Javier Fernandez

[Jaana]

Maybe this has not been posted, yet?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6hGeLmNfVU

2017 Japan Open Javi´s freeskate without constant talking...

 

[Sam L]

The musical involves Cervantes himself as one of the heroes of the play fighting for freedom of expression and telling the story in a prison. In this version, DQ dies in the end, but Cervantes is released with his novel manuscript (which everyone knows will be published in the end). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_of_La_Mancha

The storyline is easy enough to understand in the program, the only question was the beginning before the announcement of DQ. In discussions elsewhere, we agreed that it is probably DQ before he turns himself into a knight (or Cervantes himself), but sort of before the knight story starts. The Dulcinea part is explained by the lyrics and the lift to an inspriring end with the Impossible Dream comes also from the lyrics. I would expect they will adjust details before Japan Open and maybe again before GP series starts. Like the level 2 step stequence (the last time he had level 2 steps in the FS was in the spring of 2010)...

I wish I had more time for this already now...

E

This is the same music as when Beatrix Schuba won gold in 1972? I thought I recognized the music lol

 

[eppen]

This is the same music as when Beatrix Schuba won gold in 1972? I thought I recognized the music lol

Good catch! Hers were probably from the 1972 movie soundtrack? But they used almost the same bits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTwv03_sufg Hope this is a good omen - she did win the gold that year!

The version Javi uses is a combination of a recent Broadway recording (the flamenco bit in the beginning) and the rest probably comes from some British recording of it.

My favourite part of the FS is the second jump section done to Dulcinea - it is the part which has most interaction between the lyrics and the choreo making it crucial to get all the jumps right for timing and performing the rest correctly. Can't wait for it come out with all the jumps as intended...

They did it last year already with Elvis and Fever (and it is quite amusing to note that Kolyada's Elvis FS for this season is modelled so much after Javi's Elvis that "Love me tender" is used for the second jump sequence - the choreo, however, does not quite match that of David Wilson's IMO).

The SP looked ok in the JO show - canät believe he went for the quad in that darkness. The costume is slightly better than the first version, but still not very good. I think they are aiming at something not quite trad. Chaplin so that the idea of it not being so obviously Chaplin from the start is matched by the costume, but it is perhaps still a bit too modern, glitzy and stylized to match the theme.

So far so good - just a couple of weeks before his first GP in China! It will be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of weeks with his main competitiors and what Javi himself is able to do with the programs. That level 3 from the FS steps needs to get higher for one thing...

Out and about in Toronto last night
https://www.instagram.com/p/BaN4tK7njNo/?tagged=javierfernandez
https://www.instagram.com/p/BaOGK-BnCGf/?tagged=javierfernandez

E

 

[Jaana]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaOGK-BnCGf/?tagged=javierfernandez

E

Oh yes, the king of artistic skating!!! Thanks for the photos, Eppen.....

 

[eppen]

An interview of Dick Button in Japan Times - some rather complimentary statements on Javi :luv17: (The whole interview here)

“Anybody can win this championship [Olympics]. It all depends on how they handle the pressure and how they skate,” he said. “There is Javier Fernandez, there is Shoma Uno, there is Hanyu, there is the American (Nathan) Chen. Anyone can be good enough that day, or anyone can make a mistake. Unfortunately, and I use that word definitively, the rules are so oriented into quadruple jumps that it hurts.”

“One factor is about the difference between the short program and the long program. The answer to that is two words — 2 minutes. Give me a break. The rules do not favor creative skating. One of the few skaters that achieves that is Javier Fernandez. But again, it will come down to the number of bloody quadruple jumps.”

“There are different cycles in skating. First there were Americans after the Second World War. Myself, Hayes Jenkins, Tenley Albright, Carol Heiss, Ronnie Robertson, etc. Then the Russians — the Protopopovs, Irina Rodnina, Alexander Zaitsev, etc. Now the Asians — Japanese and Korean . . . Yuzuru, Mao, Yuna, Uno, etc. The odd one out is the Spaniard Javier Fernandez, who is one of the few to be both quad-oriented, original and artistic."

