|
|
|
|
2007 Cup of Russia - Figure Skating HighlightsLadies', Men's, and Pairs' Long Programs and the Original Dance
|
||||||||||
|
|||
 |
|||
The Cup of Russia continued with the Ladies', Men's, and Pairs' Long Programs and the Original Dance.
Yu-Na Kim of South Korea easily won the gold in the Ladies, distancing herself from the rest by more than 24 points.
Japan's Yukari Nakano won the silver, while Joannie Rochette of Canada captured the bronze.
Not only did Kim win the gold, she set a new world record for the ladies long with a personal best of 133.70 points.
The 17-year-old's skating was so soft and fluid that only judges felt necessary to nitpick on the minor details, giving her a -0.20 Grade of Execution (GOE) for a somewhat tight landing of her second triple Lutz.
"Some jumps felt shaky and I worried about it," Kim later admitted, "but I got a new personal best and I qualified for the Grand Prix Final."
However, two judges went as far as to award her +3 GOE for her opening triple flip-triple combination, which simply floated through the air. While the choreography of her new routine to music from the Miss Saigon soundtrack wasn't as complex as the one she had last year, the 2007 World bronze medalist's skating was so exquisite that it captivated the audience.
"I got my highest score," said Kim, "but there are still points that I can improve and I will work harder."
Yu-na Kim of South Korea set a new world record for the Ladies Long Program with a score of 133.70 points. |
Rochette improved her performance from 2007 Skate Canada with a new personal best of 119.35 (64.71/54.64) points, but once again made mistakes on her final jumping elements.
In Moscow, she put her hand down on the second jump of her both her triple toeloop-triple Salchow sequence and double Axel-double Axel sequence , but overall got credit for landing seven triple jumps in her routine to selections of music by Félix Gray.
The complexity of her choreography was unmatched by anyone else and she gave a truly commanding performance, expressing the character of her music perfectly and executing several jumps from very little set up.
With a total score of 172.77 points after placing second in the long, the 2007 Four Continents bronze medalist rose from fifth to third place overall.
"I am very happy to pull up today, because I was far behind," said the 21-year-old. "I gave a strong performance in the free skating. The short program has been a bit harder for me this season, because I am trying new elements."
Nakano finished third in the long with 112.27 (57.15/55.12) points despite landing a clean triple axel right in the beginning. The technical panel, however, considered two of her triple jumps underrotated and she also received a negative GOE for using the wrong edge for the take-off on a triple Lutz.
The Japanese bronze medalist also lacked the Spanish character in her performance to Capriccio Espagnol by Nikolai Rimski-Korsakov, but showed very impressive spins, including the final donut spin which she held for quite a few rotations.
With a total score of 172.77 points, the 22-year-old was able to maintain second overall.
I am very happy to have landed my triple Axel and to have qualified for the Grand Prix Final," Nakano later commented.
Kiira Korpi of Finland slipped to fourth place overall (154.26) after she doubled several jumps and fell on her triple flip attempt. Despite a fourth place finish in the long (96.04 points), her performance to Phantasia was elegant and feminine and earned the 2007 European bronze medalist high presentation scores.
Nina Petushkova of Russia moved up from ninth to sixth place overall (138.79 points) after a fifth place finish in the long (94.09 points). The student of Zhanna Gromova landed all of her five planned triple jumps, but her routine to Vivaldi's Four Seasons lacked complex choreography and character.
Since joining Gromova's group, however, the 21-year-old has already made a marked improvement in her attention to lines and posture. So there is hope that this impressive Senior debut will be followed up with even better skating in the future.
Japan's Fumie Suguri slipped to fifth place overall (148.15 points) after making mistakes on several jumps in her somewhat tentative performance. The 2006 World silver medalist earned 91.91 (42.77/49.20) points for a sixth place finish in the long.
Julia Sebestyen of Hungary finished seventh overall (134.98 points), followed by USA's Beatrisa Liang (134.60 points).
