Figure Skating: What's the News?

[vagansmom]

I've been so busy that until this morning I didn't even realize the Winter Olympics are just around the corner. Since I wasn't able to stay abreast of the figure skating world last year, I was hoping that some of you folks could enlighten me about who's who in figure skating as of this fall. Who's peaking? Who isn't? Who's injured? Who's new? Any wild cards? Any retirees?

[carbro]

And what's up with Sarah Hughes? Is she back in competition, or focusing on her college career?

[richard53dog]

I've been so busy that until this morning I didn't even realize the Winter Olympics are just around the corner. Since I wasn't able to stay abreast of the figure skating world last year, I was hoping that some of you folks could enlighten me about who's who in figure skating as of this fall.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, it's not the Olympics for sure, but wll reveal a lot of what's currently going on, at least in the US, Skate America starts today (or tomorrow, maybe)

Richard

[canbelto]

I predict a rather weak year for pairs and ice dance. Remember 2002, with Sale/Pelletier and Berezhnaya/Sikhraulidze duking it out? This year there arent many compelling pairs. Zhen/Zao are injured, for one. The Russian pairs do not come near the artistry of B&S, or past great Russian pairs.

The men will be interesting. Evgeny Plushenko has suffered a string of injuries but if he's "on" he'll be unbeatable.

The real drama is with the women. I personally think it's over for Michelle Kwan. She hasn;t added to her program in years. She's a pretty consistent skater but nowadays that's all she is. Her programs have slowly but surely shed any interesting choreography. I hope that Sasha Cohen can get her nerves in check, because if she's "on" she'll also be unbeatable.

[dirac]

We’ve had figure skating threads in the past, especially during Olympic years, and they’re fine, but I’d like to note a few guidelines as the season gets underway.

There are figure skating boards where they get into the brutal nitty-gritty of rule changes, who’s injured, who’s not, etc., and we can discuss those things, but please keep it general, focusing more on performances than arcana of the sport. (Obviously people will refer to historical performances and other details, but I hope you get the idea.) That is, do try to keep in mind that this is a ballet board frequented by some people who also like skating and not the reverse. (And please avoid nicknames for skaters that skate fans would recognize but nonfans might not.) I’m sure Helene and others will report to us from nationals and on television broadcasts (who knows, maybe I will, too).

I believe Kwan is out with a ligament injury and I suspect we’ll not see her before nationals. When last I checked, Hughes was toying with the idea of a return but isn’t going to do so.

Cohen is a fine skater, although no particular favorite of mine, and she’ll always contend. I used to get fed up with Kwan-worship in her peak years, but in some ways I admire her more now. Slutskaya is another skater who’s grown on me with time, and if she wins a bunch of stuff this season I won’t cry about it.

[vagansmom]

Thanks, dirac, for refocusing. I'm really not looking for gossip but for the kind of info you folks have just supplied.

I'm always especially interested in Sasha Cohen because of her gorgeous line. I dearly wish that she'll attain the consistency of a Kwan. I hope too that with continuing maturity, the choreography for her will have depth and breadth. I fear that she'll get into a rut and focus too much on just a few elements - those she's already presented to us. While beautiful, she is capable of so much more.

[dirac]

I forgot to add to my previous post in response to richard53dog's heads up about Skate America that Cohen is injured, too -- don't know how serious it is.

I'd like to see Cohen try more adventurous music selections. I admire her flexibility but wish she would focus more on what the blade is doing on the ice as opposed to being as stretchy as possible. (Though, to give her credit, she has been working on that.)

[Helene]

Cohen (contusion and laceration on her hip, http://www.usfigureskating.org/event_story.asp?id=31225) and Kwan (strained hip ligament, http://www.usfigureskating.org/Story.asp?id=30981&type=news) have both withdrawn from Skate America with injuries, and Kwan missed the first made-for-TV invitations, Campbell's (aka "The Fall Cheezefest"), which Cohen won with a pretty solid performance. (Cohen's long program is a re-make of an exhibition program she performed to Nino Rota's Romeo and Juliet score.) Kwan has to stay off the ice for two weeks, and, according to the US Figure Skating article could need a month of rehab, is unlikely to be ready to compete the first weekend of November at Cup of China. Cohen, who can be back on the ice next week if all goes well, may have enough time to prepare for Trophee Eric Bompard in Paris the weekend before Thanksgiving.

The reason this is so important this year, and why the high-profile doctors have been consulted and are quoted publically by USFS, is that last year, Ottavio Cinquanta, head of the International Skating Union (ISU), sent a letter to the Federations to tell them that they'd be sanctioned if they allowed their skaters to bypass the Grand Prix (GP) unless injured, and to participate in shows and other competitions, like the cheezefests, instead. The ISU threatened to ban skaters from participating in the Olympics and World Championships. Ironically, Cinquanta's letter was in response to Plushenko having withdrawn from NHK Trophy in Japan, but contracted to skate in a show in Eastern Europe. Plushenko, because he withdrew from Worlds -- he suffered from a double hernia -- has no obligation to skate in the GP this year, because he did not place in top 12 at Worlds.

