Olympics 2006
Free Dance
Have just done the copy and paste from the ISU site for the running order of the free dance, and have seen that, joy of all joys, they’ve put the free dance music beside the skaters’ rankings! This is a wondrous innovation – all skating running orders should be so furnished!
Eurosport appear to be not showing it form the start, so who knows who I’ll miss ( if it goes past seven, I’ll worry) and no, I’ve not seen any of the original dance yet (tomorrow afternoon after work, I hope) and I have seen the men’s free skate live (he still wants to marry me, but it was a close run thing. Apparently, when looking at skating, I reach levels of volume that only dogs can hear. I’m sure this surprises you lot not at all.)
Am seeing results of the large hill team (ski jumping) and it’s dead on seven o’clock, and yer man is signing off, so let’s be hopeful people! Should be midway through group two by now methinks… except for yer man is still talking about the Austrian house in Sestriere rocking until the early hours… into slo mo repeats now…
More waffle…
More ads…
Anyone else thinking they’re going to come in just in time to go off for an ice resurface?
Here we go!
And not so far off…the eighth pair!
Warm-Up Group No. 1
1
KAUC Alexandra / ZYCH Michal
POL Mary Ann, Unchain,
2 GOLOVINA Julia / VOIKO Oleg UKR The Story of Tango 24 63.80
3 ZARETSKI Alexandra / ZARETSKI Roman ISR Caravan 23 64.72
4 GREBENKINA Anastasia / AZROJAN Vazgen ARM Worshiping Govinda by George Harrison 21 68.11
Warm-Up Group No. 2
5 FRASER Kristin / LUKANIN Igor AZE Blues for Klook by Eddie Louis 20 71.10
6 PECHALAT Nathalie / BOURZAT Fabian FRA Les Miserables (musical) 18 72.66
7
SILVERSTEIN Jamie / O'MEARA Ryan
8 HOFFMANN Nora / ELEK Attila HUN Flamenco Medley 19 71.57
She’s in bright orange, and a headband, lots of ruffles on her skirt, he’s in black waistcoat and pants and matching orange shirt… twizzles to begin and she comes off before he does on the first pass, the second are better… Simon is talking up the last groups, no one knows what’s going to happen etc… and they do a lift where he squats and carries her… going backwards… and now a circular step… that seems to have little to do with the music… nice unison and all but they could be skating to anything….and the outfit is not coming over well on TV colour wise… second set of twizzles, first are fine, second not great… steps now, change of music, and lots of sliding over and through… lift within him in besti, her at waist level, change of position, and her skate is to her head in both of them… her in biellman now, she braceletted around him as he spins and puts her down… and then a dance spin… and slide to a near stop and then music speeds and they windmill arms for interpretation… steps now, serpentine pattern methinks… and it just seems like it’s very hard work, or perhaps it’s that I hate this music with a passion… certainly more passion than they seem to be showing… he does lift with him in hydroblade position, her lying back in biellman around him… and they’re done. Simon says they have struggled this year, change from juniors to seniors, and then the couples coming back…Chris opines that they’re slipping in the wrong direction, not a balanced team, he needs to work on the control of the upper half of his body, doesn’t have strong back position with hips underneath him… Simon notes that there are no falls yet, Chris says there’s still a long time to go! Chris thinks there will be changes in the rules, have identified that there might be too many elements, so next season, option of elements or spin, creative lift, level four, but free to do what you want with it, and try to reduce the amount of times skaters putting blade to head for more variety, thank you Jesus! (That was me)
Marks TE 44.94 PCS 32.96 for second behind Americans and 77.90 and 149.47, have moved above the French which surprises Simon.
