SPORTS> Feature and Column
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SPORTS> Feature and Column
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Figure skating-Meissner spices up world championships
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-03-27 10:18 CALGARY, March 26 - Empty seats, withdrawals and the emergence of a new teenage prodigy highlighted the world championships which drew to a close this weekend. With all four Olympic champions from last month's Turin Games missing the event, it was left to American Kimmie Meissner to provide the show-stopping moment when she charged out of the pack to claim the women's crown at her first attempt. The giggly 16-year-old, unable to contain her delight after a spotless free skate, provided a breath of fresh air to a week-long competition that produced a string of no-shows and stale performances. Meissner's shock win meant she added her name to a long list of American figure skating prodigies including Michelle Kwan, Tara Lipinski and Sarah Hughes. With Olympic champion Shizuka Arakawa and holder Irina Slutskaya not competing here, the women's gold medal was expected to go to Meissner's team mate Sasha Cohen. But Cohen, the perennial bridesmaid, again failed to deliver under pressure. After collecting a silver at the Olympics, two silvers and a bronze at the worlds plus four second-place finishes at the U.S. championships, Cohen's error-strewn free skate on Saturday may have been her last. Cohen said she was contemplating a move from the rink to the stage partly because she was tired of performing in front of half-empty arenas. LESS REWARDING "I'm taking it one step at a time," she said during a teleconference before the start of the championships. "I do love what I do and the satisfaction I get out of skating. "But skating is not what it used to be. It is disheartening to skate to half-empty arenas. It makes it less rewarding when they (the fans) are not there." It is unlikely the small crowds here will have done anything to convince Cohen to continue for another season. |
