Over the years, women’s figure skating has delivered a lot of beauty on the ice — and of course, a lot of drama. As the most popular winter Olympic sport, there’s no doubt as to why people tune in: the stories off the ice are as good as the ones on the ice. The sport’s worst moment in history, with the Nancy Kerrigan-Tonya Harding knee whack playing out at the 1994 Winter Olympics, also brought about the most successful decade for figure skating.
But there are also incredible triumphs, including Carol Heiss’ fulfilling a promise to her late mother, or Sarah Hughes’ unexpected win at the 2002 Olympics. But most figure skating fans will probably remember Michelle Kwan’s attempts at winning an Olympic gold medal – everyone wanted it for her, but it eluded her throughout her career. Yet she’s still the most-decorated skater in the history of the sport and Kwan has the best attitude about it. “It’s not so bad getting silver and bronze and winning five world titles,” she told The Cut. “There’s just one thing that’s missing in the repertoire. You can’t always be perfect.”
The women have delivered some of the greatest moments on the ice and these Olympic memories won’t soon be forgotten. Grab a tissue and get ready for the figure skating stories that still get us emotional years later.
Tenley Albright Wins Gold After Gruesome Injury
Tenley Albright isn’t just the first American female skater to win a gold medal at the 1956 Olympics, she did it after recovering from a gruesome injury. Just two weeks before the Winter Games, she hit a rut in the ice during training. Her left skate sliced her right ankles straight to the bone and her surgeon father hopped on a plane to Italy to make sure the stitches were done right for his daughter. Even though she was barely able to walk, she made a miraculous recovery to participate in the first internationally-televised Olympics and win that gold medal.
Carol Heiss Made a Gold-Medal Promise to Her Dying Mother
Carol Heiss won a silver medal, behind Tenley Albright, at the 1956 Olympics. After missing the gold medal by only two-tenths of a point, the athlete recalled, in a personal essay for Guideposts, a conversation she had with her mother, who was dying of cancer.
“It’s not really losing,” Mother said, and she wasn’t just easing the pain I felt at having failed. “Everyone gains something, win or lose.”
“Yes,” I replied, “I know that. But,” and I looked at her hard, “at the next Olympics–I’ll win.”
Her mother passed away shortly after the 1956 Winter Games, but Heiss kept her promise. She not only made her second Olympics team, but she also won the gold medal with all nine judges placing her in first place at the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley, California.
A Return to Glory
In 1961, the entire United States figure skating team was traveling by plane to the World Championships in Prague. Upon approach, the plane crashed in Brussels, killing all on board, including 34 American athletes, coaches and family members traveling with them.
Peggy Fleming carried the weight of that loss with her to the 1968 Olympics as the great American hope after the U.S. rebuilt their figure skating program. She shined in her chartreuse dress, a color picked by her mother to match the herbal liqueur made in the Grenoble region of France, where the Olympics took place.
She won the only gold medal for the U.S. that Olympics and “glided into the adoring embrace of the American public” and “launched figure skating’s modern era,” per Sports Illustrated.
A Star Is Born
Dorothy Hamill won the gold medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria for what many fans called a very relaxed final performance — there were no nerves to be found. Against the advice of the Team USA manager, the 19-year-old athlete chose to do a little sightseeing in Salzburg for a Sound of Music tour instead of training in between her short and long programs. Her family credits this day of fun for taking her mind off the big gold-medal-winning day. And yes, her trendsetting Hamill haircut was inspired by Julie Andrews’ hairstyle in the classic film.
An Unexpected Finish
At the 1984 Sarajevo Games, 16-year-old Tiffany Chin was thrilled just to make the Olympic team. There weren’t any expectations placed on her to win a medal, but she sure came close. The Asian-American athlete had a performance of a lifetime in her free skate, placing her third that evening. Even though her overall total had her just missing the medal stand in fourth place, she opened the doorway for other young Asian-American skaters to come, including Kristi Yamaguchi and Michelle Kwan.
The Battle of the Carmens
“The Battle of the Carmens” was the epic on-ice showdown at the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, Canada, where East Germany’s Katarina Witt and the United States’ Debi Thomas both skated to the music of Bizet’s opera Carmen in their long program. Everyone was waiting for this major night of figure skating — there was no place else to be, except in front of your TV (remember, no DVRs in those days).
Much to the media’s chagrin, the hyped event didn’t lead to much because both women delivered underwhelming performances, but the athletes did wind up on the medal stand. Witt won her second Olympic gold medal and Thomas came home with the bronze and set a record for becoming the first African-American to medal at the Winter Olympics (and she impressively did this while she was in medical school).
Kristi Yamaguchi Ended a Gold-Medal Drought
It had been 16 years since the United States had won an Olympic gold medal in women’s figure skating, but Kristi Yamaguchi decided to end the drought at the 1992 Albertville Games in France. The 22-year-old athlete played it safe with her programs by delivering beautiful artistry and gorgeous jumps, instead of trying to break records with harder tricks like teammate Tonya Harding, who fell on a triple Axel attempt.
