European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 23, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday january 23, 1994 sports the stars and stripes Page 31torville, Dean skate to title. But barely # a by Salvatore Zanca Copenhagen Denmark apr Jayne Torville and Christopher Dean faced the music and danced. And won. Barely a a. Katarina Witt faced reality and cried. The reinstated olympic Gold medallists had mixed fortunes in their attempts to recapture the past in an extraordinary Day at the european figure skating championships on Friday. The 1984 ice dance olympic winners Torville and Dean facing Youthful russian rivals won a split decision in the ice dance event. In the complicated world of scoring in the sport Torville and Dean won by being second still ahead of their major rivals Maya Usova and Aleksandr Zhuolin in the final free dance. Witt the two time olympic Gold medallist burst into tears after placing ninth in the worn ends technical program. Three time european Champion surya Bonaly of France was first ahead of world Champion Oksana bail of Ukraine. Witt stumbled out of double Axel jump a one of the easier required elements a and was marked Down in the routine. Her technical scores went As Low As 4.6 on a scale up to 6.0. She spoke to reporters re eyed struggling with her usually Good English. She attempted to put into words what she Felt about her flawed appearance. A i tried to give the sport something. That was the reason i came Back a Witt said. A i wanted to see How far i could go. It was More important for me to bring my program across than to get High Marks. A i try to Tell myself every Day european championships just go out and enjoy it. Do it for the audience a Witt said. After that she stopped wiped a tear from her Eye and then  hold Back from crying. She is virtually out of Contention for a medal in a Competition she won for six consecutive years Between 1983 and 1988. Witt needed to finish among the top two germans after saturdays free skate to Advance to the olympics. Tanja Szewczenko who beat her at the German meet was in fifth place. Marina Kielmann the other German was 14th. In ice dancing Oksana grits Chuk and Evgeni Platov upset everything by winning the free dance Over their More illustrious rivals. But it is no to Good enough to give them the Overall title. That went to Torville and Dean who stayed ahead of Usova Zhuolin which was the key thing. The British pair put their Effort into a ballroom style rendition of a a let a face the music and  Gristchuk and Platov upset things with a playful and entertaining dance starting with a Rock around the  they scored nearly All 5.9s or 6.0s to gain seven first place votes for the free dance alone Worth 50 per cent of the score. They were Only third heading into the final portion but wound up with the Silver medal. That gave the7 britons the Overall title. They had a Victory in the original dance Worth 30 percent and were tied for second in the compulsory dances Worth 20 percent. Usova Zhuolin were first in the compulsory dances and second in the original dance but were just third in the final Section. Christopher Dean lifts up Jayne Torville during their victorious inc dance performance Friday night. Wings Federov races to fastest Crown new York apr Sergei Fedorov does no to have the hardest shot in the National hockey league. Not yet anyway. The Detroit red wings Star the heir apparent to Wayne Gretzky As the leagues showcase player is the fastest skater though. He outraged his Detroit teammate Paul Coffey in the skills Competition Friday night the eve of the 45th nil All Star game. A a it a the first time in my life i had to race him a said Fedorov who beat Coffey by 24 hundredths of a second on the dash around the Madison Square Garden ice. A a we a been practising together but we never  a a in be been fortunate in my career to play with some of the great skaters but nobody skates like Sergei said Coffey who won the fastest skater Competition in 1991. Mike Gartner of the new York rangers was the defending Champion but he a out with an Elbow injury. Fedorov also owns a 91 Mph slap shot but it would have been no match for a1 Iafrate of the Washington capitals whose 102.7 Mph blast easily beat Geo i Sanderson of Hartford 98.2 Mph. Brendan Shanahan of the St. Louis blues supplanted Bostons Ray Bourque As the most accurate shooter and Patrick Roy of the Montreal canadians shared goal ending honors with former rangers goalie John Vanbiesbrouc now with Florida. Vanbiesbrouc received a raucous ovation when Hehl All Star weekend was introduced. A it was great something very special a said Vanbiesbrouc who won the Velma trophy As the no la Stop goalie in 1986 during his 10 years with the rangers. A there Are a lot of players in the past that have gotten ovations like that said Vanbiesbrouc who dressed at his old Locke room stall. If it seemed like old times for rangers fans Vanbiesbrouc was Only part of it. Prior to the skills Competition rangers from the past a Eddie Giacomin Harry Howell Andy Bathgate a played an old timers game against a collection of retired heroes from opposing teams. The rangers lost 6-3. It did no to matter. A the important part of it was before the game a former Chicago Blackhawk great Stan Mikita said. A we looked at each other. There was Gordie Howe who a 65 years old. Former Blackhawk defens Eman Doug Wilson was four or five seats Down. He a 36. So there was quite a disparity As far As age. We were telling stories going Back to 1930. It was  naturally talk turned to saturdays All Star game. The league is offering each player on the winning Side a $5,000 Bonus. The losers walk away with nothing. The idea to avoid another embarrassment. Last years game at the Montreal forum featured six goalies 90 shots and 22 goals a on National television. I think you re going to see a Kri More competitive old timers game. Former Toronto and Calgary Star Lanny a the heroes in the game Sai _ _. Mcdonald who scored a goal for at a press conference prior to fridays festivities nil commissioner Gary Bettman acknowledged a list of headaches the league Hopes to Clear up this season troubled franchises in Hartford and Edmonton inconsistent officiating a drop off in to ratings and an unsettled players contract. Bettman who has been in office nearly one year has already relieved one of his biggest headaches with the settlement of the strike by officials earlier this season. Meanwhile nil director of operations Brian Burke announced the introduction of a shootout format in saturdays All Star game to break a tie. The shootout would occur Only if the Eastern and Western conference All Star teams were tied following the completion of both regulation time and the five minute overtime period. Five players identified by their coaches at the Start of the game would alternate attempts at a predesignated goaltender. The team scoring the most goals in its five attempts would be the Winner. If the teams were still tied they would alternate shots in a sudden death format until a Winner is decided