17 Years later and stil no one can touch this. No one in our lifetimes will be able to express artistry the way this singular performance did. Regardless of whether you like oksana or think she stole a medal from nancy kerrigan doesn't matter. What does is that this little girl is breathtaking here and its mastery is unrivaled. This is why sport exist!
I loved Oksana's skating from age 15 to 18. This SP is one of the greatest of all times, IMO. I was lucky enough to see her perform it live at skate America in 1993, and she was just 15 then. She was an amazing skater/artist.
I loooooove the music, love the fact that it keeps changing, there are like 4 songs in there. I still remember this performance, I've watched tons of skating performances since I was a kid and her were always my favourit.
wow she had such a speed and grace..very powerful performance in this one...wow...not even the women figure skaters today can achieve this much grace and speed at the same time like she has..that's a fact for sure!
I'm just glad the scoring standards of the time allowed for Baiul to place second and contend for the Olympic gold medal. I so wanted her to win-and she did! Nancy had lovely moments, superior jumps, etc. but Oksana was enchanting, her performances magical, a Ukrainian Fairy out there. I remember even President Bill Clinton thought Oksana was better when asked lol!! I imagine alot of less informed viewers who don't know much about figure skating thought the same based on her performance quality.
@dsrtflwr I was enchanted by Oksana the moment I saw her at '93 Euros. She was magical and I was so happy she won the Olympics. I didn't like Kerrigan anyway. If she hadn't bombed '93 Worlds there would have been 3 slots open at the Olympics not just 2.
yes I agree. I havent seen this in a while....you light up and become happy watching her, she is stunning and so creative, and this short program was amazing, it makes you forget the two foot landing, and Nancy was great technically.
She was a real little ballerina on skates back then, no one could come close to her uniquely sensitive, elegant and graceful skating. She was, is and always will be my all-time favourit skater as she left us with great memories. Best figure skating performance ever in my eyes was her arabic routine.
her skating is so beautiful that it is truly an art in the highest form, not just athletics with the "artistic" thrown in. It's so beautiful that it just makes me weep. she skates from her heart and touches everybody else's. I agree, this is completely unparalleled and always will be.
This is the first time I've seen this since I saw it live in 1994. I've watched a lot of skating in my life, but only a few performances just stick with you. This is one of them.
She is my all-time favourit skater. I loved her to death growing up and watched all her performances. She is such a "special skater" with a unique style which is unmatched by any other skater in the world!
I would have dinged her for the two-foot landing on the lutz-and given her straight 6.0's. for artistic impression. I would have given Kerrigan higher technical marks and given her about 5.4-5.5 for artistic impression because she was no where in the same league as Oksana artistically.
THE most amazing skater I ever saw. Never since Oksana have I seen someone grasp the hearts of the audience with her grace and radiant smile. Learning about her challenging background made me root for her all the more---she was practicing on melting ice. My compatriots Shizuka Arakawa and Mao Asada may have more skill and finesse---but what is performing arts without tugging at the heart? I will never forget how she broke into tears at hearing the final---and well-deserved---result.
That's a winning smile at 3:22! Great program - love her signature headwear/tiaras. I remember the commentators saying that the teenage Oksana had a soft spot for ballet - and it showed. Amazing virtuosic performance - one of my faves.
I love this program, anda I miss to see skaters as her, she had a lot of qualities she has cahrisma and talent, this is one of my favorite programs ever...
Her technique is far from perfect, but she has such presence, artistry, style, and STAR power on the ice that when she's out there it's no longer a sport, it's an art. This also is my fav SP of all time, I've watched it so many times and I never get sick of it. Gorgeous!
I have watched figure skating for many years and I have never seen,before or since ANYONE that could rival this performance. Watch her hands! She skated a ballet, not a routine. She didn't look like a skater making nonsensical steps between jumps.She danced the ballet! She uses her hands like a ballerina, she gestures like a ballerina, the program had line and emotion of the music. Not just a bunch of jumps connected by nonsense. Oksana has never been equaled.
i dont think i've cried so much when i watched the movie based on her life. i couldnt imagine being an orphan and homeless. she truly overcame the odds!
Wouldn't it have been amazing if she had decided to extend the Swan Lake idea through to the LP! The Broadway thing didn't do her justice really, although the slow section (to 'Somewhere') is exquisite.
