Todd Eldredge's "First Knight" program from the 1996 World Championships has always been one of my favorites. In part because Todd has always been on my short list of favorite skaters, so anything he does is pretty darn good in my book, but this particular program is the perfect blend of his athletic and artistic ability, and is just plain wonderful!! I love the music, the tension, the drama, and Todd's soaring, smooth jumps, fast spins, and choreography are perfectly timed to the accents of the music. This is the kind of performance that every skater dreams of!
I can remember watching this performance on TV back in 1996. I was in sixth grade and was doing my homework on the living room couch. I remember being so excited that Todd was delivering this performance of a lifetime. This is the kind of performance you can really get behind!! I can't recall for sure, but if my reactions then were anything like they are now when I watch epic performances, I probably lept off the couch and gave Todd a standing ovation! After Todd's competitive fall-from-grace in the early 1990s, 1995-96 marked his impressive comeback, and this incredible freeskate elevated Todd to the title of World Champion!
It was impressive that Todd could deliver this grandiose performance after coming off an uninspired second-place finish at Nationals two months before, where he lost the National title that he had fought so hard to regain from Scott Davis the year before, and was defeated handily by Rudy Galindo. Galindo, a former 2-time pairs champion with Kristi Yamaguchi had struggled to find his place in the skating world after Yamaguchi left their partnership to focus on singles skating (which obviously proved to be a good choice for her, as she won Olympic gold soon after splitting). Galindo knew he'd never find another partner like Kristi, so he focused on singles skating, too, but never finished higher than fifth at the Nationals. He also experienced a variety of personal and competitive hardships that made him an emotional and sentimental favorite with his the skating world, and his hometown crowd of San Jose, California, where the championship was held. Galindo delivered a show-stopping freeskate and won the U.S. title--an enormous victory for himself, and for everyone who had supported him throughout his career. What a moment!! It's certainly one of the most emotional and memorable moments in U.S. skating history, at least for me.
It must have been that unexpected loss to Galindo that fueled Todd to regroup, refocus, and deliver a Blockbuster freeskate to the music from "First Knight," a movie-starring Richard Gere, at the World Championships in Edmonton, Alberta Canada. Todd became the first U.S. Men's World Champion since Brian Boitano's 1988 victory. Skating to a movie soundtrack, something Todd is known to do, paid off big-time in this case, as Todd won the part he had always wanted: that of the skating World's leading man! (Incidentally, Todd was the only U.S. man to win World gold until Evan Lysacek did in 2009 when the World's were held in L.A.)
Please sit back, relax, and enjoy Todd's brilliant "First Knight" freeskate! I LOVE it! If this doesn't make you leap off your couch and cheer for Todd, then what will??
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