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2000 World Figure Skating Championships March 26 - April 2, 2000 Nice, France Day 2 Summary

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The 2000 ISU World Figure Skating Championships continued in Nice (FRA) Tuesday with the Compulsory Dances and the Men's Short Program (results attached).

Dance

Reigning champions Anjelika Krylova & Oleg Ovsiannikov (RUS) are not in Nice to defend the title they have won for the past two years, due to Krylova's back injury that has kept them out of competition all season. Krylova was in the audience to watch the Compulsory Dances.

European champions Marina Anissina & Gwendal Peizerat (FRA) won the Viennese Waltz, the first of the two Compulsory Dances. Their flowing and lyrical performance earned them one 5.9 and two 5.8s for technique and five 5.9s for timing and expression with first places from eight of the nine judges. Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio (ITA) placed second with a total of nine 5.8s. Third were Irina Lobacheva & Ilia Averbukh (RUS) in a split decision ahead of Margarita Drobiazko & Povilas Vanagas (LTU). In the Argentine Tango, the French 1999 world silver medallists extended their lead. Their expressive routine was rewarded with four 5.9s for timing and expression and a total of twelve 5.8s. The Italians again won one first place vote from the judges and two 5.9s for timing and expression. Lobacheva & Averbukh kept ahead of the Lithuanian European bronze medallists by a majority of six judges to three.

Anissina said: "Don't say too much. This is just the beginning of the competition." Her partner Peizerat added: "We skated better than at Europeans."

Men

An outstanding evening of skating also saw a record number of quadruple jumps in the Men's Short Program. Alexander Abt (RUS), third in the Qualifying Group B, was the first of the top group to take the ice. He decided to play safe and opted for a triple axel/triple toeloop combination and a triple lutz, rather than going for the quad. He skated a clean flowing program, with fine spins and choreography, and his marks included one 5.8 for presentation. Next to skate was Chengjiang Li (CHN), third in the other Qualifying Group. He opened with a fine quadruple toeloop but put his hand down after the triple axel in his combination jump. That error left him in eighth place in the Short Program and sixth overall.

Next to skate was the 1999 silver medallist and European champion Evgeni Plushenko (RUS), second in Qualifying Group B. In a determined performance he landed a clean quadruple toeloop and a clean triple axel/triple toeloop but made a small error on his combination Biellmann spin. His marks included six 5.8s for required elements and another five for presentation. He then had to wait to see if that was enough to hold the lead.

Three time world champion Elvis Stojko (CAN), the winner of Group B, opened with a triple axel/triple toeloop but fell hard on his attempt at the quadruple toeloop. He knew that the error would cost him dearly and he finished fifth in the Short and fourth overall going into the Free. Michael Weiss (USA), the bronze medallist last year and second in Group A, was the next to last skater in the top group. He landed a quadruple toeloop and triple axel/triple toeloop combination in an excellent performance but then over-rotated the required double axel with only 40 seconds to go. That error meant his marks for required elements ranged from as low as 5.1 to 5.6 but he received two 5.9s and four 5.8s for presentation to take third place in the Short. Last to skate was defending champion Alexei Yagudin (RUS), the winner of Group A. He too opened with a quadruple toeloop and triple axel/triple toeloop in an outstanding performance of his Nutcracker program that earned a standing ovation. The judges awarded him three 5.9s and five 5.8s for required elements and a full set of 5.9s for presentation.

Yagudin's win in the Short Program puts him in the lead going into the Free ahead of Plushenko (second in the Short) and Weiss. Stojko holds fourth place overall ahead of Abt and Li.

A record total of seven clean quads were landed in the Short. Timothy Goebel (USA) became the first skater to land a quadruple salchow in the Short Program at a World Championships. Anthony Liu (AUS) and Zehngxin Guo (CHN) both landed quadruple toeloops, in addition to Li, Plushenko, Weiss and Yagudin. Guo became the first skater to land a quad in a Short Program at the World Championships when he landed a quad toeloop in Helsinki in 1999. The option to include a quad in the Short Program was introduced at the beginning of the 1998/99 season.

"It was hard to skate," said Yagudin. "After I landed the quadruple toeloop and a nice triple axel/triple toeloop, I was happy but I was also a bit scared. I watched Michael Weiss and he missed the double axel. So I tried to be prepared for this jump."

"Plushenko said: "I skated well. The jumps were better than at Europeans, cleaner."

"I felt great about the way I skated," said Weiss. "I think I put together two solid programs right now and I have just one left and I'm looking forward to competing again. I just made a stupid mistake on the double axel that I've never done before."

The Championships continue Wednesday with the Ladies' Qualifying Rounds and the Pairs' Free Skating.

