| Grand Prix of Figure Skating: Trophée Lalique Day Three |
The Trophée Lalique concluded Saturday night with the Men, Pairs and Ladies Free Programs and the Free Dance. The Trophée Lalique is the fourth of six events in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating.
Men, Free Program
Again, the Men were first to take to the ice. Russia's Alexei Yagudin took his fifth title at the Trophée Lalique. Todd Eldredge (USA) claimed the silver medal and Andrejs Vlascenko of Germany captured the bronze, his first in a Grand Prix event over many years.
Skating first in the final flight, Yagudin opened his "Man in the Iron Mask" program with a quadruple-triple toeloop combination, but then he stumbled on the second quadruple toeloop. The three-time World Champion recovered immediately to nail a triple Axel-triple toeloop and another triple Axel. Although he landed two more triples, he doubled the flip in the first attempt and also doubled the loop. He thrilled the crowd with his footwork. Yagudin received marks from 5.6 to 5.8 for technical merit and all 5.8s and 5.9s for presentation. "My coach told me after Skate Canada that I should pay more attention to the triple jumps. I had fights with her about that, because I've been landing them consistently in practice. Today I said, she was right", Yagudin revealed. "I didn't have enough speed going into the second quad."
In his performance, Eldredge tripled his toeloop that was planned as a quadruple and later stepped out of the triple Axel (in combination with double toe). The 1996 World Champion still completed six clean triples overall and strong spins, but he lacked speed and expression today. "I leaned forward way too much going into it (the quadruple toeloop)", he explained. The current World bronze medallist used last year's "Conquest of Paradise" program. "I haven't yet gotten quite comfortable with my new long program", he said. He plans to unveil it in December. Vlascenko skated last. He stepped out of both triple Axels in his Blues routine, but he hit a triple Salchow-triple toeloop combination and three more triples to remain in third place. "This is my first Grand Prix medal since 1997 I believe", he told the press. "I'm pleased to have a medal today, but there were several mistakes in my program. There is still a lot of work left."
The standings below the top three skaters shuffled. World Junior Champion Johnny Weir (USA) pulled up one place to finish fourth while China's Min Zhang dropped to fifth place.
Yagudin earned 12 points at the Trophée Lalique and has taken the lead in the Grand Prix standings. Eldredge earned 9 points in Paris and now has a total of 16. Vlascenko collected 7 points in France and has 10 points overall.
Ice Dancing, Free Dance
Like Yagudin, Marina Anissina/Gwendal Peizerat of France won their fifth Trophée Lalique on Saturday. The silver medal went to Shae-Lynn Bourne/Victor Kraatz of Canada with Margarita Drobiazko/Povilas Vanagas (LTU) taking the bronze.
Anissina/Peizerat presented their new Free Dance for the first time in competition. The French picked "Non Merci" by Jean Claude Petit (from the Cyrano de Bergerac soundtrack), "Canone Inverso" by Ennio Morricone and included fragments of Martin Luther King's famous speech, "I have a dream", to express their theme "Anthem for Liberty". The program called "Liberta" featured good footwork, innovative elements and moves such as an inverse lift. The reigning World silver medallists received marks from 5.6 to 5.9 for technical merit and all 5.9s plus one 6.0 for presentation. "Our choreographer (Bruno Vandelli) had the idea for the program, and we loved it. The choreography is something new, it's coming from a choreographer who never worked with figure skating before", Peizerat stressed.
Bourne/Kraatz had to cope with a mishap, as she lost a part of her barrette right at the beginning of the program, and Referee Ulf Denzer stopped the couple. The Canadians had to start their program again from the point of interruption. They still produced a fine performance with strong lifts and footwork to a medley of Michael Jackson songs. Bourne/ Kraatz earned marks from 5.4 to 5.8 for technical merit and from 5.7 to 5.8 for presentation. "A part of my barrette came off. We saw it, but we kept going", Bourne explained. "The referee was concerned. The crowd was wonderful. It was fun to get back into the dance."
Skating last, Drobiazko/Vanagas showed a very emotional and passionate dance to the song "Quelques cris" by Johnny Halliday, sung in French. The husband and wife team displayed intricate footwork and excellent dance spins. Their marks went up to 5.6 for technical merit and up to 5.8 for presentation. "We had the words translated for us, and maybe "last cry" is also symbolic for us - our last cry on the world stage", Vanagas said.
Bulgaria's Albena Denkova/Maxim Staviski showed an original program choreographed to "O" from Cirque du Soleil and they finished fourth overall. The World Junior silver medallists Tanith Belbin/Benjamin Agosto (USA) came in sixth place in their second senior Grand Prix event.
In Paris, Anissina/Peizerat picked up 12 points and will compete again in December at the NHK Trophy in Japan. Drobiazko/Vanagas earned another 7 points in their second scoring event and will have to wait and see if that will be enough to qualify for the Final. The Trophée Lalique was a non-scoring event for Bourne/Kraatz, who are currently heading the Grand Prix standings.
