2023 Worlds: Pairs FS | Thoughts

[gsk8]

Riku and Kihara grand-slam their way to history

2023 World Figure Skating Championships Pairs’ Free Skate Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara grand-slammed their way into history, in Saitama, Japan, at the 2023 World Figure Skating Championships. They took […]

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I really enjoy Golubeva and Giotopoulos Moore's lifts - she's so lithe in the air!

I so hope Stellato-Dudek takes care and stays healthy until 2026! So damn proud of her!!!

I LOVE watching Conti and Macii and am thrilled to see so many single and pair teams moving up through the ranks!

Miura and Kihara skate with so much joy and it's so easy to watch them. I can just sit back and enjoy without any tension...there have only ever been a few pair teams that were/are like that for me.

What are your thoughts on the event?

 

[rabidline]

The last time Japan hosted Worlds at home in 2019, they didn't even have a pair entry, because Ryuichi suffered a concussion and him (with Miu Suzaki back then) had to withdraw. So to see him win with Riku now, in front of their home crowd...

 

[TT_Fin]

Does Japan have more pairs as there is now three spots There are so many good skaters in both men and women, so maybe some of them turn to pairs because there is now time before the Olympics? Wish so. As there is a chance to get a spot to the worlds, maybe somebody think about it. I missed quite a lot because did not wake up early this morning, so I must watch more later and see the Italians still as my stream got frozen just when they were skating.

 

[skylark]

I Loved Conti and Macii's skate tonight. It was, to me, Old World classic pairs skating, where the emotion builds along with the elements and the great smooth in-betweens with classical music. I realized as they finished that I'd been feeling so confident about their skating; Peggy Fleming used to say skaters were "solid," and that's how I felt about the Italians tonight. Such a pleasure to watch and not feel nervous that someone's gonna wobble or worse!

Annika and Robert, who haven't been my favorites before, really were wonderful in this free skate. It's so great to see skaters come through at the end after a struggle, because you know instinctively that that's what they've been striving for and aiming for all this time.

The top 6 were spectacular. My favorites Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe had a fall, but they are so promising, and steadily fulfilling their promises., and overall they gave me confidence and at the same time were effervescent with beautiful emotions. Lia Perriera and Trennt Michaud came through like thunder and lightning. I think actually all the top teams had mistakes (maybe not the Italians?) ... but brought so much effervescence and sheer love of the sport of figure skating that overall, they transcended those.

It was a very exciting event, what with so many of the scores from the SPs being clustered with one another!

 

[SmileHappy34]

Great job all teams. Happy that Japan has a world championship team of RM/RK. Well done ASK/BF and Italy SC/NM . all teams well done.

 

[readernick]

No one was perfect but it was still a good event. Congrats to the medalists! It was certainly a triump for all of them. They all deserved their medals. M/K and K/F are clearly the class of the field in terms of elements and performance. M/ K have the skating skills and charm. But, I think K/F had far better programs this year. Complex transitions and interesting themes. I wish M/ K would get a new choreographer. They are both wonderful teams who still have room for growth.The Italians are among the most improved. Their pair elements have really gotten more watchable throughout the season. Still not the best elements but interesting skaters.

Outside of the podium, I love Anikka Hocke. She's just such a beautiful skater. Her partner is pretty good, too.

I'm among those with a crush on Spencer Howe and I enjoyed Emily and Spencer's interpretation despite the mistakes. Belinda was quite critical of their lack of transitions and, she's right, but they are still fun to watch.

The young teams have some good basics and I believe they will develop artistically.

 

[Colonel Green]

Does Japan have more pairs as there is now three spots

At the moment, no.

Really thrilled for how Pereira & Michaud’s debut season has gone. This is the most excited I’ve been for a new Canadian pair in a long time.

 

[Flying Feijoa]

I think actually all the top teams had mistakes (maybe not the Italians?) ... but brought so much effervescence and sheer love of the sport of figure skating that overall, they transcended those.

Yes! They all looked happy to be there - maybe because the weight of expectations was lower for a lot of the newer kids on the block.
Pairs has become my highlight event again after a while in the doldrums. I feel like it was running on fumes a bit after Pyeongchang but now there are many interesting new narratives to follow (Japan/US rivalry, mix-match German teams, the baby Aussies, Italy emerging as a powerhouse, Philippine team).
I also liked seeing familiar faces reappearing this season having finally found new partnerships that work for them - Efimova, Korovin, Blommaert, Michaud...

