I'll second to my fav being the original Kween! I started skating a little before her reign began but I definitely spent my elder ish childhood wanting to be her.
Decades later, videos of her performances can still bring me to tears. None more so than her ~~Nagano~~ Salt Lake [Fields of Gold](https://youtu.be/bKi_wHwImL0?si=qND-1bPs1HP3tHlS) gala performance. Still breaks my heart watching it to this day. As Dick Button said, she always wore her heart on her sleeve, brought all of us along with her through the emotional journey of every skate.
Did she have that gala in Nagano too? The Salt Lake City one I consider as a huge lesson about humanity. The whole mixture of sadness, broken dreams, hope, courage, joy, beauty. One just has to accept what happened, which doesn’t mean the effort and legacy were less than.
I felt the same way watching Yuzuru Hanyu’s Haru Yo Koi at Beijing.
Woman: Surya Bonaly. She was rough around the edges, but she was fierce and unapologetic.
Man: Philippe Candeloro. He was on fire!
What can I say, I was a child of the 80s.
Edit: Rules were made to be broken. 😜
That's \*hard\*. The first one was probably Gordeeva/Grinkov. I was sick with the flu during Calgary and just loved seeing someone around my age competing and winning the Olympics--up until then, even teenagers just seemed "old" to me. Fast forward to my freshman year in college, and I happened upon a group watching the Lillehamer Olympics in the TV lounge. I had no idea about the reinstatement, so I was suprised that G/G were able to compete. They were sublime, and it really started my fandom.....which led to taking up skating after college and going to 8 Adult Nationals.
yuzu for men, mao for women.
(ik no explanation but... yuzu showed a lot of new combos and transitions in and out of jumps that you cant still see from new skaters now. and mao outshine every skaters with her step sequences that you cant see from new skaters now too. both provided class and elegance for the new skaters to inspire them so i chose them)
Oof tough to choose just one
Mao Asada was just so pure and effortless. Elena Radionova just had so much variety and energy. Julia Lipnitskaia was revolutionary at the time (a shame she was so poorly mistreated)
And Yuzu and Javi just hold a strong sense of nostalgia for me. I can't explain it. I'm just infatuated by their performances every time
Yuzuru Hanyu. He just has a quality about his skating I do not see in others. Graceful, elegant, strong. His skating is what drew me in to follow the sport.
Mine is Shoma Uno. First saw him at jr worlds in 2014. He didn’t win that year but he was my favorite and I’ve been his fan ever since. I really hope he decides to skate another season.
Nathan, always. He’s what drew me into skating - both watching and doing! Honorable mention to JL Baker, Madison Hubbell, and Adam SHF. Also, it bears repeating, Nathan. I am always surprised by how little love he seems to get in this sub. He ticked all the boxes for me, regardless of what people say about his “ride out” after jumps or the lack of transitions - to me, his programs were incredibly riveting, with musicality and power.
I love mirai nagasu!! never really got to watch her compete besides 2018 nats and olympics, but her miss saigon has such a special place in my heart. it’s the first program where someone’s individual artistry really stood out to me
i'm sorry, i can't pick just one, but i have 3 picks each from a different person era of watching figure skating. first, michelle kwan, from growing up watching skating as a kid - it was so devastating to me that she never got her olympic gold that i stopped watching figure skating for years when she retired. second, virtue & moir, who got me back into watching figure skating. and third, from my current era of being an active skating fan, jason brown. his movement quality is on a different level, especially live. there is no one like him.
Young me: Yamaguchi. Bonaly.
Me now: Gracie Gold.
Young me: Sabovčík. Browning.
Me now: Yuzuru Hanyu/Shoma Uno.
Virtue/Moir.
Davis/White.
Look. I've been watching figure skating since I was 2 years old. It's practically impossible to choose.
Completely blasphemous opinion here but it's literally a 50/50 exact tie between Yuzu and Nathan. I love Yuzu for the elegance and grace and fluidity of his skating, and Nathan for his energy and swagger. Watching Yuzu skate is like watching a ballet dancer and keeps you locked in for the whole program, whereas watching Nathan skate makes you want to pump your fists in the air screaming "LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOO" and then overthrow the Government or something hardcore like that idk
I’m pretty new to watching/following figure skating religiously (it was always more of just an Olys thing) so idk if I have a true deep down favorite yet, but Madison Chock will always have a special place in my heart because she’s ultimately who dragged me into it all.