All of the 'inbetweens' are superior to Kerrigan. She also covers the ice faster, although that can be difficult to tell on tv. I really liked Kerrigan's sp but the way Oksana uses her body to create perfect shapes was unique in this competition. There is also far greater innate musicality. I wouldn't have minded for a second if Baiul has won this SP event.
U got that right!!! I actually cry toward the end of the LP and burst into tears just as she does in the kiss-n-cry area when she realizes she's the new Olympic Champion. What an athelete, what a story, what a shame, in the end.
I remember watching this ..she was brilliant .. and I think what made it even more exciting was the fact she came out of no where.. and it was like watching the ugly duckling turn into a swan.. Nancy had been talked about soo much and what happened with Tanya .. it just made Oksana's win that much sweeter. ( and no I dont think Oksana is ugly in any way.. just a comparison of the amount of awe..which took place.) She deserved it ..
Oksana Baiul is easily one of my favorite skaters of all time and she always will be. I don't think anyone can doubt her artistry. But jumps were always her weakness. Figure skating is about both technical and performance quality, so I think it would be a real contest between her and the current skaters. That being said, I sometimes feel like the scoring (both old and new) is little better than mathematical voodoo. :P
she looked like a ballerina in here, as any russians are. (though i don' t think she is a russian, i think she had very similar qualities) that's the reason why i love her so much. having the most difficult jumps isn't the most important if your artistry is not excellent enough in this sport indeed. that's how she won the olympics.
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Yes, it is definetely one of the best SP programs ever done in the history of the sport. What a contrast with her LP because that had nothing to do with this masterpiece.
Oksana owns the ice. Yes, other skaters have had better technique, but she is truly an artist and performer. I think her short program is the closest to perfection I have ever seen. It's a shame she no longer skates at that level, but like I said, she is still a captivating performer.
She's absolutely stunning. I don't know much about ice skating, but I can appreciate it. (But the ballet dancer in me wishes she hadn't rearranged the music!) :D
@Imogence Yes, back then the rules for the short were different to now. The double flip was a set jump and had to be performed. It was only towards the end of the 90's/early 2000's that the rules were changed to allow an optional jump on its own not in combination. Likewise back then one of the jumps in the combo was specified, this year (1994) it was double toe loop. The rules were less flexible then.
Her costume is that of Odile. That and if I can hear the music correctly it's Odile's Variation. Never said Oksana was a pretender, just dressed as one.
I don't think that many skaters can better this particular program by Oksana. She was at her best in 1994, and continued to get better through about 1996, I think, before she got side-tracked with her problems.
Both of her performances at the 1993 Worlds were better. In fact, her short program in 1993 is one of the best I've ever seen. It's crazy that her long program was built with 5 Triples, none of which are in combination. She should have received absolutely no higher than a 5.6 for the technical marking with that kind of routine.
Oksana wasn't always the most reliable jumper, but she was a ballerina on ice and you don't see this balletic style of women's figure skating anymore. I think Sasha Cohen came the closest to emulating this style, but her long programs were rarely clean. After Oksana, there haven't been any female skaters from Ukraine, Russia, or the former Soviet Union of this caliber. Irina Slutskaya won Olympic medals, but she didn't have the artistry.
easy to say now, judges didnt have instant replay back then, and didnt have CBS showing the two foot landings. They were not as obvious live and from the angle the judges were sitting.
@ferdyspears It annoys me when people say Oksana 'stole' the gold medal from Nancy. She didn't steal anything, anymore than Tara Lipinski 'stole' the gold from Michelle Kwan four years later. The gold was awarded to them by a majority of the judges fair and square.
Interestingly, one of the judges who favored Oksana was in a situation similar to hers when he was a competitor, but dropped a place down due to the lower artistic scores given him. So the 94 Olympics was his chance to "bring justice" and vote for Nancy! But he didn't. It's the artistic score that broke the tie.
So what? She deserved it. Orphan. At 14 slept at night in the skating arena because she had no where to go. She deserved it, talented and hard working girl.
@bbtantan Here is one time I think Kerrigan won fair and square over Baiul-Nancy didn't double foot her combo and her artistry was elegant, very good if not the same 'performance' quality as Oksana. I'm just happy Oksana won overall.
I didn't even know there were 3 Americans at that years Worlds-and I thought under that system the ladies who medalled got 3 spots for their countries. That was my understanding at the time-and that later they came up with the system where the skaters had to total 13.
