Paul Wylie (USA) - 1992 Albertville, Men's Free Skate

Albertville, FRANCE - 1992 Winter Games, Figure Skating, Men's Free Skate - Paul Wylie of the United States skated his heart out to win the Silver Medal here.

[@annep.1905]

Wylie definitely had the gold stolen from him, but like someone said, it's Wylie we remember, and that's what counts.

[@PhilAlumb]

As a artist, Paul was Top. As a Competitor he was known as a "Choker." He was not consistent enough to be Champion. Here, at this Competition, he was solid BUT the Judges tend to Reward the Most Stable & Consistent. After his dismal Nationals..He was LUCKY to make the world team and he took another Competitors place!

[@annep.1905]

@@PhilAlumb Well, that's (rewarding consistency over a long time, rather than judging solely based on the day's performance) called cheating. No one does that in any other competition or sport. Further, consistency may mean bad artistry. Who wants to watch a consistently solid Picasso when they could watch a mostly consistent Monet? Or who would pick a John Cage over a Beethoven?

[@dtrix102]

Extraordinary performance from.such a talented, powerful skater. He was always one of my favorites.

[@rickram1961]

Paul was truly robbed of the Gold Medal. Viktor Petrenko is one of the most inconstant skaters ever and to be rewarded the Gold Medal was a huge slap in the face!

[@chrisjacobsen5558]

Timeless.. tears down my eyes 30 plus years later.. this is figure skating

[@tanithschneider3051]

It’s the music for me. Henry V - brilliant.

[@gutsfinky]

​@@tanithschneider3051it is a beautiful movie score. Definitely made for a great program.

[@TacoBellManager]

Watched this in my dormitory room as a college freshman, and to say it seized me by the throat is an understatement. I don't care at all what medal he did or did not win, the heart in this performance is beyond anything anyone could ever hope for in sports or art. I hope Wylie, his friends, and family, still reflect back on this with untrammeled pride, because he earned all of that. Listen to that crowd!

[@kaycutie1]

I've always loved Paul's style as well as Petrinko's but I seriously believe Paul out skated Petrinko and should have won gold.

[@kerryahern512]

I love this performance so much. Even after all these years it gives me chills - I feel like its THE olympic skating moment for me.

[@fannishmarcia]

Such a moving and wonderful performance. Scott Hamilton's commentary added to the excitement!

[@gutsfinky]

One of the few times that the commentary added to the performance rather than detracting from it.

[@gracefingers]

He has one of the best body positions of any figure skater ever! Beautiful soft knees, nice free leg positions, good back position...beautiful!

[@janetmurie1392]

This is one of my favourite programs of all times. One of those rare occurrences when the music was perfectly matched to the skater.

[@rowanaforrest9792]

Every year leading up to 1992, I looked forward to seeing the small, trim, handsome skater with the marvelous artistry. I kept forgetting his name in between because I only saw him skate once per year at Nationals. His Albertville skates are some of my all-time most beloved Olympic memories! I love Scotty Hamilton's commentating in both his short and long programs (both brilliant!). For this long program, a second or two after his music begins but before he starts moving, you can hear Scotty stick his head out of the booth and shout, "YOU CAN DO IT!" Evie Scotvold was always brilliant with choreographing him and editing his music to perfection. After Albertville, Wylie proved to the world that his silver medal was no fluke, because he was mega-popular and a frequent winner as a pro for the next 4 or 5 years (back when the pro competitions were tough competitions). I doubt we'll ever have men's skaters as all-around great as Paul Wylie, Scotty Hamilton, and Kurt Browning again, but I'm glad for all the memories and seeing them on youtube.

[@TheCandiceWang]

💛

[@shimmeringfairydust3275]

Word(s). Paul was always my favorite skater, ever since I saw him at Skate America when he was just a teenager. Artistry has always mattered more to me than athleticism, although Paul had both here. He SHOULD have won the gold, but no judge was willing to give the gold medal to a skater who’d never finished higher than 9th in the world. Such is the weakness of subjective sports (although, technically ALL sports are subjective in some sense. Just ask both participants in the men’s 1972 gold medal basketball game). Petrenko, the gold medalist that year, gave the worst “gold medal” performance ever. After two strong combinations, he completely fell apart, falling twice and landing the rest of his jumps sloppily. Even his spins were awful. He didn’t deserve the gold medal or a medal of any color. Barna, Bowman or Stojko should have won the other two medals (hard for me to decide to put on the podium). A pity they don’t give medals for sportsmanship bcz Kurt Browning richly deserved it. Kurt, not Viktor, was the one with all the pressure riding in him - that, plus a bad back. It’s one reason I admire Canadians so - the great majority don’t pout, throw tantrums or offer up excuses. They just do their best and hope it all works out in the end. What a fantastic country Canada is! I agree with the male skaters you mentioned as some of the best - but you forgot one: John Curry. Curry, the most artistic skater I have ever seen, skated at a time when figures (you know, the element that gave the sport its name) were competed. He was superb at them, which explained why his stroking and edges were among the best ever. The short and free skate were longer in Curry’s day, too. And his musical interpretation was the best I have ever seen. The great Dick Button recognized how exemplary both Curry and Wylie were. In fact, he called Curry the finest all around skater he had ever seen. Mind you, he had plenty of superb words for Mr. Wylie, too.

