Top Ten Greatest Female Figure Skaters of All Time

We've crunched the numbers. We've pored over the record books. We've reviewed history. And now we reveal our top 10 ladies skaters of all-time.
The Top Ten
1 Yu-Na Kim

As a Korean and also a figure skating fan, I fell in love with Yuna's skating. The way she captivated the audience with her skating was amazing. Her jumps and techniques are also textbooks. She also has artistry. The grace, elegance in her skating cannot be described. And that's not it she was the first and only women figure skater to never finish off the podium. She is the best figure skater of all time.

She brought me into figure skating and changed my view as a sport fan. She showed me that there is no boarders when it comes to rooting for someone in the sport no matter where he comes from, because how can you not appreciate something so obviously talented and great when you watch her skating. She has a special place in my heart forever.

2 Adelina Sotnikova

Haha at her being tops in this. Her mother must have made 1000 alternate accounts and voted on all 1000 of them everyday or something. Everybody knows her Olympic Gold was the biggest joke win in history. And she did nothing else in her career, not even a grand prix final medal, European title, or regular grand prix win despite having the talent to do these things easily, since she is such a head case except for skating pretty good Olympic bronze worthy performances in Sochi, everywhere else flopping. Then wimped out and dissapeared rather than trying to show she wasnt a fluke and maybe deserved her undeserved Oly Gold, and wasnt a total 1 hit wonder.

3 Katarina Witt

People talk about her artistry but forget from 82-85 she was arguably the best jumper in the world, outside of young Ito. She did the first ever triple flip, she had triple loop, triple toe, triple salchow, a double lutz-triple toe combination and double flip-triple toe combination which were really hard for the time. Only at the end when younger generations who were being trained for post figures, and when her body changed, did she fall behind athletically.

She is only up there if you judge results only, and not skating. Skating wise she isn't anywhere near the top all time, as much as I respect her as a competitor and star. Perhaps the best competitor ever though.

4 Michelle Kwan

No doubt it's Michelle the moved so soft on ice. Her landing standing pose were perfection. I have not seen any girl come close to how she jumps with such elegance to the landing. Her hand and the way they flow thru the music. She takes you on a journey to her world when she skates. She's truly phenomenal her perseverance is truly magical and astonishing. No one else in the world of figure skating stuck around trying and trying but along the way she kept on proving that she is the best. I'm kinda glad she didn't win because we wouldn't have alll those times she skated on ice with such grace and power. She wouldn't have inspired us and I'm sure she would have retired just like the rest of the past Olympic champion. To many she's an Olympic gold winner already. I mean who's to say that those judges judged the wrong winner. A sport should not be judged , it should be then judged by the audience who the real winner is. The one that captivates everyone's heart. Michelle Kwan is my three time Olympic gold medal I don't care what anybody says. She is the figure skating.

5 Evgenia Medvedeva

Integrates both Art and Emotion as well as Skill and Technics into all of her programs. All programs are beautiful and entertaining. A true inspiration for others and Truly the Greatest!

She is the true figure skating that lived of all time and made so many world records for the free skate and the short program.

Her artistry and ability to convey emotions in the program are amazing. You can watch her skating forever

6 Mao Asada

I respect her so much since she tried to take risks she didn't have to take to win, and it even hurt her sometimes. She wanted to push the sport forward. She is one of the most beautiful artistic skaters out there, yet pushed things with triple axels and difficult triple-triple combos from when she was 14. Incredible champion and skater. in my opinion underappreciated in part since she was in the shadow of her rival, the great Yu Na Kim. In any other era she would be the standout.

Way underrated. Come on behind Witt and Kwan, get real people. If she skated in eras that weak she would have 8 world titles. She didn't win more since flawed rules didn't give her credit for things like the triple axel, since she is underscored in PCS, especialy vs Yu Na and the Russians, and since she skated in an era with such tough competition.

7 Sonja Henie

3 consecutive Olympic gold medals during a streak of 10 consecutive World Championships. Both feats that have never been matched. And I don't care what year it was. Kim, Witt, Kwan & Yamaguchi...none of them have more than 2 Olympic medals and only 2 golds between the four of them. How does Sonia Henie not rank as #1 every single time. And I don't care about what year it was or the level of competition. Every Olympian in history has faced equal level opponents in that year's Olympics.

