2024 World Championships Men's Short Program

[Budapest2006]

I can't wait this season to end.... French team has been cursed this season :
- Quotas lost at european championships.
- One of our most promising couple splitting in the middle of the season.
- Many quite hard injuries among our couples, especially poor Kovalev/Kovalev having to withdraw at europeans then for world championships because of hard falls (wishing them good recovery).
- Kevin's meltdown (wishing him a good comeback).
- François Pitot having a hard time at his last junior GP final and junior world championships after a very promising start of season.
- Adam having a hard time at GP final and world championships after astonishing start of season.

Tough to be a french supporter this season.... But I have no doubt that Adam will put on a wonderful free skate and make it to the top 10, maybe even the top 7, which would be his best result at world championships to date

 

[Skater Boy]

Alexander Selevko top 12 so there's still a chance for a top 10 finish -- fingers crossed!

I am in the minority but I would have had him behind Roman.

 

[Crowdproud]

If Adam SHF battles to place in the top ten overall, would that secure two spots in men next year for France?

If Adam is 12th or higher, France gets two spots. Anyone who makes the free automatically gets 16 points, so the other skater needs to be 12th or higher.

 

[4everchan]

Oh of course what my darling pulled off was a feat on its own, but I stupidly held the hope of somehow retaining 3 spots and letting go of it stings, a lot. At this rate I will not be surprised if he goes for the 3-quad layout for the free and my suffering will continue

But how three spots? The only reason Korea had three is because Cha finished second last year and there were no other entries. Getting the 13 points is very hard in this field unless you're Japan or USA.

 

[Ichatdelune]

But how three spots? The only reason Korea had three is because Cha finished second last year and there were no other entries. Getting the 13 points is very hard in this field unless you're Japan or USA.

I don't even know at this point, maybe I thought something like 3+10. Not very thorough of me come to think of it. Dear heavens how stupid I am these days...

 

[Crowdproud]

I am in the minority but I would have had him behind Roman.

Sadovsky is indeed ahead of Selevko; Roman is 11th after the short.

 

[Skater Boy]

France should have had a super easy time getting three spots before Adam's disastrous skate and Aymoz' mh issues. They could even had on a good day two people on the podium.

I am so impressed by Jason Brown he pulled it out when it counted even after some rough practices but he is like over ten points out of a bronze so a medal is not looking great. I was also impressed with Roman Sadovsky after not making cuts and even the Canadian team and just a weird year he did it. I would have scored him a bit higher though.

Jin, Cha , Muira were disappointing too but can bounce ack.

 

[4everchan]

I don't even know at this point, maybe I thought something like 3+10. Not very thorough of me come to think of it. Dear heavens how stupid I am these days...

It is not stupid to be hopeful..I keep hoping Maddie will finish top ten

 

[el henry]

Yes, I stopped commenting, even had to stop watching, too many men to talk about, but...

Jason in 4th? more important than the placement, that glorious skate? and the wonderful Montreal crowd behind him?

(already talked about Donovan, won't stop me from another parenthetical )

And Deniss and Lukas stepping up to the plate, and/or the ice?

(don't need to talk about the top three, they brought it, or the disappointed skaters, I feel bad for them)

Wowza!

 

[babyskate]

I was in the arena. Jason transcended, mesmorized and had the audience in his hands from his opening sequence.
Yuma was a delight and entertained with excellent technique as well .
Shoma was Shoma, loved him.
I respect Ilia and what he does, just not my cup of tea.
Enjoyed Deniss, Lukas, Roman and Aleksandr as well .
Can't wait for the free skate.

 

[Skater Boy]

I was in the arena. Jason transcended, mesmorized and had the audience in his hands from his opening sequence.
Yuma was a delight and entertained with excellent technique as well .
Shoma was Shoma, loved him.
I respect Ilia and what he does, just not my cup of tea.
Enjoyed Deniss, Lukas, Roman and Aleksandr as well .
Can't wait for the free skate.

