Worlds 2005
Pairs Short Program
Another year, another worlds, and this year, my free dance and ladies free reports are going to be late, as I’m away for the weekend… how I managed to schedule that one, I do not know…
We have Andrew Castle, he of the tennis, and Nicky Slater in the studio… and Nicky is technobabbling about blades… they’re waffling about Plushy who is spinning like a good thing… he’s injured but still skating… stayed in after pressure from Russian fed, and he doubles over after the finish…not up to his usual self says Nicky, was pulling some of the jumps, working through the pain… talks about home fed putting pressure on him to stay in because of skating at home and the Olympics… Andrew is pretty but does not understand the politics involved, can’t fathom why a three time world champion would be pressured by his federation. Lambiel the best spinner asks Andrew… Nicky says he’s coming back from injury as we see him do the butt spin…thanks for that… he was the best today and we see him do the quad… and the triple lutz triple toe… King Arthur routine… brand new. Brian Joubert…please tell me he’s got a new costume…please… and no. It’s still the penis costume. *hangs head* And we see him fall there… Lambiel 20 points ahead of him on the overall mark, but that will get factored down… Nicky says Brian looking to win if Plushy not fit… we see the British guy John Hamar, who made it through to tomorrow night, fell apart in the middle a bit but started off well… Honda fell… oooooh that was nasty and he just lay there for a long long time… he popped the jump midair and just went …. Looked like a quad that just went down … was standing up afterwards, and Nicky tells me that it was indeed a quad he was doing… talks about hitting the right position at 15/20 miles per hour and doing four revs… Andrew talks about Michelle, what does she bring to the sport… Nicky says she’s looking for a 3/3 combo…was earliest woman to arrive here, came on Thursday… Andrew asks him about the Kerrs, who as we all know are coached by MamaNicky!
Fluff piece on the new scoring system… Chris thinks that there was some need for change but he misses the six… *moment of silence for the six* He thinks it’s bullet-proof from scandal perspective… with the anonymity and all… and interview with Jayne Torvill… when am I going to get to see some skating? We see clips of Bolero… she says she’s being a mother… a two and a half year old who keeps her busy… is involved in skating in different ways… keeps in contact with Chris, speak most days on the phone… see rumba from Euro 94, and another Jamie and David clip as we see the new scoring system… she agrees something special about seeing sixes… and we see the Olympic marks of 94… clip of the Kerrs… she’s only noticed them in the last couple of years, is great that they got top ten at euros last year… hopefully at worlds they can achieve top 15, she believes they can. A strong force for the future she calls them… back to Lillehamar 94… Jayne speaks of why she has no idea why no-one’s come through since them… Steven Cousins just missed getting bronze at one of the big events (Euros 96, since you wonder) and she thinks funding would help… she talks about the routines that they used to follow all the time… heard Kelly Holmes speaking and she was talking about how she was superstitious and how she always had to have everything right, had to set her things up a certain way, and Jayne used to be like that too…
Back to the studio…Nicky and Andrew… Nicky had some odd ways of doing things too…stuffed mascot that coach would hold as they skated around…
Skaters! Yay!
Julia Shapiro & Vadim Akolzin ISR
Missed.
Marylin Pla & Yannick Bonheur FRA
Missed.
Rena Inoue & John Baldwin Jnr
Missed, but Simon tells me later that they really set the cat among the pigeons, skated really amazingly well and he has them tipped for a podium place at the end of the night.
Diana Rennik & Aleksei Saks EST
Black pants for him, and blue shirt, with pretty blue dress for her… music is red hot… and there’s Simon Reed in the studio, with Chris Howarth… down the ice into the s/s 2flips… speeds along into the throw 3sal is a beauty… Chris says we’re seeing some magnificent throws today… lift is good… spirals facing one another into d/s with held skate entry… split 2twist is tiny… s/s spins camel to sit change sit not too bad on the unison there… lost it a smidge in the middle but they did well…no changes of edge notes Chris…spiral sequence… wherein she shows off her flexibility and Simon calls it wonderful… and into the pairs spins… nice and speedy in them… and done a little ahead of the music. Chris tells us that everyone in this opening group skated a blinder… looked to him like these two enjoyed themselves and he’s never seen them skate better… arena half full…
Marks TE 27.19 PC 16.34 for 43.53 and they’re 3rd.
