Pairs: Savchenko/Szolkowy are definitely the team to beat, but they'll have more competition this time in Kavaguti/Smirnov. Takahashi/Tran and Iliushechkeni/Maisuradze should be the hunt for the bronze and Denney/Coughlin might be a factor, if they are judged similarly to how they were at their last Grand Prix.
Ice Dance: The Shibutanis, Weaver/Poje, and Ilinykh/Katsalapov seem likely to be the medalists in one order or another. The Shibs have beaten Weaver/Poje before, but not this early in the season; while I'll be rooting for the Shibs, it could go either way. Ilinykh/Katsalapov are the 2010 World Junior Champions and placed 7th at Worlds last season; they also changed coaches during the off season to Nikolai Morozov and this is a good opportunity to see how that has changed their skating.
Ladies: This event doesn't really have a clear favorite. Mao Asada will be competing for the first time this season; she's still working on correcting her flutz, but if her other jumps are being fully rotated, she's definitely one to beat. It still remains a bit of a mystery though - there hasn't been a whole lot of news from her in the off season and I'm very interested in seeing how she skates. Akiko Suzuki is much less of a mystery and is a threat for gold; her main issue is a tendency to pop jumps in the freeskate and that she often doesn't get the PCS that I feel she deserves. Ashley Wagner is coming off of a surprise third place finish at Skate Canada, where despite a fall and flutzing issues, she had an overall strong competition and showed a lot of fight. If she keeps it together like that again here, she could be in the running. Kiira Korpi doesn't have the technical content of some of the other girls, but she usually garners good PCS which, if she does what technical content she has well, could result in a medal. Agnes Zawadzki and Alena Leonova are two more wild cards here; Agnes has massive jumps but lacks consistency, often placing highly in the short program only to falter in the freeskate, while Alena nearly medaled at Worlds last season, but struggled at her first Grand Prix this season.
Men: The battle here should be between Daisuke Takahashi and Takahiko Kozuka, with Tomas Verner, as usual, being a wildcard. Daisuke and Takahiko both had some troubles at their first Grand Prix of the season (and have reportedly both had boot issues) but are still clearly the class of the field. This should make for an interesting matchup (and a stressful one if you're a fan of both, like I am). Tomas played spoiler at Cup of Russia last season, shocking many, and will be looking to do that here, but I believe he'll need his quad if he even wants a fair shake at it. There's a cluster of other guys that will be looking to move up to bronze; the ones that come to mind for more are Armin Mahbanoozadeh, Tatsuki Machida, Brandon Mroz, and Ross Miner. Armin had a poor showing at Skate America and will be looking to improve upon that here and Brandon Mroz has been landing quad lutzes recently, which could help him place highly here if his other jumps remain steady. Ross Miner had a rough short at his last event but came back strong with a solid freeskate; I think it'd be difficult for him to factor in here, but given how the Grand Prix has played out so far... it's hard to count him out. This is Tatsuki Machida's only Grand Prix of this season and he'll want to make a strong statement here to stake his claim on more international assignments. He's one of many good skaters that's had a hard time medaling at Japanese Nationals due to the depth and I'm really looking forward to seeing him skate here.
Event page
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Thursday, November 10, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Cup of China: A Preview
Pairs: This is possibly one of the deeper pairs fields on the Grand Prix so far, Zhang/Zhang, Kavaguti/Smirnov, Moore-Towers/Moscovitch, and Sui/Han likely being the major teams in contention for the podium. Zhang/Zhang led the field after the short program at Skate America and grabbed silver overall, despite not having competed in over a year. Moore-Towers/Moscovitch also medaled at Skate America and will obviously want to repeat that here, but I think it'll be more difficult this with the two Chinese teams and the Russians to contend with. Kavaguti/Smirnov have been World and Olympic medal contenders before and definitely have a good chance win over this field here if they skate well. Sui/Han are a very young team but they did well on the Grand Prix last season and won Junior Worlds for the second year in a row. They may lack finesse, but their big tricks can be absolutely massive, which often helps them shoot up the rankings. Americans Evora/Ladwig are an outside shot for a medal in my opinion, but a solid showing here would be a great way to build confidence going into Nationals.
