the ice with them.
@Novak D Agree with you. Sarah never dreamed that she would be the Olympics winner. Actually, no one supports that Sarah could get the gold. Sarah was lucky.
i love how irina's throwing a fit cause one judge put her in fourth when sasha completely got screwed over... i'm so happy sasha beat her in 2006
Actually, Sasha didn't get screwed over . . . if you look at her long program she fell once AND she toe footed BOTH her Triple Lutz and Triple Flip. Irina did not fall in the long. The placings here are correct.
Irina saved herself from landing on her rear with two of her jumps and they were obvious mess ups. Both Michelle and Sasha both fell once. Sarah Hughes may have won gold but not a single mark should have been below 5.8 and there were many.
Sasha should've placed above Michelle in the free skate. Sasha fell on a triple-triple combination and 2 footed a triple flip, Michelle fell on a solo triple flip and 2 footed a triple toe in her triple-double combination. I also think Sasha was really underscored on artistic impression, like come on, a 5.6 for presentation?
Sarah deserved that gold. Not a mistake in sight and very clean lines.
Agree. Even she is never one of the greatest skaters in the history.
@@TT-ee4qp still, one of the first skater to do 2 triple triple combo in the Olympics
@@metsdudenj Still, one of the first skaters to do 2 funny triple triple combo that called out for under rotation in the Olympics.😆😆😆
@@TT-ee4qp at the time they were ratified and acceptable. Did anyone else even try them? No, so close your hole.
@@metsdudenj Well....should anyone learn anything from a middle skater who never won any World champion or the National titles like Sarah ?
Watch yourself.....🤭
I saw this in SLC in person, and I had never watched a skating competition in person. It was so obvious that she skated faster and more freely than anyone else. Her program at Nationals had been boring so I expected little but was wowed here. The underdog at the Olympics often can deliver that kind of performance.
The judges were correct this night. Judging at its best.
Russians giving 5.9s lol
The free skate with Judge correctly but unfortunately the short program was not, Slutskaya absolutely should’ve been first after the short program
I enjoy watching her coaches reaction more than her LOL! So sweet!
I will never ever recover from Sarah Hughes
That was one of the best finals ever. I enjoyed ALL three of the medalists' performances. There's always debate in 'judged' competitions, sadly. Forget the final standings....just enjoy 3 awesome performances. Hasn't been any like that since.
I remember watching it and thinking "OMG-I think she just won". And she did! Congratulation Sarah Hughes!!
I can't think of a sports event I enjoyed more when I watched it live and for the 22 years since then.
I saw this in SLC in person, and I had never watched a skating competition in person. It was so obvious that she skated faster and more freely than anyone else. Her program at Nationals had been boring so I expected little but was wowed here. The program changes to make it more dynamic was very effective in addition to underdog position at the Olympics often can deliver that kind of performance.
If you fall...you should know you dont get GOLD.
Not true 😂. All top females fell at '92 Albertville including Gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi. Hers was covered easily to routine and she started the 3+3 standard bam on that night.
Today, Ms.Hughes is a 36 year old attorney with a doctorate in law. Irina Sluskaya needn't have been so downhearted, because she has had a long-term career (in Russia) as an ice show performer, even today, in her late 30's. Sarah's two ice show tours (at age 19 & 26) caused her to find that being an ice show performer wasn't for her. It was what her parents expected (and wanted) her to find.
I couldn't agree more on this one!
Slutskaya was way over marked. Technically, all she had is some triples. Her positions were ugly. All those bent knees. No spiral sequence. I don´t remember any interesting spins. And, what were those vogueing bits at the end? I would have put her below Cohen.
was watching the skating from this olympics yesterday on a special program, and it dawned on me how much she looks like Reba Macintire the country singer, they could be sisters
Irina "The Truck" was waaaaaay overmarked during the free skate, which should have had Sarah, Michelle, Sasha, and Irina - in that order. Which also means that based on the ordinals, Michelle should have kept her first place overall rank (that she had even after Sarah's impressive free skate) and won the gold after both the short program and the free skate (since Sarah's unimpressive skate in the short program left her in fourth place for that portion of the competition).
Bravo Sarah Hughes. You are a true 100% Olympic Champion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Melinda Pelham 🙈💩💰👎
Super commentary by Barry Davies, and Robin Cousins
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Isn't Sarah just great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Soooo much better than the other!