9 WATANABE Nozomi / KIDO Akiyuki JPN My Fair Lady (musical) by K. Loewe 16 74.54
Long pink dress for her, with sparkles, and lots of pink blusher. Yellow underskirt. He’s in dark blue/grey pants, matching shirt to her pink dress… lift with her on his back, him going forward in one foot to begin… he also has grey and dark grey jacket as they do dance steps in serpentine pattern to I Could Have Danced All Night… Chris says not too demanding in same breath as praising them for using every inch of ice… and too much swing of free leg… another lift with her to front of him, lying back as he’s on one foot, then change direction from him as she leans back in biellman in his arms… nice. Twizzles are out of synch and badly so on The Street Where You Live… lift with him going backward on one foot, her in biellman, and then he changes to hydroblade… dance spin… slowing down mightily there… and stop at centre ice, reach out and along… twizzles better, and much better again… Chris even comments so! hydroblade from him, she leans back along him, death spiral ish… music changes now… circular step… and he stumbles there, puts a foot down… and steps have twizzles that aren’t done in time… spinny steps, and lift rotational with her horizontal in biellman… and into a dance spin… and they’re done. Coached by Linichuk… Chris notes that they’re not great from the waist down, but a lovely program to watch…
Marks TE 45.77 PCS 33.10 for first place, 78.87 and 153.41.
Ergo,
Resurfacing of the Ice
Warm-Up Group No. 3
10
GREGORY Melissa / PETUKHOV Denis
Didn’t she used to be blonde? Dark hair now, with lattice cap, and a candy floss pink sparkly sixteenth century type dress. He’s in a ponytail and a pink outfit with voluminous sleeves, and a wine overshirt and trousers to preserve his masculinity. I type that, then see the sparkly cross on his back. Just so. There are lines of gold sparkles on his top. She goes to him, lies on him, gets rolled around by him, spun on the ice still lying back, then up she gets, and nice flow and speed around the ice thus far… she holds her skate as he spins around, very nice. Simon notes the danger. Spins around in kicks… this now the circular step, mostly done in a dance hold, quite close together… good use of the ice from both of them… crowd are clapping…twizzle are out of synch, and second pass not great, looked like she lost it a little… music changes as they slide to stop, Chris notes the ice coverage and speed across…need to build on footwork, as we have more twizzles that are not wonderful… lift with him in besti, her lying back, skate to head, then change position and she’s in splits on his thighs… out of that, and him squatting and carrying her as she leans back, then rotational lift with her lying at his side… dance spin with her in biellman, and then change position, Chris notes the speed on the back spin… dance steps and he stumbles and nearly falls, recovers well. Serpentine pattern this… and spinning steps where she’s nearly in death spiral… music change now back to march of the knights…handstand lift from her with him in besti… wow. And they’re done, right on the music. I really liked that… and they look happy with it. Chris remarks on how warm it is here. Shae Lynn and Nikolai greet them on their way off the ice… Simon points out it could be a big night for the Americans, mentions B&A… Chris thinks first half of program could have been little more difficult, and warns us we’re going to be twizzled out by the end of the evening…twizzles, I can handle… biellmans are another thing altogether!
Marks TE 45.17 PCS 36.47 for 81.64 and 159.15, first on free and overall.
11 WING Megan / LOWE Aaron CAN Tango Medley 12 80.59
Off the shoulder dress for her of black and blue (let that not be a precursor to anything) and shimmery sparkles on it, and a choker (let that not be a precursor to anything). He’s all in black. Start off with nice tango like steps… twizzles are good… as is second set. Move where he squats and she leans back… and part and go to her… part again… together again and off we go in steps… lovely flow and glide in the circular step… nicely picking out some nuances of the music… rotational lift she in biellman, and he stops and changes direction on a dime. Nice. Slide to stop… nearly kiss… circle one another… twizzles excellent. Steps into dance spin with her in biellman, change position, facing one another in sits. Out of that, steps around… lift with her leg on his shoulder, her leaning back with other leg touching the head… my back is sore just thinking of it! Steps into another lift with changes of position… move where she’s standing up and he’s lying back on the ice holding onto her. Faster tango now… steps in serpentine pattern methinks… and this pair, might I can, can twizzle! Seems to be a little slower now, lift with her in splits and he’s spinning like a dervish, that teaches me to type that, and brilliant ending right on the music to screams of delight from the Canadians and I loved loved loved that! And Marie France and Patrice have withdrawn! I’ve heard of her fall (have yet to see it) but I wail “Nooooooooooo!” at the tops of my lungs nonetheless… Chris calls this fabulous, really crisp, polished performance… Shpilband and Zoueva in k&C
