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Hometown heroes Plushenko, Abt dominate Cup of Russia
Posted: Sunday November 28, 1999 03:29 PM
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) -- After the Russian women and pairs made off with five of the six medals the previous night, Yevgeny Plushenko and Alexander Abt added to the dominance of the homeside skaters on Saturday. They finishing first and second in the men's individual event at the Cup of Russia Grand Prix stop in St. Petersburg. Italian skaters Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio, meanwhile, continued their surge into the upper echelon of the world ice dancing ranks with their second victory on this season's tour. The men's event provided the high drama for the evening, as each of the top three coming into the final skate bettered his performances of the preceding evening. Guo Zhengxin, second coming into the final event, skated a technically difficult routine, including a quadruple jump and two combinations, and had only a minor pause in the middle of one of those to detract from what was altogether an outstanding skate. But Abt, only 11 months after major knee-surgery, managed to raise the bar by landing a quad of his own and skating with an energy and speed that allowed him to better Zhengxin's total, largely on the basis of 5.7s and 5.8s for presentation. That set the stage for Plushenko, the 17-year-old St. Petersburg skater, and he took to it with a vengeance. Skating to a musical program of Gypsy folk music, Plushenko displayed an overwhelming confidence, attacking each of his jumps, including a quad and two triples in combination, and landing them all with an impressive athleticism. His scores were mostly 5.8s and 5.9s and included the only perfect 6 of the competition. The confidence exuded in performance is, if anything, even stronger when Plushenko is off the ice. Faced with the question of what kind of goals a skater with such talent at such a young age might have, Plushenko replied, "My goals are quite simple: I want to win everything. If there is something out there to win, then I want it." Plushenko is now tied for the lead in the Grand Prix standings with compatriot Alexei Yagudin. Fusar-Poli and Margaglio danced an innovative routine with a strong Scottish flavor evinced by a selection from the soundtrack of the film Braveheart, and with a number of highland dance steps. Their routine started with a piece called "The Dual" and moved from the air of confrontation that the title suggests through to a romantic flair working together at its end. The Italian pair finished fifth at last year's world championships but, with the win in St. Petersburg, moved to first in the Grand Prix standings. "We are stronger in our on-ice presence, and we are skating much faster than we have in the past," Margaglio said. "We are also taking more risks, performing more difficult moves at a much higher speed than we have in the past, and I think that the judges have noted this." Second in the dance were Canada's Shae-Lynne Bourne and Victor Kraatz, who had been favored by many to win the competition and who produced outstanding skating routines as well.
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