Skate Canada 2000

Ladies

Starting Order - Short Program

Short Program

Notes after the short program:

Even without the controversy over the result in the ladies event at Skate America, the matchup of Michelle Kwan against Irina Slutskaya would have been one of the main items of interest here at Skate Canada.  The result last week, however, increased the interest.  Slutskaya has beaten Kwan in the past and possess the International ranking necessary to be taken seriously as a challenger.  How would Kwan's programs fare in a competition where reputation judging did not come into play?   So far, in the short program, not very well.  Both skaters had clean performances with nearly the same elements.  They skated one after the other, allowing a straight forward comparison of the two.

Kwan was first to skate in the short program.  She landed her opening double Axel and then triple Lutz - double toe loop.  The combination was clean but not as solid as it usually is.  After a layback spin she completed a nice triple flip.   Overall it was a strong skate, though not as fast as at Skate America - as she herself acknowledged after the event.  Her presentation was meticulous.  Not quite mechanical, but almost.  On the artistic side it is not clear how the program relates to the theme of the music or the film, "Rush," from which it comes.   If it is supposed to express the theme of the film, centered on drug addiction, it fails miserably, coming no where close to the drug addiction themed program from Laetitia Huber two years ago.  If it just supposed to be skating to some different music it succeeds, because that's all it is, just skating.

Second to skate was Slutskaya.  She skated a clean program with joy and enthusiasm.  It was a great performance, confidently executed.  She landed an opening triple Lutz - double loop, then double Axel and a triple Flip.  She did her layback spin with a little variation from the usual and then executed a difficult diagonal line of footwork mostly skated on one foot.  She closed the program with her signature combination spin with Biellmann position on each foot.  The performance was warmly received by the audience and she received eight first place ordinals, with only the German judge placing Kwan first.

Third in the short program was Fumie Suguri.  It was a nice balletic performance with flowing edges and nice position, though a bit slow.  She landed triple Lutz - double toe loop, triple flip, and double Axel.

The second American skater here, Deanna Stellato, placed sixth.  It is a pretty program and was generally well done with nice spins and positions, but the jumps need work.  She landed the opening double Axel.  In the following combination she landed triple Lutz but on the double toe loop she got stuck on the toe on the landing and then fell.  On the following triple flip she almost had it but sat down on the landing.

A new skater who impressed was Ukrainian Galina Maniachenko, who skated to "Schindler's List."  It was a lovely program, well presented.  She landed triple Lutz - double toe loop, triple flip, and double Axel.  Not only did she have the jumps, the connecting moves and footwork were there too.

Starting Order - Free Skating

Final Results

Notes after the long program:

Irina Slutskaya dominated Michelle Kwan artistically and technically to win both sections of the ladies event and capture the gold medal.  Skating last, she started off slowly but quickly fought back to give a strong performance, skating to "Don Quixote".  She began by attempting a triple Lutz - triple loop combination, falling on the second jump.  She then singled a triple Salchow but immediately improvised a second which was successful.  From that point on she was clean, confident and strong.  She skated with enthusiasm in a well choreographed, athletic program.  It is the same music as used by Sarah Hughes, but interpreted in a completely different style.  She landed six triples and a double Axel, and had four nice spins ending with her Biellmann combination spin that she also uses in the short program.  She received six first place marks out of nine with five judges giving her second marks equal to or higher than Kwan's.

Some programs that do not impress on first viewing sometimes are better appreciated when seen again.  Kwan's long program is not such a program.  It was as unsatisfying here as it was at Skate America.  Technically it was skated about as well as it was last week, with the opening triple loop a little cleaner and the Charlotte spiral included in the program.  She landed six triples but two of them were flutzes and the triple loop was nearly two footed.  Her triple toe loop - triple toe loop was not working in the warm-up and she chose not to attempt it in the program, throwing a triple-double instead.  In two other errors she doubled a flip and nearly fell on edges towards the end of the program.   Three judges placed her first based on the second mark and one judge had her first in both mark.

Fumie Suguri held third place skating to Jupiter from "The Planets."  She landed five triples and a double Axel in a strong performance that received one of the better ovations of the evening.  Her landing edges were a bit of a struggle though, with her triple loop barely held onto.  She fell on triple Salchow after a determined struggle to hold the edge.  She included four spins with the closing combination spin ending in a very fast, well centered upright spin.

Jennifer Robinson moved up to fourth with a program that included four successful triples but also had errors on four other jumps.  The first half of the program was boring, skated in a frumpy, grandmotherly looking dress, but improved in speed and expression as she fought back in the second half of the program.

Deanna Stellato, skating in the first warm-up, also moved up one place.   She landed five triples, including triple Lutz - double toe, a nice triple Salchow, triple flip, triple toe, and triple flutz.  She fell on triple loop and a second triple toe loop, both of these in the last section of the program.  She skated with fair speed and presentation, and it was a good job for the first Grand Prix competition of her career.

Galina Maniachenko, who skated well in the short program, struggled in the long program.  She had a difficult warm-up and it got no better skating before the judges.  She landed only two out of six triples attempted, and stepped out of a double Axel.  Her program, which was vaguely native American themed, had better than typical choreography, but the numerous errors on the jumps disrupted the program.

2000 Skate Canada Ladies Medalists

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