2021 US Nationals: Men's SP - Thoughts and Observations

[moonvine]

Where is Andrew Torgashev? He is missed because he makes that 2nd tier very exciting.

Nathan - One of his best. Loved the ambition of the 4F-3T in the 2nd half of the SP and the Latin music. One of his best choreographed programs.

Vincent - He was most improved; Rippon 4Z-3T, clean 4S and 3-turns->3A is amazing! But his movement and spins are so vastly improved that he is a Worlds medal threat himself.

Jason - The best quadless skater these days and he just keeps getting better if that's possible; breaking 100 in the SP w/o a quad is remarkable.

DROP-OFF

Tomoki and Camden forgot their quads on their way to nationals and didn't make the final group. The rest of the programs were solid though. I hope they skate to the best of their capabilities in the LP. Camden scored 80 missing a big element.

Yaroslav Paniot - He can jump: I was delighted by the 4F-3T but he needs a lot more power / speed yet he has improved: He is more watchable than last year. Coached by Todd Eldredge. I will be interested in watching his improvement.

I love Maxim's big jumps. I hope he's working on a quad

Ma - Another highlight performance: He held it together and the only mistake was a hand-down on the 4T.

Kang was chacked from the broadcast but he looked like he skated quite well according to the protocols.

Tran - Coached by Jeremy Abbott. He looked like he has been working hard on his presentation. He is also more watchable now than last year, but he had little glitches on some relatively simple triples.

Andrew withdrew.

 

[Amei]

my understanding is that he has trained/lived in the U.S. for a while. Also the Ukrainian Federation is (allegedly) political and plays big favorites. which is why we see lots of skates leave Ukraine to skate for other countries, especially in Pairs/Dance. I think he got his residency permit which made him eligible and he decided to Skate for the U.S.A. I think his goal is to make 2026. He finished 10th at last years nationals.

ETA: This is the article I read that talked about it. Obviously I have no first hand knowledge if this is true.

Ukrainian skaters' migration | Skate Ukraine

skateukraine.org

Thank you, very interesting article. 1 thing I wish the article would have clarified is on ice dancers and pairs skaters leaving Ukraine since we see ice dancers and pairs skaters switch federations to be with a partner is if the entire team of skaters left to go skate for a different country or if the team broke up and 1 or both of the skaters ended up switching countries to be with another partner.

 

[Amei]

Yes, he broke 100 last year at Nationals.

Per my comment on the first page - my curiosity is if its ever been done internationally, nationals inflation is a part of the sport.

 

[MarkinBerkeley]

Zhou has to be favored for the silver with his quads and current lead over Jason.

 

[MarkinBerkeley]

What's the highest quadless long program score?

 

[MarkinBerkeley]

Should Jason go for the quad in the free skate or try for a perfect quadless program? I would say it depends on how he's doing in practice. He has a shot at the silver, so that might be a factor as well. A nice non-axel triple can get him 7 points or so, more than a botched quad. I don't see him falling to 4th under any circumstances, however.

 

[Apple1078]

I think Jason should go for the quad in the FS. There's no chance of him falling to 4th given the lead he has over Paniot. I don't see it happening. Vincent is 7 points ahead so Jason doesn't really have anything to lose. Also next season is Olympic season and there might not be a worlds so now's the time to do it.

Imagine the scoring potential that SP has if he includes a quad in it next season? He'd be competitive in the short with Vincent who's not that far behind Nathan (at least compared to the last few years..but I don't really see anyone beating Nathan though).

 

[Amei]

I think Jason should go for the quad, I'm not sure what his long-term plans are for competitive skating but if he has any goals about being on a Worlds or Olympics podium then he needs a quad.

 

[Ophelia]

Now that I've had time to pick up my jaw from the floor and have watched Brown's Sinnerman a dozen times, I'm going to say that Jason Brown's SP is one of the greatest things I've seen performed on ice. I am stunned. He did Nina Simone's Sinnerman justice. The choreography and performance was brilliant. His every move was attuned to the music. The spins! The leaps! That step sequence! Everything flowed seamlessly, even if the choreography was wicked difficult (note to Team Tutberidze - this is how you choreograph a transition-packed program).

I don't give a flip that Jason Brown doesn't have quads. His skating transcends competition boundaries. What he showed out there was pure art on ice, contemporary American dance manifested on ice. They need to use this video to teach future generations what true skating looks like. I would fork over good money to watch Brown skate. Next to him, all the quadsters look like jump ponies.

I get why Orser said he cries when he watches Brown's training sessions. I teared up just watching him through screen.