That Ladies competition, the last of day 1 of the NHK Trophy (the Pairs Short taking place on day 2) had a lot to live up to coming on the heels on one hell of a battle at the top in the Men’s Short program (and a world record).

But while the fight didn’t promise to be quite as epic as in the men’s category, the presence of arguably the two best Japanese skaters, Mao Asada and Akiko Suzuki, as well as a Mirai Nagasu seemingly back on course, Chinese wonderbaby Zijun Li, who had a very positive run at the Cup of China, Agnes Zawadzki on the heels of a probing competition at Cup of Russia, and two short program specialits, Ksenia Makarova and Elena Gedevanishvili, meant that we should still be in for a treat. Also, the results in this competition would determine the last of the tickets for the Grand Prix Final and while Mao Asada and Akiko Suzuki seemed pretty sure bets, Mirai Nagasu and Agnes Zawadzki could still hope to play havoc with the prognostics (and with Mishin’s nerves back in Russia always a bonus)

Sofia Biryukova (18), RUS

Oh, Sofia, Sofia, Sofia…..

To be honest, I went back to read my Cup of China entry to see if I couldn’t just copy-paste what I wrote back then in that she’s a bit the Adam Rippon of this Ladies competition – nice skating, clearly talented – couldn’t do a clean program to save her life

Oh well, at least she isn’t skating to Nessun Dorma and she isn’t wearing a pink/ lilac billowing shirt, so that’s something

That being said, it would have been a bit unfair. After all, her performance here at NHK wasn’t the complete disaster of the Cup of China – it was only three quarters of a disaster. Back in Cup of China, she messed up big time with both the lutz and her triple loop- double toe-loop combination and underrotated everything. This time she botched the reception of her first triple toe-loop, denying her the chance to attempt the triple-triple combination, and had an issue on the reception of her triple loop. BUT she didn’t underrotate anything

See? That’s progress. Of some sort

And her program isn’t bad, although there isn’t a lot going on choreogrphically in there. But she presented it pretty well and despite the mistakes, she continued to excute her movement with a certain assurance that made the whole thing pleasing if a little forgetable. Of course, that wasn’t going to be enough to get her a save by components, but that I was rather surprised that she would get less than 6 in interpretation, the lowest of all the ladies – and even lessx than Caroline Zhang at Cup of Russia, for crying out loud

Her lack of any sort of reaction after such disappointing performances is really starting to get a little scary….

Marks: 25.16 + 24.15 = 49.31

Zijun Li (15), CHN

Also known as Wonderbaby no 3 she got pretty much everyone watching this season’s Cup of China noticing her, which wasn’t a small feat considering she was skating with the Wonder-super-baby Lipnitskaia. The question was whether she could confirm her excellent performance at home

Why did I even doubt her?

Once again, it’s a super clean program all around – triple-triple combination, triple flip (on the right edge) and double axel were all spotless, and she had great dexterity in the spins, even if she can’t quite rival with her Russian counterpart (then again, who can?). The only thing that drags her down somewhat is that her steps sequence was only level 2, but at least it was well skated and in music, so I guess we can forgive her that

But the thing that really stood out is her personality on the ice. Initially I wasn’t too sure about having what looked like a fragile little girl skate to the very fiery Dark Eyes but actually she proved in wasn’t a bad move. Her program may not be completely in spirit with the song (which is a romance after all), and she has to straighten her body lines which leave a bit to be desired in place. b

But she more than makes it up for it with enthusiasm

I mean, look at that smile <3

There’s just a genuine happiness to be on the ice about Zijun Li that she not only feels but manages to share with the public that I found highly refreshing. It’s not just a job for her, it’s something she enjoys every moment of. If she can keep that enthusiasm about the sport, whatever the puberty monster will bring about, it will be battle half won

If Team Japan’s antics weren’t enough to make me barff rainbows, this would <3

Marks: 32.92 + 26.70 = 59.62

Haruka Imai (19), JPN

One of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful costume in this ladies’ field.

And she is a lovely and elegant skater

Well, I really wished I had other positivies to add, but that’s about it really :s

At first I thought it must have been the pressure of skating in her home grand prix but then again it’s the second time in two international outings she messes up pretty badly the short program.

