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Russian pairs champions pull out of Worlds
It's not that good.
Olympic pairs champions Oksana Kazakova and Artur Dmitriev withdrew from the world figure skating championships yesterday, meaning that the organizers are batting a dismal 4-for-4. None of the gold medallists from the Nagano Olympics will take part in this event.
Kazakova and Dmitriev were the last Olympic champions to pull out, following earlier decisions by women's singles queen Tara Lipinski of the U.S., men's singles king Ilya Kulik of Russia and dance champs Pasha Grishuk and Evgeny Platov.
Lipinski and Kulik withdrew because of ill-health, while Grishuk and Platov turned pro.
Kazakova and Dmitriev arrived in Minneapolis last week with every intention of competing, but pulled out hours before the pairs short program last night after the often-controversial Dmitriev came down with a nasty case of food poisoning. The result of some bad sushi the night before, the Russian delegation said.
Their withdrawal opened the door for Americans Jenni Meno and Todd Sand, who won the short program, followed by Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze of Russia and Peggy Schwarz and Mirko Muller of Germany. The Canadian teams of Kristy Sargeant and Kris Wirtz and Marie-Claude Savard-Gagnon and Luc Bradet finished fifth and 12th respectively.
TIM TERRIFIC: The International Skating Union officially ratified a quadruple salchow landed by American skater Timothy Goebel on March 8 at the ISU junior final in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Goebel, 17, is the first person credited with landing a quad salchow in competition and the first American to land a quad.
Goebel's jump was, in fact, a quad salchow/double toe-loop jump combination. At the time of execution, it was not possible to ratify the jump as the event was not televised and no video replay was available. A tape of the jump was provided by the parents of the U.S. pairs team Tiffany and Johnnie Stiegler, who taped the event on a home camcorder.
ALL CALM ON WESTERN FRONT: French ice dancer Gwendal Peizerat denied reports that he blamed Canadian fans for a series of threatening phone calls which he received following the Nagano Olympics.
"I said the phone calls were in English. The media said Canadians," said Peizerat who, with partner Marina Anissina, bumped the Canadian team of Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz out of the medals in Nagano.