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Reported by Emma Abraham

All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

[Originally published in Freestyle Volume 4, Issue 3, Oct/Nov 1994]

I wasnt sure whether I was really looking forward to Skate America inPittsburgh. The positives: I already knew and liked the city (which features agreat department store and no tax on clothing!), we had a suite at a veryreasonable rate, and Id see two skaters Id previously missed (Eric Millotand Oleg Tataurov) and a couple of my favorite Americans (Eldredge and Nielsen).The bad news: I hadnt done a major skating event since 1994 Nationals inDetroit (from which my health never really recovered), we were paying for moreroom nights than we needed to (since the Wednesday open practice at the CivicCenter never happened), and I really couldnt afford another trip. Oh well, atleast the last ones never stopped me.

Practices started bright and early on Thursday. Once we were able to find theproper entrance (as always, up a steep incline), we had no problems getting inand grabbing good seats. (Liz and my actual seats were meant to be in a corner,but more on that later). The first thing we noticed was how mature Michelle Kwanlooked, both physically and in terms of her skating. In her red velvet practicedress, she looked more like a young woman than a child. She seemed older thanIrina Slutskaya, who was actually her senior, who looked about 12. MarinaKielmann appeared to be about the age and size of the two teenagers puttogether, not to mention a whole lot blonder than when we had last seen her.Nicole Bobek was skating better than when wed seen her at the TOC, but onlymarginally--while her programs looked lovely on their initial, sans-jumps runthroughs, when she eventually tried the jumps, she was rarely very successful.Marie-Pierre Leray, while even more beautiful in person than on TV, wassimilarly unsuccessful in the air.

As ladies gave way to dancers, we got our first glimpses of several coupleswho quickly became new favorites: Marina Anissina & Gwendal Peizerat, andKati Winkler & Rene Lohse. The first, a French pair (she is Russian) hadlots of attitude (and he is stunning!). The latter, Germans, are both blonde andquite easy on the eyes, as well as being very good dancers. Opinion was moredivided on Stekolnikova/Kazarliga (coached by Dubova), who I thought atraditional Russian couple (albeit representing Kazakhstan): she with style andfire, he more subdued and supportive. I also saw great potential in theUkrainian couple, Maurak/Baranov; she in particular is tremendously vivaciousand has a great presence (and is the new Mrs. Zagorodniuk). Much as we liked thenew people, we continued to root for Punsalan/Swallow, whose work with IgorShpilband has brought them a long way from the dynamic (but technically ratherweak) skaters I first saw at Skate America 1989. Their edges are deeper, theirline better, their movements more graceful, even their speed is improving. Ithought theyd peaked at Nationals last year, but I was wrong.

At long last, mens practice came along, and with it our only chance to seethe short programs before that evenings competition. Much as I liked Todds"Bei Mir Bist Du Schon" OP at the Goodwill Games, I liked it evenbetter in Pittsburgh, although we saw little of it in practice as he skatedfirst of the group in practice and wasnt warmed up sufficiently to do acomplete run-through. Its stylish and snappy, with a breeziness Id notbefore seen from him. But the big surprise was Arens new program. As thestrains of "Stray Cat Strut" started, we all turned to each other andexclaimed, "How perfect!" We had privately voted for "Cest Moi"for him, but this was just as good. (He was introduced as "ArienNelson," who Karen decided was Ozzie and Harriets lost son, the one theynever mention.)

I dont remember much else of OP practice because of what followed: the menpracticed their free programs. We thought Todd was keeping "Chaplin,"since he had used it in St. Petersburg and had a new OP (not to mention that hewas wearing that costumes pants), but when the music started we realized ourerror. "Gettysburg" is the kind of moving, powerful program that Toddslacked since "Man of La Mancha" (I thought "Les Mis" neverlived up to its potential). But unlike the 1990 program, the power in this onecomes not only from good line, strong music and excellent jumps, but alsobeautiful flow, great edges (Igors input?), and superior expression. Allweek, I got goosebumps every time I saw the program. (I have a theory about mensfreeskates: programs can be beautiful, or original, or artistic, but unless theyrealso powerful, its difficult to win with them unless theyre skatedperfectly--and it still helps if someone else messes up. Arens "Rocketeer"is a case in point. Its quite lovely, but when he misses the jumps, theresnot enough left to carry it.)

