Thousands of Japanese skating fans bought tickets to the 2009 ISU Grand Prix Final with the expectations that they would be witnessing their hometown heroine, Mao Asada, take on her premier rival, Yu-Na Kim, in a pre-Olympic showdown. While Kim easily qualified to this event, Asada's career hit rock bottom at Cup of Russia, where three failed attempts at the storied triple axel lead her to finish off the podium for only the second time in her career as a senior level skater. Asada's absence from the Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo next week is of a particularly sad irony, as the 2008 world champion won this event in that very arena back in 2005 when she was not age-eligible to compete at the 2006 Olympic Games. With Asada out, the Japanese will now look to 2007 world champion Miki Ando, the winner of two Grand Prix events this season, to try and match Kim. Another athlete from the host nation, Akiko Suzuki, will be looking to secure an Olympic berth at the Grand Prix Final, which would be quite an inspirational culmination to a career that was stagnated by Anorexia five years ago. Alena Leonova will be making her first trip to the Final and could be looking at a podium finish if her consistency remains intact. The only United States representative for the ladies in Tokyo, Ashley Wagner, is seeming to provide some light at the end of the tunnel for the shallow state of U.S. ladies figure skating. However, Kim's top rival won't be Suzuki, it won't be Leonova, it won't be Wagner, and it may not even be Ando. The international judges have not always sided with the five-time Canadian champion Joannie Rochette, but they are appearing to favor her immensely now, late in her career, to become the first Canadian ladies medalist at an Olympic Games since Elizabeth Manley in 1988.
While the Grand Prix Final is not life or death, there is still much to be gained and much to be lost at this event. For Kim, another less than desirable performance could cause some of her immense favor from the judges to diminish. Despite winning Skate Canada, Rochette has not skated with enough quality this season to realistically challenge the likes of Kim. Ando and Suzuki are both battling one another to become the highest placing Japanese skater, and thus, a winner of an Olympic berth. Leonova is set to be on her nation's Olympic team, but needs a strong competition here to even be considered as a remotely realistic prospect for a medal in Vancouver. It is certainly advantageous for Wagner to be the only American here, but having just barely placed ahead of the top two finishers from last year's U.S. nationals, Alissa Czisny and Rachael Flatt, Wagner's opportunity for receiving one of the two Olympic berths allotted for the American ladies in Vancouver is by no means assured. When also factoring in the potential return of 2006 Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen, Wagner needs nothing less than a strong showing here to further prove her worth of an Olympic berth. The Grand Prix series up to this point has been unpredictable enough, and with six of the top female figure skaters in the world skating in one event, that unpredictability shouldn't die off. With much to gain and much to lose, the skaters will be demanded to produce their competitive mettle to wish for a medal at this competition. This event could ultimately foreshadow what is to occur at the biggest outing of these athletes' lives, the XXI Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada.
The Finalists
Miki Ando (Japan)
Yu-Na Kim (South Korea)
Alena Leonova (Russia)
Joannie Rochette (Canada)
Akiko Suzuki (Japan)
Ashley Wagner (USA)
Miki Ando (Japan)
Top Achievements: 2007 World Champion, 2009 world bronze medalist, Four-time Grand Prix finalist, 2009 NHK Trophy Champion, 2009 Rostelecom Cup Champion, 2006 Skate America Champion, 2006 Olympian, 2004/2005 Japanese champion
Pros: With Asada's demise, Ando has become the current top female skater in Japan, having won both of her Grand Prix events this season. Lauded for her high, secure jumps, the 2007 world champion is the only female skater to have ever landed a quadruple jump in competition. Ando is capable of landing triple lutz-triple loop combos, a jumping pass more difficult than the triple lutz-triple toe Yu-Na Kim is currently attempting, and Ando has also avoided receiving an edge call on either her lutz or her flip this season. Ando has shown improved artistry in her programs for this year, with a short program to Mozart's "Requiem" and a Cleopatra-themed long program to the soundtracks from both the television series "Rome" and "Marco Polo." The judges have been marking Ando's PCS marks favorably this year, and her artistic score has been consistently higher this season than it was during her Grand Prix events last year.
Cons: Ando's improvement artistically still does not make her a true "artist" on the ice, as she lags behind several of the top female skaters in musicality, posture, and extension. Ando's primary resource for boosting her score is jumps, but those haven't been especially brilliant since last season's worlds. Her lone attempt at a triple-triple so far this season ended with both a faulty landing and a downgrade on the second jump. Ando has also had issues with her double axel-triple toe loop combination, both falling and under rotating the pass at the Rostelecom Cup and nixing the combo entirely when she struggled with it during the women's free warm-up at NHK. Particularly with the intense media scrutiny in Japan, Ando will have much more pressure placed on her at this event being the top female Japanese skater, a position she has little experience filling. Ando has historically not done well at the Grand Prix Final: While she has qualified four times, she has never brought home a medal.
Outlook: Ando is one to perform at her peak whilst the underdog, and with Asada out of the Grand Prix Final, entering the competition as Japan's premier female skater will bring about all sorts of new challenges for the two-time world medalist. Perhaps these challenges are what Ando is most looking forward to overcome, however, as she has commented that she absolutely wants to erase the disaster that was her 15th place finish in Torino. Although Ando did win both of her Grand Prix events, that accomplishment is not especially great when considering that her scores at Rostelecom and NHK were the two lowest winning scores throughout the six events, and her score of 162.55 at the latter event would not have even medaled at either Trophee Eric Bompard or Cup of China. However, perhaps, that is good news for her. Ando has not often shown to be capable of staying at her peak for an extended period of time, and poor showings at this event in 2006 and 2008 did not negatively impact her showing at the World Championships for those seasons in the least. Claiming an Olympic berth here would be ideal, and if Suzuki doesn't regain her Cup of China form, Ando should have no issue doing so. Considering Suzuki's poor showing at Skate Canada, and Ando's victories over Leonova and Wagner at Rostelecom and NHK, Ando appears destined for her first Grand Prix medal, but Ando winning this competition is about as likely as Sarah Palin disappearing from the public eye.
Yu-Na Kim (South Korea)
Top Achievements: 2009 World Champion, 2007 and 2008 world bronze medalist, 2006 and 2007 Grand Prix Final Champion, 2008 and 2009 Skate America Champion, 2006 and 2009 Trophee Eric Bompard Champion, 2009 Four Continents Champion, 2008 Grand Prix Final silver medalist, 2007 and 2008 Cup of China Champion, 2007 Cup of Russia Champion
Pros: The Roger Federer of ladies figure skating, South Korean superstar Yu-Na Kim owns both the current World title and the world record scores in the short program, free skate, and overall segment score. She achieved her world record free skate score of 133.95 at the recent Trophee Eric Bompard, where she completely jettisoned her triple flip and had four of her five non-jump elements only graded at a level three. Kim has been undefeated since this event last year, and the last time any of the 2009 Grand Prix Final qualifiers beat Kim was when Miki Ando won her world title in March 2007. Kim has breathtaking jumps, including her signature triple-triple combinations, and is the only woman to have ever received at or above +2 GOE on a jumping pass under the code of points in international competition. Kim also demonstrates commendable speed and interpretation in her two current programs: a flirtatious, scintillating short to the medley from the "James Bond" movies, and a polished, elegant long to Gershwin's "Piano Concerto in F."
Cons: Kim had one of her worst long programs in memory at her most recent competition, Skate America, losing that phase of the event to Rachael Flatt, a skater whose score at the 2009 World Championships was a staggering 17.94 points off of securing a medal. Kim had far less pressure and outside competition than she will in Tokyo or in Vancouver at Skate America, and her overall score at that event would not have medaled at last year's worlds. Kim has a colossal amount of pressure from the people of her homeland and she was seen in tears after performing her short program at last year's Grand Prix Final (held in South Korea), where she popped open her triple lutz. The current world champion has also struggled with maintaining her health for key competitions. Kim was ill for this event last year, and entered both the 2007 and 2008 World Championships battling a back injury. At all three competitions, Kim missed the gold medal at stake. Kim has not landed seven clean triples in a single program since 2007 Cup of Russia, and has not even done six cleanly since 2008 Skate America. Kim has substandard positions on her layback, Bielmann, and spiral positions, and she appears to be no longer keeping the triple loop jump in her repertoire.
Outlook: Kim picked the perfect competition to have a poor long program at Skate America. She seemed relieved, albeit disappointed, in the kiss and cry following the skate, which perhaps means that she just needed an event to get a bad skate out of her system, much like last year when she had a shaky outing at GPF only to win Four Continents and Worlds thereafter. If Kim goes clean, or close to it, she will simply be untouchable for the other women. Kim has broken 76 in the short program three times, whereas the highest score ever posted by any of her competitors at this event was a 70 by Rochette. Adding 5.5 points for the lost triple flip to her Trophee Eric Bompard long program score, Kim would be looking at a mark near 140. Add in some positive grades of execution for that element (during her short program at Skate America she received +1.8 GOE), a few more level fours for her spins, and a slight increase to her PCS score, Kim could be looking at a LP score near 145 if she goes absolutely clean. Taking Asada's score from WTT where she had an excellent free and adding back the points she lost for two downgraded jumps (plus some additional positive GOE) her score "only" hovers around 137. Kim has this gold medal and, most importantly, the Olympic gold medal, in the bag if she skates near her full potential. Winning this event will be a help to Kim's confidence and will win her a medal and some prize money, but in the end will count for hardly anything. If Yu-Na Kim is able to enter the Olympic Games in February in prime physical condition and a confident mindset, her name will be plastered adjacent to 1 on the scoreboard. There will simply be no way for anyone to catch her, not even a hometown boost for Rochette, not even three triple axels for Asada.
Alena Leonova (Russia)
Top Achievements: 2009 NHK Trophy silver medalist, 2009 Cup of Russia bronze medalist, 2009 Finlandia Trophy Champion, 2009 World Championships-7th place, 2009 World Junior Champion, 2009 European Championships-4th
Pros: The vivacious Russian is continuing to build off of her breakthrough last season with a win at the Finlandia Trophy and two medals on the Grand Prix circuit, which enabled her to qualify to this competition for the first time. Leonova finished a strong 7th at her first World Championships last year, and is noted to be one of the more consistent jumpers in the world today. Leonova has a full arsenal of triples (besides the axel) and has upgraded her jumping content from last season with a new triple toe-triple toe combination. Leonova is a fan favorite for her spunky personality on the ice and shows that off to its best with a short program to the Russian folk song "Barynya" and a long program to the soundtrack from "Chicago." Leonova could gain political favor at this event, as she is the only European lady to have qualified.
Cons: Leonova has the lowest average short program score from the Grand Prix series among the six qualifiers, and has the second lowest average PCS score from the long program. Also, Leonova's seasons best scores in the long program and overall segment total are the lowest among the six qualifiers. Leonova has unsatisfactory extension and her spins are far from brilliant. Leonova received edge calls for each of her four lutzes that she did throughout her two Grand Prixs, and she has failed to complete her new triple-triple combination after four attempts in competition thus far. Although Leonova always sells her programs, there is little else in her skating that supports her program components score. Her transitions are relatively choppy and her choreography is not the most difficult; therefore, the judges have yet to give her superior marks in that area.