Pairs, Free Program
World silver medallists Elena Berezhnaya/Anton Sicharulidze of Russia claimed the gold medal and the crystal Lalique Trophy. Kyoko Ina/John Zimmerman (USA) captured their third silver medal in this season's series, while the bronze went to Sarah Abitbol/Stephane Bernadis of France.
Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze chose to skate to last year's Free Program set to a selection from Charlie Chaplin soundtracks. The pair from St. Petersburg opened with perfect side by side triple toeloops, but then Berezhnaya fell on the double Axel and the triple twist was wobbly. The couple rallied back to land a triple throw Salchow, triple throw loop and showed a death spiral with an innovative entry and exit. The Judges awarded the two-time World Champions marks ranging from 5.5 to 5.7 for technical merit and from 5.8 to 5.9 for presentation. "Our other free program ("Thais") isn't quite ready yet", Berezhnaya said. "We are happy about how we've skated, because we weren't able to train too much because of my injury", her partner added. Berezhnaya had cut his arm with her blade in a practice accident earlier this month.
Ina/Zimmerman seem to be on a roll this season. Again, they skated very well in their third Grand Prix event, completing side by side triple toeloops, two side by side double Axels, a high triple twist and two triple throws. Their dynamic "Variations on a Theme by Paganini" also featured strong lifts, including their trademark "candle lift". The US-Champions earned marks up to 5.8 for technical merit and up to 5.9 for presentation and picked up one first place ordinal. "This was our last Grand Prix event, and we were very excited", expressed a happy Ina. "It was so easy, we felt like we were flying!"
To the delight of their home crowd, Parisians Abitbol/ Bernadis also put in a good program. Skating to the "Addams Family", the European bronze medallists nailed side by side triple toeloops, a huge double throw Axel, but Abitbol stepped out of the side by side double Axel. The crowd-pleasing program also contained good lifts; a triple twist and a triple throw loop. The couple had worked with renowned ice dance coaches Tatiana Tarasova and Nikolai Morozov, who incorporated dance moves into the program. The French were fourth after the Short Program and pulled up one spot. "Sarah decided to work with Tatiana Tarasova at last year's Grand Prix Final", Bernadis revealed. "We saw the programs she did for ice dancers and single skaters, and we saw the improvements." He added that the couple is still working on the triple throw Axel and wants to include it in the program as soon as it is more consistent.
Russia's Tatiana Totmianina/Maxim Marinin, who stood in third after the first part of the competition, dropped to fourth place, as she fell on the triple throw loop and he two-footed the side by side triple toeloop.
The Polish team of Dorota Zagorska/Mariusz Siudek, in fifth place after the Short Program, had to withdraw due to injury. Siudek fell in the warm up just before the Free Skating and twisted his knee.
The Trophée Lalique was a scoring event for the top four couples. Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze won 12 points and will skate to score again next week at the Cup of Russia. Ina/Zimmerman now have 18 points overall, which should qualify them for the Final. Abitbol/Bernadis picked up 7 points and will skate for points at the Cup of Russia. Totmianina/Marinin now have 12 points overall and will have to wait and see if that will be enough to qualify for the Grand Prix Final.
Ladies, Free Program
The Ladies were last to skate. Overnight leader Maria Butyrskaya of Russia held on to her lead and claimed her fourth Trophée Lalique title. Sarah Hughes (USA) won the Free Program and moved up from fourth to second place overall. Her teammate Sasha Cohen remained in third place to capture her first Grand Prix medal.
Butyrskaya skated first in the final flight. She started off strong with a triple Lutz-double toeloop and a triple flip, but then she two-footed the triple Salchow in her combination with triple toeloop/half loop. The 1999 World Champion fell on her triple Lutz and on the triple Salchow in her second attempt to do a combination. She still produced a triple loop, double Axel and nice spins in her lyrical "17 Moments of Spring" program. Butyrskaya felt affected by the fact that they had to compete late. "Usually I'm in bed at half past ten", she said. "You can't sleep during the day, you're too nervous. I was well prepared for this competition, and I skated well yesterday in the short program. But when I came to France I suddenly had problems with the triple Salchow. That made me nervous. I skated first, and you don't have the right to do mistakes, because the others will take advantage of it. Well, tonight, somehow nobody wanted to take advantage of my mistakes."
Hughes also had a few slip-ups. The 16-year-old hit a good double Axel at the beginning of her program, but then fell on the loop in her triple Salchow-triple loop combination. Hughes landed two triple Lutz jumps (one with a double-toeloop), a triple flip and a triple toe-double loop combination, but she two-footed the last triple toe. Her routine also contained good spins and spirals. Hughes did not seem too pleased with her performance. "The competition was ok for me, it wasn't my greatest. I haven't been practicing great, but I'm happy that I had two solid skates. I had minor mistakes, but I held it together", she commented.
Viktoria Volchkova of Russia, second after the Short Program, was up next, but she did not seize the opportunity. She fell three times during her program and moved down to fourth place.
