Skater Yagudin Doesn't Stop Working

SIMSBURY, Conn. (AP) - The workout was over, and Alexei Yagudin looked exhausted. He sauntered off the ice like an old man, his hair disheveled, sweat beading his face.

Why was the Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion doing this to himself? He was preparing to tour with Stars on Ice this winter. But he was training as if the Salt Lake City Games were next February, not eight months ago.

"There is so much more left for me to accomplish," Yagudin said. "I have to keep up."

He will compete on the Grand Prix circuit this season, beginning with Skate America this month. He kicks off the season at the Campbell's International Figure Skating Classic in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Saturday night in a free-skate-only event featuring his strongest competitors: rival Evgeny Plushenko, the Olympic silver medalist, and American Tim Goebel, the bronze medalist.

He also hopes to qualify for the Grand Prix final in St. Petersburg, Russia, in December. Is there any doubt he'll succeed? But his competitive year will end there as he heads on tour and skips the World Championships in Washington in March.

"I will definitely do Skate America and Skate Canada and the Grand Prix final. I thought it was important that I do at least that, because I am keeping my eligibility," he said. "But it would be impossible to do the World Championships, because I will be on tour then and can't prepare. To leave the tour would be a stupid thing to do.

"I'm glad I have not closed the door. As people say to me, I am so young and I feel I can do a lot more things. If I feel it is the right time to stop, if I feel I can't compete anymore, then I will turn pro. But that time is not here."

For most Olympic champions, that time arrives immediately after Olympics. Since 1980, Robin Cousins, Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano, Viktor Petrenko and Ilia Kulik all headed to the pros immediately after winning gold medals. The only exception was Russian Alexei Urmanov, and he never won a significant event after the 1994 Games.

In a way, Yagudin yearns for the professional lifestyle. But he also believes it would be a tremendous waste of his competitive juices if he left eligible skating behind at 22.

"A few days ago, I was thinking how great it would be to be a professional skater. When you are a professional, you do not have to do that much in practice," he said, a huge smile crossing his face. "You can stay in good shape, but don't have to be in great shape. You are in two-times less shape.

"In the pros, they do a triple toe and a triple salchow and a double axel and they are done. That would be hard for me. I need to do more when I still can do more. I need to motivate myself to do a triple axel every day. It is important to me."

So under the assertive guidance of coach Tatiana Tarasova, Yagudin pushes forward. Some days, he would practice his free skate routine and his jumps at his home rink, then drive to another rink to rehearse with the Stars on Ice cast. Later in the day, he would head back to his training rink for more work.

It took less than a week of that routine before Yagudin told Tarasova he had to cut back on something. She agreed, but he still is spending three hours or so on the ice most days.

That's the kind of dedication that lifted him to the top of the sport. After finishing fifth in the 1998 Nagano Games, where he competed with the flu, he won the '98 worlds, then repeated in 1999 and 2000. He lost his title to Plushenko in 2001, when he was plagued by injuries, but got it back - and won every other competition - last season.

And now, even though he won't be heading to worlds, the most prestigious event on the skating calendar, Yagudin continues to outwork nearly everyone.

Again, why? He answers by looking into the future, to the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy.