LionDen
02-20-2006, 12:32 PM
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World champion Italian ice dancers Barbara Fusar Poli and Maurizio Margaglio experienced an extreme case of the dropsies Sunday. Here, they glare at each other after a ruined performance and shattered medal hopes; they later stormed out of the arena.
Italian duo, 4 others fall, ruining medal hopes as Belbin, Agosto now in 2nd
TURIN, Italy - There was more drama in the aftermath of their flawed program than in the performance itself. The arena in shock, their Olympics in ruins, Italian ice dancer Barbara Fusar Poli glared fiercely through thick mascara at the man who first mishandled her and then tumbled on top of her seconds before the music stopped. The accused, Maurizio Margaglio, glowered back from 10 feet away, protesting.
Minutes later, after U.S. ice dancers Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto had taken the ice to start the Latin-themed program that would vault them into second place, Fusar Poli covered her eyes with her hand while reclining miserably in the kiss-n-cry. She tilted her head back dramatically as if to take in fresh air, and Margaglio leaned forward on his knees, sulking.
So triumphant after taking the lead in Friday’s compulsory dance, the erstwhile world champions who came out of retirement to compete in this Olympics on their home soil dropped to seventh (90.51 points), then stormed out of the arena with their medal hopes in tatters.
They weren’t the only ones in distress on a night of high-pitched drama: Three teams among the last five fell hard, and Canadian Marie-France Dubreuil was taken to the hospital as a precaution after she landed on her hip -- she and Patrice Lauzon landed in sixth (91.80).
Belbin and Agosto and two couples who did not fall stood gratefully at the top of the standings with the deciding free skate Monday. Russian world champions Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov climbed from second to first (99.27) with a fast and characterful performance. Belbin and Agosto used an energetic, sultry skate to soar from sixth to second (97.89). Ukrainians Elena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov, the 2005 world bronze medalists, moved from fifth to third (96.68).
“Today, a lot of couples fell,” Navka said. “I think it’s mental probably. You see here on the podium today couples who skate clean. I’m sure tomorrow it will be the same story.”
Even with all of the rumbas, salsas and cha-chas, the hottest moves came when the music stopped. This was not a night for tight-lipped stoicism. Given the fluorescent costumes, bare chests, bare backs and exposed midriffs, perhaps it wasn’t surprising that the competitors provided a pretty good look at their souls, too.
“Clearly, there were a lot of emotions,” Belbin said. “It’s the Olympic Games. It’s really heightened [and] dance is really unpredictable at times.”
Belbin and Agosto, trying to win the first U.S. Olympic medal in ice dance in 30 years, used a sizzling performance to break the tension in what had become an edgy, rattled arena after three falls in the previous four skates. After so much had gone wrong, everything, it seemed, went right for the first-time Olympians, who didn't hit a discordant note. They were so elated with their performance Agosto continued grooving and dancing after their music stopped.
Their marks added to their joy. Their technical scores were the best of the night, a huge boost even given the frequent falls. The first- and third-place teams, however, topped the Americans in the program component scores, a rough equivalent of the presentation mark under the old judging system.
“We didn’t want the pressure and our concentration,” Belbin said, “to take away from the fact that we love doing this program.”
The pressure clearly weighed on others. Debreuil, seventh in last year’s world championships, fell heavily to the ice when she lost her grip on Lauzon's arm in the midst of a rotational lift. When her hands slipped off, he let go of her thigh, and her entire left side slammed to the ice. She was so shaken and in pain that they did not even pause to take their bows. He assisted her to the side, then swooped her into his arms. She was then taken to a trauma hospital in Turin, and it was unclear whether they would compete Monday.
“I don’t know” what happened, Lauzon said. “It’s something that’s never happened so far for a dance lift. . . . She fell pretty hard. We will have to see how she is and then we’ll deal with it.”
Another Italian team, Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali, collapsed during their diagonal step sequence, she tripping first and pulling him down with her. At the end of the performance, they stood stone-faced, staring at each other, hands on their hips.
They finished 15th (76.45), just behind Americans Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov (77.51). As they awaited their marks, they sat next to one another, but leaning in opposite directions. Once the scores flashed on the scoreboard, Scali rushed to the locker rooms in a huff, leaving a red-faced Faiella trailing behind.
Lithuanians Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas also stumbled and suffered a minor fall on linking foot work, finishing eighth (88.02).
Belbin and Agosto said they didn’t watch any of the other skaters, but they could tell the night was filled with unusual performances.
“We didn’t exactly know what happened,” Belbin said. “But when we heard big oohs and ahhs, we realized something had gone wrong.”
Figure Skating Original Ice Dance (Top Five) 1.Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov, Russia 2. Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, U.S. 3. Elena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov, Ukraine 4. Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder, France 5. Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski, Bulgaria U.S. Team 14. Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov 17. Jamie Silverstein and Ryan O'Meara
The Washington Post Company
World champion Italian ice dancers Barbara Fusar Poli and Maurizio Margaglio experienced an extreme case of the dropsies Sunday. Here, they glare at each other after a ruined performance and shattered medal hopes; they later stormed out of the arena.
