The Sparkassen Cup on Ice in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, continued Saturday with the Free Programs for Men, Pairs and Ladies.

Men

The competition Saturday started with the Men's Free Program. First to skate, of the top contenders, was China's Chengjiang Li, who touched down on his opening quadruple toeloop. The two-time Four Continents Silver Medallist recovered quickly and pulled off a triple axel-triple toeloop combination and five more triples, although his loop was shaky. Li's program to "Blue Men" was dynamic and fast, and he claimed the bronze medal. "I'm happy that I skated here. I learned a lot from training with the other competitors", said Li.

Timothy Goebel (USA), second after the Short Program, started with a triple flip and then reeled off a quadruple salchow-triple toeloop combination. The 20-year-old then stumbled on the second jump in his triple axel-triple toe combination and fell on the quadruple toeloop before he pulled himself together to land another triple axel and quadruple salchow. Goebel's program to music from the soundtrack of "Henry V" included a triple lutz and triple loop, but his spins and step sequences were not so convincing. He got marks up to 5.8 for both technique and presentation and settled for the silver. "Overall I'm disappointed with my performance. I had a few mistakes", commented the American. "I'm happy to have come away with the silver medal."

Overnight leader Evgeni Plushenko (RUS) skated right after Goebel. The 18-year-old from St. Petersburg opened his program set to a Tango and music from "Once upon a time in America" with his trademark quadruple toeloop-triple toeloop-double loop combination. He then nailed another quadruple toeloop, a triple axel-triple toeloop combination, as well as three more triples. His only mistake came when he touched down on his triple loop. The entertaining performance also featured fast steps and original spins, and received many applause from the audience. All judges awarded the European Champion 5.9s for presentation. He got eight 5.9s and one 5.8 for technique. "I landed two quadruple jumps for the first time in competition", said a delighted Plushenko. "We really worked hard on this during the summer. I plan to include the quadruple salchow soon in my program, if it works out."

Alexander Abt of Russia, fourth after the Short Program, took to the ice first in the last group. He opened his program with a quadruple toeloop, followed by a triple axel-double toeloop combination. Overall, Abt landed five triples, but he doubled the lutz and lacked speed in the second half of his performance and he finished fourth.

Ivan Dinev of Bulgaria had some bad luck, as his left blade broke during the warm up of the last group. However, he was able to obtain instant replacement of his skates. Dinev skated last and put in a decent performance to finish in fifth place.

Canada's Emmanuel Sandhu had to stop after one and a half minutes into his Free Program, because he discovered a flower that someone had thrown on to the ice for the previous skater. Sandhu was allowed to continue his program from the point at which he stopped and he came in sixth.

The Sparkassen Cup on Ice was a non-scoring event for Plushenko and Li. Goebel has 21 points after his two events and is currently heading the Grand Prix standings.

Pairs

World Bronze Medallists Sarah Abitbol/Stephane Bernadis (FRA) won their first gold at the Sparkassen Cup. The team had already won the Short Program. The French presented their new program, they called "Tristan and Isolde", for which the music was specially composed for them by Maxim Rodriguez. The dynamic performance featured side-by-side triple toeloops, a high throw double axel and a difficult, one-armed lift. However, Bernadis put his hand on the ice on the double axel, and Abitbol stepped out of the triple throw loop. As none of the other pairs delivered programs that were completely clean, Abitbol/Bernadis took the lead, by earning all first place ordinals. "We had some mistakes", admitted Bernadis. "But it is always good to win, especially when the competition is as tough as here. We beat the World Champions after all." Bernadis didn't want to compare their "Tristan and Isolde" to the one of Jamie Sale/David Pelletier (CAN) that bears the same name (but is skated to different music). "We didn't do that on purpose", he stressed. "Of course the media will compare the programs, but we have a totally different style and different personalities, we are two very different couples and it's just this theme that brings us nearer to each other." Abitbol/Bernadis scored 12 points. Their next point-scoring event will be the NHK Trophy in Japan in December.

World Champions Maria Petrova/Alexei Tikhonov of Russia had to accept their second defeat in their second competition. Petrova doubled the opening side by side triple toeloop and singled the axel shortly afterwards. The rest of the program that featured innovative lifts and an excellent triple throw salchow was fine, but it was not enough to beat the French. Petrova/Tikhonov who had won the gold at the Sparkassen Cup, since the last two years, had to settle for the silver this time. "We didn't do a great job tonight", said Tikhonov. "We had two mistakes in the jumps. Maybe it was the jet-lag, we just came from Skate Canada. Due to Maria's injury (sprained ankle) this summer, we weren't able to practice jumps so much." Petrova/Tikhonov take home 9 points and will meet their French competitors again at the NHK Trophy, which is their second scoring event.

Russia's up and coming pair Tatiana Totmianina/Maxim Marinin repeated their podium finish from Skate America by winning the bronze medal. Their program included side-by-side triple salchows and side-by-side triple toeloops, but Totmianina missed the throw triple loop, and also touched down on the triple throw salchow. "We did two quite serious mistakes today", said Marinin. "To us, this competition is like a test event before the main competitions this season, and it's an opportunity for us to test our strengths", he explained. "We'll skate again at home, in St. Petersburg, next week, and we hope not to repeat those mistakes." The Russian team had chosen the Sparkassen Cup as their additional event and will skate for points next week in St. Petersburg.