Outlook: Leonova may be lacking in polish and refinement, but one thing she has that cannot be said for any of the other top European ladies is consistency. Gedevanishvilli, Korpi, Kostner, Lepisto, and Poykio struggle with varying degrees to consistently land their jumps and to avoid meltdowns at major events. Kostner is absolutely the top European lady at her prime, but that she has been not since her meltdown in Los Angeles and 6th place finishes at Trophee Eric Bompard and Cup of China. If Kostner doesn't get her act together, Kiira Korpi may end up being Leonova's top rival for a European title if Korpi's over scoring from Cup of China continues. This is where the importance of this event comes to Leonova. A strong placement here, and especially a podium finish, should not only help Leonova's confidence, but it also should give her a boost from the judges come Europeans to vie for the gold medal. Leonova is doubtful to reach the medals stand in Vancouver, but strong showings here and at Europeans should help the 19-year-old Leonova to stay competitive and to fend off a potential influx of upcoming Russian ladies skaters in the next quadrennium.
Joannie Rochette (Canada)
Top Achievements: 2006, 2008, and 2009 Skate Canada Champion, 2009 World silver medalist, 2008 and 2009 Four Continents silver medalist, 2005-2009 Canadian Champion, 2004 and 2008 Trophee Eric Bompard Champion, 2006 Olympic Games-5th, 2004 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist
Pros: Rochette is one of the best examples of skaters who combine the technical and artistic aspects of skating seamlessly, as her skating possesses strong, high jumps, and creditable musicality and choreography. On the technical side, Rochette not only avoids the wrong edge deductions on the lutz and flip, but also rotates her jumps consistently, and she is rewarded for being one of the few female skaters to consistently demonstrate those merits of fine jumping technique. On the artistic side, Rochette has strong skating skills and agility of the blade, and has augmented her expression and artistry over the past several seasons. Rochette has taken much effort into improving her ability to peak under pressure, whether it be touring with Stars On Ice or announcing publicly her intentions of winning a world championship medal last season. Having been successful in her endeavor to win a world championship medal last year, and having just recently won Skate Canada by over 20 points without skating at her optimum, Rochette has proven that she is entirely in the running to win Canada's first Olympic medal for ladies figure skating in over two decades.
Cons: Rochette had a meltdown during her short program at Cup of China, doubling the front end of her combination and leaving out the second jump entirely. She later went on to single her axel, finishing 7th in that phase and 3rd overall. The short program was what cost Rochette a medal at this event last year, and she also finished behind Cynthia Phaneuf (who had a fall) during the SP phase of the 2009 Canadian Nationals. Rochette has hopes of doing a triple-triple combination in her short, but has not once completed the element successfully. Rochette delivered a superb free skate at the Japan Open, a competition of little significance, but her condition went down at Cup of China and Skate Canada, where she executed weaker free skates that scored around 15 points lower than what she received at an inconsequential competition early on in the year. Rochette's potential scoring ability when going clean is considerably less than that of Kim or even Asada. Rochette's score for a clean, seven-triple long program at last year's Canadian Nationals was a 131.77, over two points lower than what Yu-Na Kim received in France for a five-triple program. Even when adding a hypothetical triple lutz-triple toe combination, Rochette's SP score at Skate Canada would still only be 72.7 (give or take depending on GOE and PCS), which is over three points lower than the personal bests of Asada and Kim. These scores, of course, are given in the event where Rochette is to do a clean long program, something she has never done internationally, and when she is to do a triple lutz-triple toe combination in the short, something she has never done.
Outlook: Rochette is faced with a dilemma off the bat. On one hand, she needs a triple-triple in the short to stay within striking distance of Kim for the gold medal, but she has every potential to still be in the running for an Olympic podium spot, but not necessarily gold, with a triple-double combination. This is where the Grand Prix Final comes in handy. It will be the ideal event for Rochette to test out the triple-triple combination, and to see how her rivals, specifically Kim, are looking. Rochette would obviously enjoy a podium finish here, and two strong showings should easily do the trick, but the five-time Canadian champion has not been especially impressive thus far this season. Her Cup of China performances were uneven, and she had a shaky long at Skate Canada. Thus, it is possible that Rochette may perform below her optimum at this event as well, but even a poor outing shouldn't diminish Rochette's reputation entering the Games, as she has plenty of that already in the bank from her world silver last year. Both the Grand Prix Final and Canadian Nationals will be events where Rochette won't have much to lose, but she will still have much to gain. An international event against world class skaters and a national event at home should be the ideal combination of competitions to get Rochette fit for Vancouver.
Akiko Suzuki (Japan)
Top Achievements: 2009 Cup of China Champion, 2009 Four Continents Championships-8th, 2008/2009 Japanese Nationals-4th, 2008 NHK Trophy silver medalist, 2008 Finlandia Trophy Champion
Pros: Suzuki has made a resilient comeback from Anorexia to become one of the top female figure skaters in Japan. 2009 Skate Canada notwithstanding, Suzuki has been a fairly consistent competitor throughout the last two seasons and has shown to be especially consistent when skating in Asia. At Cup of China, Suzuki scored the second highest free skate score of this year's Grand Prix series en route to her first career Grand Prix victory. Suzuki finished 4th at last year's Japanese Nationals, a placement deemed too low by several fans who thought that she was robbed of a podium finish because of an unfairly downgraded triple salchow in her long program. Suzuki has a full arsenal of triple jumps (besides the axel) and skates with fervent passion and speed. Suzuki generally skates her best when she is competing in or near her home country, as last year's NHK Trophy, Japanese Nationals, and this year's Cup of China have shown. Suzuki is the only skater competing at this event who actually trains in Japan, let alone Asia.
Cons: Suzuki has never been a judge's favorite, in part due to her weaker transitions and extension. Suzuki's average PCS score during the Grand Prix for her long program is the lowest among the six qualifiers, and she is prone to receiving deductions for turning onto an inside edge for her lutz. Suzuki is not an especially strong spinner, and her spirals leave much to be desired as well. Suzuki is lucky just to have qualified to the Final after a poor outing at Skate Canada, where she only landed three clean triples (one marked down by an edge call), but she survived to stay in the top five after epic meltdowns from Cynthia Phaneuf and Caroline Zhang surfaced. Even with two of her best performances, Suzuki was only able to place 4th at Cup of China during the short program phase, and her winning long program had a substandard PCS score of only 52.56. Suzuki was the lowest rank qualifier to this event, so she will fulfill the unenviable task of skating first in the short program, a start position often destined for lower marks.
Outlook: Suzuki would want nothing more than to snatch her Olympic berth in Tokyo for the Grand Prix Final. Miki Ando should be favored enough at Japanese Nationals to get a medal through PCS even if she doesn't skate well, such as what happened last year at Suzuki's expense. The same cannot necessarily be said for Suzuki, however, particularly after her poor showing at Skate Canada. Fumie Suguri may not be performing well so far this year but one absolutely shouldn't count her out: in 2005, she placed 8th at Skate Canada and went onto win Japanese Nationals under an even deeper field than what will be in store at this year's competition. Yukari Nakano at her 2008 worlds form should also have no issue finishing ahead of Suzuki and claiming an Olympic berth. Suzuki always seems to perform well at home, however, and if she can regain her magic from Cup of China she could be looking at a podium finish and an Olympic berth coming from this event. Although, without the judges on her side, Suzuki will need to take the hard way to the medals stand.
Ashley Wagner (USA)
Top Achivements: 2009 NHK Trophy bronze medalist, 2009 Rostelecom Cup silver medalist, 2007 and 2009 World Junior Bronze medalist, 2009 U.S. Figure Skating Championships-4th, 2008 World Championships qualifier, 2008 U.S. bronze medalist, 2007 Trophee Eric Bompard bronze medalist
Pros: Wagner has always been a creditable jumper; however, since changing coaches to Priscilla Hill, the 2008 U.S. bronze medalist has matured her presentation immensely and shows off that improvement this season with a dramatic short to the soundtrack from "Once Upon a Time in America" and an elegant long to "Polovtsian Dances." Wagner won the long program at last year's U.S. Nationals with a program that only contained five triples, and she could have won the overall title were it not for a faulty short program. Wagner scored personal bests for the long program and overall segment total at the recent Rostelecom Cup. The 2008 U.S. bronze medalist takes full advantage of the rule allowing 10% bonus to be awarded for jumping pass after the midway point of a long program, as she does a triple loop-double axel sequence, a triple flip-double axel sequence, and a triple lutz deep into the program. A well-rounded skater, Wagner demonstrates both excellent speed and refined positions throughout her skating.
Cons: Wagner has an egregious flutz, and she has yet to not receive an edge call on that particular element this season. Wagner's triple-triple combinations seem to have disappeared, and she doesn't look capable of adding a triple toe loop as a combination jump, as she has a tendency to toe-axel her double toes (something she had a downgrade on at the 2009 U.S. Nationals). While Wagner is able to execute difficult jumps after the halfway point of a program, her stamina goes out the door when straight line footwork is concerned. Her straight line step sequence at the conclusion of her long program is fairly lethargic and makes for a poor concluding impression of her performance. Wagner has proven very susceptible to nerves: At last year's U.S. Nationals, she was completely in the running for a U.S. title, but an error littered short program prevented any hope of that happening. Wagner was only 16th at her first World Championships in 2008, and a shaky free at the NHK Trophy prevented her from winning a championship that was entirely within her grasp.
Outlook: The first order of business for Wagner is to replace her triple lutz in the short with a triple loop. The loop has been a solid jump for her this year and would actually get her more credit than a lutz with an "e" edge call, or even an "!" call. Wagner rearranged her jump layout several times last season, and appears to be doing the same this year as well. Hopefully, she won't be changing her jump layout too much more, but there are still some potentially easy switches of jumps in her long program that could be beneficial to her. Wagner has a fairly competitive jump layout for the long already, but her flutz at the end with an "e" call is going to get her about the same credit as a clean triple toe loop, so she would be wise to make that change as well. For a podium finish here, Wagner is going to rely on other skater's mistakes because she does not possess consistent triple-triple combinations or the high program component scores given to Kim, Rochette, and Ando. However, even just skating well and improving upon her personal bests will be a tremendous confidence boost for Ashley and will give her a leg up in the tight race for the two Olympic berths when U.S. Nationals arrive. Wagner has been scored well domestically for the last two years, and a strong finish here will help her create her own destiny toward making that Olympic team.
Predictions
Gold: Yu-Na Kim (South Korea): Yes, she had one of her worst long programs ever at Skate America, but it has to be noted that every other top ladies skater has had, at the very least, a mini-meltdown in some shape or form this year. Kim has the top two overall segment totals this season and has proven to have a fairly comfortable margin for error even over her toughest adversaries.
Silver: Joannie Rochette (Canada): Rochette has the judges on her side and just needs those jumps to be the same. A couple of less than desirable skates throughout the Grand Prix should invigorate Rochette to skate with solidity here. A peaked Rochette should have no issue beating Leonova, Suzuki, or Wagner, even if they skate at their absolute best, and the Grand Prix Final has not historically been a great competition to Miki Ando, who has not looked so superior to Rochette thus far.
Bronze: Miki Ando (Japan): She never peaks for this event, but because of the huge advantage she will have on PCS over Leonova, Suzuki, and Wagner, Ando should be on the podium if she just skates decently. Competing at home and as the top ranked Japanese female could give Ando a slight boost to her marks as well, but on the flip side, Ando will be bound to feel more pressure at this competition, which could negatively impact her skating.
4th: Akiko Suzuki (Japan): She generally does well at home and can probably bounce back at least somewhat from her poor Skate Canada outing, but she simply doesn't have the polish nor the reputation behind her to give her a medal against far more seasoned skaters, unless of course she skates lights out.
5th: Alena Leonova (Russia): Her overall score from Rostelecom and NHK was higher than that of Wagner's, and Leonova did much better at her first worlds (7th) than Ashley did at hers (16th). Both will be making their debut here, but Leonova has slightly more momentum to ride off of from her silver medal at NHK.
