2009 Skate America Mens FS Live Commentary

Start Order


Warm-Up Group 1
1 Igor MACYPURA SVK
12 51.45

2 Tomas VERNER CZE
11 55.90

3 Kevin REYNOLDS CAN
10 59.05

4 Jialiang WU CHN
9 59.16

5 Ryan BRADLEY USA
8 59.24

6 Yasuharu NANRI JPN
7 59.35


Warm-Up Group 2
7 Andrei LUTAI RUS
6 60.64

8 Shawn SAWYER CAN
5 65.95

9 Adrian SCHULTHEISS SWE
4 67.55

10 Brandon MROZ USA
3 71.40

11 Florent AMODIO FRA
2 72.65

12 Evan LYSACEK USA
1 79.17

7:58 CT Judges have been announced. First warm-up group out on ice.
Reynolds-clean 3R; dressed in black and gold
Renyolds-fall on 3F in warm-up
Wu-fall out of 3R
Nanri-lovely 3Z
Bradley-popped axel
Verner-3A(fall)
Verner-turned 4T into triple; fell out
Bradley-landed 4T+2T
Warm-up concluded.



Igor Macypura (Slovak Republic)
3A+3T-good height; well done
3Z+3T-barely held onto 3T but landed
Step sequence slow
Good low sit spin
Spin combo traveled
1R-landed on two feet
1A-slow entrance
1F-totally off in air; landed on two feet
2A-almost no preparation or speed going into it but landed
3S-fall
No energy left
2A+2A+SEQ-decent
Extremely pedestrian choreography. No speed whatsoever throughout program.


TES: 47.07
PCS: 46.50
Ded: -1.00
Total: 92.57
Grand Total: 144.02



Tomas Verner (Czech Republic)
4T-fall but looked roated
3T-opened up in air but landed
3A-nice
Footwork good but not as fast nor as expressive as he is capable of executing that element
Sit spin position could have more stretch
3A+2T-good
3Z-nice
3F-good, maybe lipped
2S
3R+2T-good
Straight line step sequence-a bit slow; footwork is good, however
Final compo spin-traveled slightly
Very methodically skated program. Not much spark or speed but much better than Friday.


TES: 68.06
PCS: 71.10
Ded: -1.00
Total: 138.16
Grand Total: 194.06
Rank: 1



Kevin Reynolds (Canada)
4S-good
2T(intended 4T+3T)
3A-(hunched way forward on entrance; landed jump while leaning forward on landing)+2T
3R+3T(toe-axeled)-landed
3A-possible UR
3S-weight back but well controlled landing
Footwork-needs to get down into ice more; more speed needed
3Z-flutzed
3F+3T(toe-axeled)+2R-landed
Straight line step sequence-movement aren't bad but don't reflect music
Traveled in final spin combo
Has improved slightly artistically; his short program demonstrates that more so than his long.


TES: 72.28
PCS: 58.90
Total: 131.18
Grand Total: 190.23
Rank: 2



Jialiang Wu (China)
3Z+3T-Weight was slightly back but adjusted very well in the air; nicely done
3A+2T-great
2A+2T+2R-nice
Spin combo fairly slow
Hunches over while stroking
3R-two footed; fell out
1A
3F-awkward landing; possibly double footed
2S
Speed and energy is completely gone
Simplistic footwork
Straight line step sequence-extremely slow; void of any actual steps
3Z-hard fall to the side
No presentation.


TES: 55.00
PCS: 51.10
Ded: -1.00
Total: 105.10
Grand Total: 164.26
Rank: 3



Ryan Bradley (USA)
4T-good
4T+2T-slightly forward on landing of 4T but landed
Great expression in footwork
3A-leaning to the left slightly but well controlled landing
3Z-great landing and finishing arm position
Straight line step sequence-slow and not as difficult as others' step sequences but well-executed; good energy
3F-barely picked in; fell out of
3R-good; little bit slow coming out
1S+3T-way off on salchow but centered himself and pulled off 3T well
2Z+2T+2T-landed but slow going in and out of jumping pass
His skating skills are fairly poor but he really does all that he can with expressing to the crowd. Good skate.


TES: 70.38
PCS: 68.50
Total: 138.88
Grand Total: 198.12
Rank: 1



Yasuharu Nanri (Japan)
3A+3T-good
3Z-little slow coming out of it but solid
3A- fall
Good centering in spin combo but sit spin not low enough
3R-struggled to solidify landing but clean
2A+2T+2T-landed
3F-nice height; forward on landing; possibly lipped
Footwork OK but simplistic; very slow during the last part of it
3F-heavily two-footed; looked lipped; perhaps slightly UR
3S-turned out
Circular step sequence-good movement; could be faster
Adequate skating skills but needs to keep up the speed of the program as it continues. Relatively bland presentation.