It will be interesting to see if Kwan is unable to compete in Cup of China, but is healthy in December, competes in the Winter Cheezefest. If she does, it isn't clear whether Cinquanta will take action against her. She's only competed under the new scoring system once, at Worlds in 2005, and despite the existence of the new judging system (NJS, formerly CoP

) for the prior two years, did not have a program that took the best advantage of the system, and was off the podium for the first time since 1994, her first appearance at Worlds.
It is also unlikely that skaters who win one event will qualify for the GP Final to be held in Tokyo in  mid-December.  (That's a long trip to make for qualifiers who must compete in their countries' Nationals, which are held anywhere from the next week to a month later.  Johnny Weir said last year that each competition on another continent takes two weeks out of a skater's training schedule.)  So every doctor's note is met with skepticism, as an attempt to avoid qualifying for GP Final.
The most consequential injury to date has been to Hongbo Zhao, who injured his Achilles tendon trying to upgrade the jumps in the long program in response to a rule change that invalidated the jumps Shen/Zhao had been performing over the last four years.  He had surgery, reported widely in the Chinese press and in his own online journal (in Chinese), and it isn't clear whether he will be at full strength for the Olympics.    Shen/Zhao were forced to withdraw from Worlds last year because of an ankle injury he suffered.  This will impact the Pairs' competition, which was expected to be a head-to-head competition between the senior Chinese pair and Totmianina/Marinin.  I happen to love Totmianina/Marinin for their wonderful posture, synchronicity, edging and line, and they've been more successful in the lyrical programs they've chosen over the last two years than in [i]West Side Story[/i] and [i]The Cotton Club[/i].  She made an incredible comeback after she fell from a lift at last year's Skate America.
Back from injuries are Takeshi Honda, who won Campbell's a couple of weeks ago with his [i]Tosca[/i] LP against Goebel, Weiss, and a sub-part Johnny Weir, and Ilia Klimkin, who had surgery on his Achilles tendon.  He recently defeated Andrei Griazev at the Russian Test Skate, with a less flawed program.  He's relearning his jumps, according to a recent interview with him in the Russian press.   Suguri recently suffered an injury, but she is expected to be recovered in time for Skate Canada next week.  Plushenko, who is skating to [i]Carmina Burana[/i] for his SP and the Edgar Marton arrangement of [i]The Godfather[/i] -- choreography has been revised since last year -- recently performed his revised programs for Valentin Piseev, head of the Russian Federation, who was reported in the Russian press to be happier with the current program than the versions he skated at the Russian Test Skate.  He's got a relatively light schedule with limited travel through the Olympics:  Cup of Russia, Russian Nationals, European Championships, and Olympics.
Stephane Lambiel, last year's World Champion, settled on his LP music after a couple of false starts, including a Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto.  He worked with Ilia Kulik over the summer, and he said Kulik emphasized how important it was for him to relax into his cross-overs and jumps.  (Per article in IFS Magazine.)  If he can implement this, he will take his presentation skills to another level.  Stefan Lindemann, Worlds 2004 and Euros 2005 bronze medallist, recently defaulted into a win at Nebelhorn; he's going to have to pick it up to compete successfully in Torino.  Kevin van der Perren landed a quad/triple combination today in his SP at Skate America, his first quad ever, and in combination in the SP no less.  Daisuke Takahashi is leading after the SP by .31 after taking a fall, but racking up points on his other jumps, footwork, and component scores.  He's a spitfire, and when he's on, he's a terrific skater.  He skated very well at the Japan Invitational a few weeks ago, as did Junior World Champion, Oda, who's another fine young Japanese skater.  Evan Lysacek is sitting in third place, having recovered apparently from a lackluster and disappointing performance at Campbell's, with a musaky and overcut arrangement to selections from [i]Grease[/i], and much silly slick back hair gestures.  (He was very upset with himself during the post performance interview.)  Goebel, who defaulted into a second-place finish at Campbell's, is in sixth place, after failing to land a 4S and struggling with his other jumps.  This is Kristoffer Berntsson's best chance to meet the Swedish Olympic Committee's requirement that he place in the top six at a GP event to take the spot he earned for Sweden at last year's Worlds, but, unfortunately, he struggled with this SP, and is now in 10th position, over 7 points out of 6th.  Joubert struggled with his quad combo; his jumps aren't quite there yet in his James Bond SP, and he's in fourth at the moment. 
Weir is skating to various Russian elevator music, including his final straighline footwork sequence and two spins to the music from [i]Wonderland[/i] that Irina Slutskaya used for last year's gold medal performance in Moscow.  Buttle, who competed in the Japan Invitational and won, is skating to a David Wilson program entitled "Tribute to Glenn Gould."  I think it's got too many cuts, but it starts with the "Prelude" from [i]Tristan und Isolde[/i], intercut with short phrases of Schoenberg and Scriabin piano pieces, cuts to the 16th Goldberg variation, into the second part of the Well-Tempered Klavier, into an extended Schoenberg piano piece, into the adagio from the Bach Concerto in d minor.  He does a fantastic long Ina Bauer during the [i]Tristan[/i] prelude.  
Zhang/Zhang lead the Pairs after the SP, having performing huge twist and throw, but faltering on their side-by-side and pairs spins.  Hinzmann and Parchem, last year's US bronze medallists, are in second with their first clean SP ever.  (She had surgery immediately after last season ended.)  Just behind them are former US Pairs champions Inoue/Baldwin, who landed a series of throw 3Axels in practice.  If they land this in their LP, they will be the first pair to have done so.  Obertas/Slavnov, considered the third link in a potential Russian sweep in Torino (assuming Shen/Zhao don't compete or are sub-par), fell out of their 3Flip throw and struggled to get back into the program.  They may not make up nearly 6 points on Zhang/Zhang, but I'd expect them to be in second by the end of the competition with their LP to music from [i]La Traviata[/i].  The Olympic podium is expected to be three out of the three Chinese pairs and the three Russian pairs.  The only other pair that matches any of these pairs in quality is Savchenko/Szolkowy of Germany, but Savchenko is not expected to get German citizenship in time for the Olympics.  It would take multiple meltdowns for anyone to break into this group.
