International Skating Union

Officials of the International Skating Union have banned Surya Bonaly from doing a back flip in practice for the women's figure skating.The jump is not allowed in competition, although Bonaly, the only black skater, uses it in exhibition routines and did it twice in her first practice.Technical delegates of the ISU warned Bonaly's mother and coach, Suzanne, that the jump "intimidates and bothers" the other skaters.

Kimmie Meissner prepared for the worst and got the best. The former world and national champion from Bel Air suffered through a disastrous season last year that ended with a painful hip injury, and she figured the best she could hope for was a single Grand Prix competition this fall leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Instead, the International Skating Union gave her two: the Rostelecom Cup in Moscow on Oct. 15-18 and the NHK Trophy in Nagano, Japan, on Nov. 5-8. "I wasn't really paying attention.

Kimmie Meissner prepared for the worst and got the best. The former world and national champion from Bel Air suffered through a disastrous season last year that ended with a painful hip injury, and she figured the best she could hope for was a single Grand Prix competition this fall leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Instead, the International Skating Union gave her two: the Rostelecom Cup in Moscow on Oct. 15-18 and the NHK Trophy in Nagano, Japan, on Nov. 5-8. "I wasn't really paying attention.

TURIN, Italy -- When others fell, Shizuka Arakawa did not, allowing the Japanese skater to win her country's first medal at these Olympics and avert a Russian sweep of the figure skating events. Arakawa performed her long program last night with speed, grace and power, finishing with the highest scores for both technical prowess and artistry. Kimmie Meissner of Bel Air, skating in her first Olympics, finished sixth. For Arakawa, a woman on the brink of retirement a year ago, it was a satisfying ending.

In the new world of Olympic figure skating, Kristi Yamaguchi can still skate for cash and medals.Just not all at once.Yesterday, Yamaguchi, the 1992 Olympic women's gold medalist, announced that she will make her professional debut at the DuraSoft World Professional Figure Skating Championships at the Capital Centre in Landover on Dec. 12.Five nights later, she will appear in the DuraSoft Challenge of Champions at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, Calif.And,...

ALBERTVILLE, France -- So what's next for Kristi Yamaguchi?Should she turn pro? Should she remain a competitive skater? Should she do both?There are decisions to make for this new ice queen.Friday night, in the tensest, fiercest competition of the Winter Olympics, Yamaguchi became the first American woman to win the ladies' figure skating gold medal since Dorothy Hamill in 1976.Oh, she stumbled. But it doesn't really matter, now. She has the gold, a medal that may be worth millions."At this moment, I don't know what to expect," Yamaguchi said yesterday.

TURIN, Italy -- When others fell, Shizuka Arakawa did not, allowing the Japanese skater to win her country's first medal at these Olympics and avert a Russian sweep of the figure skating events. Arakawa performed her long program last night with speed, grace and power, finishing with the highest scores for both technical prowess and artistry. Kimmie Meissner of Bel Air, skating in her first Olympics, finished sixth. For Arakawa, a woman on the brink of retirement a year ago, it was a satisfying ending.

As the police continue to allege unseemly ties between a Russian linked to organized crime and figure-skating judges at the Salt Lake Winter Games, the stunned caretakers of the sport wonder if it can survive a scandal that could expose widespread corruption. The plot that Tonya Harding hatched with a band of Keystone thugs to whack Nancy Kerrigan left audiences riveted, but the possible infiltration of organized crime into figure skating threatens to disengage audiences, to scare away future Olympians and to suspend the sport as an Olympic competition, skating officials agree.

The Olympic gold medal in women's figure skating won't shine quite as brightly this year in Turin. Sure, the classy Irina Slutskaya deserves to feel the ribbon around her neck as she stands on top of the podium next month. And maybe the always-a-bridesmaid Sasha Cohen will add another silver to her collection. But the most-watched event at the Winter Games won't have the world's hottest figure skater on the ice. Without Mao Asada, the competition will have all the punch of a 40-watt bulb in Yankee Stadium.

MOSCOW - Now that a Russian has been charged with trying to fix two Winter Olympics skating events, many Russians are reacting with outrage - not against the alleged wrongdoer but against his American accusers. A Russian linked with organized crime interfering with the Olympics? How could it be? "In the times of the Soviet Union," Vladislav Shchitnikovich, a prosperous young trader in eggs and dairy products, observed yesterday, "nobody would dare to speak against us. And it was clear and evident for everybody that the Soviet school of figure skating was the strongest in the world.

