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Bourne and Kraatz deliver winning free dance
Their new free dance was an instant hit with the judges, all nine of whom agreed that Canada's champions deserved the gold medals and the $30,000 US first prize Sunday afternoon, and the crowd eagerly embraced it.
Now, after this easy win over inferior skaters, they'll be up against reigning world champions Angelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsyannikov at the Sparkassen Cup on Ice beginning Thursday. Bourne, 22, of Chatham, Ont., and Kraatz, 27, of Vancouver were third when the Russians won the world title last spring. Now the Canadians will try to overtake them.
"It was a thrill to do this program for the first time here and I think in Europe it's going to be even stronger," Bourne said. "Being up against Krylova and Ovsyannikov is going to be even more of a challenge."
The new free dance is a non-stop, techno-pop romp much different than last season's popular Riverdance. It will take fans of Bourne and Kraatz a few exposures to adjust. The synthesized music of the new dance, titled Meet Her at the Love Parade, by D.A. Hool, is harder on the ears than Gaelic folk.
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, the former Olympic and world champions, helped choreograph the new piece. On the chest of the black and blue costumes, which are severe switch from the Irish greens of Riverdance, runs a line resembling an electrocardiograph readout.
"Chris nicknamed the program heart attack," Kraatz explained. "The flat-lining at the end (of the chest design) is kind of what you feel like by the end of it."
"It's an athletic program, very sporty, so we went away from the glitter and the sequins because this program is modern," Bourne said of the garb. "We wanted something more basic, more 1990s."
The capacity crowd of nearly 5,000 clapped along with the beat from the start.
"It was such a blast," said Bourne. "I think the crowd really liked the program, and that was the biggest challenge this year, finding something they'd like as much as Riverdance."
The judges were ready with a stamp of approval. Marks for content and execution were mostly 5.7s and 5.8s. For artistry, 5.8s and 5.9s were on the scoreboard.
"The most nerve-wracking time is the first time," said Bourne. "From now, it'll only get better.
"It has so much room to grow from now till worlds."
Said Kraatz: "We have a very good product. It's a matter now of keeping working on it, get some more miles on it, and feel a bit more comfortable in front of the audience."
Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas of Lithuania, No. 8 in the world and second-seeded for Skate Canada, won the $18,000 US second prize.
Sylwia Nowak and Sebastian Kolasinski of Poland, No. 11 in the world and third-seeded, won the $10,000 US third prize.
Megan Wing, 23, and Aaron Lowe, 24, of Vancouver finished ninth among 12 couples.
"Even if we didn't get the marks, the judges have noticed us and now realize we're just as good as some of the eastern Europeans," said Lowe.
On Saturday, 16-year-old Evgeny Plushenko became only the third skater to land a quadruple-triple jump combination in international competition, and the feat lifted him onto the podium above three-time world champion Elvis Stojko, whose quad-triple at the 1997 Grand Prix final was the first.
A second here and a fourth at Skate America indicate that Stojko's attempt to reclaim his world crown amid a horde of younger skaters led by Plushenko and fellow-Russian Alexei Yagudin represents the biggest challenge of his career.
"I can't ask for anything more at this point," said Stojko. "The situation with the groin, in the last month I've jumped so far ahead.
"It's been a rough road, but it's getting there slowly and I feel good about it."
Plushenko's win was all the more sensational given he'd only been training full-out for a month after recovering from surgery to repair a foot ligament slashed in a training accident.
Jayson Denommee impressed. Denommee was fifth at the Canadian championships last winter but his seventh here put him ahead of teammate Jeff Langdon, who is No. 2 in Canada and No. 8 in the world.
Ukrainian Elena Liashenko, who two years ago was sinking into oblivion in the sport, continued her re-emergence by winning women's gold. Little-known Japanese skater Fumie Suguri surprised by finishing a step up on the podium from world silver medallist Irina Slutskaya of Russia.
Canada's Keyla Ohs was 10th among 11 after an inferior free skate that included not one cleanly landed triple jump.
The pairs title was won as expected by top-seeded Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao of China, No. 4 in the world, with newcomers Jamie Sale and David Pelletier bursting on the scene by grabbing third spot ahead of Canadian champions Kristy Sargeant and Kris Wirtz. Sargeant fell twice.
Marie-Claude Savard-Gagnon and Luc Bradet, No. 2 in Canada, were fifth. They'll have to be better to retain a spot on Canada's team for the world championships. The Montreal-based Sale and Pelletier appear to be good enough to snatch it from them.
Results
KAMLOOPS, British Columbia (AP) -- Results Sunday of Skate Canada:Ice Dance
Final standings
1. Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz, Canada, 2.0 factored placements. 2. Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas, Lithuania, 4.0. 3. Sylwia Nowak and Sebastian Kolasinski, Poland, 6.0. 4. Elena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov, Ukraine, 8.0. 5. Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviyski, Bulgaria, 10.0. 6. Olga Sharutenko and Dmitri Naumkin, Russia, 13.0. 7. Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder, France, 13.0. 8. Debbie Koegel, Phoenixville, Pa., and Oleg Fediuikov, Northboro, Mass., 16.0. 9. Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe, Canada, 18.0. 10. Kornelia Barany and Andras Rosnik, Hungary, 21.0. 11. Charlotte Clements and Gary Shortland, Britain, 21.0. 12. Nozomi Watanabe and Akiyuki Kido, Japan, 24.0.