Was anyone else at practices today? Just wondering if anyone wants to share any thoughts. I couldn't get to Ice Dance (at 7 am) but saw almost all of the Women, Men, and Pairs at the Main Rink.
The Jun fans were out in full force! He is a bundle of energy and seems much faster in person than on a screen. The audience cheered and applauded when he did his beautiful Ina Bauer. Yes, he did stalk his 3A!
Donovan -- we were worried when he was a no-show, but I understand he is here but his suitcase with his skates hasn't arrived. Ugh. A skater's worst nightmare.
Ilia Malinin -- he skated his FS and marked his jumps. I thought he skated here with more emotion than at U.S. Nats. He will be a force to be reckoned with in the future, if he can stay healthy with all that quad jumping. His father was telling him something very animatedly in Russian. Wish I knew what!
Ivan Shmuratko of Ukraine got quite a hand from the audience. The jumps weren't working that well for him, but he poured his heart and soul into his choreo and his step sequence.
Yuma had all kinds of jump issues outside the run through and then did a perfect SP. It was kind of funny! Kazuki had a clean SP. Shoma was looking really centered and focused. Could this be his year? He had a clean SP and then worked on bits and pieces of Sholero. So happy to see he's landing a lot of clean 4T-3T.
Vincent -- Seemed like an awful lot of snow was flying on his landings (not a good sign). Looks like Jackie's notes show a lot of URs. Hope he has fully recovered from his bout of Covid.
The most touching PAIRS moment for me was when the two U.S. pairs had their photo taken with Holichenko and Darenskyi (UKR), each with their country's flags. The audience gave the UKR pair a lot of applause and cheers.
Miura and Kihara came out with their usual energy. In my mind, it's just a question of what color the medal will be for them.. I love that signature move of theirs where he goes on one knee and lifts her and he goes on one knee again when she does the dismount. I'll say a prayer for his back. Yikes! They struggled a little during the run through jumps, but cleaned things up outside the run through.
I don't follow the ladies much. Kaori looked like she should get a speeding ticket. She's so fast! Still can't get into all the voice overs in her FS. Hope Wakaba can get her 3A working. Feeling bad for Loena. She didn't have her usual speed, and she did mostly doubles. Hope she doesn't injure herself further.
Adding: Forgot to say I'm really becoming a fan of Olga Mikutina. Really enjoy her smooth skating and soft arms.
Would love to hear thoughts from others.
The Jun fans were out in full force! He is a bundle of energy and seems much faster in person than on a screen. The audience cheered and applauded when he did his beautiful Ina Bauer. Yes, he did stalk his 3A!
Donovan -- we were worried when he was a no-show, but I understand he is here but his suitcase with his skates hasn't arrived. Ugh. A skater's worst nightmare.
Ilia Malinin -- he skated his FS and marked his jumps. I thought he skated here with more emotion than at U.S. Nats. He will be a force to be reckoned with in the future, if he can stay healthy with all that quad jumping. His father was telling him something very animatedly in Russian. Wish I knew what!
Ivan Shmuratko of Ukraine got quite a hand from the audience. The jumps weren't working that well for him, but he poured his heart and soul into his choreo and his step sequence.
Yuma had all kinds of jump issues outside the run through and then did a perfect SP. It was kind of funny! Kazuki had a clean SP. Shoma was looking really centered and focused. Could this be his year? He had a clean SP and then worked on bits and pieces of Sholero. So happy to see he's landing a lot of clean 4T-3T.
Vincent -- Seemed like an awful lot of snow was flying on his landings (not a good sign). Looks like Jackie's notes show a lot of URs. Hope he has fully recovered from his bout of Covid.
The most touching PAIRS moment for me was when the two U.S. pairs had their photo taken with Holichenko and Darenskyi (UKR), each with their country's flags. The audience gave the UKR pair a lot of applause and cheers.
Miura and Kihara came out with their usual energy. In my mind, it's just a question of what color the medal will be for them.. I love that signature move of theirs where he goes on one knee and lifts her and he goes on one knee again when she does the dismount. I'll say a prayer for his back. Yikes! They struggled a little during the run through jumps, but cleaned things up outside the run through.
I don't follow the ladies much. Kaori looked like she should get a speeding ticket. She's so fast! Still can't get into all the voice overs in her FS. Hope Wakaba can get her 3A working. Feeling bad for Loena. She didn't have her usual speed, and she did mostly doubles. Hope she doesn't injure herself further.
Adding: Forgot to say I'm really becoming a fan of Olga Mikutina. Really enjoy her smooth skating and soft arms.
Would love to hear thoughts from others.
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