Skate Canada 2014 - Pairs' Free Skate
We start off the final with a clear image of who the winners will be (Duhamel and Radford, obviously) which would normally make for a dull competition. However, because China and Russia's new pairs are debuting their rivalry for the runner-up position, there's still hope of some thrills. Plus, this is figure skating and twists of fate can happen anytime.
Mari Vartmann/Aaron Van Cleave have chosen Joaquin Rodriguez's famous Concierto de Aranjuez for the long routine. It is, I'm afraid, filled with mistakes such as lack of synchronicity and a hand down on the first thrown jump, a triple Flip. Their score: 97.46. Overall: 145.89.
The Great Gatsby is an ambitious story for beginners like Brittany Jones/Joshua Reagan to tell. They don't capture any of the angst, or love for that matter, but by God they are amazing technically. Although their side-by-side spins are pretty bad, the jumps are clean and the lifts are so difficult they almost make me nervous. They get 96.97 points. Overall: 146.77.
Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro do make me nervous for a second as he almost loses grip during the last lift. No accident happens though, so the worst thing about this programme is that she can't control the landing of either of the triple Salchows. Artistically, I am surprised they did not choose stronger songs from the soundtrack of Chess. They get 105.03 points. Overall: 158.82.
Now that I get to see Vanessa James/Morgan Cipres's Angels and Demons and Requiem for a Dream for a second season, I'm wondering if they wouldn't have better decided on only one of the themes. That would have given them more space for presentation, but it's too late for it now. They don't skate at full capacity today, especially Vanessa, who messes up the jump combination. Their score: 105.32. Overall: 161.79.
Madeline Aaron/Max Settlage are using her ballet training to gain an edge and it's working. The King and I is a lovely routine that gets the audience going from the start. Technically, he falls on the side-by-side triple Salchows. They get 108.71 points. Overall: 165.91.
Now that they can have lyrics, Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov's wordless version of Lionel Ritchie's Hello feels a bit like an empty shell. The technical is not impressive either, the side-by-side triple Salchows being the only clean elements of the programme. Their score: 111.31. Overall: 175.45.
Wenjing Sui/Cong Han are not having the best of days. It starts with her toe getting stuck in the ice which prevents her from jumping the side-by-side triple Toeloop, which then messes up the entire combination. They get 119.42 points. Overall: 184.64.
Meagan Duhamel/Eric Radford can afford to make small mistakes here, like the over-rotated thrown quad Salchow and the hand down on the thrown triple Lutz. They'll have to be flawless though when they go head to head against skaters such as Kavaguti/Smirnov. Their score: 138.04. Overall: 210.74.
The Canadian crowd burst in cheer as Duhamel and Radford win the pairs' gold by some distance from Sui and Han from China. Only nine points away from them, Tarasova and Morozov go home with the bronze medal. Congratulations to all of them.
Mari Vartmann/Aaron Van Cleave have chosen Joaquin Rodriguez's famous Concierto de Aranjuez for the long routine. It is, I'm afraid, filled with mistakes such as lack of synchronicity and a hand down on the first thrown jump, a triple Flip. Their score: 97.46. Overall: 145.89.
The Great Gatsby is an ambitious story for beginners like Brittany Jones/Joshua Reagan to tell. They don't capture any of the angst, or love for that matter, but by God they are amazing technically. Although their side-by-side spins are pretty bad, the jumps are clean and the lifts are so difficult they almost make me nervous. They get 96.97 points. Overall: 146.77.
Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro do make me nervous for a second as he almost loses grip during the last lift. No accident happens though, so the worst thing about this programme is that she can't control the landing of either of the triple Salchows. Artistically, I am surprised they did not choose stronger songs from the soundtrack of Chess. They get 105.03 points. Overall: 158.82.
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| China's Wenjing Sui and Cong Han performing a lift Photograph: The Canadian Press |
Madeline Aaron/Max Settlage are using her ballet training to gain an edge and it's working. The King and I is a lovely routine that gets the audience going from the start. Technically, he falls on the side-by-side triple Salchows. They get 108.71 points. Overall: 165.91.
Now that they can have lyrics, Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov's wordless version of Lionel Ritchie's Hello feels a bit like an empty shell. The technical is not impressive either, the side-by-side triple Salchows being the only clean elements of the programme. Their score: 111.31. Overall: 175.45.
Wenjing Sui/Cong Han are not having the best of days. It starts with her toe getting stuck in the ice which prevents her from jumping the side-by-side triple Toeloop, which then messes up the entire combination. They get 119.42 points. Overall: 184.64.
Meagan Duhamel/Eric Radford can afford to make small mistakes here, like the over-rotated thrown quad Salchow and the hand down on the thrown triple Lutz. They'll have to be flawless though when they go head to head against skaters such as Kavaguti/Smirnov. Their score: 138.04. Overall: 210.74.
The Canadian crowd burst in cheer as Duhamel and Radford win the pairs' gold by some distance from Sui and Han from China. Only nine points away from them, Tarasova and Morozov go home with the bronze medal. Congratulations to all of them.
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