Berezhnaya & Sikharulidze Бережная & Сихарулидзе (RUS)-1998 Nagano, Figure Skating, Pairs'Free Skate

Nagano, JAPAN - 1998 Winter Games, Figure Skating, Pairs' Free Skate - Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze of Russia placed 2nd in the Free Skate despite 2 major errors -- one where she was not able to complete the split triple twist, and one where her balance was off on the dismount of the star lift, causing her to fall into him and knocking them both down at the end of the program. Nevertheless, they would move up from 3rd to 2nd Place overall.

[@olgalitvinenko4589]

Оценка 5,5, безобразная, наши спортсмены катались на таких скоростях, что многим чемпионам своих стран и не снилась. Технически они стоят на пять уровней выше всех. Пара уникальная, по красоте катания, все отточено, музыкально. Даже упав наши поднялись выше всех, а это уровень. Всем глаза не замажешь. Даже их фамилии вызывали неудобство, Бережная ещё как то выговаривали, а вот Сихарулидзе, это катастрофа. А наших как не назови, катались блистательно. Браво.

[@lflagr]

No pair falls as beautifully or with as much speed as this pair!

[@amywalker7515]

Those were the days when programs had a story with proper choreography that was a pleasure to watch. Now the routines are mostly watching skaters set up for endless jumps because that Canadian pair threw a tantrum because they didn't get the gold. We can thank them for the lifeless routines we have today.

[@violetacotovan2862]

Magnific ,!!!💝💝💝

[@JuanGonzalez-ym8qr]

I remember watching this competition not live on tv but not knowing the results. Living in Germany I was fan of Wötzel/Steuer, but despite the faults these two russians made i thought they were artistically so much better than anyone else that the silver medal is deserved.

[@ardishorwich4601]

I know people are going to hate me but no matter how good G and G were, they couldn’t compare to this pair.

[@user-co6wh1bq5c]

Я не скажу, что были лучше. Очень они напоминали их Катю и Сергея. Даже, когда я сейчас смотрела этот прокат, такая мысль сразу пробежала. Единственные, которые были очень похожи на тех. Но Г&Г катались раньше. Катание было не таким сложным по сравнению с 1998 годом, требования были мягче. Они брали синхронностью, внешним видом, катиной улыбкой, сильный, устойчивый Сергей, обаяние. У Бережной не было этой улыбки, Сихарулидзе был не стабилен. С замиранием сердца всегда смотрела на него, ой, чтобы не упал, ой, чтобы не уронил. Были чуть небрежными. Но эта фишка всех спортсменов Москвиной, не знаю почему🤷‍♀️. Дмитриев тоже был не идеал. Целеустремленный, сильный, но не идеал, как Гриньков. Поэтому здесь сравнение не уместно. Единственное, что объединяет эти пары. Внешний вид, большой он и маленькая она, обаяние и нежность.

[@Irinasky]

Вот это выброс. Браво

[@stanislavmachouse8821]

Выброс был одним из коронных их элементом

[@Will_3000]

I love this team, but they made 2 glaring errors. The uncompleted twist and falling out of the lift... the highest they should've finished in this event is 3rd.

[@amywalker7515]

Scott Hamilton's deprecating comments really distracted from watching the performances back then.

[@user-vp5sv9fg4d]

I reviewed all the performances of this pair .. Elena is much stronger than Anton, a lot of mistakes were his fault.

[@leonidasse]

This is very true. Elena was a stellar in this pair while he was usually the faulty and shaky one. Also, despite how genius Tamara Moskvina was/is, I find the choice of music for both of their olympic lp questionable. Having both contenders (Kazakova/Dimitriev and B/S) skating pristine clean I’d still have K/D first. B/S had far better skating quality but this program leaves me uncomfy every time I watch it.

[@Ian.D.]

@@leonidasse Agreed. I absolutely love this version of Dark Eyes but you can't really compare it to Händel's Passacaglia which was majestic.

[@leonidasse]

No seriously it was always Anton who was letting this couple down. A vast majority of their faults would always be either his solo mistakes or not being able to catch her properly in the triple twists or not throwing her correctly in the jumps.