TES: 51.69
PCS: 58.80
Ded: -1.00
Total: 109.49
Grand Total: 168.84
Rank: 4


Warm-Up Group 2 on ice.
Lutai-good 3R+2T
Mroz-Good 3F+2T+2R
Amodio-Low but landed 3R
Lysacek-Good 3A
Lysacek-Good 3S
Mroz-Fall on 4T
Warm-up concluded.



Andrei Lutai (Russia)
3A-little forward but landed
4T-hands down; fall out
3A-fall; will only be credited as a sequence because neither 3A was in combination
2Z+2T
Good straight line step
Good speed in start of spin combo; slowed down and traveled towards the end
3F-good
3R-fall
2A-good
Circular step sequence-slow
Last sit spin to pancake not low enough
3S-landed awkwardly but held on
Some good moments in the choreography but quite bland after that.


TES: 49.15
PCS: 60.00
Ded: -2.00
Total: 107.15
Grand Total: 167.79
Rank: 5



Shawn Sawyer (Canada)
3A-two-footed; turned out; possible UR
3F+3T-good
3Z-leaning forward on landing; possible flutz
Great split jump transition
Great musicality in step sequence
3R-good with split jump preceding it
2A+3T-hand down
Great spiral
3F-good
2A-turned out
Very entertaining; nicely executed straight line step sequence
3S(scratchy, possibly two-footed landing)+2T+2R-landed
Spin combo a tad slow; traveling; great positions
Very entertaining and polished program.


TES: 68.86
PCS: 69.10
Total: 137.96
Grand Total: 203.91
Rank: 1



Adrian Schultheiss (Sweden)
3F+3T-fall out
3A+2T-little awkward going into 2T but landed
3Z-good
Quirky step sequence; very contemporary
3A-fell out of; possible UR
2A-good
3R-good
3S-good
3Z+2T-very low 2T; fell out of
Straight line step sequence-sluggish
Music is very different but the program itself, with the exception of a few parts, is actually quite generic. Needs to improve speed, particularly when he is entering or coming out of a jump. Noticeable improvement from his performance at this event last year.


TES: 56.32
PCS: 61.20
Total: 117.52
Grand Total: 185.07
Rank: 5



Brandon Mroz (USA)
4T-fall; looked rotated
1A+2T
3F(very slow coming out)+2T+2T(hopped out)-landed
Improved footwork; good quick turns
2A+2T-spread eagle coming before it; intended 3A+2T
3Z+2T-very close to the boards but landed
3R-put free leg down very quickly
2S
2Z
Decent straight line step sequence
Skating skills have improved but jumps were just not there tonight. A poor warm-up directly translated to his skate.


TES: 71.40
PCS: 61.40
Ded: -1.00
Total: 102.60
Grand Total: 174.00
Rank: 6



Florent Amodio (France)
2A-intended 4S
3A-held on
3R-nice
Very creative and expressive footwork
3A-turned out; will only be counted as a sequence
Random fall while stroking but comically shrugs it off
3S+3T-barely held on
3Z-step out
3F-double footed
3Z-fell out of; will only be counted as a sequence
Very quirky skater like Preaubert, Contesti, and Bradley, but has superior skating skills to them all. Good speed but his jumps were quite shaky tonight.


TES: 57.03
PCS: 68.30
Ded: -1.00
Total: 124.93
Grand Total: 197.58
Rank: 3



Evan Lysacek (USA)
3Z+3T-spread eagle going in; excellent
3A-swingy landing but looked rotated
3S-weight back; fall out
Step sequence-Good musicality but could use more motion throughout his entire body as opposed to doing so many arm movements
Nice sit spin to pancake
3A(possible UR)+2T-landed
3R-nice
3F(possible UR)+2T+2R-good landing with spiral preceding jumping pass
3Z-good
2A-good
Great straight line step sequence
Very expressive program


TES: 77.55
PCS: 81.00
Total: 158.55
Grand Total: 237.72
Rank: 1



Overall Standings
1 Evan LYSACEK USA 237.72 1 1
2 Shawn SAWYER CAN 203.91 5 4
3 Ryan BRADLEY USA 198.12 8 2
4 Florent AMODIO FRA 197.58 2 6
5 Tomas VERNER CZE 194.06 11 3
6 Kevin REYNOLDS CAN 190.23 10 5
7 Adrian SCHULTHEISS SWE 185.07 4 7
8 Brandon MROZ USA 174.00 3 11
9 Yasuharu NANRI JPN 168.84 7 8
10 Andrei LUTAI RUS 167.79 6 9
11 Jialiang WU CHN 164.26 9 10
12 Igor MACYPURA SVK 144.02 12 12


That is all.