[@christinaacosta6594]

I fell in love with Paul at 13, spoke to him when I was 15, followed in his foot steps to Harvard and all I have to say is ....Paul, thank you. Genuine, lovely and a true man of God as well as an artist.

[@zonrey2781]

I love Paul Wylie. He's one of my favorites male figure skaters. My other 2 favorites are Scott Hamilton and Kurt Browning. He was very happy with his performance and silver medal.

[@frogduck1130]

Yall hes one of the nicest people ive met. I spent some time at an olympic center. My coach there is good friends with him. When i tell you he just brings light to the room when he steps in it, im not lying. Hes got such a cheery, amazing disposition whenever i see him helping kids on the ice. Go paul wylie!

[@gutsfinky]

I've always heard this so it's nice to have it confirmed!

[@Venckman]

Ah, back when artistry was actually a part of the sport!

[@lilbatz]

Venckman Even with the untidiness of some of the jumps, this program was a thing of beauty.

[@2004mojo]

I remember this performance like I remember my name. It was going to be his last skate as an amature. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain. He was composed and the music was perfect. I cried when he was wrapping up because it turned out to be a medal winning performance and he should have won the Gold (IMO (lol) . He went on to be a great professional performer in the skating world up until he retired.He was inducted into the US Figure Skaters Hall of Fame in 2008.

[@TheCandiceWang]

This video said Paul wanted to go to law school after. I wonder what Paul is doing today? :)

[@formerfetusopposingabortion]

@@TheCandiceWang Last I was aware, he was coaching in Charlotte, NC.

[@MeeMawTx]

​@@TheCandiceWang Paul is now Director of Sport for the Olympic Regional Development Authority in Lake Placid.

[@alizah8042]

His arm positions are just so elegant and perfect. Never seen anyone approach this performance in terms of that.

[@barbm8822]

You don't see footwork like that anymore, certainly leading right into a triple jump.

[@geoboe84]

Inspiring performance, worthy of the gold. The marks were absolutely shameful. Not only was he cleaner than Petrenko, his artistry was far superior as well.

[@harveychadbourne5180]

Doesn't matter we remember Paul over victor. That's what counts

[@TheCandiceWang]

I remember Paul Wylie and Petrenko!!!!!!

[@fullmoon1072]

Agreed

[@officeaddict33]

Shame the GOEs didn't matter in this day and age. The quality of his skating was vastly under-appreciated his entire career. I would've given him 6.0 for artistic - beautiful body line and wonderful musical interpretation. I thought Paul's long program was very good but that his short program was brilliant. If Petrenko had skated here like he did at 1991 Worlds he would've deserved the gold but it should have gone to Paul on this night. Still, a great accomplishment and way to end a career.

[@IceAintNice]

GOE's didn't exist then.

[@scottw6704]

With the European Champion still to skate, it would have been nearly impossible for him to earn a 6 (they save those for the last skater if they're perfect at technique or artistry).

[@lorimckenzie8964]

I too watched the performance at the time. I was cheering with tears in my eyes! Choreographed to Patrick Doyle’s inspiring soundtrack of Henry V, Paul made my heart soar particularly with the amazing splits toward the end! I watch this video every so often just to feel that thrill and patriotism of his gold medal winning performance! (yes I know he won silver, but it was definitely the gold medal performance of that event)

[@Maria-mz1qw]

Loved his lyrical and classic lines. That music was awesome! So happy he got silver!

[@koalasarah]

I saw this back in 1992. I fell in love with him after I saw his short program. This program was wonderfully choreographed. Still love Paul to this day. With all of Victor Petrenko's mistakes, he should've won gold.

[@officeaddict33]

+koalasarah - Go back and watch Paul's programs from 1989 -1991 Nationals. He really stirred up the audience. All these performances are on KZbin here. Good stuff.

