FIGURE SKATING : Eldredge Takes Fresh Approach

Todd Eldredge has been competing at the national level for 10 years and has won the U.S. senior men’s figure skating title twice, but he is approaching this year’s competition as if he were a rookie.

“I feel like I’m starting a whole new career,” he said, looking ahead to today’s short program at the Providence Civic Center. “After the last couple of years of not doing so well, that’s how I’ve tried to view it. I’m not thinking about what has happened in the past. I’m starting fresh.”

Eldredge, 23, won the national novice title in 1985, the U.S. junior title in 1987 and the world junior title in 1988. He was considered a contender for the 1992 Winter Olympic gold medal after winning U.S. men’s championships in 1990--at 18--and ’91. But his results since have been disappointing.

Eldredge, who is from Chatham, Mass., and trains in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., withdrew from the 1992 U.S. competition because of a lower-back injury but was sent to the Olympics in Albertville, France, instead of third-place finisher Mark Mitchell. Unnerved by the controversy over his selection, he finished 10th in the Olympics and began a slide he hasn’t reversed.

After finishing sixth at the 1993 U.S. championships, he was skating well before the 1994 event but was flattened by flu in Detroit. He finished fourth, failing to qualify for the Olympic team.

Although he began questioning his commitment to skating, he returned this year to renew his rivalry with Scott Davis, winner of the last two U.S. titles.

“There were so many things going on about ’92 and whether I should have competed in the Olympics or not,” Eldredge said. “I was feeling pressure about that and it came to a head at the ’93 nationals. At the time, I sort of gave up. It kind of got to me. It shouldn’t have, but it did . . .

“I did think about turning pro a few years ago and even last year. All the money the promoters are throwing around, it’s hard to pass that up. But I got into the sport to win an Olympic medal, hopefully a gold medal.”

Said his coach, Richard Callaghan: “I told him if he wanted to quit (after the 1993 U.S. event), there was nothing wrong. He had been successful, and he could feel pretty good about what he had done. On the other hand, if he wanted to stay, he had to learn to love the sport again. It took him a long time.”

Davis, 23, beat former U.S. and Olympic champion Brian Boitano at Detroit last year and went on to finish eighth at Lillehammer and seventh in the World Championships. Hampered by a back injury, he has lost to Eldredge three times in the last year, at two pro-am competitions and the NHK Trophy in Japan in December. Aren Nielsen, third in the United States and 13th in the world in 1994, is their top challenger.

“People say, ‘Why don’t you turn pro?’ ” said Davis, who trains in Colorado Springs, Colo. “There are so many opportunities and so much money out there, but I still haven’t had that perfect performance yet, and I know it’s out there. My long-range goal was to be in the ’98 Games. I’m only 23 and being in the ’94 Games was a little surprising for me. With Brian Boitano there, I really didn’t expect to be there.

“Just the whole experience, and to be fourth after the short program, I really wasn’t expecting that. It felt like a normal competition until I got out there and just felt this enormous feeling, kind of overwhelming. I lost a little focus.”

To hone his concentration, Davis and his coach, Kathy Casey, simulate competitions at the practice rink. They invite judges to sit in the hockey penalty box, and Casey reads their marks. As in a competition, Davis takes a warm-up, leaves the ice while “rivals” skate, and then performs his routine. Public-session skaters play the role of the audience.

“I think it helps,” Davis said. “I just want to have my skating grow every year.”

Eldredge hopes his list of national titles grows this week. The free skate, which counts toward two-thirds of the final score, is scheduled for Saturday.

“The pressure isn’t on me as the defending champion, so that helps with the nerves and everything,” Eldredge said. “I definitely am planning on competing through ‘98, whether I win nationals or worlds or not. The pinnacle of our sport is the Olympics. I competed there once, and I didn’t compete as well as I’d like to, so I’d like another chance and see if I can do better.”

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Figure Skating Notes

Renee Roca and Gorsha Sur, who were forced to withdraw from last year’s competition after Roca collided with another couple and broke her left arm, led the ice dancing event after Tuesday’s compulsory dances. The compulsory segment is worth 20% of each couple’s final score. 1994 winners Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow, who finished 15th at the Olympics, are second. The original dance, worth 30%, will be performed today. . . . Roca and Sur were rated first by all nine judges on both prescribed dances, the Argentine Tango and Ravensburger Waltz. Their marks included two 5.9s (out of 6.0) for timing and expression. “This is the first time we’ve completed the compulsory dances and felt good,” said Roca, whose wrist healed without complications. “Normally, they’re a bit of a struggle. We hope we can keep on doing for the rest of the week what we did tonight. In figure skating, you never know.” . . . . Sur, who defected from Russia to the United States in 1990 and is awaiting American citizenship, said he was inspired by the presence of his grandmother, Maria Andrianycheva, who is visiting from Moscow. “Every time I step on the ice, I am looking for her,” he said.