Ladies Results Men's Results Pairs Results Dance Results
Trophee Lalique in Paris, France is the fifth of six qualifying events of the Grand Prix of Figure Skating. The competition takes place from Thursday November 23 until Sunday November 26. Only two competitions remain for skaters to earn points for the Final- Lalique and NHK. Trophee Lalique is a scoring event for all participating Ladies, Men and Ice Dance couples.
World Ice Dance Champions Marina Anissina & Gwendal Peizerat of France will be making their second appearance in this season's Grand Prix on home turf. In Paris, Anissina & Peizerat, who currently have 12 points, will be skating for points to secure their qualification for the Final. Trophee Lalique will also count for the Russian Champions, Irina Lobacheva & Ilia Averbukh, who just won the silver medal at Cup of Russia last week. Germany's Kati Winkler & Rene Lohse chose their second Grand Prix competition in Paris as their first scoring event, and after a fourth-place finish at the Sparkassen Cup the German Champions are now hoping to win their first medal in this season's Grand Prix Series. Also looking for good placements are U.S. Champions Naomi Lang & Peter Tchernyshev and Isabelle Delobel & Olivier Schoenfelder of France.
1999 World Champion Maria Butyrskaya (RUS) headlines the Ladies' event in Paris. Butyrskaya won the Gold at the Sparkassen Cup two weeks ago and now enters her second scoring event. She will be challenged by 1999 World bronze medalist Julia Soldatova (BLR), Vanessa Gusmeroli (FRA) and Viktoria Volchkova (RUS). Soldatova formely competed for Russia but has chose to represent Belarus from this season on. She attempted to represent Belarus at the 2000 Worlds but the change in country was made too late in the season to permit it. France's Gusmeroli (fourth at 2000 Worlds) would like to make amends after a weak free skate at Sparkassen Cup, where she finished a disappointing sixth. Volchkova was fifth at the Cup of Russia last week and hopes to win more points in Paris, while reigning World Junior Champion, Jennifer Kirk (USA), will be making her debut in the senior Grand Prix at the Trophee Lalique.
Three-time World Champion Alexei Yagudin (RUS) enters his third Grand Prix competition and is aiming to secure his spot in the Final. Yagudin currently has 12 points from his victory at Skate Canada. Also skating for points are World Junior silver medalist Vincent Restencourt (FRA), French Champion Stannick Jeannette and Russia's Roman Serov. Han Jong Il from the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (PRK) is also entered for the event. He will be the first competitor from his country to participate in the senior Grand Prix series. World bronze medallist Michael Weiss (USA) withdrew due to medical reasons shortly before the competition. Weiss was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left foot on October 2nd. He was off the ice and was forced to withdraw from Skate America. At Cup of Russia he placed a disappointing sixth in both the short and long programs. He will not be able to qualify for the Final and must focus on preparing for the U.S. Championships in January.
In the Pairs event, competition is expected to be fierce. For the first time this season, World Bronze medalists Sarah Abitbol & Stephane Bernadis (FRA) will meet two-time World Champions Elena Berezhnaya & Anton Sikhuralidze (RUS). While Abitbol & Bernadis won the Sparkassen Cup in Germany two weeks ago, the Russian team is arriving fresh from a victory in St. Petersburg. They will be challenged by the winners of Skate America and Skate Canada, Jamie Sale & David Pelletier (CAN). Poland's European silver medallists Dorota Zagorska & Mariusz Siudek, who took the bronze in St. Petersburg, are also aiming for another podium finish in Paris. U.S. Champions Kyoko Ina & John Zimmerman hope to win their first international medal this season, after finishing fourth at the Cup of Russia a couple of days ago. Although Trophee Lalique is a scoring event for the Americans, it will not be for any of the other top contenders in the Pairs event.
List of Competitors (as of November 22)
Ladies
Julia Soldatova (BLR) Jennifer Robinson (CAN) Vanessa Gusmeroli (FRA)* Laetitia Hubert (FRA) Diana Poth (HUN) Silvia Fontana (ITA) Shizuka Arakawa (JPN) Dirke O'Brien-Baker (NZL) Maria Butyrskaya (RUS)* Viktoria Volchkova (RUS)* Jennifer Kirk (USA)
Men
Stannick Jeannette (FRA) Gabriel Monnier (FRA) Vincent Restencourt (FRA) Makato Okazaki (JPN) Konstantin Kostin (LAT) Han Jong ll(PRK) Roman Serov (RUS) Alexei Yagudin (RUS)* Patrick Meier (SUI) Vitali Danilchenko (UKR) Ryan Jahnke (USA)
Pairs
Valerie Marcoux & Bruno Marcotte (CAN) Jamie Sale & David Pelletier (CAN)*(A) Qing Pang & Jian Tong (CHN) Viktoria Shklover & Valdis Mintals (EST) Sarah Abitbol & Stephane Bernadis (FRA)*(A) Sabrina Lefrancois & Jerome Blanchard (FRA) Dorota Zagorska & Mariusz Siudek (POL)*(A) Elena Berezhnaya & Anton Sikhuralidze (RUS) Kyoko Ina & John Zimmerman (USA)
Dance
Megan Wing & Aaron Lowe (CAN) Weina Zhang & Xianming Cao (CHN) Marina Anissina & Gwendal Peizerat (FRA)* Isabelle Delobel & Olivier Schoenfelder (FRA) Nelly Gourvest & Cedric Pernet (FRA) Kati Winkler & Rene Lohse (GER)* Marika Humphreys & Vitali Baranov (GRB) Gloria Agogliati & Luciano Mile (ITA) Rie Arikawa & Kenji Miyamoto (JPN) Irina Lobacheva & Ilia Averbukh (RUS)* Eliane Hugentobler & D. Hugentobler (SUI) Naomi Lang & Peter Tchernyshev (USA)
(A) Designated non-scoring event * Seeded Skaters