This event was a rare and marvelous opportunity to see, first-hand, the current crop of elite junior international skaters -- such as Russia's Ilia Klimkin (above photo), wearing shades and coolly demonstrating his now-famous "cantilever" (I'm hoping to fix the photo glitch eventually).

My photo collection here does not pretend to be a comprehensive one. I have tried to include photos of the lesser-known skaters, as well as unusual skating poses and/or costumes. Any omission of particular skaters is due mainly to a lack of publishable pictures and is not intended to be a slight to any skater(s). Unfortunately, the low light conditions in the rink ended up muting the true colors of the skaters' costumes (except for the really fluorescent ones! ;-) in my photos.

I hope these photos -- as small and dark as they are -- can serve as a modest, visual reference for some of the very talented, young skaters who participated in this, the second, Junior Grand Prix Final competition ever held. The majority of these skaters have yet to receive much media or television exposure in their competitive careers thus far, but hopefully their time will come.

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Here are links to Sandra Loosemore's various reports from this competition:
Rinkside Reports from 1999 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final
CBS SportsLine - Juniors event shows U.S. needs its own

Ilia Klimkin (Russia)

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Klimkin is truly an amazing talent -- he was easily THE skater to watch of the entire competition for me. He showcases incredible body control (as evidenced in the three photos below), as well as such inventive sequences as his reverse forward camel spin (clockwise) to forward camel (counterclockwise) directly into a triple salchow!
Final Placement: 2nd (1st in the short, 2nd in the long)

Irina Nikolaeva (Russia)

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Irina was the revelation among the ladies in the field for me. She is a long-limbed, flexible skater who combines grace with athleticism. Her spiral (below) can attain nearly a 180 degree split.
Final Placement: 4th (1st in the short, 5th in the long)

Yulia Obertas & Dmitry Palamarchuk (Ukraine)

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Yulia is a tiny pixie of a pair skater (listed at 141 cm tall) who really lights up the ice. She and her partner Dmitry skated their short program in *very* fluorescent orange costumes. Yulia's bright blond hair was pulled into two perky pigtails for their upbeat and fun exhibition number in which she wore a yellow dress.
Final Placement: 1st (1st in the short, 1st in the long)

Alexei Vasilevsky (Russia)

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Alexei reminded me quite a bit of Alexander Abt, with his lanky, loose-limbed body type and engaging grin. His Russian folk dance long program (depicted in the two photos) was fast and energetic, but messily skated.
Final Placement: 3rd (2nd in the short, 3rd in the long)

Viktoria Volchkova (Russia)

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I particularly admire Viktoria's clean, precise jumping technique and her relaxed style of movement across the ice. Her double axel was the only jump that failed her in this competition (she singled it in the short program and stepped out in the long).
Final Placement: 1st (3rd in the short, 1st in the long)

Sarah Hughes (USA)

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Sarah displays a lovely layback (above) both in her back arch and free leg position with her foot neatly turned out. She debuted a new, sparkly black dress (below) for her "Swan Lake" long program.
Final Placement: 2nd (2nd in the short, 2nd in the long)

Lukas Rakowski (Czech Republic)

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Lukas may not have a triple axel in his competitive repertoire yet, but I really like his skating carriage and upright position in his jumps and spins. The Czech national champ will be 17 in August.
Final Placement: 7th (6th in the short, 7th in the long)

Stefan Lindemann (Germany)

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The "Wee Singles Skaters of the Competition" Award go to Stefan Lindemann (above, listed at 160 cm tall) and Anna Jurkiewicz (below, listed at 146 cm tall). In September, Stefan will turn 19 and Anna 15.
Final placements: 4th for Stefan and 5th for Anna.

Anna Jurkiewicz (Poland)

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Tamara Dorofejev (Hungary)

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Tamara is yet another up-and-coming Hungarian skater who shows some jumping ability. The 1998 Hungarian junior champion will be 15 in June.
Final Placement: 6th (8th in the short, 6th in the long)

Chisato Shina (Japan)

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Chisato seems to like really bright colors -- as displayed here in the short program. Her "Rhapsody in Blue" long program dress was a not-as-forceful shade (of blue), however.
Final Placement: 7th (6th in the short, 7th in the long)

Vincent Restencourt (France)

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I think this photo from the short program pretty much captures Vincent's relatively stiff skating style! ;-)
Final Placement: 1st (3rd in the short, 1st in the long)

Julia Golovina & Denis Egorov (Russia)

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Here is what could be deemed one of the more "notable" costumes of the competition -- as worn by Julia Golovina for the Quickstep compulsory dance. As aptly described by Sandra Loosemore in her SkateWeb report: "It was made of sheer black net with white polka dots on the skirt and a big black velvet bow strategically placed on her chest. On top of that, her briefs were very brief indeed."
Final Placement: 4th (in all 3 phases)

Flavia Ottaviani & Massimo Scali (Italy)

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Females lifting their male dance partners is becoming quite the rage! ;-) Here, Flavia supports Massimo during their Middle Eastern-themed free dance.
Final placement: 6th (in all 3 phases)

Svetlana Nikolaeva & Alexei Sokolov (Russia)

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Well, Ilia Klimkin can attain an even better cantilever position (on deep inside edges) than Svetlana does in the long program (above) and without the assistance of a partner! ;-) Alexei next shifts into a back pivot while she continues her cantilever position into a death spiral.
Final Placement: 5th (5th in the short, 5th in the long)

Meliza Brozovich & Anton Nimenko (Russia)

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Meliza and Anton skated to a Chopin piano piece in their short program (below), which I much preferred to their "Aladdin" long program in unattractive teal-and-green costumes.
Final Placement: 4th (3rd in the short, 4th in the long)

Still to come: Photos of ice dancers Kristina Kobaladze & Oleg Voiko (Ukraine), Natalia Romaniuta & Danil Barantsev (Russia), and Jamie Silverstein & Justin Pekarek (USA), and possibly a few other skaters.