Denise Biellmann (SUI) - 1980 Worlds, Ladies' Long Program 

My favorite, never recover after the fall 😔😔😔😥

Идеальное катание, высший пилотаж, таких больше нет!👍

Неподражаемая!👏👏👏👍

Любимица.

Thank you for posting this. At the time I remember I thought she should have won-I thought the same thing when I was a little girl and Janet Lynn got bronze instead of gold. I did not know about compulsory figures at the time.

0:25. “I think we’re looking at medal contention here!” “SPLAT!!!”

@lambielkwanfan : I totally agree. It's pretty depressing to think of how damaging figures really were to the sport. Beillmann (and so many other greats) said they retired b/c they were tired of winning the free skate (by miles) and yet coming in 7th or 8th. Figures only showed one thing: That you spent a lot of time practicing figures. It had nothing to do with skating, artistry, expression, or even skill, it was rogue repetition. I hear you about Trixi!!! I was shocked when I saw her.

This performance had bravura and a lot of flair despite the fall and triple jumps converted to doubles. The technical merit mark is not just about jumps but speed, spins, form and ice coverage. However, this was nothing compared to her mesmerizing skates @ 80 Olympics, where she was robbed of a podium finish.

Just look at some of the skaters that figures made a World or Olympic Champion, sometimes many times over- Trixi Schuba, Anett Poetzsch, Dianne De Leeuw, Christine Errath, 80s holdover Jill Trenary in 1990 with 80s jump content. And none of those skaters ever won a free skate at a World or Olympic event, not even once.

Emi Watanabe asked her why she did poor skate there,and Denise was like”I tightened shoe laces too much and lost any sense of my feet”

@lambielkwanfan Liashenko started competing way after the figures were eliminated, so your comment makes no sense.

She really would have been the star of the 80's. With Janet Lynn, and then Biellmann, it's hard to understand the argument that "compulsory figures were essential to make basic skating skills stronger." Hahahahaha.

@metsdudenj My point is you would see a Liashenko caliber skater (either Liashenko or someone of her caliber in free skating) winning events due to figures if figures were still around probably.

I love Denise - but....Debbi Wilkes was completely right. Even the 5.4 marks for technical were very generous. Completely corrupt sport.

彼女は規定が大の苦手で、直前のレークプラシッド五輪でも規定１２位から追い上げ、フリー１位で総合４位。この演技は靴の紐が合わないとかで失敗が目立ったが、五輪の時とは違う白い衣装に「ゾクッ」とした。彼女以外でスイスの選手が活躍したのは後にカリポニ選手だけか。また彼女と似たタイプの選手も観たことが無い。貴重な存在。

俺、この人が歴代スケーターの中で一番の美人だと思うな。何たって北欧の美少女だしな。それに今見ると結構グラマーだな。今どきのスケーターは痩せすぎだし、ガキっぽいよ。ビールマンスピンも今じゃ誰でもやるけどやっぱり本家本元がいい。

I LOVE HER but, figures or no figures, this was not a good skate. We tend to forget how inconsistent Biellmann was as a free skater. When she was good, she was unbeatable. When she fell apart, she REALLY fell apart. For instance, @ Norton Skate right before the Olympics, she did a FS as disastrous as this and finished below LM Allen & Susanna Driano. She had already lost her 3L by 1980, and I think her decision to retire had to do with a little more than CF--w/ Zayak & Witt emerging.

She's known for doing the "Bielmann Spin", but her spins aren't even centered. No triples after that nasty Triple Lutz fall. I don't know if she's capable of doing triple jumps, but her technique is way off.

@mlc2005 Yeah she should have dominated this decade. She really was superior to Witt in almost every area. I am so glad compulsory figures are gone. They have victimized so many great skaters over the years and made champions of so many such ungreat ones. Check out a clip of Trixi Schuba performing, it is like a huge walrus on skates. If they were around now we would probably see say Elena Liashenko dominating womens skating and Kwan and Asada out of the medals due to low figures placings.