2002 U.S. Nationals

Senior Men

When Todd Eldredge returned to USFSA/ISU eligible skating in his quest for another chance at Olympic glory after a two year hiatus, it was sadly obvious that his skills had eroded during his visit to the nether-world of ineligible skating.  Starting with the 2000 Four Continents Championships where he placed fourth, so many questions swirled around him.  Could he recover his former skills, how would he fare without a consistent quad against the likes of Evgeny Plushenko and Alexei Yagudin internationally, or against Timothy Goebel in the U.S..  After placing second behind Goebel at the 2001 U.S. National Championships, and placing behind him internationally this season, Eldredge roared back to life in this year's championships.  At the same time, former U.S. Champion Michael Weiss, whose career hit a brick wall in the free skating last year has been struggling since to effect a comeback.

The top contenders in the men's event were spread out among the three warmup groups with Eldredge skating in the first, Weiss and Matthew Savoie in the second, and Goebel in the third.

Skating to Carmina Burana by Carl Orff and Mythodea by Vangelis  he skated a strong, fast, quadless program.  His strategy this season has been to skate cleanly in the short program and not risk deductions with an unreliable quad, and then to try the quad in the free skating if he feels it is worth the risk.  He landed a strong triple Axel - triple toe lop and double Axel.  His triple Lutz out of footwork was controversial.  It appeared to some (including me) that the quad was two footed and a few judges thought likewise taking a deduction, but all.  Afterwards he insisted that it was clean, and without benefit of replay he gets the benefit of the doubt.  Also controversial is his music which includes vocal in the section from Carmina Burana.  The music received deductions at Grand Prix Final, and following that competition the tape was doctored somewhat to make the vocals less distinct.  According to his coach, Richard Callaghan, the referee gave the music his blessings, and perhaps to most American officials devoid of any culture the singing is just so much undecipherable Latin, but if you know the music the singing is still completely comprehensible and thus deductible.  It will be interesting to see what the European judges do with this at the Olympics.

Third to skate in the second warmup was Weiss who, to his credit, did not play it safe, but attempted a quad-double combination.  He fell on the quad toe and tacked on a double toe loop.  He dug his hole a little deeper on the next element when he stepped out of triple Axel.  His triple Lutz out of footwork was clean.  It was a well presented program with fast footwork and he tried to get as much mileage as he could out of the remainder of the program, but the two deductions were devastating and he ended up fifth in the short program.  In order to make the Olympic team destiny, though, was still in his own hands, but he would need to place third or better in the free skating to win the trip to Salt Lake City.

Three skaters later, at the end of the second warmup came Savoie who was eager to show that his bronze medal win last year was more than just the luck of skating against an injured Michael Weiss.  He skated a clean fast program that received a warm standing ovation from the audience.  He landed a solo triple Axel and a triple flip - triple toe loop combination.  His triple jump out of footwork was supposed to be a Lutz but it was distinctly flutzed making it a repeat of the flip in the combination.  It should have earned him a major deduction but he dodged the bullet as most judges no longer bother to worry much about whether the Lutz takes off correctly or not, even in the short program.  He mostly received marks of second through fourth, but also a first place mark that proved crucial to Eldredge and Goebel.

Goebel was the last of the top contenders to skate, performing second in the last warmup.  His routine was well presented and it is a credit to his current coach, Frank Carroll, that he has made so much progress in the second mark over the past year.  Skating to Danse Macabre he landed his opening quad Salchoe - triple toe loop combination and then a solo triple Axel.  Next came a clean triple flip out of footwork and a nice combination spin, but an serpentine footwork he fell.   He was also a little slow in his change foot sit spin and then towards the end of the program.  He received a mix of marks from first through third as did Eldredge.   His mix of placements, in fact, was identical to Eldredge's with four first place marks each, three seconds and two thirds leaving both skater in a tie for first place.   On a head-to-head bases, however, Eldredge was the favorite of five of the nine judges.  A situation no one would have predicted before this competition began.

Even after two days, it was hard to decide which was the more remarkable situation, Eldredge and Goebel tied for first, or Michael Weiss buried in fifth looking at a do-or-die performance in the free skate to make the Olympic team.  Correspondingly, Matthew Savoie was also under intense pressure to hold his position after the short program.

