Grand Prix skating has Russian accent
Posted: Friday March 05, 1999 07:30 PM
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Yagudin's winning performance included a clean triple axel-triple toe and triple lutz. AP |
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) -- Rising star Tatiana Malinina of
Uzbekistan and world champion Alexei Yagudin dominated the women's
and men's short programs Friday in the opening of the ISU Grand
Prix finals.
China's Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao took the pairs short program,
while Russia's Anjelica Krylova and Oleg Ovsiannikov came out on
top in both the compulsory and original ice dances.
Malinina took the women's short program, upsetting favorite
Maria Butyrskaya despite a difficult program. Malinina nailed a
triple lutz-double toe, a triple flip and a strong high double
axel.
"It's the first time I've been in the final and I was hoping
only to give a good performance," said Malinina, who is training
in Virgina.
The Russians had been expected to dominate on their home ice in
the Grand Prix, which lasts through Sunday and offers a preview of
the sport's best before the world championships in Helsinki,
Finland, on March 22.
Yagudin of Russia executed a clean triple axel-triple toe and
triple lutz, as did 16-year-old runner-up Evgeny Plushenko. But
Yagudin's artistic program was stronger.
Xue and Hongbo shined with a very high double twist and a throw
on the triple loop. Russians Elena Berezhnaya and Anton
Sikharulidze, Olympic silver medalists, had been expected to fare
more strongly, but Berezhnaya made three mistakes, including a fall
right in front of the judges.
Krylova and Ovsyannikov placed first in the compulsory and
original dances Friday, with difficult, fast programs that they
performed smoothly. French pair Marina Anissina and Gwendal
Peizerat came in second in both programs.
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