Men's Short Program

[Bluebonnet]

4T-3T!!! Massive!!
3A - Again, massive!
Nobu is on fire!
And my feed buffers aggghhhhh
I have no idea whether he landed his final jumping pass or not

Was this the first time ever that Oda has put a quad into his actual competition? Wowwww!:thumbsup:

Haven't had chance to watch any of these programs yet. By reading here, I'm very happy for Oda and Chan! Wonder if the collision in the practice has affected Takahashi and Kozuka's skating today? Amodio and Verner - as expected.

 

[janetfan]

Was this the first time ever that Oda has put a quad into his actual competition? Wowwww!:thumbsup:

Haven't had chance to watch any of these programs yet. By reading here, I'm very happy for Oda and Chan! Wonder if the collision in the practice has affected Takahashi and Kozuka's skating today? Amodio and Verner - as expected.

I think Oda showed quads in both of his LPs this season. Maybe this was the first time in the SP.
He really had a good skate - one of the very best SPs of the season.

 

[lavender]

Dai is my favorite but my feeling today is on Chan and Oda. I don't like Chan but I do enjoy his skating and I can't believe I'm saying this but I would have put him ahead of Oda. He has the better program and his presentation is better imo.

 

[gmyers]

Oda adding the 4/3 was smart because he does them in practice a lot and people are always posting them online. Finally a quad combo goes in a program!

 

[Jaana]

I would have put Chan first, Takahashi second and Oda third. Oda is a fantastic jumper, but he is not good in interpreting music, IMO.

 

[silverlake22]

Oda was on fire. Both Daisuke and Taka had odd stumbles and some other little quality problems. Patrick's 4T was not as good as he had so 3T was tacked on to 3F. His jumps are all preceded with footwork so the combo can be made out of any of them without concern of not having all required jumps. Couldn't see well on computer stream but I believe he does one foot footwork into his 3F.

Both Nobu's and Patrick's scores are huge.

Sorry Silverlake.

I thought Dai was the best, but I see why he's in 3rd because he didn't do a quad and the top 2 did. I can't complain about Verner's score because of the huge pop. I thought Kozuka was a little overscored, but they probably wanted to keep him in the running for a medal. Tomorrow is a new day.

 

[Violet Bliss]

Bigsisjiejie, it's so good to read your rinkside report.

Are there many Japanese fans in attendance? With 50% of Singles competitors from Japan, which is near China, I imagine there must be lots of enthusiastic Japanese there to support their stars.

Still, the arena was far from full. :sheesh:

 

[pangtongfan]

Dai is my favorite but my feeling today is on Chan and Oda. I don't like Chan but I do enjoy his skating and I can't believe I'm saying this but I would have put him ahead of Oda. He has the better program and his presentation is better imo.

Chan's PCS were much higher than Oda's. Oda's TES were higher though. And now that I got to see the performances (my bad on my first point about a triple-triple for Oda ) Oda definitely deserved higher TES. His jumps were stronger and his spins a bit too.

 

[Tonichelle]

Not to make excuses but I wonder if the collision yesterday at practice with Taka (Dai got hit pretty hard) had anything to do with Dai's slowness today.
He may be bruised.

Oh I'm sure he's hurting after that collision... gotta wonder how Taka's feeling as well.

 

[wonderlen3000]

If Chan can get +GOE on sloppy jumps, Oda should get +2GOE all across and on all of his jumps. He truly is the best jumper. If only we could combine Dai, Taka and Oda in one package. lol

 

[lavender]

Chan's PCS were much higher than Oda's. Oda's TES were higher though. And now that I got to see the performances (my bad on my first point about a triple-triple for Oda ) Oda definitely deserved higher TES. His jumps were stronger and his spins a bit too.

Still would have put Chan first. I agree with Jaana's view.

 

[mot]

Oh I'm sure he's hurting after that collision... gotta wonder how Taka's feeling as well.

It was reported in Japanese media that Daisuke had hit his right buttock and upper part of his thigh badly, and also has a whiplash-like symptom on his neck. He was treated with icing and applying cold compresses, but it was touch-and-go whether he'd compete or not today, according to 'the source (close to him? or JSF?)'. Although Daisuke himself brushed aside any concerns saying 'I am in a little pain, but nothing to worry about.'

He was disappointed that he could not give an exciting performance despite scoring his seasons best.

sourse: http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/winter/news/20101211-OHT1T00061.htm

Also he admitted he was surprised he came in third with that performance - he expected a lot worse.

 

[demarinis5]

^^Thanks for the info.

 

[Violet Bliss]

I shudder whenever I imagine being hit with the force of a man coming down from the kind of height and speed as a FS triple jump and crashing to the ice with said man on top. Ice, not a field. In real life, not a cartoon.

Dai has got to hurt. Taka crashed down too, but I guess his anguish is more mental.

These figre skaters are among the toughest athletes there ever are, especially female pair skaters.

Edited to add this from Daisuke's fansite:

After short program, from Daisuke's interview, "In short program, the only one thing I regret is my steps. I missed it. Because I was so tired that I couldn't move another step. In my feeling, I'm not satisfied with my performance, so I don't know why I placed 3rd. The clash has not affect on my performance at all."

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&rel=j7&k=2010121000959

 

[bigsisjiejie]

Bigsisjiejie, it's so good to read your rinkside report.

