Friday, October 24, 1997
By Beverley Smith
DETROIT -- American Todd Eldredge took his first secure step toward the Olympics with a confident win in the short program at the Skate America International last night.
But Canadian Jayson Dénommée took one, too -- and it came with more pressure.
Dénommée, 20, of Asbestos, Que., must finish within the top six at this event - his only major international event of the year -- to qualify for an Olympic berth under Canadian Olympic Association criteria.
Last night, Dénommée finished sixth of 12 skaters. And he had to clear two major hurdles: he had to skate first, when marks aren't awarded so liberally. And he suffered some severe deductions for failing to have enough rotations in a sit spin.
Yet Dénommée conquered all the big tricks. Although he had been struggling with triple Axels in practice this week, he landed a good one, in combination with a double toe loop, in the short program last night. And a strong triple Lutz. And he showed some flair.
"He's cute," gasped one female Detroit fan who had never heard of him before.
"I never felt that weird before," Dénommée said last night. "I didn't feel like I was on the ice. I was really not there. It was like I didn't care. I went on the ice and I didn't feel nervous. Usually the butterflies are flapping."
Dénommée said he has decided he likes skating first. For the long program tomorrow, he has drawn the last starting position.
Eldredge never put a foot wrong, but all the buzz last night was about world junior champion Evgeny Plushenko of Russia, who won't turn 15 until next week. He unleashed a mighty, tight triple Axel -- triple toe loop combination, and a Biellman spin that male skaters never do. He finished second.
Viacheslav Zagorodniuk of Ukraine is third. He was the world bronze medalist in 1994.
Russians ruled supreme in the pairs short program last night. The 1996 world champions, Marina Eltsova and Andrei Bushkov delighted spectators with confident triple toe loops and a difficult press lift that came to an end with a twist move. They won the votes of six of the seven judges.
Only the Canadian judge rated the other Russian pair, 1994 world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, first. This couple, who endured an injury-plagued season and were not deemed prepared for the world championship last year, drew applause at almost every move.
In third place over all are U.S. champions Kyoko Ina and Jason Dungjen, although Dungjen stumbled out of a triple toe loop.
Two-time Canadian champions Michelle Menzies of Cambridge, Ont., and Jean-Michel Bombardier of Laval, Que., are in fifth place among eight couples. Although their program was lyrical, with an almost luminous quality, they dropped after Bombardier stumbled out of a triple Salchow jump. Perhaps it was because the U.S. announcer insisted on pronouncing Bombardier's name wrong at every turn.
The surprise of the event was the fourth-place effort turned in by unheralded Kazakhstan couple Marina Khalturina and Andrei Kroukov, who showed off good triple Salchows, and an outstanding death spiral. The crowd booed noisily when excellent marks ranging from 5.2 to 5.7 out of 6.0 popped up. The support was a new experience for the pair, ranked 12th in the world.
In ice dancing, Canadians Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe of Boucherville, Que., are in seventh place of eight couples after one compulsory dance. U.S. champions Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow are leading the event.