Denise Biellmann 1981 World Championships FS

She Won the Gold Medal

[@thangvuong9196]

Completely shocked that Denise Beillman has not been inducted into the International Figure Skating Hall of Fame considering she was the first woman to do a triple Lutz, the creator of the Beillman spin, 1981 world champion, really the first woman to do different triples in competition, and had a glorious professional career. This oversight needs to be rectified ASAP!

[@atiboyful]

+Thang Vuong A Travesty! She is easily the best freestyle Womans skater of all time! She was ahead of her time!

[@RAFAAMARILLAS]

Thang Vuong she was finally inducted in 2014.

[@redd605]

And jump in a different rotation,i remember watching her when small.love the music she always picks

[@notnek202]

atiboyful sorry but the best free skater ever was Janet Lynn !!!!!

[@MusikPiratCH]

@@notnek202 I strongly disagree. With over 20 years of competition ice skating Denise Biellmann is for sure the very best female skater of all times! :D

[@goober5151]

The Biellmann spin is breathtaking, but look at her layback. It's the most perfectly positioned layback spin I've ever seen!

[@RAFAAMARILLAS]

One of the best free skaters of all time. She was way ahead of her time.

[@overainbows]

OMG! I had never watched one of her programs and I'm stunned! The Biellmann Spin being named after her says it all about her technique in this figure. Nobody does anything like that! And the rest is simply superb, she's definetely one of the greatest ever! And it was 1981! This woman was SO beyond her time, it's just incredible! * btw the commentators were WAY better back then, huh?

[@figureskating2724]

Glad she won one World Championship! She deserved to be a World Champion!

[@dolcevitausa]

Man, how have 30 years come and gone so fast?!? Fantastic skater that still stands the test of time. She was a lot like Janet Lynn in that one move flowed into the other. Every moment of her programs was choreographed. One of the best.

[@user-kr5ic7sc4s]

Уникальная.Не хватает слов, чтобы выразить ощущения! Это безумно притягивает.Красота.Непостижимо.

[@jansumi]

It took Decades before Anyone else could do that spin - which has now become Required for every skater Both male and female. Way ahead of her time, she was one of the pathcutters, one of the great ones for sure.

[@sdcashman45]

She always had the best music.

[@stationofdreams8242]

Really stunning. Skillful and very elegant on the ice.

[@astridemmenegger6183]

Das begeistert mich jedes mal wenn ich dies sehe. Einfach Wow👍🏼❤️

[@belle19822000]

She's like a feather when she jumps...makes it look so easy! She's amazing! And the coreography... lovely!

[@GioMariatex97]

That final spin would be a level 4 with +2/3 GOE today! Most of the current Senior Ladies wouldn't be able to beat this...

[@tally1604]

this program would've won olympics in 84 and 88. totally ahead of her time

[@lb4585]

Not bc of figures 😪

[@germanwittgenstein4974]

PERFECT MISS DENISE THE GODFATHER

[@mikelara2151]

I sure wish she would have stayed until 1984

[@HowDareThey1970]

Hard to believe this was 30 years ago. She seems stronger, more athletic, more graceful, and more original than many skaters today. I think the skaters of the 1980s and 1990s were the strongest skaters ever.

[@JeffB2015]

I got chills during that final spin combination !

[@maggie210]

The best!!!She is my favourite skater of all times🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇

[@brihmendiola4347]

All beauty. She was ahead of her time and a spin named after her. Even today at 2020 most world class skaters can't hold a candle on her.

[@johnelkins2591]

What I absolutely miss about past skaters is the quality of the actual skating. Effortless speed, stroking, no scratching on the ice. Clean edges. I wish more skaters worked on this these days. It really is beautiful to see. Sometimes doing a simple thing really well is beautiful.

[@Lena_Wosk]

Она великолепна! Браво!

[@muscleboi4use]

JUST wonderful!!! Had to comment... I was 9-10 years old when she performed this and remember it well... terrific stuff... really the mother of modern female figure skating. Thank you so much for uploading.

[@RAFAAMARILLAS]

Arguably the best sakter ever without an Olympic Gold Medal!!!! Wonderful skater. Excellent technical and artistic quality. 4-ever Denise!!!!