E

 

[iluvtodd]

^ Thanks for the pics & link to "Uncle" Dickie's interview!

 

[Mussique]

Wow! He definitely doesn't give compliments lightly, juzguing for the rest of the article

 

[DelRetiro]

Wow! He definitely doesn't give compliments lightly, juzguing for the rest of the article

Dick Button gives praise only when richly deserved. I remember an interview Button had with Linda Fratianne where he was gushing (by his standards) over her skate, and Linda was wide-eyed in disbelief that he was actually saying something nice about her skating.

 

[tureis]

These are wonderful compliments indeed! :luv17: It's incredible to witness how far Javi has come as a skater and a performer over the years, and seeing him getting acknowledged by the biggest names of the sport like Dick Button is truly fantastic.

But the whole article is a very interesting read actually...

 

[Jaana]

A Javier article

https://heavy.com/sports/2017/10/javier-fernandez-age-bio-medals-coach-family/

Nothing really new, but interesting to read anyway, IMO.

 

[tzazu]

An interview with BOrser about Yuzuru and Javier:
http://fs-gossips.com/brian-orser-ha...-the-olympics/

 

[Mussique]

An interview with BOrser about Yuzuru and Javier:
http://fs-gossips.com/brian-orser-ha...-the-olympics/

Reaaaally interesting. You know, something I found uncomfortable with, at first, was the whole "I'm depending on other people's mistakes". But with all the quads, it really is the highest probability. It's kind of feeling like a cards game to me, the man's skating section: you place your bet, the higher the better, but if you bet too high then the more you lose. At least it should be that way (when a fall on a quad is worth more than a landed triple, not so much)

I bring a bit of fluff that I don't know if you've seen before —probably you have, but just in case...

He must be tired of having to explain jumps so he posted a short video with cool edits about the story of them in his Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/BaX8Be7HSC0/

Review his Instagram, btw, there are some cool pics from Japan Open and Autumn Classic

Killer smile
https://jfls.tumblr.com/post/166634236720/from-javiers-instagram-story-trans-whatever-is#notes

And my fave! 10 yr old Javi, when he was SuperCute instead of SuperJavi!
https://mobile.twitter.com/oscardelcastel/status/917104816433909760

 

[tzazu]

Reaaaally interesting. You know, something I found uncomfortable with, at first, was the whole "I'm depending on other people's mistakes". But with all the quads, it really is the highest probability. It's kind of feeling like a cards game to me, the man's skating section: you place your bet, the higher the better, but if you bet too high then the more you lose. At least it should be that way (when a fall on a quad is worth more than a landed triple, not so much)

I bring a bit of fluff that I don't know if you've seen before —probably you have, but just in case...

He must be tired of having to explain jumps so he posted a short video with cool edits about the story of them in his Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/BaX8Be7HSC0/

Review his Instagram, btw, there are some cool pics from Japan Open and Autumn Classic

Killer smile
https://jfls.tumblr.com/post/166634236720/from-javiers-instagram-story-trans-whatever-is#notes

And my fave! 10 yr old Javi, when he was SuperCute instead of SuperJavi!
https://mobile.twitter.com/oscardelcastel/status/917104816433909760

 

[Jaana]

Reaaaally interesting. You know, something I found uncomfortable with, at first, was the whole "I'm depending on other people's mistakes". But with all the quads, it really is the highest probability. It's kind of feeling like a cards game to me, the man's skating section: you place your bet, the higher the better, but if you bet too high then the more you lose. At least it should be that way (when a fall on a quad is worth more than a landed triple, not so much)

Yes, a fall on a quad gives points, but sometimes those jumps tend to be under-rotated and in those cases a skater does not get quite so many points. I think if Javi at the Olympics is able to do all he can do and do it well, he may go really far...

That so much for the wonderful clips and that Killer photo!!!

 

[rosacotton]

Some photos from Worlds 2015 I've not seen before, and they just make me...:luv17:
Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3

 

[Bcash]

Yes who would have thought the pace of technical development in men's skating would be this overwhelming.
For a gold medal finish, he really does need to skate squeaky clean AND hope for mistakes from other top contenders. But I hope that will relieve a bit of pressure for him. Just focusing on being free on the ice would be the best mentality.