Americans have 54.98 FRA 49.55 and ISR have 43.06. That’s the 1-4 so far.
Qing Pang & Jian Tong CHN
Red red dress for her, with pink trim on the skirt, and he’s in red pants with a white shirt and red collar. Shirt is more of a blouse if you know what I mean, and by now, you certainly should… both are 25. all I ask of you is the music… stare into one another’s eyes… and away they go, arms a flying… speed into the s/s triple toes and they land them clean… if a little out of synch… throw 3 loop that was huge, really well landed, and she’s got lovely landing extension… not sure of his tech, and wow! Look at the split 2twist… went on forever notes Simon…s/s spins are really out of synch and we see if from the overhead camera angle so we can’t see the they’re on the forward inside edge… grrr at the camera angle… and the lift goes to one hand and lots of changes of position… pairs spins… spiral sequence… not bad on the positions… some of the changes they’re literally flinging themselves into… and a lovely death spiral to finish. Very very good says Simon… and I can’t deny that, but there was something about it… very busy. Lots of everything inside in it, and they didn’t stop… Chris has question on the toes and the spins but overall thinks they might be ahead of Americans but it’s close… Americans did s/s 3lutz… tech spec called the lutz a double for the Americans… in which case we’re expecting these to be ahead… we see the b/I d/s again and Chris notes the position…and again the twist…wow…
Marks TE 35.05 PC 28.97 for 64.02 and a mile of lead. So much for that prediction, eh Simon?
Xue Shen & Hongbo Zhao CHN
Gorgeous pale peach dress for her, with sparkles along the back… wow, she looks amazing! He’s in navy trousers, shirt is peachy/brown at the shoulders, fade to grey to navy along it…he has a slight foot injury…did motions of triple toe in warm up but did not do it in the warm up, he was saving it Chris thought… that’s one to watch all right. And I’m not nervous. No. Not me. Clair de Lune the music… away they go… around the corner and along the ice…nice steps into the s/s triple toes… yes and he got it, with a lean but he got it… they both did. s/s spread eagles in the a lift that changes positions and goes to one hand and that was great… hug on the way out… steppy steps… and throw 3loop was perfect… and the flow of them…s/s flying camels and out of synch badly and getting worse… and you hear him calling the change but it just does no good… that’s not good at all. Split 2tiwst as wonderful as you’d expect… spirals… and she beams… nicely held… and into the pairs spins… and oooooh little bobbles coming off of that… and into the centre of the ice for the death spiral and why why why the sky cam? And lovely ending pose with a nice smile from her…and can I just say? If that’s what orthodontics do to a smile, I’ve just lost any reticence I might have had about getting mine done! Chris also caught the bobble on the spin… s/s triple toes weren’t landed as well as they could have done, he did lean forwards… see the loop from a different angle and she beams on the way out of that… and the split again looked amazing… Chris thought she’d delayed too long left it too late… he thinks there’s time for another turn in the throw…
Marks – this will be interesting – TE 34.72 PC 31.28 for 66.00 and a first place, thanks to the second mark.
Olga Boguslavska & Andrei Brovenko LAT
All in black, with red arm cuffs and a red ruff for her at the back… I’m thinking Carmen or something flamenco-y? She has red flowers in her hair also… and red sequins on her left hip… she will be 23 tomorrow… he’s 21 and the music is Carmen. Score one for me! Start back to back… and away we go… s/s 2loops to begin… and steppy steps … then around the corner, throw with long build up 3sal, and she took the whole rink to set that up… took forever. And looks to me like the foot might have touched, was very late… Split 2twist doesn’t look healthy… and move where she dips to the splits as they go around… more steps in crossovers to the lift which is two handed and stays in one position… and another move where he dips her… s/s spins camel to sit change sit and wow…dead level with one another, going to forward inside edge on the last… nice. Spirals and she seems to lose it a little on the first one, little stutter? Into the d/s and the skycam must die! And pairs spins… bit of travel in the middle, but they’re done right on the music. Not bad at all Simon calls it…and she looks knackered at the end. Were 17th last year… Chris says it was a big improvement for them, and notes that her jump tech isn’t great, free leg is very high and the throw, the free leg touched down. Score another for me!
