Toller Cranston is completely moved by her existence. And he was one of those true "artists" on ice. He recognizes that there are many types of artistry and hers was athletic.
There are 2 comments that I believe sum up Midori's contribution to ladies figure skating. Scott Hamilton's comment at the end of her 89 world's exhibition skate "witnessing the birth of a new age in figure skating" and the Canadian announcer at the beginning of her 90 world's exhibition skate "she has added an entirely new dimension to ladies free skating"
Thanks for posting. Great commentary! They are in awe of her aren't they! I've never heard someone get this excited about a skater (except for maybe Kwan at her best). Really cool.
What was there to be in awe about over Michelle Kwan exactly? Small jumps, no triple triples, possibly the worst layback spin in history. She set the sport back 20 years. There's a lot to be upset about, nothing to be in awe of.
@russianskatingfan I don't fault Trenary for this, she just did her job, this is more of a comment against the system, and ultimately her victory is pretty bitter sweet (like Tony winning the dance competition in saturday night fever). Midori's great victory is that this performance drove the final nail on the coffin for figures. This reminds me of Gina Gogean winning the Balance Beam even finals in 1997 over Kui Yuan Yuan by code whoring (she literally did nothing).
The question really is if every skater in history skated their very best who would win? I don't think there's any question no matter how "artistic" any of the others were, Midori would come out on top with the judges. The excitement she generated was her artistry. Ballet is not the only art form. Dorothy Hamill said that Midori kept her on the edge of her seat and she was her favorite skater. That is coming from a one of the artists in figure skating. The only skater who I feel could have given Midori a run for her money in some ways is Janet Lynn because she also generated that kind of thrill. But without the jumps we will never know. So I still give the edge, more than the edge, honestly I think Midori would kill anybody she competed against if she skated well, to Ito.
I agree with Jonathan Wallach. Well said. Has anyone other than Midori garnered the praises that accomplished figure skaters said about her. Scott Hamilton's "50 years till we anything like Midori Ito again" Toller Cranston's comments in this video. Midori was a phenom who forced all other skaters competing against her to "up their game" Tonya Harding landed a triple axel at the US Nationals in 1991 so that she could compete with Midori. Midori's 1989 NHK long program is probably the finest skate by a lady ever. I would love to see it graded under today's scoring system.
Thank God this was the last year of compulsories. What a joke that Jill Trenary won the World championship. This Worlds showed why the figures had to go.
the figures ONLY were removed because unless you learned to ice skate from a young age, and thus appreciated it, or were a skater yourself, it was hurting the IOC financially because of loss of financial sponsors willing to pay already lower priced commercials during tv breaks showing the figures. And then combined with, again, people who as non skaters, and unaware of & unappreciative of the historical value & significance of the reasons WHY learning the figures first in skating lessons were essential to what traditional skating was known for (by traditional, lets go with before the ere of the 80's when suddenly the ladies- lots of them- were suddenly NEEDING to learn and land not just one triple but many in order to win a competition. (Look up on google what and why they have the Zayak rule). So then both tv viewers at home watching and the spectators watching in arenas at an Olympics, in many cases over half the seats filled with ppl with no understanding for the figures, also didnt ATTEND the figures- although essential in learning some key basics, it wasnt an exciting sport that gave spectators instant gratification.So they'd only watch or see the short and long programs, and were literally at times besides themselves when upon seeing one or two in the final 5 group be extraordinarily better than the rest, with multiple complex jumps, combinations, great spins, etc and not comprehend why those skaters- who were visually appealing to the naive viewers- about why those skaters not only didnt win any medal, let alone a gold, sometimes getting at the highest place of 5th. The actual reasons for eliminating figures and discussions behind doing had NOTHING at all to do with any related to Midori Ito herself or in general, and thats because the ISU and IOC (mainly it was the IOC's call) had been discussing about this being removed for well over a decade before finally being eliminated after the 90 worlds.
@getrealandsee : I agree that this interpretation of Scheherezade is better than any other interpretation, including Kwan's. Remember though, that Kwan's Scheherezade program is widely regarded as one of her weaker choreographed programs, as she had about six or seven free skates (lori nichol) much more intense. Comparing Kwan and Ito is impossible, as they both had their own strengths. Ito is the best jumper in the history of the sport, imo, and Kwan is the best artistic skater imo.
@ViardotVSGrisi by your logic in the figures era everyone should have handed the gold medal to whoever won the free skate. Figures were part of the sport and the competition then.
Well remember folks Scott Hamilton when he won in 1980 at the Olympics and world's was constantly being beaten in the short and long by the Susan Lucci of skating - Brian Orser. It's the time though I do wonder what Scott really thought as he tried to sleep.
Credit to Jill Trenary for not fleeing the country after Midori's performance (I would have been out of there screaming). I do take issue with the concept that she was awarded the win and she didnt just start laughing real loud and hand Midori the medal in front of the international press. I mean, did she really think she was number one that night? How can she go to sleep at night?
There is something very wrong about a skater (ITO) winning both the short AND the free program and still getting second. Although, let's face it: Ito is a legend.
@getrealandsee: If I recall, Kwan had used Lori Nichol for all her choreography up until that year, when she switched to a Japanese woman whose name I can't remember. I think she did it to make her skating more fresh, but it just did not have the same emotional impact as her others; most fans agree. You do have a point about Cohen. I know you laugh when people say Kwan had the most emotional impact, but she did. Cohen, however, did have better positions. Cohen was brilliant for sure.
