2024 Europeans: Men's thoughts?

[gsk8]

Adam Siao Him Fa defends European title

2024 European Figure Skating Championships: Men Adam Siao Him Fa of France defended his European title on Friday night in Kaunas, Lithuania. Aleksandr

www.goldenskate.com

I was so inspired by many of the men's programs. Selevko really brought it and I hope he can stay consistent has he as so much potential! Siao Him Fa really fought but owned it!

And Samoilov is on his way up!

Hopefully Frangipani can let go and focus on worlds!

“I am feeling so stupid right now,” said the 22-year-old. “A repetition cost me the medal. I am usually so good with such things. Overall, I am very happy about what I showed today. I was so nervous as never before at any competition. It was because I knew I could win a medal. Fourth is an unlucky place at Europeans, but in case I would get fourth at Worlds, I would be over the moon happy. I am excited for my first worlds! I am happy for Matteo though, and I am also proud of our Italian team for securing the three spots for next Europeans!”

What are your thoughts on the Men's event?

 

[WittGrittnGrace(y)]

While I certainly don’t want to see back flips becoming a trend in competitive skating, I thought Adam’s made sense here.

 

[gsk8]

He sucked up a two-point deduction for that, knowing he had points to spare. I like him better when he's a bit humble

"It's a little French touch," he explained, adding that he did it for the crowd.

"It takes more energy to do it in the free program than in the exhibition, but I felt good and I had the energy to do it," he said. "I wanted to perform it for the audience. I did it to push our sport. It's less dangerous than it looks like."

 

[ladyjane]

I don't want to see back flips become a trend either, but this one was fun. I thought it was a wonderful move. He was so nervous in the beginning. And that French touch story, well Suraya did one (with a landing on one leg) and so did Philippe Candeloro (but only in exhibitions). But I've seen quite a few in exhibitions. But I liked this, bad landing or not.
Shout out to Alexandr for having a calculating mind during skating (not too many of certain jumps, well thought out) and to Matteo right before his surgery. Yay!

 

[el henry]

I love the French touch, but I'm a tad less impressed, Adam. You could have been a tad less sloppy in your skate and hold off on the backflip. You, and your backflip, are not going to push the sport. But hey, you do you

Finally understood the Selevbro love

And so pumped for the Italians, Matteo and Gabriele. Ben fatto, ragazzi

 

[gsk8]

 

[YuBluByMe]

This was a great men’s event with an awesome finale. In the free skate, I did think group 2 was better than the penultimate group, however. Guarino Sabate’s choreographic sequence made me grin like a fool. Samoilov is a skater whose has struggled in the past and so a top 10 finish is a huge accomplishment for him.

The Italian men are strong. Yep, Frangipani Zayaked himself out of bronze which is something I was afraid he’ll do after tripling the opening quad. He should still be proud of himself though. Rizzo won’t be at Worlds so I don’t think Italy will gain a needed third spot, but Frangipani and Memola will do well enough, I think.

The French men are also strong, but Aymoz needs to sit out Worlds. His free skate - which was again scored too high in PCS - was abysmal and upsetting to watch. I fully expect for the French men to be down to one spot if he goes.

Poor Britschgi . He’ll bounce back from this. He’s still a solid top 10 Worlds skater.

Poor Selevko the Younger . He may be inconsistent, but he’s definitely good enough to make the free skate. His brother look so sad for him. But he also looked very happy for his brother’s accomplishment. I loved seeing that.

Adam Siao Him Fa . He deserved to win, but it was an underwhelming win as he won on base value alone. The 20-point victory over Selevko - who had the competition of his life - with sloppiness in both programs isn’t warranted. Despite the win, I think he’s lost momentum coming into Worlds. His performances are getting weaker while his closest competitors are getting stronger. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him off the podium come March, but I still think he’ll be top 5.

Selevko the Elder . I’m very happy for him! But the last time I was so nervous to see someone skate was when Rika took to the ice for her free skate at 2021 Worlds. But apparently I was more nervous than he was. I think he had the best performance in both programs. His short requires performing outward, not inward. It also requires confidence and fast, aggressive skating. He’s able to pull of the choreography because he has those things. This was a career-defining competition for him. He won a historic Silver medal, but it also means a lot for his career going forward. He outright earned himself two GP spots next season and there’s going to be talks about placing top ten at Worlds (if he’s going). I hope he’s ready!

