I know we’re all grieving the fact that there was no GP event
going on this past weekend to take our minds off of all the things we need to think
about and/or would rather not think about, but I’m trying to use these two
weeks to get caught up on that which I haven’t reviewed yet. Like Cup of China,
which took place only 2 1/2 weeks back but might feel exponentially longer with
each day that passes. In other words, I’d better get this going.
CoCh LADIES was where…
Elena Radionova and Kaetlyn Osmond finished 1-2 and punched
their respective tickets to the GP Final.
Ashley Wagner didn’t appear at first glance to have
the kind of competition that takes you out of the GPF (no falls, no abundance
of flip-outs, step-outs or popped triple jumps), but times are tight—and the
relatively small errors she made all added up in the end to… sigh… a 6th
place finish (lowest of her career as far as GP events are concerned) and a 1st
alternate spot for the finale. It's the first time she’ll miss the GPF since 2011. And for those who
were wondering… a 5th place finish at CoCh still wouldn’t have given
her enough points when all was said and done. (Rika Hongo edged Ash out for 5th
place by less than ½ a point.)
Liza Tuktamysheva went back to last season’s Peer Gynt
FS—something I was glad to see, given that I feel this year’s Cleopatra
music (from the 1963 OST) is clunky and disengaging—and delivered one of the
better performances in her post-World Champion era. The results gave her 2nd
place in the FS, 3rd overall, and the 2nd alternate spot
for the GPF (right behind Wagner).
CoCh MEN was where…
Patrick Chan had me realizing I’m rooting for him a little
more than usual this year. Why? Because as more and more younguns come out of
the woodwork (or, more accurately, the Junior ranks) with quad this and
quad-triple that, Chan’s one of those guys who was a little late to the quad
game and now he’s probably working harder than he ever expected just to stay
near the top. Granted, some of that may be on Chan himself—isn’t he the guy who
once declared he didn’t need a quad (and certainly not TWO quads!) to win
Worlds/Olympics/whatever?—but maybe that gives a little more reason to be
impressed with his efforts. FWIW, Chan’s FS (to music composed by Eric Radford
of Duhamel/Radford) is another exceptional work of art.
Chan did win in China,
but by just a little more than one point. Boyang Jin followed up a rough effort
at SkAM (where he finished 5th) to shine a lot brighter on home ice
with performances that included his decidedly playful La Strada free
skate that looks to be some sort of shoutout to those who slam the young World
Bronze Medalist’s immature artistry. I think it’s a pretty good decision for
him, actually… so long as a(nother) Charlie Chaplin routine isn’t in store for
us come Olympic season.
As for the top U.S.
man at CoCh, Max Aaron—there is bad news, and good news, and more bad news, and
actually-pretty-new news to report (!).
The BAD: he under-delivered (again) on his “Nessum Dorma” SP and went
into 5th place. (Though to be fair, it was several ticks upward from
his Rostelecom performance of it 2 weeks earlier.) The GOOD: his Lion King
FS was judged 3rd-best of the day, bringing him up to 4th
overall. The MORE BAD: he missed bronze (awarded to Sergei Voronov) by about
one single point. But if you’re as tired of seeing Max do the “Nessum Dorma” as
I am—he’s had it as his short program for 2 ½ seasons!—here’s the
ACTUALLY-PRETTY-GOOD-NEWS: Max is tired of it too. Or so one would assume via
coach Tom Z’s Tweet on 12/4:
So, yet another something-to-look-forward-to come late
January…
CoCH PAIRS…
Since this was in China,
I’m taking this space to clarify the different teams representing it these
days…
--Yu /Zhang—the team that won here, was 2nd at
SkCAN, and will consequentially be at the Marseilles GPF—features veteran Zhang
Hao in the third FP partnership of his enduring career… and already seems to
have much better chemistry (though still in that fatherly sort of way) with Yu
Xiaoyu than he ever had with Peng Cheng.
--Peng/Jin—the team that came in 2nd here, 2nd
at NHK (the review I’ve yet to post), and also will be at the GPF—is the
other side of China’s
partner switcheroo from the start of the 2016 off season. In other words, what
used to be Yu/Jin and Peng/Zhang is now Yu/Zhang and Peng/Jin. And to watch
Peng/Jin in these last couple events—particularly their megacute SP, to “My
Drag” by Jimbo Mathus (formerly of Squirrel Nut Zippers)—is to wonder why they
didn’t put these two together sooner.
--Wang/Wang—who came in 4th, as they have 3 out
of the past 4 years at CoCH—were called up to this year’s event with about one
month’s notice. They’re the ones that had an SP to “Steppin’ Out with My Baby”
and a FS to “Love is a Many Splendored Thing.” Of the top Chinese teams, this
is the one I tend to forget about the most. (Harsh, perhaps, but accurate.)
--Which brings us to the best Chinese team of recent memory…
Sui/Han… who were NOT competing this time (they were the team Wang/Wang
replaced). Injuries (mostly affecting Wenjing Sui) have taken this still
relatively young team down time and again; this time she is still recoveringfrom surgery and it seems the 2nd half of the 2016-17 season is still uncertain
for them. Perhaps with next season culminating in Pyeongchang, it’d be best
for them to sit it out. Surely Yu/Zhang and Peng/Jin can keep three spots for China
come Worlds time…?
CoCH DANCE…
Since there were no real surprises at the top in CoCH
dance—the Shib Sibs beat Weaver/Poje by a small but fair margin—I’d rather turn
the attention briefly to “the Dirty Dancing couple”, AKA
Kaliszek/Spodyriev. For a team that was 16th at Worlds this year
(and 24th last year), they gained some pretty good traction so far
this season. While the Johnny-and-Baby shtick may have a lot to do with it (Who
doesn’t love that film for one reason or another??), their SD has
nothing to do with the film and played a crucial role in their finishing 5th
(of 9) in China
and 7th (of 9) a week later at NHK. So here are a few quick facts
about these potential rising stars Natalia & Maksym:
1)
They represent Poland,
but he (Spodvriev) is actually from Ukraine.
He received Polish citizenship this year, though, presumably so they can
compete at the 2018 Olympics.
2)
According to his ISU bio, one of
Spodvriev’s hobbies is skydiving.
3)
From the YEOW! Files (or more
accurately, Wikipedia): “During training in early November (2016) they had a
fall, related to poor rink conditions in ToruĊ,
that resulted in her blade cutting two of his fingers.” SO… if you
hear that little tale from Tanith and Johnny (or whoever) in Pyeongchang, round
about 14 months from now… remember who stole borrowed it from Wiki
first!
