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They began lining up over an hour early Thursday to meet
Alexei Yagudin, the men's figure skating gold medalist fresh
from Salt Lake City, during his official homecoming at the
Connecticut International Skating Center in Newington.
Families packed the lobby at Yagudin's home ice, clutching
newspaper clippings showing the Russian skating champion
kneeling, taking a moment on the ice after his
gold-medal-clinching free skate.
"I came to get Alexei Yagudin's autograph because he won the
Olympic gold medal for the U.S.," explained Kirsten Raynock,
8, of Newington.
"No, he won it for Russia," corrected her mother, Pam.
It's an easy misunderstanding, considering area figure
skating fans have adopted Yagudin, 21, as one of their own.
Originally of St. Petersburg, Russia, Yagudin has been
living in the United States for four years. He relocated to
the area two years ago to train at the Newington skating
center, and he moves well between his native and adoptive
language.
"The United States was helping me get ready for the
Olympics, even if I won the title for Russia," Yagudin said
before the masses of photo- and autograph-seeking fans would
overwhelm him.
"In the United States there were people who supported me a
lot and that's what they've done," he said.
Yagudin was appreciative of the hometown support, even
through the hard times and a major championship drought last
year.
"The reason why I cried in the end [of the free skate] was
because I just remembered, pictured all of my life. There
was 17 years in figure skating that I was just getting
through, not just the good times but through the bad times
too, the hard times. I was so stressful last year because of
the Olympics. That's why I couldn't hold my tears. I just
began to cry because I know how hard this medal was for me
and how hard the way was. I'm in a good dream," he said.
Thursday evening, more than 150 area fans returned the
favor, happy to show Yagudin how much they appreciated his
talent and perseverance, not to mention his looks.
"He's a really cute guy," said Samatha Horan, 12, a recent
transplant to the area. "I shook his hand. I'm not taking
any more showers."
"He's so easy to approach. He's the nicest to talk to," said
Krista Flanigan, 9, of Wethersfield.
Indeed, event organizers had hoped to stave off
autograph-seekers until after a brief ceremony honoring
Yagudin and his Canadian ice-dancing colleagues Shae-Lynn
Bourne and Victor Kraatz, who also train at the skating
center and live in the area.
But all it took was one eager photo-seeker for a throng of
mostly female fans to form around Yagudin, and delay the
ceremonies slightly.
Once under way, Deputy Mayor John Kelly presented
proclamations honoring Newington's Olympic skaters.
"We were lucky to train in such a great place," said Bourne,
who along with Kraatz finished fourth in the Olympic
ice-dancing competition. "Everyone here has been such a
support."
Yagudin said the publicity surrounding his Olympic gold has
been new and exciting, having already made the obligatory
visit with Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show." He has an on-line
chat with USA Today Friday before traveling to Canada next
week for a performance.
This week Yagudin, Bourne and Kraatz were also honored at
the state Capitol in Hartford by Gov. John G. Rowland.
Yagudin was hesitant to talk about any future plans, or
whether the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy was on his
radar screen, saying he's just getting used to being an
Olympic champion.
"I slept with this medal for the first five days," he said.
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