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Broken boot Yagudin withdraws from Grand Prix final
Posted: Monday January 10, 2000 04:17 PM
MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Double world champion Alexei Yagudin has withdrawn from this week's Grand Prix figure skating finals in Lyon after breaking his boot in practice Monday. "After rehearsing one of his jumps in this morning's practice session Alexei broke the back of his boot and also injured his Achilles tendon," Yagudin's coach Tatyana Tarasova said. "It's unfortunate but there is no way we can repair the boot in time for the finals." Tarasova said Yagudin had had problems with his boots before but explained that the skater relied on a single pair for the whole season. "If you remember, last year he also broke his boot before the European championship but, like most other top skaters, Alexei uses only one pair and doesn't have any other boots to replace the broken one," she said. The coach added that the main problem for the skater was to get accustomed to a new pair of boots. "You need at least two weeks to get the new pair to fit your foot perfectly," she said. "And if we had had a few more days we could have tried to get a new pair ready. But with just days before the competition it was simply impossible." Tarasova said Yagudin's injury was not serious and he would resume training as soon as the new boots arrived. His place in the Russian team will be taken by Alexander Abt. Yagudin, 19, has been going through some rough times lately. He finished a distant second to his former understudy Yevgeny Plushchenko at last month's Russian national championship after a disappointing free program. He was also kicked out of the U.S. tour last summer for alleged excessive drinking. In a recent interview he admitted drinking at times but not before his performances. Yagudin said, however, that the loss to Plushchenko did not worry him. "The most important thing for me is how well I will skate at the European and world championships, where it matters most," he said.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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