Slutskaya performed a flamenco LP at Japan International.  I don't think her posture has improved, the pumping while stroking hasn't stopped, she had no flow-out of two combinations, and she had sloppy, open positions in at least two of her spins.  Arakawa wasn't perfect, but she moves beautifully across the ice, with fabulous posture and edges, and I think she should have beaten Slutskaya with her program to a Chopin piano concerto.  I personally think that Sluskaya's been written in for the Olympic gold in indelible ink.  Miki Ando performed a gorgeous program by David Wilson.  In this months IFS magazine there was an article on Wilson, and he said when Ando came to work with him, the first thing she did was to perform the opening of Wilson's [i]Firebird[/i] (for Joannie Rochette last year) and told him she wanted to skate like that.  The only word on Kostner's programs is the LP choreographer and music -- Kurt Browning, like last year, and Vivaldi's [i]Four Seasons[/i].  The Ladies competition at the Olympics should be really fine this year -- there are so many podium contenders.
Dance is the discipline that's considered the biggest lock, and I doubt if Navka/Kostomarov have anything to worry about.  Belbin/Agosto will only skate if either there's a special act of Congress to grant her citizenship or if a bill that is being worked on to grandfather all of the several thousand people with special talents (scientists, doctors, world-class athletes) whose applications got tied up under the old rules passes.  There was a lot of US/Canada audience buzz in Moscow that Belbin/Agosto were given the silver as a consolation prize for not being able to participate in the Olympics and to sink Denkova/Staviyski, but that if Belbin got citizenship, their ranking would suddenly drop.  Interestingly, after the compulsory dances at Skate America, Delobel/Schoenfelder, who were considered "wuzrobbed" in Moscow, trail B/A by only .3.    This could be a much wider gap by the end of the competition, and who knows what the judges will do with Delobel/Schoenfelder's Original Dance, which promised masks, gloves, and lights (lights?) to the mandatory Latin rhythms, even if the program was pre-approved.  I'm dying to see if Camelengo, their choreographer, can surpass last year's [i]Frida[/i] program.   Domina/Shabalin took a jump in the rankings between 2004 and 2005, and it will be interesting to see if they overtake either Chait/Sakhnovsky or Dubreuil/Lauzon this year; they're currently in third place at Skate America.  There hasn't been any advanced word on Denkova/Staviyski's Free Dance.  Grushina/Goncharov, last year's bronze medallists, performed  mixed Latin rhythm and a longer piece to [i]The Feeling Begins[/i] -- does Morozov own one CD? -- in Champions on Ice in Prague, which could be their competitive programs for the season.  US Nationals will be interesting in Dance, with citizenship issues galore in the ranks.
Two top dance teams from the last Olympics are returning:  Barbara Fusar-Poli/Maurizio Margolio of Italy, the 2002 bronze medallists, and Margarita Drobiazko/Povilas Vanagas of Lithuania, who were top six in SLC.  None are competing in the Grand Prix.  Drobiazko/Vanagas competed against Belbin/Agosto in Nebelhorn a few weeks ago and came in a strong second, although Belbin/Agosto had a break in their Free Dance and restarted, so perhaps Belbin/Agosto came in a weak first.  They also won the Olympic Qualifier in Vienna last week handily.  (Italy qualified for two spots at last year's Worlds.)   
This being an Olympic year, only a few skaters retired:  Jennifer Kirk, whose struggled with hip injuries and announced her retirement through the USFS site, Gudina/Beletski (second Israeli ice dance team),  O'Connor/O'Dougherty (British ice dance team coached by Sergei Ponomorenko),  Kendra Goodwin, who split with Brent Bommentre and re-teamed with Chris Obzansky after his two-year Mormon mission (he's looking for a new partner), Philip Dulebohn, who retired at the end of last year (Tiffany Scott has a new partner, Rusty Fein, and they are coached by Ron Luddington and Dulebohn), and Patrice Archetto, who also retired last year (Anabelle Langlois has a new partner, Cody Hay, and they'll compete next week at Skate Canada.)  
Angela Nikodinov is taking the year off; she's still suffering from injuries from the van crash that killed her mother in Portland last year.  http://www.usfigureskating.org/Story.asp?id=30244&type=news
Sarah Hughes has returned to Yale, although she will do three SkateFests, skating sessions in which the public can skate with her, and she provided backpacks for children who were stranded in Texas as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
Japan's Yukina Ota is injured and out for the season.
As happens every year, couples break up and re-group, often when a couple has a disappointing season or there is a major injury to one of them.  The most surprising was last year's US bronze medallists, Manon/O'Meara.  Manon left to partner with Brandon Forsythe.  O'Meara teamed up with Jamie Silverstein, former World Junior medallist, who had left skating to go to Cornell and came out of retirement.  Brent Bommentre is now paired with Kim Navarro. 
Among the younger Ladies, Kimmie Meissner is touted as the next big thing.  She got a lot of coverage for landing a clean 3A in warm-ups before the Ladies LP.  (Her attempt in the LP was underrotated with a faulty landing, but this was judged by 6.0 and she got enough credit to win bronze.)  She was sent to Moscow to do commentary.  She showed up at the Colonial Travel farewell dinner with Paul Wylie as a "special guest."  The fight for the third spot at US Nationals should be a good one, with Meissner, Bebe Liang, and Emily Hughes in the mix.  (Alisa Czisny is still all over the place with her jumps.)  If Goebel and Weir remain off their game, there could be a shakeup among the Men.  If Katie Orscher recovers from her injury -- Orscher/Lucash have had to withdraw from Skate America and Cup of China in two weeks is still questionable -- then Orscher/Lucash and Inoue/Baldwin will likely compete in Torino.  (Inoue is scheduled to get US citizenship, for which she had to relinquish Japanese citizenship, in January.)  Dance is the most open, especially since it isn't clear if Belbin/Agosto can skate.  Conventional wisdom says that Gregory/Petukhov, who finished 11th at Worlds, and with Belbin/Agosto helped to qualify three teams for Torino and Calgary, should get the first or second/spot, depending on whether Belbin/Agosto can compete.  I don't think any of the other US teams are in a position to surpass them, let alone two, but you never know.  (Two years from now, perhaps.)  Former Junior World medallists Matthews/Zavozin are highly-touted, and, based on what I saw live at Nationals last year, overrated, but his citizenship is an issue at this time.  Even if Stiegler/Magerovski qualify, which, based on their low finish in today's Compulsory Dance, usually their strongest phase, it isn't clear that Magerovwki will have his citizenship in time.  It's possible that the new team of Silverstein/O'Meara will be the highest-ranking young team by US Nationals.
Canada also has citizenship issues.  Wakamatsu/Fecteau, who were Japanese citizenship, as reported by Skate Canada.  Arseni Markov has not been released by the Russian Federation to compete for Canada; he needs to get Canadian citizenship in time, if he and Lefebvre qualify; as a Canadian citizen, the Russian Federation couldn't hold him.  Just like Gregory/Petukhov, Wing/Lowe get little respect, and despite a top 10 finish in Moscow, are considered vulnerable at Canadian Nationals this year.  We'll see.  They're skating to [i]Copellia[/i] for their free dance.  I think they're a lovely team, and that her knee bend is exceptional.