Just in case anyone was wondering, I have removed all the comments from an idiot who seemed to have nothing better to do with their day than insult others. If you are going to be rude, you will be held to account. User is now blocked.
no idea what you deleted but censoring people on a globally interactive platform like youtube is absurd. if someone gets trolled online then let that person decide how to deal with it. trolling is part of internet life. if they cant take the heat then get out the kitchen !
@@starfox1 You're negatively is annoying. Maybe you can get out of the kitchen.
American ice skaters rock! They are the absolute best! Free, easy and flowing, they always come across as flawless! Many countries do not know that sense of feeling and cannot bring it to their performances like the Americans do! It is hard to know a feeling that your country does not allow of you and that is sad, this is why American athletes always dominate and endure everything with confidence and ease. This is why it was so easy for Sarah to win!!!
Yeah, especially considering the fact that they all have Russian coaches;)
Melinda Pelham not anymore, thanks to the new system, Americans are not in the podium anymore. That's why I love the new system, now is your skating what really counts, not your country.
Wow, I forgot that Irina was in the same position as she was in 2006 when she had to wait to see if she will be first. Heartbreaking for her a second time as I was for Michelle Kwan.
IRina was in the same position in 1998 when Tara Lapinski won Olympic gold as well .
Irina was very nervous though out per program sarah definitely won this one
Irina was not more "technical" than anybody. Her one attribute is that she jumped higher than Kwan or Hughes but unfortunately landing is never something she had mastered. Her skating was a sloppy mess. If you knew anything about skating you would understand that nobody even came close to Hughes that night. Also, she was slightly under rotated on the first triple loop in the combination but still within the quarter turn. She would have gotten credit for all of it. Her skate was perfect.
That bronze was Sasha's. It really is too bad the judges didn't mark based on what they saw on the ice.
Sarah Hughes skated a clean program in the LP. Nobody else did. It was a perfect storm of interchangable low marks for everybody except for Sarah. Of course she won. Did she cheat on her jumps? Maybe. But she didn't fall down and go boom like everybody else. All Michelle or Irina or Sasha had to do was skate clean like Sarah. But they didn't. End of story.
@redmustang03 Falling doesn't keep someone from winning gold. Under the 6.0 system, a skater who was first in the short program doesn't have to be first in the long program as long as someone else beats the skaters who are in second and third place going in. Also, if everyone else in contention falls or misses jumps, a fall won't preclude a skater from finishing first in the long program. Under the new system, a skater can build up a big lead in the short program and win with a fall.
yes there was a problem, and that judge was removed. It's the reason the skating goes by a different formula now. The point is that in the end sarah completed her jumps, did two triple-triple combinations, and Irina did not skate well. It's about as black and white as it could possibly be
I got news for you, if Irina had won the SP, the judges would have scored her 3rd place this night. The only reason they placed her above Kwan was so that Sarah would win the medal. Neither Kwan nor Irina deserved it. Sarah skated clean with two triple triples, you like kolbeanta need to learn about skating
My favorite underdog story in sports! Irina and Michelle were understandably inconsolable, but they were cleanly outskated. Artistry is subjective (I'm not sure I agree with Sandra Bezic saying Sarah had an equally artistic program as Michelle's) but Sarah had the only clean program of the top 6 (I think) AND the most technical content (if I remember right). Any other result would have caused a scandal at least as big as the pairs' one. Anyone with eyes could see that she had the perfect program, at exactly the right time in her amateur career.
Not really.....
Her technique was overrated to win.
Sarah was lucky because the other better skaters like Michelle and Irina made mistakes.......
So true!!
@anubethc45 Because Irina didn't agree with the judging and demanded they award her a second gold medal, since they did the same in pairs. Then in 2006 she threw her bronze medal in a locker after the ceremony. That is being a poor sport.
To be fair, Kwan should have beaten Slutskaya in the long...
I also though irinas marks were entirely to high. She was a nervous wreck through the whole program. No where near sarah.
Irina would not have won anyway. If Michelle would have skated clean she would have beat Irina.
I cannot believe that someone is so stupid as to post about 30 comments on this particular video. Was it worth it? Get a life!
God is just ! For recent years prior to 2002 Olympics, Sarah accepted the bias decisions of judges in favor of other skaters. God has reserved the glory for Sarah Hughes in this 2002 Olympics ! To God be our praises & gratitude !
I have to say even before the Scandal with the Pairs of this Olympics, I didn't like the old judging system of Figure skating and am so happy with the system they came out with following the scandal, which unfortunately overshadowed everything else.
Clearly deserved to win the gold that year. As much as I love kwan, she just didn't skate as well as Sarah!