Marks TE 25.95 PC 16.77 for 42.72 and 7 of 7.
Olga Bestandigova & Josef Bestandig SVK
He’s all in navy/black bodysuit, with the high neck and the hair in the ponytail… her hair is matching his, but she has the red red red extensions/dye in hers. Her dress is the same material as his, cut out at the back, with sparkly accents… around the cut out and on the skirt at the side. Chris notes before they come out that we’ve got this far and no-one’s missed a throw. Any fans of these? You now have my permission to kill him if they miss. Coached out of Texas by Craig Shephard, music is Christmas in Sarajevo… spirals to begin and him in a spread… and into the d/s from catch foot entry and me likes that very much… down the ice we go into the s/s 2axels and not done at the same time, his was singled, her landing off…eeek. Split is nicely done… and really nice position out of it from her… s/s camel spins to sit change sit nice and catch foot and lost it at the very end, she came out one rev earlier than he did… spiral sequence and can someone tell him to please lift his leg? He does have a nice spread eagle though… here’s the throw… 3 sal and she just held it, needed more knee bend Chris says… not well held on that… lift is going to one hand and down from one hand… into the pairs spins… nice speed in those and well centred… and they’re done. They look happy enough, and that wasn’t bad at all. No, he did do a double axel but landed on inside edge with weight out of the circle Chris tells me… and her landing wasn’t great… he tells them to get down in the knee more, and as he says it, the 3sal throw comes up to demonstrate his point… she was very pitched forwards on that… she’s rubbing her knee quite a bit… Chris thinks it’s from the final position where they were kneeling…and she mimes smiling, that’s cute.
Marks TE 25.69 PC 17.26 for 42.95 and 7 of 8 so far.
Break for the ice resurface as we go back to Andrew and Nicky. Nicky thinks that skating on home ice is an advantage to them…and can I just say? Nicky’s lopped off the locks, and the short hair looks well on him. Whoever told him/convinced him to do so? You are my new personal hero.
News notes - Honda has withdrawn after injuring his left ankle. Was attempting quad toe and came down awkwardly… Goebel, the pronunciation of which Andrew mangles, is also hurting we’re told… and after the break, Nicky explains the difference between pairs and ice dancing… I’m going to assume that most of you know the difference and rest my fingers. It’s going to be a long week, leading into next week with the videotape. Gawd, Andrew Castle knows nothing about skating. N.O.T.H.I.N.G. Nicky tells us that he got his head taken off him by Karen when he sat on her during a routine… said I’m going to rip his arms and legs off when I get him back to the hotel… and she said it on camera! We see Pang and Tong… Nicky wants to see the split twist… he points out the height… and the position of his hands when he catches her in the air… d/s also catches his eye. Nicky, I note, has the suit on, and the blue shirt and the natty tie… Nicky is looking quite the dapper dude. I’m sorry, I’m shallow, too much Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. We see the highlights of Shen and Zhao… and Nicky picks on the spin sequence, tells us that they need to get it right… Andrew wonders can it be rescued, Nicky says yes… talks about the call of the spin… and we could hear that over the TV… they should be able to control it he says.
