# Figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics

The figure skating events in 1998 Winter Olympics were held at the White Ring in Nagano. There were no changes in the format or scoring systems from 1994. Professionals were again allowed to compete, although they had to declare that intention and compete in ISU-approved events to do so. Previously, the ISU had been accused of rejecting Western professionals, while allowing Eastern Bloc state-sponsored "amateurs" to compete. Most of the top competitors by 1998 were now openly professional.
The competitions took place on the following days:
* Pairs: 8–10 February 1998
* Men's singles: 12–14 February 1998
* Ice dance: 13–16 February 1998
* Ladies' singles: 18–20 February 1998
* Exhibition gala: 21 February 1998

## Medal summary
### Medalists

| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Men's singles details | Ilia Kulik Russia | Elvis Stojko Canada | Philippe Candeloro France |
| Ladies' singles details | Tara Lipinski United States | Michelle Kwan United States | Chen Lu China |
| Pair skating details | Oksana Kazakova and Artur Dmitriev (RUS) | Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze (RUS) | Mandy Wötzel and Ingo Steuer (GER) |
| Ice dance details | Oksana Grishuk and Evgeny Platov (RUS) | Anjelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsyannikov (RUS) | Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat (FRA) |

### Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Russia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | United States | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Canada | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | France | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 5 | China | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | Germany | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (6 entries) | Totals (6 entries) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |

### Participating NOCs

Thirty-five nations competed in the figure skating events at Nagano.
* Armenia
* Australia
* Austria
* Azerbaijan
* Bulgaria
* Canada
* China
* Chinese Taipei
* Croatia
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* Great Britain
* Hungary
* Israel
* Italy
* Japan
* Kazakhstan
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Poland
* Romania
* Russia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* South Africa
* South Korea
* Spain
* Switzerland
* Sweden
* Ukraine
* United States
* Uzbekistan

## Results
### Men

The favourites and top two after the short program were Ilia Kulik and Elvis Stojko, who would skate first and last, respectively. Medal contenders Alexei Yagudin, Todd Eldredge and Philippe Candeloro went in between. Steven Cousins was the other skater in the final draw, but he was not considered to have a realistic chance of making the podium.
Kulik skated a flawless program which included a quad toe loop to open the last session. Yagudin, who was one of several athletes suffering from the flu during these games, fell on his quad attempt and his triple Axel, which took him out of medal contention. Eldredge was skating cleanly until he popped what was to be his second triple Axel, and then he fell again when he tried to complete the jump again in the closing seconds. Candeloro, with the exception of a step out on his triple Axel, skated his program flawlessly to end up second in the free skating. Stojko, who skated last, originally intended to perform a quad toe loop/triple toe loop combination. However, a partial groin tear and the flu prevented him from attempting the combo, so he downgraded his quad to a triple. Despite his injury, he skated a clean program but finished the free skating third, placing second overall behind Kulik.
The countries represented by the podium finishers were the same as in the men's competition at the Lillehammer 1994 games, with Stojko and Candeloro getting their second consecutive silver and bronze medals, respectively. In a noteworthy instance, Stojko had to limp to the podium on sneakers at the medal presentation. He also did not skate at the figure skating gala, although he did take the ice briefly to announce that he would skip the World Championships next month.
| Rank | Name | Nation | SP | FS | TFP |
| 1 | Ilia Kulik | Russia | 1 | 1 | 1.5 |
| 2 | Elvis Stojko | Canada | 2 | 3 | 4.0 |
| 3 | Philippe Candeloro | France | 5 | 2 | 4.5 |
| 4 | Todd Eldredge | United States | 3 | 4 | 5.5 |
| 5 | Alexei Yagudin | Russia | 4 | 5 | 7.0 |
| 6 | Steven Cousins | Great Britain | 6 | 7 | 10.0 |
| 7 | Michael Weiss | United States | 11 | 6 | 11.5 |
| 8 | Guo Zhengxin | China | 10 | 9 | 14.0 |
| 9 | Michael Tyllesen | Denmark | 9 | 11 | 15.5 |
| 10 | Viacheslav Zagorodniuk | Ukraine | 16 | 8 | 16.0 |
| 11 | Ivan Dinev | Bulgaria | 7 | 14 | 17.5 |
| 12 | Jeff Langdon | Canada | 17 | 10 | 18.5 |
| 13 | Szabolcs Vidrai | Hungary | 12 | 13 | 19.0 |
| 14 | Dmitri Dmitrenko | Ukraine | 8 | 16 | 20.0 |
| 15 | Takeshi Honda | Japan | 18 | 12 | 21.0 |
| 16 | Igor Pashkevich | Azerbaijan | 13 | 15 | 21.5 |
| 17 | Yamato Tamura | Japan | 15 | 17 | 24.5 |
| 18 | Michael Shmerkin | Israel | 14 | 18 | 25.0 |
| 19 | Roman Skorniakov | Uzbekistan | 20 | 19 | 29.0 |
| 20 | Margus Hernits | Estonia | 19 | 20 | 29.5 |
| 21 | Cornel Gheorghe | Romania | 21 | 21 | 31.5 |
| 22 | Patrick Meier | Switzerland | 22 | 22 | 33.0 |
| 23 | Gilberto Viadana | Italy | 24 | 23 | 35.0 |
| 24 | Lee Kyu-hyun | South Korea | 23 | 24 | 35.5 |
| Free skating not reached ||||||
| 25 | Anthony Liu | Australia | 25 | | |
| 26 | Róbert Kažimír | Slovakia | 26 | | |
| 27 | David Liu | Chinese Taipei | 27 | | |
| 28 | Yuri Litvinov | Kazakhstan | 28 | | |
| 29 | Patrick Schmit | Luxembourg | 29 | | |
Referee:
* Britta Lindgren
Assistant Referee:
* Junko Hiramatsu
Judges:
* Margaret Worsfold
* Vladislav Petukov
* Sally Rehorick
* Mariana Silvia Chita
* Mieko Fujimora
* Sviatoslav Babenko
* Evgenia Bogdanova
* Paula Naughton
* Marie-Reine Le Gougne
* Zsofia Wagner (substitute)