On the sheet, it all looked pretty promising though with a triple toe-loop combination. But then she started skating, opening with the double axel, when this happened,

and she never quite got over that in all the program. Technically she also messed up the reception of her first triple toe-loop, which forced her to go for the combination on her triple loop instead. There is a real quality to her skating and her spins were good but nothing stellar enough to really make up any ground lost on the jumps

That initial fall also seemed to affect her skating and overall presentation, although she wasn’t helped much by the choreography either. It’s ok to keep it minimalistic on a music like that of Charade, but there’s minimalistic and then there’s absent, and we’re that close from the latter although there’s just enough about it to keep us from total boredom – how that program would fare if it lasted four minutes though is another question entirely….

For some reason Jason Dungjen found the whole thing highly funny or he’s laughing in desesperation because AGAIN?

….while Haruka seems torn between laugher and crying

Well, it was a tough call between her and Sofia Biryukova for biggest failure but the judges decided to go with Haruka Imai in the end  apparently the home advantage only works if you’re called Mao Asada

Marks: 24.86 + 24.24 – 1.00 = 48.10 – currently 3rd

Agnes Zawadzki (18), USA

Another skater who made a big impression in her first GP outing of the season so with any luck, she’d do a Zijun Li and end that group on a happy note

Except she didn’t. Not because she badly messed up technically or because she skated with no energy, but because of a really strange, highly questionable tactical choice that condemned her

Seriously, all it took was a slight hesitation and stepout

at the landing of her triple toe-loop, meaning she couldn’t tag the second triple toe-loop. In that situation, any other skater would tag a double or triple to what would otherwise be the single jump which usually comes pretty close after that….

….except Agnes Zawadzki had already jumped her single jump, a clean triple lutz, which came as first element into her program

*headbanging wall*

Why would any team in their right mind choose to do that, knowing full well it would give no escape route whatsoever in case the first jump of the combo is not done properly? I can understand it in the men’s field because if you’re, oh, Hanyu, a triple lutz- triple toe-loop is not a difficulty anymore, and putting in the quad is kind of a required element when you aim for the win. But in the ladies’s field? And it’s not as if this move was bringing any additional points – it’s just a deliberate risk with no reward at the end of the day

*banging head some more*

The rest of the program was well executed and almost a copy of her performance at Cup of Russia, except you could tell that she was bothered by her mistake and didn’t quite put the same intensity in the rest of her performance, but that was really minor and it was all still very watchable. And on the plus side, all her last three elements (flying camel spin, steps sequences and combination spin) got much higher levels than at Cup of Russia – her last spin going from level one all the way to level four. So it wasn’t all bad, but unfortunately for her, not enough to make up for the major mistake on the combination

Nice to see she can still smile despite what must have been a disappointment for her which could close the door on any hope she had left of qualifying for the Grand Prix Final (although it would have taken some doing anyway)

Marks: 27.73 + 27.29 = 55.02

THIS CONCLUDES THE FIRST GROUP

SECOND GROUP STARTS

Ksenia Makarova (19), RUS

I’ve never made a secret that I don’t think ladies’ skating is nearly as interesting or entertaining as men’s skating is of late, although that’s not to say that the competition is not as interesting or even more so on occasion (Cup of China and Cup of Russia, I am looking at you). What mostly baffles me is the lack of choreographical content and research – it’s like the skating world had decided that ladies’ skating should pursue (a generic notion of) beauty and elegance….and little else beyond

And then of course you have programs that come along and that force you to swallow your words and make you happy you have to do so

In this particular instance, the music – Maria and the Violin’s String – is a wonderful choice but not necessarily the easiest to skate to because it’s all about nuances, the blending of melancholy and hope and just something incredibly fragile about it, like the flame of a candle that you are trying to protect with your hands from being extinguished against a strong wind. This is a melody that cannot tolerate any form of over-dramatization or generic choreography and it would have been so easy to fall into either pitfall

And that’s where the miracle occurs. Everything about Ksenia Makarova’s skating was perfect in all those respects. It doesn’t try to be pretty, it tries to be as true to the music as possible. It’s modern, it’s nuanced and it’s light. Every detail, down to the timing of each of her position and speed changes in the spins fit exactly the music and its mood and what’s even more remarkable is that everything feels organic, as if all her emotions, all her movements were exclusively dictated by the music and were not the result of countless hours of training and there’s just an emotion summoned by her performance that is difficult to put into words and which is all the more beautiful for it

The only drawback in the whole contruction of her program is that long, overdrawn preparation of that triple loop which ended up underrotated anyway – the only mistake which thankfully didn’t detract visually from the harmony of the choreography

But who really cares about technicalities when presented with a performance like that?

