Thursday, July 30, 1998
After a somewhat shaky warmup for Todd (during which there was much nervousness in a certain quarter of the arena ... :> ), the Goodwill Games Men's Competition got underway. Steven Cousins, who has not yet given up Olympic eligibility, was the first to skate. It was not one of Steven's better nights: he fell on the triple combination, and barely held onto the triple lutz. He finished in the lower tier of skaters by the time the evening was over.
Next up was American Tim Goebel with a rather lackluster performance with a triple axel/double toe and hand-down on the solo triple lutz (automatic deduction).
So far, the evening looked not too promising. But then Todd took to the ice for his short program, and any concerns about a poor warmup dissipated as the strains of Les Miserables began. In a performance that was perhaps his strongest to date for this short program, Todd delivered a strong triple axel/triple toe, great speed, terrific flow and gorgeous, fast and centered spins. Before the music had even faded away, the entire arena was on its feet for the only real standing ovation of the night (which included compulsory dance, pairs short program, and men's short program). Todd seemed genuinely touched by the immense outpouring of approval from the audience. The judges were no less vocal in their approval, giving Todd solid marks for both technical and presentation.
One of the great surprises of the evening was Japan's Takeshi Honda. Honda has been training in the US, and the skater who performed last night was much more mature, in control, and consistent than he has ever been before. He landed a beautiful triple axel/triple toe, deliverning a fast, fluid performance with well-centered spins. In fact, there was only a slight bobble during the entire short, and Takeshi - as well as the audience - was definitely pleased with the result. The judges gave him good scores, but he ultimatey fell to fourth place by the end of the night.
The next group came up for their warmup, and then the second half of the Men's short program began. Aleksei Urmanov returned to eligible ice for the first time since 1997 Worlds. Reprising his short program from the 1996-97 season, Urmanov delivered a strong performance, although not enough to overtake Todd. It was somewhat disappointing that the audience didn't commemorate this historic return of the 1994 Olympic (and 1994 Goodwill Games) champion.
American Michael Weiss was next. The takeoff for his triple lutz (considered his "money jump") was a disaster, and it appeared that he caught his toepick on the backend of his other skate. Missing a crucial required element, Michael shrugged to the crowd and kept going. He landed a triple axel/double toe combination, and finished strongly enough to secure a fifth place finish.
China's Li Yunfei came next. A game effort, marred by several falls, he nonetheless didn't let the problems stop his performance. New to seniors, he found himself in last place.
Ukrainian Yevgeni Pliuta followed. With an evident improvement in speed, he delivered an exquisite triple lutz, but splatted his triple axel combination.
Yevgeni Plushenko closed out the competition with a flawed through spirited performance that included great energy in the serpentine footwork. He did fall out of his almost-trademark Beillmann spin, as well as putting a hand-down in his combination jump. Surprisingly, he moved into third place, edging Takeshi Honda into fourth.
Todd's scores:
Technical Merit 5.8, 5.8, 5.8, 5.8, 5.8, 5.8, 5.8
Presentation 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, 5.9, 5.9, 5.8, 5.8
Ordinals 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
Sunday, August 2, 1998
The first competitor on the ice was China's Li Yunfei, who was apparently competing for the first time out of Juniors. His short had been disappointing, to say the least, and I doubt anyone had any hopes for his long. Boy, were we surprised. He came out and skated to the James Bond theme, For Your Eyes Only, and it's as though 007 inspired him. His flow was so much smoother, his speed greater, and the overall quality of his skate was so superior to his short that it was like watching another skater all together. His skate was strong enough to pull him up from last place into eighth overall.
Next up was USA's Timothy Goebel, who recently made history by becoming the first US man to successfully land a quad (salchow) in competition. He didn't disappoint, landing his quad salchow at the beginning of his program. He later popped a triple flip, but overall, his performance was good, and the audience rewarded him with a standing ovation (but not as big as the ovation that would follow later!). Tim finished in fifth place, which was not bad against the field competing in the Goodwill Games. His scores ranged from 5.5 to 5.7 for technical, 5.2 to 5.6 for presentation.
Great Britain's Steven Cousins skated next, reprising his Gone with the Wind routine. While Steven had skated this brilliantly in Nagano, it was fraught with problems in New York, including two falls (on the triple axel and triple flip). He fell to last place with technical scores reaching as low as 4.9, high of 5.2, and presentation scores ranging from 4.8 to 5.5.
Ukraine's Yevgeni Pliuta was the last of the first group to skate, and like Yunfei, he appeared to have gone through a transformation. His speed was vastly improved, as was his overall performance. His technical scores ranged from 5.2 to 5.5, and presentation 5.3 to 5.6, and he ended up in seventh place.
The second group of men came out for warmup, and as soon as Todd's blade touched the ice, a roar went up from the crowd. It's kind of hard to imagine Todd as a media darling, but it was clear that Todd had a huge number of fans in the stands, and they weren't all from the net!
