2000 World Championships

Pairs

The pairs event was rocked by three extraordinary events that cast a shadow over the competition itself.  First, prior to the start of the event it was announced that the reigning Olympic, World, and European Champions, Elena Berezhnaya & Anton Sikharulidze would not be competing because Berezhnaya had failed a drug test following the pairs event at the 2000 European Championships.  Berezhnaya had taken some cold medication, apparently with a doctor's blessing, but without informing ISU officials as required.   Stimulants in the medication turned up in the drug test.  The skater and Russian Federation waived any challenge of the result and the team was withdrawn from the competition.  Following the conclusion of the World Championships, the ISU Council met to discuss the situation.  The team was suspended for three months beginning at the date of the drug test.  In addition, their winning result from Europeans was removed and the official results adjusted accordingly.  Their first place prize money was also recinded.  Evgeniy Sviridov of the Uzbekistani team of Natalia Ponomareva & Evgeniy Sviridov tested positive at the Four Continents Championships for stimulants for the same reason (cold medication).   He and their federation also waived any challenge of the results.  The skater was also suspended for three months and their result was likewise removed from the official results.

The second event that shook the pairs event was the attack on French pair skater Stephane Bernadis.  Tuesday afternoon, the day before the pairs free skating, Bernadis responded to a knock on his hotel room door.  As he partially opened the door an intruder reached in and slashed him on the left arm with a razor blade or similar cutting tool.  It resulted in a long but mostly superficial wound that required eight stitches (i.e., there was no muscle damage).  Following the attack, security was beefed-up at the competition and bodyguards that had been assigned to the French skaters from the start of the competition were more attentive in their efforts.   Inexplicably, Bernadis' bodyguard was in another room one floor below the skater at the time of the attack.  It is also ironic that in 1998 French Federation president Didier Gailhaguet complained about security at the World Championships in Minneapolis, remarking that "we know that anything can happen in the U.S.", only to have a serious breach of security in his own event.  By the end of the competition the assailant had not been identified or caught, and likely never will be.

Finally, during the long program competition the Ukrainian team of Yulia Olbertas & Dmitry Palamarchuk took a spectacular fall in the last lift of their program with only 20 seconds left to go.  Palamarchuck caught a heel moving backwards in a full lift.   He went down hard and Olbertas landed on him.  He lay on the ice twitching for what seemed like forever until the "medical" staff came out.  Without bothering to check him for a neck or back injury they hoisted him up on his feet and dragged him off the ice with a dazed look on his face - clearly unable to even support his own weight.  Upon exiting the ice he passed out and was taken to the hospital where he was treated for a concussion.  It was the most inept handling of a serious skating injury that I have ever witnessed in a competition (but in retrospect perhaps not all that surprising since this is the country where EMTs let Princess Di hemorrhage to death minutes from a hospital).  The following day, ISU president Cinquanta was asked about this horrendous lack of proper medical attention.  His reply was that the referee acted correctly in accordance with the rules and any questions regarding the quality or correctness of the medical care were not the concern of the ISU, but should be directed to the medical staff. 

Short Program

With Berezhnaya & Sikharulidze out of the competition, Xue Shen & Hongbo Zhao became the immediate favorites and they did not disappoint.  Except for a slightly awkward entry to the forward inside death spiral their elements were well done.  They landed side-by-side triple toe loop and their throw triple loop was excellent.   Combined with a fabulous presentation they won the short program with seven of the nine judges placing them first.  "This was a very good program," said Zhao.   "It was one of the best short programs we've ever skated.  It was thanks to my partner"  We'll do our best in the free skating on Wednesday."   And later, "We are satisfied with our performance.  Our practices have gone very well here.  We did all the elements.  However, this was just the short program.  After tomorrow, you'll see the long program and we hope to skate our very best. ...  We aren't happy (about Berezhnaya & Sikharulidze withdrawing) that they don't compete at these World Championships.  However, the top six couples did very well.  The level of the competition is still very high."

