'Evening with Champions' brings together old, new (10/8/13)

'Evening with Champions' brings together old, new

Protopopovs once again grace Bright Center ice; Flatt debuts new short

At "An Evening with Champions," held Oct. 5 and 6 at Harvard University, venerable stars shared the ice with promising newcomers. The show, now in its 43rd year, has raised more than $2.6 million for the Jimmy Fund, the fundraising arm of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

To the delight of the crowd, Ludmila and Oleg Protopopov, the 1964 and 1968 Olympic pairs champions, returned to the show. Now 77 and 81, they can no longer do the death spiral they invented, but they still skate with classic elegance. They have only missed two shows since 1989.

"We will continue as long as possible," Oleg said.

"If everyone likes it, it's good for us," Ludmila added. "All our lives [the fans] supported us, and we cannot stop."

World champion Kimmie Meissner, skating to "Follow You, Follow Me," included double Axels and a triple toe. The Haydenettes performed their new short program, to Mercan Dede's "Ab-i Hayat." Reigning world junior champion Joshua Farris skated to "Feel Again" by One Republic; he landed a triple loop and a huge triple toe, as well as a huge triple Axel as his encore.

Rachael Flatt, now a junior at Stanford, performed a new short program to Barber's Adagio For Strings, which she choreographed herself. She toned down the difficulty a bit for the spotlights, but she performed a couple of good triple loops.

Flatt also choreographed her new free skate, to Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2.

"With these [programs] being my first that I've done the choreography for, it's definitely a unique experience and I really love it," she said. "Honestly, the primary goal this year is just to stay healthy. That's been a huge struggle the last couple of years."

Flatt is looking forward to competing this season, but she doesn't have specific placement goals.

"I mean, I would love to make the Olympic team again, but at this point I'm just focusing on finishing this year out strong and having fun and coming back to enjoy it," she said.

Nathan Chen got a huge ovation for his program to "Home" by Phillip Phillips. The 14-year-old landed an easy double Axel, triple flip and triple Lutz in both shows.

"It's my first time in Boston," he said. "Harvard's great! I'd love to study here."

Chen said that the ankle injury which plagued him last year is completely healed and he is looking forward to competing at the Junior Grand Prix Final.

"Everything is on track," he said. "There's no set expectations; hopefully, I'll make top three."

Chen said his goal for the U.S. championships is to be named to the world junior team.