Skate Canada: Ladies Short Program

Adriana Desanctis (Canada): Handdown on the triple lutz to start, followed by an alright triple salchow-double toe combo. Her layback spin was nice but it lost speed at the end. Telegraphed double axel, she pitched forward on the landing a bit. Okay combo spin, then slow footwork and a slow spin to end. Her overall program was slow and her music had a strange, moseying feel to it which really didn't help.  26.18 TE + 20.96 PCS = SP 47.14 (9th)


Elizaveta Tuktamisheva (Russia): This is her senior GP debut. Opened with a very nice triple lutz-triple toe, followed by an okay triple loop and a very light, airy double axel (clearly a frontloaded program, but certainly an impressive display regardless). Her layback traveled, and her other two spins weren't particularly great either. Her posture during her footwork could be better, but there was some nice elements to it. She needs maturity, but she's still only 14... she has plenty of time yet and she has a spark about her.  33.95 TE + 25.62 PCS = SP 59.57 (1st)


Sarah Hecken (Germany): Skating to one of the warhorse pieces... Malaguena. Messy triple toe-double toe, followed by a triple salchow that was okay. Her layback could use a lot of improvement. Nice double axel, then she finished up with a couple of okayish spins and footwork sequence. Not a very exciting performance, but it seemed like she was making an effort to try to perform, which I have to appreciate.  22.78 TE 21.72 PCS = SP 44.50 (10th)


Ashley Wagner (USA): Opened with a very nice triple flip-double toe with a Rippon variation on the latter. The landing of her triple lutz was kind of hoppy and she flutzed as well. Finished her jumping passes with a nice double axel. Her spins had nice positions, her footwork was alright, and I really liked her outside edge spread eagle. I liked her program; it was pleasant and suited her well. The thing I like best about Ashley's skating is that she has her own unique feel about her skating that makes her stand out from the other girls. TE 30.02 PCS 24.48 = SP 54.50 (2nd)


Amelie Lacoste (Canada): Okay double axel, a good triple loop-double loop combo, and then a fall on an downgraded triple flutz. Rough day for her. TE 26.71 PCS 24.89 Deduction -1.00 = SP 50.60 (6th)


Cynthia Phaneuf (Canada): I question the design of the back of her skirt...  Nice double axel, and then she popped her triple lutz into a single, followed by a triple toe-double toe. One of her spins was alright, , the others weren't as good. Her footwork sequence that had a bit of sass to it. TE 23.36 PCS 25.34 = SP 48.70 (8th)


Rachael Flatt (USA): I actually forgot that she planned to keep this East of Eden short program, so I was a little surprised to hear it when she started skating, haha. Triple flip-double toe, triple lutz (that one looked possibly a little underrotated to me), and double axel were all completed fine, but her strange technique on all three is still there. That's definitely something I'd love to see her improve on - she'll get more height in her flips/lutzes without the highkick and could get more height of the axel with a different takeoff technique. Her foot position on her layback was nice and turned out, though it'd be nice to see more bend in her back position. Good speed on her footwork but the arm movements could be toned down still. TE 29.14 PCS 25.69 = SP 54.23 (3rd)


Mirai Nagasu (USA): I love her dress, especially the skirt. Lovely Ina Bauer to a nice triple loop and good general speed across the ice. Fall on a downgraded triple lutz, leaving her without a combination. She got it back together with a good double axel, followed by a very pretty layback spin with a good Biellmann variation (free foot in the layback could be turned out a little more, but honestly, that's just nitpicking, considering the overall quality of it). Nice spin position on her flying camel and her footwork was a little slow, but had some nice elements. She finished with nice positions but again, on the slow side. I love Mirai's skating, but I'm not really sold on this program so far. TE 27.61 PCS 26.12 Deduction -1.00 = SP 52.73 (5th)


Alena Leonova (Russia): Interesting pirate costume. Fallout on her combination, a triple toe-triple toe; the second was tilted in the air. Alright triple flip, then a singled axel. Her footwork was character driven but there was a lot of stopping and standing. TE 23.86 PCS 2589 = SP 49.75 (7th)