Nobody has ever done 80 revolutions. Sonja was born to skate and had the wealth to do it.

8 Kristi Yamaguchi

She is perfection. Ever the rare fall she can make look planned with precision. She is the original 6.0 girl than 10.0 Michelle Kwan is 2nd for continuous excellence. Tara Lapinski won gold from Michelle with the luck of of a triple loop double toe to which she skated off with a gold and was never to be heared from again untill she and Johnny Weir teamed up to be "Sports Reporters" but rather look like judges on some reality T.V. show discussing fashion; which based on Tara's recent hoochie mama off the shoulder hot pink dress looked like something out of a prom night horror show.

9 Alina Zagitova

I had never seen a skater that personifies a ballerina like she does, if she wins another Olympic gold, watch out! Greatest ever!

Olympic champion. Beautiful girl, beautiful programs.

Alina Zagitova is a awesome skater and by doing all those jumps she should be quite good

10 Yulia Lipnitskaya

Even though Julia doesn't skate anymore I still admire her. The way she skates to the music shoes so much raw emotion. In 2014 when she won her gold medal I was blown away as at the time she was only 15. I hope she's doing great and she's taking care of herself.

Just an incredible figure skater who conquered the audience at the Olympic Games in Sochi 2014. Her beauty, the ability to convey feelings are worth a lot. Julia is beautiful, a very charming and pleasant figure skater

The Contenders
11 Irina Slutskaya

She had a lot of success but was in a pretty weak era where she had no real competition except Michelle Kwan most of the way, and still didn't achieve as much as she could, choking away golds at the 97, 2000, and 2001 worlds, and 2002 and 2006 Olympics. Inflated on this list to even be top 10ish. Despite that she has more medals I would put her even behind someone like Carolina Kostner in Europe.

She performed for a long time, but we all remember her. One of the first women who glorified Russian women's singles skating. Jumped the most difficult cascade 3Lz + 3Lo, won the World and European championships

12 Carol Heiss
13 Chen Lu
14 Peggy Fleming
15 Dorothy Hamill
16 Herma Szabo

5 straight world titles and an Olympic Gold in ladies. 3 straight world titles in pairs. Truly the best overall womens skater ever.

17 Tonya Harding

It seems impossible how she did the triple axel!

She had to overcome a lot. I'm happy for her.

She always skated with such power.

18 Kaetlyn Osmond

Silver medalist world champion. Vote her in the top ten!

She is amazing! She deserves to be in the top 10!

19 Carolina Kostner

Beautiful skater to watch. Not the most consistent when it comes to the technical ability, but always a beauty to watch. And when she puts it together, gorgeous!

20 Sasha Cohen

The only thing that surpassed her beauty on the ice is her actual beauty. If we're talking Artistic wise probably the greatest ever, the jumping craze not included as it wasn't her strong suit

Many skaters can jump but only Sasha was really a ballerina on ice, she had the best positions and lines.

She was a true artist.

The most artistic skater ever. As Piggy Felming said she never hit a bad position.

21 Midori Ito

Her triple axels recorded on videos still seem the best of all the ones tried by female skaters. Amazing athleticism.

22 Surya Bonaly

In my unworthy opinion - The sport made a mockery of itself when it turned a cold shoulder to this unprecedented talent and exciting creative force. All great sports evolve and by doing so retain and even gain relevance. By ignoring an innovator of this once-in-a-century caliber the sport loses.

Should have a closet full of Olympic gold medals and other awards.

She is the best the world has ever seen even if no one approves it!

23 Oksana Baiul

She isn't that good. It should be clear by now she was a flash in the pan success, boosted by a bit of overhype of her abilities at the time due to the excitement of her youth and X factor appeal.

Her performance at her peak mesmerized the audience. We all sat with mouth agape watching genius...

Dazzling performer, her skating was simply stunning to me..
My favorite of all time...

24 Elizaveta Tuktamysheva

It has been in the top for many years. She is already 25 years old, but still this figure skater is still on top. This girl is definitely admirable

25 Gracie Gold
8Load More
PSearch List