Fluff piece with Nicky explaining the jumps and spins… and if we see him do a toe loop, I might just die on the spot! And he never leaves the ice when showing the set up… oh he’s so adorable. And that’s not sarcasm…I really mean that. And he gets Jenna to show us the triple toe… and Andrew says explain it to me again. He must thank the Lord every night for making him pretty, but I sure as hell never thought he was made so dumb before! Patience, he’s a skating newbie, this I know. Nicky takes us briefly through the rest of the jumps, resisting Andrew’s attempts to divert him along the road about why men must not wear tights… are they allowed back flips, Andrew asks? Nicky talks about the one foot rule and Surya... and he can’t remember who did the backflip first in competition, Nicky says Charlie Tickner, I’m screaming Terry Kubicka at the TV…
Tatiana Totmianina & Maxim Marinin RUS
Lovely aquamarine costume for her, matching blouse for him and navy trousers. Ave Maria is the music. She’s 23 he’s 28 next week… shimmery cross on her chest… death spiral with catch foot entry to begin… and steps around… spirals… nice positions and lines from both of them… catch foot spirals facing one another… and in the Y position… and around… eyes up the judges… crossovers… into the throw 3loop with room to spare… into the s/s triple toes… clean as a whistle… around the corner now… ready for the split which she does with her arms over her head… great catch. Lift… goes to one hand and down from one hand… flying camels with change to upright and lost it a little but got it back…and into the pairs spins… really nice and fast… don’t like the skycam for those… but beautiful is the word on Simon’s lips as they finish and I can’t find it in me to disagree with him. A lovely arrangement of Ave Maria… spin was right in front of the panel of judges… Chris praises the balance of the program… these two have this in a class of its own… all the replays that we’re seeing here are just perfection… and we see a clip of shen and zhao and she’s got her foot bandaged and iced… which is interesting as Simon and Chris keep on saying that it’s him who’s injured/hurting… Simon even says all credit to him for being able to keep it together…
Marks TE 37.44 she looks impressed! 32.68 PC which gives them 70.12 and a new PB for them.
Rumiana Spassova & Stanimir Todorov BUL
Oh, I remember these from Euros…the stage Oirish costumes… with the white puff sleeves and the green waistcoat for him, and the shiny white pants. And her with the ruffly white dress, with the green accent around the waist… their first worlds… she’s 16 he’s 22, with renaissance music…and I swear, it’s blue peter… so it could be sticky back plastic around her waist, I’m not sure… and around for the split and they fell out of that… she just couldn’t hold the landing and then he went on top of her… eek… and throw double loop… meant to be triple… couldn’t afford another fall… lift up and down with one hand… and along the ice we go into the s/s 2flips…and hers looked dodgy, very low… spirals into the death spiral… which we see from the sky cam… s/s camel spins to sit spin and change sit to shotgun as the music is what shall we do with the drunken sailor… spiral sequence… he dips her and we go back to blue peter… nice spiral position in back spiral from her but they really are skating through the music, not to it… and pairs spins are nowhere near in time to it, natalia death spin to end…horrendous fall near the beginning Simon says, and they did really well to come back from that… a performance of real character Simon says… Chris bangs the drum of this being a good lesson to young skaters; leave the mistake behind you, go on with the program – they went for easier elements to give themselves the option to regroups… and that could have been nasty… he put her down with her weight too far back and she caught her heel Chris says…
Marks TE 24.59 PC 16.37 for 39.96 and 10 of 10.
Tatiana Volosozhar & Stanislav Morozov UKR
Liking the costumes, all red and flame
coloured… wine pants for him with flamey effect on the top (I’m not typing
that, nor even thinking it) Her skirt is red, with the skirt cut to look like
flame, and her top is mesh of gold and red lines…sabre dance the music… steps
to begin with attitude to the music…and around and down the ice for the s/s
triple toes which both had to work on, not much flow but got it… speed into the
split which is huge! Caught well…Chris is speechless…and she touched down with
the free leg on the throw triple loop but that was amazing, she went for miles
along the ice… lift with difficult entry… and counter revolution in it as well…
nice… and death spiral is so low, her head is on the ice, with entry where she
ducks and his free leg goes over her head…s/s camel spins… change to sit change
sit and shotgun where they lost it a little at the end…steps in place before
spiral and look at her position! Spirals… not well held on any of the positions
I note…her in charlotte at one point…and into the pairs spins… lots of speed…
and they’re done right on the music. And that? Was impressive. They look
disappointed, but there were bits in there that I was very, very impressed by.