6th: Ashley Wagner (USA): She should have an advantage on Leonova and Suzuki with PCS, but being that this is a major international event, it is possible that Wagner may succumb to pressure and not perform at her best. It is imperative for Wagner to deliver two quality skates, as she can often deliver one great program in a major competition, but not both.
That is all.
Showing posts with label Akiko Suzuki. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Akiko Suzuki. Show all posts
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
2009 Skate Canada Ladies LP Live Commentary
Start Order
Warm-Up Group 1
1 Joshi HELGESSON SWE
11 40.48
2 Sarah HECKEN GER
10 45.50
3 Jenna MCCORKELL GBR
9 47.48
4 Akiko SUZUKI JPN
8 53.10
5 Caroline ZHANG USA
7 54.58
Warm-Up Group 2
6 Amelie LACOSTE CAN
6 55.10
7 Cynthia PHANEUF CAN
5 55.58
8 Laura LEPISTÖ FIN
4 55.74
9 Mirai NAGASU USA
3 56.34
10 Alissa CZISNY USA
2 63.52
11 Joannie ROCHETTE CAN
1 70.00
5:58 CT Judges being announced.
Warm-up group 1 on ice.
Arena appears to be nearly full.
Helgesson-decent 3S
Hecken-doubled 3T
Suzuki-good 3Z
Suzuki-good 3F
Zhang-3F+2T-landed (mule kick has gotten worse)
Zhang is in blue
McCorkell-good 2A
Warm-up concluded.
Joshi Helgesson (Sweden)
2A-good
1Z-flutzed
3S-good
Sit spin-not low enough
2A-little off on landing but clean
3T-likely UR
3T-fall; will only be counted as a sequence
Spiral sequence-dreadful extension
2A+2T-landed; looked as though she had a 2R planned but didn't have enough speed to try it
Whoever cut the music should be shot
Footwork simplistic
Occasional moments of energy but movement doesn't match music. Extremely poor transitions.
TES: 32.85
PCS: 36.08
Ded: -1.00
Total: 67.93
Grand Total: 108.41
Sarah Hecken (Germany)
3T+3T-slight cheat on 2nd jump but landed
1R-long, slow entrance
3S-good
2A-solid
Slow combo spin
Spiral sequence-slightly better than dreadful extension
3S-leaning to the right; two-foot; fall out; likely UR
2A+2T+1R-landed
2A-good
Good energy in footwork but no involvement of entire body during step sequence
Good energy but relatively poor skating skills and transitions. Choreography is bland but she sells what she has.
TES: 45.50
PCS: 37.98
Total: 78.90
Grand Total: 124.40
Rank: 1
Jenna McCorkell (Great Britain)
2A-good
3Z-fall; likely UR
1F
Deathdrop to sit spin to pancake-decent
Spiral sequence-slightly better than dreadful extension
2A+2T-landed
3F-both hands down
3T-big UR; leaning way to the left in air
2A+2T+2T-completed
Straight line step sequence-slow; looks very tired
Good speed in catch foot layback in spin combo
Her Cirque LP from last year was much better than this program. Not very difficult choreographically and her movement was very lethargic towards the end.
TES: 37.98
PCS: 39.04
Ded: -1.00
Total: 76.02
Grand Total: 123.50
Rank: 2
Akiko Suzuki (Japan)
3Z+2T+2R-good; a bit of a toe-axel on 2T
1A+3T-second jump looked UR
1R
Spiral sequence-adequate
3F-nearly fell
3Z-stepped out
3R+2A+SEQ-good
3S-landed
Flying camel to catch foot-a little slow; good centering
Straight line step sequence-good speed and expression
Flying camel to sit spin to sideways layback-decent
Carried artistry of the program well despite the many jump errors. Good speed and have transitions have improved but her consistency with hitting jump just vanished after the first pass.
TES: 47.98
PCS: 46.64
Total: 94.62
Grand Total: 147.72
Rank: 1
Caroline Zhang (USA)
3F-fall
3Z(flutzed)+2T-landed
2A-landed; no speed entering jump
Sit spin to pancake in spin combo traveled
3F-fall; will only be counted as a sequence
3R-slight cheat but landed
3S(slight cheat)+2T-landed
3R+2T+2R-good
Circular step sequence-slow
Spiral sequence-a tad slow but positions are stunning
Excellent layback to pearl to Bielmann
Extremely flat program choreographically that goes nowhere. There was a particular section before the second 3F which had no choreo, no footwork, no arm movements or anything of that nature. Very poor skate.
TES: 39.32
PCS: 40.56
Ded: -2.00
Total: 77.88
Grand Total: 132.46
Rank: 2
Warm-up group 2 on ice.
Lepisto-good 3S+2T+2T
Czisny-good 3F
Rochette-landed (I believe) a 3S
Nagasu-3Z(slightly UR)+2T-landed
Rochette-fall out on 3F
Lepisto-popped lutz
Warm-up concluded.
Amelie Lacoste (Canada)
3R-good height; turned out
3F-turned out
3Z-landed; possible UR
3T-awkward landing but held on; possible UR
Spiral sequence-adequate
3S-fall
2R
Straight line step sequence-good use of whole body
Spins decent but a tad sluggish throughout
2A-good
Good speed in final spin
Finished after music
Transitions aren't extremely complex but overall a pleasant presentation from her. Good musicality.
TES: 40.23
PCS: 46.80
Ded: -1.00
Total: 86.03
Grand Total: 141.13
Rank: 2
Cynthia Phaneuf (Canada)
3T+2A+SEQ-great 3T; fall on 2A
3Z-fall; possible UR
3R(very forward; possible UR)+2T-landed
3R-fall
Deathdrop to sit spin to pancake-good
2S
Spiral sequence-adequate
3Z-fall; UR; will only be counted as a sequence
Straight line step sequence-nice movement and musicality
3T-landed but will receive zero points because it was the third type of triple jump repeated in the program
This program is lovely when the jumps are on par like they were at the 2009 Four Continents Championships but if falls flat when jumps are not on, as was the case tonight. Disaster.
TES: 34.90
PCS: 46.00
Ded: -4.00
Total: 76.90
Grand Total: 132.48
Rank: 3
Laura Lepisto (Finland)
2T+2T
3Z-landed; possible UR
3R-very forward on landing
Deathdrop to sit spin to pancake-good
Sideways layback to catch-foot layback-good
2A-turned out
3R+2T-landed
Spiral sequence-adequate
2A-good
2S+2T+2T-landed
Nice energy in circular step sequence
Final spin combo-good speed but traveled slightly
She is really coming into her own as an artist, but her jumps are regressing. Good program with great expression and speed.
TES: 48.62
PCS: 54.16
Total: 102.78
Grand Total: 158.52
Rank: 1
Mirai Nagasu (USA)
3Z+2T+2R-slight flutz; little speed coming out; landed
2A(a little slow)+2T-landed
3F-very nice with steps coming before it
Nice sit spin to pancake
Layback-(good position but traveled) to catch-foot layback and Bielmann (very good positions but Bielmann traveled slightly)
Spiral sequence-excellent
3Z-fall out; slight cheat; flutzed
3R(possible UR; turned out)+2T-possible UR
2A-landed
3T-landed
Circular step sequence-Good speed but expression is (oddly) non-existant
Good final spin
Much improved speed but presentation was a bit better at COC. Very nice posture and good flow in-between elements.
TES: 51.69
PCS: 48.80
Total: 100.49
Grand Total: 156.83
Rank: 2
Alissa Czisny (USA)
3Z+2T-good
3F-good
3R-landed but UR
2A+2A+SEQ-a little slow but solid
3Z-fall; likely UR
3T-landed but slow coming out
Spiral sequence-very nice
3R-fall; possible UR
Step sequence-speed is average; good use of whole body
Final two spin combos excellent
Presentation of program is very mature and actually has improved somewhat from last season. Unfortunate falls broke flow of the program but decent effort.
TES: 46.57
PCS: 55.44
Ded: -2.00
Total: 100.01
Grand Total: 163.53
Rank: 1
Joannie Rochette (Canada)
3Z+2T+2R-good; slight bobble of 2R
3F-fall out; good steps preceding it
3R-hand down
Spin combo-good
Spiral sequence-a little wobbly; extension adequate
2Z
3T+3S+SEQ-good
2A+2T-good
2S
Good energy in circular step sequence
Finished slightly after music
Not as on top of the music and sharp choreographically as she was when she debuted this program at the Japan Open. Still, excellent skating skills and transitions.
TES: 50.02
PCS: 62.88
Total: 112.90
Grand Total: 182.90
Rank: 1
Final Standings
1 Joannie ROCHETTE CAN 182.90
2 Alissa CZISNY USA 163.53
3 Laura LEPISTÖ FIN 158.52
4 Mirai NAGASU USA 156.83
5 Akiko SUZUKI JPN 147.72
6 Amelie LACOSTE CAN 141.13
7 Cynthia PHANEUF CAN 132.48
8 Caroline ZHANG USA 132.46
9 Sarah HECKEN GER 124.40
10 Jenna MCCORKELL GBR 123.50
11 Joshi HELGESSON SWE 108.41
The GPF lineup is Kim, Ando, Rochette, Leonova, Wagner, and Suzuki
That is all.
Warm-Up Group 1
1 Joshi HELGESSON SWE
11 40.48
2 Sarah HECKEN GER
10 45.50
3 Jenna MCCORKELL GBR
9 47.48
4 Akiko SUZUKI JPN
8 53.10
5 Caroline ZHANG USA
7 54.58
Warm-Up Group 2
6 Amelie LACOSTE CAN
6 55.10
7 Cynthia PHANEUF CAN
5 55.58
8 Laura LEPISTÖ FIN
4 55.74
9 Mirai NAGASU USA
3 56.34
10 Alissa CZISNY USA
2 63.52
11 Joannie ROCHETTE CAN
1 70.00
5:58 CT Judges being announced.
Warm-up group 1 on ice.
Arena appears to be nearly full.
Helgesson-decent 3S
Hecken-doubled 3T
Suzuki-good 3Z
Suzuki-good 3F
Zhang-3F+2T-landed (mule kick has gotten worse)
Zhang is in blue
McCorkell-good 2A
Warm-up concluded.
Joshi Helgesson (Sweden)
2A-good
1Z-flutzed
3S-good
Sit spin-not low enough
2A-little off on landing but clean
3T-likely UR
3T-fall; will only be counted as a sequence
Spiral sequence-dreadful extension
2A+2T-landed; looked as though she had a 2R planned but didn't have enough speed to try it
Whoever cut the music should be shot
Footwork simplistic
Occasional moments of energy but movement doesn't match music. Extremely poor transitions.
TES: 32.85
PCS: 36.08
Ded: -1.00
Total: 67.93
Grand Total: 108.41
Sarah Hecken (Germany)
3T+3T-slight cheat on 2nd jump but landed
1R-long, slow entrance
3S-good
2A-solid
Slow combo spin
Spiral sequence-slightly better than dreadful extension
3S-leaning to the right; two-foot; fall out; likely UR
2A+2T+1R-landed
2A-good
Good energy in footwork but no involvement of entire body during step sequence
Good energy but relatively poor skating skills and transitions. Choreography is bland but she sells what she has.