[@intldawn]

I am not one to defend Petrenko's performance at all, but I think if Paul had just been a little cleaner on a couple of landings, he might have gotten it. We're splitting hairs but the lutz and the second axel weren't as controlled as they could be. The salchow was a mess. The second lutz was popped. There also were no combinations. There was room there on the technical side to bypass Petrenko more than he did. The 5.9 is out is whack. So is the 5.4. But overall I think those marks were the right scores for that program. It wasn't flawless. The problem was that Viktor's marks should have been lower. He only did four triples out of the seven he attempted. Plus his spins were elementary. Ridiculous. Artistically there shouldn't even have been a contest. Paul's performance was miles better. Even without the cleanest of programs, it should have been enough to pass Viktor.

[@ManuelPabloArnao]

intldawn Agreed. Also, remember Paul had no triple triple.

[@ADEAL918]

Yeah nobody skated particularly cleanly that night but artistically it's no contest. Fair to give Petrenko a slight technical edge for a harder program even with more serious mistakes, but his program was very unmoving. I'd say 5.7/5.7 for Petrenko and 5.6/5.9 for Wylie.

[@shimmeringfairydust3275]

Petrenko was a mess. Worst “gold medal performance” ever. Shouldn’t have even been on the podium.

[@Margo-oj5yc]

Reputation meant a lot back then, too much in fact. Paul *might* have won with a perfect skate, and that is exactly the problem. It wasn't enough for Paul to skate a better program on that night. He had to be perfect *and* his competitors had to make mistakes, and even then the judges still might have given the gold to Viktor or Kurt. The good thing is that I don't think Paul ever looked at it as "losing" gold. He had the greatest competition of his career, in front of such a supportive crowd, at the time when it mattered the most.

[@ladyhawke7034]

And I remember that Petrenko was skating to his old program. That should have been more frowned upon...dusting off that old program. It was a nice program, though. I remember the music.

[@cak8132]

Paul Wylie - Such a class act.

[@alisonation]

One of my favorite Olympic memories, I was 13 years old and watched this with my grandma and we cheered our hearts out in her living room for Paul Wylie. Wonderful. Grandma's not with us anymore but this program always makes me think of her in the best way.

[@shimmeringfairydust3275]

That is so sweet.

[@lewars1912]

alisonation Nice comment.

[@sherylejeffers9491]

Alisonation...Grandma is with you....now and forever..but what a wonderful dedication you gave to her...she is smiling down on you and always watching over you..! she is sending you her love thru me..."

[@Veronica-bc6pp]

💕

[@nickim6571]

One of my fav memories too, especially since US figure skating people didn't want him on the team. Thy thought he should give up his spot to a younger athlete who had never been to the Olympics.

[@skellies100]

Outstanding Paul Wylie! Love your beautiful artistry, lines and jumps!

[@ISUskatingfan]

I relate to his skating

[@Cards-vt2ly]

Kurt was extremely gracious in defeat. Poor guy was injured for Pete's sake. Stop criticizing him. His sportsmanlike behavior is one we can all learn from!

[@gregberg5559]

I very much agree. Kurt Browning was an exemplary gentleman. So was his compatriot Elvis Stojko.

[@trifonovfan9819]

Adam Rippon is more of a gentleman and person than either of these closet cases. I'm speaking from experience. I know these guys...

[@formerfetusopposingabortion]

@@trifonovfan9819 "Closet cases"?

[@joemachunda]

Wylie, Hamilton and Browning were and are my favorite men skaters. No feathers sequins or feminin gestures. Power and artistry. Real footwork along with jumps. Ill take thos anyday over quads and flailing arms

[@TheLkell00]

Love Scottie's emotion and his "YES!!!!" after the triple axel! Dream come true for me for Paul to have done so well AT THE OLYMPICS!!!

[@shannon8205]

Not to knock Petrenko but this is a gold winning performance. Watch the videos of Paul doing Why God Why in exhibitions with the vocals on the song (like those on PBS) and you will never forget it. Still chokes me up.

[@mattg.812]

His jumps were smaller than Petrenko's. I think this had a lot to do with him not winning gold.

[@koalasarah]

Shannon...Agreed.

[@harveychadbourne5180]

Matt G. Artistry darling. Putrenko is not an artist he won because he's Russian

[@LiamForeman]

Uh, Viktor Petrenko is Ukrainian. He was praised for his artistry by anyone who knows anything.

