Reigning World Champion Michelle Kwan Joins Other Olympic and World Champions at ‘98 Goodwill Games Figure Skating Competition

MCI Joins Goodwill Games as Presenting Sponsor

Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum will be the coolest place this summer when Olympic and world champions from around the world hit the ice for five electrifying days of world-class figure skating during the Goodwill Games competition taking place July 29-August 2. Headlining the array of talent is 1998 World Champion and Olympic Silver Medalist Michelle Kwan, who will be joined by other international skating sensations, including: 1998 Olympic Pairs Champions Artur Dmitriev/Oksana Kazakova (Russia); 1998 World Silver Medalist, 1996 World Champion and Five-Time U.S. Champion Todd Eldredge (USA); 1998 World Champion Alexei Yagudin (Russia); 1998 World Pairs Champions Elena Berezhnaya/Anton Sikharulidze (Russia); and 1998 World Silver Medalist Irina Slutskaya (Russia). The Goodwill Games figure skating competition is presented by MCI.

“I skated in the ‘94 Games in St. Petersburg, and I look forward to this summer’s competition in the U.S.,” said Kwan at a Goodwill Games press conference in Manhattan. “I know it’s going to be a great competition.”

The field of competitors—chosen from the U.S., Russia and other countries—will represent the best Olympic-eligible figure skaters in the world. The U.S. and Russia are expected to each provide three men and three women in the singles competition, two pairs and two ice dance entries. The rest of the line up—an additional three men and women in the singles competition, two pairs and two ice dance entries—will be chosen from a pool of top international talent from other countries around the world, bringing the total number of skaters competing to 42. (The complete list of athletes confirmed as of May 13 for the figure skating competition accompanies this release).

The competition will consist of four events—mens, ladies, pairs and ice dance—taking place over a four-day period. An exhibition will take place on the fifth and final day. The following is the complete schedule:

Wednesday, July 29 7:30-10:00 p.m.	Ice Dance (comp.) Pairs (short) Men’s (short)
Thursday, July 30 8:00-10:00 p.m.	Ice Dance (original) Ladies (short)
Friday, July 31 8:00-10:30 p.m.	Finals Pairs (free) Men’s (free)
Saturday, August 1 8:00-10:30 p.m.	Finals Ice Dance (free) Ladies (free)
Sunday, August 2 2:00-4:00 p.m.	Exhibition

The Goodwill Games are offering skaters a prize purse worth over $800,000. The prize money structure for the ladies and men’s singles competition is as follows: 1st place - $75,000; 2nd place - $50,000; 3rd place - $30,000; 4th place - $20,000; and 5th - 9th place - $10,000. Prize money for pairs and dance teams is the same as above except money is awarded to six pairs and five dance teams.

The presenting sponsor for figure skating, MCI, was also announced during the press event. Goodwill Games President Mike Plant said that relationships with sponsors like MCI are key to delivering world-class athletes to the Goodwill Games competition menu.

"MCI has not only brought its industry-leading technology to the Goodwill Games environment, but is also contributing toward the delivery of the highest level of competition for spectators and viewers to see," Plant said. "This relationship is a cornerstone of our overall corporate support program for the Goodwill Games. We're pleased to have this world-class company as a partner."

”MCI has embraced the spirit of competition since its inception as a corporation, when it helped to break open the long distance telephone market,“ said Nick Ridolfi, MCI’s executive director of global accounts in the Northeast. ”By partnering with the Goodwill Games, we are delighted to be the presenting sponsor of a figure skating competition that unites the world’s best competitors.“

MCI, headquarted in Washington D.C., is a leading provider of local-to- global communication services to business, government and residential users. The company’s fast-growing portfolio of advanced data, Internet and IT services now accounts for nearly a quarter of MCI’s $20 billion in annual revenue. MCI operates one of the world’s largest and most advanced digital networks, connecting local markets in the U.S. to hundreds of locations worldwide. MCI has agreed to merge with WorldCom, one of the world’s fastest-growing communications companies. The merger, which is expected to be completed in mid-1998, will create MCI WorldCom, a company uniquely positioned in the U.S. local and long distance markets, as well as the global data and Internet markets.

The 1998 Goodwill Games are scheduled July 19 - August 2 in Manhattan, Nassau County and Staten Island. The Games will feature 1,500 international athletes competing in 15 sports for a prize purse of $5 million dollars in world record/performance incentives, the largest prize purse in multi-sport history.

TBS Superstation, the Games' host network, will televise 45 hours of prime-time coverage of the 1998 Goodwill Games. CBS will televise 10 hours of weekend, afternoon coverage. In addition to appearing on TBS and CBS, boxing will be televised on HBO as part of the Boxing After Dark series. The 1998 Games mark the first time a sporting event has appeared on all three levels of television distribution. Turner Sports is the host broadcaster and is coordinating all aspects of the production. Internationally, the syndication rights are being sold by Warner Bros. International Television Distribution.

For more information on the Goodwill Games and their programs, visit the Games’ website at www.goodwillgames98.com.

CONTACTS:
Michael Lewellen
Goodwill Games, Atlanta
404/827-4786

Richard Finn
Goodwill Games, New York
212/484-7647

Heather Linhart
U.S. Figure Skating
719/635-5200

Jill Hudes
MCI
212/519-4279