First up in the second group was Russia's prodigy, Yevgeni Plushenko. At 15, Plushenko has really turned the skating world on its head, and further confused the already tangled web of Russian men's skating. This was, in my opinion, his best performance yet. He had the technical quality as early as Skate America last fall, but he lacked connection with the audience. He faltered at Worlds, but after successfully touring with Champions on Ice, Plushenko found that missing link to the audience. He skated a solid program, delivering a clean quad toe and seven other triples and two Beillmann spins (which look like they may be getting more difficult for him as he passes through puberty). His scores were 5.7 to 5.8 for technical, and 5.6 to 5.8 for presentation, and he ended the night as the Bronze medalist.
Todd skated next, and the air was electric (and fairly noisy!). As the first notes of First Knight played, you could practically see Todd's concentration draw inward, and he tuned out the audience and focussed solely on the program. That focus paid off with a performance that was breathtaking - triple axel/triple toe combination, followed by a triple flip/double toe. He then threw in a triple lutz/triple toe combination! He followed this up with a triple salchow, then a triple loop, a triple axel, and a double axel. His spins were a little wobbly to start in a couple of places, thanks to some boot problems (his blade had popped off during one practice session last week), but his amazing control quickly brought those spins into alignment. Todd had not finished skating before nearly every person in the audience was up on their feet applauding.
Todd's scores and ordinals were:
Technical Merit 5.8, 5.9, 5.9, 5.9, 5.9, 5.7, 5.8
Presentation 5.9, 5.8, 5.9, 5.9, 5.8, 5.9, 5.9
Ordinals 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
Michael Weiss was the next to skate, and he was really in an unenviable position. However, he delivered a fairly solid performance of his Beethoven routine. He two-footed the landing on a quad toe (not the quad lutz he's attempted several times - and a seatmate said that it was a beauty otherwise!), and put a hand down on a combination. His scores ranged 5.3 to 5.7 for technical, and 5.4 to 5.7 for presentation. He rose to fourth place overall.
Next was Japan's Takeshi Honda (my personal favorite among up-and-coming skaters!). Skating to a new program (Man in the Iron Mask), Takeshi struggled with jumps, two-footing two jumps, falling on another, and popping yet another. The footwork and flow were good, and his spins are improving dramatically. The overall solidity of his earlier short program was lacking, but it was clear that this program has great potential. Takeshi's scores were 4.8 to 5.3 technical, and 4.7 to 5.6 presentation, dropping him to sixth place overall.
Last to skate was Aleksei Urmanov, the defending champion from the 1994 Goodwill Games. Sidelined by injury for more than a season, Aleksei was cautious in some ways, but still delivered a great program, marred only by some small mistakes (a two-footed landing on a combination, doubling a planned triple, etc.) This program had been debuted at the Ultimate Four, and he skated it well here, earning technical scores of 5.6 to 5.8, and presentation scores of 5.8 to 5.9, and the Silver medal.
After the competition was completed, the medals ceremony followed. Pairs were first, and then the men. He congratulated Aleksei, and the two shook hands warmly, and he also congratulated Yevgeni. There was some good-natured joking around by the men, and Todd mugged for the audience when he was handed a check that had to be three feet long (for $75,000). Then the flags were raised - it was terrific to see the US flag hanging in the center, and I really enjoyed singing the National Anthem along with everyone else while Todd stood on the top-most podium. After the flag-raising, the guys got off the podium and skated around (Todd hauling that massive check) the rink for their victory lap. Even the medals ceremony was fun that night.
The Nassau Coliseum is practically linked to the Marriott, so most of us just hung around the hotel, spending time together and watching for skaters (most especially Todd). After the men's and pairs long programs, it took some time for the top medalists to make their way to the hotel, but no one took longer than Todd. We estimate that it took him nearly an hour to get through the phalanx of fans waiting for him outside the service tunnel that goes underneath the plaza and parking area around the arena. This space was probably no more than a couple hundred feet, but the fans were legion. Then he finally got into the building, to be greeted by more fans, including several waiting in wheelchairs. Amid a flurry of flashes, Todd started signed autographs, posing for pictures, and generally making himself available for his growing numbers of fans. More than 40 minutes later, he finally made it from the door, past the elevators, and within steps of the bar - probably no more than another couple hundred feet. At last he slipped into the bar to join his family and coach for a celebration - nearly two hours had passed, but he'd left a wake of happy fans behind him.
Sunday, August 2, 1998
Finally, Todd was announced, second to last (as predicted, Michelle Kwan, the ladies' champion, skated last, in direct contradiction to normal exhibition protocol). The audience went berserk. Stamping feet shook the seats and the building filled with the sound of thunder. It was really quite remarkable to feel this beat driving up through the floor. Todd had to wait until the furor died down before he could start skating - otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to hear the music! Il Mare Calmo Della Sera was, as always, wonderful. Todd executed a spin right in front of us that carved a circle into the ice the size of a half-dollar. I've never seen a spin that tight before - amazing. The audience went predictably mad at the end, surging to its feet. Much flowers and stuff rained upon the ice and had to be cleared away before Michelle took to the ice and it all started again.
After Michelle's skate, all the skaters performing in the exhibitions were introduced again, forming a line down the ice in front of us (all the little Russians in a row, except Irina S.). We were expecting Michelle to be introduced last, but it was Todd who came out last, landing first a single axel, then a double, then a shrug. He took his bows, and led the company around the ice in their victory lap.
