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Pairs
Only two pairs came out to warmup...Oksana
Kazakova and Artur Dmitriev and Elena Leonova and Andrei Khvalko. Where was
Mandy Woetzel and Ingo Steuer? They were announced at the beginning? They were
then shown on the screen stretching backstage. I don’t know why they didn’t
warmup.When the warmup was over, they came out to skate. She had on a long blue
costume. They skated to Last Dance. She started on a chair. At one point, he
ripped off the long skirt on her costume. Ended with her flipping over his shoulders.
Their marks:
POL |
USA |
CAN |
RUS |
GER |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
Oksana Kazakova and Artur Dmitriev
skated Sad Waltz. Lots of original moves (as always) Obviously the best program
of the night. Their marks:
POL |
USA |
CAN |
RUS |
GER |
5.9 |
5.8 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
Elena Leonova and Andrei Khvalko
skated to Don't Wanna Miss a Thing. Again, lots of original moves. She is too
flexible! She fell on the throw double axel. Such a shame since she landed it
so many times in warmup. Their marks:
POL |
USA |
CAN |
RUS |
GER |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.9 |
5.7 |
5.7 |
5.7 |
5.7 |
5.8 |
5.7 |
Final Results:
- Oksana Kazakova and Artur Dmitriev
- Mandy Woetzel and Ingo Steuer
- Elena Leonova and Andrei Khvalko
Ladies
In this warmup, Michelle landed
everything she tried. She even did a spiral! On the other hand, Nicole had a
terrible warmup. She fell twice on the lutz (hard!), and popped most of the
rest of her jumps. Did not look good for later on.
As with the technical program, when
the warmup was over, all the ladies got off the ice. Oksana was shown backstage
lacing up her skates...again! She skated to My All...with the phone. I know
that the program used to have a phone conversation and phone rings, but since
they took it out, shouldn’t she get rid of the phone. Everyone was asking what
the deal with the phone was. She unfortunately fell out of her lutz. She later
landed the triple salchow, but, right after it, went into a double axel,
and fell. Right at the end of the program. When the program was over, she threw
the phone across the ice. Even with the phone, I like this program (though I’d
probably give her an extra .1 without it.) Her marks:
CAN |
USA |
GER |
ITA |
RUS |
AUS |
FIN |
5.5 |
5.5 |
5.5 |
5.5 |
5.6 |
5.5 |
5.5 |
5.6 |
5.6 |
5.6 |
5.6 |
5.6 |
5.6 |
5.5 |
While NBC was interviewing Oksana
in the kiss and cry, Katarina was skating around on the ice. She made hand gestures
to the crowd to cheer. She skated to Angel. I love this song, and it suits Katarina
well. She looked much better tonight than in the technical program. When she
was done, Mandy W sat with her in the kiss and cry. Her marks:
CAN |
USA |
GER |
ITA |
RUS |
AUS |
FIN |
5.6 |
5.7 |
5.7 |
5.7 |
5.5 |
5.6 |
5.7 |
5.7 |
5.8 |
5.9 |
5.8 |
5.6 |
5.7 |
5.8 |
Lu Chen skated to Black Magic Woman.
She had lots of sparkles on her face. I thought seeing this program in person
would change my opinion of it, but I didn’t. I just don’t like the program.
Her jumps weren’t with her again tonight. Her marks:
CAN |
USA |
GER |
ITA |
RUS |
AUS |
FIN |
5.4 |
5.6 |
5.7 |
5.6 |
5.6 |
5.6 |
5.7 |
5.7 |
5.6 |
5.8 |
5.7 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.7 |
Michelle
was next, skating to East of Eden. This used to be my least favorite program
of hers. Don’t ask me why. But when she brought it back this year, I fell in
love with it. I have never seen it in person, so I was happy when I heard she
would be doing it here. And, wow! Before the competition, I was excited about
seeing her new long. But EoE overshadowed it. She had such feeling. And was
so secure in her jumps. In fact, I wasn’t nervous at all when she skated (and
I’m usually nervous even when she’s just doing an exhibition!) Just before she
did the spread eagle, I got tears in my eyes, and they didn’t go away until
a few seconds into Yuka’s program. Just breathtaking! I heard some people saying
they felt like they did after she skated at Nationals. I wouldn’t say it quite
had that feeling, but it was close. It probably was the best I have seen her
skate in person other than Nationals. Standing ovation. I was hoping she would
get 6.0s, but when the marks came up...wow (again!) Not only did she get 6.0s
for artistic, but 2 for technical, as well. That is very rare. BTW, the USA
judge is the judge that gave his first 6.0 ever to Michelle’s short program
at Nationals (and then gave her one in the long, too.) Her marks:
CAN |
USA |
GER |
ITA |
RUS |
AUS |
FIN |
5.8 |
5.9 |
6.0 |
6.0 |
5.9 |
5.8 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
6.0 |
6.0 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
6.0 |
5.9 |
Yuka skated to Hat full of Stars.