Kim earned another 15 points from her win in Moscow to add to the 15 she picked up in China. She easily qualified for the Grand Prix Final (GPF) which will be held Dec. 13-16, 2007, in Torino, Italy.
Nakano, who now has a total of 26, will join her in Torino.
Rochette earned 11 points in Moscow, and now has a total of 22.
Russia's Oksana Domnina of Maxim Shabalin maintained their overnight lead after their performance to "Boys, Unharness The Horses!". |
Russia's Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin easily maintained their overnight lead, winning the Original Dance (OD) with a new personal best of 63.20 (32.70/30.50) points.
Domnina had a minor stumble in the step sequence right before the twizzle sections, but she quickly recovered, and the team never stopped expressing the character of the dance.
The 2007 European silver medalists received a level four on all their elements except for a level three on a non-touching midline step sequence. The home crowd eagerly supported the team throughout their powerful performance to "Boys, Unharness The Horses!", and the Russian champions also earned some loud catcalls from the cadets of the local military academy who received free tickets for the event.
The Russian champions, who have a total of 103.25 points, were the only team today who weren't overshadowed by their music . They matched its power and speed throughout the dance.
"We have worked a lot on our technique since the Cup of China," said Domnina, "and maybe the technical side was five percent better than in China. The artistic side was already good in China."
Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France are currently second overall (92.90 points) after placing second in the OD with a new personal best of 58.03 (30.20/27.83) points.
The 2007 Skate America silver medalists only received a level three for their their two step sequence and dance spin, but were awarded positive GOEs on all their elements, and nearly straight +2 GOEs across the board on their opening stationary lift.
Their elaborate flamenco expressed the character of the Spanish dance perfectly, but their performance fell a bit flat on the audience who just spent all its energy on supporting Bobrova and Soloviev's Russian folk dance. Nonetheless, the French silver medalists were one of the few teams who chose a different dance (other than a Russian, Ukrainian or Gypsy dance), and it was a welcome distraction amidst the 10 powerful Slavic dances.
"We beat our personal best, and we've worked very hard," said Pechalat. "We've worked especially on our style and we're pleased with the progress we've made in the three weeks since Skate America."
Russia's Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev won the audience over with their authentic "Kalinka". The 2007 World Junior Champions were immediately in character at the opening of their routine, but ran out of stream towards the end of the performance. Nonetheless, they placed third with 52.44 (28.30/24/14) points and are currently third overall (82.66 points).
"Our job is just to skate our best and then hopefully we'll get good marks," said Bobrova when asked about their placement.
Katherine Copely and Deividas Stagniunas of Lithuania placed fourth in the OD with a new personal best of 50.83 (28.50/22.33) points, but with a total of 78.51 points, still remain in sixth overall.
The 2007 Golden Spin bronze medalists were somewhat timid with their interpretation of the "Two Guitars" Gypsy dance, and were only awarded a level two on their circular step sequence. However, their better grades of execution allowed them to earn higher technical scores than the Ukrainian team.
Despite finishing fifth in both the CD and OD (50.76 points), Anna Zadorozhniuk and Sergei Verbillo of the Ukraine are currently fourth overall (80.04 points). Their Gopak also had a true authentic feeling to it, but their circular step sequence only received a level two as well.
Anastasia Grebenkina and Vazgen Azrojan of Armenia are in a close fifth (79.37 points) overall. The 2007 Ondrej Nepela Memorial bronze medalists received a level two for both step sequences and their program lacked the complexity of the other teams.
Ekaterina Rubleva of Ivan Shefer of Russia are currently in seventh overall, followed by Germany's Nelli Zhiganshina and Alexander Gazsi.
China's Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang perform a lift during their routine to music from The Myth soundtrack. |
Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang of China maintained their overnight lead to win the gold, while Germany's Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy settled for silver.
Russia's Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smirnov edged out teammates Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov to cinch the bronze.
Zhang and Zhang had a flawed start when the Dan doubled her second jump on what was intended to be the side-by-side double Axel-triple toeloops.