Second place in the short program was taken by Maria Petrova & Alexei Tikhonov.   They had a good skate with good speed and decent presentation, but their throw triple Salchow was not as good as the Chinese team and on the lift they had a little cheat off Tikhonov's shoulder on the twist out.  They also landed side-by-side triple toe loops.  Six judges had them second with one judge placing them first and the other two third and fourth.  When asked to comment after their performance, both Petrova and Tikhonov made mention off their missing teammates.  Said Petrova, "Of course, it's a shame.  We are sad.  It's still an interesting competition, but they are missing.  We skated a clean program, there were just some minor things."  Added Tikhonov, "We always like to compete with Elena and Anton.   We'll try our best and we are ready for it on Wednesday."  Later he elaborated,. "We did well.  There were some little mistakes only.  Of course there was pressure, because these are the World Championships.  I'm happy and excited about the fact that pair skating made such a big step forward.  Last year we was the beautiful lines and style of Elena and Anton, but they made mistakes sometimes.   And we saw the dynamic and strong performances of the Chinese couple Shen & Zhao.  Now most of the couples skated great technically.  The top ten couples basically do the same elements.  Unfortunately Elena and Anton aren't skating  here.  At first we were really upset, because we enjoy to compete with them.   Then we started to feel pressure, because we are now the leaders of the Russian pairs."

Coming into Worlds it was thought that the rising Canadian team of Jamie Sale & David Pelletier would do well given the way they had impressed observers at international competitions over the past year, but few would have predicted they would end up in third place in the short program and be competitive for a medal.  They skated their program with enthusiasm and good expression landing side-by-side triple toe loops and throw triple loop.  Their double twist and forward inside death spiral were also well done.   Their only serious error was in the side-by-side spin where Sale had an awful entry and was barely able to keep the spin going.  Without the deduction they probably would have placed second.  As it was, one judge had them first, but another also had them sixth.  Nevertheless, it was an impressive start.  "It's our first Worlds," said Pelletier, "and we are very happy with our program tonight.   We skated late and had to wait all day long, so we were tired.  The French Public is really supportive, and I enjoyed this very much.  We want to be in the top five."  In the press conference that followed he was upbeat as usual, saying, "Why should I be surprised (about placing third in spite of their error)?  I did my job, they placed me third.  I'm happy, what can I say?  They liked our style."  Said Sale, "We are very pleased with the way we skated tonight.   We were a bit nervous, because it's our first Worlds together.  The crowd seemed to be really behind us.  It was fun, but still a bit nerve-wracking.  I think we handled ourselves really well, besides the spin.  Too bad, I spinned very slowly while he was doing his five turns."

The final team in the running for a medal was the French team of Sarah Abitbol & Stephane Bernadis.  There program was well done with the double twist their best element.  They also landed side-by-side triple toe loops and throw triple loop.   They received mostly third and fourth place ordinals, with one judge placing them second and another sixth.  Bernadis described their performance saying, "Overall, I'm pleased with our performance, except for a spin out of synch.  I have to say that the shouting of the audience is disturbing me and makes me nervous, because I'm getting more afraid of missing an element."  Abitbol was less distracted by the audience saying, "We skater really well, overall, and it was a lot of fun.  It was very satisfying for us.  As for me, I loved the audience.   It's a great help and it will be very important for the rest of the competition."

Among the U.S. teams, Kyoko Ina & John Zimmerman placed better than some might have predicted before Worlds, ending up sixth in the short program, while Tiffany Scott & Phillip Dulebohn placed a respectable ninth.  Ina & Zimmerman skated a clean program with good presentation and decent tricks.  They both landed their triple toe loops and throw triple Salchow was well done.  The weakest element in the program, but not a deduction, was the side-by-side spin combination which was mediocre.  After it was over, Zimmerman was satisfied with their performance saying, " I'm very, very happy.  I could have done more, but I'm glad that all the elements were done properly."  Scott & Dulebohn also had a decent skate with good unison and good presentation.  Their elements were fairly well done, though none of them were particularly outstanding and the forward inside death spiral had a particularly unattractive entry.  Scott was also happy with their performance saying, We are very happy with our performance.  Our personal goal is to present two excellent programs; that was the first!  It's our first participation in senior Worlds and it's a daily experience.  The region is beautiful.  We are happy to be here."

