WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN VANCOUVER 2001

Sasha Abt finished 8th at Worlds in Vancouver on Thursday (22 March). Unfortunaly, he was not able to perform up to his level in the free program and dropped from his sixth place spot after qualifying and short program. Sasha fell right away on his opening quadruple toeloop and then stumbled badly on his first triple axel. He managed a triple Lutz, but touched down with his hand on the second Axel. Sasha was able to pull himself together and produced a triple flip, loop, Salchow and toeloop in the second half of his program, but he visibly lacked strength. His marks ranged from 4.8 to 5.2 for technical merit and from 5.1 to 5.5 for presentation.

Alexander Abt sits in 6th after short at Worlds

Alexander Abt sits in 6th following the short program at Worlds in Vancouver (Tuesday 20). Skating last in the penultimate flight, Sasha pulled off a good performance that included a triple axel-triple toeloop combination, strong footwork and spins as well as a double axel. However, he twofooted the quadruple toeloop. Abt was placed 7th in the short but finished 6th overall and thus competes in the final group. He received 6, 7 and 8 place ordinals from the judges. His marks ranged from 4.9 to 5.3 for required elements and from 5.4 to 5.7 for presentation.

"It was ok. It's a shame that I two-footed the quad toe, but overall I steadied my position", Abt said after his performance. Coach Rafael Arutunian also was pleased with the outcome. "The Chinese skaters landed clean quads, it's normal that they are ahead of him", he said.

Sasha Abt 4th in Qualifying at Worlds

Alexander Abt finished fourth in his Qualfying Round (A) on Monday (19 March) at Worlds in Vancouver, Canada. He opened his "Gladiator" program with a slightly two-footed quadruple toeloop and went on to land six triples, including two Axels. He only doubled the Lutz. Sasha's marks ranged from 5.3 to 5.7 for technical merit and from 5.5 to 5.7 for presentation. He was placed fourth by five of the seven judges. The others had him 5th and 6th.

"I'm still not completely recovered from my sinus infection", Abt said following his performance. "I tried my best, and I think it was ok. For tomorrow's short program, I'll fight and I'll give it all." Sasha drew to skate last in the penultimate flight (start number 24).

 

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS IN BRATISLAVA 2001

Sasha Abt dropped to fourth at Europeans in Bratislava on Thursday (January 25). Still handicapped by his sinus infection, he was not able to produce his best and was fifth in the free skating. It is the second time in a row that Sasha came in fourth at Europeans. He fell on his opening quadruple toeloop and then on the triple lutz. He also stumbled badly on the second axel.

Overall he pulled off a clean triple flip, loop, salchow, but twofooted the axel in his triple-triple combinaion. Abt lacked energy throughout his program. He was totally exhausted afterwards.

Abt third in the Short Program at Europeans

Alexander Abt managed a decent Short Program at Europeans in Bratislava, Slovakia on Tuesday (January 23) night and placed 3rd. Although he still felt not very well, he produced a demanding program that featured a quadruple toeloop (slightly two-footed), a soaring triple axel-triple toeloop combination, a double axel as well as intriciate and innovative step sequences. One judge (from Belorus) had Sasha 2nd, and one put him 4th. The remaining ones voted for third place.

"I still don't feel well. It was hard to skate, it was terrible. It (the sinus infection) still hurts.", Sasha said immediately following his performance. "I think my skating tonight was ok. I tried my best. Maybe you know that I'm a bit sick, considering that it was ok", he explained at the press conference. "I'm feeling a bit better now."

Sasha Abt 2nd in Qualifying at Europeans

Sasha Abt placed second in his qualifying round (A) on Monday (January 22) in Bratislava, Slovakia. Fighting illness, Sasha was able to produce a decent performance. He touched down on the quad toeloop, but he pulled off seven triples, including a triple axel-triple toeloop combination. He only left out the Salchow and naturally skated somewhat careful and slowly. Sasha was totally exhausted after his performance. He is suffering from a sinus infection.

"He had a cold after New Year's day and was in bed for one week", coach Rafael Arutunian explained. "On Saturday, he woke up at 5 am and his cheek was all swollen. We  went to see the dentist, because we thought it's the tooth, but it's a sinus infection. He has a headache and throbbing pain. He took some antibiotics yesterday, but he wasn't skating well after this, it made him groggy. I thought he would stop after the quad, but he went on and did the whole program. Before he went out, we decided to go for everything. After the performance, he could barely walk to the dressing room. He can fight, he is used to all kind of trouble."