TES: 45.50
PCS: 37.98
Total: 78.90
Grand Total: 124.40
Rank: 1
Jenna McCorkell (Great Britain)
2A-good
3Z-fall; likely UR
1F
Deathdrop to sit spin to pancake-decent
Spiral sequence-slightly better than dreadful extension
2A+2T-landed
3F-both hands down
3T-big UR; leaning way to the left in air
2A+2T+2T-completed
Straight line step sequence-slow; looks very tired
Good speed in catch foot layback in spin combo
Her Cirque LP from last year was much better than this program. Not very difficult choreographically and her movement was very lethargic towards the end.
TES: 37.98
PCS: 39.04
Ded: -1.00
Total: 76.02
Grand Total: 123.50
Rank: 2
Akiko Suzuki (Japan)
3Z+2T+2R-good; a bit of a toe-axel on 2T
1A+3T-second jump looked UR
1R
Spiral sequence-adequate
3F-nearly fell
3Z-stepped out
3R+2A+SEQ-good
3S-landed
Flying camel to catch foot-a little slow; good centering
Straight line step sequence-good speed and expression
Flying camel to sit spin to sideways layback-decent
Carried artistry of the program well despite the many jump errors. Good speed and have transitions have improved but her consistency with hitting jump just vanished after the first pass.
TES: 47.98
PCS: 46.64
Total: 94.62
Grand Total: 147.72
Rank: 1
Caroline Zhang (USA)
3F-fall
3Z(flutzed)+2T-landed
2A-landed; no speed entering jump
Sit spin to pancake in spin combo traveled
3F-fall; will only be counted as a sequence
3R-slight cheat but landed
3S(slight cheat)+2T-landed
3R+2T+2R-good
Circular step sequence-slow
Spiral sequence-a tad slow but positions are stunning
Excellent layback to pearl to Bielmann
Extremely flat program choreographically that goes nowhere. There was a particular section before the second 3F which had no choreo, no footwork, no arm movements or anything of that nature. Very poor skate.
TES: 39.32
PCS: 40.56
Ded: -2.00
Total: 77.88
Grand Total: 132.46
Rank: 2
Warm-up group 2 on ice.
Lepisto-good 3S+2T+2T
Czisny-good 3F
Rochette-landed (I believe) a 3S
Nagasu-3Z(slightly UR)+2T-landed
Rochette-fall out on 3F
Lepisto-popped lutz
Warm-up concluded.
Amelie Lacoste (Canada)
3R-good height; turned out
3F-turned out
3Z-landed; possible UR
3T-awkward landing but held on; possible UR
Spiral sequence-adequate
3S-fall
2R
Straight line step sequence-good use of whole body
Spins decent but a tad sluggish throughout
2A-good
Good speed in final spin
Finished after music
Transitions aren't extremely complex but overall a pleasant presentation from her. Good musicality.
TES: 40.23
PCS: 46.80
Ded: -1.00
Total: 86.03
Grand Total: 141.13
Rank: 2
Cynthia Phaneuf (Canada)
3T+2A+SEQ-great 3T; fall on 2A
3Z-fall; possible UR
3R(very forward; possible UR)+2T-landed
3R-fall
Deathdrop to sit spin to pancake-good
2S
Spiral sequence-adequate
3Z-fall; UR; will only be counted as a sequence
Straight line step sequence-nice movement and musicality
3T-landed but will receive zero points because it was the third type of triple jump repeated in the program
This program is lovely when the jumps are on par like they were at the 2009 Four Continents Championships but if falls flat when jumps are not on, as was the case tonight. Disaster.
TES: 34.90
PCS: 46.00
Ded: -4.00
Total: 76.90
Grand Total: 132.48
Rank: 3
Laura Lepisto (Finland)
2T+2T
3Z-landed; possible UR
3R-very forward on landing
Deathdrop to sit spin to pancake-good
Sideways layback to catch-foot layback-good
2A-turned out
3R+2T-landed
Spiral sequence-adequate
2A-good
2S+2T+2T-landed
Nice energy in circular step sequence
Final spin combo-good speed but traveled slightly
She is really coming into her own as an artist, but her jumps are regressing. Good program with great expression and speed.
TES: 48.62
PCS: 54.16
Total: 102.78
Grand Total: 158.52
Rank: 1
Mirai Nagasu (USA)
3Z+2T+2R-slight flutz; little speed coming out; landed
2A(a little slow)+2T-landed
3F-very nice with steps coming before it
Nice sit spin to pancake
Layback-(good position but traveled) to catch-foot layback and Bielmann (very good positions but Bielmann traveled slightly)
Spiral sequence-excellent
3Z-fall out; slight cheat; flutzed
3R(possible UR; turned out)+2T-possible UR
2A-landed
3T-landed
Circular step sequence-Good speed but expression is (oddly) non-existant
Good final spin
Much improved speed but presentation was a bit better at COC. Very nice posture and good flow in-between elements.
TES: 51.69
PCS: 48.80
Total: 100.49
Grand Total: 156.83
Rank: 2
Alissa Czisny (USA)
3Z+2T-good
3F-good
3R-landed but UR
2A+2A+SEQ-a little slow but solid
3Z-fall; likely UR
3T-landed but slow coming out
Spiral sequence-very nice
3R-fall; possible UR
Step sequence-speed is average; good use of whole body
Final two spin combos excellent
Presentation of program is very mature and actually has improved somewhat from last season. Unfortunate falls broke flow of the program but decent effort.
TES: 46.57
PCS: 55.44
Ded: -2.00
Total: 100.01
Grand Total: 163.53
Rank: 1
Joannie Rochette (Canada)
3Z+2T+2R-good; slight bobble of 2R
3F-fall out; good steps preceding it
3R-hand down
Spin combo-good
Spiral sequence-a little wobbly; extension adequate
2Z
3T+3S+SEQ-good
2A+2T-good
2S
Good energy in circular step sequence
Finished slightly after music
Not as on top of the music and sharp choreographically as she was when she debuted this program at the Japan Open. Still, excellent skating skills and transitions.
TES: 50.02
PCS: 62.88
Total: 112.90
Grand Total: 182.90
Rank: 1
Final Standings
1 Joannie ROCHETTE CAN 182.90
2 Alissa CZISNY USA 163.53
3 Laura LEPISTÖ FIN 158.52
4 Mirai NAGASU USA 156.83
5 Akiko SUZUKI JPN 147.72
6 Amelie LACOSTE CAN 141.13
7 Cynthia PHANEUF CAN 132.48
8 Caroline ZHANG USA 132.46
9 Sarah HECKEN GER 124.40
10 Jenna MCCORKELL GBR 123.50
11 Joshi HELGESSON SWE 108.41
The GPF lineup is Kim, Ando, Rochette, Leonova, Wagner, and Suzuki
That is all.
Friday, October 30, 2009
COC Ladies Free Skate Live Commentary
I will be doing live commentary of the ladies free taking place at the 2009 Cup of China. Below is the startlist and note that Binshu Xu has withdrawn.
WD Binshu XU CHN
12 37.08
2 Diane SZMIETT CAN
11 44.24
3 Bingwa GENG CHN
10 47.64
4 Beatrisa LIANG USA
9 50.76
5 Yan LIU CHN
8 51.28
6 Joannie ROCHETTE CAN
7 52.12
Warm-Up Group 2
7 Fumie SUGURI JPN
6 55.46
8 Rachael FLATT USA
5 58.80
9 Akiko SUZUKI JPN
4 59.52
10 Carolina KOSTNER ITA
3 61.12
11 Kiira KORPI FIN
2 61.20
12 Mirai NAGASU USA
1 62.20
Warm-up group 1 has taken to the ice. Geng in red, yellow, and black dress. Liang in dark blue. Liang-clean 2A.
Rochette in same blue dress from WTT. Yan Liu in red.
Warm-up has concluded.
Diane Szmiett (Canada)
white and silver dress
3Z-OK
3S-solid
3F-leaning forward but held on; possible hand down
3T+2T+2T-good
3S(swingy free leg but held on)+2T-landed
2A+2A+SEQ-little speed coming out of either jump
Very poor spiral
3T-held on, big smile
Footwork not musical, slow
Last spin traveled back to Canada
TES: 55.64
PCS: 44.40
Total: 100.04
Grand Total: 144.28
Bingwa Geng (China)
3Z+2T-good takeoff edge, forward on landing of 3Z
3F-long entrance, fell out of but rotated
3S-fall; possible UR
2A+2T-good
good spin combo
Spiral sequence-extension needs improvement
3Z-good; possible slight UR
2A-step out
3T-fall
good donut spin
footwork is fairly simplistic
Weak layback position; great speed going into catch foot and Bielmann spins
TES: 38.28
PCS: 37.28
Ded: -2.00
Total: 73.56
Grand Total: 121.20
Rank: 2
Beatrisa Liang (USA)
3Z-fall; possible UR
3F-preceded by spiral; swingy free leg but good
1R-three turn entrance into it
2A-good control of landing edge
deathdrop to pancake spin-good
3F+2T-good
Spiral-extension is not as strong as 2007 IIRC but is decent
3Z+2T-good; possibly double footed first jump
footwork-good in places; intensity and speed not continuous
3T-held on
good final spin combo
TES: 39.15
PCS: 42.48
Ded: -1.00
Total: 80.63
Grand Total: 131.39
Rank: 2
Yan Liu (China)
2Z-very simplistic entrance
1F
3R+2A+SEQ-little speed coming out of either jump but clean jumping pass
Weak Bielmann
Adequate spiral
3S+2T+1R-popped last jump but otherwise good
3T+2A+SEQ-good
2A-low but clean
Footwork is extremely bland
2S-preceded by spiral; bailed out mid air and it will be counted UR as a single salchow
Final spin combo-traveled
Fairly clean skater but her transitions mark should be no higher than a 1.0. There was nothing interesting going on in-between her major elements.
TES: 39.84
PCS: 41.68
Total: 81.52
Grand Total: 132.80
Rank: 2
Joannie Rochette (Canada)
3Z-forward on landing; possible UR
3F-lovely
3R-good
good fast spin
Adequate spiral placed at awkward point in the music
3Z+2T-decent; possible UR
3T+2S+SEQ-I'm not positive if first jump was 3T but I think it was
2A-fall backward
3S-good
Very detailed program choreographically and demonstrated tremendous use of skating skills and transitions. Interpretation of the music is very strong also.
TES: 53.42
PCS: 58.64
Ded: -1.00
Total: 111.06
Grand Total: 163.18
Rank: 1
Warm-up group two out on ice. Suzuki singled flip. Kostner in same dress from TEB. Kostner just took a hard fall on 3R.
Nagasu in red. Korpi in same dress from TEB. Nagasu just landed 3Z. One minute left in warm-up.
Fumie Suguri (Japan)
3Z+2T-slight flutz but good
3F-held on; possible two-foot
2A-lovely
Good speed in spin
Relatively weak spiral
3S-UR, struggled valiantly to keep free leg up off the ice
1Z-flutzed
3F-heavily two-footed; possible UR
2A+2A+SEQ-good
Footwork didn't always correspond to intensity of music
Final spin combo-good speed, some positions weak
TES: 39.89
PCS: 50.64
Total: 90.53
Grand Total: 145.99
Rank: 2
Rachael Flatt (USA)
Dressed in red and gold
2A-preceded by spiral; landed
3F+2T-a little off on 3F landing but otherwise good
3Z-step out, possible UR, way off-axis in air
Spin combos weak positions
3R-solid
2Z
3F-step out
3S+2T+2R-landed
Very nice footwork, the only remotely interesting aspect of the program choreographically.
Not a great skate. I would say this is the flattest of Flatt's programs so far, footwork excepted. Jumps look lower and not as centered in the air.
