Yamaguchi Leads; Judges Get Low Marks : Figure skating: Controversy flares as sub-par performances by Kerrigan, Harding are seemingly overlooked.

Kristi Yamaguchi, who had to go halfway around the world to learn how much she was appreciated at home, was the best figure skater Saturday in the World Championships.

About that, no one could argue--not the judges, not the other competitors, certainly not an Oakland Coliseum Arena crowd of more than 11,000, including hundreds, perhaps thousands, of her family members, neighbors and friends from the Bay Area.

About virtually everything else, everyone argued.

The controversy in the women’s original program centered on the judging, which seemed particularly erratic, even for figure skating. The benefactors were the other two U.S. skaters, Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding, who, despite significant errors, will enter today’s freestyle program in third and fourth place, respectively, behind Yamaguchi and China’s Chen Lu.

It was the second time within three days that the judging has been under a microscope. In the men’s original program Thursday, Kurt Browning of Canada, who eventually won the silver medal, was obviously overscored by a Canadian judge.

But no one could blame nationalistic fervor for the generous marks awarded to Kerrigan and Harding because there was no U.S. representative on the nine-judge panel.

Gilles Beyer, who coaches Laetitia Hubert of France, was particularly critical of Harding’s scores. Hubert, who is in fifth place, is one of two skaters, along with Josee Chouinard of Canada, who, based on their performance of the elements required in the original program, should have been ranked ahead of the two Americans.

“It was a game of placements,” Beyer said. “In the States, (the judges) wanted to support Harding. Objectively, Laetitia was third. It’s a shame.”

He had an ally in one of Kerrigan’s coaches, Mary Scotvold, who said: “The judging was horrible. I would have been very happy with fifth place, but not if it was behind Harding. Laetitia was third.”

Both Hubert and Chouinard, who is in sixth place, skated relatively clean 2 1/2-minute original programs, which neither Kerrigan nor Harding did. Kerrigan almost fell before completing the second jump of her required combination, and Harding turned her planned triple jump into a double and did not even attempt a combination.

As required, the judges gave them low scores for their required elements but propped them up with high marks for presentation. That is not unusual for Kerrigan, who is known for her style, but it might have been the first time Harding has ever received better scores for art than for athleticism.

The only skater who received higher marks for artistic impression was Yamaguchi, who was typically brilliant. Seven of the nine judges gave her scores of 5.9 on a 6.0 scale for presentation.

Although Yamaguchi appeared as calm as usual, her coach, Christy Ness, said that the Olympic champion has been under stress because she is competing so near her hometown of Fremont, Calif.

“She loves being here in the Bay Area, but it’s also really emotional for her,” Ness said. “She didn’t realize that so many people here knew who she was, much less liked her skating.

“She knew she was known in the skating world, but, to realize that she’s also known outside the skating world, it’s a different feeling for her. She wishes she could sign autographs for everyone who asks for one. But, when you’re in the middle of a competition, you can’t just stand there after practice for an hour or two and sign.”

With Olympic silver medalists Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay of France retired from amateur competition, the first three places in ice dancing were swept by the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Olympic gold medalists Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko won, receiving 5.9s from all nine judges for artistic impression.

Maia Usova and Alexander Zhulin were second, with Oksana Gritschuk and Evgeni Platov third.

U.S. champions April Sargent-Thomas and Russ Witherby were ninth, with Rachel Mayer and Peter Breen finishing 15th.

Notes

Christopher Bowman of Van Nuys, who injured his left knee during Friday’s freestyle program while on his way to a fourth-place finish, is not expected to perform in tonight’s exhibition. X-rays revealed no ligament damage, but he has pain from a bruised nerve.