Abt was taken to hospital for further medical treatment. He was feeling better afterwards and is determined to skate in the Short Program on Tuesday.

Russian Nationals 2001

Sasha Abt took the bronze medal on Wednesday (December 27) at Russian Nationals in Moscow. He finished 3rd in the Free Program so that he dropped one spot after his second place in the Short Program. Abt had to skate last and right after Evgeni Plushenko who was brilliant. Sasha opened with a quad toe, which was followed by a triple axel-double toe, a triple lutz (slightly two-footed), and then he fell hard on his second triple axel. But he recovered to pull off three more triples. He only popped a planned triple toe at the end and stumbled on it. He had bumped up his speed compared to previous competitions. "It was hard to skate right after Zhenia. I saw all the 6.0s he got", said Sasha. "These were my hardest Nationals, because I hadn't skated too well at the Grand Prix events. I'm glad that it's getting better now. These Nationals were a very important competition for me."

Sasha Abt 2nd after the SP at Nationals

Sasha Abt finished second in the short at Russian Nationals on December 26 in Moscow. He produced a good performance that featured a triple axel-triple toe, double axel and slightly two-footed quad toeloop out of steps as well as a beautiful circular step sequence. His marks ranged from 5.5 to 5.7 (A) and from 5.7 to 5.8 (B). Sasha drew last to skate for the LP the next day.

 

Sparkassen Cup in Germany 2000

Sasha Abt finished just out of the medals Saturday (November 11) at Sparkassen Cup in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Sasha put in a much improved performance compared to Skate America two weeks ago. The Russian opened his "Gladiator" program with a quadruple toeloop, landes a triple axel-double toeloop and four more triples. He doubled the lutz, but his steps and spins were fine. However, Abt lacked speed. Of the nine judges, one (RUS) put him third and five had him fourth. The Japanese and Canadian judges voted for 5th place, while the German judge obviously disliked the program and placed Sasha 6th."This was a step up from Skate America", said Sasha. "I still have pain in my leg, and I got(painkiller) shots yesterday and today." Sasha remained optimistic. "Hopefully, I'll have two quads in my program by Nationals." Abt will now head to Cup of Russia next week in St. Petersburg, his additional events. He scored 9 points in the Grand Prix Series which will most likely not be enough to qualify him for the Final.

Skate America 2000

Alexander Abt finished fifth at Skate America on Sunday (October 29). He was able to pull up one place after the Short although he didn't skate his best. He started well with a quad toe (slightly two footed), but then fell on his triple axel. Sasha pulled off a triple Axel, loop and Lutz before tiring visibly. The high altitude affected him clearly. He ran out of gas completley  towards the end of his program, slowed down and doubled his Salchow and flip. He didn't complete any combination as required by the rules.
The "Gladiator" program looks very promising although it still lacked dynamic in Colorado Springs. Abt was disappointed with how the competition went. "It's a shame. If I had done two more triples..." he said referring to the fact that everyone else except for winner Timothy Goebel made mistakes. "I wasn't really ready yet for this competition", Sasha added. Skate America was his first competition this season and unfortunaly a points event for him. "It's was my coach's decision to score points here", he said

Sasha Abt came in 6th in the Short Programm at Skate Amercia on Friday (October 27) in Colorado Springs.

Abt presented his new programm to music by Armenian composer Ara Gevarkian for the first time in competition. He fell on his opening quadruple toeloop and had trouble holding on the landing of his triple axel, so that he only added a double toe after step. His circular step sequence looked a bit slow, but his spins as well as his double axel were fine. Sasha's marks ranged from 4.7 to 5.0 for required elements and from 5.4 to 5.7 for presentation. Abt was not available for comment after the competition. Skate America is a scoring event for the Russian skater.

 

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN NICE 2000

After a rather disappointing free program, Alexander Abt dropped to a sixth place finish at Worlds in Nice on Thursday (March 30). He opened his popular Irish program with a slightly two-footed quad toe and a triple axel-double toe, before he ran into serious trouble. Abt fell on his second axel and doubled the lutz before he recovered to land a triple loop and salchow, but he also didn't land the flip cleanly. He obviously ran out of steam after the first minute. The judges punished Abt severly and he plummeted to a 12th place finish in the free program. However, his results from the qualifying and the short kept him in sixth overall.