Entry to the lift was difficult, death spiral was amazing, Chris thinks that
the running edge on the toes could have been better, hand down on throw will
cost them… death spiral was incredible though.
Marks TE 32.36 and I hear whistles… 23.39 PC and they’re 4th with 55.75. 9 clear marks below the Chinese.
Dan Zhang & Hao Zhang CHN
Grey/black/sparkly outfits that look like the mesh inside s computer chip for her, and have white stripes on front as well, … his trousers and her skirt are both black… music is all alone by joe satriani… ah, kurt… she’s very tall. Or he’s very not. Either way, not much height differential. Spiral into the lift nicely done… along the ice and into the s/s 3sals where she leans like no-one’s business but it’s clean…combo spins s/s are great unison.. this is where the skycam actually works! Chris calls that the best sync out of all the Chinese teams this evening… throw 3loop with a lean, free leg looked low says Chris couldn’t see it from my angle… split is amazing, with amazing delay… the roar from that… nice spirals… kinda slow near to the end of that… and into the pairs spins right from it, no break for it… and he’s smiling as he spins her into a rather nifty death spiral… and ends with him kneeling and her leg draped over his shoulder… music ended a smidgen before they did… but that was also very good as Simon notes the high standard in the pairs’ short… Chris thinks the free leg touched on the throw, it was at the opposite end of the rink… as Simon snarks on his height “Everything’s a bit high up for you, isn’t it Chris?” – can’t see on that angle if it touched either…
Marks TE 35.85 PC 28.34 for 3rd place with 64.19 above Pang and Tong.
And instead of the warm up, we get the lads in the studio as Nicky tells Andrew how the Chinese learned skating, having people like him and Karen go over and show them how to do the moves, tape it etc and then learn… he talks about how helpful it is to have the three teams training together… Andrew talks about T&M – Nicky calls her an angel… quality of skating, smoothness and power makes them stand out, the lightness of touch… he used the words absolute perfection and excellence… praises how the program was put together, the balance of it… we see the Ukrainian’s death spin [sic Andrew] and Nicky tells us that it would be better to see it from the side because her head was actually on the ice… Nicky talks about the Zhangs waiting for the music at the end, and how choreographically he didn’t think that it worked…
And we’re back.
Kathryn Orscher & Garrett Lucash
Black dress for her with big mad cut out on
the back, and he’s in shiny black pants and a see through shirt… very biker
chic methinks. She’s got a leather cross on her back, with the circular studs
through it… and she’s got a dog collar on. 20 and 26, coached by Vadim Naumov,
and Gary Moore, still got the blues… I love this piece of music… and I see now
her outfit is dark blue… split is nice and I remember me now, they go the wrong
way around… s/s triple toes and he goes down… and I squeal oh no… spinny
thingys now… throw and down she goes on the triple flip…oh dear. And she looks
devastated. Lift looks slow and not a little dangerous… along the ice into the
spirals… she’s got a lovely extension… and into the pairs spins right form
that… nicely done… out of those and into the death spiral with catch foot entry
and that’s a great position…s/s spins to finish… camel to sit change sit and
good unison… and they’re done. Oh. Dear.
Marks TE 25.58 PC 21.35 for 44.93 with ded of 2.0 8th at the moment.
Dorota Zagorska & Mariusz Siudek POL
Blue pants for him, with shirt of varying shades of blue green and wine, similar colours in her dress, un home et son peche is the music… start with him facing away from her... skate to one another… lots of attitude… and she’s grinning… in for the throw 3sal with a lean but she gets it… nice. Down the ice in steps for the s/s triple toes… and they get it, his hand just about stayed off… they never start them in sync Simon, don’t you know that by now???? s/s spins are off kilter and badly so… and it takes forever to get it back and even then they do and promptly lose it… into the pairs spins which have lots of speed and she’s beaming right the way through this… I have never seen her smile so much. Nice speed in the spins as well… steps and then the split 2twist with a nice catch… spirals, and his position is rotten…hers is better… and she goes under his legs and then up into the air for a lovely lift with myriad changes of position… and d/s with two handed entry going to one... and finish bang on the music and that? Was lovely. She’s thrilled… and he claps her…she had shoulder injury… didn’t compete at Euros… and a little kiss coming off the ice…and I note that there’s a big ass wet patch of ice near one of the barriers… she just looks so happy! Chris even comments on the smile from start to finish… he questions the balance of the program, all the big elements over at the beginning of the program…
Marks TE 34.25 PC 25.77 for 60.02, they’re 5th.
