I just watched Todd Eldredge's bronze-medal winning performance from the 2001 World Figure Skating Championships in Vancouver this morning on VHS and clapped at the end of the program! Not that it's unusual for me and my family members to give Todd a standing ovation--he's always been a favorite of ours. We root for the underdog and for the guy who displays persistence and heart in difficult situations. Todd's career was an up-and-down one, marked by disappointment at 3 Olympic Games, but also marked by many memorable victories, including 6- U.S. titles, 6-World Championship medals, one of which was a gold in 1996. Through all the ups and downs, my family, and hundreds of other fans, supported Todd and cheered him on. In all the years of watching Todd's skating, I never once saw him display anything but good sportsmanship and sincerity.
When my family and a family friend went to see the 2002 Stars on Ice tour in Wilkes Barre following the Salt Lake City Olympics (where Todd had finished a heartbreaking 6th in his last chance to win an Olympic medal. He had fallen in the short program, but came back with a fantastic freeskate to "Lord of the Rings" two nights later), he skated an exhibition to "Your Song" from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack and then his Olympic freeskate. Both times, Todd earned a thunderous standing ovation that began well before his performances ended! I will never forget the energy in the building and the admiration we all felt for Todd. Despite never winning a medal at the Olympics, none of us loved his skating any less.
Todd knows how to build a program and finish with momentum, speed, and excitement. That's one of the best parts of his skating--he knows where to place his highlight moves on just the right notes of music, and always closes his programs with split jumps and his trademark blurring combination spin at the crescendo of the music. You have to appreciate the quality of his skating and his ability to rise to the occasion under the pressure of competition.
The significance of Todd's "clutch" performance at the 2001 Worlds means a lot more if you consider that he had been out of eligible competition for the two seasons prior to this World Championship. It can be exceedingly difficult to take any time off in the skating world and expect to return in peak competitive condition. The 2001 Worlds was Todd's comeback performance on the road to making a bid for the following year's U.S. Olympic team. He was also the oldest man in the competition, skating here at the age of 29. The two skaters that finished on the podium with him, Evgeni Plushenko, the gold medalist, was 18, and Alexei Yagudin, the silver medalist was 20. Todd's bronze-medal was a wonderful accomplishment, and I for one, think he should have finished second! In any case, this was a great moment in his career and is among one of my favorite of Todd's competitive freeskates.
Enjoy Todd's 2001 Freeskate to "1492"!!
Todd's "1492":
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