"I was really tired", Sasha said later. "He just didn't have enough strength to skate three programs", added his coach Rafael Arutunian. "They should change this qualifying system. The strong skaters shouldn't have to need to qualify." It wasn't a great night of skating in Nice. All skaters in the top group struggled and made mistakes.

Abt skates wounderful short program and
sits in 5th before the free at Worlds

Alexander Abt produced a wounderful short program Tuesday night (March 28) at Worlds in Nice to place 4th in this part of the event and 5th overall. He landed a triple axel-triple toe, triple lutz, double axel and executed well centered and fast spins. His expression, flow and speed was impressive. Sasha received three third place ordinals (from Great Britain, Australia and Japan), but four judges had him fourth and two placed him as low as fifth.

"It was a tactical decision not to risk the quad", he said. "I'm very happy with my program." He walked away even before the second marks were read. "I don't really care too much about them"; he explained. "To me, it was important to have done a clean program."
Sasha now has 3,6 points and still a shot on the bronze medal. He drew to skate third in the final flight of the free program Thursday night.

Alexander Abt robbed in qualifying round
at the 2000 World Championships

Alexander Abt skated a very good qualifying round Monday morning at Worlds in Nice (27 March), but he was robbed and only placed 3rd. Sasha had to skate in the first group of round B, shortly after 10.00 a.m., but he produced a fine performance that included a quadruple toeloop, a triple axel-triple toe combination (stepped a bit out of the axel), another axel and four more triples (the flip was two-footed though). The quad was slightly touched down according to the referee of the competition, but to most observers it looked clean. Although his competitors made mistakes and especially Evgeny Plushenko, who had to skate first in the group, did not show his best, Abt only got two first place ordinals (from Germany and France), while the Czech and Bulgarian judges put him only sixth!

"This performance was good for the qualifiying round", said Sasha. "I landed the quad for the first time this season in competition. I don't know if I should have placed ahead of Plushenko, because I didn't watch him skating." Reigning World Champion Alexei Yagudin had watched some of the qualifying round B (he competed in A and won) and remarked that "some of the judging was strange".

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS IN VIENNA 2000

Sasha Abt finished 4th at the Europeans in Vienna, Austria (February 6 to 13) on Thursday night. He pulled up one spot with a solid performance that was marred by three errors. Sasha fell on his opening quad toe, but then recovered to land a beautiful triple axel-triple toe combination and another triple axel. He stumbled on lutz and flip, but did a clean loop and salchow.

The crowd enjoyed his step sequences on Irish Folk music, his speed and his spins. Sasha lost in a split decision to Ukrainian competitor Dmitri Dmitrenko who beat him in the second mark thanks to a beautiful program.
Sasha wasn't too pleased with his skating. "He skated well and he did a lot better than in the short", commented coach Rafael Arutunyan.

Sasha Abt 5th after Qualifying and short program at European Championships

Alexander Abt sits in fifth place after the qualifying round and the short program at the European Championships in Vienna, Austria (February 6 to 13). In his qualifying round on Monday, Sasha finished second. He stumbled on his quadruple toeloop and on the triple toe in his axel combination. Sasha landed a perfect second triple axel and three more clean triples, but he two-footed the lutz. His spins and steps were well executed, and the spectators liked the routine to Irish Folk Music. Sasha's presentation marks ranged between 5,3 (from the Danish judge) and 5,8 (from the Austrian judge). "Well, this was so so", Sasha commented. "Unfortunaly, I didn't land the quad cleanly. That's a shame. However, overall it was ok."

Abt drew to skate second in the last warm up group for the short program on Tuesday. He had a rough start when he landes a wobbly double toe after his triple axel. His hopes for a good placement shattered as he popped his planned quad toe. The overall quality of the program (excellent speed, fast spins, intriciate footwork and a clean double axel) was still good, but Sasha only was placed 6th in this portion of the event and was fifth in the combined result. He was very disappointed. "I'm sorry", he apologized to his fans.