Julia Obertas & Sergei Slavnov RUS
Still with the bright yellow dress for her… and the matching coloured top and the orange pants for him…she must really really hate him. And listen to the roar for these two! Little orange flowers on her skirt and bodice… Russian gypsy music…Simon says they’ve been great in practice… steppy steps to begin… crowd are clapping away… 3toes are ok… hers was quite low and they weren’t quite in synch… throw 3 flip and she did well… not much height… lots of speed on the way out and around… split is high and really well caught, at knee level to him… spirals back… and I like not close ups during spirals! Not so fond of the director thus far…s/s flying spins camels to sit to upright getting close to one another change sit to upright and they really lose it there at the end… lift nice change of position to her, and change of rotation halfway through… into the d/s nice position and then into the pairs spins… nice and speedy… and change position… and they’re done. The crowd roar approval… and she looks happy enough with that… Chris would hate to be a judge, thinks they’ll split the Chinese, either at 3rd or 4th, he’s not sure… the spin could really really cost them… lost it only on the last part… but throw triple flip will help them. She had to work hard he notes on the landing… lift looked a little shaky on the change of rotation, but they pulled it off well…
Marks TE 33.31 and there are boos… PC 27.83 which puts them 61.14 and they’re 5th … they didn’t split the Chinese. And the crowd are not happy with that at all.
Marina Aganina & Artem Knyazev UZB
OK, speaking of men whose partners hate them? Dude, this guy must have really got on someone’s bad side! Either that or he’s looking for me to shout for them by wearing the Irish colours! Seriously. Green trousers. White shirt. Orange waistcoat. And she is, of course, in red. There are no words to tell you how she clashes with the orange of him. Her dress isn’t bad. His outfit is. But in no world do they go together. None. Not this or any other. And she has cuffs on her wrist going up to her elbow... with white ribbons…and she’s actually in raspberry rather than red… yeah, changing my mind on the whole costume not being bad thing. La bayadere is the music… s/s 2ax to begin, she couldn’t hold the landing and turned out of it, and his was dodgy too… throw 2ax with lean and she really had to force that free leg out… split double twist is tiny and looked like she landed on his foot.. he nearly said ouch. Spiral sequence… which is more than a little slow looking… and not very elegant in places. s/s spins flying camels which are miles apart and out of kilter when they go to upright and worse again when they go to sit spins… lines were bad notes Chris as well… and lift looks scary and is when she almost falls out of it… and death spiral is nicely done, with nice arch in the back… pairs spin is good, if a little slow…and they’re done miles ahead of the music. Tough performance for them Chris calls it… you think? She tried to sell it, he notes, and Chris has her a quarter turn short in the 2ax… he doesn’t have great lines Chris says… and we see that lift again and the drop out of it and that could have been nasty…
Marks TE 28.66 and there are whistles… 15.78 for 44.44 and they are 11 of 11 thus far.
