Senior Events

Senior Ladies - Free Skating

Senior Ladies - Short Program

Senior Ladies

Notes on the Long Program

Surpirse. Surprise. Surprise. Who would have thought that Nicole Bobek would have her one good skate of the year when she needed it, Michelle Kwan would crack, Tonia Kwiatkowski would fold, and Tara Lipinski would have the skate of her life all within about one hour of each other.

Skating in the third of four warmup groups, Bobek gave a performance displaying her old form, though not her former level of difficulty. Nevertheless, by skating a program that included the greatest level of difficulty she could expect to complete cleanly, and doing it, she put the pressure on the ladies in the last group - and was that group a surprise. Kwiatkowski caved first in a program full of errors and simplified tricks, and the look of shock on her face when she was finished said it all, she was done for and she knew it. She ended up dropping from third to sixth, and off the World Team.

Kwiatkowski was followed by Angela Nikodinov and Amber Corwin who skated technically capable, but antiseptic programs, with Corwin landing a triple toe - triple toe combination. They ended up fourth and fifth, respectively, blowing past Kwiatkowski.

Next up was Michelle Kwan who cracked for the first time that I can remember since she moved up to seniors. She stepped out of or fell on three jumps and doubled another. Perhaps even worse, she did not attack the program and appeared unnerved through most of it.

Closing the show was Tara Lipinski who had the skate of life (thusfar). She landed eight triples, including a record setting triple loop - triple loop combination.

Does this mean Kwan is done? Don't count on it. Tonight Michelle had a bad skate and Tara had a great skate. If they stay on their form these two could chase each other for many years to come, and if Bobek would apply herself it could even develop into a splendid three way rivalry.

Notes on the Short Program

With Sydne Vogel withdrawing from the event due to an injury, the ladies event is shaping up to be a pretty predictable event. Michelle Kwan skated second in the short program, gave a solid performace, and appears indestructable in this event. It was an elegant, commanding performance, blemished only by a relatively small triple Lutz and a tight landing edge on the double Axel.

Second and third place was a 6/3 split between Tara Lipinski and Tonia Kwiatkowski, with Lipinski ending up on top. Lipinski skated to music from "Little Women" (how appropriate) landing triple Lutz - double toe and triple flip, while Kwiatkowski landed triple Lutz - double toe and triple toe (as did Kwan).

Nicole Bobek's comeback ran into trouble early. She stepped out of triple flip in her opening combination (triple flip - double toe) and later inserted a double toe where a triple loop had been planned. She was not able to land the loop in the warmup and substituted the double toe to minimize the risk of another deduction in the program. She received ordinals between 4th and 9th, ending up 6th in the short program. In principle she could still move up into the medals with a top three finish in the long, but it does not appear she has the ammunition to get the job done.

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