Ice Dance: World bronze medalists Shibutani/Shibutani are the likely favorites for this event and look to win their first senior title of any kind here . Bobrova/Soloviev will probably be their main challengers for the gold. Beyond that, it's a bit more confusing with Carron/Jones and Coomes/Buckland having been World competitors and Lichtman/Copely who medaled at Junior Worlds last season. The newly formed team of Emily Samuelson/Todd Gilles will also be competing and I'm interested to see where they'll end up (Samuelson's former parter Evan Bates placed 4th at Skate Canada last week with his new partner Madison Chock).
Ladies: Carolina Kostner has to be considered the favorite at this competition. There's a few girls that could defeat her, but for most of them that will probably require mistakes on her part and excellent skates on theirs. Mirai Nagasu should be considered a threat, but her programs this season, especially her freeskate, are lackluster and she displayed very little fire at Skate Canada last week. If Mirai is on, I think she could take Carolina, but like Jeremy, it all depends on what's going on in her head. Kanako Murakami did extremely well on the Grand Prix last season (beating Kostner at Skate America even) and placed at the top 10 at Worlds; she reportedly is having boot problems but if she can fight through that, it's easy to imagine her medaling. Adelina Sotnikova is the 2011 World Junior Champion and will be making her senior GP debut at this event and will likely be a factor if her jumps stay together. Christina Gao will also be making her GP debut; I like her, but I'm not convinced she'll be in it for a medal. She does has a triple flip-triple toe that's been competition tested before though, so I don't think it's entirely out of the question.
Men: The battle for the podium here will be slightly less difficult than it was expected to be, due to Brian Joubert withdrawing because of a back injury he's been dealing with recently. It seems like there will be four main guys in contention, with a few possible spoilers should they falter. Jeremy Abbott is a fantastic all around skater, but how he places here will depend on his mental game; if he keeps it together he could come out with a massive score, but if he doesn't, he could end up off the podium entirely in this field. Artur Gachinski is lacking in some areas but can be a very consistent jumper and has a solid quad under his belt. Yuzuru Hanyu shocked many by placing second behind Daisuke Takahashi at Four Continents last season and while still developing (understandable because he's still only 16), has nice style and some absolutely gorgeous jumps. Nobunari Oda is not planning to attempt a quad here because of a knee injury he was dealing with a few months ago, which could make medaling here significantly more difficult with Gachinski, Abbott, and Hanyu competing; especially with all three planning to quad (to the best of my knowledge). Kevin Reynolds, as usual, has the potential to play spoiler here as he'll probably be attempting at least two types of quads, but he lacks consistency and often falls apart in the freeskate. Richard Dornbush also has a quad planned and can be a steady competitor, but unless the others really struggle, I think don't think his odds of medaling are great.
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Isu Event Page
Ice Dance: World bronze medalists Shibutani/Shibutani are the likely favorites for this event and look to win their first senior title of any kind here . Bobrova/Soloviev will probably be their main challengers for the gold. Beyond that, it's a bit more confusing with Carron/Jones and Coomes/Buckland having been World competitors and Lichtman/Copely who medaled at Junior Worlds last season. The newly formed team of Emily Samuelson/Todd Gilles will also be competing and I'm interested to see where they'll end up (Samuelson's former parter Evan Bates placed 4th at Skate Canada last week with his new partner Madison Chock).
Ladies: Carolina Kostner has to be considered the favorite at this competition. There's a few girls that could defeat her, but for most of them that will probably require mistakes on her part and excellent skates on theirs. Mirai Nagasu should be considered a threat, but her programs this season, especially her freeskate, are lackluster and she displayed very little fire at Skate Canada last week. If Mirai is on, I think she could take Carolina, but like Jeremy, it all depends on what's going on in her head. Kanako Murakami did extremely well on the Grand Prix last season (beating Kostner at Skate America even) and placed at the top 10 at Worlds; she reportedly is having boot problems but if she can fight through that, it's easy to imagine her medaling. Adelina Sotnikova is the 2011 World Junior Champion and will be making her senior GP debut at this event and will likely be a factor if her jumps stay together. Christina Gao will also be making her GP debut; I like her, but I'm not convinced she'll be in it for a medal. She does has a triple flip-triple toe that's been competition tested before though, so I don't think it's entirely out of the question.
