Irina
wins Worlds;
comeback is Golden
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|
Irina
Slutskaya
|
March
19, 2005
Irina
Slutskaya found the best cure for her long road back
from a heart ailment the past two years is by winning
the World Championship in her home country.
Slutskaya
had to miss the 2003 Worlds, placed 9th last year
while still recovering from a career-threatening disease,
and found enough strength to skate through three grueling
programs in less than a week for her second World
Championship that was held in Moscow. She also accumulated
her highest score of the season, despite receiving
a penalty for doing an extra triple loop.
This gold medal is probably the dearest to me in all
my collection," Slutskaya said, clutching the
medal as she tried to explain how she felt."
Slutskaya
won her qualifying round and was first in the short
and free skate to win by a comfortable margin over
silver medalist Sasha Cohen. Slutskaya built her point
totals in every matchup with Cohen. Slutskaya's final
margin of victory was 222.71 points to 214.39 for
Cohen.
She
hit seven clean triple jumps, including a triple Lurz-triple
loop that brought back memories of her golden days
in 2000. "I really believed in myself,"
she said. "I felt I could do it because I was
jumping great in warm-up and made great jumps throughout
the training sessions.
"I
felt so confident I did the extra loop. They penalized
me but luckily that didn't take out too many points.
I think if I didn't do it, I could have scored more
points." Her routine to piano pieces by Croatian
and Japanese composers scored 130.10 points.
After
each program Slutskaya was breathing heavily. But
her training helped endure the hard week and the crowd
showed their appreciation with a standing ovation
when Slutskaya finished her freeskate and was recognized
as the World Champion.
Slutskaya
recalled her health problems that began in November
2003.
"I
would not call it a low point," Slutskaya said.
"You don't have a choice. [If] you have a sickness,
you have a sickness. I hope I will serve as a good
role model to people who feel bad and have no faith
in themselves, in case they have no faith in recovering.
I hope my example will prove anything is possible
and they can find a way out in any situation.
"I'm
happy because it's so difficult to come back so many
times, to suffer so many misfortunes," continued
Slutskaya, who also missed the 2003 World Championships
because her mother was ill. "Let's live to the
Olympics!"
Japan's
Fumie Suguri finished fifth, which was quite a feat
after finishing 10th in the short program. Elena Sokolova
of Russia was seventh and Julia Sebestyen of Hungary
finished 12th.
Irina
leads after short;
closes in on World title
March
18, 2005
Irina
Slutskaya led the short program at figure skating's
world championships Friday, taking another strong
step toward the world championship despite continuing
heart problems.
Before
her program began, Slutskaya appeared to be breathing
heavily as she stood at the edge of the rink and was
clearly tired afterward. "It's a big load,"
she said afterward. "I feel really tired."
Still,
the Russian's program to tango music was full of verve,
with an especially elaborate series of steps and only
one serious technical slip when she barely held the
opening triple lutz. She recovered and added a double
toe loop instead of the double loop she had planned.
Slutskaya was out last season because of an inflamed
heart lining. She still takes medication for the problem
and uses an inhaler to help increase oxygen to her
bloodstream.
There was also the burden of expectations. "I
am a Russian and I feel the pressure," she said.
Japan's
Fumie Suguri is eighth.
Last
year's European champion, Hungarian Julia Sebestyen,
struggled to find her form because of illness, taking
an early tumble and sliding out of medal contention.
"Now
I am very sick (with flu) and I have to fight all
the way through," she said.
The
medals will be decided after Saturday's free skate.
Plushenko
withdraws;
Weir finishes fourth
March
17, 2005
Defending
champion Evgeni Plushenko withdrew from the World
Figure Skating Championships on Thursday because of
a groin injury.
Johnny Weir, who also battled with injuries throughout
the week and almost withdrew in qualifying on Monday,
finished fourth, only three points shy of his first
World medal.
It was a tough day for the top men skaters. Weir,
a two-time U.S. National Champion, finally ran out
of steam near the end of his program and just held
on.
My
"foot is black and blue and very tired and shaking,"
Weir said. "You could see I started to get very
tired on the step sequence at the end. I fell on the
circular steps (and) the jumps weren't all that sure.
It is quite obvious I am not feeling my best right
now in the foot."
Weir’s circular stepwork that was supposed to
end in a double Axel ended in a slip. He two-footed
a double flip that was scheduled to be a combination
late in the program.
"More than anything I am just proud of myself
that I got through all three phases of the competition,"
he said. "I didn't totally embarrass myself.