Akiko Suzuki (Japan): Good presence from the start. Hop out on her triple toe- single loop. Triple lutz looked underrotated to me and got an edge call. Nice double axel and well performed, difficult footwork. Her spins are some of the nicer ones in the competition, with pretty positions and alright speed. I really like this program a lot - it's interesting and she works it. TE 26.14 PCS 26.68 PCS = SP 52.85 (4th)


Short Program Results
Protocols

Skate Canada: A Preview

It is almost time for what will almost certainly be the most... interestingly scored event of the Grand Prix. I'll give it to you straight - I am both really looking forward to this and yet dreading how the scoring will play out. In any case though, I'm certainly hoping for much better skating than we saw at Skate America last week.

Ice Dance: Virtue/Moir are clearly the team to beat here - unless they have an absolutely massive meltdown, I just can't see them not winning, especially in their home country and with Pechalat/Bourzat withdrawing due to Bourzat being ill, I don't think there's anyone here to challenge them. Cappellini/Lanotte and Weaver/Poje seem likely to be in the medal hunt. Also of note is the new team of Madison Chock/Evan Bates, both of which have been U.S. National medalists and Worlds competitors with former partners; I have yet to see them skate, but it'll be interesting to see how they do here, as a team that will be hoping to snag that third U.S. Worlds spot come January.

Pairs: World silver medalists Volosozhar/Trankov shouldn't have much trouble here. I think it'll probably a battle for the other two spots on the podium between Sui/Han, Takahashi/Tran, Lawrence/Swiegers, and Duhamel/Radford. Jessica Dube will be competing with her new partner Sebastian Wolfe and maybe they could play spoiler but it's hard to say, especially with them having skated together for less than a year.

Ladies: Like Skate America, there are a lot of ladies here that have medal potential. Akiko Suzuki did very well on the Grand Prix last year, despite less than generous PCS from the judges, and Mirai Nagasu could be a huge factor if she keeps it together in her freeskate. Cynthia Phaneuf will have the home country advantage and has placed in the top 5 at Worlds and Alena Leonova just missed out on a World bronze last season, so if their jumps are there, they're ones to keep an eye on. Rachael Flatt wasn't scored generously internationally last season, but still managed to medal at both of her events and make the Grand Prix Final and is often one of the more consistent competitors. Ashley Wagner has a different style than most of the other ladies and might do very well if her jumps are clean, but she is prone to two footed landings on her triples. Lastly, Elizaveta Tuktamisheva, fresh out the junior ranks, is definitely a girl to keep your eye on. Despite her youth, she is known for consistently landing difficult triple-triple combinations and there's even a video floating around on youtube of her landing a triple axel! The ladies definitely look to be one of the most exciting competitions of Skate Canada and I'm looking forward to seeing how this pans out.

Men: There are probably three main guys to watch out for here; Patrick Chan, Daisuke Takahashi, and Adam Rippon. In all honesty, I'll be surprised if Patrick doesn't leave with the gold here; he fell three times at the Japan Open a few weeks ago and still was the top scoring man. With his generous scores in general and this being one of the events with the most inflated scores, that's probably just the way it's going to be. The 2010 World Champion Daisuke Takahashi is planning to try a quad in both programs this season, but it's hard to say how ready his jumps will be considering his screw removal surgery in his knee a few months ago. I believe in him wholeheartedly, but he just simply might not have enough mileage on his jumps yet for them to be steady here. Adam Rippon started off last season with a bang at the Japan Open but fizzled out as the season went on. If he stays confident and he can control his triple axel and his new quad - the lutz, he has a great shot at medaling here.

Of course, there are other men who could be factors and given the events of last week, it'd be silly of me to disregard them! Kevin van der Perren will be fresh off his silver at Skate Canada and while I doubt that he'll be able to replicate that result here, it definitely proves that if more complete overall skaters really falter on their jumps, his jumping prowess could stand him in good stead. Javier Fernandez, Denis Ten, and Ross Miner likely all have quads planned and if they hit them as well as their other jumps... things could get interesting. Also of note is Chan's countryman, World Junior Champion Andrei Rogozine will also be competing - I haven't the slightest idea where he might end up, but I'll be keeping an eye out.