Men: The battle for the podium here will be slightly less difficult than it was expected to be, due to Brian Joubert withdrawing because of a back injury he's been dealing with recently. It seems like there will be four main guys in contention, with a few possible spoilers should they falter. Jeremy Abbott is a fantastic all around skater, but how he places here will depend on his mental game; if he keeps it together he could come out with a massive score, but if he doesn't, he could end up off the podium entirely in this field. Artur Gachinski is lacking in some areas but can be a very consistent jumper and has a solid quad under his belt. Yuzuru Hanyu shocked many by placing second behind Daisuke Takahashi at Four Continents last season and while still developing (understandable because he's still only 16), has nice style and some absolutely gorgeous jumps. Nobunari Oda is not planning to attempt a quad here because of a knee injury he was dealing with a few months ago, which could make medaling here significantly more difficult with Gachinski, Abbott, and Hanyu competing; especially with all three planning to quad (to the best of my knowledge). Kevin Reynolds, as usual, has the potential to play spoiler here as he'll probably be attempting at least two types of quads, but he lacks consistency and often falls apart in the freeskate. Richard Dornbush also has a quad planned and can be a steady competitor, but unless the others really struggle, I think don't think his odds of medaling are great.
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Saturday, October 29, 2011
Skate Canada; Men's Short Program
Elladj Balde (Canada): Edge called on his triple flip-triple toe that also had a slight stepout. Triple axel underrotated ,two footed, and fallen on. Slight bobble on the triple lutz too. First spin was nice, the other two weren't as successful. You could see he was trying to really perform, which is nice. TE 28.82 PCS 28.17 Deduction - 1.00 = SP 55.99 (10th)
Ross Miner (USA): Pretty sure this is the same short program he had last year (it's the same costume as last year, at least). Singled axel at the beginning and his triple lutz was a bit scratching and he only managed a double toe on the end of it instead of a triple. He got it back on track with a nice triple flip. Most spins were alright; the last one was particularly nice, and his footwork was okay. I'm glad Ross didn't give up and got the performance back on track, but it still was kind of bland. Something to work on, for sure. TE 29.62 PCS 31.21 PCS = SP 60.83 (9th)
Denis Ten (Kazakhstan): He has nice speed across the ice. Triple axel was good in the air and initially on the landing too, but he somehow leaned too far back AFTER actually landing it and stumbled a bit (they counted it as a fall on deductions). His triple flip-triple toe was alright, followed by a lovely death drop and a triple lutz that was fine. Camel changefoot camel with an alright donut position but it slowed. Last spin was a combination spin with an A frame position which was done well enough (that position still is a least favorite of mine though). Footwork has some nice twizzles and other steps, but his arms got flaily in a few parts of it, which was probably made to appear worse than it was by the style of sleeves his costume had. TE 38.94 PCS 33.46 Deduction - 1.00 = SP 71.50 (5th)
Andrei Rogozine (Canada): Good triple flip-triple toe and a spread eagle to his triple axel; the landing had to be worked a bit, but that's was a rather difficult entry. The music randomly changed while he was spinning.. it was a little odd. Good triple lutz and a good spin after. His footwork was okay but his last spin was really slow by the time he was finishing it. TE 35.68 PCS 31.60 = SP 67.28 (6th)
Javier Fernandez (Spain): Nice quad toe to start the program! Man... I forgot how fast Javier rotates in the air - it's really something. Very good triple lutz-triple toe after that, as well as a good triple axel. His footwork went was really suited to the theme of the program; it was cute and done well. His spins could use some work. They traveled a lot and were on the slow side. Pretty impressive overall though... those jumps were ridiculous. He was very pleased with his performance; his reaction was adorable, haha. TE 45.60 PCS 39.11 = SP 84.71 (1st)
Alexander Majorov (Sweden): His costume made me think that he was Richard Dornbush for a second. His triple axel was alright, but some trouble on the triple lutz; he pitched forward a bit on the landing and had to settle for a double toe on the end of it to complete his combination with it. He had more trouble on the triple flip after that, turning out on the landing. Sloppy sit change sit spin and trouble on the other spins as well. He tried to be entertaining with this Austin Powers routine, but it didn't really work for me; the footwork in particularly felt kitschy. TE 33.36 PCS 31.78 = SP 65.14 (7th)