[@michaeljj43]

no way 5.8 for technical. way too high!!!!!

[@officeaddict33]

Dazzling pair, outstanding qualities, breath-taking speed and potential like no other but those marks were a gift considering their bobbles.

[@user-cv7up4qn5j]

Самые необыкновенные выбросы!!!

[@CoachDane]

They deserve a medal for their footwork and speed- More than made up for the split triple twist miss and the accident on the final lift. Happy skating skills were rewarded, rather than just skating cleanly.

[@susannestein3955]

Thank you!!! I feel like their basic skating skills are just so much better than the other pairs. And their unison is far and above everyone else.

[@intldawn]

@uky1985 For the same reason they were third after the short even with a fall. Because the quality of everything they do is so high. Speed, flow, choreography, technique, artistry--it all comes through even when they're not perfect.

[@3Axel1996]

@uky1985 The judges love the speed they get. They fly across the ice as opposed to Wotzel & Steuer and Ina & Dungjen. It's also the quality of their basic skills and artistry.

[@Lariov]

They were just like angels on the ice (:

[@user-vk5tm5us9v]

Антон не умеет выбрасывать,Елена неправильно приземляется,что ведет к падениям.Вообще,он производит впечатление очень избалованного мальчика,привыкшего жить своими хотелками.Из-за своего нрава влип в гадкую историю,которую сам и спровоцировал!Пришлось ему выкарабкиваться,прикрывшись"любовью".Его истинное лицо проявилось после спорта и оно весьма непривлекательно,так же как и у его закадычного"дружбана"Плющенко-у них одни и те же ценности,сугубо материальные.

[@luca5152]

@@user-vk5tm5us9vcan you elaborate on anton and plushenko?

[@tedgreen7045]

главное что живы остались никто не пострадал мягко упали

[@user-vk5tm5us9v]

Сколько падений у них было! БОЖЕ!Девушка просто гуттапечевая!

[@chrisgatchalian3725]

Regarding narrative, yes, these two, with their compelling and troubled back-story, were the definite media favourites in '98. Amazing how, four years later, all that went out the window - at least with the North American media - and they became painted as "the bad Russians" standing in the way of the Canadians winning a historic gold medal. This is not a knock against Sale/Pelletier - I admire both teams - but just saying. Anyways, back to the performance. Such astonishing speed - in this regard they're even more exciting than G/G! They're that rare combination of beauty and explosiveness. And despite those two errors, I think the judges were right to rank them ahead of W/S.

[@3Axel1996]

She did have problems with the landing of the throw 3Lo, as it appears that she landed on the outside edge rather than the inside, which was why her landing jarred some. She has a tendency of landing on the wrong edge on the throw jumps. I think there's disagreement with them winning the Silver because their errors were major errors, whereas the 2-footed landings by Wotzel & Steuer can be deemed as minor errors.

[@GioMariatex97]

All of Moskvina's pairs have problems with the twist: look at Kavaguti-Smirnov, she's so small and still they aren't able to pull out a tiwst as big as the other's, the same was for them and for Kazakova-Dmitriev... However, I don't understand why a lot of people argue about their silver medal: they had a throw 3Lo, and they were the only pair on the podium to show it, and they side-by-side jumps were perefct... Two mistakes, yes, but everything else was magnificent!

[@intldawn]

Amazing as they are, one thing about their skating though that's always puzzled me is their split triple twist. I understand it was a new element at this point in their careers but it continued to be the one element they could never do with their signature ease and flow. She always struggled to get it all the way around and their landing would be something of a collision. Seeing it in slow motion here, you could see it was flawed right from the beginning. She never had a chance.

[@gimichi]

They were anyway the best....what a shame for those mistakes! :(

[@seanl2403]

the judges loved them to death, going as far as ignoring blatant mistakes to give them good placements.

[@user-vk5tm5us9v]

Всех впечатляет трогательная история!

[@Dylvente]

@3Axel1996 I agree. Their overall quality of skating is exceptional. Their mistakes hardly affect the beauty of the performance. I still think the Ukrainian and Russian judges overmarked them by a tenth or two on both marks.

