Yamaguchi in the Final Four on ‘Dancing With the Stars’
By Susan Wessling
It is down to the final four on the sixth season of the ABC hit series “Dancing With the Stars.”
Four couples remain in the hunt for the infamous disco ball. 1992 Olympic ladies figure skating gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi, football star Jason Taylor, Tony winner Marissa Jaret Winokur and actor Cristian de la Fuente all made it through to week nine.
R&B singer Mario wasn’t so lucky. Although he came in third in the judges voting one night earlier, on Tuesday he was given the boot. Winokur, at the bottom of the judges dance card, survived to see another week of competition. (Judges’ scores are combined with viewer votes to determine which couple is eliminated each week.)
Yamaguchi thanked all her “amazing fans” (See the graphic above) in a hand-written note she released through her publicist for keeping her alive in the ballroom competition.
On Monday night, Yamaguchi and partner Mark Ballas’s quickstep earned the couple their usual high scores (29 out of 30). However, their second dance, a samba, was called ungraceful and awkward. The judges gave the duo lower-than-their-usual-stellar marks: one 8 and two 9s for a total of 26 points.
Cristian de la Fuente came roaring back from a serious arm injury to land on top of the judge’s leader board:
1st place: 57 Cristian de la Fuente: first dance: 10, 9, 9 (28); second dance: 10, 9, 10 (29) 2nd place: 55 Kristi Yamaguchi: first dance: 9, 10, 10 (29); second dance: 8, 9, 9 (26} 3rd place: 53 Mario: first dance: 9, 9, 9 (27); second dance: 9, 8, 9 (26) 4th Place: 52 Jason Taylor: first dance: 10, 9, 10 ( 29); second dance: 8, 7, 8 (23) 5th Place: 50 Marissa Jaret Winokur: first dance: 9, 8, 8 (25); second dance: 8, 8, 9 (25)
Tuesday’s show marked the 100th episode of the series. Many of the show’s past stars were in the audience.
Olympic speed skating gold medalists Apolo Anton Ohno, the season 4 winner, and former competitor Mel B each danced to songs performed by country stars Rascal Flatts.
Lopez, the season 3 runner-up, who is now starring on Broadway in "A Chorus Line," performed a number from that show with his Broadway cast mates.
Viewers may cast their votes for their favorite teams via phone on Monday and Tuesday night during and up to 30 minutes after the “Dancing With The Stars” performance shows. AT&T subscribers may also text message their votes by texting the word "VOTE" and entering the number that corresponds to the team they want to support. They may also vote online at www.abc.com at the end of each performance show until noon, ET the following day.
Kristi Yamaguchi will be honored with the 2008 Sonja Henie Award at the annual Professional Skaters Association Awards Dinner May 22 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Chicago. The honor is one of several “EDI’’ awards, a tribute to Edi Scholdan, an Olympic coach and the first president of the Professional Skaters Association.
Yamaguchi, the 1992 Olympic gold medalist, has been one of the most recognizable people in the sport. Today— 16 years after she captured the gold medal in Albertville — she remains one of the most popular. These days, she can be seen off the ice, on the small screen on ABC megahit, “Dancing with the Stars.’’
A skater most of her life, Yamaguchi had to learn the nuances of ballroom dancing in a matter of a couple of months. Yet she has once again risen up to the challenge, and along with partner Mark Ballas, she has been among the frontrunners on the show.
Yamaguchi was selected as the winner of the Sonja Henie award this year because she has brought recognition to the sport of figure skating in a positive and favorable manner. The award is presented to a female, professional skater.
As a professional skater, Yamaguchi has appeared in numerous nationally televised skating shows, pro competitions and toured with Smucker’s Stars on Ice. She also has taken time to be involved with charitable organizations, most notably her own foundation, Always Dream. That organization’s goal is to help children fulfill their dreams and goals.
