Funny how this particular national event gets so much world wide attention from the skating public because Japan is just so darn good! Japan's best took to the ice in fierce competition to decide who exactly was their best and an attempt to shape their international team for this springs events.
It was a runaway in Ice Dance! The brother sister team of Chris and Cathy Reed won the event in a landslide! The duo (which has dual Japanese/U.S. citizenship) earned 166.41 points to place first in the field of...one! Although they had no competition, they can at least say they are National Champions...a feat they probably would have never achieved in the U.S.
No big surprise among the men. Daisuke Takahashi ran away with it. I mean, he won by 35 points! He could have closed his eyes on the ice, stood there for 4 1/2 minutes and still won. Shame his chief rival wasn't able to compete...apparently Nobunari is having some mental stress (I'm not going to let this one go!) issues these days. 2006 Junior World Champ Takahiko Kozuka earned the silver medal while Yasuharu Nanri earned a new Personal Best score and claimed the bronze.
In the ladies field two battles developed: the battle for gold and the battle for bronze. The bronze medal battle was between Yukari Nakano (who has made the triple axel look easy this year!) and veteran Fumie Suguri. Suguri held the edge after the short program sitting in third place but a poor free skate (judged 6th) left her behind Nakano who won the bronze medal. Questions about Suguri's future will surely arise after a poor showing at the event. In the gold medal match-up Mao Asada lead Miki Ando after the short. Both turned in tremendous free skates with Ando winning the night. However, Asada was able to hang onto her lead from the short and win the gold by just a bit over one point! Asada wins her second consecutive title and Ando erases the bad memories (and bad press) from NHK Trophy.
The other story here is the event itself. Sellout! Japan has gone figure skating crazy (thank you Shizuka Arakawa) and they packed the house! And the media coverage of this event was unprecedented! What money the ISU loses from the U.S. media market they'll more than make up for in Japan.
Oh my goodness! USFSA...it's time to pick a city! I'm really going to give going to the Olympics in 2010 a shot. In order to do this I need to start arranging my schedule now! That includes knowing the host city for the 2010 U.S. Nationals (because of course I'm going to that event!).
In the past, about 2 1/2 years (give or take) before the event they've made the announcement, but now there is this unusual delay. There are sponsors to get, hotels to book, volunteers to find, LET'S GET THE BALL ROLLING!
At this point I may make plans to go to the 2010 Canadian Nationals (no, seriously!). I sincerely hope a venue has already has been chosen and they are just holding back the info for some big press release in St. Paul at Nationals. I just hope it's somewhere warm...Miami ever hosted Nationals?
What exactly is mental stress in the case of Nobunari Oda? I've been suspended for several months and haven't been training...I watched the Grand Prix Final and realized 'I don't think I can beat Takahashi'...lure of booze and mopeds (that wasn't nice, I apologize)?
Whatever the case, Oda is a scratch this season. He has withdrawn from Japanese Nationals citing "Mental Stress" and will therefore be ineligible to compete in any further international competition this season.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and as we push towards the new year (and the U.S. National Championships!) I thought the pic of the week should chronicle some of the great wins in U.S. History.
We have to go back to 2003 for this one. Lang and Tchernyshev were entrenched in battle with the surging, young, American Team of Belbin and Agosto. For the first time the former Junior World Champions were pressing the veteran team and challenging them for the title.
Tanith and Ben threw down a great Free Dance. Lang and Tchernyshev would need to be perfect to regain there title. Their program to "Still Loving You" by the Scorpions was near perfection and to this day remains one of my favorite Ice Dance programs of all time.
They narrowly defeated Tanith and Ben and won their fifth consecutive (and final) National title.
Over the past few months I have seen a great deal of buzz about this young man...Eliot Halverson.
He has been the poster boy for the upcoming national championships...of the senior men competitors, he's the only one from St. Paul (however it stands to reason that Rohene Ward from Minneapolis will have some support as well). He's made appearances all over the place, he's been plastered all over the USFSA and Ice Network websites, and he's the featured skater at Figure Skaters Online. Ummm, he must be pretty spectacular!
But aside from his celebrity I knew literally nothing about him. I discovered he was the Junior Champ at last years National Championships. I also discovered he was tenth at last years Junior Worlds. He's also a previous Novice Champ.
This season, both of our top male skaters (Weir and Lysacek) have been fantastic. Weir won two golds on the Grand Prix circuit. You might think Evan's two silver medals are less spectacular but he edged Weir for a podium finish at the Grand Prix Final.
Both of these guys are looking like they will peak at just about the right time...U.S. Nationals. If this season is any indication, what a showdown we are in store for in St. Paul!
What a conclusion to the Grand Prix Final. The phrase "the only constant is change" holds true this past weekend. Let's take a look.
In Ice Dance the field spaced out a little, but not much. Leaders after the short program, Americans Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto couldn't hang on to that lead and lost by just over a point to the Russians who were third after the Original Dance. The difference was in the Technical Element Score where the Russians outdistanced the Americans by nearly two points (earlier at Cup of Russia they had managed to achieve the highest free dance total recorded to date). In fact, there was only about a two point spread on the Technical Element Score between the top 5 teams. The French team of Delobel and Schoenfelder dropped to third, but it was still fairly close. The Canadians Virtue and Moir were fourth despite a strong free dance and high technical marks. The Russian team of Khoklova and Novitski were fifth and the French team of Pechalat and Bourzat were sixth. The big picture here is that all these teams are skating great and really holding nothing back. I think we are in for a 'Battle Royale' in Sweden!
In pairs, unfortunately, Americans McLaughlin and Brubaker withdrew to injury. I haven't tracked down the scoop on that yet. Other than that there was little drama in the Pairs field, everyone maintained there position from the short (except Kawaguchi and Smirnov who moved up to fifth due to the withdrawal of the Americans). The Germans took the gold by just a little over 8 points, with Zhang and Zhang taking silver and Pang and Tong winning the bronze. Canadians Dube and Davison were fourth.
The men were fantastic! I toot the liberty of watching them on YouTube and I was really impressed. They all skated well with the top three skating very well! What a showdown between Lambiel and Takahashi. Lambiel was trailing Takahashi just a bit after the short and new he needed a strong skate. His "Flamenco" program, which in my opinion, is one of the greatest choreographed programs ever, was fast and precise. All the choreography was in place, amazing footwork, fantastic spins. His jumps were good as well. He stepped out of his triple axel a bit (he just recently put it back in the program) and had a little bit of wobble on his quad but overall it was very good. Takahashi started his program with a triple toe that was planned to be a quad. He came around the ice and threw the quad again and nailed it! He went on to land six more triples, four past the half way point. However, we wasn't able to hold his lead and barely came in second. The difference was in the choreography were Lambiel was over two points ahead. The bronze went to American Evan Lysacek who had a great program as well. Right off the top of the program he hit a beautiful quad toe/triple toe. The only major flaw came when he fell on a triple salchow. Johnny Weir had a strong free skate but lacked a quad and finished fourth. Patrick Chan improved from the short program and finished fifth while Van Der Perren struggled and finished sixth.