This has to be one of my favorite (if not favorite) program of hers. Her marks:
CAN |
USA |
GER |
ITA |
RUS |
AUS |
FIN |
5.7 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.7 |
5.8 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
5.8 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
Nicole skated to her Motown medley.
This program suits her perfectly. I don’t think anyone else could pull it off
as well. It is such an entertaining program, and is better in person than on
TV. No one really knew what to expect here. I was so nervous when she went into
her jumps! Since she had such a terrible warmup, I thought it would be another
splat fest. Boy, was I wrong! When she was going into the triple lutz, I was
SO nervous! And when she landed it, I, and the crowd, erupted! Her next
jump was the double axel. She landed it facing us, and her smile was HUGE! She
went on to land the triple loop and toe, each time, her face beaming more. Everyone
jumped to their feet when the program was over. I thought she should have come
in second, but since there was no room between Michelle and Yuka, she finished
third. Still, great job, and a huge confidence booster. Yea Nicole! Her marks:
CAN |
USA |
GER |
ITA |
RUS |
AUS |
FIN |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.9 |
5.8 |
5.9 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
Final Results:
- Michelle Kwan
- Yuka Sato
- Nicole Bobek
- Lu Chen
- Katarina Witt
- Oksana Baiul
Dance
In the warmup, the only real time
there was any tension between Pasha & Sasha and Maya & Evgeny. Maya was
just skating around, and Pasha was doing a move, and Pasha skated right towards
Maya. They almost collided. I also found it ironic that Maya and Evgeny wore
white, and Pasha and Sasha wore black (the exact opposite.)
Pasha Grischuk and Alexander Zhulin
skated to Unbreak My Heart. Again, not much applause. In fact, there was actually
booing and hissing. I have never heard someone boo a skater at a skating event.
There was a lot of catcalls throughout the dance event. This program was better
than their first one, but still just lots of tricks. Their marks:
POL |
USA |
RUS |
CAN |
AUS |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.7 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.9 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
Maya Usova and Evgeny Platov skated
to Moonlight Sonata. Again, better than their first program. More tricks and
lifts. Their marks:
POL |
USA |
RUS |
CAN |
AUS |
5.9 |
5.8 |
5.9 |
5.8 |
5.9 |
6.0 |
5.9 |
6.0 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
Before Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod
Swallow skated, someone screamed out “if you win, it will be perfect.” They
skated to “I Put a Spell on You.” It’s a cute program, and the crowd loved it.
But Maya and Evgeny’s marks were too high for them to win. Their marks:
POL |
USA |
RUS |
CAN |
AUS |
5.9 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
5.8 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
Final Results:
- Maya Usova and Evgeny Platov
- Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow
- Pasha Grischuk and Alexander Zhulin
Men
Before the warmup, Kurt was playing
around with some of the flower girls. He had on a black costume, so I figured
he wouldn’t be doing his new clown program. Todd was also wearing a black costume,
so I figured he wouldn’t be skating to Il Mare Calmo Della Sera. He landed several
perfect triple axels. During each warmup, when the timer got down to about 10
seconds, some of the crowd would countdown to zero. This time, when they started
counting down, Kurt jumped up, and literally ran off the ice, and jumped into
the crowd! (Ironically, into a section that had signs for Todd.)
Rudy skated to his violin number.
Completely different number than what he did the first night. He fell on his
double axel right on the beat of the music. His marks:
USA |
CAN |
POL |
ITA |
RUS |
FIN |
AUS |
5.7 |
5.6 |
5.6 |
5.6 |
5.6 |
5.6 |
5.7 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.9 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.7 |
5.8 |
Kurt was next. He now had on his
clown costume with a red nose. He came out sheepishly. Great program! So
entertaining! He ends the program by jumping onto the judge’s row, and shakes
hands with some of the judges. After taking his bows, a flower boy skates over
to him, and gestures to him to leave. Kurt then puts his hands up like he is
going to fight. The flower boy then pulls him by his ear off the ice. LOL! His
marks:
USA |
CAN |
POL |
ITA |
RUS |
FIN |
AUS |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.6 |
5.7 |
5.7 |
5.7 |
6.0 |
6.0 |
6.0 |
5.8 |
6.0 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
What are the chances of seeing someone
skate to a clown program? Well, tonight, we saw two! Alexei skated his clown
short program. Wasn’t impressed with this program as I thought I would be (based
on what I heard about it.) Thought there was still room for Todd to win (if
he skated clean), until his marks came up. His marks:
USA |
CAN |
POL |
ITA |
RUS |
FIN |
AUS |
5.9 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
5.7 |
5.9 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
5.8 |
Todd was next. I was so happy when
I heard the first bars of Il Mare Calmo Della Sera. This is my favorite program
of his, and one of my all time favs. I usually go into a trance watching it.