It is us who thank you, Ksenia (and team), for offering us a moment of grace on that Friday evening

Marks: 29.85 + 29.08 = 58.93 – currently 2nd

Mirai Nagasu (19), USA

And now for a complete change of style – not that it is a bad thing per se!

Mirai Nagasu had already given us the chance to admire her resurgence at Cup of China and the good news is that she confirmed here at NHK the overall positive impression that short program to Benny Goodman’s Downhill Special had left back then

Sure,  she had to fight to keep the landing clean on her second triple toe-loop in combination but that’s the only technical blemish on the program. Sure, she didn’t take major risks with the content, but with the number of girls either failing on the triple-triple combination or simply not having it in their program, it’s enough to put her in a favorable position (read within shot of a medal, or at least a top five) in almost any configuration of competition at the moment

And then there’s the program itself. It’s pleasant and it’s dynamic – and if anything, I thought that she had even more attack, more confidence skating it than she did at Cup of China, which is a good sign for her in view of the upcoming American Nationals. It’s also a well-thought out program where she seems to be really confortable even this early into the season, which should help her keep that confidence that she had seemingly lost of the last couple of seasons

PS: Note for all figure skating commentators out there – if I hear one more thing about Mirai Nagasu being too heavy compared to all the prepuberal 14-15 years old in planet skating, especially followed by the kind of stupid, half-embarassed laugh usually reserved for teenage boys (you know, THAT kind of laugh) and a word about how “maybe they shouldn’t be going on about her weight because that’s not very nice after all and crazy feminist harpies out there won’t be happy” I am going to DO SOMETHING REALLY TERRIBLE >_<

I love drama in the K&C like every figure skating fan, but I enjoy seeing that kind of reaction even more as long as we still get also drama, tantrums, flamboyant throwing of cuddly toys, etc 

Marks: 32.36 + 28.82 = 61.18

Elene Gedevanishvili (22), GEO

The other short specialist with Ksenia Makarova (read: usually great placement after the short, only to chock more or less badly in the free)

I wonder if that means that, since she mucked up in this particular short, it can work in reverse too?

Because unfortunately for Elene, she messed up in the initial triple lutz with a double-footed landing and a hand down, which allowed her to only follow it up with a double toe-loop (btw, wouldn’t it have been more judicious to forgo the combination on the lutz and try it with the salcow?). And in a way it’s a bit of a shame that she was not going to be rewarded for being the only skater in that competition who took the risk to go for the triple lutz- triple toe-loop

It’s all the more of a shame that the rest of her program was well executed, although she did get some negative grades of executions on her spins, one of which ended up only level 2 (she also had a wobble on the exit of her very last spin position in the program). So hardly a complete catastrophy, but the problem in this particular competition is that she was going against several athletes who had clean (or almost) programs and with still the two strongest contenders to come, so she was always going to pay for that mistake pretty badly in terms of ranking

Also, this program on the Schindler’s List OST is nicely composed and I was glad to see that dutifuly reflected in her marks (she however didn’t deserved higher PCs than Makarova, but I think it’s more a reflection on Makarova’s PCs being kept a bit low). She avoided the easy pitfall of going all out for the pathos and instead went for a more subtle mix melancholy and lightness actually well reflected in her costume choice. In particular, I thought the moments of transition between elements were well choreographed overall

Oh Elene, you’re a bit of a headcase sometimes, but there’s no doubt we still love you

Marks: 28.39 + 29.11 = 57.50 – currently 4th

Mao Asada (22), JPN

So that my hopes she would burn that costume gone out in smokes then ;__;

So there we were, with the skaters that all eyes were on really as there are few athletes more loved than Mao Asada in Japan

And to everyone’s relief, she didn’t disappoint

Her program was technically flawlessly. Not only did she hit all her elements, but she also got – well-deserved – high grades of execution across the board (she got a grand total of one negative GOE, for her layback spin – and yes, there was a slight amount of travelling but all other aspects were surely good enough not to warrant a negative GOE….)

