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2008 Trophée Eric Bompard - Figure Skating HighlightsCompulsory Dance, Men's Short, Ladies' Short, Pairs' Short, and Original DanceNov 16, 2008
The fourth stage of the 2008-09 ISU Grand Prix Series began today in Paris, France at the Palais Omnisport de Paris Bercy. Approximately 58 skaters from 15 different countries are competing for points and global prize monies totaling $180,000 in U.S. dollars. The points will go toward qualification for the Grand Prix Final of Figure Skating in which the top six competitors from each discipline will be invited to compete for a total purse of $272,000 U.S. dollars. The skaters were seeded and invited for the six GP events according to the results of the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships. Competitors who finished first through sixth place in each discipline are considered seeded and were assigned to two Grand Prix events by drawing, while those who placed seventh through 12th, were invited. Next priority was given to skaters who had the next highest ranked and/or who achieved a seasonal best score which was equal to or better than those who placed seventh through 12th at the ISU World Championships 2008. The Grand Prix Final (GPF) will be held Dec. 10-14, 2008, in Goyang City, South Korea. Trophée Eric Bompard kicked off on Nov 14th with the Compulsory Dance. Ice Dance (Compulsory Dance)
The Compulsory Dance (CD) of the event was the Paso Doble, which was invented by Daphne B. Wallis and Reginald J. Wilkie, and was first performed in 1938 at the Westminster Ice Rink in London, Great Britain. Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder of France put a comfortable distance between themselves and the rest of the field following their playful interpretation of the Paso Doble. Their routine was distinguished with both their unusual "pirate" costumes and the use of their free use of hands which added unique flavor to the dance. "We wanted to do something special to make it more interesting," explained Schoenfelder. "Our coach Romain Haguenauer suggested a Pirate theme, and we had a lot of pleasure skating it." The World Champions appeared to be the only couple to incorporate some fun into the precise requirements of the compulsory dance, and in the end they were the only ones who look like they truly owned it. The team scored 37.98 points. Italian Champions Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali are currently second with a score of 34.46 points. The students of Anjelika Krylova were passionate and powerful in their interpretation of the Paso Doble. Though their footwork and body lines had the precision the rhythm demands, overall their performance seemed to lack that extra easiness exhibited by the French. Sinead Kerr and John Kerr of Great Britain placed third with 32.32 points. The brother-and-sister team from Scotland showed deep edges, however, their timing was slightly off in places and consequently they had to rush through some steps to catch up. France's Pernelle Carron and Mathieu Jost edged Grand Prix debutants Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier for fourth place. The team from Lyon received the better element score, and with a total of 31.77 (16.20/15.57) points, is currently 0.02 points ahead of the young Canadian couple, who scored 31.75 (16.06/15.69). Both teams were smooth and confident, but neither had the sparkle the higher ranked teams had. Kristin Fraser and Igor Lukanin of Azerbaijan placed fifth (30.05 points), followed by Russia's Ekaterina Rubleva and Ivan Shefer (28.44 points). Men (Short Program)
Canada's Patrick Chan finished first in the short program with a flawless performance to Tango de los Exilados. The student of Don Laws nailed his jumping passes, which included a strong triple Axel, a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, which had an excellent flow out, and a triple Lutz out of steps. His flip attempt, however, received a warning from the technical panel for use of the wrong take-off edge. As a result, the 2008 Skate Canada Champion did not earn any bonus points for the quality of execution of the combination. Chan's other technical elements were good, however, what really set him apart was the way the complicated transitions were used throughout the entire program to express the Tango feeling. His basic skating skills and his ability to present his program using his whole body, as well as his total control over each movement which he exhibits so casually, are also astonishing for someone as young as 17. He scored a new personal best of 81.39 points. "I did all the things I've planned to do it this program," said the Canadian Champion. "There were some little problems, like falling behind the music and spins being too slow, and I know my combo spin didn't have enough revolutions in it. It's just being slow in little parts of the program, and I just hope that next time I'll make them better and quicker and more sharp." Chan feels that by competing in a different country that there isn't as much weight on his shoulders, but he still goes in with expectations of himself. "I didn't feel as good as I usually do," he confessed. "Because of Skate Canada, a lot of people were expecting a lot from me, and I think it was time for me to show what I had to do. I still felt quite comfortable, and more comfortable than at Skate Canada." Takahiko Kozuka of Japan also landed all his jumps, earning excellent Grades of Execution (GOE) for his combination jump (+1.80) and triple Axel (+1.40), but the student of Nobuo Sato slipped on the landing of his flying