2023-24 Grand Prix Final Senior Men Free Skate

[reader3]

Just finished watching the men - late to the party. Congratulations to the medalists. Congratulations to Ilia on his massive technical content. I can think of no other adjective to describe his jumping other than "prodigious". I know a lot is made of the 4A, but I think his 4Lz amazes me even more -- especially when he does it in combination. The height and the spring are just insane.

Congratulations to Shoma and Yuma too! The stillness of Shoma's program is so challenging. Glad to see some combos back again. He hasn't done a 3-jump sequence in a LONG time, and so glad to see him not back off on the 3T in the combo. HIs smoothness is so beautiful! Very impressed with how they have managed Yuma's return to competition following his injury. They both had some mistakes, but overall, their smooth glide and those Japanese marshmallow knees are beautiful.

Hope Kao is ok. I'm sure he would have hated to withdraw, but he looked pretty "spent" when he was finished. Hope he's on the way to healing from his gastroenteritis. Glad to see Adam had a redemption skate. So sorry to see Kevin lose his focus but glad to see the real Kevin come out in his final steps.

A couple things:
--Very odd to see no flags being waved in the audience. Looked like only cardboard things with people's names. I think I saw a few banner towels for the Japanese skaters.
--Glad that it seemed the audience was very engaged (and cheering a lot!). It was SO dead during the short programs, I felt bad for the skaters!
--I couldn't remember how Ilia's skate compared to Nathan's last GPF. I looked and saw it was 335. But a win is a win is a win!

Oh, dear Nathan, you are missed but Ilia helps a great deal.

 

[reader3]

Now I have to figure out the appropriate desert to celebrate this epicness. Like, any cake has 4 letters, but what cake would scream 'quads'?

a 4 layer, raspberry cake- baked in a SQUARE pan for the 4 sides

 

[Arriba627]

Hahaha Adam and the typewriter he's no doubt never seen will never not be funny to me.

I guess Benoit is old enough to have seen a typewriter though...

Serious question -- do we understand why the typewriter is in there? (Adding -- still remember my Smith Corona)

 

[Skating91]

Well he already working on quints, he just waiting on the ISU to put on the values for them. Come on ISU hurry up Ilia waiting for you. He certainly needs more goals to master. LOL

#QuintGod

The ISU already blew it with one revolution in the sport, this time they've got a guy out of the United States fall in their lap couldn't ask for someone better to popularise the sport.

 

[moonvine]

It's about scoring and titles. If he has more titles and bigger scores than anyone else, he is the best ever.

Dick Button is the best ever.

 

[moonvine]

Is Kevin injured? Surely that was not all nerves?

 

[kimganos]

Shoma is just a gorgeous skater, Yuma is on the rise, I love his Step Sequence and Beautiful Skating Skills and Ilia and his Techinical Prowess is off the charts....Adam will be in the mix for Worlds too.. Kao and Kevin may you have the Skate your Talent deserves in the future...So much talent in this group of Men!!

 

[moonkat]

#QuintGod

The ISU already blew it with one revolution in the sport, this time they've got a guy out of the United States fall in their lap couldn't ask for someone better to popularise the sport.

I wish. Is it possible to not get points for quints even after filming it in practice? Would they say wait until next Olympic cycle?

 

[cailuj365]

I love men's even if no one was perfect today.

Yuma's LP step sequence has to be one of the best ever. Just fantastic. A shame about the 4S but everything else was quality. Stood up clapping at the end. I still believe he could be Olympic champion if he gets the tech back.

Loved, loved Shoma as always. Some jump errors, but his gliding and movement are just sublime. How could he even entertain retiring -- he has so much to show. Nearly died when my dad said at the end, "This guy doesn't know how to listen to the music. He's WAY off." Two time violations in a row is a bit much though.

Ilia is from another dimension. I actually prefer the dark green outfit to this one. The green outfit with his blond hair gave me Le Petit Prince vibes, a kid who has traveled to our planet to teach us about jumps. His jumps are just so light and airy. He could have really fallen apart after the 4A, but he didn't, which shows his growing mental fortitude. Not sure why his ChSq isn't the sequence at the end with the raspberry twist but instead a bunch of small transitions before his last jump pass. At this point, Ilia is just wracking up as many records as he can with that 4A, as he should. Sounds like he'll look to do 4A combo next.

