2024 Skate America: Men - Thoughts?

[gsk8]

Malinin triumphs; Aymoz shines

2024 Skate America | Men USA's Ilia Malinin won his third consecutive Skate America title on Sunday in Allen, Texas. However, it was Kevin Aymoz of France

www.goldenskate.com

It was so nice to see Aymoz finally give a great skate! And of course, he didn't disappoint with his Galindo theatrics Gotta luv him! I really liked his FS costume as well.

Was also glad to see Vasiljevs have good skates!

What are your thoughts on the men at this event? Favorite routines?

 

[noskates]

I was blown away by Kevin Aymoz' freeskate. He finally put it all together and it was lovely. He's such a beautiful and graceful skater. He skated with confidence and purpose. Was a little surprised at Ilia's freeskate. I haven't seen him make mistakes like that - certainly not doubling a triple. Hope he gets that behind him by next week. Kao Miura is a force to be reckoned with.

 

[YuBluByMe]

I thought the men’s event was very middle-of-the-road and tedious to watch with the first group of the free skate being nearly unwatchable. It wasn’t just the mistakes, either, because I found the cleaner skates to be very copy and paste or just plain boring. I always bring reading material when I go to competitions and I’m certain I would’ve brought out a book had I bought tickets to this event.

The only programs I liked in the entire event were Miura and Aymoz’s SPs. Miura could be great with the right music. He’s at his best when he’s skating to something that complements his style of skating. (His SP costume is also one of my favorites of the season.) His SPs the last few seasons have been good for him, but his free skates have been misfires that highlight his weaknesses. Aymoz is either at Extreme A or Extreme Z. Never in-between. I’m glad I’m not a big fan because that could be exhausting. His SP is excellent and I think it’s his best since Question of U. A program like that requires energy throughout the entire three minutes so there’s not a lot of skaters that can pull it off.

The other programs just weren’t memorable to me. As far as Skate America goes, I thought the pairs event was the strongest overall. Hopefully Skate Canada will be better because I think this was a poor start to the GP series.

 

[streams4dreams]

Watching Kao Miura's SP was the most magical experience for me, making it my favorite program of this season so far. I knew nothing about it beforehand, and when I saw the song name, I got excited because I thought this could be something Tim Burton-like, a program which Kao could uniquely pull off. The costume was exactly in the style I imagined, so I got even more excited. And then the he delivered an amazing skate, with really cool choreography to go along with the quirky music, and his signature fast jump entries that often feel like flipping a coin, only this time it was all coming up heads!

 

[DancingCactus]

Kevin's free skate was fabulous. But I absolutely LOVED his devilish bolero last year, I kinda wish he would have kept it.

Deniss was also magic as usual. I wonder how far he could go if he gave up on the 4S (or was it 4T) and kept polishing his other jumps because they have great height.

Kao Miura is one of these Japanese skaters where I appreciate the jumps and skating skills without emotionally connecting with him at all. His programs lack individuality (to me).

I still don't like Malinin. I concede that he somewhat improved is basic skating and of course his jumping power is off the charts. But his programs seem like soemone took a survey of things that are considered cool in figure skating right now and then threw them in without rhyme or reason. That he does the backflip only now that it's not penalized anymore is also majorly uncool if you ask me.

 

[Karoltyna]

Kevin's free skate was fabulous. But I absolutely LOVED his devilish bolero last year, I kinda wish he would have kept it.

Deniss was also magic as usual. I wonder how far he could go if he gave up on the 4S (or was it 4T) and kept polishing his other jumps because they have great height.

Kao Miura is one of these Japanese skaters where I appreciate the jumps and skating skills without emotionally connecting with him at all. His programs lack individuality (to me).

I still don't like Malinin. I concede that he somewhat improved is basic skating and of course his jumping power is off the charts. But his programs seem like soemone took a survey of things that are considered cool in figure skating right now and then threw them in without rhyme or reason. That he does the backflip only now that it's not penalized anymore is also majorly uncool if you ask me.

TBH backflip was cool only because it was done by certain people in certain situations. Suria Bonaly did it as a kind of manifest, knowing she won't podium, so deduction doesn't matter. At Euros Adam did it because he knew that the deduction he got wouldn't matter, he will get gold anyway and he can show some bravado. At Worlds he did it because he thought the deduction he got wouldn't matter, he wouldn't podium anyway, even with the FS he delivered (hehe, well), so again he showed bravado. It meant something and became signature move for Adam, so I can accept that he still does it although it isn't particularily hard or pretty. But. Adam can do "raspberry twist" (which is basically 540 jump), but he doesn't do it at competitions because he acknowledges it's Ilia's siganture move. When juniors do backflip, they show that they look up to Adam and it still means something. But when Ilia does backflip, it doesn't have any meaning and he isn't showing anything, it's just so uncool and not pretty at all. But again, not much in Ilia's skating has meaning, his programs are empty and he has very long way to go.