There is, however, a question mark about the difficulty of the proposed elements because triple flip – double loop isn’t exactly what you’d expect from a skater who wants to challenge for the Worlds’ gold (btw, that comment applies also to Ashley Wagner). This tactical choice already has some commenting that this is only the beginning of a long slide towards total inability to jump any kind of triple jump and the world should have ended right before the year 2000, yes, we know. More seriously it could well be a result of the work she’s apparently doing to alter, among other things, the speed going into her jumps. At any rate, there’s hoping that she can reintroduce a triple-triple combination for the Worlds, if only to reaffirm her statue as a great technician on top of that of a very good interpreter in view of her middle-term objective of the Olympic Games, because not doing so could start to erode the goodwill judges clearly have towards her

Not that her marks were undue here. I already discussed the technical aspects, and artistically, well, she has a solid program. In many ways, it is very similar in intent to that of Mirai Nagasu – it’s light, it’s entertaining, it refreshing and you have a good moment watching it while she clearly has a ball performing it. I also really think that this program needs to be seen in light of the events of her last months and her near-retirement from the sport to understand the choreographer’s intent by giving her a program that echoes in some ways (the playfulness, the arm movements, the same attrocious orange color for her costume) her first SP performing at senior level

So while I think this program should be ranked behind Makarova’s in terms of choreography (and arguably interpretation) – not I am delusional enough to think that it would ever happen – that’s still  a good program which moreover feels like the right program for her at this juncture in time

PS: Note for all figure skating commentators out there number 2: please stop referring to her skating as being junior-ish – do us all a favor and go watch some actual junior competitions. Hopefully you’ll start to get the difference between “youthful energy” and “junior-level skating and expression”

Thanks

xoxo

That being said, even with the positives, it looks like even she didn’t expect those marks. Well, we’re in Japan, they love her, maybe nobody should be too surprised…..

Akiko Suzuki (27), JPN

Even though Mao Asada continues to have top billing, it’s Akiko Suzuki who comes into this competition as a world medalist.

Just saying

And she looked like she was quite determined to remind everyone of that little fact from the start as she began apparently full of confidence and hit the triple toe-loop combo with great assurance and since, when she’s on, Akiko Suzuki is a pretty reliable skater,  it looked like there would be no stopping her on the night

Which is why the reason for what happened next cannot be reasonably deduced but can only be extrapolated. Did she suddenly have a flash where she saw hereself departing while leaving the door to her hotel room open? Did she realized she forgot to pay her gas bill?

WAS SHE STRUCK BY DIVINE INSPIRATION AND PIERCED THE MYSTERY OF VOLOSOZHAR/ TRANKOV’S MARKS AT CUP OF RUSSIA?????

Surely, only a revelation of such mind-blowing proportions could have caused her to go and….

pop her triple lutz for no apparent good reason

o_0

Of course, the rest of the program was great, which was greeted by a flourish of largerly positive grades of execution, and reasonably good PCs. I’ve already had the chance to touch upon the fact that the music cuts in this program are dreadful and absolutely doing my head in, mostly because there’s just way too many of them. That musical issue excepted, it’s one of my favorite programs for her because it has her skate like a woman (and a pretty fiery one at that) which therefore immediately sets her apart from the majority of the field. They probably could have gone one level or two further in the choreographic construction but there’s no denying that she did a great job with what she was given and sells it well

Heh

Unfortunately for her, she found herself in a similar situation to that of Elene Gedevanishvili in that against the overall strong performance level on the night, she was going to have to fight it out to even skate in the second group for the free program. And she had only herself to blame for that really

Nagakubo-sensei, doing what we’ve all dreamt to do to many a skater at times <3 <3 <3 <3

(gif by sarunaskyler)

Still, it was great to see her to be able to laughat the whole situation in the K&C- even though she must have known what was coming next….

Marks: 28.26 + 30.34 = 58.60 – taking 5th place

THIS CONCLUDES THE LADIES’ SHORT PROGRAM

To be honest that was the event I was the most excited about and I knew I wasn’t the only one. For one, it’s the last of the Grand Prix events and we had no less than four men who were playing for a place in the Grand Prix Final, so that was always going to be exciting. Of those four (Javier Fernandez, Yuzuru Hanyu, Daisuke Takahashi and Sergei Voronov), the first three can largely be regarded as potential gold medal winners at major championships, and they were all going head to head on an early collision course

Also, while Javier Fernandez had a great first Grand Prix, beating even Patrick Chan on the way to his conquest of the Skate Canada, and Voronov was the surprise of Cup of China, Yuzuru Hanyu and Daisuke Takahashi owed us one because they both had a meltdown, in their own rights, in their free program during the first Grand Prix outings

