Slutskaya Won't Defend Her Title

Skater's Mother Is Battling Illness; War Developments Being Followed

Russian Irina Slutskaya will not defend her world title at the World Figure Skating Championships in Washington because of her mother's battle with a kidney illness.

Event organizers received the news of Slutskaya's impending withdrawal -- she is expected to announce the decision formally during a news conference today in Moscow -- on a day they tensely watched world affairs but continued full-bore with plans to stage the March 24-30 event at MCI Center.

"We are moving forward," said Leslie Gianelli, one of the co-chairs of the local organizing committee. "There is no way we can anticipate incidents. We are just continuing according to plan. If a situation arises we will deal with it."

Gianelli said organizers have not heard from any federations expressing reluctance about coming to the nation's capital during wartime. ISU representatives Peter Krick and Joyce Hisey arrived in town over the weekend and event preparations are speeding forward, she said.

Organizers spent yesterday preparing the ice at the Washington Convention Center, a practice site, and the MCI Center. Formal practices will begin Friday.

U.S. Figure Skating Association spokesman Bob Dunlop said he expected USFSA officials to watch President Bush's address to the nation last night before making any comment on the issue. He said most athletes were scheduled to arrive in Washington between Wednesday and Friday of this week.

"We're going to wait . . . and see what is said tonight," Dunlop said yesterday afternoon. "We're very aware of what's happening."

Any decision that involved moving or canceling the event would be a joint one among the local organizing committee, ISU and USFSA, skating officials have said.

ABC spokesman Mark Mandel said the network was prepared to move live telecasts of the event, scheduled for March 27 and 29, to ESPN if pre-empted by war coverage. Much of the event already is scheduled to be shown on tape delay on ESPN and ESPN2 in early April.

Slutskaya's decision to drop out had nothing to do with the United States' expected war with Iraq, according to figure skating publicist Lynn Plage, who said she spoke with Slutskaya yesterday.

Slutskaya, 24, has been shuttling from Moscow to St. Petersburg, where her mother Natalia, 44, fell ill during the International Skating Union Grand Prix Final two weeks ago and has remained hospitalized, Plage said.

"She hasn't been able to get in enough training going back and forth, and her mind is on her mother now," said Plage, who added that she did not know the precise name of Natalia Slutskaya's illness. "What she told me was that her mother almost died in her arms."

Slutskaya's departure from the competition increases the likelihood of a U.S. sweep in the women's event.

Defending Olympic champion Sarah Hughes, bronze medalist Michelle Kwan and fourth-place finisher Sasha Cohen will be attempting to sweep the medals for the first time since Kristi Yamaguchi, Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan did it in 1991. Slutskaya finished second at last year's Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Though no other top Russian skaters have dropped out of the world championships, defending Olympic champion Alexei Yagudin, who has a hip injury, was not among the entries to the event.

Slutskaya's mother, who is receiving dialysis treatments, got sick the night before the ladies' final at the Grand Prix Final on March 1. Slutskaya finished second in that competition to Cohen. Prior to that, she had had a rough season, battling a bad case of bronchitis. She finished second or third in three Grand Prix events and a minor event in Auburn Hills, Mich., in December.

"The reports of her not coming to D.C. are very sad," Gianelli said. "Whatever is happening within her family, we hope it is resolved. We would have loved to have her defend her world title."

Special correspondent Amy Rosewater contributed to this report.