Elvis Stojko (CAN) - 1994 Lillehammer, Figure Skating, Men's Free Skate

Hamar, NORWAY - 1994 Winter Games, Figure Skating, Men's Free Skate - Elvis Stojko of Canada placed a controversial 2nd Place and ended up winning the Silver Medal.

[@cmadoyle1111]

Re-watching many years later and Elvis should have won this event in my eyes.

[@cavies4ever]

I remember this so well. He should have won the gold but the judges were too stuffy to recognize such a refreshing expression of artistic design. He received a silver medal for an absolutely Gold performance!

[@andreaberryhill6654]

I remember this performance and competition. Elvis should have won, IMO.

[@genednomyar3383]

One of the most inspiring skates ever!!!!❤❤❤❤❤❤ A great artist has an emotional impact on people. And he did that. It was the best men's long program at this Olympics!!!!!!!!

[@theresabollman8061]

Elvis is such a class act and has always been. The USA loves him so much!

[@grantgoffin4774]

Actually after 94 he became bitter and anything but classy. His personality completed changed.

[@theresabollman8061]

@@grantgoffin4774 I appreciate your input. IF possible will you kindly explain why you think that happened and how you feel Evil demonstrated that change. Thank you from the USA.

[@abrilllanos9482]

I love the music he is dancing to it's from Dragon : The Bruce Lee Story 😍😍😍😌😌😌❤❤❤🔥🔥🔥

[@susanv.7540]

His edging, flow, and control out of his opening triple Lutz is absolutely amazing. He should have won the gold medal.

[@willywood2846]

Amazing!! Never get tired of watching this program! Elvis should’ve gotten higher marks for artistic impression.

[@jimmypikachuchoi]

after all these yrs, who still remembers and watches Elvis FS and not the Olympic Gold medalist? Heck I still remember Candeloro's performance over Urmanov's. Too bad the judges didn't get it right.

[@Evancho08]

he was gold

[@jeanneashworth8499]

What a skater is Elvis

[@lisamueller7026]

I remember watching this when it was happening and being disappointed when he was awarded the Silver. Elvis was a pioneer and deserved the Gold.

[@theresabollman8061]

How can anyone not love this guy? Americans love him too!

[@theresabollman8061]

A true sportsman, he never was anything but gentlemanly when the judges made him pay for not being conservative enough. At least this time they weren't quite as blatant. I think he should have shown a 6 or more, as they have done it for guys like Canadian Brian K. who missed jumps and left out jumps. It just isnt fair.

[@Warren_Flatt]

biggest robbery in all of sport. this was the gold medal winning performance.

[@bnkundwa]

He had to make it.

[@felsenruh]

He was robbed!

[@richardross4677]

As usual overscored. Straight 5.9s for technical merit with a huge popped open single axel, LOL! And a bunch of low landings and just average spins. Laughably ridiculous. If anyone else did that skate it would be 5.7s tops. The artistic scores are close to right for once, when usually they are way overscored for programs where he displays even less artistry than this but gets 5.9s.

[@russcohen3779]

No grace very mechanical

[@Ricky0101]

I could watch this 1,000 times and never get sick of it. The greatest. A gold medal deserving performance.

[@CSorickOmaha]

I've always loved this program, and artistically incorporating martial arts with figure skating is such an amazing combination. The control on the landings of his jumps is beautiful, especially the Triple Lutz. I love his Triple Salchow as well, with the turns going into it. My vote goes to Elvis, even 19 years later....

[@jja8750]

Totally agree about the lutz and the turns into the powerful triple sal.

[@michaeljj43]

this is the gold medal winning performance

[@adrian123781]

This is the most manliness performance I've ever seen. There is grace, power, athleticism and masculinity

[@MeganWoodard1984]

I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for Elvis, he had something special that drew you in whenever you watched him. This was always one of my favorite performances that he did.

[@ilianatersy9839]

i loved elvis stojko. he was the bomb. that was fly:)

[@Dylvente]

@intldawn They were setting it up for Urmanov to win. Award him deservedly high technical marks, mark him down as much as possible on the artistic, knowing that they could break the tie in the artistry for Urmanov. But Elvis's performance was inspiring. It was not at all lacking in choreographic excellence. Of course, it helps having music that gives you chills.

[@amexred]

I liked urmanovs creative program but Elvis also was creative. Both had good music. The judges just went with Alexei. I think Elvis was second in the world going into this. He went on to win world if I remember

[@mlc2005]

Even though Elvis made up the popped axle, I think judges like skaters who get their programs right in the same way they practiced them. I think that cost him the gold.