Plus, it’s Japan and these people are crazy about their guys and figure skating in general

All in all, I had a really good feeling about that one even though I was that close from implosion because of the tension

Sergei Voronov (25), RUS

The return of the Russian sailor <3

And we got started straight to the thick of things with the dark horse of the competition as Voronov had an outside chance of actually making it to the Grand Prix Final (thanks to a surprising Cup of China where he managed to actually line up two solid programs – and yes, it IS Voronov we’re talking about), with several possible scenarii depending all on one thing: Voronov ending on the podium. No pressure at all then

Unfortunately for him, things didn’t quite go as well as they did in Cup of China. Pressure catching up with him? Just not a very good day at the office? I guess we’ll have the answer as to whether Voronov has gained consistency with the Russian Nationals coming around the corner. Either way, he managed to pop the second jump of his quad combination and had to touch the ice with one hand to keep his balance on his triple lutz

I wish I could tell you it was a wild, crazy and fantastic choreographic move – unfortunately, it’s only a popped triple toe-loop….

Which was all but game over for him as there was no way he could make it up on the components. As already noted at the Cup of China, the choreography is rather on the light side. The program still kind of works, because his step sequence is fun and pretty well thought out (which is a trademark of Mozorov’s work) and thankfully, Yabloshko is an entertaining enough theme that you don’t need to go into anything too complex choreographic-wise to keep the audience and the jury awake. But transitions were pretty much non existant and with a less than perfect performance technic-wise, it was always going to be reflected in the PCs as well: all marks there ended up in the 6s, with a lowest at 6.43 for transitions which, again, made total sense

Yep, that sums up things pretty well….

Marks: 36.17 + 33.86 = 70.03

Andrei Rogozine (19), CAN

The motif on the front and back of his costume looks remarkably like those Nazca lines – no, really! What he’s trying to say with it though remains just as much a mystery…..

To be honest I had almost completely forgotten that Andrei Rogozine was going to skate here which is really bad of me because he is the 2010-11 junior world champion and given what the guy who preceeded him (Hanyu) has been doing of late, maybe it would serve to pay attention. Plus he had two pretty decent outings last year at senior GPs

Things took a bad start though with a hard fall on the quad toe-loop, and he didn’t managed to tag more than a double toe-loop to his triple flip. And his step sequence was only level 2. So even with a solid triple axel, that was unfortunately two mistakes too many to even register on the evening considering the overall level of the field

Which is a shame, because his program presents some interesting aspects, and is certainly ambitious. Part of the music will sound very familiar as it is the same Broken Sorrow that Florent Amodio uses in his free program this season and for once the music cuts seemed pretty judicious. There’s also quite a bit of choreography in there and some interesting transitions, like his entry into the triple axel although the last of the steps after the pause looks like it doesn’t quite belong with the rest

I can’t explain that bit of the step sequence, unless it’s been the result of observing ruffled lemurs running somewhere in Madagascar

In a way, this program may just be a tad too difficult for him at this stage. Unlike Amodio, he doesn’t have a great deal of flexibility yet – his back in particular remained ramrod straight throughout the whole thing, and he lacks deep knees, which doesn’t help him with the fast steps that the pace of the music requires. But, on the other hand, I really prefer a skater too ambitious than not enough, and what he lacks in flexibility he makes up at least in part with a certain presence and amplitude in the arms movements. In the beginning at least, he was selling it pretty well, which makes me wonder how he would have behaved had he not had two mistakes to undermine his confidence

He looks so bored, probably because he only knows too well where this is going to land him (and for the record, I totally don’t agree with his transitions and choreography components being lower than Voronov – just saying)

Marks: 36.64 + 32.06 -1.00 = 67.70 – currently in 2nd place

Daisuke Murakami (21), JPN

Oh. Dear.