2009 Skate America Mens SP Live Commentary

Start Order

Warm-Up Group 1

1 Igor MACYPURA SVK
2 Andrei LUTAI RUS
3 Jialiang WU CHN
4 Ryan BRADLEY USA
5 Shawn SAWYER CAN
6 Yasuharu NANRI JPN


Warm-Up Group 2

7 Florent AMODIO FRA
8 Adrian SCHULTHEISS SWE
9 Kevin REYNOLDS CAN
10 Brandon MROZ USA
11 Evan LYSACEK USA
12 Tomas VERNER CZE


7:59 CT. Judges being announced. Todd Sand is technical specialist.
Warm-Up Group 1 on ice. Bezic and Joyce also commentating this competition.
Macypura and Sawyer almost collided.
Bradley landed 3A in warm-up. Sawyer landed 3A in warm-up with a cheat on landing.
Nanri-turn out on 3A.
Nanri-Did 3A again; leaning to the side and possibly UR but held the landing position.
Warm-Up Group 1 concluded.
Karen Kwan in attendance coaching Igor Macypura.


Igor Macypura (Slovakia)
Blues for Klook music
3A-fall; possible UR
3F-intended combo but no speed coming out of 3F and therefore didn't tack on a 2nd jump
3Z+3T-little speed coming out of either jump but completed
Very slow footwork in both step sequences
Camel spin traveled slightly
Extremely bland program


TES: 29.00
PCS: 24.45
Ded: -2.00
Total: 51.45


Andrei Lutai (Russia)
3A-great
3T+2T-intended 4T+3T; opened up in the air; slow entrance
3Z-jump traveled back instead of up, but landed
Slight slip in footwork
Traveled slightly in spin combo and missed the camel part of the combo spin because he appeared off-balance
Not low enough in the deathdrop to sit spin at the end
Skate needed much more speed, attack, and energy. Slightly more interesting than Macypura's.


TES: 33.04
PCS: 28.60
Ded: -1.00
Total: 60.64
Rank: 2



Jiuliang Wu (China)
3Z+3T-good; slightly pre-rotated 3T
3A-good height; turned out
3R-looked slightly UR but landed
Slow step sequence
Nice amplitude in deathdrop; stumble on exit
Decent straight line step sequence and final spin combo
Definitely could use more speed and bigger movements.


TES: 33.06
PCS: 26.10
Total: 59.10
Rank: 2



Ryan Bradley (USA)
4T+2T+SEQ-UR and fall out on 4T; stepped in-between jumps so will not receive credit for the 2T
3A-swingy entrance; good height but a fall out on landing
3Z-nice arm position on landing
Combo spin-slow
Excellent step sequences; great personality
As always a very quirky presentation from Ryan Bradley; he is able to mask some of his weaknesses in skating skills and transitions in this short program versus the long program. Relatively poor posture. Entertaining program but I have seen him emote to the audience even more than he did tonight.


TES: 30.94
PCS: 29.30
Ded: -1.00
Total: 59.24
Rank: 2



Shawn Sawyer (Canada)
Good speed
3A-fall out; looked slightly UR
3F(slightly leaning)+3T-landed
2Z-opened up on 1st revolution
Great extension in all spin positions
Good incorporation of upper body in circular step sequence; great musicality
Straight line step sequence-not quite as dynamic as circular footwork but still very good
Great extension in Y-scale spin
Dynamic finish
Really great program; a shame about the mistakes technically. Very musical and showed a lot of attention to detail with artistry.


TES: 34.60
PCS: 31.35
Total: 65.95
Rank: 1



Yasuharu Nanri (Japan)
3A-nice
3F+3T-possible double foot; slightly UR on 2nd jump
2Z-way too far forward in air; two-footed
Step sequence decent; could have just a bit more speed and presentation
Deathrop to sit spin-sit spin could be a bit lower
Circular step sequence good not great
Overall the program is decent on pretty much every level but there is nothing unique or exciting in it.


