Men

Final Results

Short program

Despite a headache and sore throat, three-time World Champion Alexei Yagudin (RUS) pulled himself together to deliver a strong short program. The 20-year-old landed a quadruple toe loop - triple toe loop combination - though he over-rotated the second jump and barely held on to the landing.  Yagudin went on to reel off a huge triple Axel, a triple Lutz and quick step sequences.  The powerful performance to a jazzed up version of Frederic Chopin's "Revolution Etude" got him marks from 5.7 to 5.9 for required elements as well as eight 5.9s and one 5.8 for presentation.  "I think I did well considering how I felt. I did an extra turn on the triple toe (in the combination), but I was very close to the boards", commented Yagudin.  "I was sick when I was in Moscow after Skate Canada.  I saved some energy for tomorrow."

Yagudin's teammate, Roman Serov, came in second.  He produced a clean program that featured a triple Axel - triple toe loop combination, a triple Lutz and double Axel.   Skating to "Caravan", the Muscovite showed dynamic footwork and good spins.  "I was nervous, because I had to skate first.  The program was ok.   It's good to be second right now and tomorrow I'll try my best again."

World Junior Silver Medalist Vincent Restencourt is currently in third.  The Frenchman opened his short program to "The Matrix" with a triple Axel - triple toe loop combination and continued with a triple flip and a double Axel.  However, his steps and spins seemed weaker compared to the other competitors.  "It was a bit difficult to skate right after Alexei Yagudin", said Restencourt.  "He landed everything, and I saw his marks.  I still did my best.  I think I improved artistically.  I matured and I really worked on it."

Stanick Jeannette (FRA) stepped out of his triple Axel in the combination and placed fourth.

Jon In Han of the Peoples Democratic Republic of Korea is the first skater to represent his country in the senior Grand Prix. He completed a triple Axel but fell on a triple flip to place 11th.

Free Skating

Roman Serov (RUS), second after the short program, was first to skate in the last warm-up group. The Muscovite seemed to be nervous and doubled his opening loop, which he had planned to be a quadruple.  He pulled himself together to produce a triple Axel - triple toe loop combination but struggled during the rest of the program.  He doubled a Lutz, as well as two more loop attempts and stepped out of his second triple Axel.   The 24-year-old was third in the free program and won the bronze medal, his first in a Grand Prix event.  "I was nervous, but I don't know why", he said.

Vincent Restencourt (FRA) ran into trouble right from the beginning when he popped his intended quadruple toe loop and his triple Axel.  Later in his program, Restencourt pulled off a triple Axel and a triple Axel-double toe loop combination, but doubled three more jumps.  His spins and steps in his "Mummy" program seemed to lack confidence.  The 19-year-old dropped from third to fourth.

Although Alexei Yagudin (RUS) felt it would be an "relatively easy competition" for him, as he stated the day before the free skating, he did not hold back at all in his free program to the "Gladiator" soundtrack.  The three-time World Champion reeled off a quadruple toe loop - triple toe loop, a triple Axel - triple toe loop combination and five more triples.  The powerful performance with fast footwork brought the audience to their feet.  Yagudin raised his arms in triumph at the end and then, overwhelmed, he buried his face in his hands.  The judges awarded him all 5.8s and 5.9s for technique and three 6,0s for presentation.   "One thing was to do the jumps, but the other thing was to present the music well and to show why I chose this music", Yagudin explained.

Stanick Jeannette of France had the difficult task to skate right after the Russian.   He fell on his triple Axel, a few seconds into his routine, but was able to recover in the second half of his original program set to a new arrangement of Camille Saint-Saens' "Rondo Capriccioso".  The performance of the French Champion featured interesting spin positions and six clean triples. Jeannette surged from fourth to second and won his first medal in the ISU Grand Prix series.

At the Trophée Lalique, Yagudin won another 12 points securing for himself a spot in the Final.  Jeannette scored 9 points, while Serov got 7.  Since both competitors did not win many points in their first Grand Prix events, they will probably not qualified for the Final.

Return to title page