We had been left in the dark on the day before after it had been reported that Murakami had hurt his right arm in practice (the Japanese reports were talking of subluxation)

But he was there on the ice and it all started normally enough. Sure, he had a fall on the quad salcow but that was always going to be a possibility

Then he fell on the triple axel….and took a while to get up and the way he was clutching at his arm, it was obvious something was very wrong as he was incapable of continuing skating

He then started to talk with the head of jury

with everyone looking sympathetically at him

except Frank Carroll who looked like, well, Frank Carroll

At this point I was really ready to cry with him because I can only begin to imagine how horrible it must have been for him, on top of the pain: here was his only chance at a GP – and we all know how important it is to make the most of any chance you get as a Japanese skater this season, especially if you’re not already one of the household names – and to skate in front of his own audience and this had to happen

But then the most extraordinary thing happened: Murakami went to talk with Frank Carroll who told him it was up to him to continue or not, even though Murakami confirmed his shoulder had popped out. Now I totally understand him if he wanted to continue skating. What I don’t understand is his coach not strongly encouraging him to renounce because the only thing it could achieve was making the whole thing worse as there was not one chance he would be able to skate a full free program with a dislocated shoulder anyway

He went back to where he had stopped the program to thunderous applause and managed to do a whole spin as well as triple lutz and double toe-loop….

but had to stop on the next spin and this time, there would be no coming back

This is just so sad

News just in: THIS GP SEASON IS CURSED!

Just get some rest, get better, and come back soon and healthy!

Kevin Reynolds (22), CAN

His hair gets wilder every day

And it’s the return of the Chambermaid Swing, which I already commented on for the Cup of China. And, you know, which we had seen a whole season before that already (then again, he’s hardly the worst offender as far as reusing programs goes cough Brian cough) although thankfully that’s definitely one of his very best programs and it’s lively and he seemed to be genuinly happy to skate it and WE DAMN NEED A BIT OF HAPPINESS AFTER ALL THAT DRAMA

We also got a a very nice quad salcow-triple toe-loop combination to start us with, a slightly underrotated triple axel but nothing to catastrophic….anf then he just fell on his triple lutz

OOPS! I DID IT AGAIN

Indeed

Which is really a shame because with the whooping 14 points he got just on that initial combination, that was a whole world of possibilities opened to him – except he needed to get the easiest done which he didn’t and the door closed shut. And no matter how nice his program is choreographed, there’s a major issue going on with his body line (somehow he cannot keep his limbs extended through the movements and his arms and legs make angles instead of being straight or curved – that’s either a strength issue or him badly needing a little classic training, or both) meaning he just cannot aspire for now to get really high PCs

Still, he must have been pretty happy about his performance because he even SMILES IN THE K&C – I know right, I didn’t think it would happen either

Marks: 37.06 + 34.14 -1.00 = 70.20 – currently 1st

Richard Dornbush (21), USA

Note the complete banality of his costume (does that even qualify as costume anymore?) – then again, he’s skating to With or Without You by U2 so I am almost tempted to forgive him

Also he looked pretty terrified at the start – there was no need really

Oh wait

On reflection, maybe there was

And that’s another fall, this time on the quad toe-loop, and then there was that single toe-loop after the lutz in combination. So two mistakes, just like the rest of the field then. How common

Which is a real shame because it’s actually a well choreographed program, maybe the best we had seen so far in that respect (excluding Murakami’s since we couldn’t see his whole program). It’s full of movement, including the upper body which is less common, and he executed it well (although I’d wish he’d do something about his back because it’s a little hunched). He’s still looking a bit too inwards when he skates, and it felt more “learned” than “lived”, but there are undeniable qualities there, and I guess him really being able to live his programs will require him first to be able to completely stabilize his technic, but it’s all looking pretty promising

He still got a lower mark in choreography than Sergei Voronov of all people

Yep, I am pretty perplexed too….

Marks: 36.95 + 34.10 -1.00 = 70.05

THIS CONCLUDES THE FIRST GROUP

SECOND GROUP STARTS

Adam Rippon (23), USA

It was really good to see Adam Rippon back after that terrible incident with Nan Song. It was even better to see him knowing that he had gotten rid of that awful guitar version of Nessun Dorma for a classical rendition (yes, it’s still Nessun Dorma but having heard that other version at Cup of China, ANY change was welcome)

Unfortunately, he must have gotten rid of his fashion sense at the same time because how else to explain that shirt (which looked ten times worse once he started moving in it)

I’m saying nothing

Apart from that, we got the classic Adam Rippon treatment: pretty good program and unlike the others, he only made only one mistake: except it was a popped axel and of course, no quad on the horizon which made him an ideal candidate for bottom of the table

Mind you, he’s staying very pretty and elegant even during that popped axel <3

The only thing that would save him from that fate of course were his components because it’s all beautiful skating aesthetically. But we’re also always brought back to the same observation that his skating is lacking that little something to be brought alive and it’s all starting to get real boring – I wish I could say something else for a change, but it’s like he doesn’t want to make it so easy

Rafael Arutunian probably trying to find the positives there – good luck with that…..

