ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, March 21, 1996               TAG: 9603210023
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: EDMONTON, ALBERTA 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

STOJKO HAS ROUGH DAY ON HOME ICE

Forget the home-ice advantage.

To the dismay of his legion of fans and to the shock of his peers, two-time world champion Elvis Stojko fell Wednesday during the short program at the World Figure Skating Championships. That opened the competition, and the Russians and Americans seized the opportunity.

Russian Ilia Kulik and 1994 Olympic champion Alexei Urmanov were first and third, respectively. In second place was Todd Eldredge of Chatham, Mass., while U.S. champion Rudy Galindo continued his sensational season with a solid performance that placed him fourth heading into tonight's free skate. Consider Stojko, the idol of millions in this nation, eliminated from title contention and a long shot even for a bronze medal.

The short program, worth one-third of the total performance, won't win the championship for a skater, but a subpar performance can lose it. Stojko's only hope is for a bronze medal, and that is unlikely. ``There's always that possibility,'' Stojko said of still having a chance for a medal, despite being seventh. ``I've had some rough skates before, but you can always learn from it.''

Stojko went down on his second jump, the crucial triple axel combination. The crowd let out a collective gasp.

``I was really shocked,'' said Eldredge, who skated superbly just ahead of Stojko, nailing all of his elements with flair. ``I was saying it was the first time I've seen Elvis miss anything in a short program.''

The rest of Stojko's routine was flat. And the judges agreed, particularly on the technical marks, which ranged from 5.1 to 5.4 out of 6.0, unusual territory for Stojko.

Eldredge, meanwhile, barely missed passing Kulik, who skated second and saw his marks hold up, an unusual occurrence in the short program. Eldredge, a three-time U.S. champion and world runner-up in 1995 was first with four judges. Kulik got the other five.

Russia's Marina Eltsova and Andrey Bushkov won the pairs competition, with Americans Jenni Meno and Todd Sand rallying for a bronze medal.

Eltsova and Bushkov, fourth at the European championships and second in three other events this year, finished first with four judges Wednesday night.

Germany's Mandy Wotzel and Ingo Steuer, leaders after the short program, took the silver for the second time in four years.

Three-time U.S. champions Meno and Sand held onto their bronze of 1995 by moving up from fifth place after the short program. They hit all of their major elements and the only bobble came when she skipped a double loop in the middle of a jump sequence.

LENGTH: Medium:   58 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:   AP Reigning world champion Elvis Stojko of Canada spins
          during a combination jump in his short program at the World Figure 
          Skating Championships in Edmonton, Alberta.