A Personal Triumph
Terry Kubicka - 1976 U.S. Nationals

It seemed fitting that the historic Broadmoor World Arena set the scene for Terry Kubicka's electrifying clutch performance.

Sitting in third after the short, 19-year-old Kubicka had a terrible warm up, falling two or three times. With an Olympic berth on the line, he knew that Team USA had only qualified two men for the Innsbruck Games.

However after landing each successful triple jump in the final free skate (five in all) Kubicka's confidence soared.

Very much an example of the American style, his skating was smooth yet dynamic. Two years earlier, he made history when he became the first U.S. man to land the triple Lutz in competition.

His coaches, Evy and Mary Scotvold, were known for breaking the fast - slow - fast musical selection common to free program pacing. Instead, they allowed momentum to build which had the audience on its feet screaming as he ended the program.

Watch for a rare and unorthodox move: the back flip, deemed illegal after the 1976 Games, and only seen twice in eligible competition since.

The First Russian Baby Ballerina
Elena Vodorezova - 1978 World Championships

The Soviet Union was known for producing ice dance, pairs and men's champions. But never women. All of this changed in the mid-1970s with a cute little girl, who became skating's answer to Olga Korbut.

Threatening to steal the limelight from the medal favorites (Dorothy Hamill, Christine Errath and and Dianne de Leeuw), Vodorezova made a massive splash at the 1976 Olympic Winter Games.

Perhaps too young to feel the weight of expectation, the petite 12-year-old popped off difficult elements like they were nothing.

Two years later in Ottawa, she added more tricks and triples to her routine, including the rarely seen triple loop.

In a recent online skating poll Vodorezova's double Axel is still considered one of the biggest and most impressive of all time.

Vodorezova is passing the baton to a new generation of Russian rising stars. She is now the coach of three-time Russian national champion, Adelina Sotnikova.