When you think about crazy sports moments, you probably think about things like game-winning touchdowns. Obviously, popular contact sports like football have plenty of crazy moments that fans spend years talking about. But did you know that figure skating, considered fancy and artsy, has some of the most epic moments in sports history?
It’s true, but unless you’re glued to the Winter Olympics all the time, you’ve likely missed most (if not all) of these moments. As always, though, we’ve got you covered, and we’re here to provide the lowdown on the craziest moments from the long history of the crazier sport. Keep reading, then, to discover the most epic figure skating moments in history!
Nancy Kerrigan’s silver medal
Unfortunately for her, Nancy Kerrigan became one of the most famous figure skaters in history for reasons outside of her control. Rival skater Tonya Harding attacked Kerrigan by taking a club to her knees. Her goal was as cruel as it was simple: to keep her rival from performing her best, effectively hobbling her at the worst possible time.
Fortunately, Kerrigan ended up defying the odds. Seven weeks after the attack, she ended up competing in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Amazingly, she took home the silver, and many think she only lost out on the gold due to a judge’s very controversial call. The biggest victory of all, though, is that Kerrigan refused to be held back or defined by this vicious attack.
John Curry’s record has never been beaten
Figure skating is one of those sports that mostly makes people think of female athletes. However, there have been some awesome male skaters over the years, including John Curry. And at the 1976 Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria, this skater achieved a record that has never been beaten, earning him a permanent place in sports history.
At this event, Curry skated to Ludwig Minkus’ Don Quixote ballet, ultimately taking home the gold. Incredibly, though, that’s not even the most impressive part. Curry also earned 105.9 out of 108 points. To this day, that’s the highest amount of points in male figure skating history, one that hasn’t been surpassed even though Curry himself passed away back in 1994.
Peggy Fleming gives a nation hope
Sometimes, figure skating champions became famous because they are symbols of something very powerful. That’s the case with Peggy Fleming, who was the only American to take home a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics. Obviously, she gave a great performance, but the nation embraced her less for her unique skills and more for what she represented to the country.
Seven years previously, the entirety of America’s figure skaters were tragically killed when Sabena Flight 548 crashed. When Fleming brought home the only gold for her own country, she did more than make America proud. Her victory sent a clear message that the US Figure Skating Program would continue to grow despite the horrific setback they experienced.
Debi Thomas, the first Black medalist
You’ve probably noticed that most of these figure skating stories involve an athlete taking home the gold medal. However, not everybody has to get the gold in order to make national history. And if you’ve ever doubted that, you need look no further than Debi Thomas.
At the 1988 Calgary Games, Thomas took home the bronze medal. That might not sound like a big deal, but she was the first Black athlete to bring home a medal. And considering that she won both the National and World Championships two years earlier, it’s fair to say that she was on top of the world during this time.
The ice dance tradition is born
Figure skating may seem very different from other sports, but it shares one thing in common with everything from football to baseball: namely, that what people love to watch changes over time. For example, ice dancing was around in 1984, but nobody really took it seriously back then. But that all changed thanks to two British skaters, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.
Their ice dancing earned them a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics. Under the sport’s old 6-point system, the two earned a nearly perfect score consisting of 12 perfect 6.0s and six 5.9s. More interestingly, the two made ice dancing mainstream, and to this day, it’s one of the most beloved aspects of the sport!
The first woman to land a triple axel
Even if you’re not really into figure skating (wait, why the heck are you reading this article?), you probably know that the triple axel is one of the sport’s most complex moves. It’s difficult for any skater to perform and particularly difficult for women to pull off. In fact, no woman had ever pulled off the triple axel until the 1994 Olympics.
That was when Japan’s Midori Ito successfully pulled the move off, but not on the first try. She missed it at the beginning of her free skate but then pulled it off at the end. This helped her bring home the silver medal, and her mastery of a move that had eluded all other female skaters before then earned her a permanent place in athletic history.