Todd Eldredge still hasn't watched his free skate from the Nagano Olympics. The last thing he wants is to see himself falling, taking his hopes for that medal he wanted so badly right along with him.
As for the program itself, well, it doesn't exactly carry happy memories. So with one last competition left in his amateur career, the five-time U.S. champion scrapped the program and decided to go with something he knows works.No more music from the movie, "Gettysburg" at this week's World Figure Skating Championships. Instead, it's "First Knight" - the same music he skated to in 1996, when he won the world title.
"Let's just put the Olympics behind us," said his coach, Richard Callaghan. "Obviously, Nagano was not good for him, and it's nice to have something that was good for him."
Even though it's early, Eldredge already has his old smile back. In Sunday's qualification round, in which skaters perform their free skate, he looked looser than he has all season.
He hit every one of his jumps with ease, soaring high into the air on the triple axel that was his downfall in Nagano. He had the audience on its feet before his program ended, and responded with a smile wide and bright.