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2007 NHK Trophy - Figure Skating HighlightsOriginal Dance, Pairs Long, and Ladies ShortNov 30, 2007
The NHK Trophy continued with the Original Dance, the Pairs Long Program, and the Ladies Short Program. Ice Dance (Original Dance)Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder maintained their overnight lead despite a second place finish in the Original Dance (OD). Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are second overall, followed by Jana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski of Russia. Virtue and Moir delivered a strong performance to "Kalinka", receiving a level four and positive Grades of Execution (GoE) on all elements. Their routine was highlighted by matching twizzles during the midline sequence, an elaborate circular step sequence, and two difficult lifts. The Canadian silver medalists earned a new personal best of 62.04 (33.60/28.44) points, but with a total score of 96.71 points, remain in second overall. "It definitely felt better than at Skate Canada," said Virtue. "We definitely had more energy. It was more fun because we felt the connection a little bit more. We're very happy with it." Performing to a Gavotte (a French country dance), Delobel and Schoenfelder opened with a strong midline twizzle sequence, non-touching midline step sequence, and a unique straightline lift in which they incorporated the use of props. The European champions also produced a level four rotational lift, however, their dance spin was short on revolutions and was only graded a level two. "I think we were able to show the character of the dance," said Schoenfelder. "This music is from the French west coast, the Bretagne (Brittany). The man I play wants to marry Isabelle, but she doesn't agree right away. She first wants to test the man and we dance together. At the end of the dance, she agrees to marry him." The French champions placed second in the OD with 61.67 (31.10/30.57) points (matched their personal best from 2003 Skate America), but with a total score of 100.63 points, were able to maintain their overnight lead. "We felt very confident today in our performance," said Schoenfelder. "I know we still have to work on our technical elements. To receive a higher level for the spin and the circular step sequence, we have to skate cleaner and show deeper edges." Khokhlova and Novitski also earned a level four on all elements in their, but they received a deduction for an extended lift. Their Russian gypsy dance to Two Guitars routine was highlighted by a difficult straightline and rotational lift, as well as a very good combination dance spin (+.80 GoE). The Russian silver medalists placed third in the OD with 57.84 ( 31.80/24.04) points, and with a total score of 92.07 points, remain in third overall. "We are pleased with our performance today," said Khokhlova. "We picked the Russian music because it is passionate and shows the love between a man and a woman. This kind of music is close to our soul." Sinead Kerr and John Kerr of Great Britain placed fourth in the OD with a new personal best of 54.47 (29.70/24.77) with their Scottish dance. The brother-and-sister team earned a level four for all elements except for a level three circular step sequence, but received a -0.10 GOE on their final rotational lift. They are currently fourth overall with 86.26 points. Kristin Fraser and Igor Lukanin of Azerbaijan are in sixth place overall (81.11 points), followed by USA's Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommentre (77.28 points). Pairs (Long Program)Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany maintained their overnight lead after the long program, winning the gold with more than 24 points total. USA's Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker rose from fourth to capture the silver, while Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison of Canada won the bronze. Savchenko and Szolkowy, who are competing in their third grand prix event this season, scored a seasonal best of 120.32 (58.64/61.68) points in their long program to L'Oiseau by René Dupéré. The German champions opened with a solid throw triple flip which earned the team +1.12 GoEs. They followed up with a side-by-side triple toeloop-double Axel sequence, a level two triple twist, and a level four lift. Once again, however, they experienced problems on their side-by-side triple Salchows when Szolkowy stumbled on his landing. Savchenko also popped a throw triple Salchow - their final element. "It is just a second and then it's gone," explained Savchenko of the popped throw jump. "I did a mistake," added Szolkowy. "I was too fast (early). This is something I need to improve for the next competition." The 2007 Skate Canada champions otherwise produced two more level four lifts, a level four spiral sequence, and a level three straightline footwork sequence - all of which received positive GoEs. With a total score 190.64 points, the team easily distanced themselves from the rest of the competitors to win the gold. McLaughlin and Brubaker placed second in the long with a new personal best of 110.82 (60.18/50.64) points, finishing second overall with a total score of 166.48 points. "It was one of our best skates this year," said Brubaker, "but that's what we train for every day. Today we found ourselves in kind of a different place for the long program. We learned a lot from [Cup of China]. Today we just went out and did what we do in practice every day and it kind of fell into place." The U.S. Junior champions opened with a solid level one triple twist, but then McLaughlin put her hand down on the landing of a throw triple Salchow. The team also struggled with their landings on the side-by-side double Axels, but recovered to land side-by-side triple Salchow-double toeloops and a clean throw triple loop. "Our goal at the beginning of the season was to make the Final," said Brubaker. "We knew we were coming up against some great