Marks: 31.96 + 35.93 = 67.89 – currently 4th

Ross Miner (21), USA

Question: You’re skating to a Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini – so why would you skate in a costume that would have its place in a Star Trek movie? Or tv series

You get the drill

Technically he had, just like Adam Rippon, just one mistake – however, in his case it was the popped quad salcow, which left him with a pretty good triple axel (although the way he lowers his gravity centre as he lauches the jump is a tad strange but if it works for him….) and a solid triple lutz-triple toe-loop, and, again with the exclusion of the salcow, the elements are well executed (which would allow him to really make the difference with the rest of the pack thanks to his grades of execution)

Also, he does skate with precisely the thing that Adam Rippon is missing at the moment, and that’s power. It’s particularily obvious in the steps sequence and at the end of the program during which he pretty much managed to follow the crescendo of the music. And the choreography, while not bringing anything new, is competent and he did a pretty good job executing all of it, even if he did lose some of the body lines (nothing too major though) on occasion

So yeah, some decent, solid skating that unsurprisingly was going to be enough to see him in a (very) temporary first place despite the quad salcow given the weaknesses the field had exhibited so far

Which is why I don’t understand why they look like someone had killed their favorite pet…..

Marks: 37.79 + 34.61 = 72.40 – currently 1st

Javier Fernandez (21), ESP

But then it was money time with the first of the big three of the evening, Javier Fernandez. In a way, he looked the surest bet to take the lead, having had a pretty comprehensive victory in Skate Canada

And well, he didn’t disappoint

The most amazing thing in his program is definitely the quad toe-loop. Rarely did we get to see a quad performed with such ease. He jumps the quad the way others jump the triple toe-loop (btw, once again, we got to see the limitations of the GOE as one of the judges thought it wasn’t worth more than 0 – REALLY????). He was however a bit more hesitant on both his other jumps, although no mistake to report of as such. The rest of the elements were pretty convincing too, and to be honest it’s one of the best SP performance in the Men this season

So, this program is good, he sold it with a certain conviction and of course, the character of the music suits him well. I particularily liked the choreography at the start. However, once the quad is over, there was some more choreography for a few seconds and then he essentially went from one element to the next with some arm movements in between and some timid transitions

I know I’m probably being a bit tough on him there, because he’s still only 21 (although it feels like he’s been around FOREVER – still remember when he couldn’t land a quad in competition to save his life and was generally splatting all over the place, how distant these memories seem now!), and don’t get me wrong, it’s certainly the program that deserved the highest PCs at this point in the competition, but I can’t help and wish that the people around him – and maybe Fernandaz himself – were a little more ambitious (there’s that word again). He’s very solid technically in the short program most of the time, so it would be the right place to start experimenting a little, add more intricacies to his choreography, more finess. Because as things stand, he could hurt all the other great skaters, even Patrick Chan, technically, but the gap in terms of PCs is at this stage too big for him to have a chance unless the other big guns all make mistakes after mistakes (and especially this season with Patrick Chan having one of the very best choreographies of the whole field)

But hey, that was still a big performance and we were all hoping at this stage that it had set the tone for this NHK top three guys’ performances

Someone even thought of taking the Spanish flag in his honor <3

Poor thing all alone in that big, fluffy, kitsh K&C (Brian Orser staying with Hanyu who was about to skate next) Thankfully there’s Domo-kun & friends on hand :p

Marks: 46.80 + 39.43 = 86.23, new SB – currently in 1st place (duh!)

Yuzuru Hanyo (17), JPN

That’s what a World Record holder looks like – like he’s essentially ten and picked up dad’s 80s-themed shirt to play dress up like an adult <3 <3

But then he started skating…..

…..AND HE’S DOING MY HEAD IN BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SKATE LIKE THAT WHEN YOU’RE ONLY 17!