Then, he fell on his triple axel (and the crowd gasped.) I don’t think I have
ever seen him fall in this program. He later doubled his lutz. It’s the costume!
I have always said that skaters shouldn’t change their costumes (didn’t Michelle
in ‘97 teach them anything?) But why would they listen to me? ;-) Oh well. I
still love this program, even though it didn’t have the same effect as usual,
it still is beautiful. His marks:
USA |
CAN |
POL |
ITA |
RUS |
FIN |
AUS |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.6 |
5.7 |
5.8 |
5.8 |
5.9 |
5.8 |
5.7 |
5.7 |
5.8 |
5.9 |
5.8 |
5.7 |
Final Results:
- Alexei Yagudin
- Kurt Browning
- Todd Eldredge
- Rudy Galindo
Awards
They announced that the ASW Professional
Skater of the Year Award would be given out. Past winners were Scott Hamilton,
and Katia Gordeeva (last year.) Sandra Bezic gave a heartwarming speech, and
awarded it to Kurt. The audience went wild. They were both crying. The award
even had skates on it!
Then, the plates were given out
to the winners. (Pairs, Men, Dance, then Ladies.) They all held the plate over
their head...except Michelle. :-( And because they were on the other side of
Dick Button, and the others giving out the awards, I didn’t really get good
pictures of the skaters with their plates. All the skaters came out, and skated
around. They then posed for a group pictures (of course, they posed with their
back towards my side!) So sad...it was all over!
Hotel
We then went to the hotel where
the skaters were staying. No one arrived for at least an hour and a half. I
heard Alexei came through, and on one even noticed! At one point, someone said
“there’s Michelle’s,” and my head snapped around to look. But, it was her parents.
Both were carrying some of her things, and her mother had her plate and flowers.
At least we knew Michelle was staying there!
Finally, we saw a group of people
surrounding someone, and we rushed over. It was Katarina! She is beautiful.
She went down the line of people, signing autographs and posing for pictures.
Then, we saw Mandy Woetzel, and got her autograph and picture. I was using a
disposable camera for these pictures, and both times, the picture wouldn’t snap
at first! Thankfully, the skaters were patient! Nicole came through with her
boyfriend, and said that she would “come back later.” She didn’t.
A little while later, Todd came.
He is so nice. He stayed until the last person that wanted a picture or autograph
got one. When I asked for a picture, he stood like I was going to be in the
picture, but no one I knew was around me, so I didn’t have anyone to take it.
:-( And again, the same thing happened with the camera! But, I finally got my
picture, and had to fight my way out of the mob around him.
Then, Michelle came! She had a few
security people around her, along with Frank and her agent. Frank had a huge
smile on his face. I had my card with the URL of my site on it. The security
people were moving people out of the way. But, I was able to get in there and
give my card to Michelle! I told her how I had a website on her, and gave her
the card. She looked at it and smiled. While she was walking, she was signing
autographs. I tried to get a picture of her, but they were too far ahead of
me now. She got on the elevator, and fan tried to get on, too. I was upset with
myself that I didn’t get a picture of her earlier. Oh well. She looked great,
though. Her hair looked really cute (it looks like she is growing it out.) She
had on a gray top (I think) with faux fur around the collar.
At one point, Oksana walked through
the lobby (on the other side of where I was), and got right on the elevator.
She later came back downstairs, and walked by me. I asked her for a picture,
and she smiled while she walked. Oksana Kazakova came through the front door,
her coat wet (it was raining.) She was had a huge smile on her face while she
signed and posed for pictures. Evgeny Platov also signed and posed for a while.
At one point (just before he got to me!), he said that he had to go upstairs
for a party, but would be back. Still, he stayed for a while later. Then, a
whole group of skaters (Yuka, Jason, Jerod Swallow, Rudy, and maybe some I didn’t
see) passed through. I was only able to catch Yuka. I also got Elena Leonova’s
autograph and picture.
I think that’s everyone. I know
some skaters passed through that I missed. Philippe Candeloro was also there,
but he was at the other end of the lobby, and by that point, I was too tired
to go over! We left a little before 2am. Now I was sad again...it really was
all over! It was a great two days! Everyone always seems to have so much fun
at this competition, and now I see why!
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Photo © Heather Winfield
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