Marks TE 48.20 PCS 37.61 for 85.81 and new leaders with 166.40
12 FAIELLA Federica / SCALI Massimo ITA The Mission (soundtrack) by E.Morricone 15 76.45
High necked blue dress for her with long sleeves and light blue flames on the front, he’s in shirt and pants of matching colour and sparkles on the left hand side. In warm up, Simon said their chemistry better than that of the first place Italians… oh, I see myself pulling an all nighter with the tape of the original dance! Seriously, who needs sleep? She starts holding onto the skate blade…quel surprise. Good speed to begin, lots of expansive arm flailing, and dance spin… he does Y spin and the crowd roar… spirals where their free legs make an X with one another… nifty. Lift with him in besti, her holding skate blade, then goes to change of position, her leaning back… Chris notes the good transitions through the lift… crowd are clapping as they do their step sequence, serpentine… straight lines steps have twizzles that are horrible, slightly better on second half, and Chris remarks on the lack of speed even as I think it. Music changes to the slow part that everyone knows, with the pan pipes, lots of slow glides and kicks… splits type glides… gender bender lift with him leaning right back, that gets a huge roar… her in biellman scrunched up and squatting as he squats going forwards… twizzles are again slow, but more in time… steps in dance hold, circular pattern… steps of twizzles there where she gets very close to him… and him in besti, her leaning right back over holding onto both blades, then changes to biellman, him still spinning… and glide to stop and they’re done and just listen to that roar! Big smiles and hugs from both, Simon talks of double whammy of FP&M comeback, then the fall heard around the world (so totally doing an all nighter!) … Chris notes last night they held back, were tentative, tonight they went out with all guns blazing… I really liked that too. Grins when she stops a little flower girl from taking a stuff toy – “no,no,no!” …
Marks TE 47.87 PCS 40.05 for 87.92 and second place, first on free, 164.37, second overall.
Wing and Lowe with Gwendal – she says comp
has been great, enjoyed the whole thing, performed well in each part, were able
to relax. Next time at home, are you looking forward to it? A says we’re going
to take a break and see what happens in four years… G says he meant worlds, he
says they have 3wks to relax and train. She says it’s great because
13 KERR Sinead / KERR John GBR Scottish Medley 11 81.86
John, Navka still wants her headband back! He’s in black, with triangles and silver and sparkle!red on it… she’s in silver sparkle backless top, with oh, it’s tartan! top, red skirt. The Porridge Men is the group…. Start with bit of a spin… she waves the arms, does spiral, he goes under her leg… god I’m nervous! Lots of speed in these steps… handstand lift with him in besti and change edge… and down and wow! Glide with her in spiral, him in besti, change to hydro from him, near death spiral from her… dance spin… and here we go with the speed… hops and traditional dance hold… little hop and jump from him, crowd are into this… think this the serpentine step… Chris says they’ve captured spirit of Scottish theme… love the steps here… biellman lift rotational with her at chest level… slide and change of music… steps in opposition to one another, twizzles… in opposition again, well done, and something different, praise Robert the Bruce! Steps in dance hold, circular step… really using the music and the blade well… lots of turns from both and changes of hold… lift with him in besti, her leaning across him, roll up and carry… Scottish dancing as the bagpipes blare…twizzles… and he looked to get the second pass arseways… speed into kicks through steps… lift with him in besti, her away facing him…..rotational with lots of changes of position and they’re done and he is knackered!!!!! And so is she!!! He claps her on the way to centre ice, presents her, as he always does, which I find so nice and classy… he’s clapping and waving for all he is worth, Chris is effusive in his praise. Simon points out that if the Canadians had withdrawn yesterday, these could have been in the next group… MamaNicky hugs them as they come off… Simon wonders if communication between the two Canadian pairs, I resist the urge to roll my eyes. No, I lie. They roll right the way across the room. Chris talks about the crispness as they move from one place to another, Simon namechecks Chris Dean who “honed” the program… I loved this. Did I mention it?
Marks TE 46.00 PCS 39.57 for third best free, 85.57 and 167.43, looks like a top ten place!!! They lead.
14 KHOKHLOVA Jana / NOVITSKI Sergei RUS Flamenco Bolero 13 78.05
Bright fluorescent red/pink on her dress and his shirt that the TV just does not like; she’s wearing more flesh net and black curlicues than anything else, his is a mixture of black and red… Simon is pondering their ability to upset the top ten finish of the Kerrs… her hair is clashing with her dress, I’d personally deduct for that. Will that help? Start with dance spin, lots of speed, her in donut spin, then Natalia spin. Another dance spin, sits facing away from one another… now we get the flamenco…she can kick those legs you know. Spins on the spot and lots of stomps.. he pulls her in biellman spiral… her leg on his shoulder, she besti squats under his legs… lunges facing one another, twizzles are good, if far apart… lift with her lying facing the ice and away from him, him in squat, up to him in besti, her lying at waist level, second set of twizzles are very good… spiral steps where she’s going every which way… steps where she lies back and then she’s balanced on his skate… steps here, as Chris mutters something about non stop action, and I can’t type fast enough to keep up with all they’re doing, this is serpentine step… lift with her lying on his chest, all bent over, him I think on one foot going forwards? Twizzles are close together but not entirely in synch to begin the circular step… seem to have lost some speed but who can blame them… I’m trying to figure out where I left my calculator… lift with her on his shoulders, skate to the head, then her balanced on his right thigh him in besti, and out of that, and steps to rotational lift with her in splits, leg on his shoulder… slide to stop and they’re done and holy smokes that was amazing! Simon says it was super, the crowd erupt, and I swear by all I hold holy, I could not keep up with what they did! Simon says she looks like Natalia Bestemianova, and I see in the close ups that she is wearing braces on her teeth, so lord knows she’s ok by me… Chris says that was fantastic… says they worked their rockers, brought speed from absolutely nowhere… Simon says this shows you can still push the boundaries, Chris says it’s not as bad in FD as it is in OD, original in inverted commas… didn’t notice the time going I have to say… really fast four minutes which is always good… though the Kerrs fan in me says maybe it’s too good! Chris queries height of hands on last lift?
Marks TE 47.75 PCS 38.68 for 86.43 and new PB, 164.48, second on the free and third overall.
Ergo, the Kerrs lead, so top ten!! Chris
says the predictable – Stop the Competition! Then Can, Rus,
I run for tea and biccies. Which I feel I will need!
Warm-Up Group No. 4
15 DOMNINA Oksana / SHABALIN Maxim RUS Waltz of the Spirits by Karl Jenkins 10 85.73
She’s in a gold dress, he in gold top and dark trousers, which I think are black… Oooh, his top is gold waistcoat and lighter gold shirt underneath, which picks up accent on her skirt…though I will say his waistcoat needs to be let out a little… dance spin to begin… with her with skate to head in second position… steps around, twizzles are good on first pass, not quite as tight in second? Lovely flow and sway… step seq this… serpentine, Chris says much content but slow along ice to make it easier… and lift with him on one foot, her in upside down circle. Put down and change of music… he spins her under his arms and steps, and she shows off her beautiful spiral… twizzles, first set out of line near end, second better but further apart… running steps from both… lift with him in besti with change of edge, her leaning back and up, with skate to the head… out of that and steps along the midline that are mostly spins and kicks to show how lovely the point of her toe is… her in splits, facing away from him at waist level, nice change of position to squat with her lying back. Stop, change music… a dance hold, circular step? Again, can see what Chris means with the slowness of speed… very close together though, rotational lift with her in biellman, and stop and flail like windmills at centre ice and they’re done. Does he look like Sergei Ponomarenko or is it just me? Simon thinks the contrast was lacking during the program, Chris was disappointed with it, thought step seq weak in content, slow across the ice. Chris says centre of spin at the start was good, bit slower on the back spin but still good… she’s only 21 says Simon, marks them out as a couple of the future… Simon says judges have marked them out, at GPF, they were marked ahead of Delobel and Schonfelder.
Marks TE 47.96 PCS 41.07 one point ded for extended lift. 88.03 best free. 173.76 and they lead. By six marks. Simon does the maths so I don’t have to. *loves Simon*
16 DROBIAZKO Margarita / VANAGAS Povilas LTU Phantom of the Opera (musical) by Webber 8 88.02
Had another fall in warm-up. She has white dress, no, pink and white, with skirt fading to red, he’s all in black with a manly V on the chest and manly pink ruffles on his sleeve and along the V… start off with arms a waving… and then really fast dance spin, well centred, skate to the head on the change… twizzles… really fast, he comes out of first before she does, and second set they don’t come out together either, shame really because there all the way through… steps I think in circular seq… and it is… lift where he cartwheels her into it, then he goes to squat…nice. And another lift where she’s upside down leaning over and he’s on one foot going forwards, then goes to besti without her changing… lovely. And steps and kneel on the ice and turn… and stop. She stands and leans into him, skate away and music changes to all I ask of you… she leans back, arms around him and glides… lovely slow section, nice extension from her… lift with him going forward in shoot the duck, her leaning back… twizzles… much better than first lot. He does little hop and turn…spinning steps… serpentine pattern now… looks slower now, like it’s hard work, you can see her breathing heavily… she does splits as he pulls her through, rotational lift with her leg around his neck and he spins her as she changes so her skate is to her head… nice. And spinning to stop in steps, as he holds her at waist level. And they’re done. She looks near to tears. Really like that. We’re having a good night of skating people! Chris says there were some wonderful lifts, he loved it, queries lack of beat throughout the music… this their fifth Olympics.
Marks TE 49.80 PCS 45.39 95.19 for the lead. And 183.21.
17
FUSAR POLI Barbara / MARGAGLIO Maurizio
ITA Prince of
She wears gold laurel leaf in her hair… presumptuous much? Dress is lots of different colours, primarily gold wine and blue, his suit is mostly wine velour, with accents of blue and gold. I’ve got to see this look of death that everyone is talking about! Short hair suits him much better. She said shallowly. She picks something up off the ice… not his head… and gives it to the referee… they take their time. She has not taken her hands off her hips, and looks deep into his eyes, looks as if she’s talking to him… oooh to be a fly on the ice! Start off with him lifting and spinning her in place… and almost a death spiral after that… twizzle are miles apart, not bad in timing, but not looking amazing from either. Rotation lift with her in splits and spin with her lifting her legs up so they’re at his shoulder…yes, that’s elegant. Steps with him turning and did he stumble off that? Serpentine pattern… lots of kicks and turns to can you hear the people cry… turns and knee slides on the ice… lift with him in two foot squat and her lying facing him, him holding her by the leg… and change music, steps on the spot, and slide her through and around. Dance spin… little bit of movement there… steps now, to lift, with her lying back, in again in two foot r squat, goes to her lying back, head towards ice on his back, him on one foot and it’s so shaky I yelp… twizzles…better… Chris says strength of edge, esp from him, not as strong as it should be… steps now, circular step… very close to boards in one part… and it’s looking slow … lift with her standing up and him going forwards on one foot… and they’re done. Huge roar form the crowd, and you may accuse me of not being a fan of theirs, and I cannot deny that it is true, but that did nothing for me. They give him level four for turning up, say they would not have been there after the look she gave him last night… they’re hugging one another now, and look happy… Babs looks close to tears… he just looks relieved. They take a lap of honour around the ice, waving to the crowd… Chris says was frightening to watch, Maurizio’s skating skills are exposed with the new system (or lack thereof) so he thinks that if the PCS are used correctly, the skating skills marks should be one of the lowest of the evening. I don’t hold out much hope for that. Chris says people says he’s got better, he struggles to agree.
Marks TE 47.93 PCS 46.02 ded of one for extended lift, for 92.95 second on night, and 183.46 and first overall by 0.2 of a mark. Chris says very lucky in his book. And on mine.