![[HD] Oksana Baiul - 1994 Lillehammer Olympic - Technical Program - The Swan Lake](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/lS3kBxPAjv8/mqdefault.jpg)
![[HD] Oksana Baiul - 1994 Lillehammer Olympic - Technical Program - The Swan Lake](/img/tr.png)
So beautiful! I love the pieces of the ballet she chose and her arms and expression! Love love love it!!!
17 Years later and stil no one can touch this. No one in our lifetimes will be able to express artistry the way this singular performance did. Regardless of whether you like oksana or think she stole a medal from nancy kerrigan doesn't matter. What does is that this little girl is breathtaking here and its mastery is unrivaled. This is why sport exist!
Breathtakingly GORGEOUS!!! I could cry right now. Ah, the memories... The grace, the ellegance, the flawlessness...
I loved Oksana's skating from age 15 to 18. This SP is one of the greatest of all times, IMO. I was lucky enough to see her perform it live at skate America in 1993, and she was just 15 then. She was an amazing skater/artist.
I loooooove the music, love the fact that it keeps changing, there are like 4 songs in there. I still remember this performance, I've watched tons of skating performances since I was a kid and her were always my favourit.
Very beautiful performance.
wow she had such a speed and grace..very powerful performance in this one...wow...not even the women figure skaters today can achieve this much grace and speed at the same time like she has..that's a fact for sure!
I'm just glad the scoring standards of the time allowed for Baiul to place second and contend for the Olympic gold medal. I so wanted her to win-and she did! Nancy had lovely moments, superior jumps, etc. but Oksana was enchanting, her performances magical, a Ukrainian Fairy out there. I remember even President Bill Clinton thought Oksana was better when asked lol!! I imagine alot of less informed viewers who don't know much about figure skating thought the same based on her performance quality.
She didn't steal anything from Nancy! An American here to say, "Oksana was better than Nancy at these games," plain & simple!
Она просто невероятна! Это лучшее выступление по фигурному катанию, из всех что я видела.
she is SO fast and her jumps are huge. wow. so impressive. beautiful.
@dsrtflwr I was enchanted by Oksana the moment I saw her at '93 Euros. She was magical and I was so happy she won the Olympics. I didn't like Kerrigan anyway. If she hadn't bombed '93 Worlds there would have been 3 slots open at the Olympics not just 2.
yes I agree. I havent seen this in a while....you light up and become happy watching her, she is stunning and so creative, and this short program was amazing, it makes you forget the two foot landing, and Nancy was great technically.
IMO, this is the BEST ladies short program in the Olympics EVER and I have been watching since 1980!!!
love her smile throughout the program. she was so excited and happy, great to see.
She was a real little ballerina on skates back then, no one could come close to her uniquely sensitive, elegant and graceful skating. She was, is and always will be my all-time favourit skater as she left us with great memories. Best figure skating performance ever in my eyes was her arabic routine.
her skating is so beautiful that it is truly an art in the highest form, not just athletics with the "artistic" thrown in. It's so beautiful that it just makes me weep.
she skates from her heart and touches everybody else's.
I agree, this is completely unparalleled and always will be.
This is the first time I've seen this since I saw it live in 1994. I've watched a lot of skating in my life, but only a few performances just stick with you. This is one of them.
She is my all-time favourit skater. I loved her to death growing up and watched all her performances. She is such a "special skater" with a unique style which is unmatched by any other skater in the world!
I would have dinged her for the two-foot landing on the lutz-and given her straight 6.0's. for artistic impression. I would have given Kerrigan higher technical marks and given her about 5.4-5.5 for artistic impression because she was no where in the same league as Oksana artistically.
THE most amazing skater I ever saw. Never since Oksana have I seen someone grasp the hearts of the audience with her grace and radiant smile. Learning about her challenging background made me root for her all the more---she was practicing on melting ice. My compatriots Shizuka Arakawa and Mao Asada may have more skill and finesse---but what is performing arts without tugging at the heart?
I will never forget how she broke into tears at hearing the final---and well-deserved---result.
Beautiful. I'm an American but I had to concede defeat to Oksana.
You can see the passion in her eyes,, It's like she will never get tired doing..If the music didn't stop she might dance forever..
incredibleee....no words...she is the best! great sportist and better artist!!!!!!!!!!! my life stop when i saw it,,, only enjoyed
She totally deserved first in the SP over Nancy.
I'm so glad that Oksana won the gold in the end ^^
That's a winning smile at 3:22! Great program - love her signature headwear/tiaras. I remember the commentators saying that the teenage Oksana had a soft spot for ballet - and it showed. Amazing virtuosic performance - one of my faves.