Well the question probably what order the top 3 end up. Somehow I think the battle might be Yuma and Ilia yet Shomo might take second. Admire Jason's skating but I don't think he has the tech to podium. Might be easier in the sp and he still was over ten points behind. So many good skaters who could be in the top ten. We watch now France to see if they get two spots - three is a big no now. Also Canada could still pull out 2 spots. So many potential top ten skaters - Jin, Cha, South Korea 2, Camden, Israel, Georgia, Roman, Wesley, Muira, not including the current top 4. Adam, Aleksandr, Luocas and my mind is freezing.

 

[GGFan]

I had to take a break so I couldn't watch the last 2 groups live.

1. Lukas' energy is always a joy to watch.
2. So glad Deniss left out the 4S.
3. Yuma was on fire. I'm so happy he's back to where he belongs--podiums.
4. Shae is brilliant and Ilia has come a far way. He has so much more presence.
5. Shoma lucked out on some jump GOEs but I don't mind because he's under-rewarded for the art he puts out. He was next level today.
6. Adam seems to have gotten it wrong with his peaking again. At least he knows that he can put out good performances--he needs to figure out how to do it at the end of the season though.
7. I was so shocked that Jason's score held up. 4th?? Wow!!

 

[mirai4life]

What an incredible short program competition. No surprises in the top 3 and I expect that's how it will end up too. I wanted so bad for Adam to do well! Oh well

 

[4everchan]

Ok... I don't have much more to say about this... as I was posting all the way through... and in general, it was pretty much a well skated event except for two of the (MY) favourites.
Let's start with Cha : He actually didn't do so badly. In the warm up, he was awful. His timing was off. If only he had done a 2T after the Salchow... but he sort of twisted his angle on the 3t and it was just impossible to land. Kudos to him to land the 4t because it's not his best jump. Should he have done the 4s, 3lz-3loop ? Well... maybe but then, in the warm up, I am pretty sure I spotted a disastrous lutz. So who knows ? Adam : I unfortunately thought this may happen. Adam is capable of the worst and the best. He is not a "safe" skater. I am super sorry for him and for myself because I adore his programs and his dynamic and expressive skating but without the good landings on his jumps, it was a bit flat compared to what I would expect him to do. i hope both of them have redeeming moments in the LPs.

Wesley : not bad for first worlds. That's all I will say.
Roman : very good. I give him an A + really. Considering his injuries and misadventures, and also, considering I saw him splat on Tuesday's practice.

Shoma : a true mature artistic skater. This program needs to be seen live to be really understood. I have watched it all season and it's something else at the rink. Shoma blends with the music. His smooth stroking makes one with the musical phrases. It is truly amazing. The last time I have seen a skater do that was Patrick Chan. Huge compliment from my part to Shoma.

Yuma is just super talented at everything. HE IS amazing. He will do even better when he gets more into the emotion of the music. However, he does understand musical concepts, phrase, pulse and highlights. He was in tune with his program for sure.

Ilia : of course, his jumps are effortless and he deserves top marks for that. His spins have improved. They are not spectacular but you cannot take points away from him as they are fast, tight and centered.

What is lacking to me : skating skills, connection with the music (he does get alive and connect with the audience in some parts of the program), style. To me, it's very generic. The raspberry twist is super cool but it's not enough for me to see his "style of skating". If I close my eyes right now, I can see Shoma, Jason, Roman, Yuma etc... but I cannot see Ilia's personal style. He is young, he can get there but it's time he does something to define better his skating identity.

Happy for Jason and Lukas but at the same time, I was expecting, like many others to see Adam, Junhwan and Kao there.


Now... side note about PCS

I am not pleased. How can Ilia get 9.75 and 9.5 in PCS ? Same judge gave Jason 8.75.

To me, there are 3 or 4 skaters who did deserve the high 8s and low 9s today. Shoma, Yuma, Jason and Deniss. (deniss got lower than Ilia with 43 and dust)

Then, there are skaters who faltered but are good skaters : Jun, Kao and Adam. All three received 42 (8.4 to 8.5) which is fine with me. Lukas also got that kind of score for a good performance which is fair.