 

[Skater Boy]

At the moment, no.

Really thrilled for how Pereira & Michaud’s debut season has gone. This is the most excited I’ve been for a new Canadian pair in a long time.

I was impressed with this team because they are so very new. LIke six months. I do have to realize we probably are missing 4 or 5 top teams (China's best, 3 Russian and Italy 2) but still very impressive.Lia is fearless. I have a feeling she will drop singles eventually. I also liked Chan and Howe. I don't see the power, speed or amplitude or flow of those not here but everyone really brought it.

 

[purplecat]

Does Japan have more pairs as there is now three spots There are so many good skaters in both men and women, so maybe some of them turn to pairs because there is now time before the Olympics? Wish so. As there is a chance to get a spot to the worlds, maybe somebody think about it. I missed quite a lot because did not wake up early this morning, so I must watch more later and see the Italians still as my stream got frozen just when they were skating.

Japan has a junior team but they are one of the ones going to be stuck in limbo next year because of their age gap.

Congrats to Miura and Kihara on the gold medal! I felt they deserved to win overall, but felt their freeskate was overmarked by a few points. They always skate with a lot of joy.

Congrats to Knierim and Frazier on their silver medal! I can't imagine their emotions - worried about Todd and not having him or Jenni there with them for weeks and Alexa moving and having a goodbye send off and possibly skating in their last Worlds... kudos to them for keeping it together. If they do indeed retire I will miss their skating tremendously - I will especially miss Alexa's throws (how they rarely garner +5's is beyond me).

Congrats to Conti and Macii on their bronze! They had the skate of the night! They don't quite have the pair skills that the top two have but they did amazing. What an incredible season for them - I barely knew of them before this year.

And kudos to some other great freeskates - Pereira & Michaud, the Australians, the Russian Hungarians (haha) and Hocke and Kunkel!

 

[Seven Sisters]

I was impressed with this team because they are so very new. LIke six months. I do have to realize we probably are missing 4 or 5 top teams (China's best, 3 Russian and Italy 2) but still very impressive.Lia is fearless. I have a feeling she will drop singles eventually. I also liked Chan and Howe. I don't see the power, speed or amplitude or flow of those not here but everyone really brought it.

I am as much of a fan of Russian pairs skating as anyone here, but I’ll throw this out there—I don’t think any of the current or recent Russian pairs would be able to match the wonderfully understated emotional quality that Conti/Macii displayed here. You’d have to go back to at least Berezhnaya/Sikharuridze to find a Russian pair that might be able to spellbind an audience with those two programs, the way the Italians did in this competition. JMHO!

I appreciated that many of the teams competing here presented us with programs that showed off their team’s unique strengths.

 

[noskates]

I enjoyed the pairs competition and happy the Japanese won in their home country............but, I don't enjoy their skating that much. Congratulations to the Italian pairs team on their Bronze medal. Well deserved. I thought Brandon and Alexa were awesome in their freeskate and only wish their short had been error free. It must have been a very emotional time for them. And I agree with readernick on Spencer and Emily. They've grown so much this year. All in all - a good competition,

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Wow, I just watched a bit of the pairs' FS and I have to say, I'm majorly disappointed in Pavel Sliusarenko, coach of the Georgian team. How could he allow them to compete in such a state? This looked really dangerous, every lift on the brink of disaster. Karina was clearly not up to it after her injury, and Luka seemed out of shape as well. Very upsetting to watch.

 

[skylark]

Congrats to the medalists! It was certainly a triump for all of them.... They all deserved their medals. M/K and K/F are clearly the class of the field in terms of elements and performance. M/ K have the skating skills and charm.

That last sentence is a beautiful, to-the-point summation.

I'm among those with a crush on Spencer Howe and I enjoyed Emily and Spencer's interpretation despite the mistakes.

Another lovely point we agree on!

 

[readernick]

Wow, I just watched a bit of the pairs' FS and I have to say, I'm majorly disappointed in Pavel Sliusarenko, coach of the Georgian team. How could he allow them to compete in such a state? This looked really dangerous, every lift on the brink of disaster. Karina was clearly not up to it after her injury, and Luka seemed out of shape as well. Very upsetting to watch.

Yes, it was. I thought they would get injured during the freeskate. She should have taken the whole year off. Her knees aren't capable of landing jumps. He looked like he didn't have the strength to lift her. Extremely irresponsible.

