U.S. Figure Skaters Frozen Out

Copyright 1995 The Associated Press

Despite nailing his toughest jump early in the program, Kurt Browning wasn't ready to relax.

"Actually, it makes you more nervous," he said Tuesday after the first night of the Ultimate Four competition. "You hit the hardest thing in your element and you don't want to blow it. You're skating on eggshells."

Browning nailed a triple axel-double toe loop combination to earn the top marks in the men's competition. The four-time world champion from Canada will face France's Phillipe Candeloro tonight for the $ 75,000 first prize.

No Americans advanced to the finals, which will pit the top two finishers in each category of Tuesday's short program - men, women, dance and pair - against each other. The other two in each group will compete for third place.

Surya Bonaly of France and Chen Lu of China advanced on the women's side after Kristi Yamaguchi of San Francisco fell twice in her short program. Paul Wylie of Somerville, Mass., and Scott Hamilton of Denver also were relegated to the consolations as part of a complete American shutout.

The two-night event is part of an International Skating Union-sanctioned series that allows Olympic-eligible and -ineligible athletes to compete against each other without affecting their status.

Browning said such events, in contrast to the exhibitions typical of the pro tour, give those who have turned pro a taste of competition again.

"It used to be, you'd turn pro and say, 'Good. Now I don't have to do those hard jumps anymore,"' Browning said. "But we want to be one of the most technical shows on the planet. It enables us to step back on the ice with the amateurs and have a chance to compete with them."

Browning was the first skater ever to complete a quadruple jump in world competition when he performed one in the 1988 world championships. Now, he's just glad he can hit his triples.

"I never expected it to be so clean," he said, estimating his triple axel success rate at 50 percent."I said, 'I guess I should do a double toe loop now. But I just want to stand here a little bit longer."'

The five judges rated Browning best among the men after he nailed the triple axel while skating to a "Led Zeppelin" drum solo. Wylie lost points for a turn during his combo and Hamilton came to a stop between jumps.

That allowed Candeloro, the only Olympic-eligible among the men, to advance. The Frenchman, typically a top showman, gave a mistake-free performance, but received lower marks for his presentation.

In the pairs, Isabelle Brassuer and Lloyd Eisler of Canada will skate in the second round against Germany's Mandy Wotzel and Ingo Steuer. Czechs Radka KGorsha Sur - the only couple not to fall - were fourth.