Cohen had the opportunity to take home the gold, but perhaps her nerves got in the way. The 17-year-old American fell on her triple Lutz, touched down with her hand on one double Axel and slipped while skating backwards. She completed five clean triples and beautiful spirals, but her "Carmen" program lacked the required jump combination. "I was planning to do the triple Lutz-triple toeloop in the program, but I missed the Lutz, what made it kind of hard", Cohen said. "I tried hard all the way through and I had a good time out there."
The Judges were very divided on the skaters. Butyrskaya had three first place ordinals, three were seconds, two in third and one fourth. Four Judges had Hughes ranked first, while two placed her second, three in third and one in fourth. Cohen picked up two first place ordinals, three seconds and four thirds.
All three medallists scored points in Paris. Butyrskaya now heads the Grand Prix standings with 24 points and is qualified for the Final. Hughes earned 9 more points in Paris and now has a total of 18, while Cohen has 11 from her two event: Skate America and the Trophée Lalique. Volchkova now has 12 points overall from her two events.
The Trophée Lalique concludes on Sunday with the Exhibition Gala. The Grand Prix series moves to Russia next week, where the 5th of 6 events, the Cup of Russia Gallina Blanca, will be held in St. Petersburg.
Results Men FPl. Name Nat. Points SP FS 1 Alexei YAGUDIN RUS 1.5 1 1 2 Todd ELDREDGE USA 3.0 2 2 3 Andrejs VLASCENKO GER 4.5 3 3 4 Johnny WEIR USA 6.5 5 4 5 Min ZHANG CHN 8.0 4 6 6 Stephane LAMBIEL SUI 8.5 7 5 7 Sergei RYLOV AZE 13.0 12 7 8 Yamato TAMURA JPN 13.0 10 8 9 Emmanuel SANDHU CAN 13.0 6 10 10 Li YUNFEI CHN 13.5 9 9 11 Vincent RESTENCOURT FRA 15.0 8 11 12 Frédéric DAMBIER FRA 17.5 11 12 Ice Dance FPl. Name Nat. Points C1 OD FD 1 Marina ANISSINA / Gwendal PEIZERAT FRA 2.0 1 1 1 2 Shae Lynn BOURNE / Virtor KRAATZ CAN 4.0 2 2 2 3 Margarita DROBIAZKO / Povilas VANAGAS LTN 6.0 3 3 3 4 Albena DENKOVA / Maxim STAVIYSKI BUL 8.0 4 4 4 5 Isabelle DELOBEL / Olivier SCHOENFELDER FRA 10.0 5 5 5 6 Tanith BELBIN / Benjamin AGOSTO USA 12.4 7 6 6 7 Swetelana KULIKOWA / Arseny MARKOV RUS 13.6 6 7 7 8 Chantal LEFEBVRE / JUSTIN LANNING CAN 16.0 8 8 8 9 Zita GEBORA / Andras VISONTAI HUN 18.0 9 9 9 10 Rie ARIKAWA / Kenji MIYAMOTO JPN 20.0 10 10 10 11 Anna MOSENKOVA / Sergei SYCHOV EST 22.0 11 11 11 Pairs FPl. Name Nat. Points SP FS 1 Elena BEREZNAIA / Anton SIKHARULIDZE RUS 1.5 1 1 2 Kyoko INA / John ZIMMERMAN USA 3.0 2 2 3 Sarah ABITBOL / Stéphane BERNADIS FRA 5.0 4 3 4 Tatiana TOTMIANINA / Maxim MARININ RUS 5.5 3 4 5 Jacinthe LARIVIERE / Lenny FAUSTINO CAN 8.0 6 5 6 Yuko KAWAGUCHI / Alex MARKUNTSOV JPN 9.5 7 6 7 Marie-Pierre LERAY / Nicolas OSSELAND FRA 11.0 8 7 R Dorota ZAGORSKA / Mariusz SUIDEK POL 5 R Aljona SAVCHENKO / Stanislas MOROZOV UKR Ladies FPl. Name Nat. Points SP FS 1 Maria BUTYRSKAYA RUS 2.5 1 2 2 Sarah HUGHES USA 3.0 4 1 3 Sasha COHEN USA 4.5 3 3 4 Viktoria VOLCHKOVA RUS 7.0 2 6 5 Laetitia HUBERT FRA 7.5 5 5 6 Shizuka ARAKAWA JPN 8.5 9 4 7 Silvia FONTANA ITA 10.0 6 7 8 Alisa DREI FIN 13.0 10 8 9 Anne-Sophie CALVEZ FRA 13.0 8 9 10 Vanessa GUSMEROLI FRA 13.5 7 10 11 Nicole WATT CAN 16.5 11 11 For further information please contact: Aline Bussat Ingwersen, ISU Media Coordinator Tel: +41 21 612 66 66 Fax: +41 21 612 66 77 E-mail: bussat@isu.org or Trophee Lalique Sylvie Fourcade, Press Officer +33 1 44 68 44 35 (press room) E-mail: presse@bercy.fr