[@skatebride9205]

I must say, her spins was years ahead of her time!

[@magickittenz]

I'm a clockwise jumper but I'm too used to /seeing/ anti-clockwise jumpers, it's lovely to see her jumps :3

[@Basileus1983]

She is AMAZING Thanks for post it.

[@kyrvhy]

Wonderful to see this again. Thank you.

[@1iceskating]

she skate still very good till today, so much energy and love for iceskating, Denice bravo!

[@mlc2005]

@cm1276 Thanks for that! I love this song, and you've made me a fan now! Plus, I must say that this might be one of my all time favorite free skates in the ladies' division. Simply stunning. Every move is perfect. I wish she had stayed around!

[@redbeetle5493]

So thats where the bielmann spin originated.. just wow! 😊😮

[@theresabollman8061]

She is just amazing. I love how she manages to incorporate unbelievable skill, speed and total grace into one performance. And she does not break the rules. A respect for t he very conservative rules that guide ladies figure skating shows her class & professionalism. While she was able to preform many moves never reached by another ladies figure skater she stayed within the proper bounds. I will always respect this LADY.

[@sezwho747]

Always on the cutting edge of innovation, she was often underscored. She is my favorite ladies skater of past and present. She definitely could have landed on the podium in "84 and "88 Olympics. Could she beat Witt? Well. Witt was a fave of the judges. And I think if Denise continued on as an amateur, that would have pushed Witt to up her technical content. Without Denise, all she had to do were toe loops, salchows, and an occasional loop.

[@dartanya2]

Scott G prob toller kranston ? Jk

[@victoriagill3337]

She would have needed to place better in figures going forward

[@user-lx6vc1fh5l]

Она самая лучшая фигуристка! Когда увидел её пирует был полном восторге! Моё восхищение на все времена , она ПЕРВАЯ !! !

[@yodabeesh]

She definitely set the trend (and expectation) for Swiss spinners. What a great programs. In a way, I'm surprised that she didn't go on to 1984 Olympics, but then I realized the age of 18 was probably considered old back in those days!

[@coreyadkins8775]

What a jumper and spinner. I love her styling and absolutely loved her professionals On Golden Pond. She should definitely be of the International Skating Hall of fame. It's 2023' her Beillman spin is virtually a requirement. But who has her pristine bodyline and form in it? No one!

[@karrtt1234]

@dianemars Yes, that for posting them you rock... big time !! Nice to see her I wish she would come to Canada and tour.

[@fredthompson4736]

One of the best programs I have ever seen for smoothness, fluidity, flexibility and musicality and even the jumps were so much better than other competitors at the time. In addition to her hatred of school figures, I heard that that the Biellmann spin was starting to hurt her back, so she won everything in her last amateur season 1980-1981 and then moved on to shows. I think she is better technically and more soulful than Witt, and I agree with atiboyful that Witt would have had big trouble beating her had she stayed on from 1981-1984. Biellman's scores here are higher than Witt's in the 1984 Olympic long program. I'm glad a spin was named after her or I would have never seen this great performance.

[@draco220]

This performance as well as her long program from the 1980 Olympics prove that Biellman was well ahead of her time. She would go on to win the World Professional Championships eleven times.

[@atiboyful]

Its about friggin time she won something!

[@MusikPiratCH]

Denise was even 11 times professional ladies world champion (competing from 1982-1999)! :D

[@atiboyful]

@@MusikPiratCH yeah! That was special!

[@k9henrydog]

Wonderful performance to see again, and have available......best wishes

[@ajb1776]

I remember seeing this way back and regarding her as one of the finest. Her Biellmann Spielman will stand the test of time.

[@Mike-df1ye]

Denise has been and always will be my favorite skater and this remains one of my three favorite women's routines ever in skating history.

[@vigochestor3371]

BRAVO !!!!!!!!!

[@jondavwal13]

It's funny there are certain skaters who are completely influential versus those who are great. Hamel, Yamaguchi, Kwan, Witt, all great Olympic or World Champions but the most important influential modern skaters were Fleming (the only Olympic gold medalist among them), Lynn (the most important figure skater in history after Henie), Zayak, Bielmann and Ito.