The ladies event was very exciting. The first thing to report is the real problems Kimmie Meissner is having, apart from finishing last with one of the lowest scores I've ever seen from her, she failed to land a lutz or a flip in her free skate. It is crystal clear, Meissner is struggling. A close race for the bronze broke out between Zhang, Kostner, and Nakano. Nakano gave it her best shot with a beautiful triple axel off the top. However a late fall on a triple toe and poor credit for some of her jumps due to a wrap left her in fifth place. Caroline Zhang who had been in second after the short pushed through her "Ave Maria" program with better speed. She finished fourth in part because of the incorrect edge deduction the ISU is now taking as well as a fall on her second lutz. Carolina Kostner held on to take the bronze. Her only major mistake came when she singled a planned triple flip. The big showdown came between Mao Asada (who pulled way up from sixth) and Yu-Na Kim (leader after the short). Mao opened her free skate with a big triple axel (slight two foot) and never looked back. She did receive the deduction on her lutx for flutzing it (they really are picky about that this year) but received almost all positive grades elsewhere. Kim came out with her cool elegant style and reeled off a triple flip/triple toe to open her program. She went down on an early triple loop but went on to hit everything else earning mostly positive grades. She didn't win the free skate, but her lead overall carried her to win her second consecutive Grand Prix Final Title.
Nice preview of things to come! Came Tanith and Ben get to the top step of the Ice Dance Podium? Can Kimmie shake off her demons in time for Nationals or is a new star about to shine bright? Can the Germans continue to hold off the Chinese in Pairs? Which one of these men who are all skating well emerge as the "leading man?" Stay tuned!
So the short programs and the original dance are done at the Grand Prix Final and let me tell you...we have a competition!
Let's start with pairs where I think there was the least amount of surprise. Predictably the Germans Savchenko and Szolkowy lead the Chinese teams of Zhang and Zhang as well as Pang and Tong. Sitting in fourth are the new Canadian upstarts of Dube and Davison. Americnas McLaughlin and Brubaker are in 5th ahead of (and this surprised me a bit) of Russians Kawaguchi and Smirnov. There is some room between each of the teams except the leaders who are just slightly ahead of the Zhang's. I predict the standings won't change much after the free in Pairs.
In the men's category, Daisuke Takahashi barely has the lead over Stephane Lambiel who got his Triple Axel back and landed a quad. Evan Lysacek who also put a quad in his short is third. Johnny Weir looks to have had a slight meltdown. He's been the most consistent skater this season, but he took a deduction in the short program and stumbled into fourth place ahead of Van Der Perren (5th) and Chan (6th). Maybe his free skate tomorrow will be better...or are we back to business as usual with Mr. Weir?
I have never seen a dance spread so close. The top four teams are very close! Americans Belbin and Agosto have a razor slim lead over the French team of Delobel and Scheonfelder. Russians Domnina and Shabalin are in third ahead of young Canadians Virtue and Moir. Very close among the top 4. Russians Khoklova and Novitski are in 5th just ahead of Bourzat and Pechalat. Can Belbin and Agosto hold their lead? Will the Russians who have achieved the highest dance total for a free dance this season (Cup of Russia) come roaring back? Will the French or Canadian team factor in? It's all so exciting!
Major meltdown among the women! Yu-Na Kim leads...unsurprisingly. She is by far the one to beat this year! But then the standings are crazy! Caroline Zhang is in second place...SECOND PLACE! Carolina Kostner is in third...don't know how that happened. Nakano of Japan sits fourth while Kimmie Meissner's struggles continue as she is in fifth but the story is Asada. Mao Asada is in last place. All season long she has struggled with her triple flip/triple loop combo and the deduction for her flutz. She has appeared frustrated and insecure about her skating and to put it bluntly, #*%@ just hit the fan!
I think this is a trend that I have noticed developing over the last decade. First, I must report, Champions on Ice Tour is gone.
Post Lillehammer in 1994...the sport of figure skating blew up in our face! Nancy and Tonya's ice drama captivated everyones attention. The ladies' short and free programs from the 1994 Olympics remains some of the highest watched sports competitions of all time. In the years to follow the airwaves were saturated with figure skating shows, competitions, specials, etc.
But something happened when we all tuned into those Lillehammer Olympics that I don't think was considered as the sport exploded. We liked the intense competition aspect of the sport. We liked comparing the number of jumps Nancy did versus Oksana. We liked debating who really won: Urmanov or Stojko? And we were captivated by a young girl who didn't even get to compete at the Olympics in 1994 and would drive the popularity of figure skating in our country for more than a decade.
All these shows continued to be put in front of us. Young skaters turned pro to cash in on the exploding market but we grew old of it. These shows and competitions just didn't have the appeal that competitive skating had. How many times can we get excited about Rosalyn Sumners attempting a double axel? How many times can we listen to commentators get excited because Katarina Witt landed a two-footed triple toe loop in her program? Oh my goodness, Yuka Sato just did a triple loop! The shows and programs were boring.
Everyone got so caught up the show side of the sport, we forgot the "sport" side of the sport! Michelle didn't go pro after 1998! She didn't go pro after 2002! She still hasn't gone pro! Skating shows are delegated to Bravo and Oxygen and it's competitive figure skating that is getting prime time spots. We need to refocus our attention on the sport and work toward rebuilding the sport and its ratings in this way and leave all the fluff behind.
I will miss Champions on Ice...but it isn't the future of the sport, it's the past. Time to move forward.
Okay, for the first time in forever, there have been no withdrawals from the Grand Prix Final!
All 24 of the competitors/teams that originally qualified to the final are in Turin and ready to go! I can't remember the last time nobody withdrew from the final prior to its start (has that ever even happened?). Because of the sustained level of talent competing, this promises to be one of the most competitive finals to date.
Small correction; I previously blogged that it had been since 1997 that the U.S. had qualified competitors in all 4 disciplines. In fact, the United States has never done this. I was mistaken when I reported that Punsalan and Swallow qualified in 1997, they in fact didn't qualify until 97'-98' (there was a year when there was a final in March of 97' and December of 97' to accommodate for the Olympics).
A bit of U.S. Ice Dance history, the 97'-98' Final (then the Champion Series Final) was the competition where Punsalan and Swallow decided they were going to need a new Free Dance for the Olympics in Nagano when they finished last at the final. U.S. Nationals was the last time they used their "Elvis Medley" program and debuted their "Tango" Free Dance by Astor Piazzola in Nagano. Didn't think I'd remember that did you?
A good portion of the conversation during this years' Grand Prix has been the lack of talent amongst the Russian men (this lack of talent actually exists even more so amongst the women).
Sure there is a plentiful amount of new, developing talent. Names that come to mind are Sergei Dobrin, Andrei Griazev, Andrei Lutai, and Sergei Voronov but there is a since that there no longer exists any depth in the Russian men's program.
I remember when any of the top three or four guys in Russia could on any given day beat anyone in the rest of the world. Urmanov, Kulik, Yagudin, Plushenko, and Abt really gave a great show. This weeks pic of the week commemorates Russian stability in men's figure skating by remembering Alexei Yagudin's magical moment in Salt Lake City. He was the runaway leader after the short program and never looked back.
Another note on Russian men...they have won the last four Olympic titles (5 if you count Petrenko skating for the Unified Team in 92')...do they have the stuff to get it done in 2010?
She's cute, she's bubbly, and she was Japan's unsung hero and face saver in the ladies event at the NHK Trophy. If you don't know who she is, I'll introduce her to you! Japan's Nana Takeda!
In an event where Miki Ando was supposed to steal the show and easily qualify for the Grand Prix Final, Ando stumbled and the relatively unknown Takeda betters the reigning World Champ...talk about an upset.
When I was at Skate Canada you could tell all the Japanese fans just loved her...and so do I. Way to go Nana!
NHK Trophy wrapped up this week and what an unusual turn of events it was!
As I reported Friday...U.S. Pair Skaters McLaughlin and Brubaker won the silver, edging Skate America Champions Dube and Davison, and secured a spot in the final. They also made sure that the U.S. was represented in all disciplines at the Grand Prix Final. That hasn't happened since 1997 (Kwan, Kwiatkowski, Lipinski, Eldridge, Meno and Sand, Punsalun and Swallow). Germans Savchenko and Szolkowy skated to an easy victory.