[canbelto]

I want to add:

I hope Plushenko finally wins gold. He's had some really bad injuries since the Salt Lake City Olympics, but I think overall he's still by far the best male skater in the world from a technical standpoint.

For the women, Irina Slutskaya is a skater that disappoints me more and more. Technically she might be excellent (huge, springy jumps) but her programs always let me down, and she's one of those skaters who gets less and less exciting as the program goes on. If it were a a duel between Cohen and Slutskaya, I think if Cohen manages to skate clean she'll win.

I also hope that Shen/Zhao recover from their injuries. There has been a LOT of bad blood between the coach of Shen/Zhao (Yao Bin) and the coach of Totmianina/Marinin (Oleg Vasiliev). It all happened when another Chinese pair crashed into Totmianina and since then the war has escalated, with Vasiliev even implying that Zhao is faking his injury. Very ugly. So needless to say I hope both teams are healthy and it'll be a good pairs competition.

[Helene]

I also hope that Shen/Zhao recover from their injuries. There has been a LOT of bad blood between the coach of Shen/Zhao (Yao Bin) and the coach of Totmianina/Marinin (Oleg Vasiliev). It all happened when another Chinese pair crashed into Totmianina and since then the war has escalated, with Vasiliev even implying that Zhao is faking his injury. Very ugly. So needless to say I hope both teams are healthy and it'll be a good pairs competition.

Before Sale and Pelletier competed in their first Worlds, the US press was all over the story of how Berezhnaia had her head cut open by her former partner during side-by-side camel spins, and how it took her a very long rehab to be able to skate again with Sikuharlidze. She was the classic comeback story, and very beautiful. She and Sikuharlidze were finally able to distinguish themselves from "All Those Interchangeable Russians That Always Win," and they were being groomed for the North American post-Olympic tours as "Elena and Anton."

Then, in 2000 Berezhnaia and Sikuharlidze were banned from competing at Worlds because of a failed test, and Sale and Pelletier made a smashing debut, finishing fourth. Since it would have been fifth had Berezhnaia and Sikuharlidze competed, it was a reasonable expectation for them to vie for a bronze medal; hardly anyone expected them to beat Shen/Zhao, let alone Berezhnaia/Sikuharlidze. In the Grand Prix series, they did not compete against any of their strongest rivals, so it wasn't a surprise when they won those events, but they defied expectations by winning the Grand Prix Final in 2000, Worlds the following March in Vancouver, and the GP Final in 2001, just a couple of months before the Olympics. Suddenly, the US coverage was touted as, "Can the Canadians break the Evil Russian Domination of Olympic Pairs Gold Medals?" So much for "Elena and Anton."

Fast forward to 2004. At Skate America last year, Tatiana Totmianina fell from a lift during the long program, and suffered a frightening head injury. The footage of the fall was repeated over and over again during last season. Totmianina made a miraculous recovery, and, since she and Marinin train with their coach Vasiliev in the Chicago area, her story was picked up by Oprah Winfrey. Deja vu all over again: this lovely Russian pairs skater was becoming known in the US as the "Russian girl who fell on her head and had a miraculous recovery," the first step for being marketed as part of "Tanya and Max" for the post-Olympic North American tours.

Top Chinese pairs skater Hongbo Zhao, part of the team that would have rivalled Totmianina/Marinin at the Olympics, hurt his Achilles tendon badly when practicing jumps this summer, and underwent surgery. What a media bonanza: Totmianina's miraculous recovery vs. Zhao's: "Can These Two Athletes Recover from their Horrifying Misfortunes to Win Olympic Gold?" with countless replays of Totmianina's fall and footage of Zhao in the hospital, gingerly working his way on the ice, Shen's mother feeding him homemade dumplings, etc.