18 DUBREUIL Marie-France / LAUZON Patrice CAN Somewhere in Time (soundtrack) 6 91.80
Withdrawn. *sobs*
19 CHAIT Galit / SAKHNOVSKI Sergei ISR Bolero by Maurice Ravel 9 86.72
Blue pants and long waistcoat for him, cream blouse. She’s in cream coloured strategically placed sashes and skirt, with many sparkles. Many. Sparkles. She’s also rocking the blue eye shadow. Start with a mini spin, then steps… lots of kicks and turns… all done quite close together, good speed and flow… she does bracelet thing, he drops down to forward shoot the duck, then rises still with her in position and does rotational lift…twizzles are a disaster on the first set, second set not much better. Into the dance spin which look to be well centred, then out of that, and into steps with lots of changes of hold, and again really close together… serpentine step… twizzles better. And steps around the corner to upside down lift with no hands from him… twizzles are bad on second set, unison not quite there… biellman from her, he goes forward on one foot, she’s upside down… and then he changes direction, query changing foot… lots of speed in the steps here, circular step I think… hydroblade from him, she leans on him in spiral… steps and turns and spiral kick throughs, lift with her horizontal to the ice as she spins and her held out to the side, and they’re done. He kneels on the ice for a long time after they’re done… the lads agree they would not have touched Bolero, would have left it alone, at least the Russians would have had a different interpretation of it… Simon says they love these two, some of their performances etched in the memory and will never let go… and, I mutter to myself, not in a good way! Zhulin and Platov greet them…
Marks TE 49.59 PCS 45.85 ded of one, second best free with 94.44 and third overall, 181.16.
Rita and Pov with Gwendal… P says he was more scared than G (after fall?)…that’s the Olympics games, it doesn’t cure the problems that happen on the ice. No-one is secure.
Resurfacing of the Ice
Warm-Up Group No. 5
Which gives us time to seek out the strong shot of whisky required to get us through this.
20 GRUSHINA Elena / GONCHAROV Ruslan UKR The Feeling Begins by Peter Gabriel 3 96.68
White costumes again, same as Europeans. Skirt for her with lots of flesh coloured net on the top, he’s in white shirt and trousers. Backless dress, tassles on the chest, and he’s got a lot of chest on display… The Ukrainian team is behind Simon and Chris, and you can really hear them chanting… sparkles of blue on the costumes. And she has a headband. Mad dangly earrings. See, my hair would get caught in those. Start kneeling on the ice, taking their time to get settled… up we go, and around, bent low at waist… she straightens up, tries to hypnotise judges with arm waving… upside down lift, he in forward lunge, her with skate to head… and out… glide, where they move arms and gyrate to the music… serpentine step… is it me or is this a little raggy looking? Chris notes the really good edgework, but slow across the ice. He must have heard me… one foot glide from him going forwards, then to squat going backwards, she at waist level, leaning back, with skate to head… dance spin, her in biellman, then him in sit, her in bent leg camel… twizzles are excellent… circular steps with her leg going through circle of his arms and changes of hold…twizzles don’t start out even but end that way, second set are better. Lift , him in hydro, her leaning back with skate to head… steps, circular step… and it’s really slow. She goes through his arm in besti, then around in steps… and lift her lying back in biellman, change direction of rotations and they’re done. The Ukrainians are making the noise, they look knackered, and I? Am bored out of my frickin’ mind. Not that noisy around the arena remarks Simon… Chris says it was slow… feels they skated better here than at Euros… he thinks it was put together by the book, judges can go with it, crowd can’t. Difficult program… Nikolai greets them… Chris says it almost gets untidy because they’re on the move all the time… Simon asks if this is one of the problems of the new system, Chris says yes, danger of performance becoming clinical, and this was. Amen to that.
Marks TE 51.40 PCS 47.77 for the lead. 99.17. and total of 195.85 and first overall and on the night.