[@lsrasr158]

Great commentary. I would add that the influential skaters notes were also great skaters and some were champions as well (Bielmann and Ito both world champions). I have read some of your other great posts. Interesting that in this one you chose Janet over Midori as a more important figure skater. From reading your other posts, I would have thought it the other way around.

[@npe1]

Excellent! One of my favourite skaters. She should have carried on until 1984 Olympics. No other woman was doing triple lutz at Worlds at that time until Midori Ito and Liz Manley did them about 6 or 7 years later

[@NGaGuy41]

She was still killing it as a professional in the 80s-90s. If she'd stayed amateur, she'd have slaughtered the ladies at the 1984 Olympics. But, if that wasn't important to her, I applaud her life choice. Still... one of my favorite skaters of all time!

[@mlc2005]

I love every thing about this: The style, the skating, and the MUSIC!!!! I agree; she was so unlucky to be in the whole school figures era. SHE clearly shows that being a good school figure does not make one a good free skater, necessarily. Brilliant.

[@HattieLovesCattie]

@dolcevitausa Denise was not the first to do her signature move.I think the first person to do it was back in the 1960's.I saw it here on YT but can't find it now but its the famous Russian pairs coach.She was a singles skater before getting into coaching.Its Tamara Moskvina.The prog below is wonderful and you will see her "Biellman ".Go here to YT and type in Tamara Bratus,1965 skate.

[@carolinaalcalde]

I love this performance

[@user-uf3oj3gi2s]

Классная Дэнис Бильман.

[@Tfontaine209]

legend

[@cm1276]

@mlc2005 It is the Samba Pa Ti by Santana off of the album Tranquility. The second part is Magic Bird of Fire by the Salsoul Orchestra.

[@spartyutube2020]

WOW! First female Triple Lutz and compared to the other skaters, she deserves 7.0 in technical difficulty! Everything was done in combination and the spins are omg hard.

[@JohnLRice]

She is so awesome! I'm terrible with names, but I saw her once doing a routine over 20 years ago and I was so impressed I remembered her name to this day! It wasn't this event, I think she was a little older and more muscular but I remember the music was similar to what starts playing at 1:50 on this video. I'll keep looking! :-)

[@RedbeardNC]

I know very little about figure skating except for what I've watched (which is a lot) - I've never seen anyone complete their jumps with such a beautiful, graceful follow-through. Skaters today should watch this.

[@carrietide]

THE.BEST.EVER.

[@lionjake72]

@muscleboi4use Totally agree with you. I was 9 years old at that time and this made a lasting impression on me too. She was a superstar back then, especially here in Switzerland. I remember this routine being shown over and over again on Swiss National Television the days following her win at the request of viewers. :-)

[@samuelgedevanishvili1981]

Nice!

[@russianskatingfan]

@metsdudenj I think she would have won the 83 Worlds and 84 Olympics. Remember at the 83 Worlds Sumners was only 4th in the short program. It wouldnt have been that hard for Biellmann to make up the ground. She was 4th in figures at the 81 Worlds so her figures were improving. She just had to be close enough to Witt at the 84 Olympics as she could beat her in both the short and long programs with her level of skating from 1980-1981.

[@ElizabethxPete]

Beuatiful Bielmann spin!

[@sloams]

I love This!! Her marks for technical merit should have been a lot higher!! They should have been all 5.9s and few 6.0s in there as well especially with that triple lutz she did!! There definitely should have been some 6.0s for artistry as well!!!

[@user-wr3ou8nz4x]

Божественное скольжение!

[@youtubister]

@ajb1776 I too remember when she did it the first time way back then. The audience was ecstatic. Great to have a spin named after you. Apart from the spin, a fine skater too, and still going, how cool is that? GO DENISE

[@youtubister]

@russianskatingfan quote: "It was that she was an unbelievable competitor. She basically willed her way to victories and she was clutch as they come." Just think what "they" would have done to her had she not won.

[@ronbowman4437]

Wow...she was doing a triple lutz in the 80's!!!...wow..and on a very good outside edge... like Tonya Harding did her lutz...her jumps looked so effortless..Witt never did a triple lutz or flip...didn't even try..yet she won 2 Olympic gold metals!!??..

