Two weeks into the Grand Prix series and it feels like we
never left!
For some of our skating favorites, though, it looks like
they aren’t really back yet... unless they’re the ones that have clearly been
doing pushups and squats in the basement all summer, getting stronger. Here’s
my take on 2014 Skate Canada International:
MEN RESULTS...
GOLD: Takahito Mura (JPN)
SILVER: Javier Fernandez (ESP)
BRONZE: Max Aaron (USA
+ Before
predicting Javier Fernandez to win, I should have had a little conversation
with Johnny Weir. Then I would have realized Fernandez has been in “show
mode” the entire off-season (as opposed to just the late spring), and wasn’t
ready yet for this level of competition. While his “Black Betty” short program
was stellar and showed signs of becoming one of the “IT” SPs of the season, the
Rossini FS was off from his first jump, and never really came together. (I’d
like to think the costume for that one is also “not ready”; could that bland
ensemble really be what he wears all season?) In any case, he’s scheduled to be
at Rostelecom Cup in two weeks so we’ll see if he’s able to gain any ground in
that time.
+ Adam (Rippon) and Taka (Kozuka) are both trying
very hard to break my heart. Both are beautiful, accomplished competitors with
a history of inconsistent finishes (but considerable triumphs among them). One
has struggled with triple axel demons for years; the other has only recently
done so. Watching each of them barely break 200 points in their totals last
weekend left me, and maybe countless others, wondering: does either guy stand a
chance of making their respective World teams this year... and will they
compete any longer if they don’t?
+ I want to know who it was in the USFS
organization earlier this year that zeroed in on Stephen Carriere—a former U.S.
medalist, now in his mid-20s, who had finished 10th at Nationals two
years running and had not been a part of the Grand Prix since 2010—and said
“This guy gets two GP events next season.” Because it just might’ve been... genius?! The fact is, Carriere used to be assigned to
these events regularly, and even medaled at them. Twice. But we’re talking six
and seven seasons ago, when he was fresh off of winning Junior Worlds in 2007.
Since early 2009, his results have been by and large less than spectacular... and
time will tell if 2014-15 will truly be any different. He DID win the Ondrej Nepala Trophy earlier in the season, though—his
first international win in three years—and followed it up by being thisclose to
a bronze medal (or, technically speaking, 0.1 points) here at Skate Canada. Do
we call it a comeback yet? Rostelecom Cup is his next stop...
PAIRS RESULTS...
GOLD: Duhamel/Radford (CAN)
SILVER: Sui/Han (CHN)
BRONZE: Tarasova/Morozov (RUS)
+ Duhamel/Radford won in such convincing fashion,
I’d completely forgotten it was their first-ever GP title! But indeed it is.
Kudos to the ever-challenging Canadian team!
+ Speaking of Canadian teams, Kirsten Moore-Towers
made her GP debut with new partner Michael Marinaro, finishing a solid 6th
here (and only a few points from 5th). Not bad! But for now, I must admit I miss
Dylan Moscovitch...
+ I saw a lot of “When did Sui/Han grow up??”
comments on Twitter, and with good reason. Maybe the long-awaited retirement of
Pang/Tong has something to do with it; maybe we can just blame the good old
passage of time, but Sui/Han did more than just win silver at Skate Canada—they
looked, more than ever before, like a long-term future for China .
+ As for a long-term future for U.S.
pairs... eh, we’re still working on that. But in the meantime, our reigning
Junior champs Madeline Aaron/Max Settlage are certainly doing their part. Not
just at SkCan, where they finished a solid 4th, but at SkAM a couple
weeks ago (finishing 5th), Nebelhorn a few weeks before that (6th),
and even the U.S. Classic a few weeks ahead of that (3rd). Busy
much?? Thankfully, The King and I—I
mean, “she”... get a well-deserved rest, of sorts, for the rest of the year
before heading into their Nationals senior debut.
DANCE RESULTS...
GOLD: Weaver/Poje (CAN)
SILVER: Gilles/Poirier (CAN)
BRONZE: Hubbell/Donohue (USA
+ Gilles/Poirier for the surprise silver! I did
pretty well with most of my SkCan predictions-- except here in Dance, where I
couldn’t find silver and bronze to save my life. Apparently I should’ve put
more faith in my Dark Horse choice. I couldn’t imagine saying that after
watching Poirier’s twizzles spin out of orbit during the SD, but they pulled it
together nicely the next day. Guess their old-fashion-ish FD (set to four
different pieces of music that I’m just not going to name here, sorry) is going
over better with the judges than Psycho
did—at least so far.
+ Let’s talk about Hubbell/Donohue’s FD, set to
music from the Great Gatsby
soundtrack. I wanted to like it, I really did. But I didn’t... at least not
yet. I’m glad they won bronze here, but even their FD score (in the high 80s,
compared to 90+ for both U.S. dance teams at SkAM a week earlier) seemed to
reflect a certain sense of “meh”. Or maybe I’m just missing something. What did
you think?
+ Obviously Weaver/Poje were finally able to move
out of the bridesmaid role and claim their first SkCan title in fine fashion.
Less obvious, to me, were enough problems in the Hurtado/Diaz FD to set them
solidly in last place (a place they were NOT in following the SD). I like this up-and-coming couple very much,
and it usually seems the judges do as well...but I couldn’t find any egregious
errors here and I’m puzzled. Ice dance details are not my strong suit, though.
Can anyone else explain it?
LADIES
RESULTS...
GOLD: Anna Pogorilaya (RUS)
SILVER: Ashley Wagner (USA
BRONZE: Satoko Miyahara (JPN)
+ I think many people thought this event was
Ashley Wagner’s to lose, but as you know I called it for eventual winner Anna
Pogorilaya. What I didn’t make clear in the predictions post was that I did so
almost entirely for content/difficulty reasons. Even before I saw the
already-retooled-since-Japan-Open Wagner FS... knowing the jumping passes
Pogorilaya is capable of, and executes with fair success in most every program
(save for her apparent nemesis, the SP double axel), it simply seemed that
those points would pile up quickly. Add in the more likeable FS this
season—maybe not saying much, but I still prefer her “Firebird” to her
“Mermaid” of last year—and the strong PCS scores were sure to follow. Even
against the more complete, mature package that is Wagner.
+ Speaking of Wagner: Spartacus SP was very nice (another Adam Rippon choreo project, if I’m
not mistaken). Moulin Rouge FS... not
my favorite, but I can live with it. The jumping strategies involved are actually
more interesting to me right now than the programs. Yes, the skating purist in
me cringes at that sentence as it shakes a fist at the sky and growls “Curse
you, IJS!!” But I know Wagner’s skating by now, and how it’s grown in eight
years on the senior circuit. So if she and her team want to tinker with the
jump placement, jump combos, and even (in the case of her lutz) jump omissions,
all in order to maximize points... I say tinker away. (As long as she keeps
doing all she can to get things rotated.)
+ Satoko Miyahara. Is that name burned into your
brain yet? Methinks it just might be by the end of this season. She’s special.
She might be Akiko Suzuki-special, with time. And if the puberty monster is
kind, of course... (she’s 16 and not even 5 feet tall yet).
Back later with Cup of China predictions!
2 comments:
Can we call Aaron/Settlage "Mad Max"? :)
I like it!!!
Post a Comment