I do not know why Slutskaya was so upset. She clearly was second. Kwan in my opinion deserved fourth place behind Sasha Cohen, fyi, had Sasha skated clean, she would have won the gold medal.
Because Sarah was a Lucky Olympics Cinderella......😁
Her coach reaction 😃 Sarah deserved ❤️
how did the judges figure that out to make the right person win.
m j 😂 I know!
m j actually the only two who could possibly have been trying to "figure it out" that way were the U.S. and Finland. If you notice, of the five judges who put Sarah 1st, three of those five still had Michelle ahead of Irina, and that result still would have left Michelle first overall. But it's possible that the US and Finnish judges could have been specifically trying to ensure that Sarah actually won, and to do so, they also had to place Irina ahead of Michelle. The ones who put Irina ahead of Sarah, though, are crazy.
Great reaction for someone who skated for the win and unquestionably deserved it. Kwan's and Slutskaya's childish tears wouldn't have done a thing. No technical difficulty at all, just came in assuming the judges love them.
I think she's more upset because she thought she'd have a good shot after Michelle messed up, and then she blew it. I mean this could have been her moment, it's what skaters dream of and she messed up, that's pretty upsetting.
@kolbeanta And yet, you still haven't been able to state information that would back this comment up. Also when I said that the judges would place Irina 3rd, it was under the scenario that if Irina had won the short program. And they would have done this to make sure Sarah won the gold. I never claimed to be of master knowledge. But it's obvious who skated better, heck, just listen to the commentators, and the fact that the Olympic judges placed Sarah in 1st is proof enough for me
Honey, if Slutskaya or Michelle had won GOLD, they would have raced off into the distance as well. Sarah won her GOLD -- nothing could ever top that. She accomplished what she wanted to do. So did Lipinski. I guarantee if Michelle or Irina won here, they would have been off to Disneyland. But they didn't, so they stuck around to try again in Torino (whoops).
Kristy Yamaguchi won gold and didn't go to another Olympics either!
Here 10 years later because this comment cracked me up (in a good way!), imagining Irina and Michelle off to Disneyland
The six point o scoring system makes no sense to me. If Irina decided to withdraw from free skate then Michelle would have won.
@kolbeanta Overscored?? Are you nuts, 7 triples completed all clean, 2 triple triple combinations. Who would you have given it to? Kwan who fell, or Irina who messed up a couple of her jumps. Learn about how figure skating is judged before comenting
irina didn t deserve to win the free skate and the polemic was ridiculous. the only problem is that irina shouldbhave wun the short programm and it would have been enough to be 2nd in the free to stay in 1st place overall.
i don't know how the judges figured it all out for sarah hughes to win…definitely the right decision. but irina's marks looked higher than sarah's. all very confusing but the right woman one that night.
@HowsaBowsaYowsa thank you for explanation :) And after that, I must say, that it is good there is new system :)
Horrendous performance by Irina. should never have been on the podium.
Irina is SUCH a poor sport! She demanded they give her a duplicate gold after the pairs scandal! LOL. Then in Torino she threw her bronze in a locker after the ceremony.
I read somewhere that a Russian businessman had a gold medal made for her but why would she want a consolation prize unless to just resell it.
Sarah Hughes may never had won a national or world championship, but she can forever say she is an olympic champion which is something Michelle Kwan can never say despite all the national and world championships.
Exactly! I wish I could have ween the Ruskies' fat egotistical heads explode when SLUTskaya only got Silver!! AAAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! EPIC!
Michael Garceau
And then four years later get the bronze. Just like Kwan! Those two had something in common.
Michael Garceau my my. someone needs to be treated. Seriously.
***** very well said. Anyway, she is a thief and thieves should be forgotten.
Only skating fans are impressed by GP, 4CC, World and National Titles. The casual public only cares in an Olympic year.
I remember this too, and it was pretty devastating. Even though I felt Sarah had the skate of the night, as a long time skating fan, I wanted to see Kwan and Irina battle it out for the top prize (as they did so electrically in 2000 and 2001 worlds)!!! We all know that Kwan and Irina are better than Hughes, but Hughes nailed it this night, and it was both nice to see her happy, and saddening that the icons weren't on top.
How can 4 judges put someone first & another judge put the same person 4 th???
Anyone who understands Russian could hear what Slutskaya was saying at the end?
It's the universal language
ua-cam.com/video/vbTG2FL72U0/v-deo.html
@Jukka70 Oh sure the Olympic judges...the same judges that was in the "clean competition" in pairs no?. Salt Lake judges were all except good judges and somebody knows this fact.
