Trophee de France 2016 - It's a Quad's World (Men's Short)

The boys' competition in Paris is about to start. Spain's Javier Fernandez looks like he has no rival here, but all it takes for that to change is a good start of the season for Denis Ten.

But first, Adam Rippon, my first choice for a bronze medal if the two men afore-mentioned blow their performances out of the water. He makes no mistakes here. His score: 85.25.

Brendan Kerry falls on the quad Toeloop, doubles out of the triple Toeloop and double-foots the triple Axel. I do like the invisible umbrella he is 'holding' during the camel spin and in several parts of the routine. Nice detail to present Singing in the Rain. He gets 70.67 points.
Brendan Kerry of Australia
Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images North America

Chafik Besseghier's also got troubles with his opening combination - hands down on the quad, doubles out of the triple Toeloop. The first part of his step sequence is not in sync with It's a Man's World, but his spins are much better than last week. His score: 77.00.

Today is not the day when Takahito Mura gets his glory back. He falls on the quad Toeloop and steps out of the triple Toeloop. His step sequence is formidable though, mimicking the tap dancing of flamenco in a clever choreography which was created with the help of Charlie White. He gets 78.38 points.

Artur Dmitriev has chosen Adagio as his short programme music. He doubles out of the triple Lutz, singles out of the triple Toeloop and (as far as I can tell) puts a hand down on the triple Axel. It's a shame because the quad is well landed. His score: 64.68.

Javier Fernandez knows how to make sure he's got a quad in his short routine. He just plans for two, and at least one of them is bound to be perfect. Okay, so maybe it's not as simple as that, but it might as well be with how effortless his jumps seem. He does fall on the quad Salchow though. He gets 96.57 points.

I absolutely love Misha Ge's choice of song (Paint It Black), passion, choreography and gorgeous costume. What I definitely don't love is his fall on the quad Toeloop and the almost-out-of-control landing of the triple Axel. His score: 72.49.

It's actually happening! Denis Ten skates without a single mistake. He only has one quad, which will likely still put him behind Javier, but I'm just happy his programme is clean. I totally didn't see the modern version of Romeo and Juliet coming, but it's really cool and it helps the routine seem less sombre. He gets 89.21 points.

Ivan Righini also goes back to an old routine - You Raise Me Up. He double-foots the triple Axel and over-turns the triple Lutz, but what is more worrisome is that he doesn't even go for the quad. Very dramatic entrance into the step sequence! His score: 68.42.

Ivan Righini of Italy
Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images North America

Wow, watch out world, here comes Nathan Chen! He lands a quad Lutz and a quad Flip. Unfortunately he doubles out of the triple Axel, but he is now definitely on my radar for the title of next best thing in male skating. His music is Le Corsaire. He gets 92.85 points.

Jorik Hendrickx skates to an emotional piece, Broken Vow by Josh Groban. His movements on the ice are so beautiful during this routine, I'm starting to feel I should start paying more attention to him. He gets 80.34 points.

Well, there is nothing more exciting in figure skating than someone you've never seen before suddenly becoming a threat to the best skaters out there. Nathan Chen manages to get himself on second place, ahead of Denis Ten, but still behind Javier Fernandez. And just like that, the predicted top three has changed, at least for now.

For more Trophee de France 2016, go back to http://crystalskate.blogspot.co.uk/.

Comments

  1. Nathan landed a 4Lz and 4Fl in the same program. Never been done. A bit of history here.

    ReplyDelete

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