[@ADEAL918]

Not at all. He got seven 5.9's on the technical mark. They could have cared less about the popped Axel once he replaced it. What cost him the gold was these judges never appreciating his style and penalizing that style on his second mark. This should have been a 5.9/5.9 performance, not 5.9/5.7, which was largely what he got.

[@smoothALOE]

Stojko was creative and enthusiastic, but when I watch him move around the ice and I watch Urmanov, it just seems so much more effortless when it's Urmanov. He had such poise and a quiet confidence. At the end of the day, Urmanov got the better of Stojko here, Stojko, overall was more successful in the medal count.

[@proxy22]

5.5 are u kidding me????? he should have won hands down!

[@russianskatingfan]

@Dylvente The technical marks were in fact too high. All 5.9s leaving no room for anyone else based on what. He didnt do anything everyone didnt have planned, one major mistake, and not even maximum 8 triples done. Elvis was always overscored technically and sometimes artistically, although this particular program was undermarked artistically.

[@Dylvente]

@russianskatingfan You are correct that he made one major mistake, singling the first axel attempt. He more than made up for it by completing a triple axel, triple toe combination in his second attempt, though. Both men completed two triple axels, but Urmanov only did a triple-double. Also note the control over the landing of the lutz by Stojko, while Urmanov had a very shaky landing on the flip. I still do not begrudge Urmanov the gold. It was close and reasonable people could go either way.

[@skaterboy-cz9wj]

this should have been gold. Even if you don't like his style - it was musical, powerful, he had more speed than Urmanov, he didn't have huge rests, the music built, he was clean even with the pop it was clean whereas Urmanov struggled with the flip and really had issues with the spins. I am not sure but he couldn't get into the positions especially the sit spin. He was the character. Urmanov had very juniorish style with flailing arms. The 6.0 system should have had them at worst super close in artistry. this was a travesty but because Elvis was stylistically not favored and not classical he never got the sympathy or empathy of skating fans unlike say Yuna Kim, Nancy Kerrigan et al.

[@russianskatingfan]

@Dylvente Elvis did not deserve all 5.9s technically before all other contenders skated for this performance. That was my point.

[@Ricky0101]

I love this man and this program. He was ROBBED of a gold medal by stuffy international judges who favor classical music and frilly costumes.

[@ADEAL918]

This is one where the top two really were both amazing artistically, just in different ways. I'd absolutely have given both Stojko and Urmanov 5.9's on the second mark. But I'd give Stojko the edge on the first mark and thus the overall win only because he did a triple/triple and Urmanov didn't.

[@jessicadebernard8210]

Urmanov had the error on his triple flip too.

[@lovelaughlovemitski5743]

IM SKATING WITH HIM TODAY

[@Dylvente]

@3Axel1996 Yes.

[@3Axel1996]

@Dylvente I really thought Urmanov was overmarked for both technical and artistic. And I really thought this was the first season that Stojko's programs were well choreographed, and I still think Stojko should have won here.

[@ADEAL918]

Yeah, close, but they were both wonderful artistically in their own ways. I'd say 5.8/5.9 for Urmanov and 5.9/5.9 for Stojko.

[@angelacompstoned.s.2452]

He was robbed by that Urmonov who I couldn't stand...Elvis deserved the GOLD !! No question.

[@thangvuong9196]

Angela Compston He wasn't robbed by Urmanov, he was robbed by the judges.

[@angelacompstoned.s.2452]

Thang Vuong true

[@thangvuong9196]

Angela Compston By the way I totally agree with you about Urmanov's skating skills. From the distracting choreography and costumes to the horrible spins and the bent free leg positions on his landings, he's got to be one of the weakest Olympic Champions ever.

[@angelacompstoned.s.2452]

Thang Vuong absolutely...Elvis had the best performance ....and he worked his heart out for it...

[@lilbatz]

Thang Vuong I like both skaters, but Alexei's fug spins and sloppy presentation killed it for me. If you don't have stretch like John Curry, don't do a balletic program. I love you Alexei, but you looked like a sloppy muppet here.

[@211jump]

Elvis didnt have the grace of a russian, and lack of gracefullness is a deal breaker for me, but this is gold medal worth

[@intldawn]

@Dylvente Agree 100%. I don't think it would have made a difference if he'd skated after Urmanov because the judges made it very clear which one they preferred. Aside from Urmanov's lack of technical ability outside of the jumps, his was the least inspiring performance among the top competitors. I found his program to be "artistic" but not exactly inspired. It wasn't much of performance, IMHO, so it seems particularly puzzling that he won outright. Grr...

