Overcome - Lausanne 2002

... Alexei is introduced to the crowd ...

C : Well talking about quality of skating - this man is supreme in that department. He had just a spellbinding short programme. Not clean in the long. Showing that he's vulnerable but what a talent. European champion - Alexei Yagudin.

... music starts and Jen and sister Lil are looking at each other saying "why is he skating to that?!" This music has been the theme tune for our national lottery for years so it was funny ... anyway, so Alexei's skating ....

N :OH! A quadruple toeloop!! Just to say "yes, I CAN do that and by the way, I'm doing it under spotlights as well ... with no warmup!" Woah!! "And don't think I'm suspect on that move - OK?!" Triple axel ... you know people talk after the championships but they also talk after the exhibitions. This man is putting down a marker. He's not holding back here.

.... oh dear. Ice. Alexei on the ice. Major oh dear ....

N : And you can see the lights moving across the ice. When that happens when you jump it feels like the floor's moving underneath you. That makes it very difficult. And he still does the most difficult, technical elements.

... will you shut up Nicky! I'm trying to concentrate on the very serious and ... em ... artistic( ) interpretation ...

N : The flying snow, the trademark in the short programme. Nearly said the slow programme! Which is a masterpiece of choreography.

... triple flip, triple toe, loop ... grinning at the steps AAH!

N : And what a showman! He's done literally hundreds of shows across America now and around the world. Growing all the time.

... spins ... ends ... that was good

C : Yes, the message is loud and clear! The performance in the free programme may have been just a little bit of a blip but he'll be there in Salt Lake City and he'll be the man to beat.

N : What he's saying is "Right, who's coming second?"

C : Yes, he's not going for a silver medal.

N : He's *not* going for a silver medal!

C : By any stretch of anybody's imagination.

N : Wow! A lot of skaters do take it easy for the gala. But Tatiana Tarasova knows, she's a master of strategy from way back and she'll have been part of that. "You do some elements out there. You just show what you can do." Wow. Impressive!

C : He's just a superstar.

... slow mos ...

C : Well I don't think I've ever seen an exhibition, *ever*, with so much technical content. Look at this quadruple toeloop. No warmup, spotlights, lights moving, party last night! (Nicky laughs) It doesn't add up does it!? There's the axel.

N : (in awe) He was out of the spotlight! His head was out of the spotlight because of the height of that and the spotlight operators here, bless 'em, are a little bit all over the place, and his head actually went out of the beam and then came back into the beam and he's going three and a half times around in the air and he *still* lands it and bangs it!!!!

C : He could do it in the dark!!

N : (laughing) He's just awesome!!

C : I tell you what - it's just an inner feeling he has. It's incredible. He's been skating since he was four and a half years of age. In fact he started skating because his mum sent him down the ice rink to get him out of the house, get him out of the way, keep him quiet!!

N : (steps on screen) And look at this - he knows how to hold a crowd. It's not that technically difficult to do that, but, you know, he sells it in such a way that it's awesome!

... and they don't show the encore - not impressed.