Adam put in a good effort for 4th, but this just wasn't his competition.
Poor Kao looked like he needed an IV bag at the end.
Not a fan of Kevin's style though his ChSq is fire.

 

[Skater Boy]

I think competitive skating is fine without Nathan. He was a great competitior, solid performer and great technician but he was not an artist. He was not a personality. He is not overly charismatic. We have Ilia, Shoma, Yuma, Adam and Kevin who have far mare charisma though I do wonder if Shoma is kind of like Yuzuru at the end. Just skating for himself and what he wants and dam be the judges and scores.

 

[Jeanie19]

Is Kevin injured? Surely that was not all nerves?

I don't think he's injured. The 3A fall was bad and I think that he his timing was off after that. We will know this week if everything is okay as French Nationals are this week.

 

[lariko]

a 4 layer, raspberry cake baked in a SQUARE pan for the 4 sides

I am thinking raspberry-filled twists... hmm. I'll have to dial it in precisely, if Malinin keeps winning.

 

[labgoat]

So Kao is there but IMO he does not look feel very well.

Did he and Isabeau order the same thing?

 

[labgoat]

Yaaaas Kevin!!

Haha Ted changed his pronouciation of Aymoz, now I feel bad he read my post and got all self-conscious.

But let us sit back and enjoy the wonder that is Kevin.

Be proud you righted a wrong...

 

[peepsquick]

I think Ilia will grow into his own: as a jumper, he is already mesmerizing and who knows how far he can go but his artistic abilities need to be developed. It was painfully clear among this pool of incredible skaters. I suspect that he needs to grow into his body ... for now he looks a bit like a puppet (no slight intended, just a visual I have when he skates). It will change.

 

[peepsquick]

Be proud you righted a wrong...

Now, let's get on the band wagon to change his and Mark's pronunciation of (Théo) Bigot's name. It is a hard "g", not a soft one (like in Gogolev)

 

[el henry]

Am I the only person who Does. Not. Care. how Ted pronounces names?

Et moi je sais la prononciation de ces noms en français, et je m'en fiche. (I know how to pronounce them, I don't care ... meaning about Ted's pronunciation).

Well, I know the answer, yes, I am the only person.
OK, back to our regularly scheduled discussion.....

(ETA: typing a non English language while fighting English autocorrect takes far too long. )

 

[peepsquick]

Am I the only person who Does. Not. Care. how Ted pronounces names?

Et moi je sais la prononciation de ces noms en français, et je m'en fiche. (I know how to pronounce them, I don't care ... meaning about Ted's pronunciation).

Well, I know the answer, yes, I am the only person.
OK, back to our regularly scheduled discussion.....

(ETA: typing a non English language while fighting English autocorrect takes far too long. )

We might not care but the skaters? It's not a big deal ... but I actually get annoyed what it happens over several competitions and nobody bothered to give the commentators a hint.

 

[el henry]

We might not care but the skaters? It's not a big deal ... but I actually get annoyed what it happens over several competitions and nobody bothered to give the commentators a hint.

I agree the commentators should be helped.

I don't know how the skaters feel. I see fans making comments, but I have not read any comments from skaters (doesn't mean they don't exist, it means I haven't seen them. )

FWIW, the absolute worst pronunciations I have ever heard in my life were French commentators on pairs on Sport TV 2. I wish I could remember who they were. They made Ted look like a world class linguist.

But I didn't think they were disrespecting skaters, they just couldn't pronounce their names.

 

[peepsquick]

I agree the commentators should be helped.

I don't know how the skaters feel. I see fans making comments, but I have not read any comments from skaters (doesn't mean they don't exist, it means I haven't seen them. )

FWIW, the absolute worst pronunciations I have ever heard in my life were French commentators on pairs on Sport TV 2. I wish I could remember who they were. They made Ted look like a world class linguist.

But I didn't think they were disrespecting skaters, they just couldn't pronounce their names.

yeah! Do not get me going on French commentators!