21 NAVKA Tatiana / KOSTOMAROV Roman RUS Carmen Suite by G. Bizet 1 99.27
Chris touted these two in the warm up. Roman still wearing Platov’s cast offs. He’s in her red dress with deep V on the chest, red skirt, black sleeves, hair in side ponytail with red flower in it, dress is backless. He’s in black bolero jacket with lots of gold trim and tassles, matching black pants with trim, white shirt, red little tie… start away from one another, he runs to her… and lots of spinny steps around him…running steps on the spot… and lie back right on the music. She lies back, he spins her around… then up and into a really fast and well centred dance spin, change hold, she goes skate to head…twizzles are best I’ve seen from roman, and in unison. Lift with him in squat, her leaning back facing away from him… and to the boards. Dance hold and serpentine step… lots of turns and twizzles, when they’re together they’re very close together indeed… that was good. And down to centre ice… lift where she goes over his side and in bracelet hold as him in besti… turn and slide twizzles are not quite in unison, and not in second set either, and I want to see her again because it looked like she was the one who wasn’t quite where she needed to be… steps where the crowd are hooting…run to the judges… and dance steps away… toreador song for circular step… roman is smiling… crowd are clapping… they’re selling it for all they are worth… lift with him in besti, change direction, and her in biellman… spin around… and leaning back in the X move and he did stumble on the way out… lift with him in besti, her in biellman and he spins her…and they’re done, right on the music. And that was very good. Better than in Europeans, though I’m not sure if it was really better or if I’d just lowered my expectations… she crosses herself, touches the ice, he knee slides… Chris points out slight wobble from Tatiana on forward synchronise twizzles, Roman let his weight go forward too much on exit so it looked untidy, but he says he’s splitting hairs there… they both look happy… Chris is saying that he doesn’t think the Americans can beat this by two clear points… Simon says during performance, Zhulin was bouncing up and down, could hardly control himself. Overall, Chris says it was brilliant, better than Euros, which it was. Skated from heart, he says, with emotion, he says… and she did drop right shoulder coming out of last twizzle…
Marks TE 51.73 PCS 49.64 for 101.37 and 200.64. currently in first place. Simon says by looks on their faces, they feel it may not be enough.
22 DENKOVA Albena / STAVISKI Maxim BUL Adagio by Tomasini Albinoni 5 93.50
They are in red and black. Her dress is mostly black, red on the back of the left hand side, he’s in black pants, tunic type top has lots of flesh coloured diamonds cut out… both have many sparkles. Start off miles apart, skate into one another…. She lies back on the ice and he butterflies over her… yeah, he’s doing a lot of kicking out in the first 30seconds… repressed anger much? Lift with her upside down on his front, no hands from him, then goes to rotational with her horizontal on his shoulder… dance spin, really well centred, good speed… steps, serpentine pattern, twizzles are all out in that, and in a rare departure, he seems to be doing much of the turning… twizzles synch are out in the first set, better in the second… and steps on the spot are good. Lift with her perpendicular to him, him in besti… steps out of that, steps now, and maybe this the serpentine step? He’s showing good extension here, and showing a lot of it… twizzles are all over the place, and second set only a teeny bit better… more steps, he does little hop and turn… glide where she leans on him… and besti from him, her in splits, the she hops up so that she’s upside down at an angle, him going backwards on one foot, then squat lift where she leans back facing away from him. And they’re done. Alrighty then… I think it was better than the GrushGons. I have no idea if it was technically better or not, they certainly flailed, extended and kicked better. Chris calls it amazing. Completely different approach to the Ukrainians, and Chris says he was so engrossed in the program that he hadn’t taken the elements on board… Karponosov gives her a big hug as she comes off… we see the X lift (no hands!) at the start…
Marks TE 51.34 PCS 46.69 ded of 2.00????? 96.03 both for ext lift. 189.53. 3rd overall and on the free and they are just mystified. And he looks kinda pissed off.
Gwendal with GrushGons… perfect comp for end of perfect season? She says yes, they did this comp very good without mistakes tried to show program with power and passion, very happy. He says they showed good emotion, did everything clean enough, thinks it the best comp of his career.
