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Regarding Russia France graces couples events
Posted: Friday December 03, 1999 02:44 PM
NAGOYA, Japan (AP) -- Yevgeny Plushenko, a 17-year-old Russian figure skater, performed a solid short program with a quadruple jump Friday to take the lead at the NHK Trophy, the sixth and last Grand Prix series event of the season. In the women's short program, Russian Victoria Volchkova put on a flawless staking to outpoint world champion Maria Butyrskaya, also of Russia, and Elena Liashenko of Ukraine. Butyrskaya fell in a combination of jumps midway through her otherwise graceful performance. In the pairs short program, France's Sarah Abitbol and Stephane Bernadis were in the lead ahead of Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov from Russia, and Poland's Dorota Zagorska and Mariusz Siudek. Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat of France stayed atop of the competition after the original program, followed by the Russian duo of Irina Lobacheva and Ilia Averbukh, and Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas of Lithuania. Saturday's free programs will decide the winners of the men's, pairs and ice dance events. The women's free program is Sunday. Defending NHK Trophy champion Plushenko landed a triple axel-triple toe loop sequence followed by a double axel to draw 5.8 technical points from all nine judges. Plushenko came to Nagoya after winning his second Grand Prix title of the year at te Cup of Russia. Right behind the Russian star was American Timothy Goebel, who landed three quadruple jumps at Skate America. Goebel, 19, started his program with a quadruple salchow, followed by a triple axel-triple toe loop combination and a double axel. "I felt my calligraphy was a little sloppy and I skated a little slow today, but I'm pleased with my placement and I think tomorrow will be much better," said Goebel. "Now that I have nine points coming to Nagoya, a top-four finish here qualifies me for the [Grand Prix] series final. For tomorrow, I'm going to do the same program I've done all year in competition," he said. "And I really want to land all three quads again." Local favorite Takeshi Honda, who also is competing for a spot in the series final, this time in Lyon, France, on Jan. 14-16, skated miserably, falling in all three jumps. The NHK Trophy is the last opportunity for skaters to collect points and qualify for the series final. Figure skaters are allowed to compete in only three of the six Grand Prix events in a season, designating two of the events they compete in for points scoring. For the final in Lyon, the top six scorers in the men's and women's events qualify, along with the top five couples in the pairs and ice dancing events. Fewer big-name skaters came to Nagoya, with Russians Alexei Yagudin and Irina Slutskaya, American Michelle Kwan, Canadian Elvis Stojko and other men's and women's leaders on the standings skipping the event after qualifying for the final. The competition for the remaining spots for women is close. Butyrskaya leads the field at Nagoya with 12 points awarded for her win at Trophee Lalique in Paris. Volchkova came to Nagoya with nine points from her second-place finish at Trophee Lalique. Also hoping to qualify are Liashenko, with seven poins from a third-place finish at the Sparkassen Cup in Germany, and defending Grand Prix Final champion Tatiana Malinina from Uzbekistan, with five points from the Sparkassen Cup. Malinina was scheduled to compete to score at the Cup of Russia last week, but a groin injury sustained during the Sparkassen Cup forced her to withdraw. For now, Kwan, two-time world champion, is the top qualifier with the maximum of 24 points she scored with victories at Skate America and Skate Canada. In the men's event, two skaters want to assure their places in the series final. Goebel and France's Vincent Restencourt both have nine points. For Plushenko, who has accumulated the maximum 24 points, the NHK Trophy is an additional event, where he may win prize money. China's Guo Zhengxin and Canada's Stojko have 16 points each and were sitting in third and fourth position before Nagoya's event. There are still three spots open for Lyon for the ice dancers. Most of the pairs competing in Nagoya chose the NHK Trophy as a non-scoring event. The top five pairs were practically determined before Nagoya.
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