The ladies event was the huge shocker! Miki Ando who was supposed to qualify easily had a complete meltdown and finished 4th...and failed to make the Grand Prix Final (which gave Caroline Zhang the final spot in Torino). To her credit she injured herself in the warm-up but didn't use that as an excuse for her poor performance. Her freeskate was judged 7th best on the night...ouch! Japanese up and comer Nana Takeda was the highest Japanese finisher winning the bronze medal. Switzerland's Sarah Meier bettered her 4th place finish in Paris with by winning the silver medal. Top honors went to Italy's Carolina Kostner who benefited from the win by earning a spot at the Grand Prix Final.
In Ice Dance the crunch was really on with 5 teams attempting to make the final. 3 competing and two at home biting their nails! Russians Khoklova and Novitski skated to the bronze and earned the final spot in Torino. In a very close showdown, Canadians Virtue and Moir were barely edged by France's Delobel and Schoenfelder. Virtue and Moir won both the OD and Free Dance but Delobel and Schoenfelder's lead after the compulsories held them to the title by less than a point. All three teams that medaled made the final making both Italian teams of Cappellini and LaNotte and Faiella and Scali the end losers. Both teams were edged for the final. Shame given the Grand Prix Final is in Italy.
The men's event was very exciting. First off, how about Jeremy Abbott's 12th place to 4th place jump. Those are the times when it is really easy to get behind current (we can't call it new anymore!) judging system. The men skated great. Stephen Carriere from the U.S. had a shot to make the final if he could win the silver. He skated well but was only good enough for the bronze. He did, however, become the first alternate to the Grand Prix Final. Tomas Verner of the Czech Republic had a great free skate to the Japanese themed "Kodo Drums" to win the silver. He showed strong triple jumps and a beautiful quad toeloop. His only flaw came when he singled a planned triple axel...he did a turn around the ice and attempted the jump again and nailed it! But the clear winner was Japan's Daisuke Takahashi. He stumbled out of his opening quad but it was smooth sailing from that point. He went on to land 8 clean, beautiful triples...most of which came in the back half of the program earning a bonus. He also earned solid component scores for his program set to Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet."
So this is how it looks for the Grand Prix Final (barring any withdrawals):
Pairs 1. Zhang and Zhang (CHN) 2. Savchenko and Szolkowy (GER) 3. Dube and Davison (CAN) 4. Pang and Tong (CHN) 5. McLauglin and Brubaker (USA) 6. Kawaguchi and Smirnov (RUS)
Funny how this particular national event gets so much world wide attention from the skating public because Japan is just so darn good! Japan's best took to the ice in fierce competition to decide who exactly was their best and an attempt to shape their international team for this springs events.
No big surprise among the men. Daisuke Takahashi ran away with it. I mean, he won by 35 points! He could have closed his eyes on the ice, stood there for 4 1/2 minutes and still won. Shame his chief rival wasn't able to compete...apparently Nobunari is having some mental stress (I'm not going to let this one go!) issues these days. 2006 Junior World Champ Takahiko Kozuka earned the silver medal while Yasuharu Nanri earned a new Personal Best score and claimed the bronze.
In the ladies field two battles developed: the battle for gold and the battle for bronze. The bronze medal battle was between Yukari Nakano (who has made the triple axel look easy this year!) and veteran Fumie Suguri. Suguri held the edge after the short program sitting in third place but a poor free skate (judged 6th) left her behind Nakano who won the bronze medal. Questions about Suguri's future will surely arise after a poor showing at the event. In the gold medal match-up Mao Asada lead Miki Ando after the short. Both turned in tremendous free skates with Ando winning the night. However, Asada was able to hang onto her lead from the short and win the gold by just a bit over one point! Asada wins her second consecutive title and Ando erases the bad memories (and bad press) from NHK Trophy.