TES: 48.51
PCS: 50.40
Total: 98.91
Grand Total: 157.71
Rank: 2
Akiko Suzuki (Japan)
3Z+2T-swingy free leg on lutz but otherwise OK
2A+2A+SEQ-good
Good centering on spin; positions weak
Adequate spiral
3F-very calm landing
3Z-good landing; possible flutz
3R+2A+SEQ-somewhat wild landing on 2A but clean
3S-low but landed cleanly
Excellent energy in footwork
Lovely program!
TES: 64.58
PCS: 52.56
Total: 117.14
Grand Total: 176.66
Rank: 1
Carolina Kostner (Italy)
3F-fall out; possible UR
1Z
2A+2T-nice
Good position on camel; sit spin not low enough
Excellent spiral; nice transition with choreography between Y-scale spiral and standard spiral
3T-good
3R-unsteady but held on
2A-wobbled on landing and sharply put free leg down onto the ice
3S-fall; possible UR
Great footwork; lots of one foot skating
Good speed and expression throughout
TES: 38.38
PCS: 55.68
Ded: -1.00
Total: 93.08
Grand Total: 154.18
Rank: 4
Kiira Korpi (Finland)
2Z-rough landing
3S+2T-good
3R-good
good spin combo
1S-Bailed out mid-air; landed on two feet
Adequate spiral
3R+2T+2R-clean
2A+2T-good
Flying sit spin-doesn't maintain speed and low position when she changes her arms and focus to the side
Footwork fairly simplistic
2A-held on
Much improved from TEB. Expression and maturity has improved as well.
TES: 49.51
PCS: 52.56
Total: 102.07
Grand Total: 163.27
Rank: 2
Mirai Nagasu (USA)
3Z+2T+2R(looked UR)-otherwise clean
2A+3T(borderline for downgrade)-wobbly landing
3F(possible UR)+2T-landed
Good spins as usual
Great spiral extension
3Z-slightly off-axis landing but held on
3R-bailed out mid-air and fell
2A-low but landed
3T-UR
Excellent final spin
TES: 42.90
PCS: 51.28
Ded: -1.00
Total: 93.18
Grand Total: 155.38
Rank: 5
Final Standings
1 Akiko SUZUKI JPN 176.66
2 Kiira KORPI FIN 163.27
3 Joannie ROCHETTE CAN 163.18 7 2
4 Rachael FLATT USA 157.71 5 5
5 Mirai NAGASU USA 155.38 1 6
6 Carolina KOSTNER ITA 154.18 3 7
7 Fumie SUGURI JPN 145.99 6 8
8 Diane SZMIETT CAN 144.28 11 4
9 Yan LIU CHN 132.80 8 9
10 Beatrisa LIANG USA 131.39 9 10
11 Bingwa GENG CHN 121.20 10 11
Congratulations Akiko!
WD Binshu XU CHN
12 37.08
2 Diane SZMIETT CAN
11 44.24
3 Bingwa GENG CHN
10 47.64
4 Beatrisa LIANG USA
9 50.76
5 Yan LIU CHN
8 51.28
6 Joannie ROCHETTE CAN
7 52.12
Warm-Up Group 2
7 Fumie SUGURI JPN
6 55.46
8 Rachael FLATT USA
5 58.80
9 Akiko SUZUKI JPN
4 59.52
10 Carolina KOSTNER ITA
3 61.12
11 Kiira KORPI FIN
2 61.20
12 Mirai NAGASU USA
1 62.20
Warm-up group 1 has taken to the ice. Geng in red, yellow, and black dress. Liang in dark blue. Liang-clean 2A.
Rochette in same blue dress from WTT. Yan Liu in red.
Warm-up has concluded.
Diane Szmiett (Canada)
white and silver dress
3Z-OK
3S-solid
3F-leaning forward but held on; possible hand down
3T+2T+2T-good
3S(swingy free leg but held on)+2T-landed
2A+2A+SEQ-little speed coming out of either jump
Very poor spiral
3T-held on, big smile
Footwork not musical, slow
Last spin traveled back to Canada
TES: 55.64
PCS: 44.40
Total: 100.04
Grand Total: 144.28
Bingwa Geng (China)
3Z+2T-good takeoff edge, forward on landing of 3Z
3F-long entrance, fell out of but rotated
3S-fall; possible UR
2A+2T-good
good spin combo
Spiral sequence-extension needs improvement
3Z-good; possible slight UR
2A-step out
3T-fall
good donut spin
footwork is fairly simplistic
Weak layback position; great speed going into catch foot and Bielmann spins
TES: 38.28
PCS: 37.28
Ded: -2.00
Total: 73.56
Grand Total: 121.20
Rank: 2
Beatrisa Liang (USA)
3Z-fall; possible UR
3F-preceded by spiral; swingy free leg but good
1R-three turn entrance into it
2A-good control of landing edge
deathdrop to pancake spin-good
3F+2T-good
Spiral-extension is not as strong as 2007 IIRC but is decent
3Z+2T-good; possibly double footed first jump
footwork-good in places; intensity and speed not continuous
3T-held on
good final spin combo
TES: 39.15
PCS: 42.48
Ded: -1.00
Total: 80.63
Grand Total: 131.39
Rank: 2
Yan Liu (China)
2Z-very simplistic entrance
1F
3R+2A+SEQ-little speed coming out of either jump but clean jumping pass
Weak Bielmann
Adequate spiral
3S+2T+1R-popped last jump but otherwise good
3T+2A+SEQ-good
2A-low but clean
Footwork is extremely bland
2S-preceded by spiral; bailed out mid air and it will be counted UR as a single salchow
Final spin combo-traveled
Fairly clean skater but her transitions mark should be no higher than a 1.0. There was nothing interesting going on in-between her major elements.
TES: 39.84
PCS: 41.68
Total: 81.52
Grand Total: 132.80
Rank: 2
Joannie Rochette (Canada)
3Z-forward on landing; possible UR
3F-lovely
3R-good
good fast spin
Adequate spiral placed at awkward point in the music
3Z+2T-decent; possible UR
3T+2S+SEQ-I'm not positive if first jump was 3T but I think it was
2A-fall backward
3S-good
Very detailed program choreographically and demonstrated tremendous use of skating skills and transitions. Interpretation of the music is very strong also.
TES: 53.42
PCS: 58.64
Ded: -1.00
Total: 111.06
Grand Total: 163.18
Rank: 1
Warm-up group two out on ice. Suzuki singled flip. Kostner in same dress from TEB. Kostner just took a hard fall on 3R.
Nagasu in red. Korpi in same dress from TEB. Nagasu just landed 3Z. One minute left in warm-up.
Fumie Suguri (Japan)
3Z+2T-slight flutz but good
3F-held on; possible two-foot
2A-lovely
Good speed in spin
Relatively weak spiral
3S-UR, struggled valiantly to keep free leg up off the ice
1Z-flutzed
3F-heavily two-footed; possible UR
2A+2A+SEQ-good
Footwork didn't always correspond to intensity of music
Final spin combo-good speed, some positions weak
TES: 39.89
PCS: 50.64
Total: 90.53
Grand Total: 145.99
Rank: 2
Rachael Flatt (USA)
Dressed in red and gold
2A-preceded by spiral; landed
3F+2T-a little off on 3F landing but otherwise good
3Z-step out, possible UR, way off-axis in air
Spin combos weak positions
3R-solid
2Z
3F-step out
3S+2T+2R-landed
Very nice footwork, the only remotely interesting aspect of the program choreographically.
Not a great skate. I would say this is the flattest of Flatt's programs so far, footwork excepted. Jumps look lower and not as centered in the air.
TES: 48.51
PCS: 50.40
Total: 98.91
Grand Total: 157.71
Rank: 2
Akiko Suzuki (Japan)
3Z+2T-swingy free leg on lutz but otherwise OK
2A+2A+SEQ-good
Good centering on spin; positions weak
Adequate spiral
3F-very calm landing
3Z-good landing; possible flutz
3R+2A+SEQ-somewhat wild landing on 2A but clean
3S-low but landed cleanly
Excellent energy in footwork
Lovely program!
TES: 64.58
PCS: 52.56
Total: 117.14
Grand Total: 176.66
Rank: 1
Carolina Kostner (Italy)
3F-fall out; possible UR
1Z
2A+2T-nice
Good position on camel; sit spin not low enough
Excellent spiral; nice transition with choreography between Y-scale spiral and standard spiral
3T-good
3R-unsteady but held on
2A-wobbled on landing and sharply put free leg down onto the ice
3S-fall; possible UR
Great footwork; lots of one foot skating
Good speed and expression throughout
TES: 38.38
PCS: 55.68
Ded: -1.00
Total: 93.08
Grand Total: 154.18
Rank: 4
Kiira Korpi (Finland)
2Z-rough landing
3S+2T-good
3R-good
good spin combo
1S-Bailed out mid-air; landed on two feet
Adequate spiral
3R+2T+2R-clean
2A+2T-good
Flying sit spin-doesn't maintain speed and low position when she changes her arms and focus to the side
Footwork fairly simplistic
2A-held on
Much improved from TEB. Expression and maturity has improved as well.
TES: 49.51
PCS: 52.56
Total: 102.07
Grand Total: 163.27
Rank: 2
Mirai Nagasu (USA)
3Z+2T+2R(looked UR)-otherwise clean
2A+3T(borderline for downgrade)-wobbly landing
3F(possible UR)+2T-landed
Good spins as usual
Great spiral extension
3Z-slightly off-axis landing but held on
3R-bailed out mid-air and fell
2A-low but landed
3T-UR
Excellent final spin
TES: 42.90
PCS: 51.28
Ded: -1.00
Total: 93.18
Grand Total: 155.38
Rank: 5
Final Standings
1 Akiko SUZUKI JPN 176.66
2 Kiira KORPI FIN 163.27
3 Joannie ROCHETTE CAN 163.18 7 2
4 Rachael FLATT USA 157.71 5 5
5 Mirai NAGASU USA 155.38 1 6
6 Carolina KOSTNER ITA 154.18 3 7
7 Fumie SUGURI JPN 145.99 6 8
8 Diane SZMIETT CAN 144.28 11 4
9 Yan LIU CHN 132.80 8 9
10 Beatrisa LIANG USA 131.39 9 10
11 Bingwa GENG CHN 121.20 10 11
Congratulations Akiko!
COC Ladies SP Commentary
Here is my commentary for the ladies SP which took place earlier today in Beijing. I am watching this event without knowing the results beforehand and this page will be updated as I see the competitors skate.
Skate Order:
Warm-Up Group 1
1.) Bingwa Geng (China)
2.) Binshu Xu (China)
3.) Yan Liu (China)
4.) Diane Szmiett (Canada)
5.) Beatrisa Liang (USA)
6.) Mirai Nagasu (USA)
Arena is about half full. Same arena as last year's Cup of China. Binshu Xu in pink top with blue skirt. Yan Liu in light blue. Szmiett in red; Liang in black; Nagasu in black and gold.
Liang looks a little out of shape but just landed a triple toe. Nagasu did a triple flip which looked slightly UR. Yan Liu stumbled out of her triple loop slightly.
Nagasu did a triple lutz with a slight fall out and inside edge takeoff. Liu (I believe) did a 3Z at the end of the warm-up.
Bingwa Geng (China)
Purple dress
Looks like a young Caroline Zhang, and is skating to Meditation from Thais
3S-good steps before, entrance was long but the jump had great height and a good landing
3Z-fall out, +1T-won't get credit for 2nd jump, put her foot down in-between, takeoff edge looked clean
2A-lovely
spiral-extension is good, not great
Footwork-nice
Good donut spin
Layback position is too turned in but her Bielmann is great
Nice ending pose
She will get marked down quite a bit for her mistake on the triple lutz but otherwise a very nice performance. Geng could be a legitimate contender at major competitions in the future. Good choreography, nice use of arms, and did express herself well in places.
