European Championshis 2015 - Men's First Act
Someone once said about Stockholm that here "everything works. Everything looks good." As it prepares to host its first European championship of figure skating since 1912, we can only hope that the saying can be applied to the skaters' performances as well.
We start off with the men's short programme, where the favourite is Spain's Javier Fernandez, followed by Maxim Kovtun, Sergei Voronov and Michal Brezina. Let's see how it all goes down.
Alexander Majorov gets the crowd on their feet despite the fall on the triple Loop. He chose a famous Pink Floyd song for the short, The Great Gig in the Sky. His score: 68.10.
Pavel Ignatenko from Belarus chose to skate on a cover of Adele's Skyfall; this version is more energetic than the original, but it lacks the sophistication associated with James Bond. He falls on the triple Axel. He gets 55.79 points.
Florent Amodio has had a bad season so far, which seems to weigh down on him as he can't bring himself to even attempt a quadruple. That being said, he is technically flawless and artistically brilliant. Armand Amard's Le Concert gives him the chance to express emotion and melancholy, which is what he's best at. His score: 74.06.
Many people say that the way Sergei Voronov divides his routine into two parts (one technical, one artistic) puts him at a disadvantage, but this structure has worked so far for him, so I think there's nothing to reproach him on that level. Nor is there anything else to reproach on any other level today. Fantastic job. He gets 81.06 points.
Maxim Kovtun is certainly contributing to the increasing popularity of Maurice Ravel's Bolero because when a song is interpreted this well, it is bound to stay in your memory. However, on a technical level, he makes a few mistakes like putting a hand down on the quad Toeloop. His score: 78.21.
After the Russians' intense programmes, Javier Fernandez's Black Betty feels like a breath of fresh air, which is ironical because this type of music is more exhausting to skate on than the classical pieces of his rivals. He steps out of both the quad and the triple Toeloop, but overall, this is a good performance. He takes the lead with a staggering total of 89.24 points.
I still think that Chafik Besseghier's routine is a work of art, but I wouldn't blame you if you didn't believe me based on what he's doing with it today. Every single jump has an error in it and the spins are less than perfect. His score: 49.61.
Just like the Frenchman, Peter Liebers kept last season's short programme, which is set to Coldplay's Clocks. He doesn't have a quad, but he is a very constant skater, who almost always has a clean routine, which means he might pull off a decent placement here. He gets 75.78 points.
Sometimes when skaters are tense for too long, they let go once they're past the most difficult elements, thus losing concentration and messing up the easier part. This is exactly what happens to Michal Brezina, who falls on the triple Flip after acing both the triple Axel and the quad Toeloop. Luckily, he still finishes the short on third with a score of 80.86.
Well, this first event hasn't exactly been as flawless as we expected it to be, but nerves are always overflowing at the start of a competition, so let's hope the skaters will pull themselves back together in the final. So far Javier Fernandez seems unlikely to lose the competition, but Sergei Voronov and Michal Brezina's places on the podium are threatened by each other and those waiting on the wings, like Maxim Kovtun and Peter Liebers. Don't miss the free skate.
We start off with the men's short programme, where the favourite is Spain's Javier Fernandez, followed by Maxim Kovtun, Sergei Voronov and Michal Brezina. Let's see how it all goes down.
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| Florent Amodio hasn't quite returned to his best form, but he's getting there Photo: Jamie McDonald/Getty Images Europe |
Pavel Ignatenko from Belarus chose to skate on a cover of Adele's Skyfall; this version is more energetic than the original, but it lacks the sophistication associated with James Bond. He falls on the triple Axel. He gets 55.79 points.
Florent Amodio has had a bad season so far, which seems to weigh down on him as he can't bring himself to even attempt a quadruple. That being said, he is technically flawless and artistically brilliant. Armand Amard's Le Concert gives him the chance to express emotion and melancholy, which is what he's best at. His score: 74.06.
Many people say that the way Sergei Voronov divides his routine into two parts (one technical, one artistic) puts him at a disadvantage, but this structure has worked so far for him, so I think there's nothing to reproach him on that level. Nor is there anything else to reproach on any other level today. Fantastic job. He gets 81.06 points.
Maxim Kovtun is certainly contributing to the increasing popularity of Maurice Ravel's Bolero because when a song is interpreted this well, it is bound to stay in your memory. However, on a technical level, he makes a few mistakes like putting a hand down on the quad Toeloop. His score: 78.21.
 |
| The triple Flip gives Michal Brezina some unexpected trouble Photo: Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images Europe |
I still think that Chafik Besseghier's routine is a work of art, but I wouldn't blame you if you didn't believe me based on what he's doing with it today. Every single jump has an error in it and the spins are less than perfect. His score: 49.61.
Just like the Frenchman, Peter Liebers kept last season's short programme, which is set to Coldplay's Clocks. He doesn't have a quad, but he is a very constant skater, who almost always has a clean routine, which means he might pull off a decent placement here. He gets 75.78 points.
Sometimes when skaters are tense for too long, they let go once they're past the most difficult elements, thus losing concentration and messing up the easier part. This is exactly what happens to Michal Brezina, who falls on the triple Flip after acing both the triple Axel and the quad Toeloop. Luckily, he still finishes the short on third with a score of 80.86.
Well, this first event hasn't exactly been as flawless as we expected it to be, but nerves are always overflowing at the start of a competition, so let's hope the skaters will pull themselves back together in the final. So far Javier Fernandez seems unlikely to lose the competition, but Sergei Voronov and Michal Brezina's places on the podium are threatened by each other and those waiting on the wings, like Maxim Kovtun and Peter Liebers. Don't miss the free skate.
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