My other favorite new program belonged to Viacheslav Zagorodniuk: theSorcerers Apprentice, skated in a close-fitting bronze mesh top and matchingvelvet pants, with a metallic headband accenting his striking face (hesgetting to be exceptionally good looking as he matures! Those cheekbones couldcut paper).

Of the other guys, I was amazed at how much less attractive I found MarcusChristensen on the ice as opposed to off-ice. When hes skating, his faceloses all animation, his mouth often hangs open, and he generally lookshalf-witted. Misha Shmerkin looked much stronger than he had at the Olympics;several times I thought he might pose a real threat, if not to the leaders, thento the third- and fourth- place guys. To return to the cheekbones department,Oleg Tataurov is another one not done justice by television: hes incrediblyattractive (okay, so Im shallow!).

The pairs field should have been the strongest of all, with three topcouples: Eltsova/Bushkov, Kovarikova/Novotny, and Shishkova/Naumov, in additionto Americans Stiegler/Travis and Ina/Dungjen, Canadians Menzies/Bombardier (heslong been a favorite of mine), and Ukrainians Beloussovskaya/Potalov. But thesurprise team was definitely the young Latvians, Bereznaya/Shliakhov. They donthave a lot of style yet, but their power was unmistakable in their side-by-sidejumps, their throws, but especially in their huge double twist, which threatenedto take out the scoreboard.

Amazing enough (for me), I was glad when the actual competition got underway. After a full day of En Vogue on the practice tape (and I used to like"Funky Divas"), I was ready for different music. Not to mentiontesting, under real competition pressure, my new note-taking device: amicrocassette recorder. With there being only the one day of practices beforethat evenings start of the competition, somehow Liz and I never got around tochecking our actual seats (although we did look at the section). We regrettedthis omission later. In the first of a series of moves that made us wonderwhether the organizing committee was new to figure skating, they only allowedpeople with practice passes to attend the compulsory dance. (Huh?) And at that,they kicked us all out of the seating area -- hour before the event to clean(which was acceptable in theory, but left a large crowd of people jammedtogether between the front doors and the turnstiles) but then didnt let usback in until the first warm-up group was on the ice (which was not acceptable).By the time we got to our seats, and found them replaced by a camera well,compulsories were starting. I had heard about the missing seat syndrome, butthis was my only first-hand experience. I went from annoyed to angry toballistic as we were first given the run around, eventually sent to the rightperson, then had to wait while they took approximately 20 minutes per person toexchange the tickets (even though the arena was at least 60% empty). Since theman ahead of me was reseated on the opposite side form that we had asked for, Ithreatened the life of the entire committee if they didnt keep me on thejudges side of the arena. But its amazing what youll forgive when youregiven front row center seats, and from our eventual perch immediately behindJudge #6, Liz and I felt quite magnanimous (despite missing the compulsories).We also were seated with a great group of people, and became the Todd Eldredgecheering section.

I should mention a bit about compulsories: the dance was the Yankee Polka,which I liked more than the garden-variety, more Old-World polka (although itwas hard to tell the difference from the costumes, many of which looked Bavarianin origin). It was still sprightly, energetic, and quite wearing after about thefirst three repetitions. But yes, I still love the compulsories: its the onlypart of the competition where you can really compare skating technique, asopposed to choreography, choice of music, etc.

Thursday evenings main events began with the pairs technical. The first ofthe top couples, Kovarikova/Novotny, turned in a mistake-free performance thatnonetheless didnt excite me. I thought it lacked any real spark. The crowdliked them, though. Shiskova/Naumov took themselves out of any hope of winningthe OP when Vadim fell out of the side-by-side jumps. I also found their spiralfootwork too contrived, and the whole just not up to the standard I expect fromthem. The young Latvians, skating to Michael Jackson, were indeed the crowdfavorites I had expected them to be, and also as expected the crowd didntlike their less-than-stellar marks. Ina/Dungjen had their share of misfortunes,when he fell on the side-by-side jumps, they lost their unison in the sit spins,and their speed just wasnt up to par.