Here's the online streaming schedule.

4 Continents Exhibition Part 1

Alissa Czisny (I Like the Way You Move)


Rachael Flatt (I Wanna Hold Your Hand)


Mirai Nagasu (Fireflies - Owl City)


Mao Asada (Ballad #1 - Chopin)


Miki Ando (Why Do People Fall In Love - L. Edder)

4 Continents Ladies Freeskate Videos

I'll add more as I find them. =)

Akiko Suzuki


Mirai Nagasu (SO proud of her!)


Mao Asada (Proud of her too!)


Miki Ando

4 Continents Ladies Short Videos

Akiko Suzuki


Alissa Czisny


Mirai Nagasu


Rachael Flatt


Mao Asada


Miki Ando

4 Continents Ladies Freeskate & Final Results

1. Miki Ando TE 73.03 PCS 61.73 ;FS 134.76 = 201.34 Total (JPN)
2. Mao Asada TE 70.18 PCS 62.71 ;FS 132.89 = 196.30 Total (JPN)
3. Mirai Nagasu TE 69.61 PCS 60.07 ;FS 129.68 = 189.46 Total (USA)
4. Rachael Flatt TE 60.94 PCS 57.14 ;FS 118.08 = 180.31 Total (USA)
5. Alissa Czisny TE 52.82 PCS 58.05 -1.00 ;FS 109.87 = 168.81 Total (USA)
6.Cynthia Phaneuf TE 52.35 PCS 55.14 ;FS 163.14 = 107.49 Total (CAN)
7. Akiko Suzuki TE 49.18 PCS 55.77 ;FS 104.95 = 162.59 Total (JPN)
8. Min-Jeong Kwak TE 51.09 PCS 45.59 ;FS 96.68 = 147.15 Total (KOR)
9. Amelie Lacoste TE 40.18 PCS 48.24 -1.00 ;FS 87.42 = 137.48 Total (CAN)
10. Cheltzie Lee TE 34.90 PCS 44.28 ;FS 79.18 = 127.90 Total (AUS)
11. Myriane Samson TE 28.81 PCS 46.06 ;FS 74.87 = 121.20 Total (CAN)
12. Yea-Ji Yun TE 34.76 PCS 38.73 -1.00 ;FS 72.49 = 111.86 Total (KOR)
13. Bingwa Geng TE 29.86 PCS 38.52 -3.00 ;FS 65.38 = 104.58 Total (CHN)
14. Qiuying Zhu TE 33.30 PCS 36.00 -2.00 ;FS 67.30 = 102.38 Total (CHN)
15. Lejeanne Marais TE 37.07 PCS 32.84 ;FS 69.91 = 101.90 Total (RSA)
16. Chae-Hwa Kim TE 32.33 PCS 36.70 -1.00 ;FS 68.03 = 101.79 Total (KOR)
17. Victoria Muniz TE 30.79 PCS 33.16 ;FS 63.95 = 99.40 Total (PUR)
18. Melinda Wang TE 27.04 PCS 32.60 ;FS 59.64 =  96.15 Total (TPE)
19. Mimi Tanasorn Chindasook TE 28.93 PCS 30.88 -2.00 ;FS 57.81 = 91.54 Total (THA)
20. Jaimee Nobbs TE 28.58 PCS 30.41 -1.00 ;FS 57.99 = 89.93 Total (AUS)
21. Crystal Kiang TE 23.75  PCS 30.96 ;FS 54.71 = 86.60 Total (TPE)
22. Mericien Venzon TE 23.41 PCS 30.12 ;FS 53.53 = 84.17 Total (PHI)
23. Melanie Swang TE 26.11 PCS 26.47 ;FS 52.58 = 82.08 Total (THA)
24. Chaochih Liu TE 22.26 PCS 29.50 -2.00 ;FS 49.76 = 78.28 Total (TPE)

Detailed Freeskate Results
Protocols

*Note: Some interesting calls made by the technical panel. I believe I saw several underrotations by the final group of skaters that they didn't mark. Also, while some of the final girls skated really well, these scores are INSANELY inflated.

