44 years later & I still can't watch it without tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. So exquisitely perfect, it's one of those moments that stays with you forever. 😢😢❤❤
I am 59 - and all i can think about is skating . As a child my parents would not take me. At 18 back in 1977 i finally had a go at Solihull ice rink uk. 1 & 3/4 laps later 4 people holding hands wiped me out from behind . i fell full length on to the ice and slid for half a rink ! Bruised ribs followed the end of my skating career. Now i am scared to fall . I envy anyone like Robin who can feel alive so much doing what they love . Old age stares at me in the mirror along with skater ballerina dreams. Pam Draper uk
Robin's smooth, continuity of flow over the ice was the best ever and has never been bettered since. The clean edges and control are better than seeing any quad. Saying that, the jumps he did were perfect and so high and long. Many skaters can get good height on jumps but few can get both good height and length - Robin could.
Robin is probably one of the best all around skaters. He was good technically and artistically. I skated in Colorado Springs one year and was able to see him up close and personal. Those double axels were insane! He would start at a corner and finish half way down the rink. INCREDIBLE!
Hands down, the best skater ever - regardless of not doing as many triples/quads as others do nowadays. My VHS tape of this performance is shredded from overuse, so many thx for posting! This is awesome!
I remember watching this on the tele when I was 14 and being mesmerized by the beauty (especially the slow section to the music "Murder on the Orient express"), Great memory, so gracefull!!
The last time I saw true artistry in men's figure skating was Robin Cousins. Tremendous lines of the best dancers. Emotion on Ice. Afterwards it seemed to shift to athleticism. I would hope the old school of figure skating will eventually return. Beauty is Beauty - we should not ignore it.
+girolle01 - Yes, but that was a necessity due to judging criteria. Look at the artistic scores. That is the beauty. He actually won through his artistic score, not for technical. That is our loss, for that has changed. That is what I love. the beauty of A symphony on Ice.
I've watched skating since I started as a teenager in 1994. This makes you feel something, today's programmes are void of what made skating so special. Yes Hoffman had more triples but he didn't make you feel alive like Robin did.
Amazing! That opening delayed axel jump deserves a gold all by itself! He seemed to hang in the air. And his death drop was simply unbelievable. It's evident that he influenced Brian Boitano - squint and they're almost indistinguishable!
robin was the best skater in the world unbelievable creativity if you haven't seen his professional competitions after this where he does the backflip go see he's amazing
Thank you so much for adding this video, it's been so wonderful to see that performance again. I was only 11 at the time and can remember so clearly being allowed to stay up late to watch Robin skate on to gold. I've never forgotten the middle section music, so very hauntingly beautiful. *sigh* What wonderful memories. Many thanks again..
Beautiful skating. Very graceful. Apart from missed jump, he made everything look so effortless, like he was a bird soaring in the sky. Very emotional at the end. Job well done :)
Brian Boitano, Robin Cousins & Evan Lysacek true giants of this sport and I kinda mean that ironically. Both big tall men in a sport that favors smaller fellows due to center of gravity yet they all 3 were almost perfect & leant power to grace & elegance. The height & length of their moves is impeccable.
That slide side spiral is almost enough to insure immortality. But the line, the stretch, the edges, the height and the coverage of the ice on those axels especially, are wonders to behold. He has begun skating again after having knee replacement surgery just a few years ago. That's good to see. Robin always chose and edited his own music. The slow section here is the theme from the movie, "Murder on the Orient Express," by Richard Rodney Bennett. Beautiful.
He really is a joy to watch. His skating seems so effortless. I often watch the 1985 World Challenge of Champions when he skates to Satan Takes a Holiday
Robin was and will always be the one and only for me. His skating is incredibly smooth and clean, and his jumps are so effortless... He is just flying like a bird :) The men skating today is just jumping on ice - the more the better, with next to nothing in between... Lots of techiques and no artistry.
+Sheper1999 - I Agree - Athleticism has taken the beauty out of figure skating. There used to be a flow. A gentle stream over a brook that would increase in intensity for a moment & then move back to that gentleness to captivate you with its beauty. Then there would come a crescendo. And, it would come back to deliver a sense of comfort and joy. Finally, the skater will show the elegant, delicate and stylized motions that take your breath away.
I remember I followed figure skating a lot then, and he had big, swooping movements that could have looked awkward on a lesser skater. He was a real artist.
His music was excellent in this prog. Don't think any skater since has used the music so well, and got the height he got with his jumps! Loved the "Paint It Black" excerpt at the end!
We sit and watch him judging 'celebrities' every week and sometimes disagree with his comments, but now that I've been reminded just how he earned his title of head judge, I'll pipe down. Goodness me, he was good!
Такие линии! Такая пластика! ВОСХИТИТЕЛЬНО! 2024 год я не вижу ему замену.Можно сделать больше оборотов.Но такая энергетика,такой рисунок в программе для меня никто к не повторил.
It's interesting to note that this comp. was so close that none of the judges could agree on a winner. The majority of the panel did agree that Cousins should come in 2nd. Since no one had a majority of 1st places they had to count 2nd places of which Cousins had a majority. That is how he won the gold medal. I think it took over an hour after the comp. to figure out who had won. Seems to me like it should have been very easy.