Italian duo, 4 others fall, ruining medal hopes as Belbin, Agosto now in 2nd
TURIN, Italy - There was more drama in the aftermath of their flawed program than in the performance itself. The arena in shock, their Olympics in ruins, Italian ice dancer Barbara Fusar Poli glared fiercely through thick mascara at the man who first mishandled her and then tumbled on top of her seconds before the music stopped. The accused, Maurizio Margaglio, glowered back from 10 feet away, protesting.
Minutes later, after U.S. ice dancers Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto had taken the ice to start the Latin-themed program that would vault them into second place, Fusar Poli covered her eyes with her hand while reclining miserably in the kiss-n-cry. She tilted her head back dramatically as if to take in fresh air, and Margaglio leaned forward on his knees, sulking.
So triumphant after taking the lead in Friday’s compulsory dance, the erstwhile world champions who came out of retirement to compete in this Olympics on their home soil dropped to seventh (90.51 points), then stormed out of the arena with their medal hopes in tatters.
They weren’t the only ones in distress on a night of high-pitched drama: Three teams among the last five fell hard, and Canadian Marie-France Dubreuil was taken to the hospital as a precaution after she landed on her hip -- she and Patrice Lauzon landed in sixth (91.80).
Belbin and Agosto and two couples who did not fall stood gratefully at the top of the standings with the deciding free skate Monday. Russian world champions Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov climbed from second to first (99.27) with a fast and characterful performance. Belbin and Agosto used an energetic, sultry skate to soar from sixth to second (97.89). Ukrainians Elena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov, the 2005 world bronze medalists, moved from fifth to third (96.68).
“Today, a lot of couples fell,” Navka said. “I think it’s mental probably. You see here on the podium today couples who skate clean. I’m sure tomorrow it will be the same story.”
Even with all of the rumbas, salsas and cha-chas, the hottest moves came when the music stopped. This was not a night for tight-lipped stoicism. Given the fluorescent costumes, bare chests, bare backs and exposed midriffs, perhaps it wasn’t surprising that the competitors provided a pretty good look at their souls, too.
“Clearly, there were a lot of emotions,” Belbin said. “It’s the Olympic Games. It’s really heightened [and] dance is really unpredictable at times.”
Belbin and Agosto, trying to win the first U.S. Olympic medal in ice dance in 30 years, used a sizzling performance to break the tension in what had become an edgy, rattled arena after three falls in the previous four skates. After so much had gone wrong, everything, it seemed, went right for the first-time Olympians, who didn't hit a discordant note. They were so elated with their performance Agosto continued grooving and dancing after their music stopped.
Their marks added to their joy. Their technical scores were the best of the night, a huge boost even given the frequent falls. The first- and third-place teams, however, topped the Americans in the program component scores, a rough equivalent of the presentation mark under the old judging system.
“We didn’t want the pressure and our concentration,” Belbin said, “to take away from the fact that we love doing this program.”
The pressure clearly weighed on others. Debreuil, seventh in last year’s world championships, fell heavily to the ice when she lost her grip on Lauzon's arm in the midst of a rotational lift. When her hands slipped off, he let go of her thigh, and her entire left side slammed to the ice. She was so shaken and in pain that they did not even pause to take their bows. He assisted her to the side, then swooped her into his arms. She was then taken to a trauma hospital in Turin, and it was unclear whether they would compete Monday.
“I don’t know” what happened, Lauzon said. “It’s something that’s never happened so far for a dance lift. . . . She fell pretty hard. We will have to see how she is and then we’ll deal with it.”
Another Italian team, Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali, collapsed during their diagonal step sequence, she tripping first and pulling him down with her. At the end of the performance, they stood stone-faced, staring at each other, hands on their hips.
They finished 15th (76.45), just behind Americans Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov (77.51). As they awaited their marks, they sat next to one another, but leaning in opposite directions. Once the scores flashed on the scoreboard, Scali rushed to the locker rooms in a huff, leaving a red-faced Faiella trailing behind.
Lithuanians Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas also stumbled and suffered a minor fall on linking foot work, finishing eighth (88.02).
Belbin and Agosto said they didn’t watch any of the other skaters, but they could tell the night was filled with unusual performances.
“We didn’t exactly know what happened,” Belbin said. “But when we heard big oohs and ahhs, we realized something had gone wrong.”
Figure Skating Original Ice Dance (Top Five) 1.Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov, Russia 2. Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, U.S. 3. Elena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov, Ukraine 4. Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder, France 5. Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski, Bulgaria U.S. Team 14. Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov 17. Jamie Silverstein and Ryan O'Meara
The Washington Post Company