Worlds 2016 - How to Keep a World Title (Men's Final)
Ironically, the only final that seems predictable at the moment is the men's. Japan's hold on the gold is strong, but can it be taken from Hanyu? Fernandez has great chances of taking the silver to Spain, while Chan could easily snatch the bronze. That doesn't mean we should underestimate the likes of Shoma Uno and Boyang Jin, who are waiting for the top three to make the kind of mistake that would knock them off the podium.
Denis Ten's beautiful Romeo and Juliet suffers from a few technical errors. His biggest mistake is falling on the quad Toeloop. He gets himself back together in the second half of the programme, but this is not going to be good enough to get on the podium. His score: 151.58. Overall: 230.13.
Deniss Vasiljevs skates to Adagio for Tron by Daft Punk. The medley is very smartly put together, but I'm not sure Jeff Bridge's voice makes much sense for the routine. It is a cool detail though. I love his camel combo spin - it's got an original position and it changes pace in sync with the music, which makes the change of foot very fluid. He gets 143.47 points. Overall: 224.54.
Max Aaron is on fire! He aces every single jump apart from an overly-enthusiastic double-footed triple Axel at the very end that no one really cares about anymore. He also doesn't have the figure of a ballet dancer, which means his Black Swan is not the most graceful we've seen, but at least he dared to take on such a challenging theme. Also, I have looked into him wearing a white top and black pants before, and it turns out he does that every season, so no wonder I associate that outfit with him. His score: 172.86. Overall: 254.14.
Michal Brezina, as opposed to Max Aaron, is one of the skaters who pays great attention to what they wear. That's why his Le Corsaire costume would fit into a figure skating costume museum. Unfortunately, his technical is far from being as good - his biggest mistake is falling on the quad Salchow. Very expressive presentation. He gets 158.70 points. Overall: 237.99.
Ivan Righini communicates very well with the audience, but falls on the triple Axel and triple Lutz. There are other mistakes in there as well. His routine, set to Shine on You Crazy Diamond and Money, involves a lot of dancing. His score: 147.35. Overall: 228.52.
Things are finally happening for Adam Rippon. The American lands the quad Lutz and then proceeds to have the best free skate of his life (so far). He skates to a selection of Beatles songs that get the crowd going (not that they needed any help). He gets 178.72 points. Overall: 264.44.
Mikhail Kolyada skates to The Nightmare Before Christmas, which is a piece of music I've never seen in figure skating before, so bonus point for being unique. The whole routine is a body gag, but his facial expressions are a bit too serious. He needs to smile more. No errors. His score: 178.31. Overall: 267.97.
We get an 100% Japanese routine from Yuzuru Hanyu, but not an 100% Yuzuru Hanyu. He has a hand down on the quad Salchow and falls on the second quad Toeloop, not to mention small errors on a triple Axel and a triple Lutz. Despite it, this is still a gorgeous performance. The music, Seimei, is superb. This is my favourite free programme from the boys. He gets 184.61 points. Overall: 295.17.
Boyang Jin brings another novelty on the ice: How to Train Your Dragon. This is the kind of theme that doesn't require a lot of expressiveness, but you can still do something fun in terms of presentation. The song he uses is Dragon Racing, so he can smile more, appear more mischievous as if he's actually in a race. Like I've said before, lots to do in terms of interpretation. Technically though, his only error is stepping out of the quad Lutz (the other three are fine). His score: 181.13. Overall: 270.99.
I don't think Javier Fernandez's quads have ever been this perfect. This guy does not want to hand over his World title, no sir! Charming routine set to Frank Sinatra's Guys and Dolls. He gets 216.41 points. Overall: 314.93.
And the worst fall of the night goes to...Shoma Uno. Ouch! That fall on the quad Toeloop looks like it hurts a lot, but he still manages to land a few more jumps. The music is Turandot and Nessum Dorma. Great costume. His score: 173.51. Overall: 264.25.
Is the rink in Boston too small? Patrick Chan joins the list of skaters colliding with the boards these championships. I wish I could say that's the only mistake, but the truth is he's got so many errors, it's distracting from the presentation. He gets 171.91 points. Overall: 266.75.
