Ladies Single Skating Final Results 

PL Competitor 		Nation SP  FS  TFP  Pl. F1 F2 SF 

1. Irina SLUTSKAYA 	RUS    1   1   1.5  1         1 
2. Michelle KWAN 	USA    2   2   3.0  2         2 
3. Sarah HUGHES 	USA    5   3   5.5  3      1   
4. Maria BUTYRSKAYA 	RUS    3   4   5.5  4      2   
5. Tatyana MALININA 	UZB    6   5   8.0  5   1     
6. Elena SOKOLOVA 	RUS    4   6   8.0  6   2   


Men's Single Skating Final Results 

PL Competitor 		Nation SP  FS  TFP   Pl. F1  F2  SF 

1. Evgeni PLUSHENKO 	RUS    2   1   2.0   1           1 
2. Alexei YAGUDIN 	RUS    1   2   2.5   2           2 
3. Matthew SAVOIE 	USA    3   3   4.5   3       1   
4. Ilia KLIMKIN 	RUS    6   4   7.0   4       2   
5. Timothy GOEBEL 	USA    5   5   7.5   5   1     
6. Stanick JEANNETTE 	FRA    4   6   8.0   6   2   


Pairs Final Results 

PL Competitor 		Nation  SP   FS   TFP   Pl.   F1   F2   SF 

1. Jamie SALE
   David PELLETIER 	CAN 	2   1     2.0   1               1 

2. Elena BEREZHNAYA
   Anton SIKHARULIDZE 	RUS 	1   2     2.5   2               2 

3. Xue SHEN
   Hongbo ZHAO 		CHN 	3   3     4.5   3          1   

4. Dorota ZAGORSKA
   Mariusz SIUDEK 	POL 	5   4     6.5   4          2   

5. Sarah ABITBOL
   Stephane BERNADIS 	FRA 	6   5     8.0   5   1    
 
6. Maria PETROVA
   Alexei TIKHONOV 	RUS 	4   6     8.0   6   2     


Ice Dancing Final Results 

PL Competitor 		Nation  OD   FD  TFP   Pl.   F1   F2   SF 

1. Barbara FUSAR-POLI
   Maurizio MARGAGLIO 	ITA 	1    1   1.0   1               1 

2. Irina LOBACHEVA
   Ilia AVERBUKH 	RUS 	2    2   2.0   2               2 

3. Margarita DROBIAZKO
   Povilas VANAGAS 	LTU 	3    4   3.6   4          1   

4. Galit CHAIT
   Sergei SAKHNOVSKI 	ISR 	4    3   3.4   3          2   

5. Kati WINKLER
   Rene LOHSE 		GER 	5    5   5.0   5     1     

6. Marie DUBREUIL
   Patrice LAUZON 	CAN 	6    6   6.0   6     2   

As the NHK Trophy in Asahikawa, Japan was the last of six qualifying events of the Grand Prix of Figure Skating, the entries for the Final have now been confirmed.

Ladies

Three ladies from Russia, two Americans and one skater from Uzbekistan have qualified for the Final. Maria Butyrskaya (RUS) heads the Grand Prix standings with the maximum of 24 points. She won her two scoring events the Sparkassen Cup in Germany and the Trophée Lalique in France. Teammate Irina Slutskaya also gained the maximum of 24 points with two wins at the Cup of Russia and the NHK Trophy. Three-time World Champion Michelle Kwan (USA) qualified with 21 points. She had won Skate America and finished second to Slutskaya at Skate Canada. All three skaters have been in the Final before. Russia's Elena Sokolova comes back to the Final after having been ranked as first substitute last season. She collected 16 points by taking the bronze medal at Skate America and the silver at the Cup of Russia. Sarah Hughes of the USA has qualified for the Final for the first time in her career with 16 points as well. The 15-year-old finished second at the Sparkassen Cup and third at the Cup of Russia. Tatiana Malinina (UZB) was able to secure her spot in the Final with a third place finish at the NHK Trophy, added to the 7 points she claimed at the Sparkassen Cup. Malinina was the 1999 Grand Prix Champion, but she had been impaired by injury last season and wasn't able to qualify.