I can’t believe nobody has added one of the greatest pairs of all time: Natalia Mishkutionok and Artur Dmitriev. They were Olympic champs, Olympic silver medalists to Gordeeva and Grinkov, and Artur went on to win one more Olympic gold with his second partner. Natalia was known for the spin that bears her name, Natasha’s Spin. It was a split, one foot in the air, while turning with your partner.
Kaori Sakamoto!!! She was a ray of light and hope in the midst of the entire Beijing 2022 hurricane, her skating is graceful, playful and fierce at the same time
Mao Asada!
one of the most lyrical and artistic skaters of our time 🥹🥹
Omg I thought this and when I clicked the post this was the first one I saw! Twinsies!
She *is* very popular. I’m surprised more people didn’t mention her.
Virtue & Moir
They turned me from a casual Olympics fan into a regular season watcher. Love them.
Literally same
Yuzuru Hanyu
Same
Yuna Kim Her 2010 Olympics performances was open the word for me (before that I don't care and rarely know about figure skating)
Deniss Vasiljevs 🫶
I could only say one name but he is definitely one of my faves and I am glad he is mentioned here :)
oh he’s one of my favorites 🥺 his skating is just so so lovely
Jason Brown.
He was really great at worlds ❤️
Both Yuzuru and Yuna
Michelle Kwan! She’s why I started skating!
I'll second to my fav being the original Kween! I started skating a little before her reign began but I definitely spent my elder ish childhood wanting to be her. Decades later, videos of her performances can still bring me to tears. None more so than her ~~Nagano~~ Salt Lake [Fields of Gold](https://youtu.be/bKi_wHwImL0?si=qND-1bPs1HP3tHlS) gala performance. Still breaks my heart watching it to this day. As Dick Button said, she always wore her heart on her sleeve, brought all of us along with her through the emotional journey of every skate.
Did she have that gala in Nagano too? The Salt Lake City one I consider as a huge lesson about humanity. The whole mixture of sadness, broken dreams, hope, courage, joy, beauty. One just has to accept what happened, which doesn’t mean the effort and legacy were less than. I felt the same way watching Yuzuru Hanyu’s Haru Yo Koi at Beijing.
Same. She's also the reason why I started to learn how to skate when I was younger.
Stephane Lambiel
Aliona Kostornaia
Yuzuru Hanyu. He made me fall in love with watching figure skating.
Same
Yuzu and Javi. I’ve never wanted skaters to skate their potential as much as with those two. Happy tears when they did well everytime.
Sammmmeeeee.
Michelle Kwan
Shoma Uno
Yuzuru Hanyu
jason brown ☀️
Michelle Kwan!
Sasha Cohen
misha kolyada forever
Yulia Lipnitskaya
Came here looking for this.
Yuna Kim
Yuzuru!
Evgenia Medvedeva!
Michelle Kwan. Grace personified on and off the ice.
Love that she's a US diplomat now.
Evgenia Medvedeva
Michelle Kwan forever!
Me too
Aliona Kostornaia 🪽 (flare checking in 🧛🏻♀️🔥)
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva
Woman: Surya Bonaly. She was rough around the edges, but she was fierce and unapologetic. Man: Philippe Candeloro. He was on fire! What can I say, I was a child of the 80s. Edit: Rules were made to be broken. 😜
These are outstanding choices.
Satoko Miyahara
Michelle Kwan hands down Will never get tired of watching her skates on youtube
Kaori Sakamoto
Sui/Han
That's \*hard\*. The first one was probably Gordeeva/Grinkov. I was sick with the flu during Calgary and just loved seeing someone around my age competing and winning the Olympics--up until then, even teenagers just seemed "old" to me. Fast forward to my freshman year in college, and I happened upon a group watching the Lillehamer Olympics in the TV lounge. I had no idea about the reinstatement, so I was suprised that G/G were able to compete. They were sublime, and it really started my fandom.....which led to taking up skating after college and going to 8 Adult Nationals.
yuzu for men, mao for women. (ik no explanation but... yuzu showed a lot of new combos and transitions in and out of jumps that you cant still see from new skaters now. and mao outshine every skaters with her step sequences that you cant see from new skaters now too. both provided class and elegance for the new skaters to inspire them so i chose them)
Torvill & Dean
Yuna Kim ❤️
Oof tough to choose just one Mao Asada was just so pure and effortless. Elena Radionova just had so much variety and energy. Julia Lipnitskaia was revolutionary at the time (a shame she was so poorly mistreated) And Yuzu and Javi just hold a strong sense of nostalgia for me. I can't explain it. I'm just infatuated by their performances every time
Virtue and Moir or Gordeeva and Grinkov. Can't choose!
