Old rock-'n-roll wins for Yamaguchi, Browning

Copyright 1997 the Associated Press. -- All Rights Reserved

It was a major retro-rock-'n-roll night at the World Professional Figure Skating Championships.

Kristi Yamaguchi skated and shimmied to Elvis Presley's ''Trouble'' to win the women's title for a fourth time Saturday, while Kurt Browning gyrated to the Commodores' ''Brick House'' to take the men's crown for the third consecutive year.

''With that music, you have to have a certain attitude,'' Yamaguchi said of her routine that earned all 9.8s and 9.9s. ''I was having fun out there.''

The pairs event was won by Radka Kovarikova and Rene Novotny, who also won the title two years ago. Renee Roca and Gorsha Sur were first-time winners of the dance.

If the music itself provided flashbacks, Browning's routine only added to the sense of deja vu. He also skated to ''Brick House'' when he won two years ago, but he performed the rerun flawlessly, hitting four triple jumps in a program that shows off his astute dancing ability.

After winning last year, Yamaguchi apologized to the crowd for what she considered a substandard effort. This year, she held such a huge lead after a superb technical program Friday night that she was able to retain her crown Saturday even though she did as much dancing as skating landing only one triple jump in between her Elvis-style movements in a short, 2:10 program.

''I missed my last jump tonight,'' Yamaguchi said of a stumble that forced her to abandon a triple toe loop. ''But overall I was a lot happier with both of my performances. I couldn't have skated a lot better. The technical side only counted 40 percent (tonight), so I concentrated on the artistic.''

Her marks placed her ahead of Ekaterina Gordeeva, who had another fine skate to complete her best competition as a singles skater. Her flowing, etherial routine to Brazilian classical music ended with her hands pointed to the sky, a reference, she said, to a ''flying soul.'' She earned five 9.9s for artistic impression.

''It feels better when you're landing your jumps,'' said Gordeeva, whose pairs partner and husband, Sergei Grinkov, died of a heart attack two years ago. ''It makes me feel more like a singles skater.''

Third went to Denise Biellmann, followed by Nancy Kerrigan, Josee Chouinard and Oksana Baiul. Baiul, after an embarrassing technical program Friday night, came back strong with a sassy routine to ''All That Jazz.''

''I was very, very, very, very, very, very, very nervous,'' Baiul said of her Friday skate, when she crossed herself and seemed close to tears before her program. ''I was there, but I wasn't. ... I felt uncomfortable.''

It was Baiul's first major competition since a car accident in January had her considering retirement, but she was able to control her nerves Saturday and finished with a huge smile.

''I realized I could do it,'' Baiul said. ''I was really enjoying it. I was smiling. I was skating for myself.''

Second to Browning was six-time champion Brian Boitano, who skated masterfully to the ''Shenandoah-They Call the Wind Mariah'' medley. But he was unable to make the gap between him and Browning after his third-place finish in the technicals.

Rudy Galindo, who performed an imaginative routine in a red clown outfit essentially skating pairs with a hula-hoop was third, ahead of Victor Petrenko and Eric Millot.

Kovarikova and Novotny's lovely, romantic piece included an unusual death spiral in which she placed her hand on his foot, and their marks were all 9.8s and 9.9s.

The Czech couple's season seemed in doubt when Novotny broke his left index finger in August. He was unable to lift his partner for six weeks, but he was able to launch her into a throw triple toe loop with no problem Saturday.

Roca and Sur were the only dance pair to stick somewhere close to the concept of ice dancing: Their sensual dance to ''Maria'' from West Side Story was more technically demanding and earned two perfect 10s.