Seriously

Technically it was to die for (well, I hope no one, human or animal or whatever, died for it, but you get my drift). The thing that’s really astonishing is that the quality is not just in the jumps, it’s in the spins too, and it will be interesting to see if he will be able to retain that flexibility once he gets a bit older (which will be difficult but not impossible). The one thing that takes the proverbial biscuit for me though is that orgasm-inducting entry into the triple axel. But the sheer quality of execution of most elements is not far behind

And the thing that probably sets him apart from most 17 years old we’ve seen skating at that age is the aplomb, how comfortable he looks skating out there in front of huge crowds. And there’s no denying that he really is performing, not just spitting out a lesson well learned. Also the music is a great choice – that Parisians Walkways really suits him and his kind of nonchalance

And he only looks satisfied because, you know, for him it’s just job well done

The crowd however gave him a well deserved standing ovation because that performance was pretty much made of WOW

That being said, I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Fernandez that he ended up so far behind Hanyu. Sure, Hanyu trumped him in the GOE as a whole, but the differential seemed a bit excessive and apart from Performance/ Execution, I am not sure how his program deserved almost 3 points more than Fernandez, as he’s still a little wet behind the ears choreography and interpretation

Did that deserve to run away from the rest that had skated so far? Definitely! Did that deserve to beat his own World Record (which was already established with inflated PCs)? Probably not – but that’s still what he got though

Then again, maybe the judges are as helpless as I am (and Brian is, by the look of things) against the cuteness of a guy who still hides behind a winnie-the-pooh tissue box

And who doesn’t want to be seeing Yuzuru’s smiling face?

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Marks: 53.03 + 42.29 = 95.32, new SB, new FRIGGIN’ WORLD RECORD – currently 1st (DUH!)

Daisuke Takahashi (26), JPN

I think pretty much everybody felt sorry for Takahashi for having to perform behind Hanyu not only because Hanyu stole the show and was very much trying to make a run for it, but also because I don’t think anyone thought for one second that Takahashi could possibly beat that 95+ mark, especially after that lackluster performance at Cup of China still fresh in everyone’s memory

And as expected, technically, he didn’t match Hanyu – he had a stepout (and a hand down) on the quad (although it was still a lot more convincing than any of the quads he attempted at Cup of China) and the landing of his triple axel is definitely a nominee for the biggest save on a jump of this entire GP season because the only thing that stood between him and a fall on that one was his stubborness. And his spins are not quite as good as Hanyu in general (and in this particular instance, I noticed quite a bit of travelling)

Quite

However, at least for as long as he skated and until we had to go down to the marks, the technical mishaps fell in the background of what was a performance – and in that department, absolutely no one could touch him on the night. Back at Cup of China, there was something that didn’t quite click about this program conceptually. To be honest, they didn’t even change it that much since but whatever they did change worked wonders because it went from feeling 60% ready to almost fighting it for best program concept of the season with Patrick Chan and Tatsuki Machida’s ( to be fair I don’t think it’s quite there – yet – but it definitely bridged the gap in a big way). Sure, it doesn’t have the originality of Machida’s or the beautiful, light classicism – this time in a good way – of Chan. However, this program makes that up with absolutely insane amounts of energy and exhuberance but also of intricacies in transitions and just generally in between elements and a steps sequence that once again makes you want to weep because of the sheer musicality of it – that little flick of the free leg when he’s skating close to the edge at that moment of the music is orgasm-inducing in its own right

Speaking of which, the amount of flirting in this program with everything and everyone

(see what I mean?)

really should be made illegal, if only for his fans’ sanity because

….they were THAT close from jumping over the board….

…..and then felt appropriate to shower him with all sorts of objects of devotion when he was heading for the K&C which he had to duck for fear of being knocked unconscious

(gif by the very talented eggplantgifs)

But then we had to get done to the marks and….er, yeah, he ended up ahead of Fernandez, which is debatable. Fernandez had the cleaner program and Takahashi had a couple of really strange GOE calls in his favor, including a +3 for THAT triple axel (whatever that judge is smoking, I want the same because it’s obviously pretty powerful stuff). On the other hand, he had quite logically higher levels on the last two elements (although again, his GOE could have been lower on the last spin because of that travelling issue). There is however no doubt that he should win the components with a big margin on Fernandez….and Hanyu, except that last part never materialized (that Hanyu should be 0.16 behind Takahashi in Interpretation is probably the second biggest WTF? scoring moment behind Takahashi’s +3 GOE on the axel)

Oh well, it was a great competition, and a promising set up for the free the day after – let’s not allow those judges or Morosov trying to get his hands all over Daichan ruin this for us :p

Marks: 45.07 + 42.40 = 87.47 – takes 2nd place

THIS CONCLUDES THE MEN’S SHORT PROGRAM