Yagudin wins figure skating short program

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Alexei Yagudin got a leg up on Evgeni Plushenko in a battle of Russian rivals Tuesday night, winning the short program in men's Olympic figure skating.

Regarded as one of two gold medal favorites, Yagusin overcame a minor miscue and built an edge over second-place Takeshi Honda of Japan and third-place Timothy Goebel of the United States. Plushenko fell early in his program and placed fourth.

"That's just the beginning," Yagudin said. "The landing after the first combination was a little shaky, but after that, it was perfect."

If one of the top three competitors wins the free skate on Thursday, he will claim the gold medal.

A trio of big names did not fare as well, including two-time defending silver medalist Elvis Stojko of Canada, who stumbled on a landing and placed seventh.

Americans Michael Weiss and Todd Eldredge were eighth and ninth, respectively.

The reigning world champion, Plushenko would need a lot of help to overtake Yagudin, who has topped the Grand Prix standings the last three seasons.

Since Yagusin's move to the United States, Plushenko has become the best skater in Russia. He also took Yagudin's former coach, Alexei Mishin, who has said Plushenko is the better skater.

"I'm really happy with the job I've done," Yagudin said. "I don't care about Plushenko, only myself. I just try to relax and be ready to skate perfect."

Yagudin proved Mishin wrong at the 2000 World Championships, where he admitted the sentiments of his old coach motivated him. He remains motivated in Salt Lake as he tries to improve on his fifth-place showing at Nagano in 1998.