That strategy paid off handsomely because the result was a first-place finish and an Olympic record as the first Asian-American female to win a gold medal in any sport.
The Showdown
The whack heard around the world at the U.S. National Championship took its second round to the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics just weeks later. All eyes were on Nancy Kerrigan, as she continued to rehab her knee, and on Tonya Harding, who was a major part of the ongoing investigation into the assault.
Kerrigan, who had won a bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics, performed her long program flawlessly, leading many to believe she had won gold. Harding stumbled through a broken lace and a fatigued performance in the long program. In the end, Kerrigan came away with a silver medal, unexpectedly losing the gold to Ukraine’s Oksana Baiul.
More Controversy at the 1994 Olympics
Besides Nancy Kerrigan, Oksana Baiul also delivered a beautiful long program and that’s where the Cold War judges came into play, deciding who was going home with the gold medal around their neck. Four judges ranked Kerrigan first, but five ranked Baiul first — and that’s how the night played out, even though the American athlete’s program was technically harder and mistake-free.
Kerrigan was visibly disappointed by the loss of the gold medal and was caught on a hot mic when Baiul held up the medal ceremony to touch up her makeup. Oh, come on. So she’s going to get out here and cry again,” Kerrigan said. “What’s the difference?” Oh, the figure skating drama never ends.
The Rebel on the Ice
France’s Surya Bonaly’s athleticism was never appreciated by the judges during her Olympic years. She often found herself just off the podium, missing a medal by tenths of a point. At the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, Bonaly fell on her short program, which sealed her fate knowing that her medal chances were over.
Since she still had to perform in the long program, Bonaly decided to execute a banned maneuver that probably had the judges seething: a backflip. Not only is this a badass move, but she also landed it on one leg. While people were horrified at the time, her incredible talent is history-making.
“At first I was almost like ashamed… Maybe I’m going to be hated forever. I’m not that [much of] a rebel,” she said to the BBC. “I appreciate more and I feel more proud of myself – now – today – than years ago for when I did it. I think as a pioneer, I think is most important to be able to say that.”
Michelle Kwan Goes For Gold
This was an American showdown at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games. Everyone had placed their bets on Michelle Kwan going home with her first gold medal, but she had to beat off the spunky kid sister, 15-year-old Tara Lipinski. While Lipinski was seen all over the Olympics enjoying activities and photo opportunities, Kwan was kept away from the hubbub to focus on the task ahead.
In the end, both women gave strong performances on the ice with Kwan slightly more tentative to Lipinski’s joyous program. The young teen’s technical merit won out over Kwan’s noted artistry. Lipinski also set a record as the youngest person in figure skating history to capture Olympic gold.
A Disappointing Ending
If 1998 wasn’t Michelle Kwan’s year, then 2002’s Winter Olympics was going to be the magical place for her gold-medal-winning performance. It was understood by everyone in figure skating that as long as Kwan stayed upright, she would win. In her long program, the unexpected happened and she made two major mistakes. The elusive gold would not be hers yet again.
Her bronze medal might not have been the color she had hoped for, but Kwan wound up delivering an emotional performance at the exhibition of winners just days later. Her “Fields of Gold” program was flawless as tears streamed down her face — and everyone in the audience felt that heartbreak right along with her.
From Fourth to Gold
No one had placed any expectations on Sarah Hughes winning a medal, especially a gold medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. As skater after skater faltered in the long program, Hughes went out to deliver a performance no one had ever seen from her before — it was that good.
When the final scores of the night were announced, Hughes and her coach, Robin Wagner, fell off the bench in shock. “I think a lot of people counted me out and didn’t think I could do it,” Hughes said to ESPN. “I didn’t even think it would be possible, so just to be sitting here with this medal around my neck, I didn’t think it could happen.”
Her fourth-place start after the short program was almost mathematically impossible to win gold after the long program, but the stars aligned that night and Hughes went from fourth to gold.
Another Hughes Sister
Just four years later at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, another Hughes sister stepped into the limelight. Emily Hughes wasn’t supposed to be at the Winter Games, but she was a last-minute replacement for an injured Michelle Kwan, who was still trying to go for gold.
With only a week to go before her first event, Hughes made it to Italy in time to train. She wasn’t expected to medal like Kwan, but she turned in an impressive seventh-place finish to end her Olympic experience.
Record-Setting Jumps
Japan’s Mao Asada was a force to be reckoned with at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. She set a Guiness Book world record and Olympic record for the most triple Axels performed by a female skater in a competition. Asada landed one triple Axel in the short program and two of the difficult jumps in the long program — and it earned her a silver medal at the Winter Games.
Leave a Comment