I think now I am finally a true champion. Skating
is very hard for me right now. Going into the competition
knowing I am not perfect is very difficult for me.
I did the best I could and that is all I ask for right
now."
Plushenko has been battling injuries almost all season.
He won the World Championship last season with a torn
meniscus in his knee. It didn't require surgery in
the off-season.
"We took a decision that it was necessary to
withdraw and better prepare and recover for the next
season, because it will be the main season in my career
-- the Olympic Games," Plushenko told Russia's
Channel One television.
Plushenko
earlier complained of several ailments and insufficient
practice. He said he began training for the worlds
only two weeks ago.
Plushenko
fell on his opening quad toe loop in Tuesday's short
program and was in third place behind Switzerland's
Stephane Lambiel and Brian Joubert of France.
Plushenko's withdrawal ended Russian skaters' chances
of sweeping the titles on home ice and endangered
their chances of securing three men's slots for the
2006 Turin Olympics.
Totmianina
& Marinin
win Gold in Moscow
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|
Tatiana
Totmianina & Maxim Marinin/ Photo
by Alexander Demianchuk
|
Totmianina
& Marinin repeat as Champions
March
16, 2005
Tatiana
Totmianina and Maxim Marinin have won their second
straight World Championship at Moscow.
The
gold medal capped a remarkable comeback. The victory
came just five months after Totmianina fell on her
head at Skate America in Pittsburgh. She was unconscious
for several minutes.
The
crowd favorites skated a near-perfect romantic program
to Rimsky-Korsakov’s ballet "Scheherezade".
They
both appeared more overwhelmed than triumphant at
the end of their program. The raised their hands to
their faces and took several seconds before acknowledging
the cheers.
The
Russians personal best scores, under the new Code
of Points system, for total (198.49), short program
(70.12) and free skate (128.37). They were over 10
points better than fellow countrymen Maria Petrova
and Alexei Tikhonov.
Controversy
filled the morning practice session when China’s
Hao Zhang collided with Totmianina.
"I
was standing still with my back to the Chinese guy
when suddenly I was thrown 180 degrees in the air
and fell to the ice," said Totmianina. Wednesday’s
incident left Totmianina shaken. "I don't know
if it (collision) was premeditated, I hope not, but
I must say when I hit the ice it was very painful.
It was not a pleasant feeling."
Hao
and Dan Zhang finished third. Hao he sent apologies
to Totmianina, claiming it was an unintentional.
Oleg
Vasilyev, Totmianina’s coach, disagreed.
"I
can't say for sure that they did it on purpose but
the Chinese pair was very aggressive throughout the
practice skate," Vasilyev, the 1984 Olympic pairs
champion, told Reuters. "I think they specifically
targeted Tatiana because of her head injury, trying
to intimidate her. It wasn't very sportsmanlike on
their part."
Slutskaya
leads qualifying group
March
16, 2005
Irina
Slutskaya was first in Qualifying Group A and Fumie
Suguri was second. In Group B, Elena Sokolova was
third and Julia Sebestyen sixth at the World Championships
at Moscow Wednesday.
On
the ice, Slutskaya was energetic and assured, showing
no indication of the heart-lining inflammation that
she's been fighting for two years, her only notable
errors being two step-outs. The Russian skater's program,
loaded with difficult and numerically valuable elements,
showed familiarity with the scoring system.
Slutskaya
completed five triples.
"In
principle I'm satisfied, but I can do better,"
Slutskaya said.
Plushenko
in third after short program
 |
 |
| Evgeni
Plushenko |
Johnny
Weir |
March
15, 2005
Defending
World champion Evgeni Plushenko is in third place,
Johnny Weir seventh and Timothy Goebel 14th following
the short program at Tuesday’s World Championships
at Moscow.
Plushenko
trails Switzerland’s Stephane Lambiel by seven
points and is 1.4 points behind second place Brian
Joubert of France.
Plushenko
has battled groin, hip and back ailments this season.
He has limited his competitive schedule due to the
ailments.
Plushenko
missed his quad but completed his remaining jumps
in an otherwise excellent program.
"I
have been back on the ice for only two weeks and I
am in bad, bad, bad condition," Plushenko said.
"But I have to skate here in Moscow. "When
you are in such a condition, you could always expect
a bad thing to happen and (Tuesday) I fell on the
quad. However, given the circumstances, I am satisfied
with my performance. It is not too bad for such little
training time."
Weir
fell on his first jump, a triple Axel. He has an ailing
left landing foot. The injury, sesamoiditis, required
two injections of lidocaine before the qualifying
round and is a recurring ailment since 1999.
