Thursday, 10/23/97
The first men's practice session open to the public was held today. Todd was in group A, which skated first. Makes sense, huh? This group included Todd, fellow Americans Scott Davis and Michael Chack, Canadian Jayson Denommee, and French skaters Stanick Jeannette and Gabriel Monnier. During the warmup, Todd managed to evade two collisions with fellow skaters, but ended up coming closest to Jeannette.
The short program, scheduled for tonight, was the first order of business. It's not unusual for skaters to simply work on troublesome elements, or to gloss over the difficult parts of their routines in these practices, and this session was no different. As usual, Todd was really the only skater to perform a complete and solid runthrough of his program.
After the short program runthroughs, the men had the opportunity to do their long programs, but Scott Davis left before the end of the short program runthroughs, and everyone else just sort of wandered around the ice while Scott's long program music was played.
Everyone who follows Todd's career has been waiting for the new long program to be unveiled. We'd already listened to a different cut of "Gettysburg" used by Jayson Denommee (whose name was pronounced differently each time it was announced, and who didn't do much during this session). So you can imagine our confusion when the "Independence Day" music started up! Todd glided down the ice calling out "Wrong music!" We cried out, "Wrong year!" And then everyone waited while Todd's coach, Richard Callaghan, argued with the music director who kept insisting that he was playing the tape Richard had given him! Once the director was convinced of the error of his ways, the right tape was finally found and the director was told that yes, Todd would like the music played at once. Following this comedy of errors, the moment arrived when we finally got to see Todd's new program, or as much of it as he'd skate on a competition day. It was worth the wait. The new choreography and musical selections retain the somewhat epic quality of "Gettysburg," but the edges are deeper, the footwork more involved - in other words, it seems like a more mature routine, showcasing a greater artistic sensibility. This runthrough was basically without jumps, and of course those of us in the audience argued where Todd might put the quad later this season. But the routine includes Todd's trademark spins and some gorgeous spirals, and we're looking forward to seeing it in its entirety.
After Todd skated, he was pretty much the only skater left on the rink, and he tooled around a bit during the next music cut; by the time the last music selection was played, the ice was empty.
Short Program
First to skate was Canada's Jayson Denommee, whose performance was unexpectedly good. As the first skater of the evening, his scores were probably lower than they might have been had he skated later, but he did manage to end up in sixth place after the Short Program.
Russia's Alexander Abt did a great triple axel, but popped the triple toe in the combination. His program was fairly clean overall, and he landed a fourth spot after the Short.
The U.S.'s Michael Chack popped his opening combination, but later improvised a triple lutz/double toe, but doubled his triple toe. Chack failed to make the top six following the Short.
Next came Russian Evgeni Plushenko, another of Aleksei Mishin's students. (Mishan also coaches Aleksei Urmanov and Aleksei Yagudin.) We think this is his first major senior international, and his debut was impressive. He landed a clean triple axel/triple toe, his spins were beautifully centered, and he introduced the audience to an unusual sight - a male skater performing a full Beillmann spin. His scores were high enough to place him in second place by the end of the Short Program.
France's Gabriel Monnier skated next, and popped his triple, two-footed another landing, and delivered an uninspired performance that earned him lackluster scores ranging from 3.3 to 4.7.
Ukraine's Evgeny Pliuta followed, falling out of a triple/double combination. He seemed to lose interest after that, singling another jump. His spins were fairly nondescript, way too high above the ice to really be effective. His scores were also low, ranging from 3.3 to 5.5.
The second group of men came out after Pliuta, and the arena rang with cries of "Todd!" (mostly from young girls).
First to skate in the last six was Germany's Jens Ter Laak. His practice session had been poor, so we were unprepared for his short program performance. He landed a clean triple lutz/triple toe combination, plus a single triple salchow. His combination spins were surprisingly good, and overall, it was a clean performance, and he seemed quite pleased with it.
Next up was former U.S. Champion Scott Davis. Unfortunately, Scott fell fairly hard out of his opening triple (it was probably supposed to be his combination), and later two-footed the landing on his next jump. He did not perform a combination jump, a required element in the short. Scott still managed to land in fifth place with solid footwork and reasonably good spins (not up to his best work). His scores ranged from 4.6 to 5.6.
As Todd took the ice, the young girls went wild. I've never actually observed this phenomenon before, and it's hard to know how the skater feels about the attention. It didn't seem to phase Todd, since he took immediate command of the ice. He landed a solid triple axel/triple toe, his spins were beautiful and low. He skated well, and the music had not faded when the audience surged to its feet in its only standing ovation of the night. And while most skaters did not receive armloads of flowers, there seemed to be bouquets all over the ice after Todd finished his program. His scores, ranging from 5.7 to 5.9, earned him first place from all seven judges (see below for his full scores).
Next skated France's Stanick Jeannette, who caught an edge on his triple axel and fell heavily to the ice. He fell on his second jump as well. He tried to pull the program together, and ended up with score ranging from 3.9 to 5.3.
Japan's Takeshi Honda followed, repeating last year's short program number. Unfortunately, while Takeshi scored third last year, he had significant problems with jumps this year, possibly due to his growth spurt. He landed a single/triple combination, then fell on his triple lutz. His scores ranged from 4.0 to 5.3.
The final skater of the evening was Viacheslav Zagorodniuk of Ukraine. Unlike so many performances of the evening, Slava's was clean, with a triple/double combination and a double Tano lutz. He ended up in third place, with scores ranging from 5.0 to 5.8.