TES: 28.20
PCS: 19.44
Total: 47.64
PCS are a little low IMO but scores at this event were rather tight last year.
Binshu Xu (China)
3T-fall; likely UR
3S-solid; slightly UR
spin combo-good speed; weak positions on layback and Bielmann
spiral-extension is decent; skating edge is very wobbly
2A-nice
last spin combo-good speed but traveled
Very weak projection to the audience.
TES: 19.36
PCS: 18.72
Ded: -1.00
Total: 37.08
Rank: 2
Yan Liu (China)
IIRC the same as last year's SP
3Z+2T-a little slow coming out of 3Z and possibly flutzed; otherwise clean
3R-good
Rough transition from standard spiral to catch-foot spiral
2A-coming after front spiral; very good
good layback to catch-foot spin
footwork-relatively easy and not very continuous
Very flat program artistically; she is a mature skater but has no relation to the audience whatsoever. However, it was a very fluid, clean skate, and it was certainly one of her best short programs as of late.
TES: 30.00
PCS: 21.28
Total: 51.28
Rank: 1
Diane Szmiett (Canada)
Skating to West Side Story
3F+2T-long entrance but otherwise good
3Z-two footed first and then fell
2A-fell out of
spin combo-traveled in beginning but centered it afterward
Very poor attempt at Charlotte Spiral (if that was even what she was trying)
Relatively slow footwork
Great speed in catch foot spin at the end
No emotional depth to program; speed is decent.
TES: 25.08
PCS: 21.16
Ded: -2.00
Total: 44.24
Rank: 3
Beatrisa Liang (USA)
Tango de Roxanne
3Z+2T-good
3F-little wobbly, very slight UR
layback to catch foot spin combo-very good
spiral-good extension
2A- step out
good spin combo
footwork-fall
This program is a great one for her and really enables her to showcase expression, drama, and musicality. A shame about the mistakes at the end but at least it started off well.
TES: 29.04
PCS: 22.72
Ded: -1.00
Total: 50.76
Rank: 2
Mirai Nagasu (USA)
Pirates of the Carribean soundtrack
3Z(likely UR)+2T-landed; also looked flutzed
3F-good
Spiral-great extension and speed
layback to catch-foot to Bielmann spin-excellent
2A-from Ina Bauer-very good
footwork-good energy
Good last spin combo
Her growth spurt has caused her to under rotate jumps more so than when she was tinier but it has helped her out tremendously with speed. She travels across the rink very quickly no matter if it is stroking, footwork, or gliding across the ice. Good skate.
TES: 37.40 ( I guess she got the lutz credited?)
PCS: 24.80
Total: 62.20 (Nice!)
Rank: 1
Warm-Up Group 2
7.) Akiko Suzuki (Japan)
8.) Fumie Suguri (Japan)
9.) Kiira Korpi (Finland)
10.) Rachael Flatt (USA)
11.) Joannie Rochette (Canada)
12.) Carolina Kostner (Italy)
Flatt in pink; Korpi in a light green/yellow; Rochette in black.
Flatt did 2A; landed but looked low. It looked like Rochette did 3Z+3T with a slight wobble on the landing of the 2nd jump. Flatt doubled her lutz. Flatt just did 3Z; looked lower than usual but landed.
Akiko Suzuki (Japan)
3Z+2T-slight loss of speed coming out of 3Z but otherwise good
3F-good
flying camel-slightly off balance but got her centering back
Spiral sequence-adequate
2A-good control on the landing edge
spin combo-good speed but traveled towards the end
footwork-very fluid, creative, and fast
Good last spin combo
Very nice performance. Suzuki has great expression and she is very musical. Great attack with the footwork and showed a lot of character in the section immediately following the triple flip. Spins and spirals were not nearly as strong as Nagasu's.
TES: 34.40
PCS: 25.12
Total: 59.52
Rank: 2
Fumie Suguri (Japan)
Good expression at the start
3F(slight UR)+2T-good speed coming out
3Z-flutz, double-footed, possible UR
Spiral sequence-adequate
2A-great height; slight wobble on landing
Combo spin-good speed but lost speed when grabbing her leg in the catch foot layback position
Footwork-good movements but slow
Finished after music
TES: 30.38
PCS: 25.08
Total: 55.46
Rank: 3
Kiira Korpi (Finland)
3Z(possible flutz; hand down)+2T
3R-good; three-turn entrance
Good continuous speed in spin combo
2A-solid
Spiral sequence-decent
Flying sit spin-nice low position
footwork-good
Good speed in final spin
Improved expression but still bland in places.
TES: 34.80
PCS: 26.40
Total: 61.20
Rank: 2
Score is higher than she deserved in my opinion. Her PCS should be in line with those received by Nagasu and Suzuki, not ahead of.
Rachael Flatt (USA)
3F(forward on landing, possible UR)+2T
3Z-solid
flying camel
Spiral sequence-adequate
Good position on layback; speed could be improved
2A-forward on landing; held on
Improved footwork from previous seasons
A cute program that has potential but Flatt will need to sell it even more to bring the entertaining concept home. All of her jumps looked lower.
TES: 33.40
PCS: 25.40
Total: 58.80
Rank: 4
Joannie Rochette (Canada)
Music is to La Cumparsita
2Z-opened up in air
3F-good but didn't add in a combo
1A
Adequate spiral
Footwork a bit slow in places
Spins were all OK
The program is very well choreographed, and she does have the most mature presentation that we have seen today. Perhaps this whole battle with landing the 3-3 is messing with her nerves? In that case, she should just stick to a triple lutz+double toe, something she does consistently in the long.
TES: 23.92
PCS: 28.20
Total: 52.12
Rank: 6
Carolina Kostner (Italy)
3F+2T-good
3T-solid
Spiral-great speed and extension
2A-solid
Spin combo a little slow
Flying deathdrop-sit spin position should be lower
Good attack in footwork
Good presentation.
Interesting jump layout! She seems to be saying to hell with the 3/3 and is putting the triple toe in as a solo jump. It will put her behind in base value but a clean program will keep her competitive because of her high PCS scores.
TES: 31.80
PCS: 29.32
Total: 61.12
Rank: 3
Good thing I didn't have any money riding on this competition. Also, AKIKO SUZUKI WAS ROBBED!!!!!.
That is all.
Skate Order:
Warm-Up Group 1
1.) Bingwa Geng (China)
2.) Binshu Xu (China)
3.) Yan Liu (China)
4.) Diane Szmiett (Canada)
5.) Beatrisa Liang (USA)
6.) Mirai Nagasu (USA)
Arena is about half full. Same arena as last year's Cup of China. Binshu Xu in pink top with blue skirt. Yan Liu in light blue. Szmiett in red; Liang in black; Nagasu in black and gold.
Liang looks a little out of shape but just landed a triple toe. Nagasu did a triple flip which looked slightly UR. Yan Liu stumbled out of her triple loop slightly.
Nagasu did a triple lutz with a slight fall out and inside edge takeoff. Liu (I believe) did a 3Z at the end of the warm-up.
Bingwa Geng (China)
Purple dress
Looks like a young Caroline Zhang, and is skating to Meditation from Thais
3S-good steps before, entrance was long but the jump had great height and a good landing
3Z-fall out, +1T-won't get credit for 2nd jump, put her foot down in-between, takeoff edge looked clean
2A-lovely
spiral-extension is good, not great
Footwork-nice
Good donut spin
Layback position is too turned in but her Bielmann is great
Nice ending pose
She will get marked down quite a bit for her mistake on the triple lutz but otherwise a very nice performance. Geng could be a legitimate contender at major competitions in the future. Good choreography, nice use of arms, and did express herself well in places.
TES: 28.20
PCS: 19.44
Total: 47.64
PCS are a little low IMO but scores at this event were rather tight last year.
Binshu Xu (China)
3T-fall; likely UR
3S-solid; slightly UR
spin combo-good speed; weak positions on layback and Bielmann
spiral-extension is decent; skating edge is very wobbly
2A-nice
last spin combo-good speed but traveled
Very weak projection to the audience.
TES: 19.36
PCS: 18.72
Ded: -1.00
Total: 37.08
Rank: 2
Yan Liu (China)
IIRC the same as last year's SP
3Z+2T-a little slow coming out of 3Z and possibly flutzed; otherwise clean
3R-good
Rough transition from standard spiral to catch-foot spiral
2A-coming after front spiral; very good
good layback to catch-foot spin
footwork-relatively easy and not very continuous
Very flat program artistically; she is a mature skater but has no relation to the audience whatsoever. However, it was a very fluid, clean skate, and it was certainly one of her best short programs as of late.
TES: 30.00
PCS: 21.28
Total: 51.28
Rank: 1
Diane Szmiett (Canada)
Skating to West Side Story
3F+2T-long entrance but otherwise good
3Z-two footed first and then fell
2A-fell out of
spin combo-traveled in beginning but centered it afterward
Very poor attempt at Charlotte Spiral (if that was even what she was trying)
Relatively slow footwork
Great speed in catch foot spin at the end
No emotional depth to program; speed is decent.
TES: 25.08
PCS: 21.16
Ded: -2.00
Total: 44.24
Rank: 3
Beatrisa Liang (USA)
Tango de Roxanne
3Z+2T-good
3F-little wobbly, very slight UR
layback to catch foot spin combo-very good
spiral-good extension
2A- step out
good spin combo
footwork-fall
This program is a great one for her and really enables her to showcase expression, drama, and musicality. A shame about the mistakes at the end but at least it started off well.
TES: 29.04
PCS: 22.72
Ded: -1.00
Total: 50.76
Rank: 2
Mirai Nagasu (USA)
Pirates of the Carribean soundtrack
3Z(likely UR)+2T-landed; also looked flutzed
3F-good
Spiral-great extension and speed
layback to catch-foot to Bielmann spin-excellent
2A-from Ina Bauer-very good
footwork-good energy
Good last spin combo
Her growth spurt has caused her to under rotate jumps more so than when she was tinier but it has helped her out tremendously with speed. She travels across the rink very quickly no matter if it is stroking, footwork, or gliding across the ice. Good skate.
TES: 37.40 ( I guess she got the lutz credited?)
PCS: 24.80
Total: 62.20 (Nice!)
Rank: 1
Warm-Up Group 2
7.) Akiko Suzuki (Japan)
8.) Fumie Suguri (Japan)
9.) Kiira Korpi (Finland)
10.) Rachael Flatt (USA)
11.) Joannie Rochette (Canada)
12.) Carolina Kostner (Italy)
Flatt in pink; Korpi in a light green/yellow; Rochette in black.
Flatt did 2A; landed but looked low. It looked like Rochette did 3Z+3T with a slight wobble on the landing of the 2nd jump. Flatt doubled her lutz. Flatt just did 3Z; looked lower than usual but landed.
Akiko Suzuki (Japan)
3Z+2T-slight loss of speed coming out of 3Z but otherwise good
3F-good
flying camel-slightly off balance but got her centering back
Spiral sequence-adequate
2A-good control on the landing edge
spin combo-good speed but traveled towards the end
footwork-very fluid, creative, and fast
Good last spin combo
Very nice performance. Suzuki has great expression and she is very musical. Great attack with the footwork and showed a lot of character in the section immediately following the triple flip. Spins and spirals were not nearly as strong as Nagasu's.