Zago skated first of the men, not a good draw for one of the favorites. Iliked his "Sixteen Tons" program, and the costume of short-sleeved redshirt, black pants, and black and silver suspenders. Unfortunately, he checkedout of his opening triple axel combination, fell, and went into the boards. Ittook him a while to recover, and he doubled his next jump as well. Although hestill looked a little distracted, the footwork section was great, and hefinished strongly. Its nice to see Zago finding his own style; he looks lesslike Viktor Petrenko with each passing day. He had a lot to prove here in hisfirst major event since his World medal, and the 4.5-4.7 technical scores canthave been what he had in mind. The 5.4-5.5 artistic marks still showed that heis considered one of the top skaters, and has improved his presentation skills.(Im still torn about that bronze medal: happy as I am that he won it, I stillthink Alexei Urmanov outskated him in the free and should have taken third atWorlds).

Marcus Christensen, attired in black short-sleeve t-shirt and pants (a laKurt Browning) skated second. In practice and warm-up, hed showed a tendencyto keep getting worse as he went along--markedly worse when his music was beingplayed. He ran true to form by falling on his first jump (a triple toe, I think)in the OP. I thought the program, again a la Kurt in that it was bright andbreezy with a hands-in-pocket section, should have been skated with casualflair, but was instead performed ploddingly, and did very little for Marcus. Helooked sluggish and unsure of himself, and the program came off as quite boring.I decided that Marcus suffers from a total lack of on-ice charisma (or at leasthe did at this event).

Misha Shmerkin skated a program reminiscent of Danny Hollander with itsself-deprecating humor and easy charm. But again, the opening axel combinationwas his downfall (literally), and he had a very embarrassing fall during hisfootwork section. That the judges arent yet familiar with him was reflectedin the wide range of his technical scores, from 4.3 to 5.0. Artistic marks were5.1 to 5.6.

Eric Millot, dressed in black shirt and pants with a black-and-whitediagonally striped tie, also fell out of his opening triple axel. (He hasabsolutely the slowest axel entry Ive ever seen. He practically comes to adead halt.) His program had a casual elegance that only a Frenchman could carryoff. The extremely fast, intricate footwork that had tripped him up in practicewas beautiful, then he fell out of a flying spin right near the end (looked likea lapse in concentration). I thought his technical marks of 4.5-4.8 were alittle lower than necessary, but his 5.2-5.7 artistic marks were dead-on.

The second group of guys featured a lot of potential fireworks, as well asbeing an incredibly good looking group. (In fact, we remarked that all 9 guysmade an exceptionally beautiful field.) In warm-up, Aren kept wiping out in hisusual corner on his usual lutz (and glared at the ice in his usual manner). Theusual mind games that occur when a bunch of the top guys warm-up togetherhappened here: carefully-timed triples to elicit crowd reaction. Todd, asalways, kept practicing the axel even when it wouldnt come as a triple forhim. Oleg hadnt been practicing well all day, and didnt look better here,and Ronny Winkler was popping his jumps, so it looked like the dogfight would bebetween Todd and Philippe Candoloro. While Philippes jumps seemed consistent,he looked to be pushing harder. Todd was light as a feather, and made almost nosound on his landings. (Todd rarely falls any more in practice, after thecalamity in Phoenix. Instead, he pops. Im not sure thats good, but he doesseem to pull out the stops in the actual competition now.)

Candeloro was first out with (what else?) "The Godfather" in theusual cream shirt and striped pants. Although I was an early fan of Philippes(dating from "Conan" in Oakland), and had not seen this program inperson before, I was still tired of it. His opening triple axel (double toecombo) was huge, but so was its set-up. I hadnt noticed before, but he is oneof the least "easy" jumpers I have ever seen. Some guys make it lookeasy, Philippe doesnt. But he skated pretty cleanly (if you dont countsome sloppy spins) except for a triple lutz that was nearly a "Midori"as he stumbled out of it and almost went through the cut-out section of theboards. I thought, like I had in St. Petersburg, that both he and the programlooked tired, and the 5.2-5.4 technical marks reflected that. (He got two 5.7sand the rest 5.8 in presentation.)

