Streaker @ the World Figure Skating Championships!
Skating streaker gives Kwan scare
BY PHILIP HERSH
Chicago Tribune
DORTMUND, Germany - (KRT) - At first, Michelle Kwan tried to make light of the situation, just as she did when recounting it to the media after her third-place finish at the World Figure Skating Championships. Then it hit Kwan that the man on the ice as she prepared for her final long program Saturday afternoon might be armed and her mood changed to one of fright.
The intruder, wearing skates and ski goggles, jumped the rink boards and stripped to the waist to reveal the name of an Internet casino painted on his back and chest. He pulled a tutu over his tights and began to do a clown-like routine as Kwan briefly continued to warm up before it turned serious in her mind.
"At first, I thought they were penalizing me again for being two seconds over (the allowed time) in the short program," Kwan said, referring to the deduction taken Friday and upheld on appeal.
"I was skating around, and I thought, `Big flower girl.' I knew right after he took his clothes off it was a streaker. Then I realized there were no metal detectors and he might have a gun. That's when I panicked and thought, `Safety first_get off the ice.'"
Men advertising the same casino have beaten security at several major sporting events, including the Super Bowl.
Although Germany is the site of the worst sports-related terrorism in history, the hostage-taking and murder of 11 Israeli coaches and officials at the 1972 Munich Olympics, security at the Westfallenhalle arena was lax all week. At a time of worldwide concern with security after the attacks on the United States and Spain, there were no metal detectors at the arena, and it was possible to enter accreditation-only areas without passing any security personnel.
"Something could have gone really, really, really wrong," Kwan said. "He was crazy_thank God he wasn't that crazy."
According to Dortmund police, the intruder's passport identified him as Ron Bensimhon of Montreal, although stories about other publicity stunts give his name as Ron Simon. He told police he had bought a ticket for a rinkside box.
Police said the intruder's hotel room and other details about him were checked before he was released. They said German law does not provide grounds to arrest him for disorderly conduct.
More than a minute passed before anyone in the security force reacted at all to the intruder's presence on the ice. It eventually took five men in street shoes 40 seconds to herd him off.
"Are the police supposed to wear ice skates?" said Gerd Heydn, media chief for the championships.
Officials asked Kwan, the five-time world champion, if she wanted the ice resurfaced before skating, but she declined and competed after some minor debris had been removed. The result was testament to a rare ability to concentrate.
"It has been a very tumultous week for me," Kwan said.
Kwan said her heart began thumping wildly while she waited for security to apprehend the intruder. She composed herself to skate flawlessly until doubling a final planned triple jump, a performance good enough for the bronze medal.
"I have always said she was a genius," her coach, Rafael Arutunian, said. "She knows what she is doing and always knows how to manage herself."
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© 2004, Chicago Tribune.
such loose security, huh?