1998 U.S. Figure Skating Championships

Senior Men

Final Standings

        J1:  Nancy Bizzano
        J2:  Joan Gruber
        J3:  Deborah Currie
        J4:  Gale Tanger
        J5:  Lawrence Mondschein
        J6:  Kathleen Flaherty
        J7:  Joan Burns
        J8:  Lorrie Parker
        J9:  Jon Jackson

Notes after the long program.

What a finish to the men's event!  Todd Eldredge finally attempted a quad toe loop in a competition and fell, but still went on to retain his national title - his fifth.   Michael Weiss attempted a quad Lutz, completed the rotations, but two footed the landing.  Placing third, Scott Davis skated well but with only two spots available on the Olympic team his season is over.  Eldredge has already indicated this is his last eligible season.  Weiss appears to be staying in, while Davis was undecided about his future.

After falling on the opening quad toe loop attempt, Eldredge doubled the toe loop in what is typically a triple Axel - triple toe loop combination.  He then went on to skate the rest of the program without problems.  Afterwards he said the fall on the toe loop had no impact on the combination, it being simply a matter of the Axel being slightly tilted in the air which caused him to decide to go for the double toe loop, literally, on the fly.

Michael Weiss presented his new long program inspired by the movie "Immortal Beloved".  The use of a traditional program using classical music is a departure for him and he presented it unexpectedly well.  He said that he wanted to be known as a versatile skater and not to be pigeon-holed into being thought of as a skater who only could perform to rock-n-roll music.  He seems committed to attempting the quad Lutz again at the Olympics; while Todd Eldredge, on the other hand, continues to play the maybe-I-will-maybe-I-won't game.  It will all depend on the skating order and how he feels at the time, says Eldredge.

Despite a somewhat flawed performance Scott Davis held third place.  Despite his return to the podium, he was clearly disappointed in his missing out on the Olympics, as can well be understood.

Shepherd Clark placed fourth in the long, for his best finish at a U.S. Nationals.   He came away from the competition viewing it as a breakthrough, and encouraged for the coming season.  He says that he is working on a quad loop jump which he hopes to have ready for next season.  His goal is to be the first skater to land that jump in competition.

Derek Delmore had a good skate, pulling up to fifth in the long and fifth overall.   With this performance he has set himself up to be considered a top contender among the next generation of U.S. men's skating.

Dan Hollander managed to pull up one spot, mostly thanks to Timothy Goebel pulling out due to a hip injury that has been bothering him for several weeks, and Trifun Zivonovic self destructing in the long.  Hollander managed just three successful triples, a far cry from his technical peak of two years ago.

Notes after the short program.

The men's short program lead off the senior events Tuesday night to accommodate TV which plans to show the men's final live Thursday night.  Traditionally the senior events begin with the pairs short program, but in today's money driven sport, TV rules.   There were 18 men in this bloated event, with 12 of them more or less of senior quality.

The first warm-up of six men was the cream of the crop.  Three of the top four men skated in the first group, including Todd Eldredge and Michael Weiss.  Shepherd Clark led off with one of his best skates in years.  He landed triple Axel - double toe and triple Lutz and earned marks of 5.2/5.4.

Skating fourth, Michael Weiss gave a strong performance.  He opened with a textbook perfect triple Lutz followed by triple Axel - triple toe.  The landing edge on the triple toe was strained, but he held on.  Except for that one problem his technique was clean and precise.  His marks of 5.6/5.7 were good, but plenty of room was left for Todd Eldredge who skated immediately after him.

Eldredge opened with a solid triple Axel - triple toe, followed by a triple flutz.   All the other elements were strong and solid and he was rewarded with marks of 5.8/5.9.  This was the last performance of his "Walking on the Wild Side" short program.  After Nationals he plans to put together a new short program for the Olympics.  He would not elaborate on what that program would be.

The third spot was taken by Scott Davis, skating in the last warm-up.  He landed triple Axel - double toe, but singled a planned triple Lutz.  The remainder of the program was fast and dynamic, with outstanding spins.  His strong second marks were enough to edge him ahead of Clark.

Good performances were also turned in by Trifun Zivanovic and Timothy Goebel, who placed fifth and sixth.  Zivanovic, skating to "The Rocketeer" landed triple flip and triple Axel - double toe.  He was fast and dynamic, but also wild - on the verge of being out of control.  Goebel landed triple flip - almost - stepping out of the jump at the last moment and then put both hands down.  He struggled with triple Axel - triple to, but held onto it.  He had some nice fast footwork and some good spins, but his jumps were awkward looking in addition to their other problems.

Dan Hollander continues to struggle in the major competitions.  He stepped out of the double loop in his triple Axel - double loop combination and popped the double Axel.   In seventh place he appears pretty much out of the running to make the World Team.   He could move up to fourth place unassisted, but would need some help to slip into third place.

Free Skating

Short Program

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