Saturday in Ottawa dawned exactly as the television had predicted: with the city buried under a thick, white blanket that forced cars to advance at a snail's pace. Inside the arena, however, the atmosphere of the rest day between the short program and the free skate had a much more relaxed rhythm. The urgency of the previous day was no longer in the air; the final flight skaters walked around in loose athletic wear, comfortable sneakers, and giant coffee thermoses in hand, taking advantage of the hours before the last official practice to relax their muscles and stretch their legs.