Results

Men

Short Program

Fi Name 		Nation 		TFP 	QB 	QA 	SP FS

1 Alexei YAGUDIN 	RUS 		1,0 		1 	1
2 Evgeni PLUSHENKO 	RUS 		2,0 	2 		2
3 Michael WEISS 	USA 		2,6 		2 	3
4 Elvis STOJKO 		CAN 		3,4 	1 		5
5 Alexander ABT 	RUS 		3,6 	3 		4
6 Chengjiang LI 	CHN 		6,0 		3 	8
7 Anthony LIU 		AUS 		6,4 	7 		6
8 Zhengxin GUO 		CHN 		7,0	4 		9
9 Timothy GOEBEL 	USA 		7,4 	8 		7
10 Stanick JEANNETTE 	FRA 		8,0 	5 		10
11 Vincent RESTENCOURT	FRA 		9,4 		7 	11
12 Stefan LINDEMANN 	GER 		9,4 		4 	13
13 Vitali DANILCHENKO 	UKR 		9,6 	6 		12
14 Ivan DINEV 		BUL 		12,0 	9 		14
15 Andrejs VLASCENKO 	GER 		12,0 		6 	16
16 Dmitri DMITRENKO 	UKR 		12,2 		8 	15
17 Takeshi HONDA 	JPN 		12,2 		5 	17
18 Roman SKORNIAKOV 	UZB 		14,8 	10 		18
19 Michael TYLLESEN 	DEN 		15,4 		10 	19
20 Patrick MEIER 	SUI 		16,2 		9 	21
21 Ben FERREIRA 	CAN 		16,4 	11		20
22 Markus LEMINEN 	FIN 		18,0 		12 	22
23 Konstantin KOSTIN 	LAT 		18,6 	12 		23
24 Sergei RYLOV 	AZE 		19,6 	13 		24
25 Vakhtang MURVANIDZE	GEO 		20,2 		13 	25
26 Szabolcs VIDRAI 	HUN 		20,6 		11 	27
27 Yamato TAMURA 	JPN 		21,2 	14 		26
28 Cornel GHEORGHE 	ROM 		22,4 		14 	28
29 Matthew DAVIES 	GBR 		23,4 	15 		29
30 Yuri LITVINOV 	KAZ 		24,0 		15 	30

Dance

1st Compulsory Dance Viennese Waltz
2nd Compulsory Dance Argentine Tango

Fi Name 					Nation 		TFP 	C1 	C2 OD FD

1 Marina ANISSINA / Gwendal PEIZERAT 		FRA 		0,4 	1	1
2 Barbara FUSAR-POLI / Maurizio MARGAGLIO 	ITA 		0,8 	2 	2
3 Irina LOBACHEVA / Ilia AVERBUKH 		RUS 		1,2 	3 	3
4 Margarita DROBIAZKO / Povilas VANAGAS 	LTU 		1,6 	4 	4
5 Kati WINKLER / Rene LOHSE 			GER 		2,0 	5 	5
6 Galit CHAIT / Sergei SAKHNOVSKI 		ISR 		2,4 	6 	6
7 Elena GRUSHINA / Ruslan GONCHAROV 		UKR 		2,8 	7 	7
8 Naomi LANG / Peter TCHERNYSHEV 		USA 		3,4 	8 	9
8 Sylwia NOWAK / Sebastian KOLASINSKI 		POL 		3,4 	9 	8
10 Albena DENKOVA / Maxim STAVISKI 		BUL 		4,2 	11 	10
10 Marie-France DUBREUIL / Patrice LAUZON 	CAN 		4,2 	10 	11
12 Isabelle DELOBEL /Olivier SCHOENFELDER 	FRA 		4,8 	12 	12
13 Anna SEMENOVICH /Roman KOSTOMAROV		RUS 		5,2 	13 	13
14 Jamie SILVERSTEIN / Justin PEKAREK 		USA 		5,6 	14 	14
15 Eliane HUGENTOBLER / Daniel HUGENTOBLER 	SUI 		6,2 	15 	16
16 Megan WING / Aaron LOWE 			CAN 		6,4 	17 	15
17 Federica FAIELLA / Luciano MILO 		ITA 		6,8 	16 	18
18 Natalia ROMANIUTA / Danil BARANTSEV 		RUS 		7,0	18	17
19 Alexandra KAUC / Filip BERNADOWSKI 		POL 		7,6 	19 	19
20 Stephanie RAUER / Thomas RAUER 		GER		8,2 	20 	21
20 Nakako TSUZUKI / Rinat FARKHOUTDINOV 	JPN 		8,2 	21 	20
22 Weina ZHANG / Xianming CAO 			CHN 		9,0 	23 	22
23 Angelika FÜHRING / Bruno ELLINGER 		AUT 		9,4 	22 	25
23 Julie KEEBLE / Lukasz ZALEWSKI 		GBR 		9,4 	24	23
25 Zita GEBORA / Andras VISONTAI		HUN 		9,8 	25 	24
26 Katarina KOVALOVA / David SZURMAN 		CZE 		10,4 	26	26
27 Zuzana DURKOVSKA / Marian MESAROS		SVK 		10,8 	27 	27
28 Alissa de CARBONNEL / Alexander MALKOV 	BLR 		11,2 	28 	28
29 Tiffany HYDEN / Vazgen AZROJAN 		ARM 		11,6 	29 	29
30 Anna MOSENKOVA / Sergei SYCHOV 		EST 		12,0 	30 	30


For further information please contact:

ISU Press Office: Aline Bussat/Penny Dain in Nice on +33 4 97 08 25 86