Adam Rippon (USA): Haha, he made a great face before starting... looking confident. Good Rippon triple lutz to start and nice speed in general. It looked like his free foot might have touched the ice a bit on the landing of his triple axel, but it was rotated and he avoid falling out of it, which is still a victory for him. Triple flip-triple toe combo; the flip was alright but you could see on the replay that the triple toe was under. After that was an alright spin and his footwork sequence, which seemed a little clumsy - I'm wondering if he's just not comfortable with it yet. Loved his split jump after that, and it was nice to see his layback spin again. I'm not sure how I feel about this program; I think it'll take a couple more performances for me to know if I like it or not. Another great face after finishing his program. TE 36.61 PCS 36.28 = SP 72.89 (4th)
Kevin van der Perren (Belgium): Triple axel popped into a double to start, followed by a triple flip-triple toe and a good triple lutz. His spins are still pretty poor, but while his footwork wasn't done amazingly well, it at least had a section of one foot turns that are difficult, which is some improvement. TE 31.86 PCS 32.15 = SP 64.01 (8th)
Patrick Chan (Canada): First was his quad toe, which he put his hand down on and turned out of, followed by his triple axel attempt, which was doubled. Good combo spin but it traveled a bit. Triple lutz-triple toe was alright, and his flying spin and camel change camel were on the good side. Footwork had some nice twizzles and edges. As Patrick said in the kiss and cry, "Better than last year". I'm still not a fan of this program (which he kept from last season). TE 40.38 PCS 42.90 = SP 83.28 (3rd)
Daisuke Takahashi (Japan): The crowd absolutely errupted when his name was announced. Good triple flip-triple toe to start. Good triple axel! A flying sit spin that was quite nice and then an alright triple lutz. His camel change camel with a not so great donut variation and it was his slowest spin. His trademark footwork was gorgeous and he ended with a nicely done combo spin. I love the mood of this program; it's intense and you could see as soon as he took his opening pose that he was ready to perform. This performance was more than I dared hope from Daisuke at this point in the season; it was rock solid technically and he really drew you into the program. I could not be happier with how he skated. TE 42.41 PCS 42.25 = SP 84.66(2nd)
Ross Miner (USA): Pretty sure this is the same short program he had last year (it's the same costume as last year, at least). Singled axel at the beginning and his triple lutz was a bit scratching and he only managed a double toe on the end of it instead of a triple. He got it back on track with a nice triple flip. Most spins were alright; the last one was particularly nice, and his footwork was okay. I'm glad Ross didn't give up and got the performance back on track, but it still was kind of bland. Something to work on, for sure. TE 29.62 PCS 31.21 PCS = SP 60.83 (9th)
Denis Ten (Kazakhstan): He has nice speed across the ice. Triple axel was good in the air and initially on the landing too, but he somehow leaned too far back AFTER actually landing it and stumbled a bit (they counted it as a fall on deductions). His triple flip-triple toe was alright, followed by a lovely death drop and a triple lutz that was fine. Camel changefoot camel with an alright donut position but it slowed. Last spin was a combination spin with an A frame position which was done well enough (that position still is a least favorite of mine though). Footwork has some nice twizzles and other steps, but his arms got flaily in a few parts of it, which was probably made to appear worse than it was by the style of sleeves his costume had. TE 38.94 PCS 33.46 Deduction - 1.00 = SP 71.50 (5th)
Andrei Rogozine (Canada): Good triple flip-triple toe and a spread eagle to his triple axel; the landing had to be worked a bit, but that's was a rather difficult entry. The music randomly changed while he was spinning.. it was a little odd. Good triple lutz and a good spin after. His footwork was okay but his last spin was really slow by the time he was finishing it. TE 35.68 PCS 31.60 = SP 67.28 (6th)
Javier Fernandez (Spain): Nice quad toe to start the program! Man... I forgot how fast Javier rotates in the air - it's really something. Very good triple lutz-triple toe after that, as well as a good triple axel. His footwork went was really suited to the theme of the program; it was cute and done well. His spins could use some work. They traveled a lot and were on the slow side. Pretty impressive overall though... those jumps were ridiculous. He was very pleased with his performance; his reaction was adorable, haha. TE 45.60 PCS 39.11 = SP 84.71 (1st)
