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Russians rule Butyrskaya, Slutskaya hold top spots after short program
Posted: Friday March 31, 2000 03:53 PM
NICE, France (AP) -- American champion and university freshman Michelle Kwan may have returned her focus to the rink a little too late for a world title this year. Skating as gracefully as ever at the World Figure Skating championships, Kwan bobbled on a triple flip during the short program Friday and finished third going into the final free. Russian Maria Butyrskaya won the short with porcelain calm and an elegant program that emphasized her maturity, beating younger rivals Russian Irina Slutskaya and Kwan, even though both had slightly more difficult jumps in the technically dominant short program. The United States had three women place in the top seven. Sarah Hughes of Great Neck, N.Y., just 14 years old and the youngest competitor at worlds, finished fifth, placing fourth overall going into the final free. Angela Nikodinov of San Pedro, California, placed sixth in the short, and is seventh overall. Kwan's chances at winning her third world title were marginal, depending on both Russians' bombing in Saturday's free program. In her freshman year at the University of California, Los Angeles, Kwan scaled back on training during the transitional fall quarter, but shifted the balance back toward skating in the winter, moving out of the dorm and taking fewer classes. "This year has been completely different for me," Kwan said. "It's been a lot of fun. The first quarter at school was hard. I had a full load and competition coming up. I didn't skate as much as I wanted." She reached and shook Slutskaya's hand with obvious admiration after the Russian told reporters she had been attending college for five years and would take her final exams next year. "Congratulations!" Kwan said. Kwan appeared tense going on to the ice but seemed to relax after hitting a fine double axel and a triple lutz-double toe combination. The program to an orchestral version of Lennon-McCartney's "A Day in the Life," flowed into her graceful spirals, held for nearly the length of the rink, then let go a bit with a hip swivel when the pace picked up. Kwan's only real problem was the landing on the triple flip, which was added to the program to increase the difficulty. Her technical marks were mostly 5.6sand 5.7s with one 5.4. "I had a little bobble after the triple flip," Kwan said. "But I'm glad I went for it. ... I felt really good out there, but I let loose and had a lot of fun." Old in skaters' years at 27, Butyrskaya diverted all attention from the much-ballyhooed Kwan-Slutskaya rivalry with a softly skated romantic program to Sarah Brightman's "Scene d'amour." With all he elements performed perfectly, the judges didn't seem bothered that her optional jump was the less difficult triple loop to the triple flip jumped by Slutskaya and Kwan. It was only after that officials revealed she had lightly cut two right fingers cleaning her blade before going on the ice. Though she beat an ailing Kwan at last year's worlds to take the title, Butyrskaya has often been overlooked going into major competitions, partly because of her age and partly because she tends to save her best skating for the end of the season. The six-time Russian champion is somewhat of a late-bloomer in the skating world, winning her first major international title only in 1998 at Milan. "When there's a long season, it's important to know when you get your best form," said Butyrskaya's coach Yelena Tchaikovskaya. "Maria Butyrskaya came to this competition in her best form." Slutskaya, 21, lacked only the polished gestures that distinguished Butyrskaya, winning mostly 5.8s for presentation. After failing to place at Russian nationals last year and dropping completely from sight, the rosey-cheeked Russian beat Kwan at the Grand Prix final this year and is savoring her return to international competition. "I think I skated well. I did all my elements cleanly without mistakes," said Slutskaya. France's Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat ended Russia's eight-year lock on the ice dance title with an intense and intricately choreographed free program to the gothic chants of "Carmina Burana" that earned four 6.0s for presentation. Italians Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio, who had led coming into the free dance with greatly improved speed and technical ability, skated a Celtic-inspired dance to the silver -- only Italy's third world medal ever. Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas of Lithuania bumped Russians Irina Lobacheva and Ilia Avebukh from the podium -- the first time since 1968 a Soviet or Russian couple has not won a dance medal. Americans Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev were eighth and former junior world champions Jamie Silverstein and Justin Pekarek were 12th.
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