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Tuesday, February 12, 2002

By Lori Shontz, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

SALT LAKE CITY -- To hear the coaches of the U.S. men's figure skating team talk, having to face the Russians isn't that big a deal, even though Alexei Yagudin and Evgeni Plushenko have combined to win the past four world championships.

	Timothy Goebel is one of the Americans who will try to upset the Russians in the figure skating competition. He might have a chance for a medal because of his ability to land quadruple jumps. (Roberto Borea, Associated Press)

Listen to Richard Callaghan, who coaches national champion Todd Eldredge: "I love the fact that the Russians are the favorites. I've taught for 30 years, and when two guys are usually the favorites, my past experience is that someone else always comes in and kind of ruins what is supposed to happen."

And Frank Carroll, who coaches last year's national champion, Timothy Goebel: "The Russians do fail. A lot of times they do run out of gas. They are not great marathon skaters. So, they have their flaws, and they have their weaknesses. Personally I'm not crazy about their choreography."

This from a man whose skater, Goebel, has arguably the best quads in the sport but still doesn't do much more than skate from jump to jump.

Yagudin and Plushenko, however, are undeniably the favorites for the Olympic gold medal in figure skating, a traditional strength for the Russians, who have won the past two golds. The competition starts tonight with the short program.

While each of the American skaters has his strengths, they each have weaknesses that could hinder their chances.

Olympian Eldredge, 30, won his sixth U.S. title last month on the strength of his artistry and his spins, which are unmatched in the men's field.

But he has never landed a quadruple jump in competition, something that could be a problem.

"It's something that, since nationals, I've been working on," he said. "I'm just here to go out and skate well and really enjoy myself. If there are quads or no quads in there, it doesn't really matter to me."

He is competing in the Olympics for the third time, hoping to finally win the medal that has eluded him. He finished 10th in 1992 and fourth in 1998.

"I don't look at a medal here as defining my career or defining my life by any means," he said. "Skating has been a great part of my life. Getting a medal would be a great part of it. I've had a fantastic career up until now, and I will continue to have a great career."

Goebel, 21, is Eldredge's opposite. His artistry and spins are suspect, but he has landed 52 quads. In front of international judges, he might have a better chance than Eldredge to win a medal because his technical difficulty is higher.

Michael Weiss, 25, made it to his second Olympics by the slim margin. Because injuries hampered him last season, he was required to compete in the Eastern sectionals in Pittsburgh just to qualify for nationals. He won the sectionals and then finished third at nationals despite a rather sloppy program.

He doesn't think his past injuries or inconsistencies necessarily eliminate him as a medal favorite, either.

"Figure skating is a slippery sport, and you never know what's going to happen," he said. "This is one competition. Yeah, the Russians may have won the majority of things, but just because you win the majority of things doesn't mean you're going to win it one time. I think that's going to be the case at the Olympics."