TES: 29.30
PCS: 30.05
Total: 59.35
Rank: 3


Warm-Up Group 2 on ice. Reynolds fall on 2Z in warm-up- not good for someone so reliant on jumps. How the hell is Schultheiss in this top group of two?
Reynolds landed what looked like a 3A. Amodio-low but landed 3F.
Mroz-fall out on 4T.
Warm-up concluded.


Florent Amodio (France)
Good speed
3A-nice; lovely twizzle series immediately following it
3Z-somewhat off but landed
3S+3T-good
Great turning elements in footwork and very quick, continuous movement
Flying sit spin-not low enough and traveled slightly
Great expression in final step sequence
Very finely put together program.


TES: 39.90
PCS: 32.75
Total: 72.65
Rank: 1



Adrian Schultheiss (Sweden)
3Z+3T(possible UR)-slightly rough landing
3A-little speed coming out but landed
Great speed in combo spin
Good movement in footwork but slow
3F-good
Straight line step sequence-decent
Flying sit spin-nice and low; decent speed
Well I'll eat my words from earlier! Not a stunning performance by any means but a huge improvement from his work at this competition last year. Shows more polish and refinement in his choreography than he has previously but the height and speed of his jumps need improving.


TES: 37.80
PCS: 30.75
Ded: -1.00
Total: 67.55
Rank: 2



Kevin Reynolds (Canada)
4S(double footed)+3T-landed
1A-slowed down completely on entrance
3Z-little low but landed
Good deathdrop to sit spin to pancake
Footwork-little slow, expression has improved
Straight line step sequence-musical but again a bit slow
Artistry has definitely improved, but an unfortunate and peculiar mistake on the 3A attempt. Fun program but didn't sell it to its full potential.


TES: 28.70
PCS: 30.35
Total: 59.05
Rank: 8



Brandon Mroz (USA)
4T+3T(turn in-between)-struggled but good fight
3A-turned out; possible slight UR
Good low sit spin
3Z-very nice
Movement in footwork is good but his expression does not relate to the fun nature of the music at all. Serious music seems to suit him a bit better.


TES: 40.90
PCS: 30.50
Total: 71.40
Rank: 2



Evan Lysacek (USA)
3A-looked UR
3Z+3T-slight UR on 2nd jump but landed well
3F-very good but lipped slightly
Good flexibility in pancake through to sit spin
Lots of expression in footwork; good speed; arm flailing at full force
Very well put together program with excellent energy


TES: 39.62
PCS: 39.55
Total: 79.17
Rank: 1



Tomas Verner (Czech Republic)
4T-fall; UR
2A-popped open but landed
2Z
Nice speed in footwork but spark is gone
Quirky expressions but mistakes have diminished overall impression of the program
Complete disaster
Huth seems to be ultimate coach of headcases: Dytrt, Kostner, Verner


TES: 21.80
PCS: 35.10
Ded: -1.00
Total: 55.90
Rank: 11



1 Evan LYSACEK USA 79.17 1 (Would be 83.87 if 3A had gotten ratified, although it was rightfully not)
2 Florent AMODIO FRA 72.65 2
3 Brandon MROZ USA 71.40 3
4 Adrian SCHULTHEISS SWE 67.55 4
5 Shawn SAWYER CAN 65.95 5
6 Andrei LUTAI RUS 60.64 6
7 Yasuharu NANRI JPN 59.35 7
8 Ryan BRADLEY USA 59.24 8
9 Jialiang WU CHN 59.16 9
10 Kevin REYNOLDS CAN 59.05 10
11 Tomas VERNER CZE 55.90 11
12 Igor MACYPURA SVK 51.45 12


That is all.

COR Preview-Men

Men




Florent Amodio (France)


Born in Brazil and adopted as an infant by a French couple, Amodio recently won the French Masters competition, beating far more experienced and acclaimed skaters such as Brian Joubert, Yannick Ponsero, and Alban Preaubert. At 19-years-of-age, Amodio has commendable talent, but his inexperience has shown through for him at several competitions, including at last season's World Junior Championships, where he placed 15th. This low finish was especially surprising, considering that it came shortly after his victory at the Junior Grand Prix Final, and his 2nd place finish at French nationals. His silver medal did not grant him a world team berth, however, because Brian Joubert withdrew from that competition. Fortunately, Amodio was granted the experience of competing at the World Team Trophy directly after worlds, where he placed 10th in the men's competition. While Amodio's recent defeating of Joubert at French Masters is doubtful to mean that he will suddenly start besting Joubert every competition out, his win there is impressive nonetheless, largely because of the great room for improvement he had in both of his programs. Amodio did attempt a quad salchow (which appeared rotated, but had a fall) during his free skate at French Masters and his slight, lean build enables him to rotate jumps with little to no effort at all. Amodio has a tough task at hand to get the second ticket on the French men's team, but he has already gotten his season off on a satisfactory note. A solid placement here at his first senior Grand Prix event (preferably in the top five) will win him further respect from the French judges who will help decide his Olympic dream, particularly after compatriots Ponsero and Preaubert (especially the latter) had weak outings at Trophée Eric Bompard.