I love this program, anda I miss to see skaters as her, she had a lot of qualities she has cahrisma and talent, this is one of my favorite programs ever...
No one could touch her... even today. The greatest jewel skating has ever known, like her or not. And I LOVE her. ;O)
I remember watching this live and thinking this is the most beautiful performance I have ever seen. Sorry Nancy... You're gonna lose ;-)
I totally agree. And no one else could have pulled that off so convincingly. An absolute prima ballerina assoluta on the ice.
A great performance.
Her technique is far from perfect, but she has such presence, artistry, style, and STAR power on the ice that when she's out there it's no longer a sport, it's an art. This also is my fav SP of all time, I've watched it so many times and I never get sick of it. Gorgeous!
I have watched figure skating for many years and I have never seen,before or since ANYONE that could rival this performance. Watch her hands! She skated a ballet, not a routine. She didn't look like a skater making nonsensical steps between jumps.She danced the ballet! She uses her hands like a ballerina, she gestures like a ballerina, the program had line and emotion of the music. Not just a bunch of jumps connected by nonsense. Oksana has never been equaled.
Who on earth could give this performance a thumbs down?
SOU APAIXONADA POR PATINAÇÃO O GELO!!
SONHO QUE NUNCA SERÁ REALIZADO INFELIZMENTE, ESTANDO NO BRASIL FICA DIFÍCIL.
Oksana's swan dance is superb. Worthy of the gold medal.
i dont think i've cried so much when i watched the movie based on her life. i couldnt imagine being an orphan and homeless. she truly overcame the odds!
She's such a delicate and elegant figure skater! My all-time favourit figure skater!!!!
tears to my eyes it was beautiful performance
Here here!! Oksana's skating puts you in a trance. I thought Nancy's SP rocked that night as well, but she doesn't hold a candle to Oksana's artistry.
Even though Oksana was the Queen of two-footed landings.. This is still one of my all-time favorite short programs...Classic!
A true ballerina on ice. She is no robot cranking out every jump and move to score points. She is living and breathing artistry itself.
Wouldn't it have been amazing if she had decided to extend the Swan Lake idea through to the LP! The Broadway thing didn't do her justice really, although the slow section (to 'Somewhere') is exquisite.
All of the 'inbetweens' are superior to Kerrigan. She also covers the ice faster, although that can be difficult to tell on tv. I really liked Kerrigan's sp but the way Oksana uses her body to create perfect shapes was unique in this competition. There is also far greater innate musicality. I wouldn't have minded for a second if Baiul has won this SP event.
U got that right!!! I actually cry toward the end of the LP and burst into tears just as she does in the kiss-n-cry area when she realizes she's the new Olympic Champion. What an athelete, what a story, what a shame, in the end.
She amazes me because she is so light on her feet.
I remember watching this ..she was brilliant .. and I think what made it even more exciting was the fact she came out of no where.. and it was like watching the ugly duckling turn into a swan.. Nancy had been talked about soo much and what happened with Tanya .. it just made Oksana's win that much sweeter. ( and no I dont think Oksana is ugly in any way.. just a comparison of the amount of awe..which took place.) She deserved it ..
Oksana Baiul is easily one of my favorite skaters of all time and she always will be. I don't think anyone can doubt her artistry. But jumps were always her weakness. Figure skating is about both technical and performance quality, so I think it would be a real contest between her and the current skaters. That being said, I sometimes feel like the scoring (both old and new) is little better than mathematical voodoo. :P
She has to be one of the best skaters I have ever seen...
she looked like a ballerina in here, as any russians are. (though i don' t think she is a russian, i think she had very similar qualities) that's the reason why i love her so much. having the most difficult jumps isn't the most important if your artistry is not excellent enough in this sport indeed. that's how she won the olympics.
I like her smile when jumps are clean!
Wow, I love her jumps! She has such a presence. The only thing I dislike about her is her crossovers, but I am picky with my crossovers!
Watched the 30 for 30 about Nancy and Tonya the other night and despite Nancy's great performance in the Olympics I still say Oksana was better.
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Waooo Beauiful,wonderful,Great!!I love Oksana.
Very few have looked this good on the ice. Even Oksana herself stopped looking this good when she got older.
She was more than the "real deal". Oksana was the "Ideal". She had it all. More like a Prima Ballerina on ice. The total package.
She skates like an angel!