Break for an ice resurface. During which Andrew, bless him, tries to figure out what a generation is in figure skating, whereas Nicky thinks of it in terms of Olympics… bless the man, he is trying to understand… he talks about ten years ago, in terms of technology and technical demand… Nicky thinks that in ice dance the new system of marking has revolutionised the need for tech… Andrew wants to know does the casual viewer notice that? He says it’s wonderful to have Simon on the commentary where he knows when to be quiet when it’s a thing of beauty… Nicky thinks that the skating should speak with the music… people say to him “I don’t know much about it, but I really like them” because the whole thing moves them… Andrew was moved by Julia (which he mangles by saying Hoo-lia) – Nicky calls her a little star. Which I’m sure she is. He says Moskvina reminds him of his mum… missing to him was the power and the strength of the Chinese…
Emails… someone wants to know the most upsetting accident ever seen in competition… and we see the fall from the Bulgarians again… Nicky namechecks T&M at Skate America last year… they were on Oprah and Ellen Andrew says… Nicky talks about Tonya and Nancy… T&M said that they could win worlds and not get that kind of attention, which is why Nicky brings it up again, something extraordinary happening to get the interest up… America is doing ok in the skating at the moment says Nicky, tours not going wall to wall and running as much as they were, arenas not as full… where is my Gwendal, I want to know? Because lord knows, I love Andrew Castle, and Nicky’s great and all, but Gwendal… and the pretty… *sniff*
Utako Wakamatsu & Jean Sebastien Fecteau CAN
Pale blue dress for her, darker shades of blue for him, with not a few sequins going on there… shirt is darker blue than hers, and his trousers are darker again…there’s a lot of blue in this group, it must be said. He’s got wingy cuffs on his sleeve... yeah, not so sure about his shirt. I’d cut about an inch off the end, at least… swan from the carnival of the animals… which Simon calls swan lake… s/s triple toes are clean… different entries into that, but they pulled it off and why do we see the coaches clapping? Throw 3sals with hands down… and I think she did, the lads seem to think not… lunges into the split 2twist and that was nicely caught… this is going well… spirals facing one another in y position, moving legs back… and lift your leg in that spiral man! Lift! Shoot the ducks facing one another… pair spins… nicely positioned… and also on the change… and a natalia death spin… into s/s camels to sit to upright and lost it near the change but got it back again… he was travelling all over the place… Chris commends him for getting it back… and spiral… lift where she goes into split position with flip out…. And into the death spiral… nice position from her…and they are done. And that was gorgeous, where’s my Canadian flag till I wave it? I really enjoyed that… but I want to see the throw again! Chris calls her a gutsy little skater… did her hand go down? ‘twas low, but it might just have stayed off… and she beamed through it as well… Chris calls what I called a shoot the duck the teapot position… we see the lift again, and Chris liked that, also the d/s…
Marks TE 33.07 PC 24.12 for 57.19 and they’re in 7th. They’re happy. Good judging Chris calls that.
Aliona Savchenko & Robin Szolkowy GER
Pale lilac dress for her that is just beautiful… and he’s in a deeper blue blouse with a silver star radiating out of the back, and darker trousers again… their first worlds, she’s 21, he’s 25, Ingo is the coach… nice piano music… away we go… in for the jumps… s/s triple toes and they were clean… split double twist which is lateral… and so high… spiral with him in almost ina bauer and into the throw triple sal… and she nailed it, entry out of nowhere. Death spiral is lovely… she beams as they go into the lift… goes to one hand… and out… into the s/s flying camels to sit with good unison and change where they lose it to shotgun and change… lose it on the change as well… get it towards the end… and into pairs spins… sits facing one another… change again into her in spiral position… and out… over the corner and into spirals and he’s got a nice one… and I note a sparkle on his legs to match to one on his chest… and spirals to end… and he pushes her away…and they’re done. And there’s a roar when that’s done… and Simon, I feel, is in love. Chris’s hat is off to Ingo. Construction of the program was brilliant he thinks… combo spin, they have to slow it down and speed it back up again, whatever way he has it going, nice change of edge on the spiral sequence, Ingo has studied the rule book and worked it… very elegant, very polished…used to skate with Stanislav Morozov she did… was world junior champion she was with him… Simon wonders will they duplicate what Ingo and Mandy did *snicker* Could the German federation stand another Mandy and Ingo… and hey, I adored them, but I remember what it was like to be a fan of theirs!
Marks TE 33.85 PC 24.89 and Simon’s miffed… 58.74 for 7th – very close he says, from 9 to 2.