4 Continents Ladies Short Program Results

 1.Miki Ando TE 35.69 PCS 30.89 = 66.58 Total (JPN)
2.Mao Asada TE 33.20 PCS 30.21 = 63.41 Total (JPN)
3.Rachael Flatt TE 33.43 PCS 28.80 =  62.23 Total (USA)
4.Mirai Nagasu TE 30.55 PCS 29.23  = 59.78 Total (USA)
5.Alissa Czisny TE 31.00 PCS 28.94 -1.00 = 58.94 Total (USA)
6.Akiko Suzuki TE 29.61 PCS 28.03= 57.64 Total (JPN)
7.Cynthia Phaneuf TE 28.90 PCS 27.75 -1.00 = 55.65 Total (CAN)
8.Min-Jeong Kwak TE 26.81 PCS 23.66  = Total 50.47 (KOR)
9.Amelie Lacoste TE 25.03 PCS 25.03  = 0.06Total (CAN)
10.Cheltzie Lee TE 25.40 PCS 23.32 =  48.72 Total (AUS)
11.Myriane Samson TE 22.22 PCS 25.11 -1.00 = 46.33 Total (CAN)
12.Yea-Ji Yun TE 22.08  PCS 17.29 = 39.37 Total (KOR)
13.Bingwa Geng TE 19.80 PCS 20.40 -1.00 =  39.20 Total (CHN)
14.Melinda Wang TE 18.61 PCS 17.90 = 36.51 Total (TPE)
15.Victoria Muniz  TE 18.11 PCS 18.34 -1.00 = 35.45 Total (PUR)
16.Qiuying Zhu TE 19.02 PCS 17.06 -1.00 =  35.08 Total (CHN)
17.Chae-Hwa Kim TE 15.56 PCS 18.20 = 33.76 Total (KOR)
18.Mimi Tanasorn Chindasook TE 17.76 PCS 15.97 = 33.73 Total (THA)
19.Lejeanne Marais TE 17.39 PCS 15.60 -1.00 = 31.99 Total (RSA)
20.Jaimee Nobbs TE 17.11 PCS 15.83  -1.00 = 31.94 Total (AUS)
21.Crystal Kiang TE 15.95 PCS 15.9 = 31.89 Total (TPE)
22.Mericien Venzon TE 16.19 PCS 15.45 -1.00 = 30.64 Total (PHI)
23.Melanie Swang TE 16.33 PCS 13.17 = 29.50 Total (THA)
24.Chaochih Liu TE 14.81  PCS 13.71 =  28.52 Total (TPE)
25.Tiffany Packard Yu TE 12.96  PCS 14.55 = 27.51 Total (HKG)
26.Brittany Lau TE 13.14 PCS 13.47 =  26.61 Total (SIN)
27.Taryn Jurgensen TE 14.10 PCS 14.18 -2.00 = 26.28 Total (THA)
28.Reyna Hamui TE 11.32 PCS 13.41 -1.00 = 23.73 Total (MEX)
29.Mary Ro Reyes TE 9.71 PCS 12.51 = 22.22 Total (MEX)


Detailed Results
Protocols

U.S. Nationals: Ladies Freeskate

Unfortunately, this year's ladies event was basically what I'd expected - a messy event full of splats and pops, and had little in the way of inspiration. There were some shining moments where lesser known skaters delivered, and I'm glad to see that the champion skated a good program, but I am really hoping that in the near future the ladies will step up and give us an all around more enjoyable ladies championship.

That said, let's get started.

The first couple of groups opened up the competition with few successful triple attempts until Kristiene Gong landed five in her routine,(albeit, a couple received a slight negative GOE) and was easily the best so far, pulling up from 17th to 9th overall with a total of 143.30.

After Kristiene, Ellie Kawamura struggled, landing just one triple. Kelsey Traunero was somewhat more successful, landing two triple flips (one in combination with a double toe) and a pair of triple salchows. Unfortunately, her triple toe attempt was downgraded, as was the latter half of her double axel-double toe. Like many of the girls, her spins, footwork, and spiral were passable, but for the most part not particularly noteworthy.

