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Soviet Out-Skates Champion

Source: San Francisco Chronicle, Ed: Final, Sec: Sports, P. D3
Date: March 8, 1990

Copyright 1990 The San Francisco Chronicle

Halifax, Nova Scotia - Soviet Viktor Petrenko rocked like Elvis, shimmied like Little Richard and out-skated Canada's defending world champion Kurt Browning yesterday to forge a second-round lead in the World Figure Skating Championships.

Petrenko's thoroughly entertaining and authentically Western-style original program, skated to a medley of American blues and rock-and-roll tunes, seemed to catch both judges and a Halifax Metro Centre audience off-guard.

So did his obvious technical superiority -- but not because his abilities had been underrated. Petrenko, 20, a two-time world and Olympic bronze medalist, has been considered one of the world's top skaters since he placed fifth in the world championships in 1986.

What left both the judges and the crowd in a quandary was the timing of Petrenko's program. It came immediately after Browning earned a standing ovation, one perfect 6.0 score and an array of 5.8s and 5.9s for a bluesy, jazzy program to Joe Jackson songs.

Browning's scores were warranted. He did two clean triple Axels, one of them in combination with a double jump, and skated and spinned with his usual speed and precision.

He was impressive, but Petrenko was simply better. The Soviet also did two triple Axels, but combined one of his with a triple toe loop. The Soviet also was more expressive in his rock choreography. He got two 6.0s, one 5.8 and the rest 5.9s. Either skater can win the gold medal by winning today's free-skating finale.

Earlier, an obviously nervous defending world champion Midori Ito of Japan bobbled herself into a hole that leaves the women's title Jill Trenary's for the taking.

Trenary, three-time U.S. champ and world bronze medalist last year, moved smoothly to first place in what was the final compulsory-school-figures competition in world-championships history. Ito made a mess on the second of two mandatory variations of the figure eight and finished 10th in the first-round standings. Kristi Yamaguchi of Fremont also struggled with one of her figures and finished ninth.

In pairs competition last night, Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov of the Soviet Union won their fourth title in five years despite a poor performance. Canadians Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler surged from fourth to win the silver medal. The bronze went to Soviets Natalia Mishkutenok and Artur Dmitriev.

Yamaguchi and San Jose's Rudi Galindo, two-time American champions, were fifth, the same as last year.