Olympics: Skating gold goes to Russian

Skating gold goes to Russian

Alexei Yagudin outduels countryman Evgeni Plushenko, and American Timothy Goebel takes the bronze.

Compiled from Times wires

SALT LAKE CITY -- There was a figure skating competition with little controversy concerning the winner Thursday.

Alexei Yagudin easily outclassed a strong men's field to take the Olympic gold medal and give Russia the win in the event for the fourth consecutive Games.

Yagudin, 21, skated a conservative program that earned four perfect 6.0s on artistic interpretation from the nine judges.

When the 21-year-old was done, he collapsed to his knees, then kissed the ice. He knew this was a moment of a lifetime, and by the time he reached the "Kiss and Cry" area, he was bawling.

The quick-witted Yagudin, who spends much of his time in the United States, said he was showing his appreciation for his part-time home.

"I just fell to my knees and kissed the ice because I live here and won the gold medal here," he said.

Yagudin protected the lead he earned after the short program and finished just ahead of a longtime Russian rival Evgeni Plushenko, the silver medalist.

He also shook off the challenge of Timothy Goebel of the United States, who took the bronze, becoming the first U.S. men's medalist since Paul Wylie in 1992.

Takeshi Honda of Japan was fourth. Todd Eldredge and Michael Weiss of the United States finished sixth and seventh, respectively. Elvis Stojko of Canada was eighth.

Honda, trying to become the first Japanese man to win an Olympic skating medal, couldn't match the short program that had him in second place. He fell out of one quad attempt, tripled another and downgraded the back end of a triple-triple combination.

Those early mistakes took the life from his program, and he skated tentatively from that point and could only hope for sympathy from the judges. He got some but not enough to keep Plushenko, who skated next, from passing him.

The 19-year-old Plushenko, the defending world champion, attempted the first ever quad-triple-triple in Olympic competition to begin an ambitious routine that listed two quads and nine triple jumps.

He didn't pull off the opening combination, stepping out of the final jump, but didn't let that slow him. In all, he landed the two quads and six of the triples.

Goebel trumped Plushenko by hitting three quadruple jumps -- although the landing of a late salchow was not totally clean -- and he had only one significant stumble, falling out of a triple axel.

But Goebel lacked some of the Russians' speed and grace, which was reflected in his artistic marks, three of which were 5.5 or lower.

"I skated as well as I can skate, and I was just so happy to go out there and put it out under pressure," Goebel said.

As for getting a medal, he said, "I was sweating it a little bit."

But when Alexander Abt and Takeshi Honda couldn't match Goebel's performance, he was on the podium.

Yagudin, skating last, backed off on his program by eliminating two combinations. He did land two quads, one in combination with a triple and a double, and was nearly flawless in his delivery.

The four perfect marks were the most earned by a man in Olympic competition, and he is the first to score more than one 6.0.

"I was just thinking of the hard times I went through," said Yagudin, who had a high fever in Nagano and was plagued by injuries last season. "Last season was like hell, but I am strong and I just showed that. It is one of my best."

He joined 1994 Olympic gold medalist Alexei Urmanov and '98 winner Ilia Kulik as Russian champions. The 1992 gold medal went to Victor Petrenko of Ukraine, who was trained in the same system that has produced the current men's dynasty.

In an emotional farewell to the Olympics, the 30-year-old Eldredge skated a challenging program that was flawless except for a fall on his opening attempt at a quadruple jump. He shook off the fall to complete eight triple jumps.