Melissa Bulanhagui appeared to two foot her opening triple salchow, but proceeded to land a nice triple lutz, triple flip, an okay triple lutz-double toe-double loop (the latter deemed underrotated), and landed the following triple toe, triple salchow-double toe, and a big double axel pretty well. Spins weren't amazing, but still, a pretty impressive display. My only slight disappointment was that she didn't go for her triple axel. Total 144.53 (10th)

Danielle Kahle and Kristine Musademba both struggled with their jumps, but the latter had some nice spins. They finished 18th and 15th, respectively.

Alexe Gilles opened the second to last group, marking the beginning of the ladies freeskate coverage on NBC. Unfortunately, she only landed one clean triple (a lutz) and proceeded to pop or two foot everything else.

Caroline Zhang appeared to be in better shape than she was during the Grand Prix season. She landed a triple flip-double toe that was actually kind of nice, before she went for a high kick triple lutz and crashed. I wonder if it wouldn't be better for her to just leave that jump out of her programs until her coaches can the kick under control. After that was a triple salchow, which was downgraded and fallen on. Her triple loop-double axel sequence was fine, and then she popped her second flip attempt into a single. She finished her jumping passes with a triple loop-double loop- double loop with a tano variation on the end and a double axel that was just okay. She had some nice spin positions, especially on the layback, and her spiral sequence was nice. She skated a bit better than I had expected overall. 140.95 total, 12th overall.

Joelle Forte skated better than many of the top ladies, which was pretty surprising to me since I don't believe I've ever heard of her before this event. She landed a triple flip, triple lutz-double toe-double loop (slight negative GOE), triple salchow, double axel, triple lutz, triple toe-triple toe sequence, and a triple salchow double toe, and for the most part, they were actually pretty well done. She had poor spins, but the jumps were there, which was pretty unusual that night. 149.28 total, good enough for 9th place.

Yasmin Siraj had trouble on her early jumping passes,  singling her triple flip, having to eek out the latter half of her triple lutz-double toe, and falling on her double axel-triple toe (she was forward on the landing of the axel, but went for the triple toe anyway - she is definitely gutsy). Yasmin did pull it together for her jumping passes after that though, landing a triple salchow, triple lutz, triple toe, and double axel-double toe-double loop pretty well. Her spins were okay, but she had a nice spiral (though I wish she'd not have to hold it) and a footwork sequence that had some interest to it. There's a nice quality to her skating that makes you want to watch her; I'm looking forward to seeing how well she develops. 152.47 overall, 8th place.

Morgan Bell had a rough go of it, only having one entirely succesful jump, a double axel. While her second triple toe was alright, neither it nor the prior attempt were in combination, so it was marked triple toe+SEQ, lowering the base value of the jump. The other jumps were all either popped, fallen on, or marked as underrotated or downgraded. She finished in 17th place.

Ashley Wagner started off well with a triple flip-double toe, which was fine, followed by a double axel-triple toe, the latter of which was two footed and underrotated. After that was a triple flutz (which was nice other than the edge :-/),  triple loop-double toe-double toe that was alright, a triple salchow that was good, and then another two foot, this time on a triple loop and she singled her second flip. Her spins and spiral sequence were all good and she's fairly interesting to watch. There were a lot of nice things in that program; it's a shame that she had so many little errors, they really add up. 165.36 total, 6th place.

Vanessa Lam started her program with a triple lutz-double toe-double loop combo that was alright, as well as a triple flip-double toe. Her jumps don't get much height, but she rotates them quickly. Layback spin was nice, but she turned out and possibly two footed a triple toe. She may have two footed the triple loop after that too, it looked a little rough. Her spiral sequence was nice, as well as the spin after that. Double axel-double axel sequence with no speed going into it, followed by a two footed triple lutz. The footwork had no energy or life at all to it, and then she fell on a downgraded triple flip, finishing with a slow spin. Vanessa didn't really perform; seemed to be all about the elements for her. 162.91, 7th.