Ice Dance

The Original Dance saw a few switches in placements after the Compulsory Dance. The decision for the judges was though, because the top four couples all delivered strong performances.

Italy's World Silver Medallists Barbara Fusar Poli/Maurizio Margaglio came out on top. Their fast and classic "Puttin' on the Ritz" (Quickstep and Foxtrott) won them marks up to 5.9. "It was perfect", said Fusar Poli. "We felt better than at Skate America, because we could breathe!"

World Bronze Medallists Margarita Drobizuako/Povilas Vanagas finished a solid second with an exciting Charleston and Quickstep. "We did very well today. The audience was fantastic. It's a small arena, but the public is very knowledgeable."

To the delight of their home crowd, Kati Winkler/Rene Lohse (GER) pulled up one spot with a funny Charleston and Quickstep set to "Cabaret". "This result really encourages us", said Winkler. "It proves that no one is miles away from us". The couple also seemed to feel that the Original Dance was their strongest part of the competition so far.

Canada's Shae-Lynn Bourne/Victor Kraatz dropped to fourth in spite of a difficult and entertaining Quickstep and Foxtrott, "Jumping Jack" and "This Business of Love" (from "The Mask"). "First of all we are happy to be back skating", said Kraatz, referring to Bourne's knee injury that kept them out of Worlds last season. "We are happy with how we've skated. The most important thing is that the joy of skating is back."

Reigning World Junior Champions, Natalia Romaniuta/Daniil Barantsev (RUS), moved up one spot after a strong Foxtrott and Quickstep and the are now sitting in fifth before the Free Dance on Sunday.

Ladies

The Ladies Free Program was set on quite a high level. Overnight leader, Maria Butyrskaya (RUS) was the first to skate from the last warm up group. The 1999 World Champion had a determined look on her face - she wanted to redeem herself after her mistake in the Short Program. Butyrskaya opened her Long Program with a triple lutz-double toeloop combination and went on to do a triple flip - the jump she had stumbled on yesterday - as well as her triple toeloop-half loop-triple salchow combination. Overall the program contained six triples and a double axe, as well as a nice spiral sequence. For the first time in her career, the World Bronze Medallist landed two triple lutze in her program. This season, Butyrskaya had opted for a very romantic, flowing program set to music from the Russian movie "17 Moments in Spring". After she finished her performance, the Russian couldn't hide her joy. Butyrskaya got marks up to 5.8, both for technique and presentation. Five judges voted for first place, three for second and one for third. "This was my first competition, and I was very nervous as usual, because it's a new season and I have new programs. My Free Program is completely new for me, and I didn't know what mistakes I had to expect; I'm very, very happy with my performance."

Next to skate was French Champion Vanessa Gusmeroli, third after the Short Program. Skating to the soundtrack of "Jeanne d'Arc" and dressed in silver, Gusmeroli started with a triple lutz, but stepped out of it. Her program went downhill from then on, and the 22-year-old managed to pull off only one triple jump, which was a toeloop. The French dropped three places and finished sixth.

Tatiana Malinina of Uzbekista, fifth in the Short, saw the marks of her competitor and she knew that the doors were suddenly wide open. She seized her chance and delivered a clean program that featured an excellent triple lutz and four more triples plus two double axels and fast, centered spins. Malinina surged from fifth to third and captured the bronze medal. It was a personal triumph for the skater who had been handicapped last season by various injuries, finishing a distant eighteenth place at the Worlds in Nice. "I only can say that I'm very pleased", the 1999 Grand Prix Champion said. "My husband helped me to come back, and I'm really grateful for that". Malinina's husband, Roman Skorniakov, competed in the Mens' event and finished seventh.

Sarah Hughes (USA) skated next to last. She fell on her second jump in an attempted triple salchow-triple loop combination, but overall her lively program to "Don Quixote" contained six triples and a strong layback spin. The 15-year-old finished second in the Free Program and second overall, claiming her second silver medal in her second Grand Prix event this season. "It wasn't my best, but I felt improved from Skate America. I was faster, and I added a second triple lutz", commented Hughes.

Butyrskaya won 12 points and will be skating for points at Trophée Lalique in two weeks. Sarah Hughes scored 9 points and chose Cup of Russia, next week, as her second-scoring event. Malinia currently has 7 points and will be competing at the NHK Trophy in Japan.

The Sparkassen Cup on Ice concludes Sunday with the Free Dance.

For further information please contact:

Grand Prix of Figure Skating & Final		or	Sparkassen Cup on Ice
Aline Bussat Ingwersen, ISU Media Coordinator	        Gerd Heydn, Press Officer
Tel:	+41 21 612 66 66				+49 209 97 66 271
Fax:	+41 21 612 66 77
E-mail: bussat@isu.ch	

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