The 2006 Olympic silver medalists didn't disappoint with their huge triple twist and difficult lifts, but Dan later had to fight for the landing on a throw triple Salchow and Hao had a tight landing on his jump in the side-by-side triple Salchows.
Although the students of Bin Yao appeared tired and untidy in the second half of their performance, they earned 122.72 (64.00/58.72) points for a first place finish in the long and overall (192.68).
"We are not so happy with this performance," admitted Hao Zhang. "I still have a bad toothache and to compete in two events back to back was hard for us."
Savchenko and Szolkowy once again failed to make a statement with their performance.
The team had a good chance to defeat the Chinese teams with their superior choreography and presentation skills, but Szolkowy singled his Axel and Savchenko struggled on the landing in their side-by-side triple toeloop-double Axel sequence. Szolkowy also later feel on a triple Salchow.
Despite the mistakes, their routine featured two impressive throws, and the 2007 World bronze medalists captivated the audience with their intricate choreography. They earned 119.17 (60.09/60.08) points for a second place finish in the long and overall (185.95).
"Today we didn't do well again," said Savchenko, "but we know what we have to work on. It was somehow very hard to skate today. We felt inspired, but for some reason the ice was slow for us."
Kawaguchi and Smirnov pulled up to third overall (181.71 points) after placing third in the long with a new personal best of 118.77 (64.69/54.08) points.
Kawaguchi stepped out of the landing of their opening element - a throw quadruple Salchow- and later had problems on a throw triple loop. Smirnov once again had a tight landing on one of his jumps in the the side-by-side triple toeloop-triple toeloop sequence.
Nonetheless, the 2007 Skate Canada bronze medalists earned high levels on all their non-jumping elements. While their unison wasn't perfect, their choreography nicely carried the Love Story theme throughout the performance.
"We made many little errors," acknowledged Kawaguchi, "therefore we're not so pleased. We have a chance to qualify for the Grand Prix Final, and if we don't, Russian Nationals will be the next competition and it is very important."
Teammates Mukhortova and Trankov placed fourth in the long with a new personal best of 116.72 (60.24/56.48) points, but with a total of 179.82 points, slipped from medal contention by less than two points.
The Russian champions both struggled with their side-by-side jumps, but otherwise, delivered a strong and powerful performance. The earned high levels and positive GOEs on their non-jumping elements, but the students of Oleg Vasiliev were visibly disappointed by their skating.
Ksenia Krasilnikova and Konstantin Bezmaternikh of Russia remained in fifth place overall (149.44 points) after a fifth place finish in the long.
The two-time and current World Junior bronze medalists made several mistakes in their routine to Spartacus by Aram Khachaturian. Bezmaternikh doubled his jump in the side-by-side triple toeloops, and the team had problems on the catch of a triple twist. Krasilnikova later fell on the throw triple loop.
Adeline Canac and Maximin Coia of France were sixth, followed by Estonia's Maria Sergejeva and Ilja Glebov.
Zhang and Zhang now have a total of 30 points and have qualified for the GPF.
Savchenko and Szolkowy also qualified with total of 28 points, but will still compete again next week at the NHK Trophy (non-scoring event).
Kawaguchi and Smirnov now have a total of 22 points, while teammates Mukhortova and Trankov have 20.
USA's Johnny Weir won the Men's Free Skate and the gold after his performance to Love is War by Yoav Goren. |
USA's Johnny Weir was the gold medal winner in the Men's discipline, edging out Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland (silver) by over 11 points, while Andrei Griazev of Russia captured the bronze.
Weir opened his routine to Love is War by Yoav Goren with a strong triple Axel-triple toeloop, but then underrotated a triple Axel. He quickly recovered to land five more clean triple jumps which received a combined GOE of +3.40.
The 2007 Cup of China champion also produced three level four spins and good footwork, but overall his performance appeared to be somewhat business-like and more suited for the strong technicians rather than the artistic skater Weir is known to be.