Yamaguchi lives in Raleigh, N.C., with her husband, Bret Hedican, an NHL player who has won a Stanley Cup title with the Carolina Hurricanes, and their two daughters, Keara and Emma.
Forbes: Nagasu One of America's Most Promising Athletes
Mirai Nagasu, who captured the U.S. figure skating title at age 14, was named one of America's most promising athletes by Forbes magazine. The article, published on May 2, 2008, features several young soccer, baseball and basketball phenoms.
Nagasu trains with coach Charlene Wong in Southern California. Nagasu won the 2007 U.S. junior championship and the following season, she captured the senior title, becoming the second-youngest woman to do so. Tara Lipinski won the 1997 title when she was a few months younger than Nagasu. She followed up that success with an Olympic gold medal in 1998. Nagasu hopes to follow Lipinski's footsteps as she prepares for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
"Winning junior nationals was really surprising, just like this year at nationals. Last year I came through regionals to sectionals to nationals. So to win in my first nationals [as a junior] was exciting," Nagaus told IFS in a March interview. "After my short program [this year] I was really surprised [to be in the lead]. I was happy I had skated my best. When the scores came up it was like a shock but it was a pleasant shock so I really enjoyed it."
Forbes magazine looked at various sports in an effort to track down the next LeBron James, Venus Williams and Mia Hamm. Nagasu was the only figure skater selected.
A Rockin' Affair on the Canadian Stars On Ice Tour
Photos by Susan D. Russell
The 2008 Canadian Stars on Ice tour hit Toronto Friday night. With an all-star cast headed by Kurt Browning, it was an exciting show. IFS was there to capture all the action.
Pasha (Oksana) Grishuk Slipped GHB; Dinner Partner a Person of Interest in Case
Two-time Olympic ice dance gold medalist Pasha (Oksana) Grishuk was drugged with a common date rape drug.
The incident occurred during a business meeting at the St. Regis Monarch Beach on April 12. Grishuk was eating dinner when she found a pill, partially dissolved, at the bottom of her drink. Investigators later found another dissolved pill at the bottom of a drink she had ordered in the hotel’s lounge.
A hotel employee called police and paramedics responded to the scene. Grishuk was feeling ill but it appeared she did not realize the seriousness of the incident immediately, according to the 911 call, which as released to the media. The hotel employee did not think she would require transport to the hospital.
In fact, Grishuk did need medical attention. She was taken to a nearby hospital where she was treated and released.
Toxicology test results, released April 21, were positive for GHB. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident.
Authorities have called a 60-year-old Orange County man, whom Grishuk was meeting with when the incident occurred, a person of interest in the case.
Police have not released the name of the man in question. Grishuk said she met the Orange County man to discuss starting a joint business to market vitamins and clothing.
Grishuk won the Olympic title in ice dance in 1994 and 1998 with Evgeny Platov. Skating for Russia, they also won four ice dance titles at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.
Grishuk now lives in Los Angeles where she is raising her 5-year-old daughter daughter, Skyler. In recent years, she has had some involvement with the sport as a coach and choreographer.
U.S. ice dancers Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, the five-time U.S. champions, three-time World medalists and 2006 Olympic silver medalists, announced Thursday, April 17 that they will end their 10-year professional relationship with coach Igor Shpilband and choreographer Marina Zoueva and will begin training with 1980 Olympic and two-time World ice dancing champions Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov at the IceWorks Skating Complex in Aston, Pa.
Belbin and Agosto said the decision to leave Shpilband and Zoueva was a difficult one, but they felt it was necessary to gain fresh input and bring a new perspective to their skating.
“They are a remarkable coaching pair, and we have great admiration for them,” Agosto said.
“We never would have achieved our current level of success without Igor and Marina, and we are very grateful for their friendship and their guidance over the past years,” Belbin said.
Linichuk and Karponsov have trained several prominent ice dancing teams including two-time Olympic champions Oksana Grishuk and Evgeny Platov, two-time World champions Anjelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsiannikov, and two-time World champions Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski.