Yes, it is definetely one of the best SP programs ever done in the history of the sport. What a contrast with her LP because that had nothing to do with this masterpiece.
she vastly improved her crossovers over the years. no bounce.
GORGEOUS!
Baiul is still the most stunning female skater I have seen.......
I just love her speed.
Beautiful!
Oksana owns the ice. Yes, other skaters have had better technique, but she is truly an artist and performer. I think her short program is the closest to perfection I have ever seen. It's a shame she no longer skates at that level, but like I said, she is still a captivating performer.
She's absolutely stunning. I don't know much about ice skating, but I can appreciate it. (But the ballet dancer in me wishes she hadn't rearranged the music!) :D
Awesome way to put it! I thought that Plushenko's performance lacked fire. It was maybe technically spot on, but I feel you need both.
@Imogence Yes, back then the rules for the short were different to now. The double flip was a set jump and had to be performed. It was only towards the end of the 90's/early 2000's that the rules were changed to allow an optional jump on its own not in combination. Likewise back then one of the jumps in the combo was specified, this year (1994) it was double toe loop. The rules were less flexible then.
OMG really really beautiful, just Art on ice.....
oh por Dios, excelente, increíble
Her costume is that of Odile. That and if I can hear the music correctly it's Odile's Variation. Never said Oksana was a pretender, just dressed as one.
I don't think that many skaters can better this particular program by Oksana. She was at her best in 1994, and continued to get better through about 1996, I think, before she got side-tracked with her problems.
Have the best triple jumpers ever looked so graceful?
Perfect and charming!!
THE short program of the century.
Both of her performances at the 1993 Worlds were better. In fact, her short program in 1993 is one of the best I've ever seen.
It's crazy that her long program was built with 5 Triples, none of which are in combination. She should have received absolutely no higher than a 5.6 for the technical marking with that kind of routine.
gorgeous!
Oksana wasn't always the most reliable jumper, but she was a ballerina on ice and you don't see this balletic style of women's figure skating anymore. I think Sasha Cohen came the closest to emulating this style, but her long programs were rarely clean. After Oksana, there haven't been any female skaters from Ukraine, Russia, or the former Soviet Union of this caliber. Irina Slutskaya won Olympic medals, but she didn't have the artistry.
The double axel at 1:40 is beautiful too
stunning, a real pro
easy to say now, judges didnt have instant replay back then, and didnt have CBS showing the two foot landings. They were not as obvious live and from the angle the judges were sitting.
Even though she double footed the triple toe this was a spectacular performance ...
Her skating style is pretty reminiscent of Sasha Cohen's especially the linking footwork and step sequences.
Odile from Swan Lake...nice touch seeing as her other ones were Odette
@ferdyspears It annoys me when people say Oksana 'stole' the gold medal from Nancy. She didn't steal anything, anymore than Tara Lipinski 'stole' the gold from Michelle Kwan four years later. The gold was awarded to them by a majority of the judges fair and square.
Interestingly, one of the judges who favored Oksana was in a situation similar to hers when he was a competitor, but dropped a place down due to the lower artistic scores given him. So the 94 Olympics was his chance to "bring justice" and vote for Nancy! But he didn't. It's the artistic score that broke the tie.
i love her smile at 1:58
So what? She deserved it. Orphan. At 14 slept at night in the skating arena because she had no where to go. She deserved it, talented and hard working girl.
@bbtantan Here is one time I think Kerrigan won fair and square over Baiul-Nancy didn't double foot her combo and her artistry was elegant, very good if not the same 'performance' quality as Oksana. I'm just happy Oksana won overall.
@faeryquene
yep. Lisa Ervin finished 13th, and Tania Kwiatkowski didn't make it out of the qualifying round. it was a rough year for the U.S.
Hehe I know what you meant. Whatever she was trying to do, she did it beautifully :).
Spot on comment! :)
she's such a gorgeous skater but that headpiece makes me feel like i'm watching some sort of parody. but oh man that double axel. wow!
@geoboe84 It's actually the other way around since Baiul came first-Sasha Cohen's skating style was reminiscent of Oksana Baiul's.
i don't watch ice skating but I remember her
i like verry much oxana..
As Dick Button said, she is and can be, one of the great skaters of all time.
perfect
I didn't even know there were 3 Americans at that years Worlds-and I thought under that system the ladies who medalled got 3 spots for their countries. That was my understanding at the time-and that later they came up with the system where the skaters had to total 13.
man she rocks my face!!!!!