 

ISU GRAND PRIX FINAL IN LYON 2000

After the second and third round at the Grand Prix Final, Sasha Abt finished fourth overall Saturday night (January 15) in Lyon, France. He started off well in the Short Program with a triple axel-triple toeloop and went for the quad toe which he two footed. A clean double axel, fast spins and steps completed the package. Sasha was fourth in the Short, but stayed in third thanks to his first Free Program in the first round. In the super final that determined the third and fourth place, Abt skated against Timothy Goebel. He stepped out of the triple axel in his triple-triple combination in the beginning, and he slightly two footed the quad, but then he ran out of steam, doubled the second axel and the lutz. He recovered towards the end, doing a triple flip and triple salchow, but touched down on the loop. "I thought I was dying out there. It was really hard for me to skate two programs in one day. However, I'm not too upset about the program", Sasha said.

Sasha Abt third after the first round at the Grand Prix Final

Sasha Abt sits in third after the first round of the Grand Prix Final in Lyon. In the first Free Program on Friday, Sasha started well with a stunning triple axel-triple toeloop combination, but unfortunaly faltered a bit then. He doubled his planned quad toe and stepped out of the second axel. He even slipped on the landing of the triple loop. Overall he landed five clean triples, but he skated a bit slow. The 23-year old from Moscow was lucky since his competitors (except for Evgeni Plushenko) didn't skate much better.
"Well, I tried", said Sasha. "It's a wonder anyway that I'm here, and I'm happy to skate in this prestigious competition."

Sasha Abt to compete in the Grand Prix Final in Lyon!

Sasha Abt will compete in the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Lyon (January 14 to 16). Originally, he was not qualified after the Grand Prix Series, but he was first substitute. When World Champion Alexei Yagudin officially withdrew on Monday (January 10) due to medical reasons, Sasha was nominated as the replacment.

The Final has a new format this season. All skaters will skate a free program first and then a short program. After this, the top four skaters advance to the final round (superfinal) and will skate a second free program. There, number one and two skate head to head for Gold and Silver, while number three and four skate for bronze. Skaters placed fifth and sixth don't advance to the final round.

All participants of the Final receive an extra bonus of US Dollar 10, 000. The prize money ranges from 50,000 US Dollar for a first place down to 5,000 US Dollar for a sixth place.

 

RUSSIAN NATIONALS 2000

Sasha Abt won the Bronze medal at Russian Nationals Friday night (24 December) in Moscow. Although he didn't skate his best, he was able to pull up one spot after the Short Program. Sasha stepped out of his first triple axel, but added a double toe. He also two footed his quad toeloop, but he landed another triple axel, a triple loop and a triple salchow. At the end, he doubled the flip. He also stumbled on his step sequence, but overall his presentation to Irish Folk Music was very good.

His marks ranged from 5.3 to 5.6 for technique and from 5.6 to 5.7 for presentation.

 Sasha Abt 4th after the Short at Russian Nationals

Alexander Abt finished 4th in the Short Program Thursday night (23 December) at Russian Nationals in Moscow. Sasha was ripped off by the judges. He completed a triple axel-triple toeloop combination, fast steps and spins and a double axel. He only stepped out of the quadruple toeloop. However, the skater who was placed third didn't even attempt a quad and barely landed a triple axel-double toeloop combination. Sasha's marks were as low as 5.1 for technique.

"That's Russian Nationals", he said. "Well, we'll skate again tomorrow." Coach Rafael Arutunyan was clearly upset. "What else do we have to do?" he said in disbelief.

CUP OF RUSSIA 1999

Sasha Abt won the Silver Medal at Cup of Russia (November 24 to 28) in St. Petersburg. He defended his second place after the short program with a clean performance, that included a perfect triple axel-triple toe combination. Altogether, Sasha landed six triples, he just doubled the flip and twofooted his quad toe slightly. The crowd cheered him on throughout the performance to Irish tunes from "Lord of the Dance". Sasha was pleased with his skating. "I always want to give the best. Today, I did 70 percent, and I still have 30 percent to add", he said.

  Sasha Abt 2nd after the short at Cup of Russia

Sasha Abt finished second in the Short Program at Cup of Russia on Thursday night. He completed a triple axel- double toeloop combination and a double axel, but he just two-footed his quadruple toe out of steps. The Short to last year's music "Movement No 3" was very fluid and contained many steps and turns. Also the spins were well executed. Two judges (Canada and Hungary) placed Sasha first, while the Japanese judge had him fourth and the Bulgarian had him third. The remaining three judges put Sasha second.
"Considering this was only my second competition, it went quite well. Of course, I wish, I had done a clean quad", Sasha commented.

