Skate Canada 2014 - Men's Short Skate
There are many skaters who could climb the men's podium at this year's Skate Canada. Unfortunately for the hosts, none of them are actually Canadian. Instead, we've got athletes from Europe and Asia ready to battle it out, metaphorically of course, for their first Grand Prix medals of the season. Let's see who gives it their best in the short programme.
Although Liam Firus's routine isn't exactly fascinating, it is a decent start to the competition. He can't control the landing of the triple Axel and falls, but the rest of the jumps are quite strong. His score: 64.94.
Andrei Rogozine brings back a song we haven't heard in a while: Mozart's Lacrimosa, this time with lyrics. The Canadian interprets it with that dramatic fierceness you'd expect from a Canadian-trained Russian-born skater. He is here as Kevin Reynolds' substitution, but with a programme as good as this, he's already overcome that status. He gets 70.95 points.
Have you ever noticed that skaters doing La Vie en Rose seldom wear pink? Stephen Carrierre is no exception, but he does stand out by landing (even if on both feet) the first quad of the night. Presentation wise, he did alright, but nowhere near spectacular. His score: 80.33.
Florent Amodio has officially added Fabian Bourzat to his coaching team. Not that I think he needed him because he has always been fabulous artistically, but it's good to see single skaters appealing to professional ice dancers for counsel. He doesn't have a quad, which shows he's playing it safe, but overall he's significantly less shabby than last time we saw him. He gets 72.14 points.
I was really looking forward to Adam Rippon jumping with his arms above his head and that's about the only thing I get. He falls on the triple Axel and completely misses the combination. At this point, the presentation doesn't even matter. His score: 62.83.
Let it never be said that a Japanese can't tango! Takahiko Kozuka glides across the ice in dance steps so accurately, you could easily imagine him dancing with a partner. He double-foots the quad and triple Toeloop though. He gets 75.85 points.
Leave it to Konstantin Menshov to land a quad Toeloop-triple Toeloop combination perfectly, then make a mess out of the triple Axel. He's very consistent artistically, always coming up with peculiar music (Rotting Romance this season). His score: 81.70.
Perhaps I had too much expectations from Max Aaron's Footloose. This is an American classic after all and he is American. But instead of being 'loose', he's uptight and slow, especially in the first half. With a song as happy and crazy as this one, he really needs to make it look effortless out there. Technically, his only mistake is a hand down on the triple Axel. He gets 75.60 points.
Michal Brezina is a fan of Game of Thrones. What a shock this is not. Unluckily, apart from impeccable taste in TV series and a fantastic triple Axel, there's not much going for him here. It's a shame because he is so commanding on that most famous of theme songs that you just know if he could ace it, this would be one hell of an iconic routine.His score:73.29.
I'm not sure if I should applaud Takahito Mura for his gorgeous costume or chide him for how modern it looks. Hmm... I think I'll settle for the first because Carmen is the kind of story that fits any time and space. His only mistake is a minor stepping-out of the triple Toeloop. He gets 82.57 points.
Hot damn! The screaming girls in the audience are proof enough, but I'll just go ahead and say it too: Javier Fernandez has never looked sexier. Back to serious business now, that's how a quad salchow is done - apparently effortless and with absolutely no hesitation. He loses grip of the triple Axel though, but I doubt anyone will remember that by tomorrow. His score: 86.36.
The end of the first Skate Canada event is absolutely explosive. Javier Fernandez wins over both fans and judges, who place him in the lead, followed by a brilliant Takahito Mura and a persistent Konstantin Menshov.
Andrei Rogozine brings back a song we haven't heard in a while: Mozart's Lacrimosa, this time with lyrics. The Canadian interprets it with that dramatic fierceness you'd expect from a Canadian-trained Russian-born skater. He is here as Kevin Reynolds' substitution, but with a programme as good as this, he's already overcome that status. He gets 70.95 points.
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| Stephen Carriere, the surprise of the day Photograph: skatecanada.ca |
Florent Amodio has officially added Fabian Bourzat to his coaching team. Not that I think he needed him because he has always been fabulous artistically, but it's good to see single skaters appealing to professional ice dancers for counsel. He doesn't have a quad, which shows he's playing it safe, but overall he's significantly less shabby than last time we saw him. He gets 72.14 points.
I was really looking forward to Adam Rippon jumping with his arms above his head and that's about the only thing I get. He falls on the triple Axel and completely misses the combination. At this point, the presentation doesn't even matter. His score: 62.83.
Let it never be said that a Japanese can't tango! Takahiko Kozuka glides across the ice in dance steps so accurately, you could easily imagine him dancing with a partner. He double-foots the quad and triple Toeloop though. He gets 75.85 points.
Leave it to Konstantin Menshov to land a quad Toeloop-triple Toeloop combination perfectly, then make a mess out of the triple Axel. He's very consistent artistically, always coming up with peculiar music (Rotting Romance this season). His score: 81.70.
Perhaps I had too much expectations from Max Aaron's Footloose. This is an American classic after all and he is American. But instead of being 'loose', he's uptight and slow, especially in the first half. With a song as happy and crazy as this one, he really needs to make it look effortless out there. Technically, his only mistake is a hand down on the triple Axel. He gets 75.60 points.
 |
| Takahito Mura in his Carmen costume Photograph: skatecanada.ca |
I'm not sure if I should applaud Takahito Mura for his gorgeous costume or chide him for how modern it looks. Hmm... I think I'll settle for the first because Carmen is the kind of story that fits any time and space. His only mistake is a minor stepping-out of the triple Toeloop. He gets 82.57 points.
Hot damn! The screaming girls in the audience are proof enough, but I'll just go ahead and say it too: Javier Fernandez has never looked sexier. Back to serious business now, that's how a quad salchow is done - apparently effortless and with absolutely no hesitation. He loses grip of the triple Axel though, but I doubt anyone will remember that by tomorrow. His score: 86.36.
The end of the first Skate Canada event is absolutely explosive. Javier Fernandez wins over both fans and judges, who place him in the lead, followed by a brilliant Takahito Mura and a persistent Konstantin Menshov.
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