The final rank of the top six men after the short program is:
1. Todd Eldredge - USA
2. Evgeni Pliushenko - Russia
3. Viacheslav Zagorodniuk - Ukraine
4. Alexander Abt - Russia
5. Scott Davis - USA
6. Jayson Denommee - Canada
Required Elements 5.8, 5.8, 5.7, 5.9, 5.9, 5.9, 5.8
Presentation 5.9, 5.9, 5.9, 5.9, 5.8, 5.9, 5.9
Friday, 10/24/97
After Todd's spectacular performance last evening, he of course needed to stick around the arena for the free skate draw and for the post competition press conference. As a result, it was late before he was able to return to the hotel, meet and greet well- wishes, find something to eat and finally retire for the evening. He then had to get up at the crack of dawn to go back to the arena at 6 a.m. to prepare for his featured appearance on Good Morning, America this morning. The result was very little sleep last night.
Meanwhile, practice groups were rearranged according to short program results, which meant that Todd was now in Group B (consisting of the top six finishers) and had to take the ice for his only practice session today at 11 a.m. (rather than 12 noon as we originally thought it would be). Thus not a lot of time for rest in between the TV appearance and his having to take the ice for his practice. Not surprisingly under the circumstances, today's practice session was not one of his better ones.
Not helping matters, after the six minute warm-up at the beginning of the session, Todd's music was played first. Nevertheless, and in spite of all these obstacles, we were still treated to a complete run-through of the new "Gettysburg" program, albeit with more than a few jump difficulties along the way. However, what we saw was still good enough to give us a sense of what a masterpiece in the making this program is. After the run-through, Todd worked on some isolated jumps and then left the ice approximately 15 minutes prior to the end of the session. It was my understanding that he was planning to return to the hotel for some much needed rest.
As for his competitors, Scott Davis surprised us all by actually doing a complete run-through of his free skate program and from what I could see, he looked really good. Evgeni Plushenko stunned us all by landing a perfect quad/triple toe, which some onlookers declared was better than those Elvis Stojko has landed. It is not known if he will attempt this in the competition, and we are all in suspence to see if he tries it.
Saturday, 10/25/97
This was not a fairy tale competition for Todd, unless you take the point of view of the frog. It all started at the 9:30 practice (which did actually start on time ...). Todd quickly discovered that something was wrong with his new skate blades. They did not feel right and he spent some time trying to make them work. He did not even attempt a runthrough of his long program, but instead concentrated on executing triple jumps. He spent a lot of time working on the double axel, unusual for someone at his level. Then, 25 minutes into the session, he left the ice. He returned five minutes later and tried again. He did manage to land a triple flip/triple toe, triple axel/double toe, and another triple axel, but this jump count is nowhere near what one can normally expect at a Todd Eldredge practice session. Finally, he gave up 15 minutes prior to the end of the session. We understand that he left the session to get his blades resharpened, hoping that this would solve the problem.
When we next saw him, Todd was taking the ice for the 6-minute warmup prior to his free skate. Within about a minute of his taking the ice, Todd fell against the boards, and officials and his coach hurried to his side. Several minutes later, he was helped to his feet and aided off the ice. He seemed to be favoring his right arm, and he kept rubbing the top of his head. The warmup continued, and the first man started his program. As we sat in the arena, we did not know what had happened, or what Todd's status was, and people began to speculate that he would withdraw. As the first skater took his bows, Todd appeared at the curtain to the backtage area, and many of the audience surged to their feet, applauding him. He took to the ice, and completed his warmup, favoring his right wrist and arm. It seemed as though he was testing himself, and we still didn't know if he would continue in the competition. Finally, the announced called out, Todd's name, and it became official that he would continue. He was treated to a second standing ovation at that point.
We were fairly certain that under the circumstances, Todd would not be attempting the quad. He began the program with a beautiful triple toe, but the real test came (all too quickly) with the next scheduled element, the triple axel/triple toe. He elected to do the triple axel/double toe, but he did it very well, and we were thrilled to see it. He proceeded to the next scheduled jump, a triple flip/double toe. Then he executed a wally into a triple lutz, which went well. The first "mistake" came with an apparently popped triple loop. The acid test followed - as Todd prepared for the second triple axel, some of us held our breaths (some of us didn't know it was coming ...). It was securely landed, and some people began breathing again. The final scheduled triple, the salchow, was doubled, but it was landed cleanly.
The new "Gettysburg" program was debuted at Skate America, and the execution of the footwork, connecting elements, and spins was superb. The choreography is more mature than the earlier version, and Todd pulled it off beautifully. As he completed the final scratch spin of the program, the audience was again on its feet for the third time, clapping loudly and screaming its approval. As we awaited Todd's marks, a sort of hush fell over the arena. Finally, the scores were announced - creditable marks for technical, glowing for presentation, including a 6.0 from the Canadian judge. This was Todd's first 6.0 earned in an eligible competition. It was also his fifth Skate America gold.
The Men's and Pairs awards ceremonies were held next, and as Todd was announced, he received a fourth standing ovation. And as the competitors left the ice, the announcer added his own wisdom to the event: "The next time you hear someone say skaters aren't athletes, tell them about Todd Eldredge!"
Subsequent Associated Press news reports indicate that Todd dislocated his shoulder when he fell, and relocated it when he rolled over on the ice. He was taken to the Henry Ford Hospital after the awards ceremony to have the shoulder checked out, and is apparently sore, but not permanently hurt.
Final standings for the Men's competition:
1. Todd Eldredge
2. Evgeni Plushenko
3. Alexander Abt
4. Scott Davis
5. Viacheslav Zagorodniuk
6. Evgeny Pliuto
7. Takeshi Honda
8. Jayson Denommee
9. Michael Chack
10. Jens Ter Laak
11. Gabriel Monnier
12. Stanick Jeannette