23
BELBIN Tanith / AGOSTO Benjamin
Long red flamenco dress for her, hair in a bun, off the shoulder. His’ all in black, red collar, lattice effect on his sleeves, shoulders and chest. Hair slicked back in a ponytail. And Jesus God, I am nervous. And she manages to look good while mixing pink and red in her dress? Oh, that’s it, it’s official, I hate her!!! Ben has had an accident with the blusher methinks. Start off with dancing around one another, little flamenco moves… not seen this before… lift where she leans back, him in besti, then to her lying back in biellman as he spins… running steps now… twizzles are so fast and perfect… clap hands and twizzles, razor sharp says Simon… dancing steps and so fast and light on their feet… good speed and changes of hold in this the step serpentine seq and I curse the Eurosport ticker that goes by at the moment… plenty of content there… good musical interp, really deep edges from Ben… and stop at centre ice, little hug… slow part now… dance spin with her in gorgeous layback… and change position…. Looks well centred to me… steps around n to lift with her on his shoulder, drop down onto him on one foot… nice. Steps around to corner and around, lift where she’s upside down him in besti, then to him in hydro with her in biellman…twizzles… really good! Still nervous am I… lots of fast footwork in the circular step… Simon and Chris are silent and did she stumble there? More steps… this Kwan’s short program music in 95… and lots of passion coming to the end… and spin with her in splits leg on shoulder, and down from that and they’re done and that was excellent! Americans go wild, they look happy, Simon not sure about keeping flamenco mood the whole way… Chris says tech very difficult, he thinks first tune was hard, no emotion building, she made a couple of small errors, he says, on circ step, put foot down on one of the twizzles, wasn’t flawless and it had to be he says. Simon doesn’t believe this is two marks better, thinks gold going to Russia, but mentions, they’ve been wrong before! I think I preferred that but I don’t think they’ll win… she put foot down on forward inside twizzle…
Marks, here we go… TE 50.24 PCS 47.93 for 98.17, third on free second overall 196.06. They look happy, backstage, Tatiana bursts into tears and hugs Roman.
24 DELOBEL Isabelle / SCHOENFELDER Olivier FRA The Flight Of The Dove 4 94.78
This a new dress for her, red mostly with
gold and black accents, white gloves. He’s in navy blue trousers, red tunic top
with lattice work in gold, puff sleeves of gold. And gold sash type thing
across his shoulders… she looks nervy. This is Carnival in
Marks TE 51.43 PCS 48.07 no. 99.50 194.28 second on the free, fourth overall. There are boos, and she wants to get up and go… and she looks heartbroken. There are many whistles.
We see Tatiana and Roman and they are thrilled… she is just in tears. We can hear the Ukrainian team shouting out behind Chris and Simon… we see Tatiana hugging Zhulin… he kisses her forehead and god help me, it’s sorta sweet. Am still in ten million depressions for the French though. Also the Canadians.
Navka, Belbin, Grushina, Delobel, Denkova, Fusar-Poli are the one to six.
The medals? Still ugly. Simon calls them the mint with the hole. *giggles*
Isabelle and Olivier with Gwendal… all in French, natch. He asks do they think it’s unfair. She says they’re so disappointed to lose medal by so little, we were second on the free, so feel we deserve a medal but have to do better. G says you have nothing to regret, did best, no mistakes. O says no, we weren’t that well on first day, bit of handicap, didn’t get great marks, really hard to get on podium at Olympics, nothing we can do about it. And she looks close to tears the whole time. God bless her.
Podium and out come the GrushGons as the Ukrainian team go wild behind Chris and Simon. Tanith and Ben get a huge roar and they wave to the crowd, looking happy… Simon says they were unable to smile as they walked off from K&C… giggles as they’re not quite sure where to go, to get up to their step or hug the Ukr first… now Tatiana and Roman… big roar from the crowd. Simon tries to dissect the connecting tissue between Olympics, N&K, Zhulin and Platov and gets lost in the web of intricacies therein… more giggles for Tanith and Ben who are turning and showing their medals to the crowd as Courtney Jones is trying to give them flowers… and then N&K do the same thing! Ben tries to conduct the chanting…
And now the anthem… and Tatiana is in tears. Ladies tomorrow… anyone know the odds on a Russian sweep?