A bit of a place switch happening here, but nothing completely unpredictable. Javier Fernandez keeps his World title and Yuzuru Hanyu keeps his silver medal. The biggest surprise is the bronze medalist: as I knew he would given the opportunity, Boyang Jin finishes on third place with quad after quad after quad after quad.
Denis Ten's beautiful Romeo and Juliet suffers from a few technical errors. His biggest mistake is falling on the quad Toeloop. He gets himself back together in the second half of the programme, but this is not going to be good enough to get on the podium. His score: 151.58. Overall: 230.13.
Deniss Vasiljevs skates to Adagio for Tron by Daft Punk. The medley is very smartly put together, but I'm not sure Jeff Bridge's voice makes much sense for the routine. It is a cool detail though. I love his camel combo spin - it's got an original position and it changes pace in sync with the music, which makes the change of foot very fluid. He gets 143.47 points. Overall: 224.54.
Max Aaron is on fire! He aces every single jump apart from an overly-enthusiastic double-footed triple Axel at the very end that no one really cares about anymore. He also doesn't have the figure of a ballet dancer, which means his Black Swan is not the most graceful we've seen, but at least he dared to take on such a challenging theme. Also, I have looked into him wearing a white top and black pants before, and it turns out he does that every season, so no wonder I associate that outfit with him. His score: 172.86. Overall: 254.14.
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| Russia's Mikhail Kolyada celebrating after his flawless performance Photograph: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images North America |
Ivan Righini communicates very well with the audience, but falls on the triple Axel and triple Lutz. There are other mistakes in there as well. His routine, set to Shine on You Crazy Diamond and Money, involves a lot of dancing. His score: 147.35. Overall: 228.52.
Things are finally happening for Adam Rippon. The American lands the quad Lutz and then proceeds to have the best free skate of his life (so far). He skates to a selection of Beatles songs that get the crowd going (not that they needed any help). He gets 178.72 points. Overall: 264.44.
Mikhail Kolyada skates to The Nightmare Before Christmas, which is a piece of music I've never seen in figure skating before, so bonus point for being unique. The whole routine is a body gag, but his facial expressions are a bit too serious. He needs to smile more. No errors. His score: 178.31. Overall: 267.97.
We get an 100% Japanese routine from Yuzuru Hanyu, but not an 100% Yuzuru Hanyu. He has a hand down on the quad Salchow and falls on the second quad Toeloop, not to mention small errors on a triple Axel and a triple Lutz. Despite it, this is still a gorgeous performance. The music, Seimei, is superb. This is my favourite free programme from the boys. He gets 184.61 points. Overall: 295.17.
Boyang Jin brings another novelty on the ice: How to Train Your Dragon. This is the kind of theme that doesn't require a lot of expressiveness, but you can still do something fun in terms of presentation. The song he uses is Dragon Racing, so he can smile more, appear more mischievous as if he's actually in a race. Like I've said before, lots to do in terms of interpretation. Technically though, his only error is stepping out of the quad Lutz (the other three are fine). His score: 181.13. Overall: 270.99.
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| Shoma Uno from Japan during his free skate Photograph: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images North America |
And the worst fall of the night goes to...Shoma Uno. Ouch! That fall on the quad Toeloop looks like it hurts a lot, but he still manages to land a few more jumps. The music is Turandot and Nessum Dorma. Great costume. His score: 173.51. Overall: 264.25.
Is the rink in Boston too small? Patrick Chan joins the list of skaters colliding with the boards these championships. I wish I could say that's the only mistake, but the truth is he's got so many errors, it's distracting from the presentation. He gets 171.91 points. Overall: 266.75.
A bit of a place switch happening here, but nothing completely unpredictable. Javier Fernandez keeps his World title and Yuzuru Hanyu keeps his silver medal. The biggest surprise is the bronze medalist: as I knew he would given the opportunity, Boyang Jin finishes on third place with quad after quad after quad after quad.
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| From left to right, this season's medalists: Yuzuru Hanyu (silver), Javier Fernandez (gold) and Boyang Jin (bronze) Photograph: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images North America |
JAVI!!! Felicitaciones! Can't believe the program he laid down last night!! Amazing to see him thrive on the biggest stage again Yuzu..... even with some flaws still put down a show and pulled off a silver medal. Jin, being the first for China in men skating. All those quads have definitely paid off smile emoticon
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