TES: 34.40
PCS: 25.12
Total: 59.52
Rank: 2
Fumie Suguri (Japan)
Good expression at the start
3F(slight UR)+2T-good speed coming out
3Z-flutz, double-footed, possible UR
Spiral sequence-adequate
2A-great height; slight wobble on landing
Combo spin-good speed but lost speed when grabbing her leg in the catch foot layback position
Footwork-good movements but slow
Finished after music
TES: 30.38
PCS: 25.08
Total: 55.46
Rank: 3
Kiira Korpi (Finland)
3Z(possible flutz; hand down)+2T
3R-good; three-turn entrance
Good continuous speed in spin combo
2A-solid
Spiral sequence-decent
Flying sit spin-nice low position
footwork-good
Good speed in final spin
Improved expression but still bland in places.
TES: 34.80
PCS: 26.40
Total: 61.20
Rank: 2
Score is higher than she deserved in my opinion. Her PCS should be in line with those received by Nagasu and Suzuki, not ahead of.
Rachael Flatt (USA)
3F(forward on landing, possible UR)+2T
3Z-solid
flying camel
Spiral sequence-adequate
Good position on layback; speed could be improved
2A-forward on landing; held on
Improved footwork from previous seasons
A cute program that has potential but Flatt will need to sell it even more to bring the entertaining concept home. All of her jumps looked lower.
TES: 33.40
PCS: 25.40
Total: 58.80
Rank: 4
Joannie Rochette (Canada)
Music is to La Cumparsita
2Z-opened up in air
3F-good but didn't add in a combo
1A
Adequate spiral
Footwork a bit slow in places
Spins were all OK
The program is very well choreographed, and she does have the most mature presentation that we have seen today. Perhaps this whole battle with landing the 3-3 is messing with her nerves? In that case, she should just stick to a triple lutz+double toe, something she does consistently in the long.
TES: 23.92
PCS: 28.20
Total: 52.12
Rank: 6
Carolina Kostner (Italy)
3F+2T-good
3T-solid
Spiral-great speed and extension
2A-solid
Spin combo a little slow
Flying deathdrop-sit spin position should be lower
Good attack in footwork
Good presentation.
Interesting jump layout! She seems to be saying to hell with the 3/3 and is putting the triple toe in as a solo jump. It will put her behind in base value but a clean program will keep her competitive because of her high PCS scores.
TES: 31.80
PCS: 29.32
Total: 61.12
Rank: 3
Good thing I didn't have any money riding on this competition. Also, AKIKO SUZUKI WAS ROBBED!!!!!.
That is all.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
2009 Cup of China-Ladies Preview
Rachael Flatt (USA)
The two-time U.S. silver medalist is consistent, reliable, and yes, flat. However, with Sasha Cohen's withdrawal from Trophée Eric Bompard and both Mao Asada and Carolina Kostner's respective meltdowns at COR and TEB, Flatt has a very strong opportunity of qualifying to the Grand Prix Final after missing the final last year by two placements. Flatt won her first U.S. silver medal in 2008, skating a clean long program which contained seven triple jumps. Subsequently competing at the World Junior Championships, she repeated the same clean skate and defeated both Mirai Nagasu and Caroline Zhang to win the title. Flatt once again settled for silver at this year's U.S. Championships, missing the gold medal in a very controversial loss to Alissa Czisny. Flatt went onto the 2009 World Championships and finished 5th in her first try. Flatt has competed twice since the conclusion of last season in summer events, including the Colorado Championships and the Golden West competition, beating Alexe Gilles at the former and Caroline Zhang and Mirai Nagasu at the latter. Flatt showed visible improvement in her swing-themed short program with her presentation and speed, but reverted back to her fairly mundane style in the long program, choreographed to Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini."
While Flatt's style is not necessarily bad - she actually does make a fairly strong effort to use facial expression and relate to the music - her lines are impeded by her rather awkwardly proportioned body. Her neck is very short; thus, when her shoulders lift, even just ever so slightly, it creates a very distorted line of both her back and overall upper body. She is not an exceptionally flexible skater, nor a very fast one. However, Rachael Flatt made it to the top five at last year's worlds in spite of these flaws, and her innate ability to compete and remain in the moment when the pressure mounts has been her ace in the hole thus far in her career. She has also been remarkable in avoiding major injury as a figure skater, something that has also been advantageous to Flatt against her fellow adversaries. Flatt is doubtful to reach the medals stand in Vancouver, but she stands a solid chance of claiming an Olympic berth in Spokane come nationals. One of her closest competitors for one of those spots, Mirai Nagasu, will be competing against Flatt at this competition, and it will be intriguing to see who is ahead at this stage in the game.
Carolina Kostner (Italy)
For more info on Kostner see the TEB preview post for the ladies. The two-time world medalist has quite a ways to go when it comes to returning to peak form after her sixth place finish just over a week ago in Paris. For Kostner to have any chance at qualifying to the Grand Prix Final, she would need to win this event, a tough task in of itself, and then hope that others meltdown at future Grand Prixs so that she could qualify. While one can argue several different ways regarding why Kostner was overscored at the 2008 worlds, it certainly did help her that she was the bronze medalist from the Grand Prix Final and the current European champion heading into those Championships. Now that the Grand Prix Final is most likely out of the question, winning Europeans will be of the utmost importance for Kostner heading into Vancouver. Kostner should be able to win a European title very easily at her optimum, but she is still capable of losing gold at that event, doing so last year to Laura Lepisto.
Both of Carolina's programs that she debuted in Paris are hardly her best; they don't appear as well composed or emotionally inspired as several previous programs of hers, including her "Canon" short and "Memories of a Geisha" long from the 2006/2007 season. Her low finish in Paris is, while a setback reputation-wise, by no means an indication that she has glossed herself out of the picture for an Olympic medal. In 2004, Kostner only finished 7th at Cup of Russia and went on to defeat Michelle Kwan for the bronze medal at worlds. Similarly in 2007, Kostner did pull off a bronze medal at Cup of China, but she was competing against a very weak field and skated extremely poorly in the free. She would later go on to win the world silver medal that season. Kostner has already been making several changes to her jumps since moving to Frank Carroll (such as taking a more fluid entrance to her triple flip and not telegraphing), and consistency with these changes naturally take time, as her warm-ups looked excellent in Paris but during her competitive skates her nerves ended up taking center ice. Kostner is never strong at her first event of the season, but does often improve for her second. In this all important Olympic season, she needs that to be the case here.
Mirai Nagasu (USA)
Although a seemingly benevolent, dainty personality, the 2008 U.S. Champion has not been one to hide her emotions or thoughts to the public. Nagasu arrived to her free skate at last year's U.S. Championships in tears, but finished the program without a major error and beamed with pride. Recently, during the U.S. Olympic Media Summit, Nagasu arose concern in the skating community with her comment, "...I'm not very smart and I'm not very pretty and there's nothing else that stands out about me besides my skating." Nagasu was also the only skater to vocal her concern over what Sasha Cohen's comeback would mean for her Olympic chances. Nagasu came out of nowhere to win the gold medal at the U.S. Championships on the junior level in 2007, defeating heavy favorite Caroline Zhang in the process. The following year, she shocked many once again by taking the senior U.S. title, but was age-ineligible to compete at the 2008 World Championships. The following year, a disastrous 8th place showing at the NHK Trophy continued to fire off tensions between Nagasu and her then coach, Charlene Wong, largely because Nagasu was opting out of resting a severe ankle injury. Nagasu toughed it out in her free skate at the U.S. Championships, finishing 5th, and upon concluding her season, she decided it was best to resume her skating under the tutelage of Frank Carroll.
Judging by the recent Golden West competition, Nagasu does not look as strong as Flatt overall, but does have several things going for her. Nagasu has routinely been plagued by under rotated jumps that often stem from a lack of amplitude, but at Golden West her jumps looked visibly higher and stronger. Her Carmen long program also looks to have great potential, and the music arrangement of the program has several of the more unused selections of the score. Nagasu has a fairly steep hill to climb to make the Olympic team, but appears to have started off on the right off toward getting to the top of the hill, something that cannot be said for many of the athletes vying for tickets to Vancouver.
Joannie Rochette (Canada)
Although some past Olympic and world champions have peaked at 15 or 16, Joannie Rochette has taken the slow and steady route to peaking at the ripe old age of 23, having just won a world silver medal. Rochette earned her first world championship medal on her eighth try and comes toward this season with what will likely be her last opportunity to win an Olympic medal. While debuting her new long program to "Samson and Delilah" at the recent Japan Open, Rochette looked fit, confident, and polished. Rochette landed all seven triples and scored a 126.39, the highest free skate for her in an international competition to date. Rochette certainly needs to be mindful of not peaking too early; however, one shouldn't be too concerned because she did perform expertly at last year's Skate Canada and, with one exception (Grand Prix Final), maintained that level of solidity throughout the season's entirety.
With Mao Asada and Carolina Kostner struggling and Sasha Cohen's "comeback" in question, Rochette has found herself with more than just a realistic aspiration of winning an Olympic medal. At this point, it looks as though Rochette is the only woman capable of even challenging South Korean superstar Yu-Na Kim for the gold, although Kim still is the unwavering frontrunner at this point. Once noted for her inconsistency, Rochette has worked diligently to correct this foible. The current world silver medalist remarked in a recent CTV Olympics article that touring with Stars and Ice in Canada has been beneficial to her psych and that the presence of media attention motivates her to perform at a superior level. Her mindset is obviously working, but will she keep her confidence intact when faced with skating for an Olympic medal in her home country? We shall see.
Fumie Suguri (Japan)
It hasn't exactly been smooth sailing for Suguri since winning her world silver medal in 2006, but she shocked many when she won the silver medal at the 2008/2009 Japanese nationals, defeating Miki Ando, Akiko Suzuki, and Yukari Nakano. Suguri qualified to the 2009 World Championships, her first worlds since 2006, and she also qualified to the Four Continents team, a competition where she placed 6th. Battling a shoulder injury, Suguri had a relatively shaky long program at the World Championships and was unable to muster anything better than an 8th place finish. Suguri stands a decent chance of making the Olympic team, a chance which she hopes to augment by moving to Alexei Mishin, coach of Evgeni Plushenko. Upon changing coaches, Suguri also scrapped both of her scheduled programs for the 2009/2010 season and has replaced them with a short program to "Air on the G String" and "Tocatta and Fugue" by Bach and a long program to Khachaturian's "Spartacus."
Suguri performed poorly at the recent Finlandia Trophy, finishing 7th against a weak field. However, once adjusted to all of her changes, Suguri should be a force to be reckoned with for a spot on the Olympic team. She only finished 8th at her opening event of the 2005/2006 Olympic season, Skate Canada, but stunned all by winning the Japanese nationals, defeating the then reigning Grand Prix Final champion Mao Asada and eventual Olympic champion Shizuka Arakawa. With Miki Ando and Mao Asada near locks for the team (even with Asada's issues, she has far too much recognition and stardom to be left off), Fumie Suguri is in a race for the third ticket with Yukari Nakano and Akiko Suzuki, the latter of whom she will compete against this week. Suguri may not be primed to do well this week if Finlandia Trophy is any indication, but she has proven capable of sneaking up on her rivals when something big is on the line and can certainly do that again with jump doctor Mishin by her side.
