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Yagudin leaps into 1st place
But Plushenko's fall pulls him down to 4th
By Jenifer K. Nii
Deseret News staff writer
So much for hype.
What was to have been a rumble between Russians at the Olympic men's figure skating competition fizzled into nothing Tuesday, along with the medals hopes for two out of the three American men.
Alexei Yagudin was supposed to have battled his countryman, reigning world champion Evgeny Plushenko, tooth and toepick for the gold. But after Plushenko took a shocking tumble on his opening quadruple toe loop — a fall that sent him plummeting to fourth place — he'll need help to claim Olympic victory.
Yagudin, on the other hand, delivered one of his strongest performances of the year. His delicious "Winter" program was lighthearted and whimsical, while delivering all the goods: a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop combination, triple Axel and triple Lutz along with intricate footwork sequences and playful snow-throwing.
"I'm really happy with everything I've done tonight," Yagudin said after his performance. "I was a little nervous because I knew it was the Olympics. The first jump, I couldn't feel my legs. This is not (nationals), not the Europeans, not the Worlds. This is the Olympics."
Yagudin's closest competition came from Japan's Takeshi Honda, who finally came through with the performance that has eluded him all season. His "Don Quixote" was traditional and polished, the only major error a forward landing on both jumps in his quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop combination.
Timothy Goebel, the 2001 American champion, kept his medals hopes alive with a third-place finish going into Thursday's free skate. His huge quadruple Salchow was the first of its kind landed at the Olympic Games and set the tone for the rest of his program.
"I was not expecting to be in this position, so it's such a thrill to have placed so well and skated so well. With all the depth of the event at the Olympics, I didn't expect to be so high."
Fellow Americans Michael Weiss and Todd Eldredge did not fare as well, finishing the short program in eighth and ninth place, respectively.
Ever pragmatic, Eldredge, a six-time national champion, refused to second-guess his decision to remain eligible more than a decade after he won his first U.S. title.
"Through the mistakes, I still had fun out there, which is a little odd," Eldredge said. "I have no regrets. I think my skating is so much better for coming back and having this experience."
Plushenko left the building without comment.
The Olympic medals in the men's event will be decided Thursday.
E-mail: jnii@desnews.com
Deseret News Olympic specialist Maria Titze contributed to this story.
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February 13, 2002
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