FCC 2015 - Long-Awaited Victories and Prodigious Talents (Men Highlights)
It's no secret that after scoring medals out of the blue both at the 2013 Worlds and the Olympics, Denis Ten has become one of the golden boys of figure skating. Still, he has yet to win a gold medal or even climb on the podium of the Four Continents Championships. This is his chance to do both things at the same time.
I love Joshua Farris' Give Me Love routine, but an Ed Sheeran song is challenging to compete on. Because of the nature of the music, he has to work extra to make it look less like an exhibition and more like a serious programme. He does it though by acing every single element and going into some original spin positions, the likes of which you only see in the ladies' event. Great job! His score: 84.29.
Despite being fifth at Japan's Nationals, Takahito Mura is his country's best chance at the gold in Seoul. He's here to defend his title after all, and he just might do it if his only mistake remains the hand down on the triple Toeloop. His music is Carmen by George Bizet. He gets 88.84 points.
Shoma Uno might be just another young man emerging out of the Japanese pool of incredibly talented skaters, but that means he's already better than half of the rest of the world. His landings are so low, you get nervous, and he uses his entire body in the step sequence, whereas most skaters don't know what to do with their hands when this part of the routine comes along. His score: 88.90.
Han Yan needs to be just a bit funnier and more melancholic to make you feel the old-style charm of If I Were a Rich Man. He steps out of the quad, but everything's alright otherwise on a technical level. He gets 87.34 points.
Denis Ten finally lives up to his reputation. His Caruso is technically flawless and so good artistically that you feel the emotion of the song with him. His score: 97.61.
It took him a while, but it looks like Denis Ten cannot miss the gold medal after ending the short with an advantage of ten points. Shoma Uno finishes on second and Han Yan on third.
Joshua Farris' free skate couldn't be more different from his short one. His chosen music is the soundtrack of Schindler's List, and he interprets it so well, you can't help, but be impressed by his versatility. He has the same issue with the quad as the Chinese though. His score: 175.72. Overall: 260.01.
If Denis Ten feels any pressure after the American's fantastic skate, he doesn't show it. I'm not sure if there is a story to go with his music, as the two pieces he skates to (Ambush and Vocussion) are ambiguous enough to be part of a soundtrack, but can still stand on their own. The last one, in particular, speeds up towards the end, making the final part of the programme truly exhausting and more valuable for it. His only mistake is stepping out of the triple Axel. He gets 191.85 points. Overall: 289.46.
At the beginning of this season, I said that Denis Ten has a system - he messes up his first competitions, so that he can come back on top unexpectedly at the end of the season. Well, although I wouldn't exactly call his Grand Prix results a failure or his victory in Seoul a surprise, it does look like the system is working. But all this talk about the Kazakh shouldn't take the spotlight from Joshua Farris or Han Yan. Whereas the American left a long-lasting impression by showing off the wide range of emotions he can interpret, the Chinese seems to slowly turn into one of the classiest guys in figure skating. Congratulations to all of them!
- THE SHORT PROGRAMME
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| One of Joshua Farris' more peculiar spin positions Photograph: Chung Stung-Jun / Getty Images Asia |
Despite being fifth at Japan's Nationals, Takahito Mura is his country's best chance at the gold in Seoul. He's here to defend his title after all, and he just might do it if his only mistake remains the hand down on the triple Toeloop. His music is Carmen by George Bizet. He gets 88.84 points.
Shoma Uno might be just another young man emerging out of the Japanese pool of incredibly talented skaters, but that means he's already better than half of the rest of the world. His landings are so low, you get nervous, and he uses his entire body in the step sequence, whereas most skaters don't know what to do with their hands when this part of the routine comes along. His score: 88.90.
Han Yan needs to be just a bit funnier and more melancholic to make you feel the old-style charm of If I Were a Rich Man. He steps out of the quad, but everything's alright otherwise on a technical level. He gets 87.34 points.
Denis Ten finally lives up to his reputation. His Caruso is technically flawless and so good artistically that you feel the emotion of the song with him. His score: 97.61.
It took him a while, but it looks like Denis Ten cannot miss the gold medal after ending the short with an advantage of ten points. Shoma Uno finishes on second and Han Yan on third.
- THE FREE SKATE
 |
| Both Joshua Farris and Denis Ten are climbing a FCC podium for the first time Photograph: Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images Asia |
If Denis Ten feels any pressure after the American's fantastic skate, he doesn't show it. I'm not sure if there is a story to go with his music, as the two pieces he skates to (Ambush and Vocussion) are ambiguous enough to be part of a soundtrack, but can still stand on their own. The last one, in particular, speeds up towards the end, making the final part of the programme truly exhausting and more valuable for it. His only mistake is stepping out of the triple Axel. He gets 191.85 points. Overall: 289.46.
At the beginning of this season, I said that Denis Ten has a system - he messes up his first competitions, so that he can come back on top unexpectedly at the end of the season. Well, although I wouldn't exactly call his Grand Prix results a failure or his victory in Seoul a surprise, it does look like the system is working. But all this talk about the Kazakh shouldn't take the spotlight from Joshua Farris or Han Yan. Whereas the American left a long-lasting impression by showing off the wide range of emotions he can interpret, the Chinese seems to slowly turn into one of the classiest guys in figure skating. Congratulations to all of them!
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