Todd followed immediately, not a bad position considering Philippes sloppyskating. Although hed been loose all day, he looked tense when he took theice (in his usual yellow, black and red print shirt and black pants). He gotinto the program immediately, though, and pulled off his opening tripleaxel/triple toe beautifully. (Thered been some debate in my section aboutwhether hed attempt this, but Liz and I never doubted.) His first spin wasfast and clean, and he came out of it looking in complete control of hisprogram. The change camel was textbook, the next triple was huge, the footworkwas crisp, and the final spin saw the crowd already coming to its feet. It was apleasure to see him look so happy with the way he skated. If the 5.4 to 5.9technical marks were all over the board, they still left him solidly in first. (Artisticswere in the same range, with more at the high end.) Even nicer than seeing himwin was seeing him sell the program to the crowd, and watching them respond tohim.

Ronny Winkler had a tough act to follow, but his long line and elegance wasshowcased in an ice-blue-shading-to-indigo velvet costume, and his openingtriple lutz combo was completed, if not perfect. I loved his moody, dramaticmusic. Several smaller glitches were capped with a step out of his triple jump,putting him well down in the pack.

Oleg Tataurov proved that Alexei Urmanov isnt the only Russian withterrible clothes. His green costume, dubbed by Fran "The Lizard Suit,"was truly horrible. But far from being the jinx color its reputed to be, itdidnt seem to hurt his opening triple axel/double toe combination, which wasvery high. His program emphasized his strength less than previous programs had,and I feel hes still adjusting to this more-balletic approach. (As histraining partner Urmanov had to do a couple of years ago--I find it amazing theway the Russians try to develop their skaters technically AND artistically atthe same time. That so rarely happens here; some, like Elvis, Kurt and theBrians, develop from jumpers into artists, and others, like Paul Wylie,Sebastien Britten and Aren, are strong artistically and develop technicallylater). A fall in the footwork marred an otherwise pretty strong skate, and leftOleg in third (behind Todd and Philippe).

hoteles alojamiento BauskaArens costume was almost identical to Marcus, but this time it suitedthe skater as well as the program. We had wondered how Carol Heiss Jenkinsabsence would affect him (he was accompanied by his other coach, Glyn Watts).Although he fell on his opening triple axel, he kept right on going and neverlost the mood of the program. His lutz was clean, his footwork quick and cocky,and his double axel not very high, but completed. The self-assurance hesgained from Carol is standing him in good stead apparently, and he finished theOP still in contention in fourth place.

Friday morning began with mens practice, and our first look at Zagosfreeskate costume (described above). I was so impressed by the look (and thecheekbones) that I spent a great deal of time during his group just takingclose-ups. Philippe again looked tired and his practice didnt go well; Toddlooked perfect except for continuing problems with the axel. (Dont you justwant to drag him off the ice when he keeps trying it over and over?)

The original dance was the quick-step. My favorite music (and program) wasPunsalan/Swallows "It Dont Mean a Thing If It Aint Got ThatSwing." Their dance was fast and very intricate, and their costumesbeautiful: Jerod in a high-waisted tux with a soft pink bow tie that matched Lizshalter-neckline dress. Two pairs did "Cabaret," including Webster/Kravette,whom I usually like more than I did here. I found their quick-step a littledisjointed, quite slow, and not terribly impressive; she had most of the focus,and Rons usually strong skating was little in evidence. (Did I hear somethingabout an injury?) Theirs wasnt the only Broadway program: we also got"Hello, Dolly!" from the Kazakhstanis (dressed in black and white,sort of Tyrolean) and "Im Getting Married in the Morning" fromDubreuil/Morbacher. My second favorite, amazingly enough, was the same as thejudges: Anissina/Peizerats "Sing Sing Sing" skated in deep,metallic green with black, trimmed in silver. It was fast and had a lot ofattitude (love those French guys!) It didnt look as good in practice, butwhen they turned up the intensity level, it was gangbusters. I was lessenthralled with Winkler/Lohses Fred-and-Gingerish number (and especially herwedding dress), but the crowd disagreed with me. The young Ukrainians did theother "Cabaret," in very pretty costumes that didnt remotely gowith the music (she in a white, drop-waisted dress trimmed in pale pink and iceblue, which matched his vest worn under a black tux). Her animation very nearlysold an otherwise unremarkable performance.

