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Eldredge, Kwan win against strong fields
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (AP) -- American Todd Eldredge staged a successful conclusion to his competitive season Thursday night, winning the Ultimate Four figure skating event.Skating against four-time world champion Kurt Browning of Caroline, Alta., and Olympic champions Ilya Kulik and Alexei Urmanov of Russia, Eldredge repeated the title that he won in the event in 1996.
"I doubled the last triple, but other than that I skated very well," said Eldredge. "I hit all the other triples."
Eldredge, who had a disappointing Olympics, finishing fourth, then was second at the world championships, received a standing ovation before he started skating. He performed his short program to music from Les Miserables and finished first, with 1994 Olympic champion Urmanov second, Nagano gold medalist Kulik third and Browning fourth.
Although he was second to Browning in the long program, Eldredge had a big enough margin to finish first overall.
Browning, who landed the first quadruple jump in competition in 1988 and hit one again during a Stars on Ice show on the 10th anniversary of the first quad, barely missed another quad Thursday.
"I just did the best I can. I was incredibly inspired by the people I skate with and against," said Browning, who has been a professional since 1994. "I never try it unless I'm up against the best in the world.
"I can't go head-to-head with them technically, so I tried to pull one out of the bag to see what would happen."
Michelle Kwan, the silver medallist at Nagano and winner of her second world championship last month, earned four perfect marks from the five judges for presentation in the free skate. She had three 6.0s in the short program.
Kwan was followed by Russia's Maria Butyrskaya, who was fourth in the short program and second in the free skate. Another Russian, Irina Slutskaya, was third, followed by Yuka Sato of Japan, who has been a pro since 1995.
Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, current world champs and the Olympic silver medallists, edged world runners-up Jenni Meno and Todd Sand, in pairs. Nagano champions Oksana Kazakova and Artur Dmitriev were third, followed by two-time U.S. champions Kyoko Ina and Jason Dungjen.
Ultimate Four Skating Results
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (AP) -- Results Thursday at the Ultimate Four figure skating competition:
Women
Short Program
1, Michelle Kwan, United States, .5 factored placements.
2, Irina Slutskaya, Russia, 1.0.
3, Yuka Sato, Japan, 1.5.
4, Maria Butyrskaya, Russia, 2.0.
Free Skate
1, Kwan, 1.0.
2, Butyrskaya, 2.0.
3, Slutskaya, 3.0.
4, Sato, 4.0.
Final Standings
1, Kwan, 1.5.
2, Butyrskaya, 4.0.
3, Slutskaya, 4.0.
4, Sato, 5.5.
Men
Short Program
1, Todd Eldredge, United States, .5.
2, Alexei Urmanov, Russia, 1.0.
3, Ilya Kulik, Russia, 1.5.
4, Kurt Browning, Canada, 2.0.
Free Skate
1, Browning, 1.0.
2, Eldredge, 2.0.
3, Kulik, 3.0.
4, Urmanov, 4.0.
Final Standings
1, Eldredge, 2.5.
2, Browning, 3.0.
3, Kulik, 4.5.
5, Urmanov, 5.0.
Pairs
Short Program
1, Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, Russia, .5.
2, Oksana Kazakova and Artur Dmitriev, Russia, 1.0.
3, Jenni Meno and Todd Sand, United States, 1.5.
4, Kyoko Ina and Jason Dungjen, United States, 2.0.
Free Skate
1, Berezhnaya-Sikharulidze, 1.0.
2, Meno-Sand, 2.0.
3, Kazakova-Dmitriev, 3.0.
4, Ina-Dungjen, 4.0.
Final Standings
1, Berezhnaya-Sikharulidze, 1.5.
2, Meno-Sand, 3.5.
3, Kazakova-Dmitriev, 4.0.
4, Ina-Dungjen, 6.0.