@russianskatingfan You missed my point. Do I think Jill Trenary "won" this championship fairly? Yes. There's no question here. But you can't tell me she slept well that night. There is nothing worse than winning knowing that you're not really a winner.
that makes NO sense, whatsoever for you to say that. Especially as we all know, due to the current scoring rules in play mandated for the judges to follow at this competition, plus that no matter WHAT the scoring system is in place at any certain time for a sport, its ONLY a matter of how well (or not well) each skater performs overall, and as with this year- COMBINED. Your personal opinion aside, Trenary won fair and square; it wasn't even as if there was any irrefutable, and clearly outrageous nationally biased scoring involved to suggest it was rigged against Ito, and instead for Trenary. I've never heard of such a ridiculous claim. As for your suggestion about how well Trenary slept that night, unless you know her personally, that's just whiny trash talk. As Jim McKay said it during the skating singles competition in Calgary, "that's what its all about, skating well on a given day, or not at all." Ito wasn't as strong in an area; are you ACTUALLY under the impression that current scoring system in place for all skaters at that event should have REWARDED Ito for her weakness in one area while at the same time penalized those who did well in the figures?? I mean, that's like suggesting rewriting scoring placements of every competition from every year until they eliminated the figures.
@@Parker528 Trenary won fair and square. I am not debating that. I’m just saying she knew, deep down, that she was not the best skater in that rink. This is why she shortly retired. The system allowed her to be relevant at this high level of competition, and when that system went, so did she.
@@ViardotVSGrisi I believe that as a theory but I don't believe that you actually have factual data to back that up that that's what was going on in her mind or the reason for it. She very well may have just been in the sport for a very long time. Unless you can provide me with a direct link that sites her retirement reason do directly to the scoring change then although your supposition is within reason is just only an opinion for you. I just want to make sure that that's understood. I would never pretend to presume what you think because I don't know you. I would need to get factual data that came from your mouth. Before I wrote something.
@@Parker528 oh, I haven’t done any deep dig into Trenary’s state of mind or snuck into the psychologist’s office to steal her therapy tapes. I deduct that she was a smart woman and could see the writing on the wall. I’m a skating fan and wish her no ill (she was a fine skater and a product of her era). I’m in the United States and people are dying and the govt is trying to stage a clown coup. I’m not that stressed about Jill Trenary and her single axel combos at the moment.
@@ViardotVSGrisi I'm in the States as well. I'm a fan as well and I dated a coach out of the Newark skating club here in Delaware. But if after admitting all of this then why even go to such great lengths to make that statement? That was just rhetorical. Please make sure that you stay safe and healthy I wish you all the best because we want to be around for the next winter games so we can continue to watch and enjoy skating!! I apologize if I was overboard in trying to make my point. But I just thought that you were going overboard in your presumption. And you're right there are a lot more things to worry about the present moment.
can anyone think of another instance in which a female has performed at the TOP athletic level( in any sport) with her male counterparts/contemporaries?
There is absolutely no reason why Midori should not have been the World Champion in 1990!!! It's ridiculous that the judges used the archaic school figures to keep Midori from winning!!!
This is a travesty. Not Ito's skating, but the fact that she did not WIN. I'll bet a million dollars her figures weren't half as bad as they say they were. Judging was pretty corrupt back then. But names like Trenery, and even Yamaguchi to a certain extent, are all flashes in the pan compared to Ito. As far as artistry is concerned, let's break this down for a second - and sorry about the long post but this has to be said! Artistry and body type are two different things. If the judges can't figure this out they are just as ignorant as they are uncultured. First of all Ito's program had a theme from beginning to end. You could tell that it was well thought out. The person who came up with Trenery's music should be shot! Random pieces of music that had nothing to do with one another (but that's another story). Concretely, the security with which Ito moved across the ice was astounding, even down to her crossovers. Pick any part of Jill Trenery's programs, and you'll find her looking down at her boots, or looking rather shaky doing things like forward and backward crossovers. (The crossover is the basic building block of skating. With three strokes Ito was halfway across the ice. Trenery and Yamaguchi appeared slow and sluggish by comparison.) Trenery's spins were sub par. Ito spun faster and had more variety of positions than both Yamaguchi and Trenery. Ito's jump landings were 98% textbook perfect and had a beautiful run out. Trenery landings were often scratchy and shaky. Trenery tended to "look" better, even while wiping up the ice, becuase of her body type. But that's just smoke and mirrors folks. Just because you have the ideal body doesn't mean you deserve the gold. There was nothing Ito could do about her height or her build (and it wasn't like she was eating potato chips and pizza all day), in fact, she was the most fit woman in the entire competition. And as far as the choreography is concerned, I have HAD it with these crackpot commentators who don't know what they're talking about. Look at the 3 turns, and the loops and how intricate Ito threads one move together with the other. Nope - they can't see that becuase Ito doesn't fit their idea of a model on ice. Please. They can keep ignoring it, but history will not. Ito accomplished her goal. She will FOREVER be remembered. There is STILL no woman today (maybe Miki Ondo - but even she doesn't skate with the abandon of a Midori Ito) who can match this level of skating - where the jumps simply take your breath away, where you yourself felt like you were on a rollercoaster ride. No woman, or man for that matter, moves across the ice with this level of reckless abandon. I'm glad they changed the scoring system. Sadly, it was too late for Ito. Ito revolutionized the sport technically, and Kwan revolutionized it artistically. Who will be the next one to revolutionize women's figure skating?
Perfectly stated. And Midori's greatness is being honored on the Olympic Channel. Thirty 1 minute videos of impossible moments at the Winter Olympics of feats performed by incredible athletes. Number 11 is Midori's incredible triple axel she landed perfectly at Albertville at 3 minutes and 10 seconds into her Long Program.
Metsedudenj i assume you were at Midori's long program. That must of been something to see. Scott Hamilton said during Midori's exhibition skate that TV did not do justice to her speed and jumping ability. Can you tell us what it was like to see her skate live.