teams, so coming here, our goal was to stay in the top four to ensure a slot." Dube and Davison, who are also competing in their third grand prix event, earned 102.05 (53.17/50.88) points for their routine to an instrumental version of Blowers Daughter by Damien Rice. The 2007 Skate America champions opened with a level two double twist, but then Davison popped his second jump o a side-by-side double Axel-double Axel sequence. Dube later fell on her jump on the side-by-side triple Salchows, as well as a throw triple Lutz. Despite the mistakes, the Canadian champions otherwise produced a throw triple loop, three level four lifts, a level four spiral sequence, and two level four spins. "Competition is what we do," said Davison when asked about competing in non-scoring event. "It's not necessarily the points (for the Grand Prix standings) that motivate [us] the most. We love to come to Japan. Even if it's a non-scoring event, it's a good opportunity to go out and try a few new things before the Final." Ukrainians Tatiana Volosozhar and Stanislav Morozov, who stood in second after the short, placed fifth in the long (90.67 points), and slipped to fourth overall (150.81 points). The team struggled throughout their program, making mistakes on all their jump elements (including both throws), as well as aborting their final lift. Teammates Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay placed fourth in the long with 91.09 points, but with a total score of 145.33 points, remained in fifth overall. All three medalists from this event have qualified for the Grand Prix Final (GPF) which will be held Dec. 13-16, 2007, in Torino, Italy. They will compete against China's Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang, Qing Pang and Jian Tong, and Russia's Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smirnov. Should one of the top six pair teams withdraw, Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov of Russia are currently next in line to fill the slot. Ladies (Short Program)The Ladies Short Program proved to be a tight competition with only 3 points separating the first and fourth place skater. Carolina Kostner of Italy is currently in first, followed by Japan's Miki Ando and Switzerland's Sarah Meier, respectively. Kostner stepped out of the landing of a triple Lutz in her routine to Riders on the Storm, but otherwise delivered a triple flip-triple toeloop combination and double Axel. The Italian champion, who earned 61.24 (32.84/28.40) points, was awarded a level four for her spiral sequence and both spins, as well as positive GoEs for her level three straightline footwork sequence. The 20-year-old was pleased with her performance. "I know I had some small mistakes," said Kostner, "[but] tomorrow is another chance to make it better. I didn't expect to be in first place. I hope I can keep it and improve on my placement from [Cup of China]." Ando is close on her heels with 60.52 (30.84/29.68) points after her performance to Samson and Delilah by Saint-Saens. The current World champion opened with a triple Lutz-double loop combination, followed by a triple flip and a double Axel. While she was awarded a level four for her final combination spin, the 19-year-old almost lost her balance on a spiral sequence which was subsequently graded a level one. The Japanese silver medalist admitted to having timing problems with her triple Lutz, explaining the reason for her opening triple-double combination. "My coach (Nikolai Morozov) and I decided after the warm-up not to go for the triple-triple combination," explained Ando, "but for a triple-double to have a clean program. For the free skate, I want to do my triple-triple combination and my double Axel-triple toeloop combination." Meier sits in third with a seasonal bet of 59.16 (31.40/27.76) points. The Swiss champion opened her Patch Adams routine with a solid triple Lutz-double toeloop, but her triple flip was was penalized for use of the wrong take-off edge. She otherwise landed a double Axel, received a level four for her spiral sequence, and was awarded a level three for two of her spins and straightline footwork. "I felt shaky before competing," confessed Meier, "but I am happy that I did a clean program. Tomorrow I hope to give 200 percent in the Free Skating, and I want to improve from my last competition (Trophée Eric Bompard)." The 23-year-old added that she had made a lot of changes in her program since Trophée Eric Bompard two weeks ago. "I was disappointed with some of the levels for my elements [at Trophée Eric Bompard]," explained Meier. "My sit spin was a level zero, now I changed to a camel spin and I try to improve the sit position in my combination spin. I also changed from a circular to a straightline step sequence, and I still need some time to become more comfortable with the program." USA's Alissa Czisny was also penalized for using the wrong take-off edge on her triple flip, but otherwise executed a triple Lutz-double toeloop, a double Axel, and received a level four on on all elements except for her level three straightline footwork. The U.S. bronze medalist currently sits in a close fourth with 58.24 (32.80/25.44) points, and received the second highest Total Element score of the evening. Nana Takeda of Japan is in fifth with a new personal best of 55.06 (31.70/23.36) points after her routine to Tanguera by M. Mores. The 18-year-old produced a triple toeloop, a triple loop-double toeloop combination, and a double Axle. She also received a level four on all elements except for a level three straightline footwork sequence. Finland's Laura Lepistö is in sixth place with 54.48 (31.00/23.48) points. The 2007 Nordics silver medalist delivered a triple toeloop-double toeloop combination, a triple loop, and a double Axel, however, only one of her spins received a level four. The event continues with the Men's Short Program, the Free Dance, and the Ladies Long Program. |
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