Men

Three Russian and three American Skaters will battle it out for the podium. With 24 points each, three-time World Champion Alexei Yagudin of Russia and teammate Evgeni Plushenko are currently leading the list of finalists. They both won their two scoring events. They are joined by Timothy Goebel (USA), who scored 21 points by winning Skate America and finishing second at the Sparkassen Cup in Germany. Also representing the USA will be Todd Eldredge (USA), who assured his spot in the Final with 16 points. He had finished third at Skate America and second at Skate Canada. Eldredge is making his return to the Final after a two-year absence and having competed in just one Grand Prix event last season. Ilia Klimkin (RUS) and Matthew Savoie (USA) will be making their Grand Prix Final debuts, as they qualified with 18 and 14 points respectively.

Pairs

Six Pairs from five ISU members qualified for the Final. This is the first time that there are six entries in the Pairs as well as in the Ice Dance events. Jamie Sale/David Pelletier (CAN) head the standings with 24 points. They had won Skate America and Skate Canada. The two-time World Champions Elena Berezhnaya/Anton Sikhuralidze of Russia and France's World bronze medalists Sarah Abitbol/ Stéphane Bernadis each have 21 points. Both couples had finished first in one of their scoring events and second in the other. World silver medallists Xue Shen/Hongbo Zhao (CHN) have 18 points from winning two second places in their scoring events at Skate America and the Cup of Russia. World Champions Maria Petrova/Alexei Tikhonov from Russia accumulated 16 points. They placed second at the Sparkassen Cup and third at the NHK Trophy. All five couples had competed in the Final last season. The newcomers to the Final are European silver medalists Dorota Zagorska/Mariusz Siudek of Poland. The husband-and-wife team took 12 points from their two events.

Ice Dance

The Ice Dance event will also feature six couples. Heading the standings with 24 points are World silver medalists, Barbara Fusar Poli/Maurizio Margaglio (ITA). They are closely followed by World Champions Marina Anissina/Gwendal Peizerat (FRA), who have also collected 24 points. Both couples have won their two scoring events. Russia's Irina Lobatcheva/Ilia Averbukh have 18 points, as do World bronze medallists Margarita Drobiazko/Povilas Vanagas (LTU). The Russian and the Lithuanian couples each took silver medals at their scoring competitions. Two couples are new to the list of qualifiers for the Grand Prix Final. Galit Chait/Sergei Sakhnovski from Israel and Kati Winkler/Rene Lohse of Germany have qualified for their first ever Grand Prix Final and this will be the first time that Israel will be represented in the Final. Chait/Sakhnovski were second at Skate Canada and third at the Cup of Russia. They gained 16 points. The German couple have 14 points after winning the bronze medal at Trophée Lalique and at the NHK Trophy.

This season, the total prize money for the Final is US$ 492,000.00 .

		Ladies and Men		Pairs and Ice Dance

1st   place	US$ 50,000.00		1st   place	US$ 50,000.00
2nd   place	US$ 30,000.00		2nd   place	US$ 30,000.00
3rd   place	US$ 20,000.00		3rd   place	US$ 20,000.00
4th   place	US$ 10,000.00		4th   place	US$ 10,000.00
5th   place	US$  8,000.00		5th  place	US$  8,000.00
6th   place	US$  5,000.00		6th  place	US$  5,000.00

Additionally, Skaters and couples will receive an extra bonus of US$ 10,000 for participating in the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.

Media accreditation and official media hotel booking forms for the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, Tokyo, Japan, February 15-18, 2001 are available from:

Accreditation:	Japan Skating Federation
Kishi Memorial Hall, Room 414
1-1-1, Jinnan, Shibuya-Ku
Tokyo 150-8050
Japan
Tel:	+ 81 3 3481 2351
Fax:	+ 81 3 3481 2350	
E-mail:	info@skatingjapan.or.jp

Press officer:	Mr. Hiroshi Kobayashi

ISU Front Page