Weiss led of the last warmup of the men's free skate.  On his opening quad toe loop - triple toe loop combination he fell on the quad and left of the triple.  He next element was to be a triple Axel- triple toe loop combination but he decided to try the quad triple again.  This time the quad was slightly two footed and the triple was clean.  He continued to struggle and fight back through the rest of the program.  On a solo triple Axel he had a small reach for the ice and on a planned solo triple flip he improvised a triple Axel - double toe loop combination.  Near the end he had a reach for the ice on a solo triple Lutz with a poor landing edge followed by a delayed foot down.  His program, skated to a medley of melodies from Puccini operas, was well presented with decent but not outstanding speed.  He landed a total of six triple, although two of them were a little ragged, including a triple - double combination and an unsuccessful quad-triple combination.

Weiss was followed in the skating by Savoie and it was here that the third spot on the Olympic team would be decided.  Weiss had left the door open for Savoie with all the errors he had made in his free skate, but Savoie could not capitalize on them, making a number of errors on his own, and even though Savoie's program was skated with better speed it was so boring, it could not compete with Weiss in the second mark.

Savoie opened with a solo triple loop with a poor landing edge and then fell on the triple Axel of an intended triple Axel - triple toe loop combination.   In the middle section of the program he landed four more triple jumps including a triple flip - triple toe loop combination.  In the last third of the program he had a stumble in a moves in the field sequence but followed up with a triple Lutz out of a shoot-the-duck.  In total he landed six triple including the triple-triple combination.  On a seven-two split of the panel he was placed fourth behind Weiss who ended up third in the free skating and third overall.  It was a controversial decision with the some loud booing by the audience when the marks came up and Savoie was placed behind Weiss.  Weiss was in the arena watching after his performance and was not pleased by this.  After he skated Savoie said, "I considered adding the triple toe (as another solo jump).  I never considered adding another triple-triple combination because I just wanted to land the jumps.  I got lost in the program and never really had the opportunity to land it."

Following Derrick Delmore, who placed sixth, Timothy Goebel and Todd Eldredge skated back to back for the gold medal, with Goebel performing first.

Skating to An American in Paris, Goebel started off with a triple flutz and then a successful quad Salchow - triple toe loop combination.  That was followed by a triple Axel - double toe loop combination executed out of a spread eagle.  Following a combination spin he fell on quad toe loop, a jump that has been inconsistent for him for much of the season.  In the second half of the program he landed four solo triple jumps for a total of one quad and seven triples.  He skated with good speed with a respectable presentation, better than his free skate last year, but not as good as in his short program this year.  He received a warm standing ovation from the audience for his effort.

Finally it was Eldredge's turn and for the gold medal to be decided.  He opened with a triple toe loop instead of a quad.  Afterwards he said, "Actually I hit a rut out there and I lost a little momentum.  I was trying to get it back and my timing got a little bit off on the take off.  I knew it was a little bit goofy so I was going to play it safe."  Following the toe loop he landed a triple Axel - double toe loop combination and a triple Lutz.  Next came a change foot camel spin, a moves in the field sequence and a triple loop - triple toe loop combination.  Mid-way through the program he stepped out of a triple flip.  In the last third of the program he landed two more solo triple jumps for a total of seven triple including one triple-triple combination.

At the close of the program Eldredge was greeted with a huge standing ovation and when the marks came up showing he had won the free skate and the gold medal he was greeted with an immense roar from the audience.  In all, the entire panel placed him a unanimous first.  It was a popular decision but not without its critics.  Goebel and his coach, Frank Carroll, while not saying so directly, gave every appearance that they, for two, did not agree; and for those who treat skating as purely ice-jumping in which the most difficult jump should win the result was a travesty.   But skating, at least for now, is still more than that.  Despite the lack of a quad, Eldredge's program was skated faster, stronger, and with exceptionally better presentation that Goebel.  At the post-event press conference Goebel was asked what message he though the judges were sending him, and her replied "don't fall down."  To others, however, the message seemed to be skate faster, skate stronger, and skate with passion.

In winning the event this year, Eldredge is now a six times U.S. National Championships; and the Olympic Team the U.S. is sending to Salt Lake City consists of three U.S. Champions and two World bronze medalists.

Short Program

Free Skating