NHK Trophy 2014 - Ladies' Short Programme
The ladies' event in Osaka might feel like a second-hand competition given that none of the superstars are skating here, but it shouldn't be undermined. This is going to be influential for the future of Japanese figure skating as it will help decide their next leading lady.
Anne Line Gjersem's rendition of Celine Dion's Fly is simply beautiful. The choreography lacks detailed content, but she lands all the jumps cleanly. Her score: 49.09.
Anna Ovcharova, who is Russian-born, made a clever choice when she opted to skate for Switzerland, a country which needs individual skaters as of late. She falls on the double Toeloop. She gets 45.83 points.
Riona Kato, Japan's host pick, is one of those skaters who interprets with her body, but shows no emotion on her face. She also falls on the triple Flip. Her score: 50.87.
It's a shame, but I've learnt to expect bad programmes technically from Elene Gedevanishvili. She doesn't have the worst of days here, but she does fall on the double Axel and can't jump a triple-triple combination. She gets 50.18 points.
Gabrielle Daleman is full of energy from the start and manages to keep it throughout. The step sequence follows every nuance of the music, which helps the presentation. On a technical level, she steps out of the triple Toeloop and triple Lutz. Her score: 53.46.
There's nothing worse than seeing a skater fail to dance on their chosen rhythms. Polina Edmunds is not one of those skaters; she aces both the flamenco and tango steps. Unfortunately, she loses her composure after the fallen triple Lutz and ends up with only the double Axel as a clean jump. She gets 48.96 points.
The new music rule is definitely aiding Christina Gao's presentation of River by Emeli Sande. It just takes everything to a more profound level. She is flawless technically as well. Her score: 54.86.
Zijun Li needs to be a bit tougher on some of the landings because when she falls on the triple Toeloop, it feels like she's not fighting hard enough for it. Lovely presentation, completely different from the American's. She gets 56.44 points.
Alena Leonova is the best actress on ice right now. There shouldn't be a shadow of a doubt about that. The Charlie Chaplin routine is a masterpiece, and when she has a good day, like today, she simply soars. Excellent job! Her score: 68.11.
This is what I call the Denis Ten effect. Kanako Murakami is fixed on Phantom of the Opera as a theme. The short is set to Think of Me and it is sublime. You can tell she loves the song because she mouths the words from time to time. She gets 64.38.
Satoko Miyahara, despite her age, can handle pressure like a long time champion. Her music is Mozart's The Magic Flute. It's lovely, but nowhere near as spectacular as the Russian's. Her score: 60.69.
Gracie Gold is fabulous today with an elegant routine which attests to her name as a symbol of how graceful she is. She gets 68.16 points.
I overlooked Alena Leonova in my predictions for this event, and that was my bad. The Russian is unrecognisably flawless here and manages to finish in second place. Only 0.05 points head, Gracie Gold takes the lead. Finally, the better Japanese skater turns out to be Kanako Murakami, who might take another bronze medal here. Any thoughts?
P.S.: In the pairs' event, Meagan Duhamel/Eric Radford are in front of Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Smirnov with quite a margin. They are followed by Xiaoyu Yu/Yang Jin.
Anne Line Gjersem's rendition of Celine Dion's Fly is simply beautiful. The choreography lacks detailed content, but she lands all the jumps cleanly. Her score: 49.09.
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| Norway's Anne Line Gjersem Photograph: Kevin Lee/Getty Images Asia |
Riona Kato, Japan's host pick, is one of those skaters who interprets with her body, but shows no emotion on her face. She also falls on the triple Flip. Her score: 50.87.
It's a shame, but I've learnt to expect bad programmes technically from Elene Gedevanishvili. She doesn't have the worst of days here, but she does fall on the double Axel and can't jump a triple-triple combination. She gets 50.18 points.
Gabrielle Daleman is full of energy from the start and manages to keep it throughout. The step sequence follows every nuance of the music, which helps the presentation. On a technical level, she steps out of the triple Toeloop and triple Lutz. Her score: 53.46.
There's nothing worse than seeing a skater fail to dance on their chosen rhythms. Polina Edmunds is not one of those skaters; she aces both the flamenco and tango steps. Unfortunately, she loses her composure after the fallen triple Lutz and ends up with only the double Axel as a clean jump. She gets 48.96 points.
The new music rule is definitely aiding Christina Gao's presentation of River by Emeli Sande. It just takes everything to a more profound level. She is flawless technically as well. Her score: 54.86.
Zijun Li needs to be a bit tougher on some of the landings because when she falls on the triple Toeloop, it feels like she's not fighting hard enough for it. Lovely presentation, completely different from the American's. She gets 56.44 points.
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| USA's Gracie Gold is in the lead Photograph: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images North America |
This is what I call the Denis Ten effect. Kanako Murakami is fixed on Phantom of the Opera as a theme. The short is set to Think of Me and it is sublime. You can tell she loves the song because she mouths the words from time to time. She gets 64.38.
Satoko Miyahara, despite her age, can handle pressure like a long time champion. Her music is Mozart's The Magic Flute. It's lovely, but nowhere near as spectacular as the Russian's. Her score: 60.69.
Gracie Gold is fabulous today with an elegant routine which attests to her name as a symbol of how graceful she is. She gets 68.16 points.
I overlooked Alena Leonova in my predictions for this event, and that was my bad. The Russian is unrecognisably flawless here and manages to finish in second place. Only 0.05 points head, Gracie Gold takes the lead. Finally, the better Japanese skater turns out to be Kanako Murakami, who might take another bronze medal here. Any thoughts?
P.S.: In the pairs' event, Meagan Duhamel/Eric Radford are in front of Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Smirnov with quite a margin. They are followed by Xiaoyu Yu/Yang Jin.
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