Agnes Zawadzki opened with a double axel-triple toe that seemed a little tough on the latter half to me, followed by a good triple flip. Combo spin was okay,  then a triple lutz attempt that was doubled - it looked like she slipped on the entry. Layback position could be more more impressive. Triple lutz-double toe was nice, followed by a biellmann spiral sequence that wobbled a bit. Fall on an underrotated triple loop, but good comeback with a nice triple salchow. She fell out of a triple toe, but tacked on a double toe and double loop. Footwork was okay, and she ended with an alright combo spin. Agnes could use more refinement in her skating, but when she hits them, her jumps are HUGE! 173.84, 4th.

Christina Gao started off with a nice triple flip-triple toe and triple salchow. Lots of speed going into the jumps too. Ran out of room at the end of her triple lutz-double toe-double loop and had to stepout. She did a nice spin and then a decent biellmann spiral, followed by an okay triple loop and double axel. Fall on the second triple flip, which was downgraded. Combo spin was alright, and she had a little slip in the footwork but it was okay other than that. Triple toe was a little tough, maybe two footed? Her final spin was nice, until the bit of traveling at the end of it. I like her a good bit; she surprised last year at Nationals, so I'm glad to see her skate decently here. Definitely hoping she places well at Junior Worlds. 167.20 total, 5th.

Alissa Czisny: Triple lutz-double toe was nice, followed by a good triple flip and triple toe-double toe-double loop. Spin was nice, but she had to fight for the underrotated triple loop. Spiral sequence was good, and her triple lutz-double toe, double axel, and triple toe were all okay. She finished with two really nice spins and an alright footwork sequence. As I've noted in prior posts, I don't really care for Alissa's skating much, but kudos to her on skating a nearly clean freeskate and not giving up on that loop. I wasn't sure what to expect from her, but she did hold it together. 191.24, 1st place.

Mirai Nagasu: Love her dress. Triple lutz-double toe just okay, she had to work for it. Double axel-double toe, okay. Edge deduction on the triple flip, alright otherwise. Lovely layback and biellmann positions. Triple lutz, underrotated. Triple toe-double toe-double loop,  okay. Great spiral sequence, followed by another just okay jump, a triple loop. Ina bauer to a double axel, which she fell out off and then she screwed up a flying sit spin, receiving no credit for it. Last spin was fine, but the damage was done. She looked nervous before she even started the program and then was tentative throughout. It's a shame, she's my favorite of all of these girls. 177.36, 3rd place.

Rachael Flatt: Double axel-triple toe, wobbly and the latter was underrotated. Doubled the intended triple lutz after that, followed by a camel spin with a variation I can't stand.  Not really a fan of the choreography either. Triple flip was alright, as well as a combo spin. Spiral sequence, meh. Triple lutz-double toe okay, triple flip-double toe-double loop with a bit of a high kick on the flip. Triple loop was okay, as well as the footwork. Fallout on the triple salchow. Ending combo spin was okay. 183.38, 2nd. I'd probably have sent Mirai to Worlds, but c'est la vie.

Full Results

Check back  for the men's freeskate post sometime today or tomorrow. 

U.S. Nationals and Europeans Updates

Mirai Nagasu won the ladies short program at U.S. Nationals with 63.35. Not far behind are Alissa Czisny (62.50), Rachael Flatt (62.32), and Agnes Zawadzki (61.54). Christina Gao and Vanessa Lam are in fifth and sixth respectively with 58.43 and 57.61. Ashley Wagner, who is reportedly struggling with the flu, sits in seventh (54.63) with Yasmin Siraj in eighth (49.91),and Caroline Zhang in tenth (48.48). Mirai was also charming the heck out of reporters in the mixed zone, saying things like...

"I have to do jumps anyway, so why not go ahead and land them?" and "The title was Total Package; I think it should have been Potential Total Package" (about her SKATING magazine cover.).

Her skating aside, things like that really make me cheer for Mirai. She's young, she's adorable, and she can make me laugh. The personality doesn't seem put on in any way - she's just acting like the seventeen year old girl that she is.

Eleven year old Nathan Chen completely decimated the rest of the field at Nationals for his second Novice National title in a row. His coach says that Nathan is planning to move up to Juniors next season and is working on a triple axel off ice. I really hope that he manages to stay injury free over the next few years and can adjust his jumps well as he gets taller - he clearly is a talent.

