2004 State Farm Winners!
Saturday was a huge day and night for ice skating fans. ABC Sports televised the 2004 State Farm U.S Championships from Atlanta, GA.
For a lot of sports fans, winter is the time for football, but for me it's ice skating. Whether it is competition or exhibition, I'll be there. Over the past few weeks, there have been many lively fun-filled and challenging events to hit the ice. This Saturday, proved to be all that and more with the Ice Dancer's free dance and men's free skate on Saturday afternoon. Timothy Geobel withdrew from the competition after a treacherous short program placed him in 10th position (disappointing since I was looking forward to him skating) and due to an injury; Ice Dancers, Naomi Lange & Peter Tchernyshev, withdrew sadly.
Winners in the Ice Dance Competition:
Belbin Agosto, Gold
Gregory Petukhov, Silver
Galler-Rabinowitz Mitchell, Bronze
I was very impressed with the men's skating and it was an electric competition that had lots of terrific performances that brought the thrill and excitement of ice-skating back where it belongs, on the edge of your seat!
Winners in the Men's Competition:
Johnny Weir had an amazing skate and just stunned me with his performance and received a 6.0 from one of the judges for presentation and he was honored with the Gold!
Michael Weiss had a wonderful skate and should be very proud of his accomplishments, which gained him the Silver.
Matt Savoie had a fine and wonderful skate and earned the Bronze.
In the evening it was the pairs and ladies that adorned the ice. The three-hour event showed the ladies short program and the free skate from the pairs competitions that was taped on Thursday night. Also being showcased was a collection of memorable moments of familiar, and perhaps not so familiar, skaters who graced the ice and made skating today an even more prestigious and honored sports event. Also, Nancy Kerrigan, who was just inducted into the U.S. Figure Hall of Fame, was in the stands lending her support and her thoughts to Peter Carruthers of how the show turned out.
I do have to say that I was not too familiar with the pairs, but will enjoy seeing more from them.
Winners in the Pairs Competition:
Inoue and Baldwin, Gold
Orscher and Lucash, Silver
Scott and Dulebohn, Bronze
The ladies competition was dazzling!
Winners in the Ladies Competition:
Michelle Kwan's performance was not only a Gold-winning performance, but one that shook the boards with just about all across-the-board perfect marks in presentation. Michelle's performance was mesmerizing and beautiful, elegant and powerful; her presence inferior to no one.
Sasha Coen received the Silver and continues to be a powerhouse and an extremely creative artist, but she did receive a 6.0 for presentation even though her performance was not perfect as she did have one fall.
Jennifer Kirk won the Bronze and is definitely one to watch.
Congratulations to the artistry of each skater and to the winners who certainly proved to be champions on the ice.