### Ladies

The primary contenders for the gold medal were Americans Tara Lipinski and Michelle Kwan. Kwan and Lipinski were in first and second place respectively after the short program. In the free skating, both Lipinski and Kwan skated clean. 6 judges placed Lipinski ahead of Kwan, and three placed Kwan ahead of Lipinski, which meant Lipinski won the gold medal, and Kwan took the silver.
The primary competitors for the bronze medal were Maria Butyrskaya and Irina Slutskaya from Russia, and Chen Lu from China. In the free skating, they all skated well, but had mistakes. The final placements were very close. The 3rd–5th place votes were split unevenly between Chen, Butyrskaya, and Slutskaya. Chen beat Butyrskaya by the tally of 5 judges to 4 and beat Slutskaya 6 judges to 3, giving Chen her second straight bronze medal in the Olympic Games.
Tara Lipinski (gold), Michelle Kwan (silver) and Chen Lu (bronze) were the World Champions in 1997, 1996 and 1995, respectively. Lipinski also became the youngest competitor in Winter Olympics history to earn a gold medal in an individual event.
While not a medal winner, France's injured Surya Bonaly, who placed 10th, completed an (illegal) backflip during her long program, making her the fourth person and only woman to ever land a backflip in competition. She is the only person to land on one foot and to do a split mid-air (now colloquially referred to as a 'Bonaly'). She performed the unorthodox maneuver as a result of a previous fall and poor program due to an injured foot, however given the illegal nature of the move, her backflip was not considered when grading her technical merit. Youtube video
| Rank | Name | Nation | SP | FS | TFP |
| 1 | Tara Lipinski | United States | 2 | 1 | 2.0 |
| 2 | Michelle Kwan | United States | 1 | 2 | 2.5 |
| 3 | Chen Lu | China | 4 | 3 | 5.0 |
| 4 | Maria Butyrskaya | Russia | 3 | 4 | 5.5 |
| 5 | Irina Slutskaya | Russia | 5 | 5 | 7.5 |
| 6 | Vanessa Gusmeroli | France | 8 | 6 | 10.0 |
| 7 | Elena Sokolova | Russia | 10 | 7 | 12.0 |
| 8 | Tatiana Malinina | Uzbekistan | 9 | 8 | 12.5 |
| 9 | Elena Liashenko | Ukraine | 7 | 10 | 13.5 |
| 10 | Surya Bonaly | France | 6 | 11 | 14.0 |
| 11 | Yulia Lavrenchuk | Ukraine | 15 | 9 | 16.5 |
| 12 | Joanne Carter | Australia | 11 | 12 | 17.5 |
| 13 | Shizuka Arakawa | Japan | 14 | 14 | 21.0 |
| 14 | Julia Lautowa | Austria | 21 | 13 | 23.5 |
| 15 | Júlia Sebestyén | Hungary | 19 | 15 | 24.5 |
| 16 | Yulia Vorobieva | Azerbaijan | 18 | 16 | 25.0 |
| 17 | Nicole Bobek | United States | 17 | 17 | 25.5 |
| 18 | Lenka Kulovaná | Czech Republic | 16 | 18 | 26.0 |
| 19 | Anna Rechnio | Poland | 13 | 20 | 26.5 |
| 20 | Laëtitia Hubert | France | 12 | 21 | 27.0 |
| 21 | Alisa Drei | Finland | 20 | 19 | 29.0 |
| 22 | Marta Andrade | Spain | 24 | 22 | 34.0 |
| 23 | Mojca Kopač | Slovenia | 22 | 23 | 34.0 |
| 24 | Shirene Human | South Africa | 23 | 24 | 35.5 |
| Free skating not reached ||||||
| 25 | Ivana Jakupcevic | Croatia | 25 | | |
| 26 | Helena Grundberg | Sweden | 26 | | |
| 27 | Tony Bombardieri | Italy | 27 | | |
| 28 | Sofia Penkova | Bulgaria | 28 | | |
