A Little Murder Set To Music

It also is about time Mrs. Ethylene Nowicki of Rockford, Ill. invests in a bracelet, too, for her 16-year-old daughter, Janet Lynn (she dropped the Nowicki when she was 6 just in case she became a skating star), is being groomed as America's next grand champion. She is long-lashed, blonde and fluffy, but inside she is a coiled spring of determination—all covered over with cat-that-ate-the-canary innocence.

Since she was 9 Janet has been appearing at the nationals, and last year at 15 she won the Senior Ladies' title by a skate-edge-slim hundredth of a point. The girl she nudged out of the limelight, Julie Lynn Holmes, got her revenge at the world championship, finishing fourth to Janet's fifth. "Julie has been pecking at us ever since," said Slavka Kohout, Janet's coach.

Now bring on Julie Lynn Holmes. Her coach is Carlo Fassi, the man who tutored ex-champion Peggy Fleming, and, perhaps understandably, a little of Peggy's graceful style has rubbed off on Julie. " Fassi is trying to cover the waterfront," a critic noted acidly. "Julie used to be a dynamic skater. Now she's a copy of Peggy Fleming with a bit of Janet Lynn on the side."

Miss Kohout had something to say on the subject, too. " Fassi is having Julie copy the position of Janet's hands," she charged. "How can she do it—it's a matter of integrity! We've worked six months to develop those original hand placements. We skate after Julie in the championship and now it will look as if we have copied her." Fassi retorted that it was he who had been robbed. So much for skating's petty larcency.

As defending champion, Janet was the favorite—but only a slight one. In six years of skating competition she had only managed to win the compulsory figures (which count 50% toward a title) on three occasions. She had finished fourth in figures in the nationals last year and had to come from behind in the free skating to win the title. "School figures require a maturity of mind," Miss Kohout explained. "It takes a depth of concentration which Janet is only now beginning to achieve. But her figures are 100% better than last year."

The draw put Julie and Janet next to each other in the field of 11, which only intensified the rivalry. Julie got off to an early lead and she continued in front until the next to last figure. There Janet did a superb tracing and moved ahead for the first time. Everything depended on the final figure—and the two girls were the only skaters left on the ice. Julie laid out an adept, if not exactly perfect, figure. Janet followed with what appeared from the grandstand to be a pattern of wobbling circles. Thinking all was lost, she burst into tears and was hurried from the arena.

Several hours later the judges posted the final scores. To the astonishment of not a few people, Janet Lynn was named the winner. When asked about the decision, Miss Kohout said, "They've given Janet the go-ahead to be a champion. Tomorrow we'll see if she can skate like one."

At the women's freestyle finale the crowd was vocal and divided. There were high-pitched cheers from every part of the stands as the skaters' young partisans shouted, "Yea, Julie," "Yea, Janet," sounding, at times, like Brownie Scouts whooping it up over a close sack race. Julie was getting the most fervent cheers, but Janet—now confident and undismayed—sped across the ice like a dervish in her warmup.

Julie performed first, moving in a ripple of red chiffon through a gay and lilting routine. But suddenly she fell, and down with her went her chance for the championship. No one can say, however, that Janet Lynn won her title by default. She skated swiftly and with exhilaration. Wind streaked through her hair, and with a crescendo of whirls and jumps she had the crowd on their feet. She left them cheering, waved as she left the ice and moved toward the television cameras with the sureness of a champion. Chances are she'll be sparkling in front of those bright lights for years. And through it all they'll play Beethoven. Janet Lynn will look beautiful and her sport terribly refined.