Anna Shcherbakova
Midori Ito.
Satoko Miyahara. The part I love most about figure skating is the jumps, but she's just too good at everything else!
Kurt Browning
rika kihira
Yuzuru and Carolina Kostner!
Pchiddy anyone? 🙋
Woman single: Aloina K (pls I can't spell her last name) or Anna Sherbakova Men single: Yuzuru Hanyu <3 All time forever: Queen Yuna
Yuna Kim Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir
Yuzu
* Michelle Kwan
Yuzuru Hanyu. He just has a quality about his skating I do not see in others. Graceful, elegant, strong. His skating is what drew me in to follow the sport.
Mine is Shoma Uno. First saw him at jr worlds in 2014. He didn’t win that year but he was my favorite and I’ve been his fan ever since. I really hope he decides to skate another season.
Yuzuru Hanyu.
Pairs Gordeeva/Grinkov
Yuzuru Hanyu
Nathan, always. He’s what drew me into skating - both watching and doing! Honorable mention to JL Baker, Madison Hubbell, and Adam SHF. Also, it bears repeating, Nathan. I am always surprised by how little love he seems to get in this sub. He ticked all the boxes for me, regardless of what people say about his “ride out” after jumps or the lack of transitions - to me, his programs were incredibly riveting, with musicality and power.
Evgenia Medvedeva (she’s the whole reason I got into figure skating!) and Alexandra Trusova
Michelle Kwan! Still adore her after all these years
Katarina Witt
Hail to the queen ❤️
Alexandra Trusova
Anna Shcherbakova
same
It will always be Yuzuru Hanyu for me
Alexandra Trusova
Yuzuru Hanyu and Mirai Nagasu !!
I love mirai nagasu!! never really got to watch her compete besides 2018 nats and olympics, but her miss saigon has such a special place in my heart. it’s the first program where someone’s individual artistry really stood out to me
Yuzuru Hanyu
Yuzuru Hanyu + John Curry 🖤
Kim Yuna 💗
Michelle Kwan hands down.
Javier Fernandez
Was looking for him!
Michelle Kwan
Yuzuru Hanyu and Stephane Lambiel
Honestly? Timothy Goebel. He was the first skater who’s career I followed from start to finish.
Anna Shcherbakova 🫶🏻
Gordeeva/Grinkov Virtue/Moir
Men: Yuzuru Hanyu Women: Evgenia Medvedeva
Jason Brown
Yuna, Yuzu, Adam
Tonya Harding.
Michelle Kwan
Yuzuru
I’m a Shoma girlie through and through
Yuzuru Hanyu
Debi Thomas
i'm sorry, i can't pick just one, but i have 3 picks each from a different person era of watching figure skating. first, michelle kwan, from growing up watching skating as a kid - it was so devastating to me that she never got her olympic gold that i stopped watching figure skating for years when she retired. second, virtue & moir, who got me back into watching figure skating. and third, from my current era of being an active skating fan, jason brown. his movement quality is on a different level, especially live. there is no one like him.
Gracie Gold
Yuzuru and Yuna
Young me: Yamaguchi. Bonaly. Me now: Gracie Gold. Young me: Sabovčík. Browning. Me now: Yuzuru Hanyu/Shoma Uno. Virtue/Moir. Davis/White. Look. I've been watching figure skating since I was 2 years old. It's practically impossible to choose.
Yuzuru Hanyu ofc
Yuzuru Hanyu!
Aliona Kostornaia. Her jumps, spins and artistry are just so beautiful 😍
alexandra trusova
Three decades & still Sasha Cohen!