[@starsmoon0216]

I loved Viktor Petrenko and I'm American. But Petrenko's performance was not worthy of a gold medal. I remember watching the men's competition and thinking Paul Wylie had the skate of his career. I thought he might win gold, but I was so happy for him that he won silver.

[@aliciascott4299]

Even with the slight mistakes on the jumps, this performance was a masterpiece. The artistry was flawless. I miss this type of skating so much. Nowadays there is no artistry anymore, it’s all just jump jump jump or transitions setting up for the next jump. Give me Jason Brown over Nathan Chen any day! (Not to take anything away from Nathan Chen - he is a brilliant skater, I just prefer the artist to the jumper.)

[@ladimare]

Yes, the only two skaters since Wylie with any kind of style, musicality, artistry , and flair are Johnny Weir and Jason Brown. We need more

[@gutsfinky]

Jump, jump, arm wave, spin, jump....

[@msjmoves10623]

This performance still brings tears to my eyes.

[@gutsfinky]

This is why I love the Olympics--the chance to watch someone you've never met achieve their lifelong dream. I think we all want that moment, and to get to share it... that's just special.

[@bjbj3853]

Awesome, awesome skater! I remember watching this and marveling at his artistry but most of all his spins! He was so underrated.

[@jessicagalvin363]

Sorry Paul was gold all the way. I do like Victor but was not the same magic as Paul did that night.

[@ManuelPabloArnao]

5 clean triples, 2 errors on triples, a popped triple lutz, and a triple loop commission. I would have given him a 5.7 & 5.9 and the gold medal.

[@theresabollman8061]

So happy to see Paul excell! God love him!

[@barkingtree88]

As much as I liked Petrenko's presentation and speed, he really just wasn't on that night! I would have liked to have seen Paul Wylie win gold with this skate.

[@officeaddict33]

+barkingtree88 - Yeah, that seems to be the consensus that Petrenko was just "off" and it happens. A lot of us think Paul should've won gold but the judging was suspect.

[@jessicagalvin363]

Yes agree 💯👍. He was the champion. ♥️ Paul

[@rowbom]

But Petrenko was under more pressure.

[@barkingtree88]

@@rowbom Paul was under just as much pressure being in 3rd place and knowing there was room... regardless, this was the Olympics and the best performance should have won!

[@douglasbrown5671]

@@barkingtree88 Paul was under no pressure at this event. He wasn't even supposed to be a contender for a medal. Petrenko came in as 1 of the top 2 favorites by far along with Browning, and was under pressure to not drop out of 1st place after the short like he did at the last 2 worlds to Browning. I do agree that shouldn't be a factor in the scoring though.

[@mikeg4576]

Such a heart warming performance...It wasn't perfect, and content-wise what he managed to do put him sort of even with a lot of the other guys. But as Hamilton mentioned, his mistakes (turns in between combinations, two foot landing on Salchow and double lutz vs triple) were not as serious and disruptive to the performance as the other guys, and when you factor what the artistic marks should be, he should absolutely have won the competition. But for him, walking away with silver was still an incredible accomplishment and for us fans probably the best story of Albertville!

[@MeganWoodard1984]

:( I miss when skating used to be this way, thank god this trend is coming back with Jason Brown

[@cristobalvillanueva8748]

Megan Woodard I know what you mean. The Golden Age of Figure Skating was the best. I remember this program and that of Kurt Browning almost like it was yesterday. And that Paul, in spite of his never having won a senior championship, did what Kurt could not: brought home an Olympic medal. It was definitely his time to shine.

[@shimmeringfairydust3275]

+Cristobal Villanueva I don't like what figure skating has evolved to. Mostly gymnastics on ice & ugly, complicated spins. Thank god for Jason Brown & Gracie Gold.

[@tuxtommy69]

+Elaine Snow Agree with you completely! I have been around figure skating since the 60's & they (the ISU) have completely destroyed the purity of the sport. Allowing the theatrical costumes (some of which border on the downright tacky!) and discontinuing figures & now Compulsory Dances was bad enough. But the new scoring system is absolutely stupid, reducing competition to , as you say, gymnastics on ice.

[@shimmeringfairydust3275]

+Tom S. I think they should have kept the figures. Maybe diminished their importance or hey, a separate competition. I think they could have saved the sport if had separate competitions for figures & free & an overall medal for highest placement in both - like all around in gymnastics. The ISU essentially killed Holly Cooke's career right before the 92 Olympics. She placed third in the world in 1990 - figures were her strength. How awful.

[@trifonovfan9819]

Jason has balletic style. And so does Adam Rippon--who is even better than Jason Brown.