Alexander Majorov (Sweden): His costume made me think that he was Richard Dornbush for a second. His triple axel was alright, but some trouble on the triple lutz; he pitched forward a bit on the landing and had to settle for a double toe on the end of it to complete his combination with it. He had more trouble on the triple flip after that, turning out on the landing. Sloppy sit change sit spin and trouble on the other spins as well. He tried to be entertaining with this Austin Powers routine, but it didn't really work for me; the footwork in particularly felt kitschy. TE 33.36 PCS 31.78 = SP 65.14 (7th)
Adam Rippon (USA): Haha, he made a great face before starting... looking confident. Good Rippon triple lutz to start and nice speed in general. It looked like his free foot might have touched the ice a bit on the landing of his triple axel, but it was rotated and he avoid falling out of it, which is still a victory for him. Triple flip-triple toe combo; the flip was alright but you could see on the replay that the triple toe was under. After that was an alright spin and his footwork sequence, which seemed a little clumsy - I'm wondering if he's just not comfortable with it yet. Loved his split jump after that, and it was nice to see his layback spin again. I'm not sure how I feel about this program; I think it'll take a couple more performances for me to know if I like it or not. Another great face after finishing his program. TE 36.61 PCS 36.28 = SP 72.89 (4th)
Kevin van der Perren (Belgium): Triple axel popped into a double to start, followed by a triple flip-triple toe and a good triple lutz. His spins are still pretty poor, but while his footwork wasn't done amazingly well, it at least had a section of one foot turns that are difficult, which is some improvement. TE 31.86 PCS 32.15 = SP 64.01 (8th)
Patrick Chan (Canada): First was his quad toe, which he put his hand down on and turned out of, followed by his triple axel attempt, which was doubled. Good combo spin but it traveled a bit. Triple lutz-triple toe was alright, and his flying spin and camel change camel were on the good side. Footwork had some nice twizzles and edges. As Patrick said in the kiss and cry, "Better than last year". I'm still not a fan of this program (which he kept from last season). TE 40.38 PCS 42.90 = SP 83.28 (3rd)
Daisuke Takahashi (Japan): The crowd absolutely errupted when his name was announced. Good triple flip-triple toe to start. Good triple axel! A flying sit spin that was quite nice and then an alright triple lutz. His camel change camel with a not so great donut variation and it was his slowest spin. His trademark footwork was gorgeous and he ended with a nicely done combo spin. I love the mood of this program; it's intense and you could see as soon as he took his opening pose that he was ready to perform. This performance was more than I dared hope from Daisuke at this point in the season; it was rock solid technically and he really drew you into the program. I could not be happier with how he skated. TE 42.41 PCS 42.25 = SP 84.66(2nd)
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
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
Friday, October 28, 2011
ISU GP Skate Canada -- Daisuke TAKAHASHI - SP
2nd place behind Javier Fernandez with 84.66 points. My thoughts on the men and ladies' short programs will be posted later!
Skating Updates
A few pieces of skating news while we wait for the ladies short to start...
Daisuke Takahashi confirms again that he plans to skate until Sochi; also talks about quads and his readiness for this season, among other things.
Brandon Mroz's quad lutz was officially recognized.
Adam Rippon plans a quad lutz at Skate Canada; if he lands it, he'll be the first one to do so internationally.
Ashley Wagner and Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir spoke to Icenetwork about this season.
Daisuke Takahashi confirms again that he plans to skate until Sochi; also talks about quads and his readiness for this season, among other things.
Brandon Mroz's quad lutz was officially recognized.
Adam Rippon plans a quad lutz at Skate Canada; if he lands it, he'll be the first one to do so internationally.
Ashley Wagner and Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir spoke to Icenetwork about this season.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
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.
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.
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