 

[Weathergal]

Wow, I just watched a bit of the pairs' FS and I have to say, I'm majorly disappointed in Pavel Sliusarenko, coach of the Georgian team. How could he allow them to compete in such a state? This looked really dangerous, every lift on the brink of disaster. Karina was clearly not up to it after her injury, and Luka seemed out of shape as well. Very upsetting to watch.

Yes, it was. I thought they would get injured during the freeskate. She should have taken the whole year off. Her knees aren't capable of landing jumps. He looked like he didn't have the strength to lift her. Extremely irresponsible.

I wasn't sure exactly what the issue was, but even early on in the program, Karina looked...scared. I truly felt bad for her and couldn't wait for their skate to be over because it was so hard to watch them both struggling in that way.

 

[ladyjane]

It's rather late maybe but I've just finished watching the FS. I thought the three medallists were in their deserved places, I love M/K and also the fact that she shows her feelings so much (he also shows excellent expression but her face in the K&C and the change from tears to smile is so honest), great that K/F had the best FS, but getting silver is still very good, and I will love Sara and Niccolo for ever: great FS and such a joy to watch. I admired all three Canadian pairs - another 3 spots next year! And let's not forget the Australians who had a great FS, the Hungarians who impress, the great German rivalry, wonderful Emily and Spencer. On the whole: excellent event. Extra cheer for Daria and Michel who managed a 13th place after a horrific trip to get there!

 

[Fluture]

I finally managed to watch the pairs free in full and wow, it honestly exceeded all my expectations. I was a bit worried about the state of the discipline at the start of the season but this was a very enjoyable event and many couples stepped up and improved a LOT.

1. M/K. I knew beforehand they'd won and still cried when I watched it lol. Riku's devastated reaction, turning into overjoyed tears … so emotional, such a beautiful moment. They've made history so many times for their country and now they're World Champions too! They have such a presence on the ice, and the way they exuse happiness and love for the sport always fill my heart with joy when they skate. Yes, I too wish they could get more dynamic programs but I still shamelessly love them both. The idea behind their SP is especially sweet — "you'll never walk alone" as a message to Riku when she injured her shoulder at the beginning to the season: that she wasn't alone in this, that she was supported by her partner and their coach. Also loved Bruno Marcotte's reaction to Riku's emotional display — how he told her "you don't have to be perfect to be great", told her not to be too hard on herself and was overall so supportive. The FS was a tad overscored, but all three teams on the podium got quite a few candies, so it evens out, I guess. Can't wait to see where they go from this over the next few years.

2. I'll be honest when I say I never enjoyed Alexa and Brandon's skating before. They have fantastic pair elements but their connection just never clicked for me. Somehow, in this FS it did. I don't know if it was due to emotional reasons and more on a human level than skating level, knowing everything they went through, but I got goosebumps throughout their performance. Very gritty, very tough. Congrats to them. (oh, and I do like the concept of their SP)

3. I was rooting for Deanna but honestly, the Italians really deserved this medal. They were brilliant throughout the competition and have improved SO MUCH over the season. I loved the FS solely for their emotional connection and the passion with which they skated. The audience jumping to their feet afterwards was a great moment. Chills throughout.

4. Sad for Deanna, it would have been quite a story. But 4th is still amazing. I can't say I love their FS, so me rooting for this team is mostly on a human level not due to the skating. But she‘s just so amazing, you can't not root for them lol.

5. I always enjoy Emily and Spencer's skating and was sad when they struggled at the GPF. I liked how they performed here even despite the mistakes and fifth is a great result for them. Hate hate hate this music though.

6. Lia is insane!! That woman has been doing pairs for what, half a year? And they end up sixth in the world. It's mind-boggling how fast they (especially she) have improved and I can't wait to see what happens next. Hope she commits to pairs full time.

The Hungarian and Australian team were great, too. I was especially happy for the latter since they struggled at Junior Worlds and in the SP here. But they landed the 3-3 (even with the step-out) and showed their immense potential. Last but not least — Hocke/Kunkel are amazing performers (especially she) and their lifts were outstanding. I felt they were quite underscored, especially in the SP.

Overall it was a really well-skated event and imo shows that while pairs skating as a discipline is in a rebuilding phase right now, the skaters themselves don't stop improving. There's lots of young promising teams that will be great in the future. Just needs time and a bit of patience.

 

[Yeslekyelnats]

I thought the margin of winning was much too close.