[@mpangolino]

Just rewatched this one of my favorites of all time!

[@46foryounger]

Miss these days of skating and Scott Hamilton’s commentating as well❤️

[@CarolWorth]

I miss Scotty SO much! He was never negative! 🥰

[@ADEAL918]

Carol Worth yep--Johnny and Tara are very knowledgeable, fun, and have classic chemistry together, but they can also be biting and a bit detached from the competitors. With Scott, these were largely his friends he was calling their events, and you could tell how much he was really pulling for them. His trademark "YES!" when someone hits an important jump like with Wylie's triple Axel here...classic.

[@CarolWorth]

@@ADEAL918 Agreed! 🤗

[@ADEAL918]

Carol Worth another classic example of this was if you watch both of Lu Chen's Olympic programs in '98. She had come back from several major setbacks including a disastrous 25th in the previous year's World Championship, and Scott was just going crazy with joy to watch her comeback to win another Olympic bronze--because again he knew her well and was emotionally invested in what happened in these old school classic events. Some networks treat that like it's a bad thing for announcers to do that, but they're wrong--it humanizes it. Also in '98, Scott was known to be very close with Elvis Stojko, and when he did his (eight triples) long program with a severely injured groin and could barely walk at the end, literally had to be helped off the ice--listen to Scott there. He was practically in tears--he was literally suffering along with him, and the thing is, there was absolutely nothing fake about it. It's who the guy is.

[@sgsmozart]

@@CarolWorth Yes he was !! His comment about Mark Mitchell as the future of US Skating was uncalled for and insulting to Paul Wylie....and he YAKS TOO MUCH.🥶🥶

[@chrissyellem7397]

Amazing how his whole life changed with this spectacular night.

[@GioMariatex97]

5.4 from the Czech judge who gave 5.7 to Petrenko's shaky program with three popped jumps to Paul's none and horrible spins when you just have to look at this at 2:53 to understand who was the best... THIS is a Gold Medal performance!

[@j.moreno5297]

Loved the splits and spin at the end!

[@cjk2190]

No one will believe this but this is my second cousin one of the best figure skaters ever. He works so hard.

[@dtrix10kc]

After all this time, I finally find this on KZbin. My oh my was that performance spectacular. I remember watching this as if it just happened yesterday. Paul, I will always love you. :)

[@harveychadbourne5180]

Whatever you say!!! No straight

[@harveychadbourne5180]

Whatever you say!!! All skaters aren't gay that's ignorant

[@46foryounger]

This performance got me teary-eyed. He is an amazing athlete and artist. Don’t see artistry like this today. What a star. I am so glad his dream was realized. He so deserved this.❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️🌈

[@ladimare]

Jason brown and Johnny Weir are the only two other skaters with style, artistry, musicality and flair

[@ladyhawke7034]

​@@ladimare But I still think that Paul Wiley was better. His skating seems to tell a better story.

[@ladimare]

Agree with you 100%. Tremendous story teller. You can turn of the sound and still have an idea of the music selection based on his choreography alone

[@ladyhawke7034]

@@ladimare Hey! I'm going to try that! I will search for a Paul Wylie program that I haven't seen, turn off the sound, and just imagine!!!

[@formerfetusopposingabortion]

@@ladyhawke7034 Hey, thanks!! You just gave me a wonderful idea! 💡🎓 I can turn the sound off the skating video; then play a different piece of music in the background (which I wish he'd actually used during his competitive career), lol. 🥰💻🎼🎶🎵

[@scook5599]

Paul won a silver medal here. I remember watching this at the time and it was quite exciting as he skated so well. There had been times in the past when Paul would not perform at his best. This performance was his best or very close to it. Great footwork and choreography too.

[@misina211]

Best inside edge spread eagle ever, though not in this program. His Olympic gala exhibition number however has it, and it's awesome.

[@sarahstacy81]

With the favorites making mistakes. Kurt Browning&Christopher Bowman. Paul Wylie shocked everyone. By this performance. He should have won the gold.

[@user-vn7sj5ig8w]

I remember watching this and was a nail biter. I wanted Paul to win gold. He skated his heart out and was awesome. I thought the judges scored him low on artistic impression. I am happy he won silver. So inspiring!

[@oucutie1]

Paul Wylie, the most artistic, graceful and complete figure skater ever. The Scotvolds coached and choreographed his programs at a higher level than any of his competitors. When Wylie retired the end of beautiful skating ended too. Just my humble opinion. I miss him and his gorgeous programs!!

