Sunday, March 23 - Pairs Free Program Practice
The Eventful Streets of Washington, D.C.
Group 3 was first up. The only skaters in attendance were Maria Guerassimenko and Vladimir Futas of Slovak Republic and Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin of Russia. Before they took the ice, I had seen Tatiana and Maxim over in a corner behind a barricade practicing lifts and other elements off ice. I had walked over to the section of seats in that least inhabited section of the Convention Center to get a close up look and take some pictures. They finished practicing shortly after I arrived to take notes and went backstage to get ready to take the ice.
I hadn't eaten a decent meal all day since I was so fixated on the skating at the MCI and Convention centers, so I decided to skip the rest of the pairs practices and head over to my hotel to put together something to eat. I pulled up into the lobby of the hotel and followed a group of people into a very crowded elevator. I was one of the last people to get on. I turned to my right, and there was Evgeny Plushenko leaning against the rail of the elevator in a red jogging suit. I was a little surprised to see him there because I wasn't staying at the official skaters' hotel, but maybe some press and coaches stayed here. He was on the elevator next to a man that seemed to be speaking in Russian whose voice was the only one heard on the ride. There were about eight other people on the elevator, so I didn't attempt to say anything to Evgeny. The next thing I knew, the elevator had stopped on my floor, and I happened to be the first person to get off.
After I ate, I was headed back through the lobby of the hotel and going through the revolving doors out onto the loading/unloading deck. Whizzing right past on the street in front of the hotel was a caravan of about sixteen policemen on motorbikes. The sirens were blaring, and I heard some loud pops that I initially thought were gunshots. I made an about face and ran right back through the revolving door and into the lobby to sit down. Actually, I didn't know if I should've ducked and dropped to the pavement first. I looked around, and no one else seemed to be alarmed. On second evaluation, it was possible that the loud pops were backfiring from the motorcycles. Anyhow, it was a scene that I didn't want to be in, so I thought I could reflect in the lobby for five to ten minutes or so. Up until this point, I was never scared to come to D.C. Yes, the war had broken out just days before I left, and the questions swarmed around the skating world and fans if Worlds would go on. However, I figured no U.S. city was 100 percent safe in this day and age. So, why stay at my city at home because I could still be at a city well alert, and I would continue with plans as long as the event would go on.
Things seemed to settle down outside, and I set out on the trek back to the MCI Center to catch the end of the Men free skate practice. I found myself almost by the Chinatown main gate. What do you know, but coming toward my direction pulling the carry-on and wearing the red Team Canada jacket was Shae-Lynn Bourne. She wore sunglasses and walked nonchalantly down the streets of D.C. The funny thing was I had just walked right through the makings of a cat fight between two women waiting for the bus. It was a verbal spat at that point, and Shae-Lynn was headed directly toward them. Then, after I crossed the street and passed the McDonalds that was connected to the MCI Center, I saw Olivier Schoenfelder in regular clothes walking toward my direction on the sidewalk. I did attempt to say hi, but I don't think he heard me at all. As I neared the main ticketing entrance of the MCI Center, I saw Maya Usova in a long tan coat talking in a group that included Elena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov. It was just skater city all the way from the hotel through the main gates of the MCI Center.
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