Zhang, the man in the third Chinese pair, collided with Totmianina during the warm-ups at Worlds last year. No one blamed Vasiliev for his immediate reaction when he saw his skater go flying after being hit by a tall, stocky man, but he wouldn't let it go. The main issue is that in the ISU post-competition press conference, Vasiliev went on a bit of a rant about how he thought it was a deliberate action, and this was filmed.

Then, recently, in the Russian press, Vasiliev said that he had to prepare his athletes psychologically for three possibilites: 1. Shen/Zhao wouldn't be able to compete 2. Shen/Zhao would compete, but would be sub-par and 3. The whole thing might have been faked or exaggerated. Totmianina, in an interview, was tactful when asked about the this, and gave a more complex answer: she said that since she recovered much more quickly than most people expected, they had to prepare for the possibility that Zhao might also have the same success in his recovery.

What concerns me is that the US media might take the footage from the ISU press conference and make a "story" of this and Vasiliev's recent comments, so that Totmianina/Marinin would go from being "that nice girl from Oprah and that handsome dude" to "The Big Bad Dominant Russian Pair with the Nasty Coach."

[canbelto]

Helene, I totally understand what you mean about the Russian girl turning from "poor girl injured in the head" into "evil Russians." Perhaps the weirdest example of this was Katia Gordeeva, who became a saint when her husband and partner Sergei Grinkov died suddenly. There was even a film, as well as two books and an ad campaign with target, including a perfume line. Then she became pregnant with Ilia Kulik's baby, and all the endoresements and media attention stopped.

One team that's almost forgotten but I totally loved was Natalia Miskuetchenuk and Artur Dmitriev. Unfortunately, personal differences between the two ended this partnership.

The good thing about the Sale/Pelletier and Berezhnaya/Sikuharlidze is that eventually both teams became good sports about the "double gold" situation. They even made some joint appearances together on skating shows. And Elena Berezhnaya was too adorable, I think, for the media to *really* crucify her.

But again, I hope both Totmianina/Marinin and Shen/Zhao are healthy and it'll be a good competition and there won't be any jingoistic ugliness. And Oleg Vasiliev needs to keep his mouth shut

Speaking of coaching wars, anyone remember the Alexei Mishin/Evgeny Plushenko/Alexei Yagudin love triangle? It culminated in a bizarre news conference with Mishin admitting that he could only "love one son" (Plushenko).

[Helene]

Speaking of coaching wars, anyone remember the Alexei Mishin/Evgeny Plushenko/Alexei Yagudin love triangle? It culminated in a bizarre news conference with Mishin admitting that he could only "love one son" (Plushenko).

Because figure skaters are treated like actors are in the US, all of these soap operas make it into the press. As a result of the Mishin/Plushenko/Yagudin triangle, Yagudin came to the US to work with "Mama Tarasova" and the rest is Olympic gold. It seems that Plushenko and Mishin are temperamentally suited to their relationship, since with all of his success and domination, Plushenko could have the biggest ego and could have decided he needed a yes-man instead of a real coach. Their general demeanor and body language during practices and competion warm-ups is really nice to watch and very respectful.

Andrei Griazev also left Mishin to be coached by Tarasova. At Dortmund, one of the funniest scenes imaginable was in Kiss 'n Cry: Tarasova stood behind him, hugging him, with Maya Usova sitting on one side and Evgeny Platov on the other, and with his boyish, innocent face, it looked like a Nativity Scene.

You're so right about the about-face the press did on Gordeeva, once she ceased to be the grieving widow -- she was maybe 25 when Grinkov died -- and actually found a new life with Kulik, with whom she created a family for her older daughter, Daria Grinkova. What a hussy.

I loved Mishketienok/Dmitriev. I was sad when they split, and thrilled when he came back with Oksana Kazakova. I have so much respect for Dmitriev as a partner, to be able to compete at the highest levels with two different partners. He's coaching in the DC area and had Don/Hunt last year, until they split up.

Oh, and this summer, Alexander Abt moved to the retiring Scotvold's rink in Cape Cod.

[canbelto]

Helene, I think it's funny how some figure skaters will play straight into their soap opera "roles" while others deftly defuse the situation. For instance with the Sale/Pelletier and Berezhnaya/ Sikuharlidze situation in SLC, eventually Anton Sikuharlidze made a joke to the press about inviting David Pelletier to the "Russia House" for a vodka drink-off. It was a humorous and tactful way to defuse a monster soap story.

Sasha Cohen, OTOH, with her coach hopping and frank comments, seems to step right into the press image of her as feisty, difficult and willful. But in a way I like her all the more for it; it beats Michelle Kwan, who long ago must have decided never to say anything interesting or candid. Kwan is a skater who overall has been a disappointment to me -- she's avoided injuries for the most part and is fairly consistent. But her programs have gotten blander every year, choreographically. I dont expect her to even medal in Torino.

So far, my predictions: Totmianina/Marinin, Navka/Kostmarov, and Plushenko. I'd pick Cohen for gold but she is so inconsistent that Arakawa or Slutskaya have a shot, although I think Cohen at her best is the overall favorite.

I dont know if you frequent figure skater boards, but the Katia Gordeeva situation got truly bizarre with a small but *very* vocal group of women who felt that they were Sergei Grinkov's "spiritual wives," since Katia had dared to "move on" (at the ripe old age of 26) but these women remained "faithful" to Sergei, whom they worshipped as a god.

[Helene]

I dont know if you frequent figure skater boards, but the Katia Gordeeva situation got truly bizarre with a small but *very* vocal group of women who felt that they were Sergei Grinkov's "spiritual wives," since Katia had dared to "move on" (at the ripe old age of 26) but these women remained "faithful" to Sergei, whom they worshipped as a god.

Well, it sounds like he's got enough "spiritual wives" mourning him and worshipping his memory.

