Melissa and Mark Militano at the 1971 Worlds with Eva Pawlik at the microphone

This is the translation of Eva Pawlik´s commentary (Eva Pawlik was the 1948 Olympic runner-up and Europe´s first figure skater to be a sportcaster on TV):

Now we shall see Melissa and Mark Militano´s free program. They are 16 and 17 yo, she is attending a high school, they come from Long Island, New York. They are coached by John Vann in Colorado Springs. They are the runners-up at the US Championships. At the last year´s Worlds they were successful and finished 8th. This year they are in the 7th place after their short program. ------ A great free program of Melissa and Mark Militano, with verve and spirit. On the one hand, they are very good skaters from a technical point of view. The thrown Axel was high, and the double loop was perfectly synchronal. On the other hand, they showed new choreographic elements. They tell that most pairs skaters have their own choreographers now. This trend cannot be reversed. The sport and the art have to be delicately balanced. The athletic side has no value without the artistic one and the other way round. - - Here are the marks for the technical merit: 5,5; 5,3 - that´s strange! This mark comes from East Germany. 5,6 from Great Britain, 5,6 from France, 5,6 from the United States, 5,6 from West Germany, 5,6 from Austria, 5,5 from Poland and 5,6 from the USSR. In the slow motion you can see the element in which she is in the air for a moment without being in touch with her partner. That´s an innovative idea. Now you can see the marks for the artistic impression: These marks aren´t high either: 5,4 from Switzerland, 5,4 from East Germany, 5,7 from England, 5,6 from France, 5,6 from the United States, 5,6 from West Germany, 5,6 from Austria, 5,5 from Poland and 5,5 from the USSR. The audience, too, does not agree with these marks at all.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Figure
• skating
• Worlds
• 1971
• Militano
• Eva
• Pawlik