By Maggie Doyle
The 2002 Hallmark Skater's Championships took place this year in Columbus, Ohio on December 14. Two programs were skated by each competitor at the Nationwide Arena with the technical programs beginning at 1 PM and the interpretive programs starting at 7:00 PM. The three minute short program followed ISU rules although ladies were also allowed a double/double combination option.
The interpretive program could be from 3 1/2 minutes to four and a 1/2 minutes in length. Pairs were allowed three overhead lifts for the interpretive program, one throw jump and no triple jumps and one solo spin. The men were allowed a maximum of four jumps and ladies could do three jumps, with one jump combination permitted as part of that total.
Prize money -- 1st place in each discipline won $30,000 while second place finishers earned $20,000. Third place received $15.000 and fourth place made $10,000.
Referee: Roger Glenn (ISU - USA)
Assistant Referee: Jean Senft (ISU - CAN)
Judge 1 - Yibing Jiang CHN
Judge 2 - Igor Dolgushin RUS
Judge 3 - Hideo Sugita JPN
Judge 4 - Taffy Holliday USA
Judge 5 - Andrea Derby CAN
Substitute Judge - Kristina Blackwell USA.
The USA's Yuka Sato and Jason Dungjen opened the competition, with Dungjen putting one hand down on his side-by-side triple toe loop. The rest of their Rachmaninoff program had no mistakes, for third place at this point.
CHN RUS JPN USA CAN
5.3 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.5 technical
5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 presentation
China's Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao struggled through their technical program to Beethoven's Last Night by the Trans Siberian Orchestra that was choreographed by Tatiana Tarasova. Shen had a shaky landing on her side by side triple toe loop and two-footed their normally spectacular throw triple loop. They lost unison in their side by side spins but had a big double twist. They wound up in 4th place and will need a strong performance to move up.
CHN RUS JPN USA CAN
5.6 5.3 5.5 5.4 5.5
5.7 5.7 5.5 5.5 5.7
Their compatriots, Qing Pang & Jan Tong of China related well to one another on the ice for their program to Illumination performed by Secret Garden. They worked with a ballet coach this summer. Their throw triple Salchow was huge and they had strong side by side triple toe loops. They were also off unison on their spins but they currently sit in 2nd place.
CHN RUS JPN USA CAN
5.4 5.6 5.6 5.7 5.7
5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8
Jamie Sale and David Pelletier skated their first competition of the season in Red Deer, Canada (Canadian Open) earlier this month but this was their first United States competition since the Olympics. They performed their short program from last season to "Jelousie" by L. Foster. Sale touched her hand down on their side-by-side triple toe loop but they rest of their elements were first-rate, to easily take first place.
CHN RUS JPN USA CAN
5.7 5.8 5.7 5.8 5.8
5.8 5.9 5.9 5.9 5.9
Referee - Jean Senft (ISU - CAN)
Assistant Referee - Roger Glenn (ISU - USA)
Judge 1 - Igor Dolgushin RUS
Judge 2 - Kristina Blackwell USA
Judge 3 - Hideo Sugita JPN
Judge 4 - Andrea Derby CAN
Judge 5 - Yibing Jiang CHN
Substitute Judge - Taffy Holliday USA.
Russia's Alexei Yagudin skated his technical program to Safri Duo's "Played A-Live," landing a triple flip - triple toe combination, triple Axel and a triple toe. He sold this program that has a racing car theme well and his presentation marks held him in second place. He has given up on his rest regime and is now doing daily exercises for his hip problem.
RUS USA JPN CAN CHN
5.6 5.6 5.5 5.6 5.6
5.9 5.9 5.9 5.9 5.9
Todd Eldredge (who decided this weekend that he skated in this open event as a professional rather than an eligible skater due to a dispute with the USFSA) skated his short program for this season to Michael W. Smith's "Freedom Battle" after struggling with his triple Axel and triple Lutz on the warm-up. For competition, he did land a triple Axel - double toe combination and a big double Axel, but just eked out his triple Lutz. He currently is in 3rd place. This program was choreographed by Richard Callaghan and Olga Voloshinskaya.
RUS USA JPN CAN CHN
5.5 5.6 5.5 5.5 5.7
5.7 5.7 5.6 5.7 5.6
Japan's Takeshi Honda had a rough outing here for his Vanessa Mae "Layenda" program that Kurt Browning choreographed. Honda fell on his triple Axel and quad attempts but did land his triple Lutz for last place. He suffered a back injury earlier this season that was still bothering him here. He hurt his back on a quad flip attempt during a practice session at his training rink.