The results for Skate America are in:

In Ladies, Elena Sokolova's lead in the SP held up for the gold. The big story was Alisa Czisny, who didn't have a good skate at Campbell's a few weeks ago, but who came in 3rd in the SP, and then won the LP by a little over a point. Yoshie Onda was third in the LP and overall. Emily Hughes overcame a disappointing 8th place in the SP with a 4th in the LP, but Beatrisa Liang's 4th in the SP kept her in 4th place overall.

In Men, Daisuke Takahashi, a wonderful, but inconsistent skater from Japan, dominated the LP to win the gold, having just edged out Kevin van der Perren in the SP. van der Perren came in 4th in the LP, and missed the podium. Lysacek's 3rd in both programs earned him the silver. Joubert, who was 2nd in the LP, couldn't make up the deficit from his 4th place in the SP.

In Dance, Belbin/Agosto, Delobel/Schoenfelder, and Domnina/Shabalin were on the podium, as expected, and Wing/Lowe were fourth. What was surprising was the Jamie Silverstein/Ryan O'Meara were so well rewarded: they beat Wing/Lowe, who were 10th at Moscow, in the OD, and were less than four points behind them overall. As a new team, they are likely to get stronger as the season progresses. Also great to see was that Christina and William Beier came in 6th. That means they need an 11th place finish at Europeans for the German Olympic Committee to send them to the Olympics. That's still a longshot, but they were a little less than seven points behind Wing/Lowe, which is an improvement over last year. Unfortunately, there are two strong teams that could compete at Lyon to get judges' feedback on their programs: Drobiazko/Vanagas and Fusar-Poli/Margoglio, both of whom will push the Beiers and other, lower-ranked teams down the food chain, which could knock these teams out of the Olympics.

In Pairs what wasn't so surprising was the Zhangs taking the gold, but what was surprising was how little competition Obertas/Slavnov were for them. Putnam/Wirtz of Canada placed 3rd over Obertas/Slavnov's 4th in the LP, but their 7th place finish in the SP left them in 4th overall, with Obertas/Slavnov taking the bronze. (Which is important if they are going to make it to the Grand Prix Final.) After having been 2nd in the SP, Hinzmann/Parchem, the #3 US team, dropped to 5th, after a 7th place finish in the LP. Inoue/Baldwin won silver, with a 2nd place finish in the LP. They attempted a throw 3A, but she fell. It was the second of two throws, rather late in the program. Hopefully, they'll try again in their next Grand Prix event.

[Asti]

Also great to see was that Christina and William Beier came in 6th.  That means they need an 11th place finish at Europeans for the German Olympic Committee to send them to the Olympics.  That's still a longshot, but they were a little less than seven points behind Wing/Lowe, which is an improvement over last year.  Unfortunately, there are two strong teams that could compete at Lyon to get judges' feedback on their programs:  Drobiazko/Vanagas and Fusar-Poli/Margoglio, both of whom will push the Beiers and other, lower-ranked teams down the food chain, which could knock these teams out of the Olympics.

I have heard, with what truth I don't know, that Fusar-Poli/Margaglio will not be going to Europeans. That, combined with the drop the Kerrs took at Skate Canada this past weekend (where they finished 7th) may open up some doors for the Beiers to squeak a top 11 finish. I really hope they can pull it off, they're a young team with a lot of appeal improving remarkably fast.

Just some other tidbits I've thought of reading this thread:

Denkova/Staviski's free dance is to Albinoni's Adagio. I don't know what version. They have changed coaches since Worlds and now train in Newark, Delaware with Natalia Linichuk. Unfortunately, they had to withdraw from Skate Canada when Maxim pulled his groin. However, this probably lead directly to what I think is probably the most surprising result so far this season-- Dubreuil/Lauzon beating reigning World Bronze Medallists Grushina/Goncharov by quite a handy margin (I think something like 9 points). Of course, that didn't happen without Grushina and Goncharov making a lot of mistakes, and Dubreuil/Lauzon always do extremely well at Skate Canada, but still... surprising.

Hot new thing this season: Alissa Czisny. Perennial last minute substitute for USFS when Sasha Cohen can't make it finishes second at Skate America and first at Skate Canada, becoming the first skater this season to qualify for the Grand Prix Final. She's got some really beautiful things about her skating, notably her spins. I'm still bothered by some small things like swinging free legs and unpointed toes, but it's a very good start to an important season for her.

My only other notes from Skate Canada are Emanuel Sandhu's comeback and Savchenko/Szolkowy's victory over Petrova/Tikhonov. Sandhu came back from being 5th or 6th in the short program to win the whole shebang with an eclectic long program set to music that's almost more a collection of sounds than a string of notes. It's very unusual and well-done, and probably only Sandhu could pull it off.

Savchenko/Szolkowy are a very promising pairs team out of Germany, and beating Petrova/Tikhonov is a good step forward for them. They have a compelling presence and very strong technique. However, they likely will not be at the Olympics because she is not a German citizen and probably will not be able to become one through any special dispensation by February. Which leads me to...

Belbin/Agosto will only skate if either there's a special act of Congress to grant her citizenship or if a bill that is being worked on to grandfather all of the several thousand people with special talents (scientists, doctors, world-class athletes) whose applications got tied up under the old rules passes.