sit spin - a mistake which cost him in the technical score. "I never fell on the spin in competition," said Kozuka, "only in practice at Skate America. I regret that. I want to skate with no mistake tomorrow." The 2008 Skate America Champion was otherwise flawless and all his other elements received positive marks from judges. His ability to present the program was also remarkable, but in contrast to Chan's elaborate transitions, the main appeal of the program was the smooth flow from one element to the next. He earned 77.00 points for his jazzy routine to Take Five. France's Brian Joubert is currently in a disappointing third with 73.75 points despite receiving the highest component score of the evening. The current World silver medalist took advantage of the allotted minute allowed to get into his opening pose, however, it was obviously not enough for him to compose his thoughts as he skated right through his opening element. He popped his opening quad loop-triple loop combination into a single. "I'm very disappointed," said the 24-year-old. "I don't know what happened. I was ready for this program, I was confident. I had a great warm up, but then I couldn't jump. I couldn't do even a triple toe. My left foot was like blocked." His two other jumps were the most powerful of the evening, but their quality was not enough to make up for the loss of more than ten points. The French Champion's new program to Rise by Safri Duo, created for him by Evgeny Platov, at the moment leaves mixed impressions. Even though the upbeat music style should have suited the skater perfectly, his performance in front of the enthusiastic home crowd came across as rather detached. "I'm happy because the rest of the program was clean," said Joubert. "I lost 14 points, and I think I could have a very good score with this program and it gives me a little confidence for the rest of the season." Teammate Alban Preaubert is currently in a close fourth with 73.24 points. The defending bronze medalist did not make any mistakes in his program to Exit Music by Brad Melhdau, but the quality of his elements were not comparable to those of skaters who placed ahead of him. Still, the Frenchman sold his program well and the audience obviously enjoyed his emotional performance. USA's Ryan Bradley was the only skater to successfully execute a quadruple jump, but his landing was shaky and he was only able to tackle a double toe at the end of it, receiving -1.60 GOE for the combination. In addition, despite his great stylization to Elvis Presley music and entertaining character, both his step sequences were only awarded a level 2. With a total score of 69.35 points, the 2008 Skate Canada silver medalist is currently in the fifth place. Fellow American Brandon Mroz finished sixth with a new personal best of 65.44 points, followed by Jialiang Wu of China (62.74 points) and Germany's Peter Liebers (61.59 points). Pairs (Short Program)
Germany's Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy won the Short Program with flawless performance to music from the Lost in Space soundtrack. The team opened their routine with strong side-by-side triple toe loops - the element they made a mistake at during 2008 Skate America. 2008 World Champions produced an equally impressive throw triple flip, but their level two triple twist gained no bonus points as the catch was not clean enough. The team's energetic program was well received by the crowd and they attacked each element with lot of passion, earning 68.18 points. "I think we could say it was quite a good performance tonight, better than Skate America, said Szolkowy. "We felt a bit tired, but it was quite nice. After every performance, it's a big question about the levels. We have to work on them after each competition. I think we could improve everything." Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov of Russia also skated a flawless program, performing a solid level one triple twist, side-by-side triple toe loops, and a throw triple loop. The students of Oleg Vasiliev also earned a level four on all their non-jumping elements. Compared to their performances last season, the team seems to have improved in confidence and power. They skated with the same enchanting quality which is characteristic of their coach's previous students, Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin. The Russian silver medalist earned 64.84 points for their routine to Nobody Home by Pink Floyd, and are currently in second. "We think we skated well," commented Trankov. "It's our third competition and we skated our short program well in all competitions. We have worked hard to achieve it and I think we did a good job tonight. We enjoyed skating it here. We love coming to Paris." Canada's Meagan Duhamel and Craig Buntin sit in a solid third with 58.66 points. Unlike the leaders, they only did a double twist, but they earned a level 4 for it as well as positive GOEs. The team also received a level 4 on their spins and spiral sequence and landed a solid throw triple Lutz, however, Buntin was shaky at the landing of his jump in the side-by-side triple toe loops. "We are fairly happy with the short program," said Buntin. "We got almost all our levels for the elements. We were a little disappointed with Skate America, and I think really we gelled over the past couple of weeks and came out looking more like a pair tonight. We are definitely more satisfied with our marks than we were two weeks ago." The Canadian bronze medalists showed much better unison and feeling of each other in their program to 4 Lamentations than they have exhibited in the past, and the general