Ladies technical was less than stellar: Angela Derochie stepped out of heropening jump and had badly spliced music (I guess Doug Ladrets no longerlending his expertise to the Canadian team), Nicole looked tense and skated thatway, Marina was fairly strong (but a long way from perfect) in herinterpretation of the syncopated music she used at Worlds, Marie-Pierre wasvivacious but inconsistent, and even the favorites, Surya and Michelle, haderrors. The only clean program was turned in by a nearly unheralded junior,Irina Slutskaya. She was a dynamo, powerful but not without the trademarkRussian grace.

Nerves were at the breaking point by Saturday. Having all four finals in oneday is way too intense. I spoke briefly to Todds parents that morning, andfound out that "Gettysburg" was a very new program, not yet totallyworked out, still "rough." Wow! I can hardly wait to see it inProvidence!

I found the pairs final less than riveting. There was a rumour that EvgeniaShishkova was ill, and she certainly skated without her usual precision.Although Eltsova/Bushkov werent exactly G&G, they were clearly goodenough to win. Kovarikova/Novotny seemed to fall apart, as they have severaltimes before. Wed seen her with a decent-sized gash in her leg the daybefore, but couldnt tell whether that contributed to their problems. Thecrowd seemed to be behind the Czechs, but they recognized the errors. Again,they booed the placement of the Latvians who, while powerful, were clearly notin the class of the medal winners (and their choice of music, "Where HaveAll the Flowers Gone," only emphasized their rough edges). Unfortunately,Menzies and Bombardier never really got it together. It looks to me like shesjust too big for him. Both Ina/Dungjen and Stiegler/Travis raised themselves oneposition in the freeskate, finishing 5th & 6th respectively.

The mens final got off to a good start, despite a rather lacklusterwarm-up which saw Misha and Zago landing most of their triples, and Marcus andRonny missing most of theirs. Misha was up first, in purple with white fringe,and landed his opening triple axel, and a triple lutz soon thereafter. A tripletoe completed the jumps in his opening section, and he also got histriple/double combination. The program also featured one of the better spiralsof the mens event. By the middle he was looking ragged, and he did finallyfall on a triple flip around the three-minute mark. He got it back togetherenough for a triple salchow, almost fell out of a flying sitspin, and then juststood there for the last 10 seconds of his music, which was only 4:13 long as itwas (shouldnt there be a substantial deduction for this?) His technical andpresentation marks were both mostly 5.3s.

Zago was next in his bronze. From the dramatic opening crouched low on theice, to the Nijinsky-like steps and arm movements of the opening, it was clearthat this would be another sort of performance entirely from Mishas fairlystrong, but pedestrian, program. Not that he wasnt strong too--the openingtriple axel was huge but controlled, and went right up into a double toe. Nosection was left unchoreographed; this program is a huge improvement over lastyears mishmash. A variation on the layback is skillfully woven in; every moveflows into the next and fits the music and story. A couple of the triples,including the lutz, werent perfect--but they were completed. One loop waspopped big-time, but he came right back to land his final triple. He stayed incharacter until the last second; even his obvious (but not excessive) fatiguewent with the program. I thought 5.3 to 5.7 technical marks were okay at thehigh end (5.3??), and the 5.3 to 5.8 artistic marks (all 5.5 and up except forone, amazingly enough NOT the same judge who gave him the 5.3 technically) stoodhim in good stead. If only he hadnt started the freeskate in 6th place...

