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2007-08 Grand Prix Final of Figure Skating - HighlightsOriginal Dance and Men's, Ladies, & Pairs Short ProgramsDec 14, 2007
The ISU Grand Prix series concluded with the 2007-08 Grand Prix Final of Figure Skating in Torino, Italy from Dec. 14-16. It's the first time this event is being held in a country that did not organize one of the qualifying events. The six qualifying events began with Skate America in Oct and ended two weeks ago with the NHK Trophy in Japan. Approximately 197 skaters/teams competed throughout the Grand Prix circuit with only the top 36 skaters/teams qualifying for the Final. The top athletes are now competing for points and prize money equaling $272,000 U.S. dollars. The competition kicked off on Dec. 14 with the Original Dance and the Men's, Ladies', and Pairs Short Programs. Ice Dance (Original Dance)The Original Dance (OD) for the 2007-08 season is the Folk/Country Dance in which teams can select their routine from a variety of different dances from North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. USA's Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto placed first in the OD, followed by France's Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder of France and Russia's Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin, respectively. The first and fourth place teams are currently separated by a mere 2.5 points. Belbin and Agosto engaged the audience with their "Appalachian Hoedown" routine in which all elements received positive Grades of Execution (GOE) and were awarded a level four. It was also evident that the 2006 Olympic silver medalists had made some changes in their music. "We switched out the first piece and lengthened the Cotton Eyed Joe part a bit," Belbin later explained. "We felt it connected better with the audience." While displaying smooth footwork throughout, the team produced a combination dance spin, a curve lift, and a rotational lift. Their upbeat circular step sequence received +1.60 GOE and the two-time and current World bronze medalists were awarded a new seasonal best of 63.64 (33.50/30.14) points. Though they were happy with their placement, the U.S. champions had mixed feelings about their performance. "We didn't yet give our maximum," confessed Belbin. Delobel and Schoenfelder also received positive GOEs on all their elements, however, their circular step sequence received a level three while all others were awarded a level four. Their French country dance featured an interesting straightline lift in which Schoenfelder supported his partner by the waist with a piece of cloth while she stood on one of his skates with one blade. The European champions were awarded a new personal best of 63.29 (32.80/30.49) points. They also received the highest program component score for the OD. "Currently we are in second place and tomorrow we'll do a good Free Dance," said Delobel. "The suspense is going to be high." Schoenfelder added: "For us, it's the third time here in Turin. The audience is fantastic and skating on this ice is a good feeling." Domnina and Maxim Shabalin delivered a strong performance to Boys, Unharness The Horses! which featured a very good circular step sequence (+1.40 GOE) as well as two difficult lifts and dance spin. The 2007 European silver medalists earned a level four on all elements except for a level three midline step sequence in which Domnina lost her balance a bit at the end. "It shouldn't affect the level of the element," Domnina later explained. "Only the grade of execution given by the judges as I didn't put my second foot down. Maybe the technical specialists decided that our steps were principally a level three, but this is hard for me to tell." The Russian champions were awarded 62.31 (32.20/30.11) points for a third place finish. Domnina was also happy to return to Torino where the team competed and placed ninth in the 2006 Winter Olympics. "It feels like we've been here yesterday," said Domnina. "When I came into the rink, I saw everything before my eyes like it was. We have very vivid and positive memories of this event." Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada are currently in fourth with 61.14 (32.30/28.94) points. The two-time and current Four Continents bronze medalists were awarded positive GOEs and a level four on all elements, and are currently less than two points behind the Russians. Russia's Jana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski earned a new personal best 58.30 (31.40/26.90) points for their routine to Two Guitars which featured a very good level four circular step sequence (+1.00 GOE). Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France produced an expressive Spanish flamenco and are currently in sixth with 57.73 points. Men (Short Program)Daisuke Takahashi of Japan placed first in the Men's Short Program, followed by closely by Switzerland's Stephane Lambiel. USA's Evan Lysacek and teammate Johnny Weir are currently in third and fourth place, respectively. Skating last, Takahashi drew in the audience with his routine to a hip-hop version of Swan Lake which featured very good spins and expressive footwork throughout. The current World silver medalist also executed spectacular jumps which included a triple flip-triple toeloop combination, a triple Axel, and a triple Lutz - all of which received high GOEs. The Japanese champion, who earned the highest Program Component Score in the men's field, placed first with 84.20 (44.50/39.70) points “Today all jumps were no problem for me," acknowledged the 21-year-old, "but I was using too much energy before my circular step sequence. Also the [final] spin maybe didn't have enough revolutions. There is still some things to work on." Lambiel earned a new personal best 83.80 (44.90/38.90) points, besting his score from this event two years ago, after delivering an expressive tango. The Swiss champion also earned the highest technical element score in the men's short. The 2006 Olympic silver medalist finally produced his first triple Axel of the season, as well as quadruple toeloop-triple toeloop combination, but struggled with the landing of a triple Lutz. He also had a slight stumble during a level three circular footwork sequence, but received a level four on all three spins. "I did my best and I'm satisfied," said the 22-year-old, "but tomorrow I will do better. I have good feelings for my free program." Lysacek delivered a very good performance with his "Zorro" routine, but two-footed and turned out the landing of his first jump in a quadruple toeloop-triple toeloop combination. The U.S. champion otherwise produced a triple Axel and a triple Lutz as well as good spins and footwork to earn 79.70 (42.90/36.80) points for a third place finish. "I was set to go for higher difficulty," the 22-year-old later explained, "so I'm proud of that. Maybe it wasn't perfect right now, but I'm happy that I