U.S.'s best hopes grace tops quads

Todd Eldredge's old-school artistry faces the competition's new-school jump starting tonight.

By JOHN ROMANO, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 12, 2002

SALT LAKE CITY -- For as long as he can remember, Todd Eldredge's life has revolved around figure skating.

The question is how many revolutions does he have left?

This is the sad reality facing the six-time U.S. national champion as the men's figure skating competition begins with tonight's short program.

No one disputes Eldredge's technical artistry or unmistakable touch on the ice. And for those reasons, he is a dark horse medal contender.

But men's figure skating has evolved. Grace and artistic expression still count for something, but so does sheer athletic prowess. Triple jumps no longer are enough. Judges want to see more revolutions.

The common perception is it will take a quadruple jump to win the gold medal. "I don't know if the Olympics can be won without (the quad) or not," Eldredge said.

"But having it in your program definitely puts you in the top group for the gold medal."

And the quadruple jump never has been a serious part of Eldredge's program. He has landed only two quads in competition and none in the past 15 months.

Eldredge, 30, is literally from skating's old school. He made his first Olympic team 10 years ago, when the quad was considered impossible. He grew up in an era when skating was more about precision than explosion. And few skaters ever have been more precise than Eldredge.

In some ways, his resume rivals the best America has seen.

His six national titles are second only to Dick Button's seven. Eldredge has won six medals in World Championship competitions, including the gold in 1996.

That gold, however, was the last time a skater won the world title without hitting a quadruple jump during his routine.

Eldredge scaled back on international competition in 1998. And when he returned to prepare for the 2002 Games, he found the quad was becoming commonplace among skating's elite. Learning the quad is difficult enough for a skater at 16 or 17. Eldredge was trying to learn it in his late 20s.

The oldest Olympic figure skater in 70 years, Eldredge won the U.S. nationals a month ago without hitting a quad.

He said he planned to attempt one during his long program but turned it into a triple when he realized he did not have enough speed going into the jump.

Eldredge looked at his performance at the nationals in Los Angeles as a justification of his more artistic style.

"To all the people who said I was too old to do it," Eldredge said after winning the national title, "too bad for them."

Nevertheless, Eldredge has been working on the quadruple jump since then. Although he does not appear overly confident in the move.

"Whether there is a quad or no quad, it isn't going to matter to me," Eldredge said of his routine.

It might matter to judges. Frank Carroll, the coach for U.S. skater Tim Goebel, said no skater will make the Olympic podium without a quad.

One factor in Eldredge's favor tonight is he will skate with the final group, giving him a chance to see if Goebel or Russian favorites Alexi Yagudin and Evgeni Plushenko hit any quads.

Regardless of how he performs, Eldredge said he will retire after the Olympics.

The only reason he came out of retirement was because he felt the Olympics was unfinished business.

He placed 10th in 1992, missed the '94 Games after coming down with the flu during the Trials and placed fourth in '98.

The Salt Lake City Games were a draw to Eldredge, but he says he will not let the Olympics alter his perception of his career.

"I don't look at a medal here as defining my career or defining my life by any means," Eldredge said.

"Skating has been a great part of my life. Getting a medal would be a great part, but I've had a fantastic career already."

Eldredge has been the best America has had to offer for a decade even if his artistic approach has not always been embraced.

Perhaps, like other artists, he will not be fully appreciated until he is seen through the eyes of history.

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