[@alexeydymov5602]

У Витт были блестящие программы...

[@ronbowman4437]

Alexey Dymov Nice programs are not technically superior...skaters should be rewarded for doing the hardest jumps in their time. Most all other skaters at that time had good choreography as well.

[@jacksonross2242]

Witt did have triple flip in her program in the 82 and 83 worlds , she was never able to get it back after that , only then did she become a triple toe triple salchow queen..

[@victoriagill3337]

Witt was actually the first woman to land a 3F in 1981. She did a 2L 3T combination in 83 & 84 and also a 2F 3T combination and attempted a 3S from a spread eagle in 82. Once zayak retired she didn’t need to push herself to include jumps she was insecure on when she could beat her rivals with her secure jumps. Why would you risk it-the GDR government wanted her to win

[@may_laytrucker3127]

Best of the best's.... Queen of ice ..!!

[@nobodyaskedbut]

Denise simply became the most accomplished female figure skater of all-time. She won more world class events (23) than any other woman ever (plus 19 2nds). She was the best at spins & one of the best at jumps while being unmatched in her combination of athleticism & eye appeal. She also remained at world class level even thru age 50.

[@russianskatingfan]

Witt is a great champion but she is also very fortunate Denise didnt stay in all those years which she could have. She could have really been the one to dominate the entire decade almost. As for Witt her greatest strength was not so much technique or style or one move. It was that she was an unbelievable competitor. She basically willed her way to victories and she was clutch as they come. She was one of those who was a greater competitor than skater.

[@thestarsheriff]

Hey man! Who wants to skate after a great Denise Biellmann program :)) what a bad chance for Zayak and the others ..

[@darkshade112]

That delay on her double axel! I can more than forgive that disco Firebird music.

[@yescanto]

Just ridiculous to see a 5.6 or 5.7 for technical merit !

[@Dossen_A]

Given by american and yugoslav judges, placed her only 2nd in free skatig (1st for Zayak)

[@muzakmuzak3115]

Blanket statements such as 'all Americans are corrupt cows' speak volumes about your character roger leblond. Now if one of those corrupt cows, as you so easily named us Americans, perhaps had a derogatory comment to post specifically toward you, I don't think too many people visiting this video (American or otherwise) would disagree and you, most certainly shouldn't argue against.

[@vistaprime]

Lutz was under rotated you can see the trace on the ice.

[@piramis7615]

@@vistaprime plus wrong Edge

[@jja8750]

Yeah, I don't get that, at all. There were programs with one triple in them that got 5.6/5.7

[@dsfddsgh]

Why did Biellmann retire from competition after winning the World Championship? She was setting herself up to be the favorite for Sarajevo in 1984. Ladies skating was very thin in the 81-84 period and she would have have only been 21.

[@user-wn2rr6ny2x]

Юлечка первая российская олимпийская чемпионка 🥇🇷🇺 а не Сотникова. Юля на неделю раньше выиграла в Сочи олимпиаду, мы тебя любим, помним, ты лучшая, твой элемент бильман до сих пор никто не может повторить. Счастья тебе, удачи 👍💕😘

[@kh3205]

@karrtt1234 Actually, there are 6 triples (Axel, Lutz, Flip, Loop, Salcow and Toe-Loop.) The first 5 triples completed in a program was by Midori in 84 (Skate Canada.) She also did the 6 triples, including the 1989 World. I think that Tonya Harding also did 6 triples. I am not sure whether any current skaters even attempt all 6 in a program or not.

[@germanwittgenstein4974]

DENISE SHE IS FOR YOUR EYES ONLY 1981. EL PADRINO

[@amexred]

Very powerful program for her time period. Was she the only top skater doing a Lutz at the time too? Her spins were fantastic, her jumps and flow out very good and I've pretty much always enjoyed her music and choerography.

[@iomoon3608]

I swear... it feels weird when I see people jumping in my direction! I should study her more. XD

[@sloams]

Why did she retire at 18??? She could have definitely gone on to contend for or win the gold medal in Sarajevo!! Does anybody know why she retired??