This (the grandfathering bill) went through last week. I think there's still some work to be done to get her citizenship, though (another skater affected by all this is 2004 World Junior Dance Champion Maxim Zavozin, who skates with Morgan Matthews and has actually been in the U.S. longer than Belbin but almost never gets mentioned). The rumours I heard surrounding Belbin's placements last year suggested that the placements were not consolation for not going to the Olympics, but bids to help her improve her case for citizenship, although the after-effect (a drop if she gets a passport may be the same). The stories I heard encompassed everything from Belbin's asendency and Denkova's drop to Domnina's rise at Worlds and Alexei Gorshkov's daughter's placement at Jr. Worlds (Gorshkov coaches Domnina and Shabalin-- presumably Russian #1 after Navka and Kostomarov are gone, and used to coach Denkova/Staviski, which was always a thorn in Valentin Piseev's-- the head of the Russian Skating Federation-- side).

Ah, skating. Never short on the drama.

Edited November 2, 2005 by Asti

[Helene]

This (the grandfathering bill) went through last week.  I think there's still some work to be done to get her citizenship, though (another skater affected by all this is 2004 World Junior Dance Champion Maxim Zavozin, who skates with Morgan Matthews and has actually been in the U.S. longer than Belbin but almost never gets mentioned). 

Unfortunately, it only passed in the Senate. The appropriations bill to which it is attached has to be negotiated with the House before it can be passed and signed. It's not quite a done deal. One of the reasons that Zavozin hasn't been named is that it is Belbin's lawyers who've been working on the legislation and have been cited in the press, and Zavozin's lawyers haven't released any statements.

The rumours I heard surrounding Belbin's placements last year suggested that the placements were not consolation for not going to the Olympics, but bids to help her improve her case for citizenship, although the after-effect (a drop if she gets a passport may be the same).  The stories I heard encompassed everything from Belbin's asendency and Denkova's drop to Domnina's rise at Worlds and Alexei Gorshkov's daughter's placement at Jr. Worlds (Gorshkov coaches Domnina and Shabalin-- presumably Russian #1 after Navka and Kostomarov are gone, and used to coach Denkova/Staviski, which was always a thorn in Valentin Piseev's-- the head of the Russian Skating Federation-- side).

"Rumors" and "stories' in figure skating are essentially speculation by fans in an attempt to "follow the money" when the unexpected happens, which seems to occur most often when a skater or team is no longer considered a threat or suddenly becomes one. The rise of Belbin/Agosto is advantageous to different people for different reasons, even if none of them acted to make it happen. Since posting rumors are against Ballet Talk policy, we leave them to the skating boards

The nationalities of the judges for the Olympics have been published by the ISU, and it's going to be an interesting few months leading up to the competition. The only question is going to be which judges the computer will choose to count. It's been hard to take judging seriously when the godparents and relatives of skaters are selected to judge family members or when officials who are active coaches are involved in determining the values for their own teams' rivals. In ballet, there's nothing unusual for there to be direct and indirect family connections within companies; gene pools run in the family. In sports, which are supposed to be "objective," nepotism and favoritism are considered unsportsmanlike.

[walboi]

Great thread Helene, I see that you are well informed, and since figure skating is also something for which I stay up late at night, and watch everything what is broadcasted in Europe, and that is almost all what is going on, concerning skating, I will write now and again something of lesser know'n competitions if I may

Walboi

[Natalia]

The measure passed around Christmas. Bush signed the legislation. In fact, I read on a skating website that he gave a rah-rah endorsement of Belbin/Agosto to 'Bring Home the Gold' when he signed the measure! So our president is now jumping on the Olympics bandwagon, I see!?

Tanith Belbin became a U.S. Citizen a couple of days ago, in a ceremony in Detroit.

Interestingly, a US-born ice dance team (the 6th-placed US team of Galler-Rabinowitz) tried some last-minute, back-door shenanigans to kill the bill, so that they could go to the Olympics instead to the many teams ahead of them that include a non-US-citizen partner. [This has been widely covered in the media, commencing with ESPN and Christine Brennan.] So Galler-Rabinowitz will now eat crow? Or perhaps they will skate magnificently and rightfully earn a berth on the team by finishing among the top three dance teams at the US Nationals? Their road to Turin would have been a lot easier had the 'foreigners' not received the fast-track to US citizenship last week.

NN

[Helene]

The dance team is Galler-Rabinowitz/Mitchell, and David Mitchell's mother wrote a letter to her congressman to derail the legislation that was added to the year-end appropriations bill; this was disclosed on an ESPN piece, which was repeated several times during the Grand Prix telecasts. (Originally designed to grandfather all green-card holders with "extraordinary" ability, for whom the citizenship process was speeded up to three years from five, the amendment was changed to grandfather the subset who needed citizenship for international competition.)

Tanith Belbin is not the only skater or ice dancer who benefitted from the legislation: Maxim Zavozin, former World Junior champion with partner Morgan Matthews, was sworn in as a US citizen last week. Sergei Magerovski, who is married to former partner Rebecca Palmer, received his citizenship recently, as well. He and partner Tiffany Stiegler are still a bit new -- Stiegler switched to Ice Dance only last year and rushed through the Senior Tests to qualify for the US Nationals last year -- and their podium chances are remote, although they could finish above Galler-Rabinowitz/Mitchell. He benefitted from the marriage provision, which speeded up his citizenship, as did Denis Petukhov, who is married to partner Melissa Gregory and was sworn in last fall.

In Germany Aliona Savchenko was granted citizenship; she and partner Robin Szolkowy are on the Olympic team. Savchenko/Skolkowy had to sit out of international competition for two years because she had competed for Ukraine as a junior. The two years on the ice with coach Ingo Steuer was time well spent; in their first year in international competition, they came in 6th at Moscow Worlds, and recently finished 3rd at the Grand Prix Final. They are a terrific team, and while a podium finish is an outside shot for them, especially if Shen/Zhao can compete, they should be on the podium after Totmianina/Marinin (and possibly Petrova/Tikhonov) retire at the end of this year, which they've announced.