Marcus was dressed in a burgundy velvet vest over a cream pirate shirt andblack pants, and skated to "Don Juan." He doubled his openingaxel/double toe, fell out of his next jump, lost his balance on a changespin--all within the first minute. He does have a lovely cross foot spin, whichhe unfortunately followed up with what Debi Thomas calls a "wowcow"- amajorly popped salchow. Even when he landed a jump, as he did occasionally, hehad no expression on his face, and basically looked the same as on the elementshe missed. His spread eagle into triple (something?) into spread eagle was nicebut done by rote, and the fact that he landed most of his jumps in the lastminute and a half was erased by a fall on the final jump. By his closing pose,with one knee on the ice and returning his sword to an imaginary scabbard,Marcus was totally defeated. His technical marks were 4.7-5.0, with 4.7-5.1 forpresentation.

Ronny was in a blousy bronze shirt and black pants, and had moreswashbuckling music. His first two triples were executed cleanly, if notspectacularly, then he doubled out on his flip. His slow section emphasized hisgood body line, and featured a beautiful double axel and more mock swordplay.The spirals, though, seemed too rushed (although the position was good). Onechange spin featured a layback, which I always love, then he double footed theopening lutz of a combination and finished without a lot of fanfare. His markswere 5.0-5.3 technically, with 5.1-5.3 for presentation.

Thank heavens for videotape, since I would else remember little from thesecond flight. Never before in the history of our little group have we allwanted the same man to win. Todd responded by ignoring the warm-up groupfireworks from Philippe and himself warmed up slowly, calmly, and withprecision. Actually, Eric looked about the best, as Oleg was very inconsistent(and looked tense) and Aren missed more than he hit. In the last 90 seconds,first Eric, then Oleg did clean axels, then Aren popped his into a single, thenTodd landed his, then Aren tried again and fell, then again and doubled. Webegan to wish Carol Heiss was there...

Philippe skated first, in his traditional "Godfather" black withhair slicked back. The opening triple axel/double toe was ragged, but he keptthe arrogant look in place throughout. The triple toe was clean, the death dropnothing to write home about, and when he fell out of his triple lutz, I began tosee the light at the end of the tunnel. Nothing had changed since St.Petersburg--he remained more consistent than he had been prior to last season,but not up to the standard hed set during the 1993-94 season. If his changespin wandered all over the ice, the audience didnt seem to notice. They didnotice where the Candeloro spin was meant to be--but were unsure as to whetherhed left it out on purpose, or just missed the entrance (it was deliberate).His technical marks of 5.6-5.8, and artistic of 5.8-5.9, definitely left alittle room for Todd, but not much.

Eric Millot, in high-waisted black pants, vest, and white shirt, and stringtie, opened his tango with his usual almost-coming-to-a-complete-stop tripleaxel, but it was high and clean. He added a triple toe to his triple lutz, andfollowed shortly thereafter with another triple/triple. The slow section wasvery expressive and very French, and featured a beautiful camel position veryreminiscent of Robin Cousins, and another combination that didnt come off aswell as the previous ones. He got back on track with his beautiful footworksection, and followed with a lovely triple lutz. He doubled one of his closingjumps, but it still looked okay, and although he was visibly tired, he foughtfor the program until the very end. It was the kind of strong showing Ericsbeen looking for for years, and I thought he should have finished in secondplace. Considering his success, 5.4-5.7 was low for technical, and the one 5.5for artistic as balanced by two 5.9s.

Aren had a new costume for "The Rocketeer" which shaded from verypale purple in the shoulder area, to darker near the blouson waist, to soliddeep purple pants. After the warm-up, we were none of us very optimistic, butthe slow opening gives nothing away. He immediately went down on the first axel,then almost into the boards on the lutz. The triple/double combination was veryshaky, and the second axel was popped in a big way. When he fell on his nexttriple--RIGHT in front of the judges--we knew it was over. I will say one thingfor him--he did keep going, and landed his next jump. There was none of thatdefeatism wed seen in earlier years. When he fell on his second triple lutz,and slid hard into the boards, he got quickly up and skated the end of theprogram just about as well as it could be skated, including a huge closingdouble axel. Somehow, he had a smile on his face at the end of it, and Ill beforever grateful to Carol and Glyn for effecting this change. The marks of4.9-5.2 technical were actually quite kind, but I thought the two 4,9s forpresentation (amongst 5.1-5.5s otherwise) were too harsh.