RUS USA JPN CAN CHN
4.7 5.0 4.9 5.1 4.8
5.6 5.6 5.7 5.6 5.5
The USA's Michael Weiss had one of his best performances of his short program this season to rock music selections from Metallica and Van Halen, landing a quad toe-triple toe combination, a triple Axel and a triple Lutz. His coach Don Laws was unable to be here due to a prior commitment to coach at the Junior Grand Prix final. Weiss leads after this phase of competition.
Referee - Roger Glenn ISU (USA)
Asst. Referee Jean Senft ISU (CAN)
Judge 1 - Andrea Derby CAN
Judge 2 - Taffy Holliday USA
Judge 3 - Yibing Jiang CHN
Judge 4 - Igor Dolgushin RUS
Judge 5 - Hideo Sugita JPN
Substitute Judge - Kristina Blackwell USA.
Sarah Hughes introduced her new short program for the first time this season, skating to Rachmaninoff's "Sonata in G minor." Not in prime competitive shape yet due to her knee injury in September plus a busy appearance schedule, Hughes got the job done in her short program but skated more slowly and without her usual lightness across the ice here. She opened with a double Axel, completed a triple Lutz - double toe combination and a triple flip. Her hairstyle here of mini back pig tails was unflattering and fortunately she changed it for the evening program. She has work to do to get herself in fighting shape for Dallas.
CAN USA CHN RUS JPN
5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.4
5.7 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.7
Maria Butyrskaya of Russia struggled through her program opening with a double Lutz - double toe combination but rallying for a triple flip and a double Axel in a front loaded program. She enjoys creating her own costume designs and for this number has a lovely peach chiffon dress. She finished last in this round.
CAN USA CHN RUS JPN
5.3 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.3
5.4 5.5 5.6 5.8 5.7
Irina Slutskaya skated her short program to "Victory" from Bond but a fall on her triple flip dropped her to second in the short program. She had not come to practice and they initially started the wrong music for her but she had them restart the correct selection. She's a redhead this season and the look is working for her.
CAN USA CHN RUS JPN
5.3 5.2 5.5 5.4 5.4
5.6 5.6 5.5 5.8 5.8
Yuka Sato skated with elegance in a pale pink dress to a lovely soft number. She stepped out of a triple loop to finish in third place at this stage.
CAN USA CHN RUS JPN
5.4 5.1 5.1 5.2 5.2
5.8 5.8 5.8 5.6 5.9
The interpretive program counts for 2/3 of the final score. The men were allowed four jumps and the ladies three. The judging panels remained the same as the short program. It worked against the Chinese that triple jumps were not allowed for pairs in the interpretive round.
| SP | FS | TFP | ||
| 1 | Sale & Pelletier CAN | 1 | 1 | 1.5 |
| 2 | Sato & Dungjen USA | 3 | 2 | 3.5 |
| 3 | Shen & Zhao CHN | 4 | 3 | 5.0 |
| 4 | Pang & Tong CHN | 2 | 4 | 5.0 |
Yuka Sato & Jason Dungjen skated "Since I Fell for You" sung by Susan Anton. They included a nice throw triple Salchow and have increased their lift difficulty this season. This team is very effective at "skating as one" which was reflected in their scores. They placed second here overall.
CHN RUS JPN USA CAN
5.5 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6
5.7 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.7
Shen Xue & Zhao Hongbo had a better performance in this round, to pull up from 4th to third place. He had a big triple twist and a huge throw triple Loop but lost unison in their spins for their "Bensonhurst Blues" number.
CHN RUS JPN USA CAN
5.7 5.6 5.7 5.5 5.7
5.8 5.6 5.5 5.6 5.5
Pang Qing & Tong Jian performed to a vocal duet called "The Prayer" but dropped from second place to fourth place in this round. Their program was pleasant but didn't dazzle the crowd or the judges. The lost unison in their spins but had a good triple twist and throw triple XX.
CHN RUS JPN USA CAN
5.8 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.5
5.8 5.4 5.4 5.5 5.6
Jamie Sale & David Pelletier skated their new Stars on Ice number, Journey's "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'," modified for competition. They brought lots of heat and sizzle to this Sandra Bezic number, including strong lifts and a throw triple Salchow. They finished in first place and they consider this a fun number to skate according to Sale.