“Natalia and Gennadi are highly accomplished coaches, and we are very excited about working with them to take our skating performance to a new level,” Agosto said.
The 2007-08 season saw Belbin and Agosto take home gold from Skate America and Skate Canada, and earn a silver at the Grand Prix Final in Italy. They went on to win their fifth straight U.S. title and ended their season with a fourth-place finish at the 2008 World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The team is disappointed to be leaving Detroit but is looking forward to training in Aston.
“Detroit will always be like home for us, but sometimes to grow you need to leave home and explore new opportunities,” Agosto said.
Do you love trivia? Are you a fan of “The Cutting Edge” movies? Then enter the International Figure Skating contest, sponsored by MGM, for a chance to win a free “Cutting Edge 3” DVD or a special boxed set of three DVDs.
QUESTIONS 1. Who was the female lead in “The Cutting Edge?” 2. What year was the original movie released? 3. In “The Cutting Edge,” NHL prospect Doug Dorsey is injured in an Olympic hockey game. What team was he playing against when the injury occurred? 4. What is the name of the second movie in this series? 5. “The Cutting Edge: Chasing the Dream” (“Cutting Edge 3”) aired on what American cable network?
Answer all five questions correctly for a chance to win one of 11 prizes. One grand prize winner will receive a DVD boxed set of the three “Cutting Edge” movies. Ten runners-up will receive a DVD copy of “The Cutting Edge: Chasing the Dream.”
There are two ways to enter. Send an e-mail to IFStrivia@madavor.com and include the following information: your name, address, zip/postal code, phone number, e-mail address and the answers to the above questions in numerical order. Or, include the same information on a postcard and mail it to: IFS Trivia Contest, Madavor Media, 420 Boylston St., 5th Floor, Boston, MA 02116.
Worlds Day 5: Buttle Grabs Stunning Gold; Joubert and Weir Land in Second and Third
The men closed out the competition at the 2008 ISU World Figure Skating Championships and gave the sold-out crowd of 9,555 spectators in the Scandinavium Arena in Gothenburg, Sweden quite a show.
Jeff Buttle of Canada claimed the gold medal. France’s Brian Joubert soared from sixth to second place overall and American Johnny Weir earned the bronze.
“It doesn’t feel real yet,” Buttle said. “I was just very happy with how I skated.”
Buttle, the overnight leader, had drawn last to skate in the final group. The Canadian opened his performance to the “Ararat” soundtrack with a solid triple Axel-double toe-double loop followed by a triple flip-triple toe and another triple Axel.
He went on to nail a triple Lutz-double toe, a triple loop, Salchow and another Lutz as well as excellent spins. At the end of his program, he happily punched the ice in triumph.
The 2006 Olympic bronze medalist was awarded a level four for all four spins and a level three for both step sequences to post a new personal best of 163.07 points (84.29 element score/78.78 program component score).
The 25-year-old improved his previous personal best by 11.27 points and racked up a total score of 245.17 points to take his first World title. The Canadian waited anxiously in the kiss and cry for the score, and when it came up he looked in disbelief and jumped up to wave to the crowd.
"I stepped on the ice and it didn’t matter that I skated last,” Buttle said. “I adapted to that, I’ve done it at home and I was ready. There were no excuses.”
Buttle had won the silver at the 2005 World Championships but was ranked sixth in 2006 and 2007. His title is the first gold medal for a Canadian man since 1997, when Elvis Stojko won.
Joubert, who stood in sixth place after the short program skated next to last and was ready to fight when he took the ice. He had followed the competition and knew exactly what he had to do.
The 2007 World champion nailed his opening quadruple toe loop, a triple Salchow and triple Axel as well as a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple Lutz, loop and flip in his Metallica medley program.