If I breathed at all while Todd skated, I couldnt swear to it. But I musthave, since I distinctly remember screaming several times, and I have theaudiotape to prove it. He wore his 1993 costume of red and green vest over whiteshirt and black pants (he hasnt decided on a costume yet). The goosebumpscame again with the opening poses and the extraordinary spiral, and only wentaway with the fall on the initial triple axel. Somehow I knew that wasnt it,though. The next triple, as well as the death drop, was huge, and the triplelutz showed that he was again in command of the program. The slow section, withits beautiful edges and figure-like sequence, looked like Igors influence tome, and closed with another spiral. The triple/double was perfect, the footworkcontrolled and precise. I love the movements and edges in the "Dixie"section, and I especially liked the huge triple axel/double toe he closed thatportion with. The ending is unbelievably strong (although the split flip eitherhas to improve or be jettisoned), and I scream every time he completes thedouble/triple. And I dont stop until the fantastic closing spin ends, and hetakes his bows. The whole trip was worth the smile on Todds face as heacknowledged the standing ovation. Todds one 5.5 for technical wasridiculous, with the other 5.7s and 5.8s more in line, but we still held ourbreath. Some quick addition from Liz when we got the 5.7-5.9 presentation rangegave us the answer we wanted.

We all felt sorry for Oleg (once we remembered that there was still anotherskater to go!), having to follow that emotion-laden performance. But everyonestill seemed to want him to do well; we were definitely spoiled by the severalgreat performances of the evening. Olegs teal costume (satin jacket, whiteshirt visible at throat and chest, velvet pants) WAS better than the OP costume,but not as flattering as the plain black hed worn in practice. From hisopening pose, you knew it was to be another classical performance, and he seemsto have the ballet background to carry it off. But he always seems to fade inthe freeskate, and despite his opening triple axel, he did so again here. Thetriple lutz was stepped out of, he fell on his second triple axel, and stumbledon another triple. I liked the broken-leg sitspin, even though it could beimproved, and in fact several of his combination spins (while slow) showed someoriginality and interesting positions. He began to slow down noticeably in thefinal minute, and looked relieved when it was all over. His marks were 5.2-5.5for technical and up to 5.6 for presentation.

We floated out of the arena to try to find something to eat in the 90-minutebreak. Unfortunately, so did everyone else, so all nearby restaurants werejammed. Thank heavens for the refrigerator in our suite! Karen and I also spentsome time relaying the news to friends not in attendance. Then it was back forthe balance of the finals.

With all the tension gone, we could enjoy the freedance. The Canadians did ahoe-down, not very well and in costumes rather uglier than their practice ones,and finished in last place. Ron and Amys "Chorus Line" went overwell with the crowd, was well-skated with lots of energy, and although theyseemed to miss a couple of holds, for marks they got technical 4.6-5.0 andartistic 4.7-5.0. It was only 3:48 long, shorter than theyd rehearsed it, andthey finished 6th place overall. The Ukrainians skated to "HarlemNocturne" in interesting cut-out red and black costumes; they continued toshow a lot of potential and got 4.7-5.0 and 4.6-5.2, finishing 6th in thefreedance and 7th overall.

The final group seemed to be "redheads in red" as both MarinaAnissina and Elizaveta Stekolnikova met those qualifications. Jerod andElizabeth, in their floral prints and black, caused quite a stir when he fellabout 30 seconds into the program; we soon saw that a stirrup on his pants hadcome undone and tripped him. The referee allowed a restart, and they seemed tofairly fly through the program to take a well-deserved first place.

