Sato Learns How to Please Americans

Copyright 1995 Associated Press

Yuka Sato is only just starting to learn how to please an American audience. Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean practically wrote the book.

Both were winners at Saturday night's World Professional Figure Skating Championships, the oldest and most respected competition on the pro skating calendar.

While Torvill and Dean's triumph was predictable - the British pair was showered with affection and perfect scores for their two routines to Paul Simon songs - Sato became a surprise winner over Kristi Yamaguchi by skating two pieces full of warmth and personality, in addition to the necessary jumps and spins.

It was a triumph that had its genesis exactly one year ago. After a third-place finish here, Sato went to a party upstairs in the arena and lamented her lack of rapport with the audience.

The conversations led to a change in choreography and produced a romantic artistic routine, skated to the song "Someone Like You" from "Jekyll and Hyde," that solidified her victory Saturday night.

"In the United States, to win as a Japanese ... it is not easy to do. No one really knows about me," said Sato, whose only other major title came on home ice in Japan at the 1994 World Championships.

"It is really hard for me to win in this country. I just started getting the feeling what kind of stuff American audiences like. We have the totally different cultures. Sometimes I think it will be really great, but you never know over here."

Torvill and Dean, approaching their 40s but skating with a vitality of half that age, admitted it was difficult coming up with fresh routines year after year. This time, they decided to have a little fun with Simon's hit "Cecilia."

Wearing glasses and an orange vest, Dean played a girl-crazy character who ignored Torvill's sneers to pursue adolescent love. When Simon and Garfunkel sang the word "jubilation", Dean clicked his heels in mid-air. When they sang "fall on the floor," Dean threw himself on the ice and hopped back up.

"It's sort of an awkward kind of character who's uncomfortable with girls," Dean said. "But when he's let loose, he gets a bit demonstrative. It's a few people I know."

Needless to say, the audience of 18,150 and the seven judges were swept away - the routine earned four perfect 10.0s to sew up the duo's fourth world title - but such originality is not easy to come by.

"You get mental block every so often and think, 'I can't do this again,' especially if you've had a big success with something," Dean said. "Then everyone's sort of looking for the next thing."

Another crowd-pleaser was Canadian Kurt Browning, who upset six-time winner Brian Boitano by gyrating to the Commodores' 1970s hit "Brick House." It earned an aggregate score of 49.9 out of a possible 50.

"I'm very surprised, totally ecstatic and a little flustered," said Browning, who trailed Boitano after the technical program.

Browning, a four-time world champion on the Olympic-eligible level, struggled after turning pro last year. He said before the competition that he had reach a point in his career where shows meant more than titles, but afterward he had no trouble realizing the importance of his victory.

"It means a lot to me, because I had a water-logged year last year and couldn't get going," Browning said. "I really kind of saw a night like this not happening again. Having a year like that means you don't take skating for granted. I went home and learned how to work again."

The most bizarre moment of the evening came from the pairs competition. Radka Kovarikova, skating with Rene Novotny, damaged her skate when she clipped a lighting decoration that ringed the base of the rink.

"When I hit the board, I totally damaged my edge," Kovarikova said. "I didn't know what I was going to do."

Kovarikova tried to continue, but fell a few seconds later and slid hard into the boards. The program was stopped while the skate was repaired and the rules explained.

After a few minutes, the pair was allowed to start the program again from the top, and they won over a field weakened by the death of Sergei Grinkov.