The crowd was with him when he went into his straight line step sequence and when he finished the program he knelt down onto the ice and kissed it. The two-time European champion earned a level three for his footwork and two spins and scored 153.47 points (74.11/79.36). His overall score was 231.12 points.
It was Joubert’s third World silver medal after 2004 and 2006. “I changed [my strategy] after I saw how the others did and I decided to not take a lot of risks and not to do a quad Salchow, just wanted to skate clean. The competition was great, the audience was great and I will remember this all my life,” the French star said.
Skating to “Love is War” by Yoav Gordon, Weir produced a two triple Axels, two triple Lutzes, a triple Salchow, loop and flip as well as strong spins, two of which were graded a level four. However, his opening quadruple toel loop was under-rotated and downgraded and overall Weir appeared somewhat hesitant.
The American picked up 141.05 points (67.21/73.84) for this performance and accumulated 221.84 points to win his first World medal.
“I’m so excited. It was not my strongest performance, but I am just proud for myself and for my coaches and I am proud to bring back the only medal for the USA,” the 23-year-old said. “I was a little tired towards the end and I had much nervous energy. When I was going into my starting position, my legs were still shaking.”
Daisuke Takahashi (JPN) finished fourth at 220.11 points. He landed a quadruple toe loop and four clean triple jumps, but he fell on his second quad toe attempt and stumbled on a triple Axel and loop.
A triple Lutz-double toe loop didn’t count as it was considered as a fourth, not allowed combination after the second quad, second Axel and a triple flip-triple toe.
Stéphane Lambiel (SUI) came in fifth after some errors on his jumps (217.88 points).
Kevin van der Perren (BEL) gave a strong performance to finish sixth. He completed eight triple jumps including a triple flip-triple toe-triple loop combination (216.02 points) and was ranked third in the Free Skating.
Sergei Voronov (RUS) was ranked fourth in the free skating and seventh overall (209.93 points). He hit a quad toe loop and seven triples to move up from 15th place after the short program.
European champion Tomas Verner (CZE) faded to 15th after popping some jumps (191.94 points).
The World Championships conclude Sunday with the Exhibition Gala.
Worlds Day 4: Unexpected Results in Men's Short; Delobel and Schoenfelder Are Golden in Ice Dance
The men’s event kicked off with its share of excitement at the 2008 ISU World Figure Skating Championships being held at the Scandinavium Arena in Gothenburg, Sweden. Jeffrey Buttle of Canada took the lead after the short program in which he scored 82.10 points.
Johnny Weir (USA) edged Japan’s Daisuke Takahashi by 0.39 points for second place.
Meanwhile the ice dance competition concluded with three new pairs of medalist standing on the podium. Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder of France claimed the gold medal and the title. Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir took the silver and Russia’s Jana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski captured the bronze.
THE MEN
Buttle gave a strong performance to “Adios Nonino” by Astor Piazzolla. “I felt very comfortable today on the ice," Buttle said. "I have been practicing hard and training well so I went out there today knowing that all hard training was over and I was just going to enjoy myself and have a good skate and I am glad that I did.”
He nailed a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a solid triple Axel and a triple Lutz out of footwork. The 2008 Four Continents silver medalist was awarded a level four for the flying sit and the combination spin and a level three for the two step sequences to pick up 82.10 points (44.07 element score/ 38.03 program component score).
Performing to “Yunona and Avos,” Weir nailed a triple Lutz-triple toe combination, a triple Axel and a triple flip. His jumps were smooth and effortless.
The three-time U.S. champion scored a season best of 80.79 points (42.64/38.15). “I felt fantastic on the ice today," he said. "The audience helped me through this performance and I felt like it was a regular run-through I did everything I am trained to do.
"I've been happy to be in Sweden for such a long time because I feel that I'm comfortable here, I am not rushed. The short program came at the perfect time, just when I'm getting at the point when I'm a little bit too comfortable. With the long program tomorrow I'm excited to get that over with.”