impression from their program was quite strong. Huibo Dong and Yiming Wu of China are currently fourth with 51.12 points. They also performed a double twist, but landed their side-by-side triple toe loops and a throw triple loop. The team showed improved flow and basic skating skills which allowed them to carry the theme in their routine to music from Tosca. The home team of Adeline Canac and Maximin Coia finished fifth after Canac had to fight for the landing of her triple toe loop and later fell on a throw triple loop. Their pair combination spin only received a level one, however, their other elements garnered levels 3 and 4. The French Champions picked up a new personal best of 47.54 points. Teammates Vanessa James and Yannick Bonheur and Melodie Chataigner and Medhi Bouzzine are currently in seventh and eighth place respectively. USA's Tiffany Vise and Derek Trent are currently in sixth place. The team was penalized for underrotation of their side-by-side triple toe loops and a hard fall Vise took on the throw triple loop. Ladies (Short Program)
Joannie Rochette of Canada won the error-ridden Ladies Short Program event, but the skater from Quebec wasn't flawless either. The 22-year-old fell on a triple flip meant to be in combination with a triple toe loop. However, she received impressive GOEs for her double Axel (+1.80) and spiral sequence (+1.40). "I don't know what happened," said Rochette. "I felt really good on the ice and I felt good in the warm up, but when I went into my flip, I think I just overpowered it. I wanted it too badly. I'm happy that I could do the rest of the program like in practice and I did a good triple Lutz." Though Rochette only earned a level 3 on her combination and layback spins, her neatly choreographed routine to Gershwin's Summertime was delivered with lots of power, confidence, and the right degree of playfulness. She collected 59.54 points to lead by 1.42 points. Japan's Mao Asada, the heavy favorite to win the event, is currently second (58.12 points) after missing two out of three jumping passes. The 2008 World Champion singled her second jump in a triple flip-triple loop combination and later doubled a Lutz, however she picked up two additional points for GOE on a double Axel. The student of Tatiana Tarasova gained rather high levels for her non-jumping elements: a level four on her spiral sequence and combination spins and a level 3 on her step sequence, flying sit spin and layback spin. Asada's new short program is choreographed in the lyrical style which suits her so well, however, the mistakes marred the overall impression of her program. Despite the errors, the Japanese Champion earned the highest program components score of the night. "I'm not satisfied," stated the 18-year-old. "I couldn't pull my mind together and I hope to do better tomorrow. There was no lack of concentration, but my mind probably was a bit weak. I worked hard on the edge problem of the Lutz and flip, and I'm confident now. Today, because I made an error in the combination, I probably wasn't confident enough for the jump." USA's Caroline Zhang was the only skater to attempt a triple-triple combination, but the toe loop was underrotated and she later slipped on her double Axel entry. The 2007 World Junior Champion's only received a level one on her spiral sequence, however, she displayed strong and perfectly executed spins. Another strong point was her choreography and presentation: the balletic style of La Bayadere suited her very well, allowing her to make full use of excellent lines and flexibility. She currently sits in third with 51.76 points. "I think my warm up was good," said the 15-year-old. "I was a little shaky in the beginning. The triple-triple could have been better. I thought the loop was good, and then on the double Axel I was just surprised. I guess I didn't hold my spirals long enough." Teammate Beatrice Liang finished fourth after suffering a hard fall on her triple Lutz which was meant to be the first jump of her jump combination. The student of Frank Carroll received high levels of difficulty on her spins, spiral and step sequences, and the music Sorcerer's Apprentice was a great choice for her as it suits her powerful and playful style. The 20-year-old scored 49.60 points. The only two skaters to avoid major mistakes in the short program were France's Candice Didier and Gwendoline Didier. They are currently fifth (47.96 points) and sixth (47.58 points), respectively, with new personal best scores. Candice, who was the first one to skate due to her low ISU World ranking, landed a triple toe out of steps as well as a triple Lutz- double toe loop (her Lutz received a "!" warning), while Gwendoline landed a triple Lutz and triple flip-double toe loop combination. Both skaters were obviously excited to land all their jumping passes, and really sold the second half of their programs much to the enjoyment of the home crowd. Ice Dance (Original Dance)
