2001

Grand Prix Final

Men's Event

Todd Eldredge led off the men's short programs with a rousing routine set to "Carmina Burana" that was well received by the audience.  He completed a triple flip - double toe loop combination, a triple Axel landed by brute force, and a solo triple Lutz.   Without a quad and with only a triple-double for a combination, however, he had little chance of placing well, and to make matters worse, his music included vocals which is a required deduction.  Nevertheless, he still managed to pick up three fourth place marks, but was edged out by Takeshi Honda to finish fifth.

Honda, who was next to skate, opened his "Don Quixote" routine with a quad toe loop - triple toe loop combination.  On his triple Axel, however, he over-rotated and stepped out of the landing.  His triple Lutz out of footwork was clean, and on a 4-3 decision placed fourth.

Among the three medal favorites in the Final, Timothy Goebel skated first.  Skating to "Danse Macabre" he landed a quad Salchow - triple toe loop combination, a solo triple Axel and a triple flip out of footwork.  His Axel had a bit of a rough landing but he held on for a clean program.  It was a well skated performance, and in terms of presentation the most pleasing of the three he performed at the final.  He received unanimous third place marks for his effort.

Alexei Yagudin skated his new "Winter" routine with enthusiasm and was rewarded with a thundering standing ovation.  He landed a quad toe loop - triple toe loop combination but on triple Axel he put a hand down.  His triple Lutz out of footwork was landed cleanly but at the end of the straight line footwork sequence he had a minor stumble.  He placed second with two first place mark.

Sandwiched between the two Russian titans, Ivan Dinev was painfully in over his head.  He fell on an opening quad toe loop and then popped an attempted triple Axel to a single.  His only successful jump was a triple flip out of footwork.   His presentation was as weak as his jumps, lacking connecting moves and devoid of even a basic sense of the music.  He was unanimously placed last by the panel.

Last to skate the short program was Evgeny Plushenko.  His jumps were rock solid, landing a quad toe loop - triple toe loop combination, a solo triple Axel and a triple Lutz out of footwork.  On his combination spin, however, he made an uncharacteristic error by executing a wobbly change of position in his Biellmann position, almost falling out of the spin in the process.  Set to Michael Jackson tunes, his program was not well received.  The program, as uninteresting and mundane as Yagudin's is innovative and inspired, received a tepid response from audience.   But on technical merit alone it was the best program of the afternoon and on a 5-2 split of the panel he placed first.

By the luck of the draw Todd Eldredge skated first for the second time of the day as he presented his "Conquest of Paradise" free skating routine.  Deciding to play it conservative, he did not attempt a quad.  He skated with speed and strength, executing a flawless program with eight triple jumps including a triple Axel - triple toe loop combination.  As the program reached a dynamic conclusion he was greeted with a deafening standing ovation.  Despite the lack of a quad he nearly ended up in third place, barely losing out to Timothy Goebel on a 4-3 split to end up fourth for the first free skate.

As in the short program, Eldredge was followed by Takeshi Honda whose routine was set to "Rhapsodia Cubana".  Honda landed six triple and quads including a solo quad toe loop and a triple Axel - triple toe loop combination.   On a quad Salchow attempt he popped it to a double and an a triple Lutz he fell out of the landing.  His skating showed generally good technique but the program was boring and, except for one fast footwork sequence, lacked speed.  He received six fifth place marks and one fourth from the Japanese judge.

Next up was Ivan Dinev who attempted a difficult program with mixed success. Skating to "Zorba the Greek"  he landed six triples of middling quality and two footed two others.  His routine started out with fair strength but he could not sustain it through the entire routine and half way through the routine ran out of gas.  He was unanimously placed last for the second time of the day.

For the first free skate of the competition Timothy Goebel performed last season's "Henry V" routine.  He landed a total of nine quads and triples including a quad Salchow - triple toe loop combination and a solo quad toe loop.  His two triple Axels, however, while landed were marginal with a struggle on the landing edge on both cases.  His presentation was of reasonable quality and noticeably improved from last season.  The program, unfortunately, still doesn't grab the audience the way it could if skated with better positions and a better sense of the music.  This being ice jumping, however, he placed third in the free skate just ahead of Eldredge.

The fight for the top spot between Evgeny Plushenko and Alexei Yagudin was well fought, pitting the jumping technique of Plushenko against the passion of Yagudin's skating.  Plushenko, skating to a medley of movie soundtracks, landed nine quads and triples including a quad toe loop - triple toe loop - double loop combination and a solo quad toe loop.  It was fairly strong effort; however, the quad toe loop and a triple flip were both landed on the toe and his triple Axel - triple toe loop combination lacked flow out of the jumps.

Yagudin, skating last, to "Gladiator", attempted to go Plushenko one better, attempting a quad toe loop - triple toe loop - triple loop combination.  He landed the first two jumps but the triple loop was executed as a double and was thrown too close to the wall which he hit.  In his next jump sequence he put his hand down on a quad toe loop and had to omit the remainder.  Following these two problems he got back under control and completed seven more triples for a total of nine quads and triples in the program.  His popular routine received a huge standing ovation but in a 4-3 split it was considered second best by the panel.

Skating in reverse order of standing after the first free skate, the hapless Ivan Dinev led of the final segment of the event.  He attempted a difficult program with limited success.  Of nine triples or quads planned in his routine he landed four triples; an Axel, flip, loop and Salchow.  As was the case the day before, his program was weak on connecting moves and lacked musicality.  He again was placed last by the panel but this time managed to pick up two fifth place marks thanks to the even more error riddled program presented by Takeshi Honda.

Honda, skating to "Concerto de Aranjuez", had eight triples and quads planned but landed only two triples, a flip and a flutz.  The other six were either popped, two footed or stepped out of.  Nevertheless, his program was decently presented with reasonable speed and connecting moves, probably the only reasons he managed to place ahead of Dinev with but two triples to his credit.

In his second free skate, set to "Lord of the Rings", Eldredge had seven triples and a quad planned.  He fell on his attempt at the quad toe loop, doubled two of the planned triples, and put his hand down on a triple Axel.   He successfully completed four triples; an Axel in combination with double toe loop and solo loop, Lutz and Salchow.  His presentation was again impressive.  He was placed fourth in the free skate to end up fourth overall.

Next came Timothy Goebel, performing to "An American in Paris".  He attempted nine triples and quads landing two quads and six triples.   He opened with triple Lutz and then on a quad Salchow - triple toe loop combination put his hand down on the second jump.  Next came a triple Axel - double toe loop combination and a quad toe loop with a reach but no touch.  He also landed triple Axel, Salchow, flip, and loop without problem, although the triple Salchow was intended to be a quad.  He received third place marks from the panel except from the Russian judge who placed him fourth, preferring Eldredge's presentation over Goebel's jumps.

After trailing Evgeny Plushenko with two first place marks in the short program and three in the first free skate, Alexei Yagudin picked up one more judge to win the second free skate in a 4-3 three split over his arch rival.  He landed eight quads and triples including two quad toe loops and six triples.  Compared to Pushenko, his jumps were a bit sloppy but he got the job done with a strong skate of his "Man in the Iron Mask" program.

Plushenko, skating to music from Cirque du Soleil and the Moulin Rouge soundtrack, landed nine triple and quads including two quad toe loops and seven triples.  Except for a poor landing edge on his opening quad toe loop combination, his jumps were all solid, which gave him a slight advantage over Yagudin in that department.  It was Yagudin's commanding superiority in the second mark, however, that made the difference and gave him the victory in the second free skate, and by virtue of the tie breaker rule used at the Final the men's gold medal.

Short Program

First Free Skate

Second Free Skate