Skate Canada 2000

Men

Starting Order - Short Program

Short Program

Notes after the short program:

The short program was primarily a repeat matchup of Todd Eldredge against Alexei Yagudin, both of whom medaled last week at Skate America, Yagudin placing second and Eldredge placing third.  Of the top three skaters in the short program, Honda skated in the first warm-up (the weaker of the two) and Yagudin and Eldredge were in the second.

Honda began his program with quad toe loop - triple toe loop, landing the quad but stepping out of the triple.  He also landed a solo triple Axel but stepped out of a triple flutz.  He skated to "Don Quixote" in a program choreographed by Lori Nichol.  It was a lively presentation and received good second marks, though it did not really capture the spirit of the music.  Despite the two errors on his jumps he claimed seven of nine third place ordinals with one judge placing Canadian Ben Ferreira third and another American Matt Savoie.

Savoie had a decent skate giving a nice performance with good speed.   He started with a successful triple Axel but in the subsequent combination he popped the second jump ending up with a triple flip - single too loop.  Later in the program he landed a solo triple Lutz.

Todd Eldredge led off the second group of skaters.  He did not attempt the quad as he did last week, instead beginning with a triple flip - triple toe loop combination.  He also landed a solo triple Axel and a solo triple Lutz.  In his last two elements he completed a huge deathdrop and a fast combination spin.  The program was very well done and was skated with good speed.  He was warmly received by the audience which gave him a huge standing ovation.  Although his program had less intrinsic difficulty than Yagudin's it still received three first place marks thanks to its strong presentation and one serious error in Yagudin's program.

The top spot in the short program went to Yagudin who performed two skaters after Eldredge.  He attempted the quad toe loop - triple too loop again but this time did not complete the combination.  He landed the quad toe clean but with a reach and then on the triple toe loop he did a double and rotated one turn on the ice.   He landed a triple Axel on the toe and also A triple Lutz with a poor landing edge.   Afterwards he commented that he was having some problems with the ice which he and Eldredge described as "crunchy."  Although he had to fight for every jump it was still well done and six of the nine judges placed him first.

The Chinese skater, Chengjiang Li, who placed fifth at 2000 Worlds, did not place as well in the short program as his prior results might have predicted.  He attempted an ambitious program but made three major errors.  He fell on his opening quad toe loop attempt and then fell on the second jump in a triple Axel - triple toe loop combination.  Near the end of the program he stepped out of a double Axel.  On the positive side, it was a complex program skated with good speed and with improved presentation compared to past season.  In an obvious display of national bias the Chinese judge placed him 5 places above the rest of the panel.

Starting Order - Free Skating

Final Results

Alexei Yagudin	Todd Eldredge	Matthew Savoie

Notes after the free skating:

In the men's free skating Alexei Yagudin turned in a performance for the ages and Todd Eldredge continued making progress in his comeback season.  Matthew Savoie of the U.S.  leapfrogged over the faltering Takeshi Honda to take the bronze medal.

Eldredge, who skated first in the second warm-up, looked a little stronger here than at Skate America.  He attempted an opening quad toe loop but put his hand down on the landing.  It was his only major error and he went on to land six triple jumps including two triple Axels.  One of the Axels was in in combination with a double toe loop and the second, mid-way through the program, was a solo attempt with a big reach for the ice but still successfully landed.  He also landed a triple flip - double toe loop combination.  The program developed nicely in intensity, though is still can be stronger in the first section, and the audience rewarded it with one of the three standing ovations of the evening.

Eldredge was followed by Takeshi Honda who had been in third place after the short program.  Skating to music by Joaquin Rodrigo, the program had some nice moves, but dragged in the middle.  More importantly he made several errors on his jumps.   He stepped out of an opening triple Axel, and then again on a quad toe loop.   He landed triple Salchow and triple loop, then fell on triple Axel (which had an unusual entry from a spread eagle).  After a triple flip will a very poor landing edge he attempted another and fell.  With only three successful triples, and one of those only marginal, he dropped to fifth place in the long program and a fifth place finish.

Two skaters later, Matthew Savoie presented his program which included five successful triples.  He started with triple Salchow and then landed a sloppy triple Axel - double toe loop combination.  On a triple toe loop - triple toe loop combination he stepped out of the first jump and then after several steps landed the second jump.   He also completed a triple loop but fell on a solo triple Axel attempt.  He skated with energy and was able to finish big despite the errors, but the program still needs a lot of polishing before U.S. Nationals in January.

Two skaters later, and last to skate, came Alexei Yagudin.

At Skate America Yagudin did not have a good skate in the long program.  He started off at Skate America tentatively and afterwards said he had decided beforehand to save some energy for the end of the program.  He also said that he wouldn't do that again ... and he didn't here.  He opened strongly landing a quad toe loop - triple toe loop combination, a triple Lutz, and then a triple Axel - triple toe loop combination in quick succession.  At that point in the program it was clear that he already won and that this was going to be a tremendous skate.  He went on to land three more triples for a total count of nine quads and triples.  Before the event he said his coach told him not to bother saving anything for the end since no matter what he did he would end up being tired anyway, and as he passed her at the end of the ice prior to the last step sequence of the program she yelled at him "go, go, go."  The final diagonal step sequence was powerfully done and received as much of a roar from the audience as his jumps.  He closed with a fast combination spin as the crowd came to its feet in the biggest ovation of the evening.  The only flaw in the program was a weak landing edge on his solo triple Axel.  He received straight 5.9s for the first mark, and seven 5.9s and two 6.0s for the second mark, the 6.0s being awarded by the German and Russian judges.

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