 

[Magill]

It was Kao and Kevin, Kevin and Kao in SP and LP. respectively They both showed some great skating and should have been rewarded for it this tad better. Malinin was overscored and frankly speaking, I think his performance was disappointing even for his fans, not to speak of others. His PCS are stil a joke, which is sad.
And I agree on the backflip. I was also put off when I saw it. Although there is no written rule protecting signature moves in figure skating, most top skaters would acknowledge and respect those of their rivals. Yuzuru would never go for a cantilever, nor Shoma would for a hydroblade. Maybe to do it together at a gala or a show, not this way. They were just too classy for that.

 

[rabidline]

I thought Kao was a bit stuck in the middle, between Kevin rising from the ashes and delivering the free skate of his life, and Ilia having hiccups. Compared to both, Kao has the quads but not as many and not as high-valued as Ilia's, and he has some speedy skating but obviously is not the performer Kevin is. So bronze it was, despite probably having the chance to contend for gold or at least silver. Hopefully it becomes a motivation to keep himself healthy to include the 4Lo, and to polish his presentation skills more. He did perform very well under duress and a niggling injury- another champion mentality but also hoping he gets better soon.

Kevin... who would have thought? I think that he's never skated better than that FS. I was very uncomfortable seeing so many fans in the figure skating fandom posting so many clips and GIFs of his FS meltdown in a previous local competition this year on social media. There is concern of his well-being, and there is spreading footage of someone who was clearly suffering for content to get likes and reposts. I watched Kevin through stream this summer for a Japanese ice show called The ICE, he was clearly in shape and was head and shoulders the best active singles skater in that show. So to see that quality reflected here in both his SP and FS was incredible.

Ilia is learning to do just enough to win ugly, which he will need for his home Worlds.

Happy to see Deniss keeping calm and getting two cleanish programs out, hopefully it sets him up well for the rest of the season. This is probably the best start of the season he's ever had and he didn't collapse in his first GP.

 

[throw_triple_flip]

If Kevin Aymoz has skated close to his SP personal best it's possible there may not have been a single team USA gold at Skate America. Fear & Gibson have ended a 15 year streak of US wins there. This is crazy!

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Yeah the judging wasn't exactly home cooking with Ilia posting sub-100 in the SP with a time vio (personally would have put Miura in first with a 100+ score). Malinin's SP is brilliant and his best skating, but his FS is just generic and I wish he'd pick something less standard (it just screams mid-Olympic cycle freeskate).

Love Kevin's comeback! He's a rollercoaster of emotions but he was on fire this competition. I hope he is able to sustain it the rest of the season because you can tell he's put in the work.

 

[noskates]

Not sure why some are hating on Ilia. I think he's a very exciting skater and it's refreshing to see and hear music that isn't the same ol' same ol. I haven't always appreciated Shae Lynn's choreography but I think she's nailed it with Ilia. I find him more interesting to watch than Nathan. But that's just my opinion and probably not shared by many. But I do agree about Miura. So many times we see skaters with incredible potential that are harnessed with music and choreo that does them no justice. Quite honestly, I think the Japanese in general use a lot of music that strikes me as odd given who is skating to it. But man do they have depth. I think the Japan Nationals is going to be a bloodbath this year. And here's another probably unpopular opinion - but I own it. I don't really enjoy Deniss' skating all that much. The ponytail was pretty bad but once he got it cut he was quite handsome. Now it's flopping around again and - to me - very distracting. His "love affair" with the quad was much like Jason Brown's until Jason finally gave it up - and is a better skater for it. Oh - I also agree - with the exception of Donovan Carillo - the first group was just meh!! Even though he isn't the most consistent skater, he's always entertaining.

 

[Mathman]

I think we got stars in our eyes from Ilia's World Championship performance. This time, early in the season and all, the quad qod was a little more human. He left gobs of points on the table -- but still scored over 100 points in TES in the LP.

His component scores were not out of line -- high 8's. About what Nathan Chen could count on got when he didn't hit all his quads.

Kevin was in the zone. Good for him for a thrilling and totally satisfying performance.

 

[Rebecca Moose]

Aymoz deserved to win. Pure, classy, supple skating, a throwback to figure SKATING, not "choppy gymnastics on ice".