Are there many Japanese fans in attendance? With 50% of Singles competitors from Japan, which is near China, I imagine there must be lots of enthusiastic Japanese there to support their stars.

Still, the arena was far from full. :sheesh:

Yes, there were many Japanese fans there. Most of them resident in Beijing, which has a large Japnese expat population. I doubt if many Japanese travelled from Japan, as it's still a 3.5 hour plane ride and very expensive air fares. Crowd was small, but on a Friday afternoon/evening, getting to the arena before 7-8 pm is difficult for working people in Beijing. Hopefully today will see a larger crowd. BTW, the Chinese crowd was cheering for the Japanese skaters as well--no rancor detected by me. Mostly, the Chinese want to be entertained, and they appreciate great jumping though are not as knowledgeable on other skating elements. Noticed more signs from fans around the arena than at previous competitions--and many were for the Japanese guys...and Verner. lol

For those of you who think that Chan should be in the lead over Oda...well, just um...NO. The scores accurately reflect what was on the ice...Chan did get the PCS but was outgunned on TES by Oda. Chan's jumps were competent (for him) last night, but were not in the same league as Oda's. And a 4-3 combo, executed cleanly as per Oda, speaks volumes to tech panels. If Chan had put out a 4-3 last night, he would be in first place. If Chan had put out a 4-2 last night, he might also have been put in first...maybe.

 

[emma]

What a fantastic set of short programs. I felt bad that Amodio and Verner popped jumps, but these were really exciting short programs to watch, imo.

I hands down thought Oda deserved first place with the 4-3 combo and wonderful jumps and elements (I hate to be snarky, but his emotion free expression bugs me sometimes, although I admit that today I was able to forgive it, in fact, not even notice it as his jumps were so amazing it was unbelievable; but the costume I just cannot stand); and I thought Chan redeemed himself (for fans) with his mostly clean program - he is for me simply an awesome skater; but today even with the quad, i felt (as in felt - not judge trained analysis) that Oda won and he was rightly in a close second. Taka is too hot for words - the way he moves all of his body is really something; but he bobbled the footwork, "only" did a 3-3 and no quad and as much as I loved the effort, felt third was well deserved. Where my heart hurts a bit is for Kazuka - NOT because I think he is lacking although he wasn't fully on today, but because no matter how much I try, I just don't feel this short program at all (and I actually like the music).

Anyway, I found that exciting and loved reading your comments....here's looking forward to some great LPs too!

 

[Olympia]

Yes, there were many Japanese fans there. Most of them resident in Beijing, which has a large Japnese expat population. I doubt if many Japanese travelled from Japan, as it's still a 3.5 hour plane ride and very expensive air fares. Crowd was small, but on a Friday afternoon/evening, getting to the arena before 7-8 pm is difficult for working people in Beijing. Hopefully today will see a larger crowd. BTW, the Chinese crowd was cheering for the Japanese skaters as well--no rancor detected by me. Mostly, the Chinese want to be entertained, and they appreciate great jumping though are not as knowledgeable on other skating elements. Noticed more signs from fans around the arena than at previous competitions--and many were for the Japanese guys...and Verner. lol

For those of you who think that Chan should be in the lead over Oda...well, just um...NO. The scores accurately reflect what was on the ice...Chan did get the PCS but was outgunned on TES by Oda. Chan's jumps were competent (for him) last night, but were not in the same league as Oda's. And a 4-3 combo, executed cleanly as per Oda, speaks volumes to tech panels. If Chan had put out a 4-3 last night, he would be in first place. If Chan had put out a 4-2 last night, he might also have been put in first...maybe.

I'm really glad to have your comments! It's also good to hear that the local crowd was enthusiastic about the non-Chinese skaters. I hate when an audience is so partisan that visiting skaters have no one to cheer for them--especially in this case, when the Japanese and European skaters are so spectacular (and their home countries are too far away for large groups of supporters to travel from). Keep taking good notes! And enjoy the rest of the skating.

 

[FlattFan]

Chan's PCS was a triple toe higher than Oda's. Oda's skating skill, I think, is better than Chan's. He's so fast, and his knee bend, and edge work are top rated. Both are about the same, interpretation wise. P/E, Oda should be ahead. Chan was overscored on PCS again.
Oda should be a bit higher than Chan.
The order is right.

 

[ImaginaryPogue]

I think its worth mentioning that Chan's TES were hurt by the UR. In essence, a 4t-3t, 3f, and 3A are the same as a 4t, 3A and 3F-3T in terms of base value. Oda's TES weren't helped by doing a 4-3. They were helped by the fact that he would get good GOEs - certainly compared to Chan, who likely scored negative on the quad and barely positive on the 3A. I think the difference in TES is entirely correct. I also think the PCS were right on too. Takahashi wins out on Performance and Intepretation - his ability to sell his program is simply superior to the rest of the field. Chan wins out on Skating Skills, Transitions and choreography - it's nuts how difficult some of that stuff he does is.

The LP will be interesting.

 

[treeloving]

After short program, from Daisuke's interview, "In short program, the only one thing I regret is my steps. I missed it. Because I was so tired that I couldn't move another step. In my feeling, I'm not satisfied with my performance, so I don't know why I placed 3rd. The clash has not affect on my performance at all."

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&rel=j7&k=2010121000959

I really admire Daisuke's attitude. Even he is one of the the best in world, he is really modest and honest with his performance.