[@MTVMANN]

@uky1985 For the SAME reason that they were in 3rd AFTER the Short Program!!!

[@eMCizzle1]

Anton

[@user-vk5tm5us9v]

Yes!I agree!

[@intldawn]

It's fascinating to me how the narrative about their silver medal changed from here until the next Olympics. Here, the commentators were questioning their high marks and why they ended up second with their mistakes. By Salt Lake City, the story was how they were so close to gold but that miss on the lift cost them. The former story is more accurate. Even if they would have won the long program without that miss in the lift (unlikely, IMHO), Kazakova and Dmitriev would have needed to have been 3rd or lower for these two to jump all the way to first. Being 2nd in the long still would have given K&D the gold. I've never understood why NBC tried to paint it as though B&S were so close to the gold.

[@ChristineTheHippie]

intldawn I think the system at the time meant B/S had to win the free, they were third and under this system, anyone in the top three had to simply win the free skate. If you were fourth, then I think the leaders had to be third or lower in the free skate and the skater in fourth had to win the free.

[@intldawn]

ChristineTheHippie *facepalm* Oy, you're right. I got totally mixed up there. But my original point remains. Here the commentators were surprised at them beating W/S and suggested they were over marked. By 2002, the story changed to how they were so close to gold but for that fall on the final lift. It was like they forgot all about the missed triple twist, which I thought was the more severe mistake. They were the only top team not to complete that trick. So I still don't think they would have won the free without that mistake on the final lift. The fall on the lift was not the only reason they did not win and it bugged me how that's how their performance was framed four years later. But you're right. I got the factoring all messed up.

[@ChristineTheHippie]

intldawn Easy mistake. I just remember the commentators back then saying "If you're in the top three and you when the free, you win the title" all the time. That DID change when qualifying at World's counted, but pairs didn't have qualifying. That said, I agree with you. I never thought much of it, but yeah, they DID change the story. I doubt B/S would have won even with just the mistake on the twist. It was a glaring one. Had they skated cleanly, they'd have won, but with big mistake on the twist and the mistake on the lift, gold was unlikely.

[@JP852]

There were TWO UGLY mistakes...so anything above 5.8 for presentation is simply WRONG...this from someone who really adores their skating quality otherwise!

[@mike856ms]

Too generous with the scoring indeed

[@uky1985]

How the hell were they able to win the silver medal with this performance is beyond me. I will never understand it.

[@rafearcher7882]

"They're so young, they're so good, but they're so young!" - :D lol, american commentators... some funny shit.

[@sgsmozart]

Scott Hamilton often makes stupid remarks.

[@keithvnumber1]

Ya, like how much of a travesty it was they won Gold with mistakes yet hailed Gordeeva & Grinkov despite theirs. Real dumb Scott. You and Sandra Bezic caused the drama.

[@Yuhon100]

I agree their marks were too generous, two major mistakes and still ahead by a 5-4 margins ahead of Woetzel and Steuer with judges from Eastern bloc nation China, Poland, Czech Republic, Russia, and Ukraine give them 1st place ordinals. They have great artistry though, but the fall and the split triple twist give them both problems.

[@GF2445]

The Aussie judge was right

[@mikeg8375]

@eren mori AUS is Australia. AUT is Austria.

[@joejoematic8206]

The technical score was just rediculous.

[@hughman55]

Outrageous! I remember when this happened. Complete disaster by two beautiful skaters - and they win the silver anyway... Corrupt to its core.

[@rowbom]

+hughman55 What I have noticed about this couple is that their fans love them so much they have only praise for them even when they do make a mistake. They may have been talented but clearly they are not infallible.

[@GioMariatex97]

Do you mean about the twist? Yes... I/Z's was not really high, too, and the catch was terrible...

[@jimmyseraphin7314]

the 5.9s were clearly abused😮😮😮

[@jimmyseraphin7314]

sorry but with these two serious faults it s scandalous they got a medal. and they felt too in the short programm. pffff

[@SonOfAGun1814]

block judging at it's finest here....... both sets of marks way way too high

[@imaxim3032]

B/S was executed more difficult programm than German couple. So, that’s why all was deserved