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 Monday, March 19, 2001
The season finale
By Peter Carruthers
Special to ABC Sports.com
Vancouver, Canada will host the most important competition of the season: the World Championships and it should be great for a number of reasons.
|  | | European champion Irina Slutskaya of Russia bested rival Michelle Kwan to win the ISU Grand Prix Final. |
First, Canadian audiences love figure skating, which means that the attendance should be good. With an enthusiastic audience, the intensity increases and it raises the level of competition. Secondly, with the Olympics just 11 months away, skaters want to leave a strong impression with the judges. A high world ranking can help going into the Olympics.
Finally, since this is the end of the season, most of the skaters should be at the top of their game providing that there is no injury. There is no reason to hold back. This is it, the end of the season.
Each discipline will have exciting competition. Michelle Kwan will try to win her fourth World title and she will need her triple/triple combination and a "hold back nothing" attitude against her biggest competition, Irina Slutskaya from Russia, who defeated her at the Grand Prix Final. Slutskaya has great support from the European community; however, Kwan will certainly have a stronger following with the Worlds being held in Canada.
In the Men's battle, three-time world champion Alexei Yagudin will find tough competition from his fellow countryman Evgeny Pluschenko who recently took gold at the Grand Prix Final. Both of these men are great athletes with everything it takes to be the best. Pluschenko has gained on Yagudin this season having the edge in consistency. Most thought Pluschenko would take it all last year at the Worlds, but mistakes took him out and it was Yagudin's focus and determination that won out in the end.
|  | | Alexei Yagudin of Russia is seeking his fourth consecutive world championship. |
Two-time Olympic silver medalist Elvis Stojko of Canada will have a thunderous ovation when he steps on the ice in Vancouver. It can work two ways: it can charge you up and help the performance or the pressure can be so great that it can be a distraction. Remember that Stojko, who won his first of three World Championships in 1994, has the most experience of all of the men.
In Pairs, Canada's Jamie Salé and David Pelletier will also have great support from the Canadian audiences. The Russians, who have dominated for so long in the sport, now feel the pressure from the Canadians. Salé and Pelletier are gorgeous together with some of the strongest landings I have ever seen on Pair throws. Russia's Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze have wonderful speed and flow across the ice in their skating. The judges are in awe of their skating in its most basic form. They totally take command of the ice when they perform.
China's Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao will push both of these teams because they are fearless in their execution of difficult throws and lifts. Their throws can leave the audience and judges on the edge of their seats when you consider that Shen sails about 20-25 feet across the ice and lands backward on one foot.
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 Michelle Kwan struggles while attempting her new long program, "The Miraculous Mandarin."
avi: 1962 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Russia's Irina Slutskaya soars high in the air to execute a perfect triple lutz.
avi: 863 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Russia's Evgeny Plushchenko carries out a difficult quad toe/triple toe/double loop combination.
avi: 1351 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
With no room for error, Alexei Yagudin is unable to land his second quad cleanly.
avi: 1659 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Canada's Jamie Sale and David Pelletier perform a throw triple salchow.
avi: 1024 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Russia's Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze execute a beautiful side by side double axles.
avi: 991 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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