SKATE AMERICA 1999

Sasha Abt came in 7th at Skate America in Colordao Springs (October 29 to 31). He managed to pull up one place after the short, but in fact could have placed even higher. He presented his new free program to "Lord of the Dance" and other popular Irish music. Unfortunaly, Sasha stepped out of his triple axels twice and two-footed the quad toe, but he pulled himself together and reeled off four clean triples after this. He interpreted the music very well, especially at the beginning and at the end when he did his step sequences right on the point.
The marks were all over the place, ranging from 4,9 to 5,4 (technical) and from 5,1 to 5,5 (presentation). Two judges placed Sasha 5th, three had him 6th, but two also 7th. Strange enough, he also got a ninth and a tenth place.

 

GRAND PRIX FINALE IN ST. PETERSBURG 1999

Alexander Abt finishes 5th at the Grand Prix Final

Alexander Abt unfortunaly dropped one place to finish 5th at the ISU Grand Prix Final. He fell twice on his attempt on the triple axel, landed a two-footed quad toe and altogether four triples. He failed to complete any combination in his routine. His marks for technical merit were as low as 5.2 and 5.3, and not much higher for presentation (5.3 to 5.5). In order to be ready for the final, Sasha had trained a lot after he recovered from his knee surgery in december. "He was burnt out and tired", coach Rafael Arutunyan said. Additionally, the skaters' preparation was handicapped by quarrels about ice time at his local rink in Moscow. His coach is hoping now to find a new training base abroad, probably in the USA.

Alexander Abt 4th after the short in St. Petersburg

Alexander Abt is sitting in 4th after the short at the Grand Prix Final on Friday (March 5th) in St. Petersburg. Sasha completed a clean triple axel-triple loop combination and thus had the most difficult combination of the day. However, he twofooted the quad toe and was penalized harshly by the judges. His marks ranged from 5.3 to 5.6 (A) and from 5.6 to 5.8 (B). The German judge Volker Waldeck put Sasha first. Sasha skated last in the short but drew to skate first for the long on Saturday.

 Sasha Abt withdrew from Russian Nationals 1999

Sasha Abt had to withdraw from Russian Nationals (January 4th to 7th). He had to undergo knee surgery on December 13th because of a meniscus problem in his left knee. He already had surgery on his right meniscus three years ago. The meniscus started to bother Sasha in fall and the problem became worse after Cup of Russia end of November where he already was handicapped after he had twisted his foot in practice prior to the event.
Abt came back on the ice on December 24th, but according to his coach Rafael Arutunian Nationals come far too early for him. Sasha hopes now to get back into good shape for the Grand Prix Final in march in St. Petersburg.

CUP OF RUSSIA 1998

Sasha Abt won the bronze medal at Cup of Russia in his hometown and thus qualified for the first time for the ISU Grand Prix Final in St. Petersburg next march. Unfortunaly, he was handicapped by an injury sustained just days prior to the competition when he twisted his right foot practising a quad toe. Because of this injury, Abt did a triple toe out of steps in the short, but still tried his triple axel/triple loop. He nearly fell on the loop but was 3rd. In his free program, he managed to hold on to this position in spite of a fall on the triple flip.
Because of the pain in his foot he didn't go for the triple lutz and replaced the loop in his combination to do a triple axel/double toe. Sasha had to fight the pain in his program but had more speed and power than some other skaters. "I skated virtually on one led only", Abt said. However, he and his coached were very pleased with the result under these circumstances and were happy to qualify for the final.

In the free program (last seaon's "Songs from the Victorious City") Alexander threw everything in he had, and this time his triple axel-triple loop was fine. He also did a quad toe (again two footed according to the ISU replay), another triple axel (overrotated) and four more triples. He only doubled the flip. The original program was fast and powerful. The marks ranged from 5.7 to 5.8 (A) and 5.6 to 5.8 (B). Many observers from the German press thought Abt would have deserved to win the competition, but the judges awarded the Gold medal to his compatriot, World Champion Alexei Yagudin.
"Alexei Yagudin is a strong competitor and skated very well", Sasha said. "It was the judges' decision." He was happy with his performance.

 

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