Campbell's Figure Skating Classic

Report by Sally: Evgeni Plushenko’s first competition for the 2002-03 season was the Campbell’s International Figure Skating Classic, held on October 5th in Daytona Beach, Florida. I viewed this competition on the American television network, ABC, with the commentators being Dick Button and Peter Carruthers. Six skaters competed in the men’s event: Evgeni Plushenko; Alexei Yagudin, Timothy Goebel; Takeshi Honda; Michael Weiss and Matt Savoie. Each skater performed one free-skating program. Before he skated, we were treated to several shots of Evgeny on the boardwalk at the beach. He wore short pants and a white shirt; but, the most noticeable thing, of course, was his new haircut, which looks wonderful on him. During these beach shots, we heard the commentators say: “Over the past years, Russian skaters and coaches have migrated to the States for better training conditions. We asked Evgeni why he continues to train and live in Russia.” Then, a close-up of Evgeny, who said, “Maybe I’ll move to the United States very soon.” He paused, then looked directly into the camera … and, with a mischievous grin, said, “That’s a big secret, don’t tell nobody.” And, then came the performance, where we heard the announcer say, “Let’s welcome to the ice now, Evgeni Plushenko.” A huge round of applause greeted Zhenya as he skated to centre ice to begin his routine to “Carmen.” The first thing I noticed was that he was not wearing his trademark gloves. It was nice to be able to see his hands. As Evgeni waited for his music to begin, Dick Button, said, “Evgeni Plushenko is probably one of the most dramatic and exciting skaters. He’s wild in a way or another. He’s 19 years old. He’s the Olympic silver medalist and he’s skating to an unusual piece we don’t hear very often in figure skating, and that’s Carmen by Bizet. I mean, Katarina Witt, Debi Thomas and a few others have used it, but this is an unusual one.” Peter Carruthers added that Evgeny is a great stylist. Evgeni fell on the first jump of his program, the quad toe loop; but was back on his feet in no time and continued on with a smile. The next jump, a triple toe loop was completed perfectly and the crowd began clapping along with the music. Next came two triple axels in a row. The first one was completed perfectly; but, on the second one, Evgeny was leaning on the jump. It was a beautiful, clean landing but Evgeny was unable to add the ˝ loop/triple flip that he had planned. Peter said that, considering the lean in the air on the axel, it was “unbelievable” that Evgeni had “the strength to pull it off.” Next came a triple flip … and the clapping from the audience began again, only to grow louder as Evgeny played his role to perfection. Dick Button commented on Zhenya’s artistry as follows: “I think he just loves playing these roles. Great sense of drama and flair there...very exciting to watch always.” On the triple lutz/triple toe loop combination, Evgeni was once again l eaning in the air on the lutz, making it possible to add only a double toe loop. Peter summed up Zhenya’s ability to land this combination as follows: “Wow! Look at that lean. That is truly amazing that he could stand up on that triple lutz leaning like that. But he’s got cat-like ability to land on his feet.” A perfect triple loop was followed by a flying camel/donut spin combination, which prompted Dick to say: “I like the way he catches that foot, beautiful style in that spin.” After a camel/sit spin combination, Evgeny presented his wonderful circular footwork sequence. Both commentators praised his great speed at this point in the program with Peter saying, “I think his stamina is excellent.” The last jump in the program was a perfectly executed triple salchow, which was followed by a spectacular straight line footwork sequence. Peter’s comments: “Footwork section. Quick changes of positions. It’s hard to do; your body doesn’t want to move like that at the end of the program. He does it well.” Evgeny ended this version of “Carmen” with a wonderful spin combination – camel/sit/Biellmann/change foot sit/scratch spin. The Biellmann was truly magnificent, with at least 5 full rotations with the leg fully extended overhead. At the end of the program, Zhenya flipped his head back and flashed a smile that reached to the rafters of the building. The ovation was extremely loud and long with flowers falling to the ice from all directions. The audience in Daytona Beach loved Evgeni Plushenko ….. and Evgeni’s smile lit up the entire arena. He looked very happy. As Evgeni took his bows, we heard the following commentary: Carruthers: “Well, he had enthusiasm and energy.” Button: “And lots of flair. I think he realizes it was not his best work.” Carruthers: “He knows for sure. He had a big fall at the beginning of the program. But the sign of a truly great athlete is one that can pull himself together after something like that.” Button: “He’s quite a skater. He’s got a lot of flair; great sense of drama. I’ve always enjoyed watching him, and I think that sometimes it gets a little obvious and it’s fun to see.” Evgeny joined his coach, Alexei Mishin, for his marks: CAN RUS GBR JPN USA 5.6 5.8 5.6 5.4 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.7 5.6 5.8 Evgeni stood to acknowledge the cheering crowd; and, with a big wave, he was gone. It was a second place finish in this competition for Evgeni; but, as always, he occupied first place in the hearts of his fans. Good job, Zhenya.