If judging were fair, Malinin's PCS would be in the high 7s -- perhaps 8 for performance. The long program is dreadful and a step back from last year. The outfit looks like a junior high school Halloween costume. I do like him, and I respect the technical prowess, but I struggle to recognize our sport anymore.

 

[yuumagical]

Watching Kao Miura's SP was the most magical experience for me, making it my favorite program of this season so far. I knew nothing about it beforehand, and when I saw the song name, I got excited because I thought this could be something Tim Burton-like, a program which Kao could uniquely pull off. The costume was exactly in the style I imagined, so I got even more excited. And then the he delivered an amazing skate, with really cool choreography to go along with the quirky music, and his signature fast jump entries that often feel like flipping a coin, only this time it was all coming up heads!

Kao's SP was really magical for me too, though not quite for the same reasons you described.

Despite my public posts hoping for the best for Kao, in my mind I thought he would have a really bad performance due to his leg injury. So once I got home on the day of the SP, I fast-forwarded to Kao's performance, thinking I would get it out of the way and not have to worry about how badly he did anymore. What I saw was a pleasantly heartwarming surprise! This was a man in his element, with quirky music, a costume that seemed to me like it could have come from an anime or a video game, and sharp choreography helping to tie everything together. And of course, that crazy speed! It may not have been heartwarming in a traditional sense, but knowing that Kao could still skate with his trademark intensity and avoid disaster warmed my heart as a fan of his. I really hope he gets a lot of rest!

 

[cheerknithanson]

It’s a shame how some people here have such negativity and hatred to some skaters. Let’s be happy for all. I’m thrilled Ilia won (Even if it wasn’t the cleanest). I’m happy Kevin Aymoz was able to have a clean FP after disasters from the GPF and French Nationals of last year. Kao was great. And Vasiljevs, I was happy to see him skate for a 2nd time in person and see him do his signature sit spin.

Skating is a combination of technical and artistry skills. Please don’t bring other skaters down in the process.

 

[Mathman]

... I struggle to recognize our sport anymore.

There is another point of view, though. Which is, "Figure Skating has always been like this."

Brian Boitano edged out Brian Orser (the superior "artist") at the 1988 Olympics because Boitano did two triple Axels and Orser only did one.

Dick Button won the 1948 Olympics because he did a double Axel and nobody else did. Then he won the 1952 Olympics because he did a triple loop and his competitors only had doubles.

Under the IJS it is easier to quantify the scoring advantage that big jumpers have, but under all judging systems this played a role.

As for the program components, I for one am not bothered when impressive technical feats (both difficulty and quality) also give a boost on the "second mark." Technical elements well done demonstrate good skating skills. On the negative side, falls on jumps disrupt the choreography and diminish the effectiveness of the presentation. Whatever the intent of the IJS, there will be overlap. (Kevin Aymoz should have gotten his "skate of a lifetime" bonus, though. )

 

[Rebecca Moose]

Brian Boitano edged out Brian Orser (the superior "artist") at the 1988 Olympics because Boitano did two triple Axels and Orser only did one.

The difference, my dear, is Boitano, even less "artistic" than Orser, still had complete skating skills and still interpreted the music well. Malinin does not.

Technical elements well done demonstrate good skating skills.

I wholeheartedly disagree. Jumps and skating skills are mutually exclusive.

I'll choose a skater from the past to be less controversial. Remember Ludmilla Nelidina? One of the first women to land a clean triple axel, but had novice level skating skills, one of the slowest senior level skaters I've ever seen live with minimal edge work and awkward carriage.

You'll never convince me she would have deserved a boost on the skating skills mark simply because she could do a triple axel.

Impressive jumps do not equal skating skills.

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[Rebecca Moose]

It’s a shame how some people here have such negativity and hatred to some skaters. Let’s be happy for all.

I do not see hatred here. We all have different points of view and different skating aesthetics we enjoy.

If all posts here were "happy all the time" and "peace and love for all", this would be a very dull place. Perhaps I am wrong, but I thought the point of discussion forums like this is to have spirited debate.

 

[4everchan]

I struggle with the word " hate" or all its variants.

Saying that a skater lacks skating skills and that his LP isn't as exciting as last year's is far from "hate".

I get that some fans are very protective of their skaters, I am too.. but let's not get into this "you are a hater because you don't like my skater" kind of petty deal.

ETA : I see that poster above me was compelled to write a post similar to mine... Sorry for the redundant post.

 

[4everchan]

My bit about the skating : there are a few programs I will watch again from this event.

Kévin's LP
Kao's SP
Koshiro's SP

those were for me the highlights.
Deniss's LP was also very nice : hoping he gives us a squeaky clean version at one point this year.