Elvis Stojko (CAN) - 1998 Nagano, Figure Skating, Men's Free Skate

Nagano, JAPAN - 1998 Winter Games, Figure Skating, Men's Free Skate - Elvis Stojko of Canada pulled a groin muscle in practice in January but kept silent about the injury. It would prevent him from being able to land the quadruple jump. However, his sheer determination and adrenaline would help him finish the Free Skate cleanly. He would place 3rd in the Free Skate and end up winning the Silver Medal. Elvis would aggravate the injury, tearing a groin muscle (you could hear him mumble in the Kiss N Cry, "I tore it"). He would never skate the same after suffering this injury as he would lose the consistency he developed in landing the quadruple jump.

[@djdiggerjonez4063]

Yeah, he got a silver with an injury, that is like 20 golds. He was slow for this, but because of his shear ability, was able to power through. What a Canadian.

[@antonboludo8886]

He was in extreme pain the whole time.

[@colleenshaughnessy7081]

You can tell he was in pain and concerned when he took the ice. He just powered through somehow. What an amazing performance.

[@antonboludo8886]

I agree.

[@TheTruthfulAsshole]

This was my first exposure to figure skating and I cheered hard for Stojko. He had the IT factor.

[@theresabollman8061]

I'm from the USA but we just love Elvis. He is a true sportsman and willing to pay the price for what he believes. No temper tantrums...not even when the Russians cheat him and the Russian judges celebrate his injury. We have a deep respect for this MAN and always will.

[@phantomangel21]

Amen

[@elenamastiukova2787]

Are you saying Kulik cheated Elvis of possible gold? If so, have you seen both programs?😂😂 Note that Russian judges rated him just as other judges. As for gloating, nothing compares to how this massive gloat nowadays over Russian skaters’ ban. P.S. Elvis is strong and a true fighter, but there’s no need to villanize his competitors.

[@Dankolaro111]

Are the Russians to blame again?Such points were set, as well as others.Why are the Russians to blame for everything?

[@lindsayfilz1194]

@@elenamastiukova2787 No. Kulik was the healthier and better skater that night. But look at the scores from 1994. You can't tell me that Romania, Russian and Belarus didn't collude on that.

[@edwardbak4459]

He was such a solid, strong, consistent skater

[@rowbom]

A truly great competitor - never gave up. Even though he was suffering from a stomach flu and an injury, he didn’t buckle under the terrible pressure. He did not leave out anything, did not allow himself any slack.

[@antonboludo8886]

That's right!

[@theresabollman8061]

Elvis Stojko...now that is an athlete and hero!

[@stupendous1068]

I can definitely see why they called Elvis the King.

[@genednomyar3383]

One of the bravest - if not the bravest - performance of any Olympic skater. An inspiring skate by an inspiring athlete!

[@hhluvzmagik]

You could tell as the second he finished, he knew he probably wasn't going to win. Even if he had skated perfectly, with his second mark would not have pulled him over Kulik. It was pure courage and strength that he was able to do what he did out there. He deserved that medal.

[@starfox1]

you dont win becos of courage alone . the russian was better.

[@saxual227]

Loved this program, but I still believe, 21yrs later, he was robbed for the Gold in 94.

[@kimwaddell4577]

I forgotten about this skater. He done beautifully

[@cathyortiz1280]

My fav ice skater of all time! He was just amazing!!!

[@intldawn]

Agreed. It was going to be very tough to beat Kulik even in perfect condition and it's so sad to see him limp off the ice and to not even to be able to skate to the podium. Even though he did a great program, by not being able to do the quad he lost his major bargaining chip that could have given him an edge over Kulik. Still, Scott said it best: he is so tough, physically and mentally. Yagudin fell apart because of his illness while Elvis won a deserved silver. What a competitor.

[@karenhilker8074]

He was such a JOY to watch!

[@Dylvente]

Looking at this program again, I see more sophistication in the choreography, more attention to the details in the movements between the jumps. I don't like the music as much as his '94 program, but this program is a step above it artistically. Good for him for persisting through the pain and delivering an excellent performance even though he wasn't able to do his best ever technically!

[@grantgoffin4774]

I actually far preferred his 94 program. It was his program ever IMO. And I mean even compared to this skated at its best like Canadians that year. It was just much more enjoyable, interesting, and he seemed more invested in it.

[@Dylvente]

@@grantgoffin4774 I love the 1994 program. I just see places in this program where the steps are more sophisticated.