Caitlin Yankowskas and John Coughlin are in the lead after the pairs short program with 64.30. Second are Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig with 62.87, third Mary Beth Marley and Rockne Brubaker with 58.10. Defending champions Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett are fourth with 57.79. Protocols for the short program are available if you click on Senior Pairs short program on this page (they also seem to be available for all other categories shortly after the events are over.)

Starting orders are up for the men's short program and the short dance.

Onto Euros...

To no ones surprise Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat are in the lead after the short dance (66.91). In second are Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev (65.46), third Sinead Kerr and John Kerr (62.87). Rounding out the top six are Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov (60.93), Ekaterina Riazanova and Ilia Tkachenko (60.91), and Nora Hoffmann and Maxim Zavozin (58.00). Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali are buried in ninth (57.18).

Short Dance Results
Protocols

Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy claimed their fourth European crown with a final score of 206.20, despite losing the freeskate to Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov (203.61).Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov grabbed bronze with 188.24 and Katarina Gerboldt and Alexander Enbert, fourth(169.95).

Pairs Short Results
Protocols
Pairs Freeskate Results
Protocols

Florent Amodio has the lead after the men's short program with 78.11. Michal Brezina sits in second with 76.13 and Artur Gachinski third with 73.76. Kevin Van Der Perren is in fourth (73.61) followed by Tomas Verner (72.91), Samuel Contesti (72.78), and Brian Joubert (70.44). Gold medal favorites Brian and Tomas both fell once and based off the protocol it looks like Brian struggled with all of his jumping elements. Personally, I'm certainly hoping that Florent holds onto the lead for his first senior international title and am also hoping that Tomas will come back strong with a solid freeskate.

Men's Short Results
Protocols

30 Days of Skating - Day 16: Your Dream 2014 Olympic Medalists

...Like you didn't see that coming after you read the title. ;) This one is so much easier than predicting who I think will win!

For the ladies, I'd like to see something like this...

Gold -Mao Asada
Silver - Mirai Nagasu
Bronze -Christina Gao/Akiko Suzuki

Mao is a lovely skater and wants it (Olympic gold) so badly, and I appreciate that she is trying to relearn her jumps in order to have proper technique and a full set of triples. It's hard to correct something when you have the wrong way to do it in your muscle memory from doing it that way so long, and I think it's great that Mao is working on her weak points and trying to make her skating the best it can be. Mirai has a personality that really grabs your attention and when at her best, you can see it in her performances. Christina Gao stood out to me in the splat fest that was US Nationals last season, so I'd like to see her grow and hopefully be an Olympic medalist one day. And finally, Akiko Suzuki, because she skates with heart; you can see she enjoys skating and I love that she brings you along for the ride.

For the pairs... well. I don't see nearly as many anymore, but from what I do...
Gold - Pang/Tong (though in reality, I kinda doubt they'll stay in)
Silver - Savchenko/Szolkowy
Bronze - Barazova/Larionov

I have a soft spot for Pang and Tong after watching them for so long and I'm basically a sucker for a good pairs love story. I enjoy their lyrical style and it's always a pleasure to watch Chinese throws and twists. Savchenko and Szolkowy impressed me at the 2010 Olympics - I really loved their freeskate, and I find it a bit of a shame that their Olympic season didn't go quite how they had hoped (although never would I EVER wish that Shen and Zhao hadn't won in Vancouver) , and I think it'd be great if they stayed in and improved on their placement in Sochi. Barazova and Larionov have a beautiful style, and if they continue to improve and avoid injury, they could definitely be serious contenders at top competitions. I'd definitely like to see that, so long as she works on her jumps (they lack height and possibly rotation).

For ice dance, I'd like...
Gold - Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani
Silver - Meryl Davis/Charlie White
Bronze - ?

Although I have no idea who I'd like to have the bronze at this point in time, I'd love to see the Shibutanis and Marlie go 1-2, in either order (after all, the Shibutanis will still be pretty young for ice dancers). I really enjoy both teams, and how amazing would it be for America to win two Olympic medals in ice dance at one time?!?