Sadly, there have been several lawsuits and controversies, which seems to be common in an Olympic year. In Australia, for whatever reason, the Australian Federation based Olympic team selection on the results of last year's Four Continents Champsionship. Miriam Manzano was beaten by Joanne Carter there, but later won the Australian Nationals, and has filed an official protest. (Manzano, in her late 20's, has outlasted her rink being burned down in the big fires a couple of years ago.)

The French Federation said that qualification for the European Championships, where placement would determine who the second man would be at the Olympics, would be the highest total of the two top scores at French Nationals and a Grand Prix event. (Not all skaters said that they were aware of the rules well in advance of Nationals.) Although Samuel Contesti finished second in the LP at French Nationals, less than 1 point behind Joubert, and won the silver medal, he was fourth after the points were totalled. He protested, having beaten Dambier at all three French national events this year. The French Olympic Committee (CSNOF) determined that there should be a skate-off. which Contesti won. The French Federation added Contesti to the Europeans team in place of Dambier, but Dambier then filed an administrative protest, and the Cergy-Pontoise administrative court voided the test skate. Dambier will go to Europeans, with Joubert and Preaubert.

The Japanese Federation decided to build its own software instead of using ISU software, and their version did not check for the Zayak Rule, which prohibits attempting more than two quad or triple jumps more than twice each in a long program. After Nobunari Oda was awared the gold medal at the Japanese National Championships, a review determined that he had violated the Zayak Rule -- although there was controversy over whether he actually attempted three triples twice -- and Daisuke Takahashi was crowned champion and earned the lone Olympic men's berth for Japan.

Ironically, Kristoffer Berntsson of Sweden, who beat Takahashi at Worlds last year by one place, and who finished 10th at Europeans last year, may not meet the Swedish Olympic team's qualifying critera, having had a slow start on the Grand Prix circuit.

The big sensation of the year is Mao Asada, who at 15, was born three months too late to meet the age qualification for the Olympics. She landed two triple axels, one in combination, at the Grand Prix Final to beat a jet-lagged Irina Slutskaya, the first time Slutskaya has lost an event since she was ill during the 2004 season. Her LP program was to the pas de deux from The Nutcracker. I saw her compete at Trophee Eric Bompard. I don't think her skating skills are in the same league as Arakawa's -- she also competed in Paris -- her line is a bit sloppy, and I thought her choregraphy was filled with juvenile mannerisms like all those little pseudo echappe's on toe picks, but she's a senior jumper, and her jumps have a rhythm and a flutter that is breathtaking to watch. She's also very musical.

The non-sensation of the season was the Marshall's skating event, where while "celebrity" judges Peggy Fleming, Dick Button, and Peter Carruthers, critiqued the four invited skaters in the semis and the two finalists -- alternately Ladies and Men -- the East Coast TV audience called in to vote for who made the finals, and after the second program, who won the event. Michelle Kwan, still recovering from the injury that caused her to pull out of the Grand Prix this season, unveiled her Olympic short program to Totentanz, the same music Slutskaya is using. Sasha Cohen showed a partial version of her Rota Romeo and Juliet program, with some new David Wilson choregraphy. Kwan did not look good at all, with the timing of her jumps off, but she won the TV audience. The judges preferred Cohen and Matthew Savoie, who did not make it into the final. Beaucoup bucks were won by the winners of this popularity contest.

[Bill]

Michelle Kwan has withdrawn from Nationals and will petition to go to Torino. Wash Post story is linked:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...6010401214.html

[brivagook]

Not exactly Olympic-related, but for those who have access to the tv station TLC, there is a series called "Ice Diaries" which may be of some interest to the figure skating fans among us. Broadcast schedules and other information for the show (including a trailer) can be found at:

http://tlc.discovery.com/fansites/icediaries/icediaries.html

I haven't have the chance to see a full episode, but the quick bit I did manage to catch seemed relatively entertaining!

[Helene]

"Ice Diaries" is meant to follow the progress of several young skaters who are considered to be contenders for top spots at Nationals this year, with hopes of being assigned to the Olympic team.

Kwan has asked for a bye, but in a press conference said she felt if she wasn't ready to skate at Torino, she would resign her spot. (The article on the USFS site is located at http://www.usfigureskating.org/event_story.asp?id=32503.) There are several key dates: the USFS has committed to naming the team after the Ladies freeskate at US Nationals next Saturday, 14 January. Kwan must have USFS medical clearance for the by by 16 January. The IOC requires the US to name the team and alternates by 30 January. Alternates can't take the place of a team member who steps on the practice ice in Torino.

If Kwan receives medical clearance and a bye, which in the past has required monitoring through practice run-throughs by USFS officials in addition to medical examination, it's going to be a nail-biter for the first alternate. Only the highest qualifier at US Nationals is guaranteed a spot. (If there is a citizenship or age issue, for example, with the gold medalist, the silver medalist, if qualifying, earns the guarnateed spot.) After that, there are several competitions whose results are factored in the selection process, including results at 2005 Grand Prix Final (Czisny qualified, placed last), 2005 Worlds (Cohen placed 2nd, Kwan 4th), 2005 4C's (Corwin placed 6th, Liang 7th), 2005 Jr. Worlds (E. Hughes placed 3rd, Meissner 4th, Czisny 6th), and 2005 Jr. Grand Prix Final (Meissner placed 3rd, Kahle 9th). (USFS document describing selection process: http://www.usfigureskating.org/content/oly...procedures.pdf)