FIGURE SKATING / WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS : Trenary Gets Big Lead in Compulsory Figures; Ito Drops to 10th

The Midori Ito dynasty that was predicted for women’s figure skating might have come to an inglorious end Wednesday only one year after it started.

Japan’s Ito, who won the 1989 World championship as a 19-year-old, had one of the worst experiences with ice since the Titanic, finishing 10th in the compulsory figures at the Dartmouth Sportsplex.

Three-time U.S. champion Jill Trenary, who seemed resigned earlier in the week to placing second behind Ito, won the figures, which count toward 20% of the final score, and emerged as the clear favorite to win the championship.

Even if Ito’s technically superior freestyle skating earns her first places in the final two phases of the competition, she cannot win unless Trenary falls below third place in both. Considering the lack of depth in women’s skating, and the composure the 21-year-old Trenary displayed last month in winning the U.S. championship, that is unlikely.

It was the last stand for compulsory figures, which have been eliminated from future competitions, and they went out dramatically. If they did not absolutely determine which skater will win, then they might at least have determined which one will not.

Yugoslavia’s Zeljka Cizmesija skated the final figure, for which she was honored with a bouquet of roses, a box of chocolates and a standing ovation from a crowd of about 400.

It was difficult to determine whether to interpret the cheers as tribute to figures, which have been an important part of the sport since the beginning, or as good riddance. Johnny Esaw, the figure skating commentator for the Canadian Broadcasting Co., said he has three descriptions of figures: “Dull, dull and dull.”

But Ito threatened to make them exciting, almost stumbling on the second of two figures. One of the nine judges gave her 25th place, out of 29, for that one. Ito finished sixth on the first figure and 14th on the second figure for 10th place overall. She was sixth in figures last year, when she won the championship.

“Midori was out of control out there,” said Carlo Fassi, who coaches Trenary in Colorado Springs, Colo. “I don’t know why. She can do figures. I think she was nervous. Last year, everything she did was wonderful. This year, there was more pressure on her.”

Trenary, from Minnetonka, Minn., finished first on the first figure and second on the second to Holly Cook of Bountiful, Utah. Cook is fourth overall. Natalia Lebedeva of the Soviet Union is second, and Patricia Neske, who is from Hawthorne but represents West Germany because both of her parents are from that country, is third. Kristi Yamaguchi of Fremont, Calif., is ninth.

Fassi said the challenge facing Trenary is to maintain her concentration. He spoke as if the only one who can beat Trenary is Trenary.

“I’m a little concerned,” he said. “She likes to be the underdog, the one who fights for the title. She has to go out and attack. If she sits back, she could be in trouble.”

Trenary, third in the World Championships last year, said she will not alter her freestyle programs to protect her lead.

“It would be deadly for me to start focusing on how big a lead I have,” she said. “I came in here being the underdog. Everything I’ve heard is that (Ito) is totally superior to everybody else, which is easier for me to handle. I don’t want to be the total favorite.”

Fassi said he and his wife, Christa, will do nothing to disturb Trenary’s emotional balance.

“We do nothing,” he said. “We only stay away. We make no arguments. We’ll tell her she looks wonderful, she has a nice dress.”

In the men’s competition, the Soviet Union’s Viktor Petrenko moved into first place, but it took an exceptional original program, after judges gave defending champion Kurt Browning of Canada generous scores at the Halifax Metro Centre.

Browning left out one required element and had a poor landing on a double axel, but he received high marks, including one perfect 6.0 for artistic impression.

Petrenko then landed two triple axels and skated flawlessly. He received two 6.0s for artistic impression.

U.S. champion Todd Eldredge, who trains in San Diego, moved into third place overall, barely ahead of West Germany’s Richard Zander, who grew up in Huntington Beach. Christopher Bowman of Van Nuys is fifth.

Either Petrenko or Browning probably will become the champion after tonight’s freestyle program.