[@ADEAL918]

The one subsequent program that may rival this in terms of absolutely chill-inducing artistic beauty was Alexei Yagudin’s “Man in the Iron Mask” long program in Salt Lake City. That was in a similar tradition to this one.

[@theresabollman8061]

Paul is on my lists of BESTS.

[@jamespayne80]

Yall he did have a few bobbles and he did get blacked balled n alot of the points. Just glad he got him a silver.

[@mikeg8375]

Such an complete skater. I saw him when he was with Stars on Ice in 1996 and he was incredible to see in person. That's really the best part about his performance here, because he did so well and won the silver it really opened a lot of doors for him in the professional world which enabled us fans to see him so often in professional shows and competitions during the sport's heyday in the 90s...

[@sandradomazet2042]

I love him ❤️Gold in my book !!!!!

[@cleverkittn]

one of the most captivating performances EVER. Few male skaters can combine power and artistry with masculinity like Wylie did.

[@wvumntr]

He is absolutely amazing!

[@9242Gabry]

What a performance!! I think he deserved the gold medal, really. This is the first time I see this guy, he was a wonderful skater!! Congratulations!

[@jjaa6157]

He's dueling on the ice.

[@galileocan]

The fact that the American judge ranked Wylie higher technically and lower artistically is preposterous. The only judge to do so.

[@duckevita]

Kurt Browning and Paul Wylie are still and always will be my two favorite male skaters, so much musicality and artistry it takes my breath away and I tear up just like I did watching it live back in 1992. Thank you for posting this!

[@robertstrong8966]

Regardless of technical marks (this is not Paul Wylie's "best'" having a few baubles), his skating uniquely moves me with overwhelming, emotional captivation. You "nailed it" citing musicality and artistry. His level at both has me in tears of ecstatic appreciation. I appreciate technical skills in any others--but none reach my inner soul as only he does!

[@pacmanindy]

Triple salchow is an Achilles heel for most skaters. Paul Wylie was a Cinderella story at these games.

[@scottw6704]

I wouldn't say "most" - only the toe loop is easier, the rest of the jumps are deemed to be more difficult than the salchow.

[@janetwilliams7665]

Interesting how the commentating on figure skating has now been reduced to Tara Lipinski and what's his name discussing feathers on costumes and popular hairstyles for skaters.....

[@victoriaindigo]

Janet Williams Tara's just awful at commentating. I think Johnny Weir actually researches skaters bios etc whereas Tara just "wings it" because she has a Gold Medal so of course no one dares question her

[@marysueeasteregg]

I despise their fluff pieces, but Johnny Weir is actually a very articulate and knowledgeable skating analyst, probably my favorite since Button. Lipinski...eh.

[@boblehr5453]

I agree that Johnny Weir does a better job than Tara. In my opinion, Tara doesn’t have enough experience to be a commentator. She really wasn’t on the scene for very long and quit skating after the Olympics. She could jump, I will give her that, but her artistry was just ok. I don’t think she ever skated with feeling and passion. At least Johnny was on the scene for much longer and had more experience to be a commentator.

[@swizzle1961]

Such energy

[@sgsmozart]

A thrilling performance so much better than the " jump-fests" of today's men's competitions....It was exciting artistically and so brilliantly choreographed to the music. I have always found Scott Hamilton's narrations to be annoying. He interjects himself too much into the performance. His aside about Mark Mitchell was rude and unnecessary.

[@mattmatthew]

pretty cool that he skated to the soundtrack from Henry V.

[@laurellane1721]

One of my top ten favorite films of all time!

[@kelleyjogirl]

Probably my favorite Olympic moment. Such an exquisite skater and gracious competitor.

[@NGaGuy41]

My second favorite Olympic moment, just slightly behind Sarah Hughes in 2002.

[@filandiantsoubrette4838]

Yuzuru Hanyu, both times he won the GOLD.

[@grllopez]

I think I like to watch this just to listen to Scott Hamilton : ) Paul Wylie sets the standard for men's figure skating even still. He's theatrical and pleasant to watch. Perfect piece of music for him. Great ending to his amateur career.

[@salome7580]

Viktor threw his program together. It was a careless bunch of hogwash down the the music, the costume, choreography...if you want to call it that. It was lazy and he phoned his performance in. Paul's was just inspiring. Every movement had purpose! Incredibly well paced and for a couple of seconds there I forgot he was skating! He told a story with every nuance of his body. HE WAS ROBBED!

[@marykarim6430]

Paul was my favorite skater.

