2001 U.S. Figure Skating Championships

Senior Men

Standings

Notes after the long program.

Going into the free skating, all was much as we expected it would be, with the top three favorites coming into the competition owning the top three spots.  By the end, however, everything was turned upside down.  No one coming into this competition would have ever predicted what ultimately unfolded in this event.

The last warmup group began with Todd Eldredge taking the ice.  His performance, skated to music from the motion picture "13th Warrior", was vintage Eldredge; fast, dynamic and polished.  For his jumps on the other hand,  it was another story; far more error filled than one would have expected.  The first element in his program was intended to be a quad toe loop but he landed a triple instead.  In his following triple Axel - triple toe loop combination the Axel was strong but he double the toe loop.  From that point he took control of the program, landing triple Lutz and skated with good speed and presented fast well centered spins.  In the final section of the program, however, he found himself in a world of difficulties.  Of the six further triples planned he completed only three for a total of five in the program.   In place of a planned triple flip - triple toe loop combination he instead attempted the quad again in combination, but ended up with a triple toe loop - double toe loop combination.  A subsequent triple Axel - triple toe loop combination ended up as a solo triple Axel and, finally, solo triple loop and triple Salchow were doubled.   The marks he received seemed a little high at the time, mostly 5.7s and 5.8s, and it lokked like the judges were hedging their bets, giving marks generous marks that would look respectable internationally if he won, but not so high they couldn't easily place two skaters ahead of him if required.

Next to skate was Matthew Savoie who had placed fifth in the short program.   Skating to Gershwin's piano concerto in F, he skated a strong program that was well presented and few errors, but without attempting a quad.  He started with a successful triple Salchow and then a triple Axel - triple toe loop combination.   After a double Axel (with a late step out) and a death drop,  he landed a second triple-triple combination consisting of triple flip and triple toe loop.  He also completed solo triple loop, Axel, and Lutz (that looked far more like a flip) for a total of eight triples.  He received placements of second through fourth to place third in the free skating and was able to move up to third overall when Weiss crashed and burned in the subsequent performance.

Weiss took to the ice with the championship within his reach and left a shattered wreck.  On his opening quad toe loop - triple toe loop attempt he fell on the quad and did not attempt a second jump.  On the subsequent triple Axel - triple toe loop combination he fell badly on the triple Axel and again did not attempt a second jump.   The first fall while a serious error might not necessarily been fatal, but after the second fall you could sense the fear.  After a flying camel, Weiss fell again, on triple Axel, and now you could taste the fear.  In the middle of the program he stepped out of triple flip and at this point he looked dazed and confused, no longer in control and living a skater's worst nightmare.  Next came a cross foot spin and then finally a successful triple loop and then a triple Salchow.  Near the end of the program he also landed a triple Lutz but only barely held onto the landing.  He completed only three triples in the program and did not have the obligatory combination.   In Kiss and Cry he sat in stunned disbelief with fleeting looks of hope and despair crossing his face.  He received placements of third though seventh to place fifth in the free skating which dropped him to fourth overall, off the World team, and off the podium.

With all that had transpired to this point, the door was wide, wide open for Timothy Goebel to capture the gold.  He opened with triple Lutz, then landed a quad Salchow - triple toe loop combination, and followed with a triple Axel  - triple toe loop combination.  Following this strong start he faltered slightly in the middle section, popping a quad toe loop to a double and also falling on a quad Salchow, but landing a triple Axel.  In the final section he completed a triple flip and a triple loop for a total of eight quads and triples.  The overall quality of his skating has improved during the nine months he worked with Frank Carroll, but his spins were still nothing special and his presentation was only tolerable at best.  He still skates with slumped shoulders, awkward posture and his tongue sticking out.  Two of the nine judges placed Eldredge first on the basis of the second mark but the remainder of the panel went with the stronger jumps and placed Goebel first in the free skate and, thus, first overall.

