The Cold War ended 15 years ago, and the breakup of the Soviet Union left the Russia-USA sports rivalry with all the bitter intensity of Finland- Liechtenstein. However, despite the warm and fuzzy feelings between America and Russia, the U.S. figure skating team is seeing red heading into next month’s Turin Olympics.
The Russians are arguably favored to win gold in all four disciplines, and it might be up to the Americans to stop them.
At the World Championships last March in Moscow, Russians won gold in ladies, pairs and ice dancing. The only wrench in the sweep came when Evgeni Plushenko, Russia’s three-time world champion and defending Olympic silver medalist, suffered a groin injury, forcing his withdrawal and opening the door for Switzerland’s Stephane Lambiel to win.
In the current International Skating Union’s world rankings, Russians lead in every event but men’s, yet many skating experts believe Plushenko is Russia’s best bet for a gold. Last week in Lyon, France, Russians warmed up for Turin by sweeping gold at the European Championships for the sixth time since 1997.
A Russian sweep in the Olympics? Is there enough borscht in Italy?
“I think there’s a chance,” said Scott Hamilton, America’s gold-medal winner in 1984 and now an NBC commentator. “It’s funny because I was talking to a Russian skater recently and he said: ‘You know it’s a real good chance the Russians will sweep the gold medals. Wow! What a great accomplishment that would be for Russia.’
“But what a terrible thing that would be for skating.”
Depends what side of the Baltic you’re on. Good or bad, it would be history. Since the Winter Games began in 1924, no country has ever done it. In fact, one country hasn’t won men’s and ladies’ events in the same year since Americans Carol Heiss and David Jenkins did it in 1960.
That’s why the Russians aren’t walking around holding up four fingers about a sweep.
“I don’t think so,” said Oleg Vasiliev, coach of the favored pairs team, Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin. “It will be very difficult.”
On paper, the Russians should do it. Plushenko won his fifth European Championship on Saturday with a quad and seven triples (three-rotation jumps) despite being sick for three days. The Russian icon is considered by most to be the best figure skater in the world.
Irina Slutskaya, whose seventh European title Friday broke Katarina Witt’s record, has won two world titles and, when healthy, hasn’t finished lower than second since a fourth in the 1999 Russian nationals.
Totmianina and Marinin have won the past two world titles, are fresh off their fifth straight European title, and have lost once since 2003. Oh, yes. Russia or some form of the old Soviet Union has won or shared gold in pairs in the past 11 Olympics.
In ice dancing, two-time world champion Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov came from behind to win the European title Friday and have lost once in three years. If Vegas took book on figure skating, whom would you bet against?
“There’s always a chance, but I don’t really see it as a foregone conclusion,” said Richard Callaghan, who coached American Tara Lipinski to gold in 1998 and six-time U.S. champion Todd Eldredge. “I think in the ladies and the dance we have very strong contenders.”
Yes, a Russian sweep must overcome some major hurdles, external and internal. U.S. Figure Skating officials are quietly optimistic that Americans can win a medal in three of the four events. That doesn’t include Michelle Kwan, the two-time Olympic medalist who still must prove to a monitoring committee Saturday that she has recovered enough from a groin injury to remain on the team.
Sasha Cohen, 21, has replaced Kwan, 25, as America’s best ladies skater and is the biggest threat to Slutskaya, 26. Cohen lost to Slutskaya at Worlds, but in winning her first national title Jan. 14 in St. Louis, she finally put together two solid programs. And that was after recovering from the flu.
“Irina obviously has a long history of competing and is a good skater. But I think our skater, Sasha, has abilities that are superior,” Callaghan said. “She has probably similar athletic abilities, but with the new scoring system and components, in my mind, she outscores Irina by quite a bit.”
The knock on Slutskaya is she’s technically terrific but lacks the artistry Cohen has recently acquired. Cohen is close enough where anything can happen. As she says, “Ice is slippery.”
America’s best chance for a gold could be Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, second to Navka-Kostomarov in Moscow but all but unbeaten outside of that. Belbin and Agosto will compete this week in the Four Continents Championships in Colorado Springs.
Russia’s most solid lock, Callaghan said, remains Plushenko, 23, who has been accorded such status by Johnny Weir, the three-time American champion.
“I can contend with Lambiel, (Canada’s Jeffrey) Buttle, perhaps not Plushenko,” said Weir, who took fourth in Worlds despite a badly injured arch. “I’m not going to push Plushenko.”
Then who will push whom? Get ready for a ol’-fashioned American-Russian cold war.
Staff writer John Henderson can be reached at 303-820-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com.
