Baiul

HAMAR, Norway -- As much as the evidence points to such a conclusion, Nancy Kerrigan didn't get jobbed last night.You just can't say that.Yes, it was true that a clean sweep of judges from old Eastern-bloc nations gave Oksana Baiul of the Ukraine a blade-thin, politically suspicious win in the Olympic skating competition. But to cry foul is to cry that Baiul was the inferior skater, and that simply wasn't the case.Baiul is a skating Amadeus who stole Kerrigan's gold with a performance that will go down among the most remarkable in the annals of the sport, not for its quality so much as its resourcefulness.

The stage director, on skates and cradling a boombox in one arm, is traversing the ice at the Baltimore Arena, teaching the skaters their roles in the opening number. He works first with Rudy Galindo on his big, hands-over-head finish, then with ice dancers Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko on a jazzy, hip-jutting bit, then with French skater Surya Bonaly on her energetic jumps.The director then moves on to a pale, blond skater who has emerged on the sidelines. He cues the music and she follows him like a shadow as he skates toward center ice.From his boombox, the BeeGees are singing, "Ah, ah, ah, ah, stayin' alive . . ."

Nancy Kerrigan beamed. Oksana Baiul bawled. And Tonya Harding took a big wad of gum out of her mouth.So went the Olympic women's figure skating finals last night on CBS.Kerrigan took the ice at 10:38, the same time as on Wednesday. It was good enough for huge ratings that night, CBS must have figured, so let's do it again.Kerrigan skated a fabulous program, and announcers Scott Hamilton and Verne Lundquist gushed."She's grown so much as a skater, an athlete and a person this year," Hamilton said.

Did Nancy Kerrigan get a raw deal during and after February's Winter Olympics from judges and the media?That's the crux of a feature airing during the intermission of tomorrow night's conclusion of "Ice Wars: The U.S.A vs. the World" at 9 p.m. on CBS (Channel 11).Kerrigan lost the gold medal in Lillehammer, Norway, to Oksana Baiul of Ukraine by one-tenth of one point, the closest margin in Olympic skating history.The nine-minute feature includes a heretofore unseen super slo-mo replay of Baiul double-footing a triple toe loop landing, which should have counted for a deduction.

HAMAR, Norway -- Viktor Petrenko remembered the little girl who was alone, the one that would sleep inside a skating rink, that would practice at all hours, refining jumps and spins, finally growing into an Olympic champion.He was once Ukraine's greatest skating champion. She was an orphan, Oksana Baiul. She never knew her father. Her mother was dead. So were her grandparents."She has had a difficult life," said Petrenko, the 1992 Olympic men's skating gold medalist. "And now, it's like she has gotten back what she has lost.

HAMAR, Norway -- Even now, there is uncertainty.The plot has twisted through practice rinks and courtrooms, tabloid pages and television studios, but finally, tonight, in a 6,600-seat chalet-style ice rink, the most coveted medal at the Winter Olympics will be handed out.They will skate for the women's figure skating gold at the Winter Olympics.Nancy Kerrigan, the leader from Stoneham, Mass., will be here.So will Surya Bonaly of France, in third.But what of Oksana Baiul, of Ukraine, the child star and reigning world champion who is currently second?

HAMAR, Norway -- A silver. It was only a silver.Nancy Kerrigan had the medal around her neck. She put on a smile, put it on as big and broad as she could make it, but she could not hide the disappointment in her eyes.They were ready to play another country's national anthem. She was on the second step, and above her, on the first, was this 16-year-old girl from Ukraine, Oksana Baiul.Baiul's eyes teared. And Kerrigan just looked straight ahead."For me, in my mind and my heart, I thought I did [win]

HAMAR, Norway -- A silver. It was only a silver.Nancy Kerrigan had the medal around her neck. She put on a smile, put it on as big and broad as she could make it, but she could not hide the disappointment in her eyes.They were ready to play another country's national anthem. She was on the second step, and above her, on the first, was this 16-year-old girl from Ukraine, Oksana Baiul.Baiul's eyes teared. And Kerrigan just looked straight ahead."For me, in my mind and my heart, I thought I did [win]

The violence that nearly redistributed the Olympic Gold Medal in Ladies Figure Skating was the crash in practice Thursday of two 16-year-olds skating backward. But it didn't. Oksana Baiul of Ukraine skated in a bandage and pain, beautifully, last night. The favorite, which she had been all along, won by a narrow margin.Ms. Baiul had stood second after the short program on Wednesday, and Tanja Szewczenko of Germany fifth, when they injured each other. That seemingly opened up the competition, making any outcome possible.

HAMAR, Norway -- The two policemen followed her into the interview room. The minicams circled her. Fans wanted her autograph. There was always one more interview to do, one more appearance to make.Nancy Kerrigan spent the first day of the rest of her life as she had spent much of the past seven weeks: pursued."What I've been going through is a circus," she said yesterday. "Pretty ridiculous. I didn't like taking anything away from the other athletes. I came here to skate. I didn't ask for the media to come in hordes to the practices.