[@innanuzhna1742]

It seems to me that Elvis had ONE really great (artistically) perfomance- on 1994 worlds (not Olympics). That program was amazing and suited him perfectly. And was inspired and executed perfectly. Really mesmerising. Better that the same program on 1994 Olympics.

[@shingo1990ful]

I still can't believe he went through all this with a groin injury. The jumps, the spins, the choreography kept intact... Amazing.

[@ChristineTheHippie]

He is as tough as they come. Unfortunately, he never was quite the same after

[@ljbruce8966]

He's wonderful

[@chrissiebawn9357]

Loved then, LOVE STILL NOW.😀❤🇨🇦🙏🕊🌍

[@smontalvo210]

I remember watching this.

[@ChristineTheHippie]

I agree with all you say. Stojko should have won in 1994. Here? I think Kulik deserved to win. The European judges preferred more classical style. It's their culture. I'm still impressed that Stojko was able to get through his program.

[@L1623VP]

I think just the opposite. In 1994, both Urmanov and Stojko missed jumps in their long programs that they replaced later in the routine. As such, they both ended up with the same number of triples. All else was clean for both skaters. All things being equal, Urmanov is superior to Stojko in both artistry and technique and rightfully won the gold in a narrow victory that came down to the finer details. 1998 was Stojko's best chance at gold. While Kulik landed the quad and skated clean, he gave a very young and immature performance that was stiff and unsophisticated. Even without a quad, a healthy Stojko could have beaten Kulik with two clean performances and his power and presence on the ice, but it wasn't to be.

[@soulcornflake1]

I remember when I saw this it was clear something was wrong, because he definitely wasn't skating with the fire he normally could. And my mother, who didn't know anything much about skating, walked into the room near the end of his program and simply said, 'He looks too tense, I think he's hurt.' Sure enough when he finished and that look crossed his face, it was clear.

[@sandraalexander5325]

I really miss him and his style. I hate guys guys pretending to be girls pretending to be guys.

[@ADEAL416]

Plus, no, this was not Elvis's best program even if he hadn't been hampered by the injury. It was still very solid and entertaining, but in my opinion, he never topped his "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story" routine from '94. THAT he should have won with.....

[@edmundgeswein]

This was 16 years ago, but it's still interesting to see patterns in judging. I reviewed Ilia's program, and I do not think his spins or footwork were as good as Elvis. Artistically they were about the same, just very different styles. However, Ilia landed the quad and looked a little lighter on his feet on some of the other jumps. Overall, I'd say this was close even if the judges didn't think so. We'll never know what the judges would have decided had Elvis landed the quad.

[@dawnrhodes2722]

Despite being the 3-time and reigning world champion, I still think Elvis wouldn't have beaten Kulik even with the quad. It was clear that the judges preferred Kulik's style over Elvis', just as in the short program and just as the judges preferred Urmanov back in 1994. Kulik's artistic marks were enormous, almost straight 5.9's. With a quad, that would have put Elvis on par with what Kulik did, so their technical marks probably would have been about the same. But the artistic mark is the tiebreaker. Elvis might have given the performance a little more oomph had he not been injured, perhaps bumping up his artistic marks by a tenth, but he still would not have matched Kulik. I mean, he skated cleanly he even Candeloro beat him in the long. With the perfection Kulik threw down, no one was beating him that night.

[@jasonpetty9672]

+Drawn Rhodes

[@vistaprime]

Kulik had better artistry and had tremendous speed and ice coverage from just a couple of crossovers. His height gave the appearance of better lines and his program was more traditionally what judges want to see. I was team Kulik and Eldredge at this event. I was happy if either one won. One did.

[@ADEAL918]

Actually, crazily enough, if you look at the marks, the quad didn't really make the difference, except for 3 judges. 6 of the 9 actually had Stojko and Kulik tied on the first mark. Kulik had 3 5.9's on the first mark, 5 5.8's (from judges who also gave Stojko 5.8's technically), and 1 5.7, from a judge who also gave Stojko a 5.7. As usual, what made the real difference was that the judges of that era never accepted Stojko's martial-arts based skating style, as beautiful in its own way as it was. (Though again, this program wasn't quite as mesmerizing as the "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story" one from '94)

[@grantgoffin4774]

@@ADEAL918 Elvis was way overscored technically for this skate though. I think some pity marks for being injured.

[@karenhilker8074]

He was the BEST !

