2010 World Junior Figure Skating Championships Preview
The 2010 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships will take place in The Hague, The Netherlands from March 7-14, 2010 at the Ice rink De Uithof. More than 200 skaters representing more than fifty member nations will skate in the competition.
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The preview mentioned the US dance bronze meadalist Gilles/Donahue in detail , but barely mentioned the silver medalist Tibbetts/Brubaker . Was T/B JGP and National placement just a fluke or does the writer just like G/D better ?
He may have been unable to reach T&B for an interview. T&B are quite a strong team. It's hard to know quite what to expect from them though. They finished 2nd at JGP Minsk, but 7th overall, 8th in the FD at JGP Lake Placid last year.
It should also be mentioned that the Canadian team of Ralph and HIll, who finished 4th at the JGPF made a decision to compete at 4CC's rather than at JW's. I will miss seeing their African OD again
Christina Gao is going to beat Kanako for the title with her sick nasty 3-3, I just have a hunch. Kanako will settle for silver and the three Russian girls will duke it out for the bronze while Zawadski will be right behind. Baga I feel will be good in the SP and have another meltdown in the LP.
Ten will be the men's champion I think, his senior international experience will come in handy. Then Hanyu will be in 2nd followed by one of the Americans, most likely Armin.
Kanako has a 3-3 too
?Ilinykh and Katsalapov need to ensure that they do not take themselves out of the running with a poor showing in the compulsory dance, their weakest phase of competition.
35.02 (Westminster Waltz) ILINYKH / KATSALAPOV -September 9 - 13, 2009-
34.63 (Argentine Tango) SHIBUTANI / SHIBUTANI -October 7 - 11, 2009-
34.41 (Westminster Waltz) PUSHKASH / GUERREIRO -October 14 - 18, 2009-
34.10 (Westminster Waltz) ILINYKH / KATSALAPOV -August 26 - 30, 2009-
34.09 (Argentine Tango) SHIBUTANI / SHIBUTANI -September 2 - 6, 2009-
34.04 (Westminster Waltz) MONKO / KHALIAVIN -October 14 - 18, 2009-
33.74 (Argentine Tango) MONKO / KHALIAVIN -September 23 - 27, 2009-
33.12 (Westminster Waltz) PUSHKASH / GUERREIRO -September 30 - October 4, 2009-
Polina's condition will surely be a key factor. I'm not quite sure if a clean Christina can beat a clean Kanako at this point - that'll be another thing to watch.
I must be in the minority, but I don't see Denis running away with the title for the men. His 3A and his LP is still on the unstable side and it's been a while since he competed on the junior level. If anything, I see Yuzuru or one of the Americans taking this.
Dance is too close to tell.
Yep. I think that the two Russian Polinas who also have 3/3s may have something to say.Originally Posted by ☆Genie
I don't really see Christina being able to beat a clean Murakami. Because Murakami is much more artistic than Christina, and Christina doesn't have the jump layout that can really challenge her.
I think Shelepen is the biggest threat because she has the double axel/3toe and the 3sal/3toe in her program's layout. And in the short she has the 3lutz/3toe. Seeing a clip, I don't really care much for Shelepen's new short. But I actually think that her long has improved a lot. I'm curious about Polina A's layout and will have to watch a recent clip.
Last edited by bekalc; 03-07-2010 at 04:28 PM.
Christina's 3-3 is much better than Kanako's, whose is often UR or close to it. And Gao does have a jump layout that can challenge Kanako, Kanako's jump layout in the LP is nothing special (no 3-3) and Christina should get better GOE because Kanako flutzes badly and has some other funnky jumps. Their LP scores at the JGPF were only about 3 points apart and at nationals Christina got almost +2 GOE for her 3t-3t which makes a 3 point difference over the 3flutz-2t she did at the JGPF.
As for the Russians, Polina Shelepen I like the least. She can jump but her spins are not very good and a lot of her jumps are really shaky. Agafonova and Ovcharova are looking good though, both have appeared to have improved a lot since the JGP and at Russian Junior Nationals Anna Ovcharova did a beautiful LP to win the LP over Agafonova, Shelepen, Tuktumysheva, and others even though she did not do a 3-3 and the others did. Artistically Agafonova and Ovcharova are stronger than Shelepen, both can really spin and are flexible and Anna is just so musical and animated with the best footwork. My money's on Ovcharova to win a medal, besides Kanako she's one of the only skaters who has speed and if she nails her jumps in the LP she should do well with her level 4 spins, great footwork, and 6 triple FS.
Oh and here is a clip of Agafonova from February at the junior nationals:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPY-wNP_Z-I
And here's Ovcharova:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2_EytmJFwk
And Shelepen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyBeyz2ms4g
Agafonova and Ovcharova beat Shelepen in the SP and LP at this competition so I wouldn't put it past either to do it again.
Last edited by silverlake22; 03-07-2010 at 07:47 PM.
You can't compare national scores though. Shelepen is a better spinner IMO than Christina, and Kanako is likely to get a lot higher PCS than Gao. You forget that Murakami won JGPF with a fall and Polina was a little shaky.Christina's 3-3 is much better than Kanako's, whose is often UR or close to it. And Gao does have a jump layout that can challenge Kanako, Kanako's jump layout in the LP is nothing special (no 3-3) and Christina should get better GOE because Kanako flutzes badly and has some other funnky jumps. Their LP scores at the JGPF were only about 3 points apart and at nationals Christina got almost +2 GOE for her 3t-3t which makes a 3 point difference over the 3flutz-2t she did at the JGPF.
As for the Russians, Polina Shelepen I like the least. She can jump but her spins are not very good and a lot of her jumps are really shaky
Last edited by bekalc; 03-07-2010 at 08:39 PM.
Those scores for I&K in the Westminster are puzzling. They must have skated a heck of a lot better than they did at Russian Nats where they had a lot of bobbles.
I contacted both for an interview, and Gilles/Donohue responded. I had space for Tibbetts/Brubaker, but the timing didn't work out. They are lovely skaters, and I wish that I could have given them more space, but there just not enough time to get them in.
I was talking about Christina's score at the JPGF - she got 98.65 and Kanako got 101.01. That is awfully close and with Christina upping her combination she could easily gain two and a half points, and be closer after the SP. She has also appeared to have improved her speed a lot, she was really very impressive at nationals and I found her to be much improved since her JGP performances, so this may mean higher PCS. Kanako I last saw skate at Japanese Nationals where she had her 3t-3t downgraded and was flutzing as usual. Kanako will still probably win but I feel like Christina has more potential to go places in the future.
I know Keegan's skating hero is Stojko, but I really hope he DOES continue to improve and becomes not just the jumper that he is, but that he takes his performance to the next level. If he polishes up he could still be an incredibly technical skater, willing to go out on a limb and become a tad artistic. Not in the same way Abbott, Weir, or Rippon are artistic, but someone like Ryan Bradley... if he follows Elvis Stojko's form of "artistry" I will be so disappointed.Messing is the dark horse for a medal in The Hague as he can be mesmerizing when he skates his best. In Spokane at the U.S. Championships, former World Champion Elvis Stojko sought Messing out to encourage him to continue on his path.
"He told me, 'Don't Change! You've got a great future ahead of you'," Messing shared. "Meeting Elvis was the highlight of the competition for me."
Who skated in Westminster?
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