Salt Lake 2002 Women's SP (BBC) with Robin Cousins & Jayne Torvill Analyses

British coverage (commentators: Robin Cousins, Barry Davies. Also with Sue Barker and Jayne Torvill in the Studio)
short program (SP) performances of the top 4 women, marked with (*) below:
Rank Name Nation Points SP* FS
1 Sarah Hughes United States 3.0 4* 1
2 Irina Slutskaya Russia 3.0 2* 2
3 Michelle Kwan United States 3.5 1* 3
4 Sasha Cohen United States 5.5 3* 4
Australian version:    • Salt Lake 2002 Women's SP (Aus.) | Kwan’s ...  
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Kwan’s One Step Away
By H. ELLIOTT
Feb. 20, 2002 12 AM PT
SALT LAKE CITY — Michelle Kwan held nothing back. The judges rating her performance Tuesday closely followed suit, putting her in position to win the figure skating gold medal that eluded her four years ago.
Kwan, who has second-guessed herself for not letting loose emotionally in her silver-medal performance at the 1998 Nagano Games, had no regrets after her impressive short program Tuesday at the Salt Lake Ice Center. The four-time world champion and six-time U.S. champion received a string of nine 5.9s (out of 6.0) for her “Rachmaninov” routine, lodging her in first place by a 5-4 margin over Russia’s Irina Slutskaya after the first phase of the women’s competition.
Sasha Cohen of Laguna Niguel was third, followed by Sarah Hughes of Great Neck, N.Y., and Maria Butyrskaya of Russia. Any of the top three can become the new champion by being ranked first in Thursday’s long program, which counts for two-thirds of the final score.
Hughes, apparently penalized for a faulty takeoff on her triple lutz jump and coming too close to the boards in landing her triple lutz-double loop combination jump, needs someone above her to falter for her to win the gold. But she can still win a medal.
“It’s just a great competition... “It’s going to be tough, and it’s sort of like who’s the strongest. Thursday is going to be a big night for all of us.”
“I felt good. I felt really calm out there,” said Kwan, who was showered with applause from the heavily pro-American crowd. “It was crazy.”
Cohen, second to Kwan at last month’s U.S. championships, performed a charming routine to “Sentimental Waltz.” The 17-year-old’s jumps were high and her spins showed off her amazing flexibility, earning marks of 5.5 to 5.8 for the required elements and 5.6 to 5.8 for presentation.
“To go out there for my Games moment and skate clean was a dream come true,” said Cohen, a first-time Olympian who has never competed at the world championships. “I was nervous off the ice, but once they called my name, no butterflies. I just went out there to attack.”
Slutskaya, the runner-up to Kwan at last year’s world championships, displayed her virtuosity with a sequence of spirals on one foot and hitting all her jumps cleanly.
“I really love competition with Michelle and Sarah,” said Slutskaya, who will skate last among the top six women Thursday, just after Cohen and Kwan.
“It’s so nice. You feel here a war on ice.”
A war of nerves, too, one the principals survived in fine form.
Kwan widened her smile after she landed her triple flip, the last jump among the eight required elements in her 2-minute, 40-second program. Her marks for required elements included one 5.5 from Italian judge Paolo Pizzocari--who judged everyone severely--and peaked at 5.9 from Slovak judge Maria Hrachovcova.
“I’ve learned a lot, not just from that one experience in Nagano,” Kwan said. “I’ve learned a lot over the last four years.... I just wanted to have fun.”
That she did, eclipsing memories of her up-and-down season with a serene, elegant performance that drew a standing ovation from the roaring, flag-waving crowd of 15,600.
“I’m definitely proud to be an American,” she said, “and tonight I tried to skate from my heart, to make America proud. Seeing the American flags was an incredible moment for me.”
Hughes drew the fifth starting position in the random draw and was the first of the U.S. women to perform. Her “Ave Maria” routine lacked speed, and she finished her triple lutz-double loop combination jump perilously close to the end boards.
Hughes’ coach, Robin Wagner, said the low first marks might have resulted from Hughes’ “flutz,” or incorrect takeoff on the lutz.
“It was a very strong skate,” Wagner said. “It was a little slower than I would have liked to have seen, but after the triple flip, she loosened up.”
Hughes acknowledged she was disappointed with her first set of marks, “coming here third in the world and skating a short program that was clean and didn’t have any major flaws ... I’m my most important judge. I’d give myself 5.8, 5.9.”
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#figureskating #フィギュアスケート #eiskunstlauf #фигурноекатание #피겨스케이팅 #pattinaggioartistico #patinageartistique
special thanks to Kim!