Takahashi opened his innovative routine to a Hip Hop version of "Swan Lake" with a triple flip-triple toe loop combination but then stumbled out of his triple Axel. The Four Continents champion recovered to nail a triple Lutz and produced fast, well centered spins, earning a level four for two of them. The crowd cheered for his extravagant footwork. Takahashi got a level three for both step sequences and scored 80.40 points (41.15/39.25).
“I was a little nervous but I enjoyed skating a lot and the audience helped a lot. I missed the triple Axel so that wasn’t very good,” Takahashi said. “I have been in Sweden for quite a long time to prepare for this competition and first I found it hard but today I was ready.”
The skaters ranked fourth to sixth are not far behind which promises an interesting battle in the free skating. Tomas Verner (CZE), 2008 European champion, skated a strong short program that included a triple flip-triple toe combination, a triple Axel and a triple Lutz. He is within striking distance of the podium at 79.87 points.
Stéphane Lambiel (SUI) finished fifth. He stumbled on his triple Axel, but landed a quadruple toe loop. However, the second jump in the quad-triple toe combination was downgraded (79.12 points).
Reigning World champion Brian Joubert landed a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop combination, but fell on his triple Lutz. He is currently ranked sixth (77.75 points) ICE DANCING
Delobel and Schoenfelder delivered a beautiful performance of their “The Piano” free dance. The French duo completed a rotational lift in a low position, a intricate yet flowing footwork, a serpentine lift with changes of position and a curve-rotational lift.
They received a level four for the steps and lifts and a level three for their spin to collect 104.96 points (53.57 element score/51.39 program component score), surpassing their previous personal best of 101.96 points from three years ago. They were ranked second in the free dance but remained in first place overall with 212.94 points.
“It is more than just being happy. It was a long way for us. It is our first medal at Worlds and it’s the gold medal, so this is just amazing,” Delobel said. “We did a great job. We focused on our technical elements but also skated with passion and emotion which gave us points for the presentation.”
Virtue and Moir gave an inspiring performance of “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.” They opened their romantic program with excellent twizzles followed by a curve-rotational lift and a combination spin. Their steps were difficult but looked effortless. The 2008 Four Continents champions scored a new personal best of 105.26 points (54.69/50.59) and won the free dance by just 0.32 points. Overall they moved up from third to second at 208.80 points.
“We are definitely excited I think you could tell that from the kiss and cry. This is the high light of our skating carrier so far. We are so pleased with how it went today and about how it went the whole week, we expected to come here and just do this, it is different thing to actually come and follow through so we are extremely pleased with ourselves,” Moir said.
Khokhlova and Novitski’s dynamic performance to “Night on Bald Mountain” and “In the Hall of the Mountain King” was highlighted by their spectacular lifts and a dance spin with many changes of positions. Their side-by-side midline footwork was smooth and right on the music, but Novitski briefly slipped during the circular step sequence.
The couple was awarded a level four for all elements except for the two step sequences that were graded a level three. The European bronze medalists earned 99.29 points (50.66/48.63) which added up to a total of 203.26 points. “
Right now I don’t have any emotions. We had hoped to fight for a medal, but it was more like a dream. When it yesterday became realistic with the silver, it pushed us and we really wanted to repeat the success. It was enough for the bronze, which is great – to have the bronze at Worlds. But right now I still don’t fully understand it,” Khohklova explained.
Novitski added, “We are very happy with our scores and placement, it is definitely a big step forward to us. There was a lot of tension, especially in the last warm up group. When we got out on ice we were trying not to think about a medaling, we just want to focus on skating as well as we can."
Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto (USA) finished fourth with a their lyrical Chopin Free Dance. They were ranked third in the free dance (203.00 points).
Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali (ITA) produced a smooth performance of their program to “Yentl” and were awarded a level four for all eight elements. They were fourth in the free dance and fifth overall (201.91 points).
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