Olympian Eldredge joins Stars on Ice lineup

Skating champion Todd Eldredge's recent Olympic experience was a great one, even though he didn't win a medal.

''I had a lot of fun during the games. It was amazing to be there. Obviously, I didn't end up with the result I'd hoped for, you make one mistake... but that's the way it goes. Even with the disappointment, it was still wonderful to be there.''

A six-time U.S. National Champion, Eldredge also took the gold at the World Championships in 1996. During his career, he's won more than 30 international medals, including five coveted Skate America Championships.

With the Olympics behind him, the respected athlete has joined the Target Stars on Ice tour, playing tonight at Firstar Center.

''Just being at the Olympics is a thrill,'' said the soft-spoken athlete. ''It was awesome for all of the American athletes, especially this year with the games being held in this country.

''Being from the U.S. and having the crowd let go of some of the Sept. 11 thoughts and just focus on something like the games - all the athletes and their stories - it was a good thing, not just for the participants, but for everybody in the audience and everyone sitting at home watching it on TV as well.

As a three-time Olympian, the Cape Cod native was one of a select eight athletes chosen to carry the World Trade Center flag into the stadium during the opening ceremonies.

''For me, that was the best moment at the Olympics. Being selected to carry the World Trade Center flag was such an honor - a tremendous honor.

''It was such a weird feeling when we walked in and the entire audience became silent,'' he continued. ''You had 50,000 to 60,000 people there but you could hear a pin drop in the place. It was amazing - to see that kind of respect paid to that symbol. That's why it was important to have it there and why carrying it meant so much to me.''

Although the men's competition wasn't marred by the judging scandals that rocked the games on what seemed like a daily basis, Eldredge sees a possible benefit to the sport made because of them.

''In my career I've seen both sides of the coin,'' said the champion. ''We've all been the victim of judging one night and the beneficiary on another. I've skated well and not won sometime and skated less than my best but still come out ahead. You realize that that is an element of the sport because it is a judged sport. You have nine opinions up there and no two of them see the same things on the ice. That's just the way it goes.

''One thing that was good about the fact that that did happen, there are more people aware that the possibility of that happening is out there. And I think that is good. Hopefully they can, I don't want to say police it, but maybe govern it so a few people can't predetermine the outcome. For them to keep a closer eye on it and maybe stop it before something like that happens again.''

He also pointed out another bonus to the unfortunate situation.

''It's also possible that - at the end of the week, when Sarah (Hughes) obviously skated the best skate on that night - she ended up winning the long program and eventually overall. They got that one right,'' he said, ''so hopefully that's a sign of what's to come.''

Eldredge joined the Stars cast immediately following the Winter Games. And although he was a veteran in Salt Lake, he's the new kid when it comes to the tour.

''Yep, I'm the new guy,'' said Eldredge. ''Imagine being a rookie at 30 years old. But it's great for me to join these guys. I've got a lot of really good friends on the tour. I've known most of them for a long, long time and to get to travel and perform with them is just a great experience. We have a lot of fun.''

When asked about his part of the show, the newly turned professional replied,

''Unfortunately, I'm not incorporated into a lot of the show because I joined halfway through the tour. The group numbers they do were already choreographed without a spot for me. But I do two solo numbers including the one I did as my long program at the Olympics. It's been scaled back a bit because the ice is smaller and we've included some things to make it a little more entertaining for the crowd. My second one is from 'Moulin Rouge.' And I'm in the finale as well.''

Although Eldredge enjoys competing and plans to continue as a pro, he admits there is a sense of freedom in being part of a purely theatrical program.

''This is so much more relaxing than competitive skating,'' he said. ''You're out there for the audience. You're there because you want to skate and because you want to give them a great show - to make it exciting and fun for them. You go out and just enjoy yourself because the odds are if you have a good time the audience will too.

Created by skating great, Scott Hamilton, and now in its 16th year, the current tour of Target Stars on Ice will feature Olympic champions Tara Lipinski and Kristi Yamaguchi as well as Russia's Ilia Kulik and two-time Olympic winner Katarina Witt of Germany who is rejoining the Stars cast after a four-year absence.

Other returning artists include four-time Canadian and World Champion Kurt Browning, three-time U.S. National Pair Champions Jenni Meno & Todd Sand, Olympic silver medalist and two-time world professional champion Denis Petrov of Russia and eight-time British National Champion Steven Cousins.