Valerie Marcoux & Craig Buntin CAN
Cerise pink sparkles on her dress, and he’s all in black with matching colour on the tips of the collar and the cuffs of his sleeve. And can I just say? He’s got a jaw that could chip rocks. That’s a Bold and the Beautiful jawline right there. She vamps to begin,,, fever the music… he’s got a groin problem hasn’t been bale to train for more than 30 mins each day… s/s triple toes… and he has to turn out of his, hers is fine… lift is nice… goes to one hand and helicopter position with flip out.. spiral… nice position from him… on both feet. Little slow towards the end? And dance away they go… into the s/s flying camels and change to sit change camel to sit to upright and that’s not bad unison wise… could hear him call the change and this is jump jive and wail… dancing along the ice… split 2twist is huge wand well caught…pairs spin… nice and fast… also after the change… more steps… around the corner and down centre ice.. throw and they looked to get that all wrong but landed it…throw triple loop and into death spiral which is nifty and they’re done. Gutsy says Simon… not quite as good as other Canadians… not much height on the throw triple loop, but good that it was at the end… and he was leaning all over the toe… great split… good ice coverage notes Chris, as was the speed along the ice, bit over the toe in the loop at the end… Chris wonders were they short on the b/o d/s?
Marks TE 31.14 PC 24.80 for 55.94, they are in 9th with one to go. Just behind the other Canadians.
Maria Petrova & Alexei Tikhonov RUS
He’s in dark colour, black or almost black, with quite a bit of chest on display… she’s in blue… bit heavy handed with the blusher…and her hair is helmet like. They take their time before they come out, and well they might… music is tango. Drummy tango it is too… s/s triple toes to begin and they’re clean… and her hair, I note, despite appearances, is moving. Wow. Split 2twist… nice leg position in the landing from her… throw triple loop and she gets that… with room to spare… dips her in tango hold on the way out… lift goes to one hand and on her side, with rotational exit… gutsy.. flying camels s/s to sit and change sit to upright, dead speedy no loss of speed and no loss of unison either. Ten out of ten. Around the ice for the spirals… back spiral where I beg of him to point his foot! And lift your leg! And cover your chest! Sorry… d/s is nice…lots of speed again… plenty of power on display here… pairs spins… and stop. And that? Was well done. I didn’t actually like it, but they skated it very well. Chris hasn’t got a clue where they’re going to put it; it’s very close at the top… he’s sure this will shake the Chinese up… change edges of the spiral, difficult in and out of death spiral… didn’t put a foot wrong he reckons… T&M had the mistake on the spins, these didn’t make a mistake, but Chris would have the second mark higher on the other two… Alexei apparently walking to K&C with arms aloft…Chris reminds us that it’s the best we’ve seen them skate recently… and I cannot disagree with him. But will they get the marks for it?
Marks TE 36.91 PC 30.03 which has them… 2nd. With 66.94 …and how the crowd roar. And that I was not expecting, but that I cannot disagree with.
Chris is already looking forward to the free program, as am I…
And we go back to the studio… Nicky thinks it’s the best short he’s ever seen at a worlds…spins going awry he marks… odd he thinks… winners were right he says… maria and Alexei really made the most of it… he thought they’d go into third… spins were costly for the Chinese… Andrew notes the speed around the ice… can’t see that on the TV. How many pairs, asks Andrew, in with a chance of winning? Nicky says the judges aren’t using the marks as much as they could… could make it very open, they’re just not.
They talk about tomorrow and the compulsory dances… we see the Kerrs, and they promise us interviews with them… Andrew wonders about top dozen, which Nicky says would be good, top ten would be amazing.
Men’s short tomorrow evening… John Hamar is in… was looking at the top 20, he’s using freedom blades…most charismatic male skater of this time Andrew wonders? Nicky says Lambiel is on fire… Plushy has to pull it out, Nicky wouldn’t be surprised if he pulls out… might not continue with the injury.
And that’s us until four o’clock tomorrow afternoon.