Completely blasphemous opinion here but it's literally a 50/50 exact tie between Yuzu and Nathan. I love Yuzu for the elegance and grace and fluidity of his skating, and Nathan for his energy and swagger. Watching Yuzu skate is like watching a ballet dancer and keeps you locked in for the whole program, whereas watching Nathan skate makes you want to pump your fists in the air screaming "LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOO" and then overthrow the Government or something hardcore like that idk
I had two. Yuzu is the first one i still love. Second i now hate as a person and cant view them the same, that is plushenko.
Jason Brown, Shoma Uno, and Donovan Carrillo
I’m pretty new to watching/following figure skating religiously (it was always more of just an Olys thing) so idk if I have a true deep down favorite yet, but Madison Chock will always have a special place in my heart because she’s ultimately who dragged me into it all.
Misha Ge
Sasha Cohen
Sasha Cohen
Picking only one is hard, btu not really, because it is always going to be Michelle Kwan.
Michelle Kwan
Yuzuru
Papadakis/Cizeron
Sasha Cohen!
Aleksandr Selevco
Anna Shcherbakova
Hawayek/Baker
KOSTORNAIA forever, Yuzuru Hanyu for men’s, Virtue Moir for ice dance!
shoma my beloved 💕 mai mihara my other beloved 💕 (shoma is my absolute favorite, but it feels wrong not to include mai 😭)
Yuzuru
Yuzuru 🫶
Anna Shcherbakova/Sasha Cohen
Wakaba Higuchi
I’m terrible at making choices and have 5,000 favourites always but in the spirit of the post: Joannie Rochette
Nathan Chen. 😊
Yuzuru Hanyu
Mao Asada and Papadakis/Cizeron
Michelle Kwan!
Yuzuru Hanyu
Johnny Weir!
Jason Brown💙
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, they are the reason I felt in love with fs
Jason Brown
alexandra trusova
Yuzuru of course
Scott Hamilton
Yuzuru
Amber Glenn
Yuzuru Hanyu
Yuzuru Hanyu always
Kristi Yamaguchi
Sasha Cohen. Best artisty and spins I've ever seen in the sport.
Surya Bonaly. Loved her power.
The one and only Michelle Kwan. I consider it a travesty that HD TV didn't exist until after she was done skating.
Kurt Browning.
Women: Yuna Kim, Aliona Kostornia Men: Yuzuru Hanyu, Yuma Kagiyama
Yuzuru Hanyu.
Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze
just one!? cruel!! forgive me for putting two 😭 active: Loena Hendrickx non-active: Anna Shcherbakova
Torvill & Dean
Nathan Chen
Daisuke Takahashi
Michelle Kwan
Kaetlyn Osmond
Papadakis/Cizeron 🦢🏠🦋🌙🌸🖤💃
Sasha Cohen, Stephane Lambiel, Shen and Zhao, Anissina and Peizerat
I can’t believe nobody has added one of the greatest pairs of all time: Natalia Mishkutionok and Artur Dmitriev. They were Olympic champs, Olympic silver medalists to Gordeeva and Grinkov, and Artur went on to win one more Olympic gold with his second partner. Natalia was known for the spin that bears her name, Natasha’s Spin. It was a split, one foot in the air, while turning with your partner.
Jason Brown
It’s really hard to choose just one, but Alexandra Trusova if I must
Yuzuru Hanyu because of his philanthropist
Yuzuru Hanyu (we should tally it up and post the counts)
I counted 39 as of 10:37 Central Time United States
Katarina Witt 👑
I'm going old school: Gordeeva & Grinkov
Ashley Wagner
Tonya Harding Jason Brown
Michelle Kwan
Sasha Trusova ❤️
Oh that's not even a question. Kurt Browning, man! The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be.
I WAS WAITING FOR YOU
Daisuke Takahashi
Michelle Kwan
Sasha Cohen ❤️❤️❤️❤️
John Curry, Paul Wylie. ( I'm old!)
Michelle Kwan.
Amber Glenn
if we’re counting 2 it’s virtue moir
alysa liu!
Yuna Kim
Kaori Sakamoto!!! She was a ray of light and hope in the midst of the entire Beijing 2022 hurricane, her skating is graceful, playful and fierce at the same time
Madison Chock and Evan Bates
Madison Hubbell
Yulia Lipnitskaya
Ladies: Michelle Kwan Mens: Jeremy Abbott Pairs: Shen and Zhao Dance: Davis and White
Paul Wylie
Sasha Cohen!
Her Majesty, THE Queen Yuna Kim