Sunday, March 27, 2005
Italy's Carolina Kostner Takes Bronze in World Skating Championships
The ANNOTICO Report
Carolina Kostner of Italy won the Bronze medal, and became
the first Italian woman to win a worlds medal since Susanna Driano's 1978
Bronze. She capitalized on the new system's stronger technical emphasis
with a triple-triple-double cascade that earned substantial points to help
offset small problems.
She trailed the Gold medalist Irina Slutskaya of
Russia, The Silver medalist Sasha Cohen of the US, and in an incredible
accomplishment, bested Michelle Kwan, the five-time world champion, who
finished fourth, and the first time since 1996 Kwan finished a world championship
without a medal.
SLUTSKAYA WINS HER SECOND WORLD TITLE
Cohen Wins Silver, Italy's Kostner Takes Bronze, Erratic
Kwan Finishes Fourth
Washington Post
Associated Press
Sunday, March 20, 2005
MOSCOW, March 19 -- Irina Slutskaya stood on the podium,
giving her gold medal a playful bite and kiss.
Gone, for the moment, was all the anguish -- the heart
ailment, the knee injury, the family troubles -- that posed such a burden
these last few years.
Slutskaya won the title for the second time at the world
championships, combining strength and style to cap an extraordinary season
and more than meet the expectations of her home fans. She finished ahead
of Sasha Cohen, who won the silver medal for the second straight year.
"My hands are still shaking," Slutskaya said at her victory
news conference Saturday, clutching her medal in both hands. "I hope I
will serve as a good role model to people who feel bad and have no faith
in themselves."
The 26-year-old Russian delivered a bold and draining
program that featured seven clean triples. She gave a double thumbs-up
to the crowd afterward, her face beaming.
"I'm happy because it's so difficult to come back so
many times, to suffer so many misfortunes," said Slutskaya, who missed
the 2003 worlds because her mother was ill.
Carolina Kostner of Italy won the bronze. Michelle Kwan,
the five-time world champion, was fourth, the first time since 1996 the
American finished a world championship without a medal.
"I can leave Moscow satisfied, but disappointed, satisfied
-- kind of a roller-coaster ride and not as consistent as I wanted it to
be," Kwan said.
The only indication of Slutskaya's health problems --
an inflamed heart lining for which she is taking medication -- was an apparent
ebbing of energy in the steps sequence near the end of the program. Her
confident skate to jazzy piano music was in striking contrast to the worlds
a year ago in Dortmund, Germany, where she was low on energy and uncertain,
finishing ninth.
Cohen was within three points of Slutskaya after the
short program, but she was penalized for flaws in some jumps and for an
off-balance landing on a triple flip. The U.S. skater finished more than
eight points behind Slutskaya.
"I was really happy today," she said. "I stayed on my
feet and I tried really hard and I'm really proud of my effort."
Cohen said the International Skating Union's new scoring
system, used at the worlds for the first time this year, will help her
refine her skating. The system gives precise scores for each technical
element, rather than one general technical rating.
"You understand what's going on," she said. "You know
the points mean something. You know that you bettered your performance,
get more points. You can't really compare your performances under the [old]
system."
Kostner was the first Italian woman to win a worlds medal
since Susanna Driano's 1978 bronze. She capitalized on the new system's
stronger technical emphasis with a triple-triple-double cascade that earned
substantial points to help offset small problems.
"I'm speechless, I can hardly believe it," she said.
"Now this long, hard week has paid off."
Kwan's free program, in which she fell on a triple salchow,
lacked verve, although it was well above her qualifier, in which she skated
the same program and ended up ranked seventh.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50137-2005Mar19.html