Olympic Glory for Alexei
After finishing in fifth at the Nagano Winter Games Alexei was determined to add an Olympic medal to his European Gold. His short program used “Winter” by Bond, familiar to those who saw Alexei in action at the European’s. But it was the free program which astounded the spectators at the Salt Lake Ice Center. For many, the performance, to the soundtrack of The Man In The Iron Mask was the highlight of the games, and left judges in no doubt that Yagudin should claim the 2002 men’s Gold.
At the Gala, Alexei skated to Michael Nyman’s “Overcome”, and in true Yagudin style, was the only skater to have a costume change before returning for an encore!
He beat off fellow Russian Evgeni Plushenko and American teenager Timothy Goebel to win the most coveted prize in world skating. Alexei was awarded straight 5.9’s for technical merit, and 5 5.9’s and 4 6.0’s for presentation on the free program. On seeing the marks he broke down in tears and was congratulated by coach Tatiana Torasova.
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Music
In the short programme Alexei used "Winter" by Bond, which is featured on their album "Born". Music for the free programme was from the soundtrack to the 1998 version of The Man In The Iron Mask. The soundtrack is available on BMG records.
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Born
Man in the Iron Mask