For the men...
Gold - Daisuke Takahashi
Silver - Adam Rippon/Takahiko Kozuka
Bronze - Florent Amodio

Yeah, yeah - my pick for gold is extremely predictable, but what can I say? Daisuke is my clear favorite and he wants the gold so badly. I really feel that as amazing of a skater that he is and considering what he's overcome to get this far, that he deserves to be the first Japanese man to win the Olympic title in figure skating. For silver, I can't bring myself to decide who I want it for more at this point, Adam or Takahiko, especially because both will be about the same age and might be thinking of retirement by then :-/. Finally, for bronze, I'd like Florent to have it, although by then he might really be challenging for gold if he continues to develop the way he has been.

Hopefully at least a few of my dream picks will come true - the Olympics aren't exactly my favorite skating competition. There always seems to be a skater who misses out on a medal that really deserved one and either were judged poorly or they succumbed to nerves and robbed themselves. Also, sometimes a skater just happens to get lucky and skate well on the right day, but overall their skating isn't worth an Olympic gold and the recognition that comes along with it. I'll take the World Championships over the Olympic heartbreaks any day.

Trophee Eric Bompard - A Preview

Only a couple more days until Trophee Eric Bompard starts! I've dying for this since about halfway through the men's freeskate at Cup of Russia, and I am really looking forward to what will hopefully be a much more exciting men's event. Here's the rundown on who to look out for.

In Pairs Savchenko and Szolkowy are easily favorite for gold - unless they explode entirely, I doubt anyone will be able to touch them. For the rest of the field it will simply be a fight for silver and bronze.

As for Ice Dancing, the heavy favorite is definitely the French team of Pechalat and Bourzat; it is doubtful that anyone will truly challenge them here, but Chock and Zuerlein will definitely be looking to follow up their bronze at Skate Canada with another medal here. Several of the other teams only finished 5th at their earlier Grand Prix showings this season, so it could be interesting to see how they stack up in Paris. 

The Ladies, contrary to the pairs and ice dance events, have no clear favorite for the title here.  Alissa Czisny, Mirai Nagasu, Kiira Korpi, and Cynthia Phaneuf seem to be the most likely candidates for a win here, but none of them are exactly models of consistency. Also, although I wouldn't place any bets on her (or more likely, Fantasy Skating picks), it wouldn't do well to count out reigning World Champion Mao Asada, even with her jump troubles as of late. I really hope Mao really get her feet back under her here; seeing her struggle the way she has is disheartening, especially because she is a much better skater than that. 


And finally, the Men. The men's event in Paris features Brian Joubert, Takahiko Kozuka, Florent Amodio, Kevin Reynolds, and Brandon Mroz. Mroz will be looking to build upon his silver medal win at Cup of China, and possibly qualify for the Grand Prix Final. Joubert, while not one to be counted out, usually doesn't skate well in his home country ( He's even admitted to disliking competing there!), so we'll see what he puts out this time. Also, if he wishes to really challenge for the title here, he better have worked on getting his spins up to a higher level of difficulty - all but one spin were deemed level 1 in the long program at Cup of China, which really cost him. Amodio is another one looking to build on success from his prior Grand Prix this season - his third place finish at NHK is a fairly impressive result, given that he was against Takahashi and Abbott there, and he even beat Abbott in the freeskate! If he can put the jumps together again here, that combined with his performance quality should be enough to get him on the podium. Reynolds, while having multiple quads with a good deal of consistency, isn't exactly consistent in everything else. He tends to land great quads, only to have mistakes on triple axels or simpler elements later on, so I'm not very convinced that he'll manage a medal here.Lastly, Kozuka is a definite threat here, after a solid win at Cup of China. His jumps, spins, and basics are all there - he could just use some more expression in competition (some does seem to come out in exhibition). However, when Kozuka is on, his skating is absolutely mesmerizing.  


All in all, I'm really looking forward to seeing how this event plays out and who the final Grand Prix Final slots go to. Here's to hoping that the skating is better than at Cup of Russia!