Alexei Urmonov's "Princess of Circus" Freeskate

Plagued by inconsistency and injuries over his career, Alexei Urmonov, the 1994 Olympic Champion, finally skated a solid freeskate at the 1996 Skate America competition in Springfield, MA. If you followed Alexei Urmonov's career over the years, you will understand how significant this clean skate was. In all the years I watched him compete, I can't remember too many clean performances. When Urmonov was on, you can really admire his jumping technique and athletic ability. Even though this "Princess of Circus" program isn't my favorite program, I appreciate Urmonov's technical elements in this piece. Despite being an Olympic Champion, Urmonov is one skater that the media never focused on. I can't remember seeing a single interview with him or reading any articles about him--and I watched every skating event on TV and read every article I could get my hands on, so that's saying something. Therefore, I know very little of this Russian champion. Lately, while watching skating videos from the mid-90s, I've become more curious about Urmonov and his place in history. One cannot deny his jumping abilities, but I often wonder what else he could have been capable of if perhaps guided differently from his coaches and choreographers? Of course, I don't know if Urmonov's flamboyant costumes and skating style was completely his choice, but something tells me that he was misguided, at least in part. There is much I could ponder about this oft-forgotten Olympic Champion, but for now, I'll just post this program as a tribute to what the 1994 Olympic Champion was capable of accomplishing when he was "on."