[@L1623VP]

If there ever was a legitimate tie in Olympic competition, it was between Stojko and Urmanov. Stojko blew a 3A,3T, and successfully threw it back in while Urmanov blew a triple jump and successfully threw it back in. Everything else in their programs was perfect, leaving them both with the same number of triples. All things being equal, for me, that meant looking at the finer details like artistry and technique, which make for the better all-around, complete skater. Artistry was always Stojko's Achilles' heel. Aside from the weird knee knocks in Urmanov's program, his was the better choreographed routine, and Urmanov had much better body awareness and body line in executing it. Even if one assumes Stojko's artistry was better, he still loses on technique. Urmanov had a much better, natural technique, especially on the checkout position of his jumps. His chest is high, back straight, arms out, and leg properly extended. It's a textbook picture of how a jump should be performed. You never feel the effort in Urmanov's jumps. Stojko, however, always muscled through his jumps. Nothing ever looked effortless with him. He also exited his jumps with his chest low, leaning over the top of his skate and his back leg bent. His skating was always powerful, but never aesthetic. I find it interesting that even Scott Hamilton pointed out these differences in a split screen comparison between both skaters. So even if one feels Stojko's artistry was superior to Urmanov here, his overall technique certainly wasn't. All-in-all, Urmanov was the better all-around skater and deserved the gold in what was rightfully a narrow victory. With artistry not coming naturally to Stojko, he needed all his jumps to come off cleanly every time to get a win, and his consistency was a huge benefit during his career. That didn't happen here. I also feel that while both skaters blew jumps and replaced them, because Stojko blew a triple-triple combination as opposed to Urmanov's one triple, it made a bigger mar on his program in the minds of the judges. In the end, I never felt this was Stojko's Olympics to win. Urmanov is naturally a better skater and narrowly won the night here. Stojko's time to win was in 1998. Even with his quad, Kulik was very stiff and immature, and his presentation showed it. With two clean programs, even quadless, Stojko could have easily beaten Kulik. His time for gold was 1998, but it's too bad that by that time, he was injured.

[@pjsmith4369]

lcowles You can sit and discuss the technical and artistic merits of each skater all day long, but there is really only one thing that matters to me. I will watch this performance by Elvis Stojko every day, because of the sheer joy it gives me. It is a masterpiece, in my eyes. It simply transcends medals. I still remember seeing it live on TV, and being completely blown away. It is such a beautiful performance, but because it was ahead of its time, Elvis did not get the artistic marks he deserved. I am so thrilled that I found it on KZbin. What makes a performance great? Just the fact that somebody wants to watch it over and over. And why? Because of the great athleticism of the skater, the spectacular choreography, the music and seeing all these come together to create something beautiful. I have absolutely no interest in watching any other figure skating performance, and I am a huge figure skating fan. There is no other performance that I have ever seen that I wish to watch again. But I will watch this performance every day, as long as it exists on KZbin.

[@ADEAL918]

Kulik was WAY overmarked artistically in '98, but Stojko's artistry for his '98 program didn't measure up to this Dragon program. His injury didn't prevent him from doing anything other than the quad--he hit everything else. But he never got good artistic marks and that program didn't measure up artistically to what he could have done (even though I still say his artistry was better than Kulik's.)

[@L1623VP]

@@ADEAL918 Kulik being overmarked artistically is probably true, however, I feel it was landing the quad that allowed the judges to overlook Kulik's shortcomings and throw him the gold. This is a bit ironic because it would be Stojko who twelve years later publicly trashed 2010 Olympic champion, Evan Lysacek, for winning gold without a quad over Plushenko. Stojko made such a huge deal in a Yahoo column about how the quad was everything in skating and that not doing one was holding the sport back. Never mind that in the two Olympics where he was a legitimate contender for gold (94 & 98) he never even attempted one and ended up losing to Kulik who completed one. Even with Kulik's quad, I still feel Stojko without a quad could have won in 1998 because his was the more complete program. It certainly would be interesting to see how Stojko might have reacted to Lysack's 2010 win had Stojko also won with no quad over Kulik in 1998, as I think he should have.

