Rostelecom Cup 2014 - Men's Short Skate
Last time we saw Javier Fernandez, he was slightly short of his best performance. Let's hope this event will give him the opportunity to prove Skate Canada was just bad luck. And what about Max Aaron and Jason Brown? They are fresh from their minor victories, but it's hard to say if they can keep it up in Moscow in front of the array of talented competitors they must face.
Moris Kvitelashvili makes for a wonderful Lestat from Interview with a Vampire. He's funny, looks like a young Dracula and is just accurate enough technically to leave us with a good impression. He falls on the triple Axel though. His score: 62.24.
The soundtrack of W.E. is growing in popularity among skaters. Jeremy Ten joins the group of skaters who have used it, and his version might be the first that sticks with me. You can see all the elements of the tempestuous love story and many fabulous jumps. He gets 73.91 points.
Stephen Carriere's interpretation of La Vie en Rose is lovely, but he doesn't bring his best technical luggage with him to Moscow. He steps out of the triple Axel and doubles the triple Toeloop. His score: 72.20.
Fun times with Ivan Righini and Michael Jackson! The Italian has the pop icon's signature moves memorised, and it gets the audience going like crazy. He's also one of the few European skaters attempting to jump with his arms above his head. He gets 69.74 points.
Artur Gachinski's programme is just the tinniest bit better than what we've seen from him recently, but he's still far from the world medalist we knew him for. Cry Me a River is a great musical choice for him because it's got that swagger he's so good at selling. His score: 74.13.
There is no denying that Misha Ge's Ave Maria is a masterpiece. From the costume to the facial expressions, he, and I mean that literally, planned every single detail very carefully. It doesn't get better than this in terms of presentation, and the technical elements are great too. He gets 79.69 points.
Takahiko Kozuka delights us with a phenomenal tango, but he double-foots the landing of the quad Toeloop and over-rotates the triple Lutz. I wish his confidence came back because when he's not doubting himself, there is nothing he can't do. His score: 81.38.
Skating home does wonders for Sergei Voronov. I knew he would fight for the podium, but I didn't expect him to be completely flawless. Awesome job! The way he jumps is mesmerising, with so much confidence and certainty. He gets 90.33 points.
It cannot be easy to skate after Voronov, as Jason Brown proves. You can tell he's a bit more nervous than usually because he loses track of the timing and finishes way after the music. He also steps out of the triple Toeloop. His score: 76.32.
I'm starting to think it wasn't a good idea for Michal Brezina to swap coaches. He hasn't had a single impressive skate all season, and this is a skater who used to kick ass with his quads and step sequences. He falls on the quad here. He gets 80.89 points.
Max Aaron is the fastest skater we've seen here so far. His interpretation of Footloose is aided by his speed because the rhythm of the song is really hard to keep. I still find him a bit guarded, like he's not letting himself go with the flow of the music, but it's a more excited performance than last time. A bit too excited perhaps as he falls during the step sequence. His score: 77.09.
Javier Fernandez knows how to deal with pressure and delivers Black Betty apparently unfazed by the competition. He struggles with the triple Axel, but he lands it properly and that's what matters. He gets 93.92 points.
So, the Americans can't keep their stance and therefore the ball is in the Europeans' side. Javier Fernandez lands the first spot easily despite Sergei Voronov's mighty fight. On third comes Takahiko Kozuka, better than we've seen him all season.
Moris Kvitelashvili makes for a wonderful Lestat from Interview with a Vampire. He's funny, looks like a young Dracula and is just accurate enough technically to leave us with a good impression. He falls on the triple Axel though. His score: 62.24.
 |
| Misha Ge impresses once more Photograph: Kevin Lee/Getty Images Asia |
Stephen Carriere's interpretation of La Vie en Rose is lovely, but he doesn't bring his best technical luggage with him to Moscow. He steps out of the triple Axel and doubles the triple Toeloop. His score: 72.20.
Fun times with Ivan Righini and Michael Jackson! The Italian has the pop icon's signature moves memorised, and it gets the audience going like crazy. He's also one of the few European skaters attempting to jump with his arms above his head. He gets 69.74 points.
Artur Gachinski's programme is just the tinniest bit better than what we've seen from him recently, but he's still far from the world medalist we knew him for. Cry Me a River is a great musical choice for him because it's got that swagger he's so good at selling. His score: 74.13.
There is no denying that Misha Ge's Ave Maria is a masterpiece. From the costume to the facial expressions, he, and I mean that literally, planned every single detail very carefully. It doesn't get better than this in terms of presentation, and the technical elements are great too. He gets 79.69 points.
Takahiko Kozuka delights us with a phenomenal tango, but he double-foots the landing of the quad Toeloop and over-rotates the triple Lutz. I wish his confidence came back because when he's not doubting himself, there is nothing he can't do. His score: 81.38.
 |
| Sergei Voronov skates like never before on home ice Photograph: Kyoshi Ota/Getty Images Asia |
It cannot be easy to skate after Voronov, as Jason Brown proves. You can tell he's a bit more nervous than usually because he loses track of the timing and finishes way after the music. He also steps out of the triple Toeloop. His score: 76.32.
I'm starting to think it wasn't a good idea for Michal Brezina to swap coaches. He hasn't had a single impressive skate all season, and this is a skater who used to kick ass with his quads and step sequences. He falls on the quad here. He gets 80.89 points.
Max Aaron is the fastest skater we've seen here so far. His interpretation of Footloose is aided by his speed because the rhythm of the song is really hard to keep. I still find him a bit guarded, like he's not letting himself go with the flow of the music, but it's a more excited performance than last time. A bit too excited perhaps as he falls during the step sequence. His score: 77.09.
Javier Fernandez knows how to deal with pressure and delivers Black Betty apparently unfazed by the competition. He struggles with the triple Axel, but he lands it properly and that's what matters. He gets 93.92 points.
So, the Americans can't keep their stance and therefore the ball is in the Europeans' side. Javier Fernandez lands the first spot easily despite Sergei Voronov's mighty fight. On third comes Takahiko Kozuka, better than we've seen him all season.
Comments
Post a Comment