HAMAR, Norway -- The two policemen followed her into the interview room. The minicams circled her. Fans wanted her autograph. There was always one more interview to do, one more appearance to make.Nancy Kerrigan spent the first day of the rest of her life as she had spent much of the past seven weeks: pursued."What I've been going through is a circus," she said yesterday. "Pretty ridiculous. I didn't like taking anything away from the other athletes. I came here to skate. I didn't ask for the media to come in hordes to the practices.

HAMAR, Norway -- Viktor Petrenko remembered the little girl who was alone, the one that would sleep inside a skating rink, that would practice at all hours, refining jumps and spins, finally growing into an Olympic champion.He was once Ukraine's greatest skating champion. She was an orphan, Oksana Baiul. She never knew her father. Her mother was dead. So were her grandparents."She has had a difficult life," said Petrenko, the 1992 Olympic men's skating gold medalist. "And now, it's like she has gotten back what she has lost.

The violence that nearly redistributed the Olympic Gold Medal in Ladies Figure Skating was the crash in practice Thursday of two 16-year-olds skating backward. But it didn't. Oksana Baiul of Ukraine skated in a bandage and pain, beautifully, last night. The favorite, which she had been all along, won by a narrow margin.Ms. Baiul had stood second after the short program on Wednesday, and Tanja Szewczenko of Germany fifth, when they injured each other. That seemingly opened up the competition, making any outcome possible.

HAMAR, Norway -- A silver. It was only a silver.Nancy Kerrigan had the medal around her neck. She put on a smile, put it on as big and broad as she could make it, but she could not hide the disappointment in her eyes.They were ready to play another country's national anthem. She was on the second step, and above her, on the first, was this 16-year-old girl from Ukraine, Oksana Baiul.Baiul's eyes teared. And Kerrigan just looked straight ahead."For me, in my mind and my heart, I thought I did [win]

HAMAR, Norway -- A silver. It was only a silver.Nancy Kerrigan had the medal around her neck. She put on a smile, put it on as big and broad as she could make it, but she could not hide the disappointment in her eyes.They were ready to play another country's national anthem. She was on the second step, and above her, on the first, was this 16-year-old girl from Ukraine, Oksana Baiul.Baiul's eyes teared. And Kerrigan just looked straight ahead."For me, in my mind and my heart, I thought I did [win]

HAMAR, Norway -- As much as the evidence points to such a conclusion, Nancy Kerrigan didn't get jobbed last night.You just can't say that.Yes, it was true that a clean sweep of judges from old Eastern-bloc nations gave Oksana Baiul of the Ukraine a blade-thin, politically suspicious win in the Olympic skating competition. But to cry foul is to cry that Baiul was the inferior skater, and that simply wasn't the case.Baiul is a skating Amadeus who stole Kerrigan's gold with a performance that will go down among the most remarkable in the annals of the sport, not for its quality so much as its resourcefulness.

HAMAR, Norway -- And now for the rest of the field.There is a teen-ager from Ukraine who rules the world, a leaper from France who is the toast of Europe and a young woman from China who is a picture of skating grace.Americans Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan are not the only women who could come away with the figure skating gold at the Winter Olympics.Remember the names Oksana Baiul of Ukraine, Surya Bonaly of France and Chen Lu of China during tonight's two-minute technical program. They each enter the competition with top-flight credentials and top-flight triples.

Did Nancy Kerrigan get a raw deal during and after February's Winter Olympics from judges and the media?That's the crux of a feature airing during the intermission of tomorrow night's conclusion of "Ice Wars: The U.S.A vs. the World" at 9 p.m. on CBS (Channel 11).Kerrigan lost the gold medal in Lillehammer, Norway, to Oksana Baiul of Ukraine by one-tenth of one point, the closest margin in Olympic skating history.The nine-minute feature includes a heretofore unseen super slo-mo replay of Baiul double-footing a triple toe loop landing, which should have counted for a deduction.

Nancy Kerrigan beamed. Oksana Baiul bawled. And Tonya Harding took a big wad of gum out of her mouth.So went the Olympic women's figure skating finals last night on CBS.Kerrigan took the ice at 10:38, the same time as on Wednesday. It was good enough for huge ratings that night, CBS must have figured, so let's do it again.Kerrigan skated a fabulous program, and announcers Scott Hamilton and Verne Lundquist gushed."She's grown so much as a skater, an athlete and a person this year," Hamilton said.

HAMAR, Norway -- Even now, there is uncertainty.The plot has twisted through practice rinks and courtrooms, tabloid pages and television studios, but finally, tonight, in a 6,600-seat chalet-style ice rink, the most coveted medal at the Winter Olympics will be handed out.They will skate for the women's figure skating gold at the Winter Olympics.Nancy Kerrigan, the leader from Stoneham, Mass., will be here.So will Surya Bonaly of France, in third.But what of Oksana Baiul, of Ukraine, the child star and reigning world champion who is currently second?