Takahiko Kozuka (Japan)

Kozuka was one of the men who experienced a breakthrough season last year, but said season concluded on a fairly sour note. Kozuka shocked many by defeating both Johnny Weir and Evan Lysacek at last year's Skate America and went on to win the silver medal at the Grand Prix Final, but he finished over 13 points shy of making the podium at worlds, and he also finished behind less talanted skaters such as Vaughn Chipeur and Sergei Voronov at the World Team Trophy, where he placed 8th. Kozuka is blessed with some of the softest knees and securest edges in the world, but his expression is nearly non-existent, and he has yet to land a quadruple toe loop in competition. The judges were rallying to Kozuka's support in the early part of last season, with them giving him higher PCS marks than those of Johnny Weir's at the Grand Prix Final for both programs. As soon as Patrick Chan and Evan Lysacek improved significantly for the Four Continents Championships, the judges' interest in Kozuka appeared to wain and his PCS marks dropped at that competition and at the World Championships despite executing similar skates. Kozuka is immensely talented, but is a darkhorse medal threat for the Olympic podium at best. His competition in Los Angeles was far less than what it will be in Vancouver, and yet he still finished three places off the podium. As far as this event is concerned, Kozuka is doubtful to win with the return of reigning Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko on his home turf. However, Kozuka is entirely capable of finishing 2nd. His main rival for that placement is Johnny Weir, who Kozuka defeated at two competitions last season. With Nobunari Oda's win at Trophée Eric Bompard, and Daisuke Takahashi's victory at the Finlandia Trophy, Kozuka seems destined to enter the Olympic Games as the third ranked Japanese team member, and will thus have to wait longer before he is truly in contention for a world championship or Olympic medal.




Brandon Mroz (USA) 


Mroz was another skater who enjoyed a breakthrough season last year, shocking a plethora of observers to win the silver medal at the 2009 U.S. Figure Skating Championships with two technically sound programs. The 18-year-old St. Louis native went on to finish 9th at his first World Championships, doing just enough to help Evan Lysacek claim three berths for the United States men at the upcoming Winter Olympics. Mroz is under the tutelage of Tom Zakrajsek, who formerly coached one of Mroz's top rivals in the United States, Jeremy Abbott. Now that Abbott has relocated to Michigan to train under Yuka Sato, Mroz could improve his skating over the next year with him likely to receive more attention from his coach. Although a very consistent short program skater, the reigning U.S. silver medalist has yet to recapture his performance in the long program at nationals at any other competition. Mroz may need such a performance to make the Olympic team, as he only beat Evan Lysacek, with a shaky long program, by less than a point in Cleveland. The gap between Mroz's skating technically and artistically is quite sizable, and it will be a necessity for him to develop a more mature presentation for this Olympic season. Mroz has stated that he wishes to learn a quadruple salchow and upgrade to a quad-triple combination for his short. These are both quite ambitious plans, if he chooses to follow through with them, because his quad toe was landed only one time out of five competitions last season. No longer an unknown, Mroz must not rely on an optimum result at just one competition to get himself a ticket to Vancouver.




Evgeni Plushenko (Russia)

The much-anticipated return to major international competition from the Olympic and three-time world champion has finally arrived. Plushenko has been out of competition ever since winning his 2006 Olympic gold medal, and cited his reason to comeback to the current weakness of men's figure skating in Russia. The announcement of his comeback has some fans in ecstacy and others (perhaps far more) in anguish, but the Russian seems determined to make this comeback a strong one and will settle for nothing less than a second Olympic gold. Nonetheless, his programs of which he revealed at the recent Cup of Russia in Perm defied the limits of boredom, particularly his long program to "Tengo Amore" by Edvin Marton (shown in the above video). Plushenko's jumps are looking very solid, however, and the mere fact that he has a quad in his arsenal should boost his PCS scores. Brian Joubert was wrong to claim that the quad is not valued high enough; while it may not be rewarded justly on the technical score, it is often rewarded on the program component score (particularly when the skater is well-known), as has been the case in the past for Plushenko. Joubert certainly didn't beat Jeffrey Buttle's PCS score during the long program of 2008 worlds for his comparatively inferior expression and edge quality. Plushenko received high PCS marks through the roof at the 2006 Olympics for stylistically bland programs, and while one hopes that the judges will judge him more strictly after his time away from competition, such an instance cannot be guaranteed.




