Summary

A special presentation in which dance teams and figure skaters compete for world championship titles in Edmonton, Canada. First, the final segment of the free dance section of the dance competitions is shown. This part includes the following performances: Renee Roca and Gorsha Sur (the silver medalists of the United States National Championships) skate to "The House of the Rising Sun" and receive technical marks ranging from 4.8 to 5.1 and artistic marks ranging from 4.9 to 5.2; Jerod Swallow and Elizabeth Punsalan (the gold medalists of the United States National Championships) skate to a medley of music including "Forever Tango" and "St. Louis Infirmary" and receive technical marks ranging from 5.2 to 5.4 and artistic marks ranging from 5.4 to 5.6; Marina Anissina and Gwendal Feizerat (French National Champions) skate to South American music by Xavier Cugat and receive technical marks ranging from 5.5 to 5.7 and artistic marks ranging from 5.6 to 5.8; Oksana Grishuk and Evgeny Platov (Russian National Champions) skate to "Muchachita" and receive technical marks ranging from 5.7 to 5.9 and 5.9 for all artistic marks; Angelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsiannikov (Russian Silver Medalists) skate to Russian folk music, and receive technical marks ranging from 5.7 to 5.8 and artistic marks ranging from 5.8 to 5.9; and Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz (National Champions of Canada) skate with a substantial amount of hydro-blading to a medley of songs including "The Wind," and receive technical marks ranging from 5.6 to 5.8 and artistic marks from 5.7 to 5.9. In addition, throughout the competition Dick Button comments on the different styles of the skaters, explains how Gwendal Feizerat and Marina Anissina became partners, and notes the strength of the Russians in pair competitions. Also shown is an interview with Swallow and Punsalan in which the two discuss how their relationship in real life affects their work on the ice and an interview with the Russian skaters, who discuss how their lives have changed since they moved to the U.S. The next segment is the women's free skate. This part includes the following performances: Tonia Kwiatkowski (the silver medalist of the U.S. National Championships) skates to "Day One" and music from the film "Blade Runner" and receives technical marks ranging from 5.1 to 5.4 and artistic marks from 5.4 to 5.6; Krisztina Czako (the Hungarian National Champion) skates to "Kalinka" and "Russian Gypsy" and receives technical marks ranging from 5.1 to 5.5 and artistic marks ranging from 5.1 to 5.4; Elena Liashenko (the Ukranian National Champion) skates to "Le Cid" and receives technical marks ranging from 4.7 to 5.2 and artistic marks ranging from 4.7 to 5.3; Surya Bonaly (the French National Champion) rewrites her program as she skates to music from "Swan Lake" and receives technical marks ranging from 5.6 to 5.8 and artistic marks from 5.5 to 5.8; Hanae Yokoya (the Japanese silver medalist) skates to music from "Japanese Chronicle" and her scores are not shown on screen. Also shown is the free skate of thirteen-year-old Tara Lipinski (the bronze medalist of the U.S. National Championships), who had a disastrous short program that left her in 23rd place. Her technical marks ranged from 5.3 to 5.4 and her artistic marks ranged from 5.2 to 5.4. Other highlights include: an interview with China's Chen Lu and her coach Li Mingzhu, who talk about why Chen is training in the United States; an interview with Wang Ying Fu, the general secretary of Chinese skating, who discusses the limited resources in China; Dick Button's comments on Midori Ito's health; and the commentators' thoughts on the training conditions for skaters who live in European countries.

The competitors who won the top six positions in the short program now skate in the free skate. This part includes the following performances: Irina Slutskaya (the silver medalist in the National Championships in Russia) skates to a medley of American musical numbers and receives technical scores ranging from 5.7 to 5.8 and artistic scores ranging from 5.6 to 5.8; Chen Lu (National Champion of China) skates to Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 and receives technical scores ranging from 5.8 to 5.9 and artistic scores from 5.8 to 6.0; Midori Ito (National Champion of Japan) skates to music from "Cinderella" and receives technical scores ranging from 5.3 to 5.6 and artistic scores from 5.3 to 5.6; Tanja Szewczenko (the silver medalist of Germany) skates to music from "Miss Saigon" and receives technical scores ranging from 5.4 to 5.7 and artisitic scores from 5.4 to 5.7; Michelle Kwan (the National Champion of the United States) skates to music from "Salome" and receives technical scores ranging from 5.8 to 5.9 and artistic scores ranging from 5.9 to 6.0; and Maria Butyrskaya (National Champion of Russia) skates to "Malaguena" and receives technical scores ranging from 5.4 to 5.6 and artistic scores ranging from 5.5 to 5.8. Also included is a review of the key moments of Michelle Kwan's career. Includes commercials.