The Kazakhstanis started out with a waltz, which suited their classicallooks. The segue into a tango (actually, the same music Eric used) was good, andtheir deportment authentically haughty. It seemed like they were attempting toincorporate every kind of music, as their next section was "Smile" (asin Jerry Lewis), followed by (No! Not that music!) Chaplin. I marvelled at theeasy way they changed holds and music (which, I imagine, is what I was meant todo). Elizaveta has a great sense of presence and style; Dmitri has greatpotential (and hair), but needs more attitude (and a good haircut). Their thirdplace finish was somewhat controversial, as many preferred the Germans.

Winkler and Lohse were reminiscent of other Germans, Woetzel/Steuer, both inlooks and music choice (similar to "Basic Instinct"). If their OP wasFred & Ginger, the central section of the freedance was Bogie & Bacallas they skated to "As Time Goes By" and got 5.1-5.3 and 5.2-5.4 tofinish fourth.

Our favorite Frenchies, Anissina and Peizerat, skated to French-soundingmusic (its a trend!), and had just the sort of overstated posturing and"attitude" that Dick Button found lacking in Eric. Gwendal had a lotto do, and was quite good at "striking the pose" himself, so Marina inno way overpowered him. I hope to see a LOT more of them in the future. They maynot be QUITE as technically proficient as Moniotte/Lavanchy (in fact, they had asmall slip near the end of their program), but their marks of 5.2-5.6 showedthat the judges found them worthy of serious consideration. They finished insecond place.

Ludmilla Ivanova led off for the ladies, and had several problems with jumps(and wore that semi-transparent white that the Russians seems to have aninexhaustible supply of). The Canadian contingent showed up in force to cheer onAngela Derochie, and Marcus helped hold up the large Canadian flag. They didntmake as much noise as I was used to from Kurt, Slipper & Herbie, though.Angelas red dress was rather unremarkable, as was her program, beginning with"You Ought to Be in Pictures" into "Thats Entertainment."She doubled most of her jumps, and completed the Canadian sweep of last place ineach event.

I must admit to watching Todd cheer on his favorite as much as I watchedNicole herself, who looked stunning in a high-necked, highly-beaded royal bluecostume with a more mature look highlighted by upswept hair (she seems to be"Nicole" rather than "Bobie" now). Her "LarasTheme" program was beautiful, if not beautifully skated. She certainlylooks more fit than she did over the summer, and seems to be moving in the rightdirection. It remains to be seen whether the move to Richard Callaghan will payoff for her. (At least, she and Todd seem to be great friends, and that shouldbenefit both. If he loosens up a little, and she trains a little harder...) Atany rate, her spiral remains the best in the world. If she was disheartened bythe marks of 4.8-5.3 and 5.0-5.4, the favorable commentary from Dick and Peggyon ABC shouldve made her feel better.

Marie-Pierre Leray was beautiful in a pink floral top, with skirt and sleevesof deep purple trimmed in pink. Thanks to Nicoles disastrous program, shemanaged to move up a place in the freeskate, despite a far-from-perfect programwith three major falls. Her gypsy music gave her plenty of opportunities toflirt with the audience, which she did to great effect.

In the last group, Marina Kielmann opened in a sophisticated black halterdress, hair swept to one side, and more highly-percussive dance music. Afterlanding her opening jump, she fell on the next one, for no apparent reason. Therest of her program was similarly erratic, but enough to keep her in fourthplace. (I love the free-leg foot position in her layback).

Surya Bonaly was striking in red (and actually wore tights all week, untilexhibitions). She landed her jumps, made no major errors, and left the outcomeup to the kids, Michelle and Irina. Since ABC covered the ladies freeskate quiteadequately, Ill just say that Michelle seems to be more than living up to herpromise, and Irina showed a lot of guts. The Russian looked very young in herpeasant costume, and it seemed that the pressure had gotten to her as she wasunable to land the vast majority of her jumps, and actually fell several times.Whispers of "Laetitia Hubert" were heard all around as the crowd feltsorry for her plight, but she kept right at it, and actually finished strongerthan she had begun, to a tremendous ovation from the crowd. I expect greatthings from her in the future.