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Elvis poses a triple threat
Tired skater leaves out quadruple toe jump but still manages to capture top marks
Toronto Sun
And there were very few hiccups in his performance.
Still a bit tired from his season debut at Skate America in Detroit last weekend, the three-time world singles champion decided to leave the quadruple toe jump out of his short program. And by playing it safe -- if one calls a triple Axel-triple toe jump combination, triple Lutz and double Axel playing it safe -- the Richmond Hill skater was awarded first-place marks from all nine judges.
Stojko finished fourth overall last weekend at Skate America, behind defending world champion Alexei Yagudin of Russia, Michael Weiss of the U.S. and 1994 Olympic champion Alexei Urmanov of Russia -- a very formidable field. Urmanov, like Stojko, is just returning from a nasty groin injury.
The competition is a little easier this weekend at the Kamloops Riverside Coliseum, but Stojko -- returning to the competitive fold after a nine-month layoff because of the groin injury aggravated at the Nagano Olympics -- still has to contend with Russian wunderkind Evgeny Plushenko in tomorrow's free skate.
SECOND IN SHORT
Plushenko, who turned 16 this week, finished second in the short last night, landing a triple Axel-triple toe combo and a double Axel. His fate was sealed as the second-place finisher behind Stojko when he doubled a planned quad toe.
Still, the remarkably proficient skater finished his short program -- skated to Nocturn by Spadevekia -- on a high note, with the Biellmann spin.
Plushenko is the first male to perform that difficult manoeuvre, where the skater pulls a leg up to the back of his head.
In terms of artistic scores, Stojko's Taiko drums short proved again to be a favourite among the crowd and the judges. His presentation marks included five 5.8s, two 5.7s and two 5.6s.
"I wanted to feel good about my program (here)," said Stojko, when asked about the decision to leave out the quad. "Last week we pushed through everything just to test it. Now we want to do the rebuilding process here. It's coming together and it's good to be back. I had a lot of energy out there.
"The quad's in the long program and we're going to go from there."
Jeff Langdon, Stojko's teammate at the Mariposa Club in Barrie, was his usual steady self, finishing fourth, one spot behind Evgeny Pliuta of Ukraine.
Langdon, eighth at the worlds last year, held on to his triple Axel, delivered a fine triple loop and performed a triple flip-double toe combination.
Langdon, 23, was over the moon with his performance, given that he sprained his ankle in practice last month.