[@ardishorwich4601]

Aside from being a beautiful, athletic, and elegant skater, she’s a lefty. Since I was a lefty when I skated, I always notice this in others.

[@mlc2005]

Another compulsory figures casualty. For the life of me I will never understand why they counted for so much back then, and how some still defend them as critical in learning great edging. In fact, the exact opposite appears true; many of the great "figures" skaters, such as Trixi Schuba, were truly horrendous free skaters; whereas many who were mediocre at figures are legendary for their free skating (Janet Lynn, Toller Cranston, Biellmann, Ito, etc, etc). They held so many talents back!

[@vistaprime]

how much were figures worth back then?

[@NGaGuy41]

Alas... that's how the sport started. Just tracing figures on one foot. Once they discovered the beauty of a free skate, the figures were just a "had to do" (i.e. compulsory) to continue the name of the sport. At some point, they finally realized that was rubbish.

[@victoriagill3337]

vistaprime 30%

[@annadanielatravaglio2196]

bravissima

[@CionnFE]

How could there be a technical of 5.6 and a 5.7?? Nonsense

[@user-wr3ou8nz4x]

В наш зал она введена!

[@aagold76]

I didn't know she was only 18 in 1981- hard to believe she stopped amateur competition and didn't try for the 84 Olympics- I thought she was older and that's why she 'retired'

[@npe1]

@karrtt1234 That's not true - Both Midori Ito and Liz Manley did 4 triples at 1988 Olympics, in fact Ito did 5 - salchow, toe loop, loop, flip & lutz - Manley did 4 - minus the flip. Then, the following year Ito did 6 triples to win Worlds in 1989 including triple axel. This was 3 years before Yamaguchi in 1992.

[@mlc2005]

anybody know the music played in the first part? beautiful!

[@ServandoWatercolor]

tamara moskvina actually did it first

[@barkingtree88]

I like to think if she stayed in competition she could have won Olympic medals in 84, 88, and 92!!

[@atiboyful]

She probably would have because she won the pro skating for like 10 consecutive years

[@thangvuong9196]

Unfortunately it would have been very difficult for her to win because compulsory figures were her weak point.

[@atiboyful]

Yes, she was robbed in Lake Placid Olympics because of the compulsory! In the pro's however, she dominated because they did not have the compulsories!

[@dashoverton1963]

Nowadays everyone does the Bielmann spin. Back then it was like OMG! 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@laredo734]

легенда

[@Beargeek616]

Heh I agree on this one! I often do wonder how the compulsary figures would have played out if Denise had stayed amatuer

[@leonidjojriakov4247]

Дениз Бильман звезда ,она все делает по часовой стрелке ,и так как энергетические центры у человека ,,Чакры " должны крутиться по своей природе тоже по часовой стрелке ,то возникает синхронизация ,и кажется на это катание ты можешь смотреть вечно ,это как погладить по шерсти

[@marycarla6245]

Now they all do the Biellmann Spin (higher points value) so that takes away some of the power of it.

[@NGaGuy41]

I do see your point. But no one else on the top tier of skaters did a Biellman spin until 10 years later. YEARS. Because they had to develop the flexibility.

[@user-eh6gd9zn9u]

Талантливая фигуристка

[@russianskatingfan]

@youtubister lol that is true. That is really unfair she had that kind of pressure as it is not like they ever had another skater who always won. Poetzsch often made big mistakes in big events and obviously didnt always win. Hoffmann went 6 years between his only 2 World titles. However Witt was held to a whole new standard of expectation.

[@lucylikeslollies]

where was denise biellman from? she is so good at skating, i wish i could be as good as her. go clockwise skaters!

[@3Axel1996]

@stonerr It wasn't the pressure. She truly HATED competing Compulsory Figures and only stayed on in 1981 because of the changes to the judging system.

[@franckvielcazal9799]

more élégant than miss witt...

[@einekleinenachtmusic]

97 kişi beğenmiş, (şimdi ben de beğeneceğim 98 olacak) bir kişi beğenememiş. İlginç....

[@3Axel1996]

@RothdeMan Actually, Michelle did not start training under Carroll until she was 10-11 years old. It was mentioned in one of the bios on her during Nationals.