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Derochie's finish also angers Dore
Michelle Kwan of the United States didn't let down an adoring Target Center crowd, skating a marvellous, but certainly not flawless, free-skate program to win her second world championship.
Kwan, 17, fell attempting a double Axel, which she usually lands easily, and downgraded a triple Salchow one rotation, but otherwise performed a solid free skate to win the world title.
A couple of Russian lasses, Irina Slutskaya and Maria Butyrskaya, also skated well to finish second and third respectively. Slutskaya, fourth after the short, nailed two triple/triple-jump combinations and though she fell attempting a triple flip, earned the highest technical marks to move up two spots. Butyrskaya, fifth after the short, skated an excellent routine, her only major flaw a weird fall while gliding backwards.
The vast majority of spectators inside the Target Center watched the women's free skate with a mixture of excitement and admiration. Such wasn't the case for Canadian skating president David Dore, who is upset about poor showings by Canadian women.
Canada hasn't won a medal at the worlds or Olympics in the women's singles event since Elizabeth Manley's pair of silvers in 1988. Angela Derochie's 20th-place showing last night only upset Dore more. Given that Derochie has been plagued with a hip flexor injury, the Trenton native's skate wasn't bad. But Dore clearly was hoping for more and is tired of answering questions concerning the state of women's skating in Canada.
"Why can't I find one like (Kwan)?' I just want a good lady. I want somebody to go out and do it."
Dore's comments weren't received kindly by Derochie's coach Peter Dunfield.
"I want, I want, I want. Like a kid at Christmas. How adult is that?" Dunfield said. "We all want (good results) and we're doing our best."