- Joined
- Mar 21, 2018
Agreed, but not domestically. Internationally, it goes either way with the edge probably going to Paniot.
Paniot : I never really paid much attention to Paniot as I always thought his layouts were too ambitious for him. Well, he has my full attention now. That was the only Elvis program that didn’t cause second-hand embarrassment. But this is the sort of program that must be skated clean. The awesome 30-second choreo sequence is the very last element; he won’t be able to pull it off if he’s upset about errors made earlier in the program. He’s a great skater and obviously has lots of personality, but he needs to show that earlier in the program. Otherwise, he did a fantastic job. He was the only guy that landed all his quads cleanly (three of them). And his name is now in the cup. Too bad there wasn’t a crowd. Audience would have been going nuts and he would gotten a standing O.
Naumov : He had the skate of the day for me. Most guys would skate through that music as if they don’t have ears, but he most certainly did not. Even his spins were timed to the music. But it wasn’t just the musicality. Dude was fierce and he skated his program like he had something to say. A top five finish and straight out of juniors!
Krasnozhon : I’ve always said that Krasnozhon skates his best when he’s under pressure. I know this, but I was still about ready to vomit when he took to the ice. He landed everything and that was actually the best he ever performed a free skate. He even shouted after his final jumping pass and the choreo sequence was even more fiery than it already was. But his spins still look as if they’ve been beaten with an ugly stick and he completely ditched his step sequence! Dude. But yeah, I’m super happy that he had a redemption skate!!!!
Paniot and Naumov especially out-performed and outskated the podium.
Chen was Chen. I think his free skate is the best he’s ever had; it’s certainly the first I’ve ever liked. (I never like his free programs, only his shorts.) They’re some beautiful moments, but there’s also a lot of emptiness. I don’t believe it’s because of the current times; his free skates are always this way for me. I think the difference is that there’s more beauty than emptiness this time around.
Zhou : Zhou was closer to Chen than I think they both probably realize and he’s improved majorly. On everything. Performance. Skating. Everything. It’s very recognizable, yet there’s always something missing. He’s definitely put in some work, but there’s still something blank about him.
Brown : His free program is snoozy and I do not like the music. The difference in quality between it and the short is jarring! He was way too cautious and it showed.
I agree with the poster that said the penultimate group was terrible. Despite that, though, this was probably still the best mens event of the year.
....Actually, yeah it was. I watched two other Nationals and nearly the entire men’s field were UNSAT in one and the other had only two performances that I even remember.
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. Where Jason was underscored in PCS for that masterpiece. And Yaro was accurately scored for what he did in the LP, as was Jason.
,) but it’s not as though *only* US judges love Jason’s style.