Long Program

The long program was uneventful until the third of five warmup groups when Obertas & Palamarchuk took their dreadful fall.  They were followed in the skating order by the Canadian team of Kristy Sargeant & Kris Wirtz.  On opening triple toe loops Sargeant doubled the jump and Wirtz two-footed it.  They then singled a triple twist.  At that point Wirtz stopped the program and went to the referee, Alexander Lakernik.  Wirtz said that he had seen Palamarchuk's accident and was so shaken by it he couldn't concentrate.  He asked to be allowed to restart the program.   According to Wirtz, he was "rudely" told by the referee to restart the program at the point of interruption or to withdraw.  As the team prepared to continue the program he was seen to say to his partner, "I'm sorry."  The remainder of the program was lackluster with Wirtz clearly not mentally focused on the program.

Scott & Dulebohn skated next.  They skated with decent speed and gave a good presentation that was generally well done.  Their triple toes and back outside death spiral were well done, but the catch on triple twist was poor and Scott fell on double Axel.  Despite the errors it was good enough to move up one position in the free skating, though overall they remained in ninth place.  Said Scott, " We are very happy, everything went well.  The elements were good.  The accident of the Ukrainian couple did not really disturb us, in fact we did not see it.  However, we were somewhat nervous."

Skating last in the fourth warmup group, Ina & Zimmerman got off to rough start, with Ina doubling and two footing triple toe loop.  That error was followed by a mediocre catch on triple twist, with a hit on the shoulder, and then a botched double Axel - double toe loop sequence in which Zimmerman stepped out of the double Axel, fell, and then omitted the toe loop.  A third of the way into the program they finally got under control, though the performance overall was still a little flat.  They landed throw triple Salchow and throw triple loop, and side-by-side double toe loops.  They finished with a fairly nice back outside death spiral.  The errors in the free skating cost them one place compared to the short program and they dropped to seventh overall.  It definitely could have been better," said Ina.  "We were prepared, and you just move on after you missed something.  There is nothing you can do once you missed.  We didn't think of the accident of the Ukrainians."

Because of the home country connection, heightened by the attack on Bernadis, there was a great deal of anticipation when Abitbol & Bernadis took the ice as the first couple in the final warmup group.  Thirty minutes prior to the event Bernadis had been shot up with pain killers and during the skating there was no indication that the injury hampered his performance.  Their "Devil and Angel" routine was generally well done and was dramatically presented, though it was slow in places.  The only major error was a fall on throw triple loop and a minor error on triple twist with a late catch.  They landed side-by-side triple toe loops and a double Axel - double toe loop combination, as well as throw double Axel.  Their lifts were of good quality, but overall the difficulty of the program did not appear strong enough to allow them to move up to a medal at the time they skated.  By the end of the event, however, events had turned in their favor and they captured the bronze medal.  Said Abitbol after skating, "What happened yesterday put an enormous pressure on us.  We were very nervous during the lifts.  The audience helped us a lot."  Later, Bernadis talked a little about his injury.  "The injury bothered me in practice and today during the lifts in practice.  Together with our doctor, we decided to give me a painkiller shot 30 minutes before the competition.  The arm didn't hurt, it just bothered me during the last two lifts.  I was fully focused on the program.  The injury had nothing to do with the mistake in the throw tripe loop.  I placed my hand wrong on Sarah, and she couldn't hold the jump."  In describing his feeling on the podium he said, "I was very moved.  I had a flashback of all my career - I remembered how I started to skate when I was eight years old, how I met Sarah for the first time in Bercy, I remembered all our successes and failures.  Everything came back, and it was wonderful."  Describing the failed throw Sarah said, "I felt he didn't place his hand correctly, and I tried to change it in the last moment, but it wasn't possible.  There was nothing I could have done. ...  I didn't expect such a noise (from the crowd), so I felt shaky in the six minute warmup.  But in the last 30 seconds, I knotted my boots and told myself, these people have come to watch you, you have to skate for them and to give your very best. ... You remember all your career (on the podium).  I'll remember this day forever.  It's the most beautiful day in my career."