"I was of course happy with the result of this competition," said Weir, "but the performance for me was so difficult. I was so nervous and I felt so much pressure to put on a good show for this audience."
And they loved him, loudly applauding every successful jump. The U.S. bronze medalist placed first in the long with 149.81 (74.51/75.30) points, and with a total score of 229.96 points, rose from second to first overall.
"Galina Yakovlevna (Zmievskaya, his coach) had very good words for me," said the 23-year-old. She told me, 'Just relax and do what you do every day. You have nothing to prove.' That was comforting, because I knew she wasn't expecting me to be 100 percent perfect."
Lambiel put out a strong interpretation of a flamenco by Vicente Amigo, but slipped to second place overall (218.84 points) after he made mistakes on both quad attempts. The 2006 Olympic silver medalist put his hand down on the landing of a quadruple toeloop-triple toeloop combination and fell hard on a solo quadruple toeloop which was later deemed underrotated. He also doubled his final triple flip.
The Swiss champion otherwise delivered strong spins and very expressive footwork sequences to earn the highest Program Components Score, and placed second in the long with 138.35 (61.85/77.50) points.
"I worked very hard to do the big step between the Cup of China and here," said the 22-year-old. "I want to make another big step forward in the Final. There are two positive things from this competition: I did a clean short program and I improved my long program. This gives me confidence."
Jeffrey Buttle of Canada rose from sixth to fourth place overall (201.77) after placing third in the long with 136.61 (66.21/71.40) points. Compared to his previous outings, his performance in Moscow was quite a success.
The 2006 Olympic bronze medalist fell on his second triple Axel and singled a final double Axel, but otherwise produced four more triple jumps.
As usual, the Canadian champion showed excellent interpretation of the music, moving from one element to the next with complex connecting steps. His artistic impression to music from the Ararat soundtrack was second only to Lambiel's flamenco, but the disastrous short program kept him off podium.
Takahito Kozuka of Japan moved up to the fifth place overall (199.98) after placing fourth in the long with 135.33 (74.83/60.50) points. His sound presentation seemed a bit workman-like, however the Japanese received the best technical elements score of the night.
Despite the flawed landings of three of his triple jumps, the 18-year-old otherwise skated a strong program to Beatles Concerto For Two by John Rutter. He also produced four solid spins, three of which were graded a level four.
Griazev held onto third place overall (206.13 points) despite finishing fifth in the long with 135.18 (69.68/65.60) points.
His performance to music from The Godfather soundtrack was marred only by the tight landing of the Axel in a triple Axel-double toeloop combination. Griazev otherwise produced five clean triple jumps, but lost to Buttle on the Presentation Score and to Kozuka on the technical elements score.
For the 2007 Russian Champion, the competition in Moscow was an excellent comeback after injuries he faced in the beginning of the season. In both programs he exhibited no hesitations as he approached the jumps and moved with power and confidence which captivated the home crowd.
"I am glad that I was able to do my job." said Griazev. "I did almost everything. I am not too surprised (to be in third), because I was third at another Grand Prix event (2005 Cup of China) with a similar deep field.
Kevin Reynolds of Canada moved up from 11th to 8th overall (186.69 points) after placing sixth in the long with a new personal best of 127.23 (74.03/53.20) points.
The 17-year-old landed a quadruple salchow-triple toeloop-double loop combination, but then made mistakes on four other jumps.
Yannick Ponsero of France slipped from fourth to sixth place overall (189.76 points) after placing ninth in the long. The French silver medalist delivered good spins, but made numerous mistakes on his jumps in his routine to music from the Da Vinci Code and Tristan and Isolde soundtracks.
Russia's Alexander Uspenski finished seventh overall, while teammate Andrei Lutai placed ninth.
Weir now has a total of 30 points and will compete next at the GPF.
Lambiel earned 13 points at this event for a total of 24. His prospects for a ticket to the GPF are good, but he must wait out the results of NHK Trophy next week.
Griazev earned 11 points and will compete again next week at the NHK Trophy.
The event concludes tomorrow with the Free Dance.