@ Kolbeanta. okay, she doubles the second jump on her first combo, messed up the second one by stepping out of it, third one she two footed, and almost wiped out on the 5th one by being way forward. Sorry, but you know nothing about figure skating if you think that performance was better then sarah's. As for this whole BS American thing, I love the Russian skaters, many of them. The difference is that I know when they've done a good program and when they haven't as opposed to you who doesn't
Obviously Sarah's night, she deserved to win, she skated the best long, whoever skates the best long ultimately deserves to win. I think Michelle should've received second, because she is a technically almost perfect skater with much more artistry and poise than Irina, and also cause I was really rooting for her here. In fifty years, Sarah will still be champion, Michelle will still be the most decorated skater in American history, and Irina will still be known most for her being sloppy.
And just which judges were the "bad" ones exactly? As I recall, it involved the RUSSIANS making a backroom deal with the French to keep their precious pairs title. So if I were you, I wouldn't be bringing that up.
If anything, in light of that situation, these judges were under more pressure and were forced to score these skaters correctly. And under these circumstances, if ANY skating experts felt that Sarah Hughes' win was undeserved, they could have easily spoken up. But none did.
1 Ирина Слуцкая .
2 Саша Коэн .
3 Мишель Кван.
Planet _X9 молодец
most skaters end their carers after they win the olympic gold medal. its the smart thing to do unless you are absolutely sure of yourself that you can win it again. if you cant and are not the best you will go out there and ruin the titl you had.
Unfortunately, when people talk about the great skaters in the history, people never mention Sarah Hughes......
Total opposite reaction to 2022's Olympic ladies' figure skating outcome.
How does that mess get a 5.9?
1970s to early 2000s bias and spoonfeeding to Russians or former Soviets. It's not a surprise Slutskaya got those marks because this Olympics was the same one with the judging corruption in pairs. Then you had Baiul in 94, Petrenko in 92. Disgusting period but also great performances and skaters. A shame.
Figure skating back then was 80% politics. Once the new scoring system was applied, Michelle was not able to be on top.
well that's just a crap comment. This was a lousy program for Irina, but if you watch her short program she was nothing short of brilliant, beautiful artistry, and deserved to be ranked 1st ahead of Michelle on technical merit alone. While I love that Sarah won as hers was far and away the best free skate, if Irina had been placed 1st as she should have in the SP then there would have been no way for Sarah to catch her.
You are absolutely correct. I have no doubt in my mind however that the judges would still have given it to Michelle :(
Irina was more techinical than Sarah Hughes, but she make mistakes in her presentation that Sarah Hughes did not make. Even at the end of Irina performance you could see Irina a little upset at herself, because she knew she did not win it.
She had two triple triple and the otger top gi4ls had zero
For those of you who wonder what Irina is saying: she is upset about 5.6 as the mark for presentation.
And rightly so((
@purplegirl353 You and me both.
I really admire Irina's reaction. For top skaters of course they all want that gold, and if she is not happy with the final outcome I ｔｈｉｎｋ ｔｈａｔ＇ｓ ｔｏｔａｌｌｙ ａｃｃｅｐｔａｂｌｅ． Ｗｈａｔ Ｉ ｌｏｖｅ ａｂｏｕｔ ｔｈｉｓ ｉｓ ｔｈａｔ ｓｈｅ ｄｉｄ ｎｏｔ ｂｅｈａｖｅ ｈｏｒｒｉｂｌｙ ｉｎ ｆｒｏｎｔ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ ｃｒｏｗｄ． Ｓｈｅ ｏｎｌｙ ｓｈｏｗｅｄ ｈｅｒ ｎｅｇａｔｉｖｅ ｅｍｏｔｉｏｎｓ ｂｅｈｉｎｄ ｔｈｅ ｓｃｅｎｅｓ， ａｎｄ ｓｏｍｅｈｏｗ ｔｈｅ ｃａｍｅｒａ ｃｒｅｗ ｂｏｔｈｅｒｅｄ ｔｏ ｆｉｌｍ ｔｈａｔ． Ｉ ｔｈｉｎｋ ｔｈａｔ ｓｈｅ ｓｈｏｕｌｄ ｈａｖｅ ｂｅｅｎ ｌｅｆｔ ａｌｏｎｅ． Ｓｈｅ ｈａｓ ｔｒａｉｎｅｄ ａｇｅｓ ｆｏｒ ｔｈｉｓ， ｗｈａｔ＇ｓ ｗｒｏｎｇ ｗｉｔｈ ｂｅｉｎｇ ｕｎｈａｐｐｙ ｆｏｒ ｎｏｔ ｇｅｔｔｉｎｇ ｔｈｅ ｂｅｓｔ ｒｅｓｕｌｔ？ Ｓｈｅ ｄｉｄ ｎｏｔ ｃｒｙ ｉｎ ｆｒｏｎｔ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ ｃｒｏｗｄ ｗｈａｔｓｏｅｖｅｒ， ｓｈｅ ｊｕｓｔ ｗａｎｔｅｄ ｔｏ ｈａｖｅ ａ ｌｉｔｔｌｅ ｍｏｍｅｎｔ ｔｏ ｈｅｒｓｅｌｆ． Ｗｈｙ ｓｈｏｕｌｄ ｓｈｅ ｂｅ ｓｅｅｎ ｔｈｉｓ ｗａｙ？
