DETROIT -- As the first stop on the road to the Olympics, the Skate America International event proved one thing: Americans can court destruction, and still win medals. Gold ones at that.
U.S. star Todd Eldredge lay flat out on his back on the ice for at least five minutes after he fell during warmup for the men's long program Saturday. Doctors diagnosed him with a partially separated right shoulder. But a few minutes later, despite intense pain, he was on the ice and won the event.
Because the incident happened early in the six-minute warmup, Eldredge competed without the benefit of one. That made his effort even more unusual. Russian coach Alexei Mishin, who trains the defending Olympic champion Alexei Urmanov, called the American a hero.
Warmups proved most dangerous at Skate America. Also on Saturday, U.S. pair champion Jason Dungjen wrenched his thumb right back to his forearm when he caught it in the skirt of his partner, Kyoko Ina, during a warmup for their long program. A few minutes later, the pair went out and won a silver medal.
Both skaters endured crushing pain. It all means that the skaters of the world had better be prepared when they meet an American this season, especially at the Olympics, when the chips are down. Canadian champion Elvis Stojko of Richmond Hill, Ont., may meet his match in grit when he squares off with Eldredge at the Nagano Games in February.
Even though Eldredge had to scale down some of his artistic effects because of the pain of raising his arm to shoulder height, Canadian judge Mary Claire Heintzman was caught up in the moment of wonder: She gave Eldredge the first perfect mark of 6.0 in his career (not counting pro-am events).
The mark was for presentation. Eldredge said he figured it was Heintzman's way of saying "bravo."
In all, U.S. skaters won gold in all but one event at Skate America. Michelle Kwan won the women's event over world champion Tara Lipinski, also of the United States. Only sweet, freckle-faced Russian Elena Sokolova prevented a U.S. sweep. She finished third, just ahead of Angela Nikodinov of the United States.
U.S. champions Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow walked away with the ice-dancing event in a breeze over Italians Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio and Russians Anna Semenovich and Vladimir Fedorov.
Although Punsalan and Swallow are ranked sixth in the world, they said last week they feel they have "an outside chance" at a medal in Nagano. That means they're thinking of putting the squeeze on Canadians Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz, currently third in the world. The two couples are scheduled to meet next week at Skate Canada.
Indeed, Canadians didn't fare so well at Skate America. Jayson Dénommée of Asbestos, Que., needed a top-six finish to qualify for the Olympic team, but he didn't get it. He was sixth after the short program but dropped to eighth over all after the long. The Skate America event was his only chance to meet the criteria set out by the Canadian Olympic Association.
Canada is the only country that has earned three men's spots for the Olympics through international skating rules, but the tough Canadian Olympic Association standards may cut the number to two. So far, only Stojko and Jeffrey Langdon of Barrie, Ont., have met the criteria.
On Saturday, Dénommée fired off a triple Axel-double toe loop jump, but put a hand to the ice after a second attempt, and turned a triple toe loop into a double. Some judges gave him marks that were noticeably lower for presentation than technique.
Two-time Canadian pairs champions Michelle Menzies of Cambridge, Ont., and Jean-Michel Bombardier of Laval, Que., presented the most exquisite, moving programs of the pairs event, but falls on jumps held them back in fourth place out of eight couples. They moved up from fifth after the short program.
Russians Marina Eltsova and Andrei Bushkov, the 1996 world champions, won the event, while 1994 world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov of Russia were third.
Canadian silver medalist Angela Derochie of Ottawa finished ninth of 11 women after she fell twice, on a triple Lutz attempt, and a double toe loop-triple toe loop combination. She also put a hand down on a triple toe loop and scaled down two other triples. Her triple loop was magnificent.
In ice dancing, Canadian bronze medalists Megan Wing of Vancouver and Aaron Lowe of Vancouver finished seventh of eight skaters, even though a very weak, slow French couple fell in the original dance and still stayed ahead of them. That decision was by no means unanimous, but it was enough to baffle the Canadians.
But the most amazing thing at the Skate America International event last week was not that Eldredge won, but that he skated at all.
The 26-year-old had partially dislocated his right shoulder after he stumbled on bad ice at the Joe Louis Arena and a gasp went through the crowd as Eldredge lay, screaming, flailing his legs against the rink boards, his right arm trembling uncontrollably.
Two-time U.S. champion Scott Davis, who was also warming up at the time, heard the screams and later said it was "amazing" that Eldredge returned to the ice.
"I was sure he [would] not skate," said Mishin, whose 14-year-old protegé, Evgeny Plushenko, finished second in the event. (Another Russian, Alexander Abt, out for two years with serious injuries, knows all about pain, too, but still finished third.)
"I commend [Eldredge] for his victory," Mishin said. "I think that is really the behaviour of a hero."
Eldredge said later he felt his shoulder dislocate, but as he rolled on the ice, his shoulder popped back into place. "All the different ligaments and muscles got stretched in ways they shouldn't have been," he said.
"I had all kinds of thoughts. I wondered if it was going to affect the rest of my year."
Eldredge left the ice on his own power, but almost didn't return, said his coach, Richard Callaghan. "What happens in January and February is more important than what happens in October," he said.
But Eldredge did return. After all, it was to be the last Skate America of his career. He was advised that if the pain became too much to bear while completing the long program, he could withdraw.
Eldredge said if he had injured his left arm, he could not have skated, because he uses it most for momentum in moves and jumps. As it was, he scaled down a triple Salchow and a triple loop into doubles, and avoided triple-triple combinations when he skated.
After the event, Eldredge was taken to Henry Ford Hospital, where X-rays showed no bone damage. Doctors told him to take it easy for the next couple of days until swelling subsides. He may undergo a magnetic imaging resonance test later to determine if he has any ligament or muscle tears.
The injury may threaten Eldredge's next international assignment in France on Nov. 13 to 16. But it didn't stop him this time.