got through and I got some really good elements. Obviously the quad is the most difficult element and it's coming first, so being able to have a bobble or whatever and to be able to do the rest is what I'm training." Teammate Weir fell on a triple Axel but otherwise produced a triple Lutz-triple toeloop combination and a triple flip in his routine to Yunona and Avos by Alexei Rybnikov. The U.S. bronze medalist also received a level four on all three spins and earned 74.80 (39.00/36.80) points for a fourth place finish. Kevin Van der Perren of Belgium sits in fifth with a new personal best of 72.83 (40.58/32.25) points. The current European bronze medalist landed a quadruple toeloop-triple toeloop combination and a triple Axel, but his triple Lutz was a bit shaky and both footwork sequences were only awarded a level two. Canada's Patrick Chan landed a good triple Axel and triple Lutz, but stepped out of the landing of his second jump in a triple flip-triple toeloop combination. He is currently sixth with 68.86 (36.06/32.80) points. Ladies (Short Program)Yu-Na Kim of South Korea placed first in the Ladies' Short Program followed by USA's Caroline Zhang and Italy's Carolina Kostner, respectively. Kim overcame a rough start after putting her hand down on her opening triple flip before adding a single toeloop. "I wasn't nervous," Kim later explained, "but I missed the timing for the take off a little bit. I still should have done at least a double toe." The defending champion otherwise produced a triple Lutz and double Axel as well as three excellent spins. All her elements were awarded a level four except for a very good level three straightline footwork sequence, and the 2007 World bronze medalist earned 64.62 (34.90/29.72) points for a first place finish. I think this was the worst performance of the season," said the 17-year-old, "but I got my best score of the season. Now I just want to forget about this short program and I want to do my triple flip-triple toe tomorrow." Zhang had no problem with her triple flip-triple toeloop combination, but the U.S. Junior silver medalist was penalized for using the wrong take-off edge on her triple Lutz. Despite the error, she also produced a double Axel as well as three level four spins to earn a new personal best of 61.82 (36.50/25.32) points. "To be in the Final here in Turin is a big surprise for me," said the 14-year-old. "It's the first time for me to compete at the (senior) Grand Prix. I'm very satisfied with my short program and tomorrow I will do my best." Kostner landed a triple flip-triple toeloop combination and a triple Lutz, but popped her double Axel. The Italian champion otherwise delivered a level four spiral sequence and flying sit spin as well as a very good level three straightline footwork sequence. She is currently third with 59.86 (32.26/27.60) points. "The problem of the double Axel was a lack of concentration," explained the 20-year-old, "but it's not such a big mistake. For tomorrow, the most important thing is to be calm and to focus on the jumps." Yukari Nakano of Japan is currently in fourth with 59.78 (32.50/27.28) points. The 22-year-old was also penalized on using the wrong take-off edge on her triple flip in combination with a double toeloop. She otherwise landed a triple Lutz and double Axel. USA's Kimmie Meissner was also penalized for using the wrong take-off edge on her triple flip. The 2007 Four Continents champion also underroated her second jump in a triple Lutz-triple toeloop combination, but otherwise produced a double Axel and two level four spins. She is currently fifth with 59.08 (30.40/28.68) points. Japan's Mao Asada is in sixth place with 59.04 (31.00/28.04) points. The 2007 World silver medalist put her hand down and nearly fell on the second jump of a triple flip-triple toeloop combination. She otherwise produced two level four spins and a very good level three straightline footwork sequence. Pairs (Short Program)Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany are the currently leaders after the Pairs Short Program, while China's Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang and Qing Pang and Jian Tong are in second and third place, respectively. Savchenko and Szolkowy delivered a nearly flawless routine to music from the Asoka soundtrack, but Savchenko two-footed the landing of a throw triple flip. The team recovered and went on to produce a triple twist, good side-by-side triple toeloops, and a level four combination pair spin. The German champions also executed a difficult one-arm Axel lift and an innovative level three straightline footwork sequence, earning a new personal best of 72.14 (40.46/31.68) points. "It was one of the best short programs in competition this season," said Szolkowy. "We didn't expect this. We made a mistake which means that there are still some more points out there." Zhang and Zhang are in a close second with 71.40 (41.16/30.24) points. The 2006 Olympic silver medalists produced a huge lateral triple twist, a throw triple loop, and side-by-side triple Salchows. The team also executed a difficult level four lift which received a +2.00 GOE, as well as two level four spins, but their backward-inside death spiral only received a level one. "It was not a bad performance for us," said Hao Zhang. "Our death spiral was only a level one, but the rest was quite good." Teammates Pang and Tong are currently in third with 66.68 (37.60/29.08) points. The Chinese champions produced side-by-side triple toeloops, a high lateral triple twist, a very good throw triple loop, and a difficult lift. They also received a level three on their death spiral and two spins. "It was a so-so performance," said Tong. "We changed the circular step sequence and the order of our elements. The order of the elements is very important as they have to go with the music." Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison of Canada placed fourth with 57.06 (29.78/27.28) points. The team nailed their opening side-by-side triple Salchows and triple twist, but they aborted their Axel lift. The Canadian champions otherwise earned a level four on both spins, as well as a level three on their straightline footwork and death spiral. USA's Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker are in fifth place with 55.24 (29.92/25.32) points. The current World Junior champions also received a level four on their spins a, but McLaughlin singled her jump in the side-by-side triple Salchows and two-footed the landing of a throw triple loop. Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smirnov of Russia are in sixth place with 51.74 (27.46/26.28) points. The team received a two point deduction on an Axel lift (which was later deemed an illegal element) when Smirnov performed four rotations instead of three. The event continues with the Free Dance and the Men's, Ladies, and Pairs Free Skate. |
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