Saving Figure Skating at Salt Lake City

Note: Recently, groups of people at figure skating message boards have been discussing what Peggy Fleming meant when she said that ‘Sarah Hughes saved figure skating at the Salt Lake City Olympics.’ Some say that it is ridiculous to think that any one person, Sarah Hughes included, could ‘save figure skating’. Did she? Arguably. I think Alexei Yagudin did. And that’s where this essay came from.


When Alexei Yagudin finished skating his long program in Salt Lake City, it seemed that everyone in the whole world knew he had won, except for one person. Unfortunately, that one person happened to be Scott Hamilton, NBC commentator for the event. He smeared Yagudin's gold-winning performance in such excitement-draining comments as, "It seems he's conceding the long program to Evgeny Plushenko, but he cannot concede the long program to Timothy Goebel or he loses the gold medal." He continually referred to Yagudin's performance as 'conservative'. What perturbed so many was not his use of this word - for Yagudin's skate was restrained, from a jumping standpoint - it was Hamilton's insistence on reducing figure skating, a sport that so beautifully combines art and athleticism, to an ice jumping contest.

Hamilton's comments were entirely based upon the fact that, although Yagudin had planned a triple axel-triple toe combo for the middle of his program, he replaced the more difficult combination with a triple salchow. Hamilton completely ignored step sequences, spins, and connecting moves, praising Timothy Goebel's quad-landing ability, but failing to note his lack of speed and presentation. It should be telling that although Goebel has the jumps, he has yet to win gold. Why? Jumps are not the all-defining factor of figure skating.

Figure skating is a combination of sport, dance, music, and theatre. There are two sets of marks in skating: technical merit and presentation, both judged on a 6.0 scale, 6.0 being the highest or 'perfect' mark. An important thing to note is that the presentation mark, or 'artistic' mark, is the tiebreaker in scoring. That is, if one skater receives a 5.6 for tech and a 5.7 for presentation, and another skater receives a 5.7 for tech and 5.6 for presentation, the first skater would be ranked higher than the second. This is an extremely definitive factor in skating's amalgam of artistic and athletic elements. At the Grand Prix Final in December of 2001, Yagudin defeated Plushenko despite Plushenko's heavy assault of difficult jumps. Yagudin's presentation scores were higher. "It's easier to learn the jumps," Yagudin said. "But it's really hard to get the feeling of the music from inside of you."

Men's figure skating is especially under threat of turning into 'ice jumping', simply for the fact that the men are expected to be more athletically spectacular than the women. Fans and commentators alike place a lot of emphasis on triple and quadruple jumps in men's skating, while in the women's event, a program is still considered successful even when lacking a triple-triple combination. In men's skating, commentators are often so focused on the jumps that the rest of the program becomes irrelevant.

Thankfully, the judges disagree, as Alexei Yagudin's Salt Lake City win so gracefully showed. Scott Hamilton was counting jumps in the long programs, and Plushenko and Goebel both had either slightly more difficult or a slightly greater number of jumps than Yagudin. It was Yagudin, however, who placed first, in a unanimous decision by the judges. His footwork was so exceptional that only those caught up in counting jumps could ignore it. "People used to anticipate quads in the men's competition," said Peter Carruthers, an ABC sports commentator. "Then Alexei Yagudin came along and developed the footwork. The footwork he has is extraordinary." The fact that there are two sets of marks in men's skating should make it clear that two different sides of the sport are equally important. Something that also merits consideration is that the technical merit mark does not merely refer to jumps and landings. Spin position, edging, and the success of connecting moves also contribute to this first score.

Yagudin's Olympic win proved much more than his obvious superiority in figure skating. It helped to solidify skating's position as a sport that includes both on-ice and off-ice moves, and as an art that requires attention to detail and body language. Yagudin said, "It's not track and field and other sports where you just have to cross the finish line... here we are really close to the ballet." If Scott Hamilton had been watching more closely that night in Salt Lake City, he might have observed, along with everyone else, all of Yagudin's artistic talents that pull him ahead in competitions: posture, always straight-backed and extended, much like a ballet dancer; hand position, never floppy or swung around aimlessly, but reached, with fingers perfectly held; and theatrical presentation, with a face that displays emotion as well as passion for the sport and an absorption in the character of the program. In skating, these things are not relative; the judges look for them specifically when scoring.

Of course, Yagudin certainly has jumps up to par with other skaters. One need only glance at his solid quadruple combinations and gorgeous, gravity-defying triple axels to gain respect for his jumping ability. His jumps are consistent and solid; and in his Olympic long program, they were completely clean. But his arsenal consists of much more than just jumps. It consists of figure skating’s two elements, both of them taken into equal consideration. He is a complete skater. When the judges give him the gold, they are giving it to someone who jumps, spins, emotes, performs, skates with astounding edging and speed, uses his skates like tap shoes, and channels the music of his programs through his body and into his limbs. Yagudin is a figure skater, not an ice jumper. He knows his sport.

Alexei Yagudin saved figure skating by displaying every element of it. He knows the ballet aspect is important; he knows that performance is just as vital as jumping ability; and that knowledge shows in his skating. It brings out passion for the sport, which makes him as enjoyable to the audience as he is impressive to the judges. "He adds such passion to his skating. I think that's what everyone in the audience feels," said Peggy Fleming. By winning Olympic gold, Yagudin kept skating from becoming a jumping contest, or just another emotionless sport. He proved that jumps are only one facet of figure skating.

When his 6.0s flashed, hopefully Scott Hamilton learned something.


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