 

[DancingCactus]

I think Adam is smart enough to know he needs to pull himself together for Worlds. But on the other hand, I don't think he was sloppy here because he didn't take the event seriously, I think he was simply nervous. He was defending his European title for the first time after all. Seemed like he did the back-flip when he realised he had safely made it through the program and was relieved. Very high energy at the end if the program.

I had Lukas on the podium because he usually is so consistent, really sad for him that he lost his nerve.

Selevko has a great program and very elegant and fluid movements. The music was also fantastic, the whole skate was really dramatic. Although I think he could emote a bit more with his face?

It's kind of funny that Matteo won a medal despite having easier content than usual and making a mistake. But he almost made me tear up, so, well done! I wish him a speedy recovery.

Frangipani didn't do much for me this time, I usually like him better.

Deniss must have given Stephane a heart attack. The REP was dumb; on the other hand, he managed to land the jump for the first time in like 2 years I believe, so kudos? He also wins shirts of the season and best hair for me. I desperately want to see him skate this program clean, without the quad if necessary, because the rest of it is SO good.

 

[4everchan]

on the back flip... I think the French skaters may see it differently considering how Bonaly fought for it back then.. ISU said a jump needed to be landed on one foot... not two.. She learned to land it on one foot... she even combined it with a 3S... but nope.. In some ways, considering the so many concussions pair skaters and dancers are getting, I wonder what is more dangerous really. So, I can understand why Adam would feel attached to the idea of throwing in a back flip once in a while but I have mixed feelings about it... It does send the message that he is able to spare a couple points... and that makes it a cocky move. I don't like arrogance. I say all this and Adam is perhaps my 2nd favourite skaters in the whole world right now... so yeah.

It's no secret for those who read competition threads that I love Frangipani's passionate and committed skating. Yes. I wish he had not zayaked his medal here... however, I wonder why the judges are so stingy on the PCS department with him. He is SO committed and so convincing in his skating. It pains to see that this wasn't enough for a podium for him but seeing him so happy all week has been very appeasing on a fan's troubled and concerned heart

Bravo to Matteo for seizing his opportunity. We have no idea if he will be ready for worlds or not, so this was important for him.

I am not really a fan of either Selevkobros : too inconsistent for me.. but highs and lows mean highs too... and that was a huge one for Sasha. Bravo and so proud of Estonian skating right now !!!!!

It's hard not to mention Kévin here... especially as I had the privilege of seeing him live at ACI this fall... but that stuff happens...

Lukas : so sad for you ! Another one of my faves. Sigh.

 

[Skater Boy]

It was an okay competition. INteresting to see the rise of Italy and Selvko. Really nice surprise with all the injury issue of Rizzo. Adam was slopping in both sp and fs. I don't get why he did the back flip. I almost wanted him disqualified for it and teach him a lesson. Such arrogance. None of the programs sparkled but still a decent competition. Of course everyone is worried about Kevin Aymoz. I think he shouldn't go to worlds and focus on himself. GIving up is a warning sign and we know this isn't the first time.

 

[Crowdproud]

I thought that the PCS marks were quite stingy across the board. On the other hand, the tech calling was a bit lax. For example, Deniss's 4S in the SP should have been <<, and not just <. It's clearly landing forwards in the replay:

Deniss Vasiļjevs Ä«sajÄ programmÄ 2024. gada EÄ | DaiļslidoÅ¡ana

Deniss Vasiļjevs uzsācis dalību Eiropas čempionātā daiļslidošanā Kauņā. Pēc īsās programma 5. vieta. Izvēles programmu LTV7 tiešraidē skaties piektdienas vak...

www.youtube.com

 

[iluvtodd]

I was shocked that Adam did the backflip in competition, but I actually liked seeing it in this case. Thrilled for Matteo. What an amazing competition for Alexander Selevko! It's a shame that Lukas' free skate didn't go as well as it could have been, but hopefully he'll put this behind him & focus on being strong for Worlds. Very happy to see Michal Brezina coaching Georgi the Czech skater!

Feeling sad for Kevin, but I hope he can work out his confidence issues, etc.

 

[lariko]

I was so excited for Selevko, Rizzo, Samoilov, Reshtenko and Starostin that I am okay with Sim Fa and Vasilijevs lol-scoring. Aymoz finally couldn't squeeze by on rep, so Vasilijevs is hopefully next to start getting what he actually skates for, open shirt or not.