In the final event of the day, the ice dancers took to the ice for the second time for the Original Dance. The Original Dance for this season is "Rhythms of the 20s, 30s and 40s". Italy's Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali won the Original Dance with a smooth and entertaining performance to Follow the Fleet in which both skaters dressed as sailors. The team tried really hard to get into the carefree and exuberant style of their dance, executing level three step sequences and twizzles and a level four spin and rotational lift. "We want to start with the first Grand Prix as strong as we can, and I think we did a good job," commented Scali. "We couldn't wait to start the season, because we were so excited with our new programs. We have so much fun in the Original Dance. We enjoy this rhythm and this dance." Most of their moves were nicely stylized to fit the upbeat style of the music. The Italian Champions scored 55.79 points to finish first in this portion of competition, but remain in second place overall with 90.25 points in total. "We are excited with our new Original Dance and we really enjoy the freedom," said Scali, "but we also love our Free Dance. We can't wait to compete tomorrow." Sinead Kerr and John Kerr of Great Britain finished second with 55.52 points and are currently third overall (87.84 points). The Finlandia Trophy Champions presented one of the most authentic Original Dances of the competition, picking up a rather unusual rhythm for their routine - a lindy-hop. The lightning fast and energetic program played up to their strengths, outgoing personalities, and excellent presentation skills, allowing them at the same time to cover their weakest point - their lines, in the barrage of fast beat movements. "I think we danced better here than at Skate America," said Sinead Kerr at the press conference. "We were more relaxed even though we didn't get such high scores. It's a great atmosphere here in France. It was a pleasure." The only element to receive a level four in their program was the dance spin while all others received level three. The dancers also narrowly avoided a collision during their twizzle sequences. "We possibly did not fulfill all requirements for levels," commented John Kerr, "but I think the performance was better than the one in U.S." The brother-and-sister team's routine was inspired by the swing movies they saw. "In the movies they move about ten times as fast as we do, so we tried to match them," said Sinead Kerr. "Unfortunately, our coach also saw the movies, so he has always been pushing us to go faster and faster. But I think it was good for us." France's Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder retained their lead despite a far from clean Original Dance. Both their spin and their twizzle sequences were downgraded to level one due to errors, and even though the skaters tried to put those mistakes behind them, the overall impression was marred. "I don't know what to say," said Schoenfelder. "We are disappointed with the way we skated. Maybe we were too excited. We tried to make an exciting dance and we go into the dance sure that we can give pleasure to the judges and to the audience, but the technical level was quite horrible today. The marks are correct, we won't complain about them. Congratulations to other teams. We will skate much better tomorrow." Despite the mistakes, it was fairly obvious that the 2008 World Champions are the strongest couple in the field and their choreography, based on the theme of young American nurse meeting an elder French veteran, also works well for the couple. However, with one of the lowest technical scores of the night, they finished only third in the Original Dance scoring 55.23 points and have 93.21 points overall. Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier of Canada moved up one spot after finishing fourth in the Original Dance with 52.71 points. The team is currently tied with the Italians in the highest technical score of the night due to three level four elements, but their non-touching midline step sequence only received a level 2. The World Junior silver medalist's dance was also one of the best adaptations of period dances. The team chose an earlier time period than most of other couples, setting their program to Scott Joplin's ragtimes, and their choreography makes great use of the distinctive style of movements typical for the period. The skaters also appear natural as they express the light-hearted character of the program, and even the most traditional elements, such as the spin and twizzles, were modified to suit the mood. They are currently fourth overall with 84.46 points. Pernelle Carron and Mathieu Jost of France slipped to fifth place after both their step sequences received only a level 2. The team from Lyon had a strong start in their routine to Basin Street Blues, excelling in both skating skills and expression, but as the program progressed, they began to fall out character in places. The French silver medalists scored 52.22 points for the Original Dance and have 83.99 points going into Free Dance. Kristin Frazer and Igor Lukanin of Azerbaijan finished sixth in in the Original Dance and overall with an absolutely hilarious program to St. Louis Blues in which they portrayed an elderly couple - complete with gray hair and fake eye glasses. The experienced couple scored 49.94 points and now have 79.99 points total. In seventh place are Russia's Ekaterina Rubleva and Ivan Shefer, followed by USA's Jennifer Wester and Daniil Barantsev. The event continues with the Free Dance, Men's Long Program, Ladies' Long Program, and the Pairs' Long Program. |
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Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder of France led the Ice Dancing field after the Compulsory Dance.
Canada's Patrick Chan leads the men after his Short Program to Tango de los Exilados by Walter Taieb.
Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany placed first in the Pairs Short Program with their Lost in Space routine.
Canada's Joannie Rochette leads the Ladies after her Short Program to Summertime by George Gershwin.
Italy's Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali won the Original Dance and are currently in second place overall.