[@jennifer5512]

Should have been 6.0 for presentation

[@scottw6704]

If he had been the last skater or if the last skater was not ranked very high in the world, he surely would have gotten a 6 for presentation...unfortunately the last skater was the European Champion so the 6s were reserved for Petr Barna, if he skated flawlessly.

[@TheWorldAccordingtoJim]

One of the best personalities who ever graced the ice Beyond Scotty Hamilton 👍❤️😀

[@shannoncobb7439]

He's a great coach.

[@tyboogie1982]

Honestly, he should've won the gold medal.

[@shimmeringfairydust3275]

Ya think? Honestly, I would've put him first, Elvis second & (sob!) Chris Bowman third. Paul did EVERYTHING beautifully - Petrenko had a slightly more difficult program which was so poorly skated I just want to vomit. I would have placed the Injured Browning fourth with his equally hurt countryman - Eldredege - fifth.

[@vettegaddia6234]

Tyrone Branch One lucky skate. He is over rated.

[@shimmeringfairydust3275]

+Vette gaddia doesn't matter. It's all about luck & timing. He had both that evening. Kurt Browning, one of the best skaters of this or any other era, suffered from back injuries in these Olympics & wasn't able to perform to his ability. Your remark is fairly ignorant - by your standards, Yukio Kasaya, Akitsugu Konno & Seiji Aochi would never have been Olympic medalists. Or do you even know who they are?

[@paskatefan]

+Elaine Snow Kurt's Canadian, Todd's American. Two of the best pro skaters on the planet! How I wish they both had Olympic medals of any color! Re: Paul, he totally deserved to medal @ these Olympics. He skated magnificently. As much as I enjoyed him as an Olympic eligible skater, I have enjoyed him even more as a pro, and thank goodness he has had a long career!

[@rickram1961]

+Tyrone Branch Oh heck yes, agreed! Victor's skate was only sub par

[@christianabartolomey9285]

That triple axel is gorgeous!!

[@cbgflygirl]

I love Paul he so deserved the gold. I also love Scott's commentating!

[@shimmeringfairydust3275]

Should have won the gold. Petrenko is the worst gold medalist EVER. Should NEVER have been on the podium. Wylie’s spirals & camel spins are some of the best.

[@AthenaisC]

Paul Wylie won the silver, every bit of it. I remember crying watching this skate. He's a skater's skater and a super human being. ❤️

[@gutsfinky]

I've heard nothing but wonderful things about him! Apparently a super nice guy.

[@tabithasabella5212]

Paul, so proud of you. During this 2020 thanksgiving, I just wanted to let you know how grateful, how thankful iam for an christian big brother like you Paul. Because of your obedience In putting that article in brio magazine, god used your story to set me free from my biggest fears. Iam a 39 year old young woman. With disabilities and am a college student who's about to finish my fifth year with my 3rd A. I Love you Paul, so very much.

[@Hellzapoppet]

I just can't think of any male singles skater who's given performances as theatrically and musically thrilling as Paul's. And what beautiful use of classic moves like the spread eagle, Ina Bauer, and electrifying split jumps!

[@L1623VP]

Paul should have won the gold medal. Period. His short program was absolutely flawless, but the judges held him back terribly with outrageous 5.3/5.4 scores for technical and not much better for artistic. He should easily have gone into the LP in first or second place, and there should never have been so much scoring distance between him and Petrenko who was clearly "favored", as it was his time to "take his turn". Even with a few minor errors, Paul's gorgeous LP was easily better both artistically and technically than Petrenko, who blew three jumps, falling on and/or completely out of them. If Paul hadn't been held back in the SP, and the LP scored fairly, he easily would have won gold, but the judges weren't about to award the Olympic gold medal to a skater who'd never won a national title and held no world medals of any color, regardless of the fact that he had the skate of his life in both programs at the Olympic games. They judged Paul based on his reputation of inconsistency and NOT how he skated at those games. It should have been a true Cinderella story, but corrupt eastern block judging took care of that. Of all the Olympic winning free skates, nobody remembers Petrenko's fall-fest. It's one of the most egregious examples judging corruption in figure skating.

[@scottw6704]

This used to bug me to no end, but the judging kind of changes based on where the skater is ranked before the competition. Wylie was ranked fairly low, so he would have skated early in the SP, and in the 6.0 scoring system, the judges have a sort of "range" based on the skater's world rank. The last flight of skaters would be expected to skate 5.5-6.0 programs, but the flight before generally didn't ever get past a 5.5 in either technique or artistry, no matter how well they did. Except for maybe Midori Ito.