 

[noskates]

I thought the backflip was an arrogant gesture and hope it doesn't become a thing. It struck me as "hey, in your face, I just won!" I do like Adam but...if he skates like this at Worlds the Japanese men (and possibly Ilia) will have him for a snack! Was super impressed with Vladimir Samoilov and I really, really like Alexander Selevko (love the term Selevko the Elder) and it was so sweet to see his brother happy for him. Kevin was a hot mess. He's had years to build up his confidence and whatever he's doing isn't working. He's such an elegant skater and it was very sad to see him self-implode. Gabrielle Frangipani was a nice surprise.

 

[peepsquick]

People are so quick to deem a skater arrogant! How about he knew that with the elements he brought to the table he would have a comfortable advance? Even if he didn't skate particularly well, he chose to add a measure of fun (recklessness maybe) to his performance. Not my thing, if I am honest but I do not see arrogance as the motivator. Adam is a performer and like all successful skaters has a healthy dose of sef-assuredness. This is imo what Kevin is mostly missing these days: self-doubt won't bring you to the podium.

 

[el henry]

People are so quick to deem a skater arrogant! How about he knew that with the elements he brought to the table he would have a comfortable advance? Even if he didn't skate particularly well, he chose to add a measure of fun (recklessness maybe) to his performance. Not my thing, if I am honest but I do not see arrogance as the motivator. Adam is a performer and like all successful skaters has a healthy dose of sef-assuredness. This is imo what Kevin is mostly missing these days: self-doubt won't bring you to the podium.

I said I was less impressed by the backflip (and to be fair, I do think it was a tad arrogant) because Adam said he did it to "push the sport".

Uh, non mon brave, you are not going to push the sport by throwing in a backflip as a YOLO move when you have the gold in the bag.

I do not see that as healthy self-assuredness, but unwarranted bravado that may come back to bite him. Or not.

 

[peepsquick]

I said I was less impressed by the backflip (and to be fair, I do think it was a tad arrogant) because Adam said he did it to "push the sport".

Uh, non mon brave, you are not going to push the sport by throwing in a backflip as a YOLO move when you have the gold in the bag.

I do not see that as healthy self-assuredness, but unwarranted bravado that may come back to bite him. Or not.

@ el henry, I do think that he is not at the top of his game right now and I can see the writings on the wall for Worlds but I disagree with you on Adams frame of mind. I am surely in the minority, considering most posts I've read so far. I just do not care for the (generally speaking) moral bend to the "arrogant" moniker. I would also give him a bit of slack when it comes to what he said: he was definitively struggling to find the right words/expression in English.

 

[Skating91]

I said I was less impressed by the backflip (and to be fair, I do think it was a tad arrogant) because Adam said he did it to "push the sport".

Uh, non mon brave, you are not going to push the sport by throwing in a backflip as a YOLO move when you have the gold in the bag.

I do not see that as healthy self-assuredness, but unwarranted bravado that may come back to bite him. Or not.

Probably a little arrogant because the win still wasn't 100% assured and a crash on the backflip would have dragged his score down even more.

My reaction to it was to laugh not get upset. It is pushing the sport forward too. People get upset when the sport is pushed forward.

 

[noskates]

Not to beat a dead horse, but non-English speaking or not (and I do understand trying to learn another language can be challenging) you don't push the sport with a move that's been all but outlawed and put spin on it that you're trying to push the sport. Pushing the sport is doing more difficult jumps or intricate footwork or different spin positions - not aerial gymnastics. Doing a back flip is also risking an injury which is not in Adam's best interest with Worlds coming up. I really like Adam and I totally love Benoit's choreography, but this move was gratuitous at best. I would hate to see other skaters, younger ones particularly, copying him. Poor decision!

 

[YuBluByMe]

I was going to leave it alone, but I just can’t resist.

I don’t think Siao Him Fa is an arrogant person. And I certainly don’t mind a little cockiness. However, be honest about it. Don’t hide behind any baloney. I’ll respect you more for it. If his intent was to “advance the sport,” he would do a backflip in every competition. But he notably did not include it in his GPs or at GPF. He did it only as he was coming off the ice. He couldn’t afford a two-point deduction at those competitions, but felt he could afford it the loss of points at Europeans, which is truly why he did it. So just say that. Thing is, though, there was still one skater left to skate and the backflip wasn’t good. He set himself up for much-deserved ridicule had Britschgi had a great skate.