 

[Mussique]

I certainly hope so, Jaana! And yup, Bcash . I want him to just be himself and give an outstanding performance--- he's done it before, he certainly can do it again
And -- oh my gosh rosacotton, he's such a dork... I cannot see those images without thinking of goat noises
More fluffy fluff: this man and his love for cats I swear :luv17:

He also appeared giving a message to Paralympic athletes, from Toronto, among Pau Gasol and Rafa Nadal. Those are the most famous sportsman from Spain (with Fernando Alonso) excluding footballers, so it's a big deal. It's also nice of them

Just a week from Cup of China!! and I'm going to miss the livestream, I'm so sad :sad21:

 

[eppen]

The Spanish Olympic Committee (and Eurosport) had a little gala in Spain to kick off the olympic season. Javi was not there personally, but participated via videolink.

Here's part of what he said in a not-so-hot quality video: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ba4CoLRHx-i/?hl=en&tagged=javierfernández

COE video has a couple of glimpses of him, but not much more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCDh3gPUHaM

And a preview of the Cup of China: http://olympics.nbcsports.com/2017/...alina-zagitova-cup-of-china-preview-schedule/

Days only to his first GP this year! Hope things are ok in Toronto and that Brian's health problems (hope he is well!) do not affect Javi's mental state going to China.

My greatest luxury this year is seeing both his GPs live. (Still can't quite believe it!) Onsite reports might have to wait until after the competition because of China's internet censorship, but we'll see how it all will work in the end...

E

 

[Jaana]

Thanks so much for the links, Eppen!!! Looking forward to your China reporting...., always welcome and at what ever time. Have fun!!!

 

[Mussique]

Thanks, @eppen! Wow, you're so lucky!! That's amazing!!! I look forward to your reporting whenever you're able to do it. You shall tell us if his eyelashes are as huge as they seem on camera!! Haha

Btw, does anyone know what is he going to do as EX this year?
I think the only thing I'll be able to watch online live is the gala, LOL. But well, it's better than nothing!

Yeah, I'm worried about Brian Orser too! Let's wish him a good and fast recovery!
He's confirmed his assistance in NHK for Yuzu, but I haven't found anything about him and Cup of China yet. We wouldn't want him to cut short his rest and injure himself further, but let's hope he can be there as well!

Last news I've got from him in Spain is that he's participating in the usual non-lucrative Doctor Patín auctions by donating some items.
But he's not benefiting at all from the sells —he's doing it all for the federation and the other Spanish skaters.
I'd put the link here but I'm not sure if it's allowed in the forum guidelines
I swear this guy!!! He's just done so much for Spanish skating and continues to do so... Wow.

Edit: people love to build up the drama, don't they I mean, there are six serious contenders for Olympics this year. But I guess the whole competitors-slash-training partners does drag people to clic on the news

Edit 2.0 Plushy talks about Olympics. He places Yuzuru first, but also praises Javi's progress, and says he's likely to podium. I certainly hope so —my biggest O dream would be for him to get that OGM! Direct quote from the article:

“I know him very well,” Plushenko said of Fernandez, the 2015 and 2016 world champion. “He was a very bad skater. Then he went off and going, going, going, and now he is the best in the world.”

Well, I'm glad they know each other very well! Javi really admired (and admires) Plushenko.

NBC also wrote this article whose link was broken a few days and I've just been able to access today, even when I had seen it before in Google :'D
It's mostly about things we already know —his origins, his mishaps with his boots going MIA before competitions. But it's overall a nice light-hearted article. I think it gets some facts wrong —when Javi started skating there were about 7 rinks in all Spain, nowadays there are 17, and there is some stuff missing in the "records held" part (namely if you're comparing him to Spanish skaters then almost everything he's done is a record), but it's a fun read.
Edit 3.0. sorry for the accidental delete/repost, I don't know why it always happens when I try editing on my phone :/