Even now, say Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, it's "weird" to talk about how their performance four years ago in Salt Lake City became the catalyst for sweeping changes in the world of figure skating. Even stranger is that the two Canadians work for one of the main whistleblowers in the controversy and skate alongside the other couple dragged into the scandal that ended with Olympic officials deciding there would be two winners in the pairs competition. "Nobody could have ever prepared for that, and ... even now, bringing it up four years later, it's so hard to believe that, wow, we went through that," Sale says.

The Olympic gold medal in women's figure skating won't shine quite as brightly this year in Turin. Sure, the classy Irina Slutskaya deserves to feel the ribbon around her neck as she stands on top of the podium next month. And maybe the always-a-bridesmaid Sasha Cohen will add another silver to her collection. But the most-watched event at the Winter Games won't have the world's hottest figure skater on the ice. Without Mao Asada, the competition will have all the punch of a 40-watt bulb in Yankee Stadium.

MOSCOW - Now that a Russian has been charged with trying to fix two Winter Olympics skating events, many Russians are reacting with outrage - not against the alleged wrongdoer but against his American accusers. A Russian linked with organized crime interfering with the Olympics? How could it be? "In the times of the Soviet Union," Vladislav Shchitnikovich, a prosperous young trader in eggs and dairy products, observed yesterday, "nobody would dare to speak against us. And it was clear and evident for everybody that the Soviet school of figure skating was the strongest in the world.

As the police continue to allege unseemly ties between a Russian linked to organized crime and figure-skating judges at the Salt Lake Winter Games, the stunned caretakers of the sport wonder if it can survive a scandal that could expose widespread corruption. The plot that Tonya Harding hatched with a band of Keystone thugs to whack Nancy Kerrigan left audiences riveted, but the possible infiltration of organized crime into figure skating threatens to disengage audiences, to scare away future Olympians and to suspend the sport as an Olympic competition, skating officials agree.

NAGANO, Japan -- What does progress sound like?Clap-clap-clap.That's the new sound -- and controversy -- to hit speed skating at the Winter Olympics, as the athletes prepare to lace up their "clap skates" and lay waste to the record books.With a hinge and a spring, the clap skate has triggered a technological revolution in a sport still tethered to the ideal of Hans Brinker gliding along frozen Dutch canals.And although everyone accepts that the clap skate is here to stay, not everyone is thrilled.

Officials of the International Skating Union have banned Surya Bonaly from doing a back flip in practice for the women's figure skating.The jump is not allowed in competition, although Bonaly, the only black skater, uses it in exhibition routines and did it twice in her first practice.Technical delegates of the ISU warned Bonaly's mother and coach, Suzanne, that the jump "intimidates and bothers" the other skaters.

NAGANO, Japan -- What does progress sound like?Clap-clap-clap.That's the new sound -- and controversy -- to hit speed skating at the Winter Olympics, as the athletes prepare to lace up their "clap skates" and lay waste to the record books.With a hinge and a spring, the clap skate has triggered a technological revolution in a sport still tethered to the ideal of Hans Brinker gliding along frozen Dutch canals.And although everyone accepts that the clap skate is here to stay, not everyone is thrilled.

Even now, say Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, it's "weird" to talk about how their performance four years ago in Salt Lake City became the catalyst for sweeping changes in the world of figure skating. Even stranger is that the two Canadians work for one of the main whistleblowers in the controversy and skate alongside the other couple dragged into the scandal that ended with Olympic officials deciding there would be two winners in the pairs competition. "Nobody could have ever prepared for that, and ... even now, bringing it up four years later, it's so hard to believe that, wow, we went through that," Sale says.

In the new world of Olympic figure skating, Kristi Yamaguchi can still skate for cash and medals.Just not all at once.Yesterday, Yamaguchi, the 1992 Olympic women's gold medalist, announced that she will make her professional debut at the DuraSoft World Professional Figure Skating Championships at the Capital Centre in Landover on Dec. 12.Five nights later, she will appear in the DuraSoft Challenge of Champions at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, Calif.And,...

ALBERTVILLE, France -- So what's next for Kristi Yamaguchi?Should she turn pro? Should she remain a competitive skater? Should she do both?There are decisions to make for this new ice queen.Friday night, in the tensest, fiercest competition of the Winter Olympics, Yamaguchi became the first American woman to win the ladies' figure skating gold medal since Dorothy Hamill in 1976.Oh, she stumbled. But it doesn't really matter, now. She has the gold, a medal that may be worth millions."At this moment, I don't know what to expect," Yamaguchi said yesterday.