VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The cold war is back.
During the ladies short program here Friday at the 2001 World Figure Skating Championships, the Russians and Americans split the top six placements. The two nations shut out skaters from 21 other countries, all of whom are vying for world and Olympic team berths leading up to the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
Irina Slutskaya of Russia continued her domination of the ladies skating scene, easily winning the short program over five-time American champion Michelle Kwan.
Slutskaya overcame an early distraction, when her music stopped in the opening seconds of her program, and went on to land all of her jumps — including a triple Lutz-double loop combination, the most difficult of the day. Her effort earned her top marks from each of the nine judges.
"When my music suddenly stopped, I think I was in shock," Slutskaya said. "I think that is the first time that happened to me. But I did everything I wanted to do."
Kwan skated a re-vamped version of her beloved "East of Eden" program to place second going into Saturday's free skate. A two-footed triple Lutz-double toe loop combination and a crooked double Axel hurt her marks, which ranged from 5.5 to 5.7 on the technical mark, and 5.7 to 5.9 for artistry. Far from the perfect marks she earned at nationals earlier this year, three of the nine judges put Kwan in third place.
"I felt really good out there," she said. "I felt energized by the crowd, and by the music. But I know that my foot landed a little off on the Lutz."
The evening ended on a high note, thanks to American Angela Nikodinov, who skated another clean program to move up to third place.
Known for her tremendous talent and her delicate nerves, Nikodinov's confidence has grown steadily this year. Her placements have followed, most recently with a bronze medal at nationals earlier this year. Her third place showing here at worlds also is her best to date.
But Nikodinov had to prove her mental toughness right out of the starting gates when her music began four seconds into her program. The referee allowed her to begin again, and she went on to combine huge jumps with Kwan-like artistry and superior spins to surpass U.S. silver medalist Sarah Hughes. Hughes finished fourth.
"Skating last was hard," Nikodinov said. "But I had so much to rely on. My confidence was great, from all the training I've been doing. I felt really good, happy I did what I had to do. Being third is overwhelming. I'm really going to enjoy this tonight."
Nikodinov credited her improvement to her new coach and choreographer, Elena Tcherkasskaya. The two began working together after Nikodinov moved back home to California from her previous training facility in Detroit.
"She believes in me," Nikodinov said. "Sometimes I have doubts about myself, which has caused problems in the past. But she has helped me believe in myself."
Russians rounded out the top six spots. National silver medalist Viktoria Volchkova delivered a clean program to claim fifth place, followed by 1999 world champion Maria Butyrskaya.
Butyrskaya admitted she skated tentatively, shakily landing all of her jumps.
"Throughout the whole program, my legs were shaking," she said. "Maybe I would have skated differently if I still would have been in contention for the first place. Me and Alexei Yagudin, we have to fight, to fight all the time."
The competition will conclude Saturday with the ladies finale.
WORLDS NOTEBOOK: The ice dance competition was a repeat of the European championships, much to the chagrin of French dancers Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat. Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio of Italy won their first world title, and with it, the first medal for Italy. And, with superior speed and intricate footwork, Fusar-Poli and Margaglio took the early lead in the hunt for the Olympic gold medal next year.
E-mail: jnii@desnews.com