Browning Receives Break From Judges, Petrenko Leads in World Figure Skating

Copyright 1992 The San Francisco Chronicle

In a guide to figure-skating competition, it says that to understand scoring, you need to know that 1 means very poor, 2 means poor, 3 means mediocre, 4 means good, 5 means excellent and 6 is perfect.

That said, the performance of four of nine panel judges yesterday afternoon in the World Figure Skating Championships was no better than 1.

Canadian Kurt Browning, a three-time world champion, did not complete one of the required elements in his original program. Yet he was awarded a 5.9 -- a tenth of a point from a perfect score -- for technical merit from a Canadian judge.

It also says in the rules that there is a mandatory half-point deduction for missing any one of eight required moves in the original program. Four of the nine judges didn't deduct that amount from Browning's technical marks.

Entering today's 4 1/2-minute, free-skate final, Olympic gold medalist Viktor Petrenko of Ukraine is in first place, Czech Petr Barna is in second place, Browning is third, and Canadian Elvis Stojko is fourth. U.S. skaters Todd Eldredge and Christopher Bowman are fifth and sixth, respectively.

The judges can't hide from their flagrant kowtowing to the world champion, thanks to Eldredge. A former U.S. champion from Massachusetts, Eldredge simplified the equation by missing the same move as Browning. Both skaters didn't do the triple jump. Both doubled, instead, but only Eldredge was penalized accordingly.

Having to face the same set of judges today, Eldredge was understandably understated when discussing yesterday's competition. "I was hoping that maybe the judges would have blinked, but they didn't."

The night program demanded a pause to appreciate perfection, and thankfully, a different panel of judges was on hand to do just that. The skating of Natalia Mishkutienok and Artur Dmitriev last night was sublime. The pair, of the former Soviet Union, easily defended its world pairs title and pushed the boundaries of beauty with a performance that commanded four 6.0s. Mishkutienok and Dmitriev cast a spell over a nearly sold out Coliseum Arena that wasn't broken until an extended standing ovation was complete.

Canadians Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler seemed shaken, performing immediately after the former Soviets, and Brasseur fell twice. They dropped one place, taking a bronze medal, and Czechs Radka Kovarikova and Rene Novotny won the silver medal.

Americans Calla Urbanski and Rocky Marval remained in seventh place, and compatriots Natasha Kuchiki and Todd Sand dropped to eighth.

Browning wasn't available for comment when the men's competition ended. After all, he can't be blamed for being unjustifiably rewarded his skating.

While Petrenko skated an almost seamless performance -- the same one he used in the Olympics -- to the music from "Carmen," Barna looked as good. In fact, a German judge gave the Czech the only 6.0 of the championships so far, for his artistic interpretation.

Bowman, who skated early in a field of 35 and had to reduce his triple Lutz/triple toe loop combination to a triple Lutz/double toe loop for fear of crashing into the boards, said, "Time is on my side" for today's final. He'll skate last, a position for which most skaters hope when they draw for their order.

It's a "continuing saga," Bowman said of sometimes-dreadful judging that detracts from figure skating. "Today, you saw what Petrenko can do, you saw what Barna can do, you saw what Browning can do . . . or can't do."

Browning got to the top "by digging his blades and fingernails in our faces," Bowman said. "As a figure-skating competitor, he's strictly ruthless."

No one gets high marks for being a nice guy, said Eldredge. "You've got to go out there and attack.