Internationaux de France 2018 - Ladies Final - What Great Skaters Are Made Of
 |
| Bradie Tennell took home a surprising bronze medal |
The ladies' competition in Grenoble started as most do these days - with Japanese and Russian skaters going against each other for the top three positions. At the end of the short programme, Japan was winning (by less than a point), but the possibility to see Russia on the podium in the form of Evgenia Medvedeva was very much real.
Stanislava Konstantinova began the event with a flawless performance of Anna Karenina. I loved the costume, the way her hair matched the era the story is from and the neckline detail that made her look as if she was wearing a pearl necklace. Score: 134.76 -> 189.67.
Laurine Lecavelier followed with a sexier routine, set to I'll Take Care of You. Her performance was for the most part alright despite doubling out of both the 3Flip and Salchow, but then at the very end, she fell on the 3Loop. Score: 105.58 -> 157.24
 |
| Laurine Lecavelier of France |
I thought Matilda Algotsson's performance would be a disaster after she started with a single Lutz, but she recovered in the blink of an eye. Every single jump after that Lutz was perfect. That is a champion's attitude. She doesn't have the technical baggage to compete at the top just yet, but I think she has potential. Score: 97.77 -> 146.35
Alexia Paganini from Switzerland looked utterly defeated at the end of her programme. She fell on the 3Lutz, double-footed the 3Flip and doubled out of the 3Loop. Her presentation was lovely during the step sequence, but she put no feeling whatsoever behind her movement throughout the more difficult parts of the routine. Score: 99.63 -> 156.51
Mae Berenice Meite looked stronger and more confident than I'd seen her in a while despite a fall on the 3Lutz and a hand down on the 3Salchow. The music she chose to skate to was Hans Zimmer's Nyah, Nyah and Ethan. Score: 107.16 -> 168.02
Lea Serna was another skater to show us a version of La La Land (Alexia Paganini was the first). I have to say the Swiss' was better. Presentation was utterly absent from Lea's rendition. Then again, she's very young and three falls (3Flip, 3 Lutz and 3 Toeloop) will do that to even a more experienced skater. Score: 94.18 -> 149.49.
Bradie Tennell started the Grand Prix Series with a flawed performance, but gradually grew to the excellent form she showed in Grenoble. Her jumps were perfect and her spins were well-paced with the music. Loved the last feature of the flying combination spin. Score: 136.44 -> 197.78
 |
| Rika Kihira of Japan skated to Beautiful Storm |
Last time I saw Marin Honda's free skate, it had been peppered with so many mistakes, I couldn't focus on the choreography. This time around, her performance was much better and I could see how there were touches of delicate femininity everywhere, from the step sequence to the spins. Score: 123.24 -> 188.61
Mai Mihara had another soft routine in store for us. The music was The Mission, whose theme was subtly expressed in the delicate wing-like back of her costume. Her only mistake came at the end - doubling out of a 3Salchow. Score: 134.86 -> 202.81
Rika Kihira knew she didn't need the almighty 3Axel-2Toeloop combination to win in Grenoble, so she gave us only a perfect 3Axel on its own. Her step sequence was my favourite of the competition, despite the fact it was only a level 3 one. Score: 138.28 -> 205.92
Evgenia Medvedeva knew as soon as she fell on the 2Axel (was she going for a triple?) that she lost the gold. Then she fell on the 3Toeloop too and her chances of even a podium place started to dwindle. I was saying before how mistakes can impact presentation even for more experienced skaters and that's exactly what happened with the Russian. Score: 125.26 -> 192.81
And thus Russia was left just outside the podium at this season's Internationaux de France. In its place, the USA took the bronze via Bradie Tennell. Japan took the silver with Mai Mihara and the gold with Rika Kihira.
Quote of the competition:
Comments
Post a Comment