Posted on 03/29/2004 8:03:08 AM PST by alisasny
Mar. 28, 2004. 09:26 AM
JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/GETTY IMAGES A man identified as Ron Bensimhon of Montreal makes a spectacle of himself at worlds yesterday.
Black mark for Canada Montreal man dressed in tutu takes spin on ice Japan's Arakawa pulls off shocker, wins women's gold
ROSIE DIMANNO SPORTS COLUMNIST
DORTMUND, GERMANY—Canada may not have won any medals but it earned a cameo flash of notoriety at the world figure skating championships.
Missing on the medal tote board, present on the police blotter, some dork in a tutu reported to be a Canuck penetrated security during the women's final yesterday. He was escorted off the ice in mid-strip, trailing bits of clothing, only his back bared to display the dot.com address of a betting Web site.
He was identified as Ron Bensimhon, 30, of Montreal.
That became, unfortunately, the focus of the story on a final day of competition that featured several compelling narratives: Japan's first gold medal for women in a decade, just the third ever; yet another mini-choke for American spitfire Sasha Cohen, pushed down to silver; and a typically bold bid that ended in bronze for the extensively decorated Michelle Kwan.
The quasi-streaker was not funny, not in an era of terrorism concerns. German officials were inundated with questions about lax security at the Westfalenhallen arena, an issue that had been raised earlier by U.S. media. There were no metal barriers at the rink and accreditation was rarely checked backstage.
Kwan was the skater on the ice, preparing to start her program, when the interloper somehow made it over the boards, springing out of a spectator box.
He was later charged with a misdemeanour and released by police.
"At first I thought it was a big flowergirl,'' said Kwan, referring to the youngsters who skate around the ice collecting flowers and stuffed animals thrown out by fans. "Then I thought, `Hey, he might have a gun,' so I rushed off the ice. Who cares about concentrating on the long program when you might have someone shooting at you?
"When I looked back, he was starting to take his clothes off.
"Usually I don't worry about security. But something could have gone really, really wrong. You think about 9/11 ...
"He was crazy but, thankfully, he wasn't that crazy.''
The goof removed, Kwan relaxed, even laughed at the spectacle. Though officials offered to give her extra preparation time, suggesting they might flood the ice again to settle everyone down, Kwan declined.
Skating third to last, there was no mathematical possibility for the five-time world and defending champion to grab a sixth title. And because no subsequent competitor overtook either Cohen or the Japanese leader, Shizuka Arakawa, only bronze remained within Kwan's grasp. She'd been fourth after the short program, her marks downgraded by technical deductions assessed for a program that had run two seconds longer than permitted.
The 23-year-old, competing in her 11th worlds, was sublime, the only error a late triple Lutz turned into a double. For an artistically exquisite program performed to Tosca, Kwan received half-a-dozen perfect 6.0s in presentation. They were the last 6.0s on the day and probably, with a new scoring format likely to be adopted by the International Skating Union this summer, the final 6.0 ever to be seen in competition. And that's fitting. Kwan now has racked up an even 50 sixes on her resumé.
Arakawa, ranked merely third inside Japan, earned a 6.0 of her own on the technical ledger. The 22-year-old was indeed technically stunning, skating to Puccini's Turandot, ringing off a triple-triple-double combination and another triple-triple. There were no perceptible flaws.
The Tokyo native has enjoyed a spectacular week in Dortmund, winning her qualifier and placing second in the short. Only three months ago, Arakawa changed coaches, putting herself in the hands of the formidable Tatiana Tarasova. "I thought, Mrs. Tarasova is a world champion-maker.''
Arakawa was 13th at the Nagano Olympics but then drifted from the scene for several years, preoccupied with other interests. At worlds a year ago, she finished eighth. Yesterday, she appeared stunned by her triumph. "This is like a dream for me.''
Cohen, despite winning the Grand Prix final this year, is developing a reputation for minor collapses in the crunch, which is how she lost the national title to Kwan in January.
Yesterday, the fiercely ambitious 19-year-old appeared to have the world championship sewn up. But, deep into her program, she popped out of a triple salchow and then two-footed it to boot.
"I had a really wacky takeoff and wasn't able to keep my balance.''
Canada's Joannie Rochette made an impressive advance in Dortmund, leaping up to eighth place, a full nine spots higher than her worlds debut a year ago. She even caught a 5.9 presentation mark from one judge.
"I never thought of doing top 10 here, I just wanted something better than 17th,'' enthused the 18-year-old Montreal native.
Rochette fell on her opening triple loop but was error-free through the rest.
What I found so alarming was that this guy could get on the rink so easily. It was scary and he could have killed the skater had that been his intent.
| JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/GETTY IMAGES |
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| A man identified as Ron Bensimhon of Montreal makes a spectacle of himself at worlds yesterday. |
Just damn.
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Sports that have flowergirls are somehow defective. Ditto for sequins.
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