Sesamoiditis
causes pain in the ball of the foot, especially on
the inner (medial) side. The pain may be constant,
or it may occur with or be aggravated by, movement
of the big toe joint.
"I
felt good besides my foot," Weir said. "As
long as I didn’t think about it I was close to
100 percent. I’m very bruised today. It hurts
coming down from the jumps. Still, it’s no excuse
for the fall on the triple Axel. I feel disappointed
in myself."
Weir
was the recipient of a judging calculation error that
was detected and corrected six hours after the completion
of the qualifying event. He was pushed from sixth
to seventh and into the second group of skaters for
the short program.
"At
this point in the season and in my career I should
be able to handle everything. It didn’t affect
me," Weir said. "I’ve always been a
firm believer in the professionalism of the judges
and referees and the skaters. I think you get what
you even if it’s several hours later. It’s
(placements) not something that I’m into that.
My placements don’t mean the world to me –
it’s more about the quality of the programs."
The
scoring system's possibility for error came to light
when it was noticed that Li was given zero points
for a spin. The complicated new system -- aimed at
reducing judges' subjectivity and potential for corruption
-- assigns each element a numerical value. The judges
then rate how the routine was executed.
Goebel
just missed the landing his quadruple-triple toe in
the opening of his short program and fell. He hit
the remaining triple jumps. "The quad I thought
I had. I just sat down on it. But I’m planning
on doing two more in the final," Goebel said.
"Obviously
I’m very disappointed I missed the quad. I’m
hitting them very consistently in practice, and I
felt really good n the warm-up. I don’t know,
maybe it’s a matter of confidence. Obviously,
I just need to hit the combination."
Grushina
& Goncharov
win Bronze at Worlds
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|
Elena
Grushina & Rulan Goncharov /
photo by Ivan Sekretarev
|
March
18, 2005
Ukraine's
Elena Grushina & Ruslan Goncharov won their first
World medal, a Bronze, at the World Figure Skating
Championships held in Moscow.
Skating
to “Air” by Johann Sebastian Bach and “Four
Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi, the husband-and-wife
team produced beautiful lifts. The reigning European
silver medalists received 109.48 points (45.69/63.79)
for their romantic program. They earned the bronze
medal with a total score of 213.95 points.
“We’re very happy with bronze, although
we had hoped for more, of course”, Goncharov
said. “This was a hard won medal for us. There
have been seasons before where we could have been
on the podium, and it was a long wait for us, and
this makes the medal three times as valuable to us.”
Grushina
and Goncharov were in third after the original dance.
They also were in third after the compulsory dance
earlier in the week.
Grushina
& Goncharov third
in compulsory dance
 |
| Elena
Grushina & Ruslan Goncharov/ Photo
by Dushenka |
Grushina
& Goncharov third in original dance
March
17, 2005
Ukraine's
Elena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov are in third after
the original dance. They also were in third after
the compulsory dance earlier in the week.
In
the compulsory dance, reigning European silver medalists
Grushina & Goncharov, who had drawn to skate in
the first of six warm up groups for the compulsory
dance, set the standard with a strong “Midnight
Blues”.
The
husband-and-wife team received 41.30 points (18.76/22.54).
“We
do not think about the starting order at all, we just
want to show our best. I do not think the order matters
in the compulsory dance, although it could be different
in the other events”, Grushina said.
“Of
course we would like to win our first World medal,
but the competition is very tough this year.”
The
free dance is Friday.
Schedule
*All times are Moscow time
March
14, Monday
10 a.m. Men, Qualifying Free Skating A/B
2 p.m. Men, Qualifying Free Skating B/A
7 p.m. Pairs, Short Program
March
15, Tuesday
1:30 p.m. Ice Dancing, Compulsory Dance
7 p.m. Men, Short Program
March
16, Wednesday
10 a.m. Ladies, Qualifying Free Skating A/B
2 p.m. Ladies, Qualifying Free Skating B/A
7 p.m. Pairs, Free Skating
10:45p.m. Pairs, Victory Ceremony
March
17, Thursday
1 p.m. Ice Dancing, Original Dance
7 p.m. Men, Free Skating
10:45 p.m. Men, Victory Ceremony
March
18, Friday
1:30 p.m. Ladies, Short Program
7 p.m. Ice Dancing, Free Dance
11 p.m. Ice Dancing, Victory Ceremony
March
19, Saturday
1:30 p.m. Ladies, Free Skating
5:15 p.m. Ladies, Victory Ceremony
March
20, Sunday
3 p.m. Exhibition Gala
7:30 p.m.