[@ADEAL918]

lcowles given what they did with Lysacek in '10, it wouldn't have been totally unfair to give this title to Stojko even without the quad, you're right. You could justify say, giving Kulik a 5.9/5.7 and Stojko 5.8/5.8, and having Stojko win on a broken tie for slightly better artistry. I never did understand the fawning over Kulik artistically--seven 5.9's and only two 5.8's. The irony is that even with the quad vs. none, six of the nine judges actually had Stojko and Kulik tied on the technical mark, but they all had Kulik winning on the artistic mark, most by .2. Very excessive. But still, something would still seem wrong about giving that gold to Stojko without him giving an absolutely artistically mesmerizing performance which he didn't do in '98 but proved that he could do here with this '94 program. With Urmanov it was close too, yes, but before you get to the technical nitpicking details, you have to remember that Stojko's program was harder than Urmanov's because Stojko did triple Axel/triple toe while Urmanov only did triple Axel/double toe. Triple/triples were huge at the time--a major differentiating factor. And Urmanov didn't replace the jump he missed while Stojko did and nailed it. So Stojko had Urmanov beat in clean triples 8 to 7, plus having the triple/triple and Urmanov not. I loved both of their programs artistically, so I would have given that gold to Stojko, with 5.9/5.9 to Urmanov's 5.8/5.9.

[@L1623VP]

@@ADEAL918 Hmmm. When I went back and watched both those LPs from the 1994 Olympics a few years ago, I swore Urmanov did replace the missed jump, and that they both ended up with the same amount of triples. That's why it's virtually a tie in my book. Maybe I'll have to go back and re-watch, but I was sure the triples were the same between them because I watched the programs back to back for that specific purpose, to count jumps. I'm pretty sure Urmanov threw an unplanned triple in near the end. As far, as Kulik's 5.9's for artistry, that's absurd, not to mention he has to go down in history as having the absolute worst men's LP costume of all time wearing the giraffe print shirt with the plastic white vest. That's exactly what I imagine when I think of Rhapsody in Blue. Yea, right...as if a simple blue shirt would never work. That costume ranks right up there with Stefan Lambiel's zebra print Battlestar Galactica get up from his 2006 Olympic SP.

[@Fiero425]

I guess the people that say Elvis was robbed didn't see that missed 3-Axel! ;-)

[@jjh2456]

Urmanov missed a lot of stuff too. I mean ALOT of stuff.

[@smoothALOE]

He was very close to two-footing his triple two loop on the triple axel combination, as well. I was never a big fan of his skating, but most fans seem to prefer him to guys like Aleksei Urmanov. I prefer Urmanov. It’s really just a stylistic choice, though.

[@Fiero425]

@@smoothALOE It's easily explained! Independent skaters like Elvis and Surya Bonaly will always be hosed by the judges since the more popular skater play up to them! No one's done it better than Alexei U. and Plushenko in giving the judges what they want and actually playing to them at times! It's shameless, but it worked! I'm a big fan of Evgeny, but his content and artistic side was lacking and way behind the likes of Yagudin! - fiero4251.blogspot.com/2016/10/fan-page-evgeni-plushenko.html -

[@smoothALOE]

Jose Hill such as?

[@smoothALOE]

Jay Satyr I’m not really a fan of Plushenko, either. I preferred Yagudin and he rightfully won it in 2002. I liked Kulik, as well. To me, Bonaly, even more so than Stojko, just didn’t have that natural ability to look graceful on the ice. I believe that they’re choreography improved a lot over the years, but much like Tonya Harding, Bonaly was also combative towards the judges. It’s one thing to complain about favoritism, but it’s another thing to act unprofessional. I don’t know how Stojko was towards the judges, but if he was anything like Philippe Candeloro, then it probably affected things, as well.

[@intldawn]

Okay, I know the judges were conservative, but I'm sorry: 5.5 and 5.6's are nonsense marks. And look at which judges those marks came from. It's hard to believe there wasn't any Urmanov favoritism going on there. At least they got their act right on the technical merit marks, but he shouldn't have gotten anything lower than a 5.7 that night.

[@lilPopper]

Those are Jing Mo Kung Fu stances

[@officeaddict33]

Agree. Urmanov's marks were too high. His "style" was forced and juvenile. Elvis, even if you don't like his style, delivered excellent, smooth jumps and sincere choreography and MUCH better spins.

[@ancamg]

Elvis was never my cup of tea, just because I prefer more artistic skaters. In this program he has improved a lot, and the choice of music an theme reflected his lack of artistic moves more close to a classical ballet. I respect him a lot for what he did, but that's it...It's cruel, but we are not born equal.

[@thangvuong9196]

libertango Do you know anything about Classical Ballet technique? Well let me enlighten you, Urmanov doesn't have it, from the horrible spin positions, bent free leg on the landings of his jumps, none those things align with ballet technique. Just because somebody is Russian don't automatically assume they are balletic.