Shawn Sawyer (Canada)

An exceptionally limber skater, the 24-year-old Canadian finished 5th at both of his Grand Prix events last season, winning the long program at Skate Canada with a score of 142.36. The string of fifth-place finishes continued for Sawyer, as he unfortunately finished two placements at Canadian nationals from what would have qualified him to the 2009 world championship team. Now that Canada has only two Olympic spots available for the men, the three-time Canadian bronze medalist has a tough battle in order for securing the second spot on the Olympic team. Conquering his nemesis, the triple axel, would help his prospects of competing at a second Olympic Games significantly. Grand Prix results didn't seem to have much of an impact on the results of Canadian nationals last year, as Shawn Sawyer had stronger showings at his events than Vaughn Chipeur did, but Chipeur wound up beating Sawyer by three places at Canadians. Chipeur, who after last season seemed like the best bet for the second Olympic spot, just recently finished last at Trophée Eric Bompard. Sawyer did peak too early in the season as last year, as Chipeur did not, and that was what made the difference when it came to who was chosen to compete in Los Angeles. Ultimately, a strong showing from Sawyer here may not be the greatest indication that he will compete in Vancouver.




Kevin Van Der Perren (Belgium)

The two-time European bronze medalist is not realistically in the Olympic medal hunt, but wishes to step back onto the ice on the right track after a disappointing 14th place finish at the 2009 World Championships. So far he has not done so, falling to 12th at the recent Finlandia Trophy. Van Der Perren has already competed in two previous Olympics, placing 12th in 2002 and 9th in 2006. His highest finish at a World Championships was a 6th place showing in 2008, scoring the third highest free skate score of the competition.  At his peak, Van Der Perren is an excellent jumper capable of landing quadruple toe loops and triple-triple-triple combinations. Unfortunately, he lacks the superior line and complex choreography of the other top men and thus often receives less than desirable program component scores (even when his jumps are solid). Although Van Der Perren is unlikely to qualify to the Grand Prix Final and would not risk his Olympic spot by performing poorly here, he does wish to perform well to gain prize money to support both he and his wife's training (Jenna McCorkell is his wife, who will be competing in Moscow). At 27 years of age, it remains very probable that this will be Van Der Perren's last season competing.




Johnny Weir (USA)

Last season started off decently for the three-time U.S. Champion, but concluded bitterly with a fifth place finish at the 2009 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, a competition which came after a severe illness he had contracted while skating in Japan and South Korea. U.S. Figure Skating showed no mercy to Weir in their selection for the world championship team, leaving him off of both that team and the Four Continents team. Although he has not actually competed in a major event since January, Weir did show his long program at the MidAtlantics last month, and performed his new short program at the recent "Stars, Stripes, and Skates" show in Connecticut. Weir only marked slightly above a 129 for his long program at MidAtlantics, where he apparently left out his footwork and some of his transitions because of the small size of the rink. His second triple axel was downgraded to a double (an extremely rare occurence for him), and he doubled his lutz (also a rare occurence). He encountered similar errors at the show, double footing and slightly under rotating his triple axel, and putting his hand down on his triple lutz. Weir trains on an Olympic-sized rink and appeared to have trouble adjusting to smaller ice surfaces, but Nobunari Oda still managed to land eight clean triples whilst debuting his Charlie Chaplin themed long program on the same rink. Much like Brian Joubert, how Johnny Weir's first event of the season goes generally showcases in some form how he will do later on in the season. In 2007, a brilliant showing at Cup of China led to a world bronze medal. In 2006, one of the weakest long programs of his career at Skate Canada led to a third place finish at nationals and an eighth place finish at worlds. Thus, one should be able to determine much based on Johnny Weir's performances at this competition alone.


Predicted Standings-Men

Gold: Evgeni Plushenko (Russia)

Silver: Takahiko Kozuka (Japan)

Bronze: Johnny Weir (USA)

4th: Brandon Mroz (USA)
5th: Florent Amodio (France)
6th: Shawn Sawyer (Canada)

That is all.