[@user-co9eo1hl1d]

Хорошо прыгает, молодец,но тяжеловато,ооочень долго готовится к прыжку,мало компонентов,к сожалению.

[@ADEAL416]

Unfortunately probably not. Look at the second marks. The judging panels which were heavily European based never warmed to Stojko's unorthodox, martial-arts based style. Even with Kulik landing a quad and Stojko not, 6 of th 9 judging actually had the two tied on the first mark. It was the second mark that made the difference. And Kulik wasn't even one of the truly breathtakingly artistic Russian lyricists, but they still preferred his style to Elvis's, which is a real shame.

[@antonboludo8886]

He was in extreme pain the entire time.

[@heatherkmetz6136]

Quad, quad, quad! All they talk about is that fucking quad jump! It is just one element in the program. And the commentators are just so annoying picking apart his program like I see them do for everyone. What do they want? A skater that can throw down 5 quads, or a skater that connects with the audience by their artistic impression? Skating encompasses a lot of things; beauty, elegance and style. You are not going to win a competition based on how many quad jumps you do. Jason Brown proved that in 2014 with his rendition of Riverdance. He didn't do a single quad, and yet he came in first.

[@Samrod]

So this is Boyle's costume

[@juliekfournier]

Tied with Scott Bowman as my favorite skater of all time!

[@ChristineTheHippie]

Stojko didn't like to talk about things other than his skating, he also had the flu, but to him the only thing that mattered was the competition. He was probably the toughest athlete mentally and that's how he kept his focus. I do agree this was his downfall, he was able to skate and was still pretty good, but he wasn't the same Elvis as before. Would he have beaten Kulik if he wasn't injured? That's hard to say.

[@ChristineTheHippie]

I think the big red flag would be downgrading the quad, though it didn't alarm me at the time. I knew at the end when I saw his face. He was so tough,

[@heatherkmetz6136]

Elvis skated a beautiful program. Too much emphasis has been placed on the quad jump and not enough on presentation and artistic elements. It is not a jumping contest to see who can land the most quads. It is not just about athleticism, it is also about how you connect with the audience.

[@USA-qm2bk]

Heather Kmetz Nathan Chen has entered the chat

[@agneslong2323]

Today all they do is attempt quads and run up to them. Footwork went out the window with figures.

[@bibi24]

What are you talking about brah?

[@edmundgeswein]

ADEAL's comment explains the situation. Ilia was no Pleshenko. He wasn't really that impressive or entertaining. He just landed the quad and the judges liked his more traditional style. If Elvis would have landed the quad, this would have been close, even if the judges swayed toward Ilia. Even Scott thought this was a close contest.

[@Richardsonprincess00]

Not again with the silver medal from 1994 to 1998, way low with the hamstring after his performance went overboard! Losing by Russian in 1994 and 1998, seriously there?

[@bnkundwa]

A media event

[@TheWorldAccordingtoJim]

Every time I go back and watch this video, I get completely upset about how they always treated Elvis stojko for his artistic impression!! He never disappointed us. I apologize, but an athlete who dresses like a giraffe and has no artistic impression is better than Elvis stojko??

[@lubovyang7390]

小丑？

[@litinaa]

Not the best skater, but really brave

[@biscuitcase83]

getrealandsee... a thinly veiled attempt to trash Kwan again I see. it is getting boring.

[@anes3268]

Hey i do not know how well you are skating at all through these videos and also doubt whether you have ability to Judge in skating or not. You jsut an old skater who does not know that skating is combination of art and skill. The judgement for someone is not simple and easy. Do not skate on thin ice, Sochi Olympic!

[@francoiseportafaix4591]

Pas artistique du tout je préfère d Artagnan et de loin

[@tally1604]

this program should never have medaled. it's a travesty of judging that it did

[@vettegaddia6234]

Tal Mamatov He is the most unartistic skater I've ever seen.

[@rowbom]

+Tal Mamatov If this program should not have medaled then who exactly should have medaled instead. Points are awarded for the jumps and the evidence is there - he landed all his jumps.

[@vettegaddia6234]

***** There's something call artistry.

[@lilchicklets]

+Tal Mamatov Yes agreed. Who else should've medalled then?

[@rowbom]

+Janelle Tarnopolski Glad that someone else agrees with me. Mind you he did struggle a bit, but his toughest competition, Todd Eldrege, Alexi Yagudin had some problems. Also Phillip Candeloro struggled a bit with 2 of his landings.