Akiko Suzuki (Japan)
Suzuki had her best season to date last year, winning a silver medal at the NHK Trophy and achieving a 4th place finish at the Japanese nationals. Much like Joannie Rochette, Suzuki has been slower in reaching her peak, and part of this is because of an eating disorder she suffered from in 2003, which kept her out of competition for the 2003/2004 season. Suzuki was inspired by Shizuka Arakawa's 2004 world title and became motivated to give the sport another try. Although success was slow to come after that, she did improve dramatically for last season and made the most out of her year. Suzuki does stand a legitimate chance of making the Olympic team, and were it not for a (perhaps unfairly) downgraded triple salchow in her long program at Japanese nationals, she may have been a part of the 2009 world championship team. Suzuki is set to debut her new programs for the first time internationally in China, which are a short program to Andalucia and a long program to West Side Story. Former world champion ice dancer turned choreographer Shae-Lynn Bourne worked with Suzuki on her long program for this season and praised Suzuki's skating ability and work ethic on a Japanese television fluff. Suzuki already has had a good start to her season, winning a regional championship in Japan with a score higher than what she received at last year's Japanese nationals. Suzuki is a solid jumper and an attractive artist; she should do well here if her consistency from last season is any indication. As the Japanese Skating Federation appears to be making much of their Olympic team decisions based on Grand Prix results, Suzuki wants to leave her first major event of the season with a bang.
Predicted Standings
5th: Mirai Nagasu (USA)
6th; Fumie Suguri (Japan)
That is all.
The two-time U.S. silver medalist is consistent, reliable, and yes, flat. However, with Sasha Cohen's withdrawal from Trophée Eric Bompard and both Mao Asada and Carolina Kostner's respective meltdowns at COR and TEB, Flatt has a very strong opportunity of qualifying to the Grand Prix Final after missing the final last year by two placements. Flatt won her first U.S. silver medal in 2008, skating a clean long program which contained seven triple jumps. Subsequently competing at the World Junior Championships, she repeated the same clean skate and defeated both Mirai Nagasu and Caroline Zhang to win the title. Flatt once again settled for silver at this year's U.S. Championships, missing the gold medal in a very controversial loss to Alissa Czisny. Flatt went onto the 2009 World Championships and finished 5th in her first try. Flatt has competed twice since the conclusion of last season in summer events, including the Colorado Championships and the Golden West competition, beating Alexe Gilles at the former and Caroline Zhang and Mirai Nagasu at the latter. Flatt showed visible improvement in her swing-themed short program with her presentation and speed, but reverted back to her fairly mundane style in the long program, choreographed to Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini."
While Flatt's style is not necessarily bad - she actually does make a fairly strong effort to use facial expression and relate to the music - her lines are impeded by her rather awkwardly proportioned body. Her neck is very short; thus, when her shoulders lift, even just ever so slightly, it creates a very distorted line of both her back and overall upper body. She is not an exceptionally flexible skater, nor a very fast one. However, Rachael Flatt made it to the top five at last year's worlds in spite of these flaws, and her innate ability to compete and remain in the moment when the pressure mounts has been her ace in the hole thus far in her career. She has also been remarkable in avoiding major injury as a figure skater, something that has also been advantageous to Flatt against her fellow adversaries. Flatt is doubtful to reach the medals stand in Vancouver, but she stands a solid chance of claiming an Olympic berth in Spokane come nationals. One of her closest competitors for one of those spots, Mirai Nagasu, will be competing against Flatt at this competition, and it will be intriguing to see who is ahead at this stage in the game.
Carolina Kostner (Italy)
For more info on Kostner see the TEB preview post for the ladies. The two-time world medalist has quite a ways to go when it comes to returning to peak form after her sixth place finish just over a week ago in Paris. For Kostner to have any chance at qualifying to the Grand Prix Final, she would need to win this event, a tough task in of itself, and then hope that others meltdown at future Grand Prixs so that she could qualify. While one can argue several different ways regarding why Kostner was overscored at the 2008 worlds, it certainly did help her that she was the bronze medalist from the Grand Prix Final and the current European champion heading into those Championships. Now that the Grand Prix Final is most likely out of the question, winning Europeans will be of the utmost importance for Kostner heading into Vancouver. Kostner should be able to win a European title very easily at her optimum, but she is still capable of losing gold at that event, doing so last year to Laura Lepisto.
Both of Carolina's programs that she debuted in Paris are hardly her best; they don't appear as well composed or emotionally inspired as several previous programs of hers, including her "Canon" short and "Memories of a Geisha" long from the 2006/2007 season. Her low finish in Paris is, while a setback reputation-wise, by no means an indication that she has glossed herself out of the picture for an Olympic medal. In 2004, Kostner only finished 7th at Cup of Russia and went on to defeat Michelle Kwan for the bronze medal at worlds. Similarly in 2007, Kostner did pull off a bronze medal at Cup of China, but she was competing against a very weak field and skated extremely poorly in the free. She would later go on to win the world silver medal that season. Kostner has already been making several changes to her jumps since moving to Frank Carroll (such as taking a more fluid entrance to her triple flip and not telegraphing), and consistency with these changes naturally take time, as her warm-ups looked excellent in Paris but during her competitive skates her nerves ended up taking center ice. Kostner is never strong at her first event of the season, but does often improve for her second. In this all important Olympic season, she needs that to be the case here.
Mirai Nagasu (USA)
Although a seemingly benevolent, dainty personality, the 2008 U.S. Champion has not been one to hide her emotions or thoughts to the public. Nagasu arrived to her free skate at last year's U.S. Championships in tears, but finished the program without a major error and beamed with pride. Recently, during the U.S. Olympic Media Summit, Nagasu arose concern in the skating community with her comment, "...I'm not very smart and I'm not very pretty and there's nothing else that stands out about me besides my skating." Nagasu was also the only skater to vocal her concern over what Sasha Cohen's comeback would mean for her Olympic chances. Nagasu came out of nowhere to win the gold medal at the U.S. Championships on the junior level in 2007, defeating heavy favorite Caroline Zhang in the process. The following year, she shocked many once again by taking the senior U.S. title, but was age-ineligible to compete at the 2008 World Championships. The following year, a disastrous 8th place showing at the NHK Trophy continued to fire off tensions between Nagasu and her then coach, Charlene Wong, largely because Nagasu was opting out of resting a severe ankle injury. Nagasu toughed it out in her free skate at the U.S. Championships, finishing 5th, and upon concluding her season, she decided it was best to resume her skating under the tutelage of Frank Carroll.
Judging by the recent Golden West competition, Nagasu does not look as strong as Flatt overall, but does have several things going for her. Nagasu has routinely been plagued by under rotated jumps that often stem from a lack of amplitude, but at Golden West her jumps looked visibly higher and stronger. Her Carmen long program also looks to have great potential, and the music arrangement of the program has several of the more unused selections of the score. Nagasu has a fairly steep hill to climb to make the Olympic team, but appears to have started off on the right off toward getting to the top of the hill, something that cannot be said for many of the athletes vying for tickets to Vancouver.
Joannie Rochette (Canada)
Although some past Olympic and world champions have peaked at 15 or 16, Joannie Rochette has taken the slow and steady route to peaking at the ripe old age of 23, having just won a world silver medal. Rochette earned her first world championship medal on her eighth try and comes toward this season with what will likely be her last opportunity to win an Olympic medal. While debuting her new long program to "Samson and Delilah" at the recent Japan Open, Rochette looked fit, confident, and polished. Rochette landed all seven triples and scored a 126.39, the highest free skate for her in an international competition to date. Rochette certainly needs to be mindful of not peaking too early; however, one shouldn't be too concerned because she did perform expertly at last year's Skate Canada and, with one exception (Grand Prix Final), maintained that level of solidity throughout the season's entirety.
With Mao Asada and Carolina Kostner struggling and Sasha Cohen's "comeback" in question, Rochette has found herself with more than just a realistic aspiration of winning an Olympic medal. At this point, it looks as though Rochette is the only woman capable of even challenging South Korean superstar Yu-Na Kim for the gold, although Kim still is the unwavering frontrunner at this point. Once noted for her inconsistency, Rochette has worked diligently to correct this foible. The current world silver medalist remarked in a recent CTV Olympics article that touring with Stars and Ice in Canada has been beneficial to her psych and that the presence of media attention motivates her to perform at a superior level. Her mindset is obviously working, but will she keep her confidence intact when faced with skating for an Olympic medal in her home country? We shall see.
Fumie Suguri (Japan)
It hasn't exactly been smooth sailing for Suguri since winning her world silver medal in 2006, but she shocked many when she won the silver medal at the 2008/2009 Japanese nationals, defeating Miki Ando, Akiko Suzuki, and Yukari Nakano. Suguri qualified to the 2009 World Championships, her first worlds since 2006, and she also qualified to the Four Continents team, a competition where she placed 6th. Battling a shoulder injury, Suguri had a relatively shaky long program at the World Championships and was unable to muster anything better than an 8th place finish. Suguri stands a decent chance of making the Olympic team, a chance which she hopes to augment by moving to Alexei Mishin, coach of Evgeni Plushenko. Upon changing coaches, Suguri also scrapped both of her scheduled programs for the 2009/2010 season and has replaced them with a short program to "Air on the G String" and "Tocatta and Fugue" by Bach and a long program to Khachaturian's "Spartacus."
Suguri performed poorly at the recent Finlandia Trophy, finishing 7th against a weak field. However, once adjusted to all of her changes, Suguri should be a force to be reckoned with for a spot on the Olympic team. She only finished 8th at her opening event of the 2005/2006 Olympic season, Skate Canada, but stunned all by winning the Japanese nationals, defeating the then reigning Grand Prix Final champion Mao Asada and eventual Olympic champion Shizuka Arakawa. With Miki Ando and Mao Asada near locks for the team (even with Asada's issues, she has far too much recognition and stardom to be left off), Fumie Suguri is in a race for the third ticket with Yukari Nakano and Akiko Suzuki, the latter of whom she will compete against this week. Suguri may not be primed to do well this week if Finlandia Trophy is any indication, but she has proven capable of sneaking up on her rivals when something big is on the line and can certainly do that again with jump doctor Mishin by her side.
Akiko Suzuki (Japan)
Suzuki had her best season to date last year, winning a silver medal at the NHK Trophy and achieving a 4th place finish at the Japanese nationals. Much like Joannie Rochette, Suzuki has been slower in reaching her peak, and part of this is because of an eating disorder she suffered from in 2003, which kept her out of competition for the 2003/2004 season. Suzuki was inspired by Shizuka Arakawa's 2004 world title and became motivated to give the sport another try. Although success was slow to come after that, she did improve dramatically for last season and made the most out of her year. Suzuki does stand a legitimate chance of making the Olympic team, and were it not for a (perhaps unfairly) downgraded triple salchow in her long program at Japanese nationals, she may have been a part of the 2009 world championship team. Suzuki is set to debut her new programs for the first time internationally in China, which are a short program to Andalucia and a long program to West Side Story. Former world champion ice dancer turned choreographer Shae-Lynn Bourne worked with Suzuki on her long program for this season and praised Suzuki's skating ability and work ethic on a Japanese television fluff. Suzuki already has had a good start to her season, winning a regional championship in Japan with a score higher than what she received at last year's Japanese nationals. Suzuki is a solid jumper and an attractive artist; she should do well here if her consistency from last season is any indication. As the Japanese Skating Federation appears to be making much of their Olympic team decisions based on Grand Prix results, Suzuki wants to leave her first major event of the season with a bang.
Predicted Standings
Gold: Joannie Rochette (Canada)
Silver: Rachael Flatt (USA)
Bronze: Akiko Suzuki (Japan)
4th: Carolina Kostner (Italy)5th: Mirai Nagasu (USA)
6th; Fumie Suguri (Japan)
That is all.
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