I love his body line, his back camel position and speed. Who can ever forget that delayed split single axel and Robin's super effortless double axel.... In terms of pure artistry, I would go with John Curry over Cousins especially in terms of Olympic performances. Evgeny Plushenko to me is the epitome of technique, athleticism, executing the most difficult technical jumps when it matters most in competition, body carriage, showmanship and artistry. Not to mention he was still doing quads at 31 years old. The new crop of slow moving boys doing quads is disheartening. I attribute that to the current set of rules...
i agree about the new crop, The lack of speed and height in jumps (plus a tendency for falls and pre rotations) means the mass of quads are often unimpressive.. (the only quad lutz that actually took my breath away was Kolyada and as a skater generally he seems incomplete) The contorted spins often look forced. I am a huge fan of Lambiel who inspired a lot of them but Lambiel was as many pointed out a 'spinning genius' and to him the positions were a natural and beautiful part of his expression, not necessary forced point scoring. For me Plushenko and Yagudin are equal, Yagudin had more creativity, and a passion that provided a spectacular emotional connection to his audience plus his jumps were inhuman (axle in particular was god like) but Plushenko had longevity and consistency and both skaters were technically gifted, expressive and real fighters. My favourite skater will always be Lambiel also for the absurd beauty of his movement, his technical range, the way he makes the most complex things look easy and effortless, the simple beauty of his skating and his musicality- In 2010 other skaters claimed they enjoyed his comeback simply for the pleasure of watching him practise and Ne me quitte pas is the most beautiful programme I have ever seen. Curry and Cousins I have not watched enough, Curry is heartbreakingly beautiful but perhaps Cousins is more complete (as athlete as well as artist.. that is the impression I get from my limited watching..). The current crop don't make an impression on me. Fernandez is a great athlete and has passion, Hanyu is a great acrobat with amazing technical ability but I cannot find beauty in his skating...and Chen is a fine jumper, who may be more than that in time....but the expression and individuality, the personality of skating and the artistry as well as the basics that make a truly beautiful skater all seem to be a bit lost at the moment... sorry to ramble on but I enjoyed your analysis of Plushenko and the current state of skating..
The ISU banned backflips in the late 70s because it was believed they could not be landed on one foot, as all skating jumps are supposed to. But many skaters like Scott Hamilton, Kurt Browning, Surya Bonaly land them on one foot on a regular basis.
A lot of people thought Jan Hoffmann should have won. While Cousins is classic and elegant in his style with lots of speed, height in his jumps, and flow across the ice, he came in fourth in figures and missed his triple loop in the LP. Hoffmann won figures and had no mistakes in the SP and LP.
It should be appreciated just what an achievement his gold medal was ! A minority sport ( and that's a bit of an understatement ) , no lottery funding in those days , learned to skate at shithole ice rink , I know it's a shithole cos I've also skated there ! It should rank as one of the greatest ever achievements from a British Athlete !!
He is probably my favorite male skater of all time up there with Victor Petrenkov. He is so fluid. His blades are like a hot knife going through butter. His spins were unbelievable. I love his extension in his camel spin and the way he leans into the outside edge.
Brilliant! I remember watching this in 1980. He actualy skated this prog better at the worlds after the Olympics but got silver. Back then skaters had to skate "figures" before the SP which comprised part of the marks.Robin never did very well in these and had too much ground to make up on eventual winner Jan Hoffmann of the then GDR. Cracking video though!!
I think it was the direction of the rotation that banned the backflip. It was banned immediately after the 1976 Olympics. I think Surya Bonaly is the only skater to land it on one foot. Scott Hamilton never has.
I remember staying up to watch this...and the worlds when he just missed out! Does anyone know where I can find his version of Paint It Black which is at very end of the prgram?
Watched 2018 olympic mens skating . Does not compare to the beautiful skating of Robin . Wonderful to have had a destiny written in ice ! Not many people have a destiny for touching others lives ! Pam D
🍃🌞🍃 ~ Из тех времён, - у меня остались твёрдо в памяти два имени, - это Толлер Крэнстон и Робин Казинс. Запомнились, потому что очень нравились оба фигуриста. Робин отличен во всех отношениях, но сказать, что никто с ним не сравнится, - для меня, мягко говоря, - не совсем так. Тем более, когда речь пошла о 18-м годе. Hanyu Yuzuru лучше. Вот с ним-то, действительно, - никто, никогда не сравнится ! ...
I hope I can settle the dispute in your house. the first backflip done on ice was by US National Champion Terry Kubicka in 1976. It was neither Robin nor Scotty Hamilton that did it first.
@clearlypure. You can't compare men's free skating to ice dancing.The only thing they have in common is that both are on ice and have steps & edges. Multiple rotation jumps are illegal in ice dancing as are multiple rotation spins, equally you would not win a bean in singles skating without them. Torvill and Dean were possibly the best ice dancers in history, Robin was one of the best male singles skaters in history.
Question - does anyone have a video of Robin skating to Somewhere Over the Rainbow? He did it as an exhibition piece in the early 80s and it included the most amazing back flip! Please post if you have it, I used to have this on old VHS video and would love to see it again : )
I love it - he can perform a triple salco perfecty but can't take one step onto the podium without tripping... He was great but Curry was greater imho.
for me he is the one... I am not an expert; but I did start watching cause he did that one super jump. Im a bit fed up with all the triple, and more ,just looks like they winding up.Its not beautiful anymore, u see nothing!
