… Besides the fact that it doesn’t look like we’ll see them anywhere else, that is.
+ ADAM RIPPON, who proved why some people truly appreciate the CoP System as he vaulted from 7th all the way to 1st with probably his best free skate of the season. Almost as fun as the look on his face at the end: the chorus of “Aaaah”s that erupted from the Korean commentators every time he landed a lutz.
+ MAO ASADA, who showed that her program looks exactly the same as it did a few months ago, except she skated clean (including both triple axels) this time. As great a time as it is for her to be getting her act together (she won this event, after all), I will be sad if this program helps Asada win gold in Vancouver. That abysmal “Bells of Moscow” piece is so heavy and joyless, it makes it feel like she’s skating with a lead apron draped over her.
+ ZHANG & ZHANG, who looked better than the last time I saw them compete… but I wonder if they’ll medal at all this time, with the likely podium representatives being German, Russian, and Chinese-but-not-Them.
+ Not to be confused with CAROLINE ZHANG, who did much better than I expected with her bronze-medal performance. I’d wondered if she should even go to this event this year, but it was certainly worth it to see her looking happy for the first time in months.
+ Ditto for MCLAUGHLIN & BRUBAKER… still not skating anywhere close to clean, I’m afraid (I believe they had trouble with both an SBS and a throw), but plenty of other great qualities gave them a silver medal to try and rub out some of the lingering pain of Nationals… not to mention those Vancouver-esque TV ads in which they remain featured (ouch).
+ ALEXE GILLES couldn’t pull herself out of 9th place, but I watched her FS anyway to see if her stamina held up. She seemed to finish stronger than at Nationals, and, assuming she continues to next season, I look forward to it (she’s currently 18)… but yes, several missteps in her “On the Town” program. Call me crazy, but I’m starting to think this is the kind of music that Gilles’ fellow Colorado Springs classmate RACHAEL FLATT should use in the future…
+ And even though she had just the fifth best FS, AMANDA DOBBS is still bringing some well deserved, late-season attention to herself with a 4th place finish (she was all the way up in 2nd after the SP… AHEAD of Asada at that point). Pretty impressive, too, that she did this with only four clean triples in her program, all of which are considered “easier” (the Salchow and the toe loop; she fell on her triple flip attempt and didn’t try a loop or lutz). I hope she gets some senior GP assignments next year…
And now for something a tiny bit different for the Clip of the Day: guess what I located when looking up Akiko Suzuki’s silver medal-winning Free Skate? That’s right… her 8th-place winning Free Skate from this competition, all the way back in 2002 (when she was only 16, in her senior debut season). Check it out!
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2 comments:
Adam's FS was one of my favourite programs I've seen all season. I love him!
I'm also hoping that Amanda gets some GPs next season, although I kind of think she'd do better in pairs unless she can really get her jumps down. Love her attitude and her style, though.
Adam "ripped it"...no pun intended!
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