If you forgot who won the World Championships in 2000, or were curious as to which skater was favored for that year's European title, here's where to look. As they say, it's all old news now, but still fun to look over.
The 1999/2000 season (only from Grand Prix Final on)
5/20/00—2000 World Figure Skating Championships
Ladies: Michelle Kwan pulled off a surprising victory, after being shunted back to third place after the short program. Maria Butyrskaya was first after the short program, with a flawless performance; Irina Slutskaya was in second, and Kwan in third. Because of the weirdo rules in effect right now, Kwan needed to beat Butyrskaya in the free skate, and have someone else defeat her as well, in order to have a chance at winning. As it was, that's exactly what happened. Butyrskaya badly two footed her second Salchow in her triple Sal/half loop/triple Sal combination. Slutskaya turned in a clean program, but did only a triple Salchow/double loop instead of her planned triple/triple. Michelle Kwan opted for the easiest triple/triple combo (triple toe/triple toe) and landed it perfectly. Since Slutskaya also defeated Butyrskaya in the free skate, Kwan won. I know, it's confusing, isn't it?
Men: The commentators might not of dreamed of it, but Alexei Yagudin managed to defend his World title, making that three in a row for the talented young Russian. The favorite coming in was clearly Evgeny Plushenko, no matter what my poll said (to those few who voted, congradulations: you were right!). But Plushenko never managed to pull ahead of his countryman. In the short program, all skated well, but Yagudin was the one who really shone. He easily took the lead. In the free skate, Elvis Stojko and Michael Weiss both failed to land quads, but otherwise had good performances. With Stojko in the lead over Weiss, the stage was set for the final two skaters to sweep ahead; as Terry Gannon said, "But here come the Russians." Yagudin skated first, and despite landing two quadruple toe loops, his free skate was relatively poor. He waffled on the landing of several triple jumps, and fell on his final jump, a triple Lutz. His scores were enough to keep him ahead of Stojko, but they were certainly beatable. It seemed that the stage was all but set for Plushenko's ascension to the top of the World. But it was not to be. Plushenko popped his first quad attempt, landing only a double toe loop instead. After more shaky jumps, he fell on another quad attempt. Plushenko was scored so badly, he dropped off the podium, down to fourth place. The difference? Both skated relatively poor performances (in comparison with what we all know they are capable of doing). Both fell on one jump and had problems with others. But Yagudin landed two quads; Plushenko landed none. Yagudin had fast, centered spins with good positions; Plushenko, despite his terrific Biellman spin, had slow spins with much poorer posistions and centering. Yagudin also had better artistry and more maturity on the ice. Congradulations, Alexei; you've won my heart yet again.
Pairs: Petrova and Tikhanov edged out Shen and Zhou for the gold. I'm beginning to think there's something wrong with the ice there; almost no one, save Michelle Kwan, has come away with one of their best performances. Abitbol and Bernadis, however, skated very well, despite a slash injury to his arm, apparently from an overzealous fan. They placed third.
Dance: It was supposed to be a sure thing, but Anissina and Peizerat had to fight their way back to the top to claim their gold. After a stumble in the original dance, the French team found themselves behind the Italians Fusar-Poli and Margalio. It took every bit of their brilliance and drama in their free skate (to Carmina Burana) to win that World gold medal they've been craving all season. The Italians finished second, and the Lithuanian team finished third.
3/11/00—Four Continents Championships
The Mummies had it. Angela Nikodinov pulled through to win the ladies despite popping her second triple Lutz. Nikodinov skated to the soundtrack of "The Mummy," the same long program she'd used at the 2000 US Nationals, where she placed fourth. On the mens side, Elvis Stojko managed to fend off two quadruple-wielding young men from China to win the gold medal. Stojko also skated to "The Mummy." Although he two footed and turned out of the landing on his quad toe loop, Elvis managed to pull up to first place from fourth after the short program. Todd Eldridge also tried a quad, but fell on the landing. The rest of his program was also very shaky. Eldridge placed fourth, behind the two Chinese. The Chinese, who both landed quads and a lot of triples, were competing against each other to see who would get the second spot on the Chinese world team. Zhenzing Guo, the Chinese national champion (who wasn't at this competition), has the first spot.
3/4/00—European Championships
Irina Slutskaya of Russia won the ladies division of the European Championships, beating out her countrywoman, reigning World Champion Maria Butyrskaya for the gold medal. Slutskaya skated brilliantly to "Carmen," though she did not include her triple/triple combinations. Irina said this was because she did not want to risk making a mistake, which could have cost her the title. Evgeni Plushenko of Russia also triumphed in the mens division, winning the title over his countryman, reigning World Champion Alexei Yagudin. Plushenko's single mistake was turning out of a double loop at the end of his quad toe/triple toe/double loop combination. I'll forgive him for that. Yagudin managed to hold onto his quad, and might have won had he not stepped out of his triple Salchow at the end of the program. In the pairs division, the Russians Elena Berezhnaya & Anton Sikharulidze repeated as the pairs champions over Petrova and Tikanov. In ice dance, the Grand Prix Final winners Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat of France broke the Russian winning streak in that discipline, becoming the first French ice dance team to win at Europeans since 1962. Their free dance, to "Carmina Burana," was brilliant, as always.
The 2000 Grand Prix Final
Everyone expected Michelle Kwan to walk away with the title, but Irina Slutskaya stunned everyone with the biggest comeback in recent history. Slutskaya took the title from Kwan with two triple/triple combinations—and difficult ones, at that. She is the first woman to perform the triple Lutz/triple loop combination in competition, and she added a triple Salchow/triple loop for good measure. Maria Butyrskaya, expected to be the one to challenge Kwan in the final free skate, managed to hold onto third place. Evgeni Plushenko won the mens competition, edging out Elvis Stojko. Even though Stojko skated with brilliant spins and artistry, he missed his quad toe loop, and Plushenko swept through with his quad toe/triple toe/double loop combination. Timothy Goeble missed most of his quads, but still managed to come in third in front of Alexander Abt. In pairs, the young Chinese World silver medalists Shen and Zhou skated their best performances of the season, trampling everyone in their wake. Abitbol and Bernadis of France took the silver, while Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze just managed to edge out Petrova and Tikhanov for the bronze. In ice dance, Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat (FRA) trampled everyone with their dynamite performances, especially the second free skate, to "Carmina Burana." The Italians Fusar-Poli and Margalio took the silver, and the Lithuanian team edged out the Russians to take the bronze. The is the first Grand Prix final in a long time where a Russian dance team hasn't been on the podium.
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