[@L1623VP]

@@scottw6704 It was nice to finally hear Paul's coach, Mary Scotvold, say in an interview about a year ago that she believed Paul should have won gold, as well. She also said Nancy Kerringan, also her athlete, was robbed of gold in 1994. I've always felt that, as well. It's interesting that both Paul and Nancy lost to Eastern bloc skaters. As they say, "That's figure skating."

[@CarolWorth]

So wonderful to see Paul Wylie skate again. He was one of my top favourites! Brought tears to my eyes! 😭🤗💕

[@garotadagavea]

He was robbed. I watched the whole thing. His performance was much superior.

[@46foryounger]

Back to watch this after watching Petrenko’s slop performance how the hell did he not win the Gold. What a fix😡

[@jamesfox6909]

Beautiful spiral position. Most men can’t do it well.

[@officeaddict33]

The new IJS system doesn't allow time for anything anymore. Jump, points, contortionist spins. Skating is not what it used to be. The magic is mostly gone.

[@sandraroth8980]

Between Paul's emotional and artistic skating and Scott's commentary - this IS Gold. This is skating. This is art. I will never forget my joy watching this year's ago. Or whenever I re-watch it on Utube. I hope Paul knows how he inspired so many and still does.

[@johniovine1512]

paul did an excellent job after all his hit and misses in other years this was his best i think

[@heidicook2739]

Such an elegant skater.

[@lordfuzzy8723]

Not taking anything away from Paul Wiley but I really hated how at this Olympics they kept choosing to interview skaters at such horrible times. I'm sure Kurt Browning had way too much on his mind to have a camera and a microphone shoved in his face to basically be asked how does it feel to suck?

[@vickenator]

Compared to the interviewers in 1988, at least four years later they learned to give the skaters a few minutes of recuperation off the ice! They had someone interviewing Brian Orser in 1988 mere seconds after he learned he'd lost the gold to Boitano. "How does it feel?" Jeez.

[@johnnolan5579]

I remember watching this in 1992 and greatly appreciating the artistry of the skate and being very happy for Wylie's silver medal, but on watching it again, it is filled with technical errors. Sure he landed a triple axel, but the second was over rotated, he had a flawed axel combination, doubled another triple, etc etc. If you look closely, the power of the performance definitely overshadowed the many technical errors, but Wylie, was undoubtedly a skater's skater and someone who deserved a break for his artistry.

[@metsedudenj]

I loved Paul and would have given him the nod here but there were many small mistakes: A slight two foot or bobble on the triple flip, an underrotated triple lutz which was covered up with a combination, a short triple salchow and a turn out on the second triple axel, as well as a failure to do a triple lutz at the end. This is why his technical merit score could not go higher than 5.7, because even Bowman skated technically a better program. But artistically, this was the best program of the night and deserved 5.9. I had the podium as Wylie, Petrenko, Bowman.

[@officeaddict33]

+metsedudenj - If you look at the TECHNICAL marks in the video right here Paul got two 5.8s and a 5.9.....so you are incorrect - his technical marks did go above 5.7. He landed 2 triple Axels.

[@metsedudenj]

officeaddict33 I am not incorrect, technically he shouldnt have gotten that high, hey, I am glad I wish he had won, but overall the judges gave him under 5.7 in the majority

[@PthaloGreen2]

@@officeaddict33 yes though there was a turnout on the second triple axel... I could go either way on this one too.

[@CocogoatMain0501]

definitely the gold medalist

[@Mare416]

Oh my God, Scott Hamilton, shut up! I'm trying to watch a program here!

[@shihlin1]

His marks prove the saying in figure skating your reputation definitely influences your scores. Scott Hamilton touched upon Paul's reputation as a runner-up. It's a shame. Petrenko was favored coming into the Olympics and the judges did not want to break from that tradition. Still this performance was inspiring and moving. You don't see the clean lines like that anymore. Nice to see Kristi and Nancy in the stands cheering on their teammate. Where was Tonya ?

[@ManuelPabloArnao]

Scott is so biased, he doesn’t even bother to hide it. First of all, it’s clear Paul kind of stepped out of his Lutz and tried to hide it by adding a double toe and Scott acts like it was perfect. Still though, I would have given it to Paul. Paul’s errors were much smaller than Victor’s and he had a new program, unlike Victor’s 3-year-old program.

[@metsdudenj]

I do agree, but the jumps were shaky, the opening triple flip wasnt crisp, the lutz was also stepped out of as was the salchow

[@fullmoon1072]

Yes this was a better performance than Viktor Petrenko

[@NN-fw4qf]

He is so clean in his presentation. Just beautiful to watch.