Yes!Exactly! I feel that they have prepared their whole lives for that one moment, and it is normal to feel disappointed not to achieve their dreams. As long as they do not intend to portray negative emotions in front of the whole world, on TV it's fine. I always feel that athletes are athletes, not politicians. In the temple of sports what they do is to compete their best. They have the right to be themselves outside that spotlight.
You're absolutely right on. People tend to forget that these athletes are human too and shouldn't be excempt from showing true human emotion. Being upset is just being real. I respect Irina for that, but I hate that the crew zooms in on athletes who need their space.
I must be missing something because you are not the first to say that Irina was upset over her placements. I don't see that here and I know that behind the scenes is totally different but with Kwan's thumbs down and her 'gracious'??? little wrinkled nose right in the judges faces and not the first time either...where is Irna's fit here? Irna smiled through the whole kiss and cry. Sasha DID get screwed over here. That BRONZE belongs to her.
@purpleblumidnite Yes but Sarah has something that Sasha and Michelle don't have...an olympic championship and a gold medal...take that,Sarah is the best in the world!!!!
A Lucky Olympics Cinderella.
One night story.
@HowsaBowsaYowsa Fumie should have beat Sasha in the long, making your little calculation irrelevant.
ITA:)
what was all that weird stuff she did at the very end of her program? It's like she had back up moves just in case she didn't finish on time/finished too early, and so she did a whole bunch of finishing moves-- it looked very silly. She is athletic, but went through this rather perfunctorily- plus she looks bad kvetching behind the red curtain. no pun intended!
@cupcakes2277 Sarah Hughes the best in the world!!!
and what happened to "olympic champion" afterwards, she wasnt able to compete , placing 6th(!!!) in 2003 Worlds.
Любовь Тимеева Just look at Adelina Sotnikova. She couldn't even qualify for a World Championship after she won gold at Sochi.
@oofahman mooch A one hit wonder with a gold medal.
Now don't worry Russians take all the sport and we all know who is the best
Fair...Kwan....did you actually use those two words in the same sentence? Kwan has been held up, propped up (even here), babied, pampered, handed titles, medals, and lapped up praise and gushing and gushed about herself...fair...2006? Thank GOD that Kwan will never ever wear Olympic Gold for our country (unless some dip decides to create an honorary gold just for poor little Shelly)....here, she didn't even deserve the Bronze...THAT was Sasah's but poor little Shelly had to have a shiny.
Irina has ALWAYS been a sloppy skater -- a daring jumper (I give her that), but none of her jumps are clean (same as Sarah Hughes with the cheated jumps and bad form). Sarah was indeed GIFTED with this gold. She earned her top spot in the long program, but she had a lackluster 4th placer short program, whereas Kwan was flawless in the short and just had that one mistake in the long. I do agree that Irina should have been 4th in the long after Crash-a Cohen. Kwan was robbed of this OGM.
Irina is a great skater, great jumper and will be remembered while Sarah Hughes just like Lysacek will be forgotten
Get over it.
Don't worry, Sotnikova already is forgotten. LOL.
Yet here we all are 15 years later.
Irina who? I will always remember Sarah Hughes.
@wickedfan5172 Irina wasn't artistically bad compared to her other programs of that season. Somehow, some judges downgraded her presentation. Also, Hughes' jumps weren't fully rotated. She may made clean landing, but if this competition was judged by new judging system her jumps would be marked as 'downgraded'. Now once again, how DARE you defend up for such a cheater like Huges?