Petrova & Tikhonov gave a capable performance with some strong elements and two errors.  On opening triple toe loop both skaters hit their jumps, but then on a subsequent double Axel - triple toe loop combination Tikhonov double the toe loop.   Then, on the following triple twist Petrova hit her partner's shoulder on the catch.  They landed throw triple Salchow and throw triple toe loop and had some novel lifts including one which ended in a flip down, then up, then down again.  They received seven first place marks, to win the free skating and the event, but also received two fourth place marks from the U.S. and Canadian judges.  After they skated Tikhonov made note of his error, saying "In fact, I'm not satisfied with myself.  I did only a double toe in the combination with double Axel, while Masha did a triple one.   I'm upset about that.  We did it in practice, but there is a lot of pressure in competition.  But we decided to risk everything.  We still had the side-by-side triple toe loops at the beginning.  We didn't hear about the accident of the Ukrainians."  Added Petrova, "It was difficult to skate after the French team."  Later Tikhonov said, "We tried our best, but it was really hard because of many different things.  We skated right after the French.  The audience loved them, they were screaming and made a lot of noise.  We decided to do everything in our program - a triple toe and a double Axel - triple toe loop combination, and I unfortunately missed the second triple, I did a double.  It was so much pressure.  Masha beat me here, she did a triple. ... There was more pressure than usual (due to all the unusual events).  Usually you are in your world during a competition, but we worried a lot about Elena and Stephane.  Anton was there to watch the competition and he said to us 'good luck' and 'skate well'.  This meant a lot to us.  They are the leaders in our sport; two-time World Champions, and we are friends.   It was important to us they watched."

The Russian team was followed by Shen & Zhao who had a good chance to win the gold medal given the errors made by Petrova & Tikhonov.  They skated strongly with speed and good flow through the program and nice presentation, but the clean skate they needed to capture the gold escaped them.  On an opening double Axel - triple toe loop combination Zhao stepped out of the double Axel,  on the set down from a lasso lift Shen rested briefly on his shoulder, and on an attempted triple Salchow Zhao doubled the jump.  They executed an interesting sequence of forward inside death spiral immediately followed by a forward outside one, but the entry to the first death spiral was unattractive and the second one was not executed as well as they normally can do it.   Their throw triple loop was outstanding, but on throw triple Salchow Shen stepped out.  Despite the errors one judge had them first, but the majority of the panel had them second.  After skating Zhao was to the point in describing the program.   "This program wasn't too good," he said.  In the post-event press conference he added, "We wanted the gold too much and we were too nervous.  We put too much pressure on ourselves.  The audience was too enthusiastic.  We lost this year, but we'll try again next year.  We are determined to go on until the 2002 Olympics."  On pair skating in China he said, "There are only five teams in China.  Figure skating isn't as popular in China as in Europe or North America."

The last team to skate was Sale & Pelletier.  They had the bronze medal within their grasp, but three errors dropped the medal into the laps of Abitbol & Bernadis.   On opening triple toe loops Sale stepped out.  They then completed a lasso lift, an adequate triple twist, and a successful throw triple Salchow.  Sale then singled the Axel in a double Axel - double toe loop combination.  Three tricks later she singled the double Axel again.  She went on to land throw triple loop, but the damage was done.  Other than the jumps, the program was very well done, and they received great second marks.  The errors however cost them in the first mark and they placed fourth in the free skating (although one judge had them first) and fourth overall.   When the marks came up Sale was crushed knowing the bronze medal had been within her grasp.  Nevertheless, it was still a great result for their first Worlds together, and they left the competition with their image of rising stars enhanced.   Pelletier took events in stride, saying, "That's how life goes.  Life gives you hard times and good times, and this is the hard side of sports.  One of our goals was to make the top five, and we reached that goal.  We had it in our hands, but it didn't work out."

No one was more surprised by the turn of event, perhaps, than Bernadis,  When he saw the results come up backstage he was overcome with emotion, and again during the awards ceremony.  He also showed some class during the awards ceremony when the audience jeered while the event referee was introduced, and again as he congratulated the skaters.  Bernadis motioned to the crowd to stop - though it did no good.  Their result at this World Championships was the first French pairs medal at Worlds since 1932, during the era of the illustrious Brunets.  The oddities in the pairs event continued to the very end when the flags of the medalist were not raised during the playing of the Russian national anthem.  After the music finished they were briefly raised.  In the following press conference Tikhonov remarked, "The flags didn't go up, so we were surprised and looked for them.  Stephane apologized to us for this."

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