CHN RUS JPN USA CAN
5.9 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.9
5.9 5.9 5.9 5.9 5.9
| SP | FS | TFP | ||
| 1 | Alexei Yagudin RUS | 2 | 1 | 2.0 |
| 2 | Michael Weiss USA | 1 | 2 | 2.5 |
| 3 | Todd Eldredge USA | 3 | 3 | 4.5 |
| 4 | Takeshi Honda JPN | 4 | 4 | 6.0 |
Takeshi Honda skated to a "Moulin Rouge" soundtrack program choreographed by Brian Orser, opening his program with a triple Axel and completing a triple Lutz - double toe late in the program. He remained in 4th place.
RUS USA JPN CAN CHN
5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6
5.7 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.7
Todd Eldredge brought a Stars on Ice tour number, skating to his Buddy Rich's "Channel 1 Suite" that was choreographed by his coach, Richard Callaghan. He landed his triple Axel, a triple Salchow and triple toe along with a double Axel. He is including barrel rolls in this program but another shirt might be in order as this one reminds of a paint spattered golf shirt.
RUS USA JPN CAN CHN
5.7 5.7 5.6 5.8 5.5
5.5 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.6
Michael Weiss skated his Rolling Stones medley program choreographed by his wife, Lisa. This program looks ready for the Champions on Ice tour with its break dancing moves and riveted black leather costume. He included his new Tornado move, that is a back flip with a double twist gymnastics move included. He landed it both in warm up and in the program by putting both hands down on its landing. This show type element seemed highly risky to attempt with the U.S. championships four weeks away but he escaped injury here. He utilized his special Freedom blades that allow him to use his heels for skating tricks. He also included a triple Lutz, and a triple flip - triple toe combination in this program.
RUS USA JPN CAN CHN
5.8 5.8 5.7 5.7 5.8
5.8 5.8 5.8 5.5 5.8
Alexei Yagudin brought back his "Overcame" program, skating it with lots of emotion. His artistic marks carried the day for him, making him the 2002 Hallmark Championships men's champion. He included a triple Axel but is not attempting any quads due to his injured hip. His simple all black costume was effective.
RUS USA JPN CAN CHN
5.9 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.9
6.0 6.0 5.9 5.9 5.9
| SP | FS | TFP | ||
| 1 | Yuka Sato JPN | 3 | 1 | 2.5 |
| 2 | Irina Slutskaya RUS | 2 | 2 | 3.0 |
| 3 | Sarah Hughes USA | 1 | 3 | 3.5 |
| 4 | Maria Butyrskaya RUS | 4 | 4 | 6.0 |
Maria Butyrskaya performed to an Eastern music number called "Eyes Like Yours" with lots of upper body dancing moves. She held on to her triple toe and included a triple loop and double Axel. She remained in 4th place.
CAN USA CHN RUS JPN
5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5
5.7 5.6 5.7 5.7 5.7
Yuka Sato's performance was breathtaking and the judges agreed, awarding her first place to repeat as the Hallmark Champion. She skated four programs today and this one was to "Song of Our Homeland" by Izzy Ascolta. Her superior edge quality, soft knees as she floated across the ice surface put her in a class by herself, a true skater's skater.
CAN USA CHN RUS JPN
5.8 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.7
5.9 5.7 5.8 5.5 5.9
Olympic champion Sarah Hughes skated her Fosse exhibition program. A fall on her triple toe that was close to the boards hurt her scores and she dropped from leading the short to third in the interpretive program.
CAN USA CHN RUS JPN
5.6 5.7 5.7 5.6 5.7
5.7 5.8 5.6 5.9 5.8
Current World Champion Irina Slutskaya of Russia landed a triple Lutz - triple toe early in her program but fell late in her program on her triple flip to finish in second place here. She skated to "S'Apre per tell mio cuor" from Samson & Deliah Act 2 by Saint Saens with good interpretation.
CAN USA CHN RUS JPN
5.7 5.6 5.8 5.8 5.8
5.8 5.6 5.9 5.9 5.8
This competition doesn't mean a great deal in the grand scheme of things but it was useful for Hughes to get her short program before the judges prior to the 2003 U.S. nationals. Weiss also continued the momentum roll that he began at Trophee Lalique as he also heads into Dallas next month. Irina Slutskaya used the opportunity to give her programs another outing prior to her Russian nationals. The crowds were dismal for the afternoon and improved for the evening competition but still far from a sellout in Columbus.