Elvis returns
Stojko will continue his comeback at Skate Canada
Posted: Thursday November 05, 1998 05:37 PM
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Stojko, winner of the 1997 Skate Canada, headlines a list of 65 competitors from 17 countries Robert Laberge/Allsport |
KAMLOOPS, British Columbia (Reuters) -- Olympic figure skating silver medallist and three-time world champion Elvis Stojko will take his next cautious step down the comeback trail on home turf at the Skate Canada International competition beginning Thursday.
Stojko is coming off a fourth-place finish at last week's Skate America in Detroit, where his tentative performances signaled that Canada's skating superstar was still recovering from the groin injury that put him out of action for four months after the Nagano Olympics.
Stojko headlines a list of some 65 competitors from 17 countries who will compete at Kamloops's Riverside Coliseum for points in the six-event Grand Prix series and US$264,000 in prize money.
The multiple world champion has set uncharacteristically moderate goals for himself this week after rating his showing in Detroit a 6 on a scale of 10.
"I'd like to get it up to a seven or 7.5 here, building from there to an eight or nine at Canadians," he said of his national championships.
"By Worlds, we want to be at a 10 and go full out," added the 26-year-old crowd favorite who continues to undergo daily acupuncture treatments to hasten his recovery.
Stojko made two unsuccessful attempts at his trademark quadruple jump at Skate America and said he may pass on it this week. "I was a little winded after. We might go with the [triple] lutz instead."
While the men's field is significantly weaker than the one Stojko faced last week, a Russian will still pose the stiffest challenge.
Evgeny Plushenko, the world bronze medallist who celebrated his 16th birthday on Tuesday, hopes to follow the lead of his countryman and reigning world champion Alexei Yagudin, a convincing winner at Skate America.
After finishing off the podium in Detroit, Stojko may need a win here to accumulate enough points to qualify for the Grand Prix Final. But reclaiming his world title in Helsinki at the end of March remains the prime goal.
The favorite in the women's event is world silver medallist Irina Slutskaya of Russia.
France's Laetitia Hubert, who scored an upset victory over Tara Lipinski during last season's Grand Prix, also has the potential to finish on top.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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