Russia underlined its world figure skating superiority on Friday by dominating all four events at the Grand Prix final.
World and European champion Irina Slutskaya rebounded from a somewhat shaky performance in the short program earlier in the day to take a narrow lead going into yesterday's second free skate.
Eighteen-year-old American Sasha Cohen, who was leading after the short program, dropped to second after she fell on the landing off a triple loop.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"Well, it definitely wasn't my best performance," said Cohen of her long program.
She is the only American competing in St. Petersburg after Michelle Kwan chose not to attend the final.
"I felt a bit tired at the end of my free skate because I'm not used to skating two programs in one day," she added. "But it's a learning experience. I'm sure I'll do better in tomorrow's free program, which counts for 50 percent."
Slutskaya, however, was not too sympathetic to her younger rival. "I have a lot more experience than her," said the 24-year-old, who also finished second at last year's Winter Olympics.
"I think this is my sixth Grand Prix final and in four of them we have competed under the same format, so I'm used to it."
Slutskaya has won three of those finals. Another Russian Viktoria Volchkova is in third place after finishing third in both programs on Friday.
What a performance
In the final, all skaters perform two long programs, one on Friday, which counts for 30 percent, and a different one yesterday. A short program is worth 20 percent of the total score.
European men's champion and Olympic silver medallist Yevgeny Plushenko dazzled the home crowd with two fine performances.
"Actually, it was very difficult to skate to today, especially in the afternoon session," said the 20-year-old from St Petersburg. "I was really short of breath and I don't know why. But I'm very happy with my free skate," he added.
"I did 100 per cent what I had planned to do tonight. I did two triple axels, I did a quad-triple-triple combination. I didn't press myself to the limit, I did everything I wanted to do. Tomorrow will be different."
The Russian men occupied all three top places, with Ilya Klimkin and Alexander Abt pushing European silver medallist Brian Joubert of France into fourth spot.
In pairs competition, European champions Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin of Russia held a comfortable lead over China's world champions Xue Shen and compatriot Hongbo Zhao going into yesterday's free skate after winning both the short and long programs on Friday.
China's error
The Chinese duo wanted to win Friday's free skate after making a small mistake with their side-by-side spins in the short program, but Zhao crashed out on a triple toe-loop, ending the pair's hopes for high marks.
Another Russian couple, former European and world champions Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov, are in third place.
Russia's Olympic champions Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze are not competing this season, while Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, who were awarded a duplicate Olympic gold medal following a judging scandal in Salt Lake City, have retired from amateur competition.
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two