Last to skate was Trifun Zivanovic who had a chance to move up to third after Weiss's poor skate.  In the first section of his program he had two triple-triple combinations and a quad toe loop planned.  In the opening combination, however, he missed the triple Axel and omitted the planned triple toe loop, then on quad toe loop he threw a triple, and on the next triple-triple he instead landed triple Axel - double toe loop.  In the middle section of his Dracula themed program he got things back under control but skated slowly to relatively simple choreography.  In the last section he fought to move up.  Improvising two additional jumps to compensate for the errors at the beginning of the program, he landed triple Lutz and an aggressive sequence that included triple flip, triple toe loop, and triple Salchow.  Overall he landed six triples but it was not enough to move up from his fourth place result in the short program.  He placed fourth again in the long program and fourth overall.

Notes after the short program.

With two spots available on the World Team and four skaters with a serious-to-outside chance of taking them, the pressure on the men was extreme.  Of the top five men, only one, Trifun Zivanovic, skated a clean program.

Michael Weiss opened attempting a quad toe loop - triple toe lop combination.  He blatantly two footed the quad and then tacked on a double toe loop.  The remainder of the program, skated to music from the motion picture "Taras Bulba", was clean and included a good triple Axel and a triple Lutz out of footwork.  The program was well presented and received a big standing ovation.  All nine judges placed him first with technical merit marks of 5.5 through 5.9 and presentation marks of 5.8 and 5.9.   While he clearly deserved to win in spite of the error given how the others skated, four of the judges gave marks that were an embarrassment, specifically judges 1, 3, 4, 6.   The required deduction for two footing one of the jumps in a combination is 0.2, and when there are turns and steps between the two jumps, as there were, tack on another 0.1.  Thus, highest first mark he could be awarded under the rules is 5.7, meaning these four judges were starting from a base mark of 6.1 and 6.2!  These judges had plenty of room in their marks to take the proper deduction and still place Weiss first. Eldredge had already skated at this point and his marks were in the 5.3 to 5.6 range for the first mark.

Second in the short program was Todd Eldredge who has returned to National competition after an absence of two years.  During the 1997/98 season he was just beginning to work on quad toe loop, but was not really close to having it, and after a year away from eligible competition his triple Axel and triple Axel - triple toe loop combination were starting to erode.  In the past 6 months, however, he has worked hard to return to his former level and now has the quad toe loop, though inconsistently.

Eldredge opened with an attempt at quad toe loop - triple toe loop but popped the first jump to a single and omitted the second jump.  The remainder of the program was clean, including triple Axel, and triple Lutz out of footwork.  His presentation was vintage Eldredge and he received marks of 5.3 through 5.6 in the first mark and 5.7 through 5.8 in the second mark.  At the time, with Goebel and Weiss still to skate, it seemed likely he would be surpassed by those skaters and would end up in no better than third place, but that in not the way the event played out.  Neither Goebel or Weiss skated clean either, with Goebel having more serious problems, so that by the end of the night Eldredge ended up in second place with seven judges awarding him that placement.

Skating second in the last warmup, and just before Weiss, Goebel need a strong skate to not only surpass Eldredge, but to put the pressure on Weiss who would skate next.   Goebel intended to open with a quad Salchow - triple toe loop combination, but landed quad Salchow - double toe loop instead - not the combination he intended, but not a deductible error either.  On the subsequent triple Axel, however, he stepped out of the landing, and on triple flip out of footwork he turned out.  Artistically he showed little improvement over last year.  With deductions, his technical merit marks ranged from 5.3 to 5.7 and his presentation marks were from 5.3 to 5.7.  He was placed third by the panel with two judges having him second, four judges placing him third, and three judges placing him fourth.

Trifun Zivanovic, the 1999 silver medalist and the 2000 bronze medalist had the only clean skate of the top five men.  He landed a triple flip - triple toe loop combination, triple Axel, and triple Lutz out of footwork.  In a close decision, and despite five judges placing him third he ended up in fourth place in the short program, the difference being that he received four fourth place marks from the panel while Goebel received only three.

Free Skating

Short Program

Return to Title Page