I would put Ilia below these skaters. Give him more points for presentation but less for Choreo and definitely less for Skating Skills.
I am not saying he deserves way less.. .just a bit less than his 44, so 40-42max.

I am not sure how in this world a guy like Roman who got only 38,6, with a good performance on top of that goes below someone like Selevko. or Memola (gosh his blades were so noisy... )

To me Roman and Camden should be getting above 40. No idea how Nika (38,56) got pretty much the same PCS score as Roman.

Finally, so many skaters are getting the same scores 33-36... are they all really even? It bugs me because with TES, a skater can really make an argument for their ranking... but if the judges give more or less the same score to half of the skaters, it just minimize the importance of PCS once more.

I just wished that skaters who care about improving the PCS aspect of their score would be rewarded, so it would become a great incentive to develop all aspects of skating. Not just aim to land big jumps.

PS : I love jumps. Especially live from the rink. They are marvellous to watch. But they still only happen 3 times in a 2m40 program... too few programs were really programs.

 

[CoyoteChris]

Was Marin commenting for Japan TV while Shoma skated? Would love to hear her and see a translation! I am not much of a mens fan but love Jason and Shoma and like Yuma...gonna have to put on the heart monitor for the last group.

 

[icewhite]

Boyang

Adam

Yuma

Lukas

Shoma

Ilia jumps clean, but it didn't look that great overall and I think his PCS are much too high in comparison to Shoma and Yuma

Roman

Litvintsev

Edward Appleby was great, his placement does not show what a wonderful skater he is. I thoroughly enjoyed it, no matter what and hope the guy has a great future.

My mother is so not into it, does not care for Yuma, Shoma or Ilia, but liked Economides and Samoilov for doing something different.

I was very happy Hyungyeom qualified for the final, because I think he has become one of my absolute favourites.
Donovan really fought for the combo and was rewarded.

Memola did well, but he does, sorry, bore me to death.

Shaidorov unfortunately could not show what he's capable of technically, but seemed improved in other aspects.

Frangipani, Pulkinen and Demirboga were also enjoyable.

 

[MarkinBerkeley]

France should have had a super easy time getting three spots before Adam's disastrous skate and Aymoz' mh issues. They could even had on a good day two people on the podium.

I am so impressed by Jason Brown he pulled it out when it counted even after some rough practices but he is like over ten points out of a bronze so a medal is not looking great. I was also impressed with Roman Sadovsky after not making cuts and even the Canadian team and just a weird year he did it. I would have scored him a bit higher though.

Jin, Cha , Muira were disappointing too but can bounce ack.

A medal is not realistic for Brown unless one of the top 3 has a total disaster or withdraws. Quads just get too many points and they are too far ahead. He could score ~185 with a perfect free skate like he had last year, for a realistic maximum of ~280.

 

[MarkinBerkeley]

I wondered for a second if he was ever going to pull the trigger on that 3A. LONG prep for it.

(Whispering... I'm not entirely sure it got all the way around).

I thought he might just do a double. It was fully rotated.

 

[Sai Bon]

Give it a rest.

I'm not a skeptic. I'm a fan. I didn't question his personal qualities or the character of his family.

I questioned a jump. And it DID have a long prep, and I'm STILL not sure it was fully rotated. I thought it was Q. Love and joy and sweetness and generosity have nothing to do with that.

And I was "whispering" because I was afraid some superfan would misinterpret and jump in to defend against the slightest critique of even ONE element in a beautiful program. And I was right.

I have to agree about the long setup for the axel. I'm no skater and even I noticed it. It probably stood out more than for other skaters, because the rest of his performance was so dense in terms of content. IIRC, the 3A is not Jason's favourite jump?

 

[icewhite]

Honestly Jason does not look at the height of his abilities anymore. He was very good, no doubt, but not breathtaking. His scores seem over the top. I know he earned them over the years, but... for what he delivers now, it's too much.