Warm-Up Group 1
1 Isabelle DELOBEL / Olivier SCHOENFELDER FRA 6 48.13
2 Oksana DOMNINA / Maxim SHABALIN RUS 5 51.66
3 Galit CHAIT / Sergei SAKHNOVSKI ISR 4 54.98
Warm-Up Group 2
4 Marie-France DUBREUIL / Patrice LAUZON CAN 3 55.42
5 Elena GRUSHINA / Ruslan GONCHAROV UKR 2 58.84
6 Tatiana NAVKA / Roman KOSTOMAROV RUS 1 63.01
I am so excited and thrilled for Dubreuil and Lauzon. I had hoped, but would not have predicted they would be so high. Second in the free dance is not chopped liver. Now, about Navka/Kostomorov.... Totally overmarking this pair. There is no way anybody is going to challenge them for the Olympic title-unfortunately. Their PCS are just miles above everybody elses. I just don't happen to think this team is that much better than the rest of the field and would like to see the marks a bit closer, even if at the end of the day the judges decide N/K deserve the win. That's all for now.
Hmmm...too bad that Grush/Gonch still ended up ahead of D/L. N/K have 'the look' and D/L have 'the program.' I'm still holding out hope that this years big Russia-vs-Canada skate at Olympics will be in dance & that somehow, miraculously, D/L may prevail. It'll be a toughie to call, if everyone skates relatively well. I just hope that, in Torino, D/L aren't purposely held 3rd or lower in compulsories to create a nice safety-buffer for N/K. Hmmm....
Too bad D/L's second in the free dance didn't hold up to second overall; they really do deserve it. Anyway, a bronze at GPF with all the major teams that will be at Olys there: big step in the right direction