| Rank in FS | Skater | Judge (Australia) | Judge (Hungary) | Judge (Austria) | Judge (Germany) | Judge (United States) | Judge (Russia) | Judge (Ukraine) | Judge (Poland) | Judge (France) | Average |
| 1 | Tara Lipinski | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.3 |
| 2 | Michelle Kwan | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1.7 |
| 3 | Chen Lu | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3.8 |
| 4 | Maria Butyrskaya | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4.0 |
| 5 | Irina Slutskaya | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4.2 |
FS=Free Skating
| Final Rank | Skater | Rank in SP | Rank in FS | Total Score |
| 1 | Tara Lipinski | 2 | 1 | 2.0 ( 2 * 0.5 + 1 = 2.0 ) |
| 2 | Michelle Kwan | 1 | 2 | 2.5 ( 1 * 0.5 + 2 = 2.5 ) |
| 3 | Chen Lu | 4 | 3 | 5.0 ( 4 * 0.5 + 3 = 5.0 ) |
| 4 | Maria Butyrskaya | 3 | 4 | 5.5 ( 3 * 0.5 + 4 = 5.5 ) |
| 5 | Irina Slutskaya | 5 | 5 | 7.5 ( 5 * 0.5 + 5 = 7.5 ) |
SP=Short Program, FS=Free Skating
Referee:
* Sally-Anne Stapleford
Assistant Referee:
* Tjasa Andrée-Prosenc
Judges:
* Frank A. Parsons
* Judit Furst-Tombor
* Karin Ehrhardt
* Jan Hoffmann
* Susan A. Johnson
* Anatoli Bogatyrev
* Alfred Korytek
* Maria Miller
* Anne Hardy Thomas
* Liliana Strechova (substitute)

### Pairs

Artur Dmitriev of Russia won his second Olympic gold here. He had previously won in 1992 with a different partner. He was the first man to win the Olympics more than once with different partners. The first woman to do so was Russian skater Irina Rodnina, who won three Olympics with two different partners.

#### Full results

| Rank | Name | Nation | SP | FS | TFP |
| 1 | Oksana Kazakova / Artur Dmitriev | Russia | 1 | 1 | 1.5 |
| 2 | Elena Berezhnaya / Anton Sikharulidze | Russia | 3 | 2 | 3.5 |
| 3 | Mandy Wötzel / Ingo Steuer | Germany | 2 | 3 | 4.0 |
| 4 | Kyoko Ina / Jason Dungjen | United States | 4 | 4 | 6.0 |
| 5 | Shen Xue / Zhao Hongbo | China | 8 | 5 | 9.0 |
| 6 | Sarah Abitbol / Stéphane Bernadis | France | 7 | 6 | 9.5 |
| 7 | Marina Eltsova / Andrei Bushkov | Russia | 5 | 7 | 9.5 |
| 8 | Jenni Meno / Todd Sand | United States | 6 | 9 | 12.0 |
| 9 | Peggy Schwarz / Mirko Müller | Germany | 9 | 8 | 12.5 |
| 10 | Dorota Zagórska / Mariusz Siudek | Poland | 10 | 11 | 16.0 |
| 11 | Evgenia Filonenko / Igor Marchenko | Ukraine | 13 | 10 | 16.5 |
| 12 | Kristy Sargeant / Kris Wirtz | Canada | 11 | 12 | 17.5 |
| 13 | Danielle McGrath / Stephen Carr | Australia | 15 | 13 | 20.5 |
| 14 | Marina Khalturina / Andrei Krukov | Kazakhstan | 16 | 14 | 22.0 |
| 15 | Kateřina Beránková / Otto Dlabola | Czech Republic | 14 | 15 | 22.0 |
| 16 | Marie-Claude Savard-Gagnon / Luc Bradet | Canada | 12 | 16 | 22.0 |
| 17 | Sabrina Lefrançois / Nicolas Osseland | France | 17 | 17 | 25.5 |
| 18 | Inga Rodionova / Aleksandr Anichenko | Azerbaijan | 19 | 18 | 27.5 |
| 19 | Maria Krasiltseva / Alexander Chestnikh | Armenia | 18 | 19 | 28.0 |
| 20 | Marie Arai / Shin Amano | Japan | 20 | 20 | 30.0 |
Referee:
* Walburga Grimm
Assistant Referee:
* Ronald T. Pfenning
Judges:
* Yang Jiasheng
* John Greenwood
* Heinz-Ulrich Walther
* Anna Sierocka
* Roger A. Glenn
* Olga Záková
* Donald McKnight
* Marina Sanaya
* Alfred Korytek
* Marie-Reine Le Gougne (substitute)

