The Battle of the Carmens is an informal name given to a

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

rivalry between East German

Katarina Witt Katarina Witt (, ; born 3 December 1965) is a German former figure skater. A two-time Olympic champion, Witt is regarded as one of the greatest ladies' singles figure skaters of all time. Her Laureus profile states "she is remembered most for ...

and American

Debi Thomas Debra Janine Thomas (born March 25, 1967) is an American former figure skater and physician. She is the 1986 World champion, the 1988 Olympic bronze medalist, and a two-time U.S. national champion. Her rivalry with East Germany's Katarina Witt ...

during the

1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games (french: XVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Calgary 1988 ( bla, Mohkínsstsisi 1988; sto, Wîchîspa Oyade 1988 or ; cr, Otôskwanihk 1998/; srs, Guts� ...

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

. The competition is so named because both Witt and Thomas independently elected to skate to the music of

Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', which has become on ...

's opera ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the ...

'' in their respective long programs. Both skaters had performed very well at the 1987

World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships (''"Worlds"'') is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the categories of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. ...

(Witt won, with Thomas placing a close second), so it was expected that the duel for Olympic gold in 1988 would constitute a showdown between these two women. The Battle of the Carmens was one of two such "battles" at the 1988 Winter Olympics, the other being the "

Battle of the Brians The Battle of the Brians was an informal name given by the press to the figure skating rivalry between Canada, Canadian Brian Orser and United States, American Brian Boitano at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Calgary. This competiti ...

." Heading into the long program, which was worth 50% of the total score, Thomas was in first place (she placed second in compulsory figures and second in the short program) and Witt was in second place (she placed third in compulsory figures and first in the short program). However, both Thomas and Witt had underwhelming free skates. Despite omitting one of the more challenging jumps in her already technically inferior program, Witt skated well enough for the gold, but Thomas made significant mistakes in three of her planned jumps and placed 3rd overall in the competition.

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Elizabeth Manley Elizabeth Ann Manley, CM (born August 7, 1965) is a Canadian former competitive figure skater. She is the 1988 Olympic silver medallist, the 1988 World silver medalist and a three-time Canadian national champion. Early life and training Manley ...

won the silver medal over Thomas. The only standing ovations given were to Elizabeth Manley and

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

skater Midori Ito, both of whom skated clean long programs which were more technically difficult than either Witt's or Thomas's long programs.

References

*TSN
1988 Olympic highlights
*The Times

Carmen Sports rivalries 1988 in figure skating Figure skating at the 1988 Winter Olympics Figure skating in East Germany Figure skating in the United States {{Olympics-stub

See also

References