### Ice dance

Grishuk and Platov became the first pair ever to repeat as champions in Olympic Ice Dance. They won 21 straight events before they won in Nagano.
The judging was marred by accusations that the Europeans colluded in "bloc voting" (where judges tend to favor skaters from their regions), so that the dance teams representing their countries would take the medals, while keeping the Canadians off the podium.

#### Full results

| Rank | Name | Nation | CD1 | CD2 | OD | FD | TFP |
| 1 | Pasha Grishuk / Evgeni Platov | Russia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2.0 |
| 2 | Anjelika Krylova / Oleg Ovsyannikov | Russia | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4.0 |
| 3 | Marina Anissina / Gwendal Peizerat | France | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7.0 |
| 4 | Shae-Lynn Bourne / Victor Kraatz | Canada | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 7.2 |
| 5 | Irina Lobacheva / Ilia Averbukh | Russia | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 9.8 |
| 6 | Barbara Fusar-Poli / Maurizio Margaglio | Italy | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 12.0 |
| 7 | Elizabeth Punsalan / Jerod Swallow | United States | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14.0 |
| 8 | Margarita Drobiazko / Povilas Vanagas | Lithuania | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 16.2 |
| 9 | Irina Romanova / Igor Yaroshenko | Ukraine | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 18.4 |
| 10 | Kati Winkler / René Lohse | Germany | 11 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 19.8 |
| 11 | Sophie Moniotte / Pascal Lavanchy | France | 10 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 22.2 |
| 12 | Sylwia Nowak / Sebastian Kolasiński | Poland | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 23.4 |
| 13 | Kateřina Mrázová / Martin Šimeček | Czech Republic | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 26.0 |
| 14 | Galit Chait / Sergei Sakhnovski | Israel | 17 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 28.6 |
| 15 | Elena Grushina / Ruslan Goncharov | Ukraine | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 30.2 |
| 16 | Tatiana Navka / Nikolai Morozov | Belarus | 14 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 32.0 |
| 17 | Diane Gerencser / Pasquale Camerlengo | Italy | 16 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 33.2 |
| 18 | Albena Denkova / Maxim Staviski | Bulgaria | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 36.0 |
| 19 | Chantal Lefebvre / Michel Brunet | Canada | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 38.0 |
| 20 | Dominique Deniaud / Martial Jaffredo | France | 20 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 40.8 |
| 21 | Jessica Joseph / Charles Butler | United States | 22 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 41.4 |
| 22 | Elizaveta Stekolnikova / Dmitri Kazarlyga | Kazakhstan | 23 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 44.2 |
| 23 | Aya Kawai / Hiroshi Tanaka | Japan | 21 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 45.6 |
| 24 | Ksenia Smetanenko / Samuel Gezalian | Armenia | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 48.0 |
Referee:
* Wolfgang Kunz
Assistant Referee:
* Alexander Gorshkov
Judges:
* Jean Senft
* Halina Gordon-Półtorak
* Eugenia Gasiorowska
* Yuri Balkov
* Ulf Denzer
* Jarmila Portová
* Alla Shekhovtsova
* Walter Zuccaro
* Jean-Bernard Hamel
* Robert J. Horen (substitute)