Grand Prix Final 2016 - The Momentum (Pairs Final)
Figure skating is often about momentum. When the favourites make errors, it's up to their rivals to grab the chance to skate away with a gold medal. In Marseille, Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov are given the rather rare opportunity to defeat world champions Meagan Duhanel and Eric Radford. Will they rise to the occasion or will victors' experience win the title?
Before all that, Julianne Seguin/Charlie Bilodeau start the competition with a much better performance than yesterday's even if he falls on the side-by-side triple Toeloops. Elements like the side-by-side spins and the throw jumps are beautifully set to the rise and fall of the soundtrack of Cinema Paradiso. Their score: 125.99. Overall: 186.85.
Natalia Zabijako/Alexander Enbert make great use of the epic intro of Cry Me a River to set their triple twist against a dramatic musical background. Unfortunately, their presentation doesn't convince me - not sure smiling all the way through the routine fits a sad song like this. Technically, they both double out of the side-by-side triple Salchows, and the side-by-side spins are not in sync. They get 122.53 points. Overall: 188.32.
Cheng Peng/Yang Jin make my heart almost stop when he drops her during their second lift. Luckily, he manages to stop her fall so she doesn't hurt herself, but lift errors are never easy to watch in pairs. The routine is peppered with other mistakes as well - she falls on both side-by-side jumps, and the side-by-side spins are not in sync. I like the idea of jumping the first combo in a mirror style instead of side by side, but they have a lot of work to do to pull that off. Their score: 112.35. Overall: 183.19.
Meagan Duhamel/Eric Radford land the throw quad Salchow, albeit with a hand down. Meagan also misses the side-by-side jump combo. They look tense to me, which makes the routine not as smooth as you expect from them. Love the colour of their costumes, but it always makes me think of ice-cream or frozen yogurt. They get 134.55 points. Overall: 205.99.
Xiaoyu Yu/Hao Zhang skate to Cavatina and Larghetto Amoroso. The side-by-side spins are out of sync for them too, and she puts a hand down on the triple Toeloop, then double-foots the landing of the double Loop. Still, she has a very delicate skating style, almost floating on ice, which is very beautiful. Not sure if the little fall right at the end of the routine will count as a fall. Their score: 131.37. Overall: 206.71.
Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov do their best to grasp the chance they've been given, but if the others didn't make mistakes, they'd struggle to get the gold. She doesn't manage to stop the rotation of an overly enthusiastic triple twist, while he double-foots the side-by-side triple Salchows and singles out of the double Toeloop. Their lifts are breathtaking though. They get 135.25 points. Overall: 213.85.
The pairs' Grand Prix Final ends thus. It wasn't pretty, but the gold medal of Tarasova/Morozov was well deserved. The silver medal goes to Yu/Zhang, who are proving there was indeed a good reason behind their sudden teaming up. Duhamel/Radford have to settle for the bronze, but they'll be sure to be back with a vengeance at their next competition.
Want more from the Grand Prix Final 2016? Have a look here.
Before all that, Julianne Seguin/Charlie Bilodeau start the competition with a much better performance than yesterday's even if he falls on the side-by-side triple Toeloops. Elements like the side-by-side spins and the throw jumps are beautifully set to the rise and fall of the soundtrack of Cinema Paradiso. Their score: 125.99. Overall: 186.85.
Natalia Zabijako/Alexander Enbert make great use of the epic intro of Cry Me a River to set their triple twist against a dramatic musical background. Unfortunately, their presentation doesn't convince me - not sure smiling all the way through the routine fits a sad song like this. Technically, they both double out of the side-by-side triple Salchows, and the side-by-side spins are not in sync. They get 122.53 points. Overall: 188.32.
Cheng Peng/Yang Jin make my heart almost stop when he drops her during their second lift. Luckily, he manages to stop her fall so she doesn't hurt herself, but lift errors are never easy to watch in pairs. The routine is peppered with other mistakes as well - she falls on both side-by-side jumps, and the side-by-side spins are not in sync. I like the idea of jumping the first combo in a mirror style instead of side by side, but they have a lot of work to do to pull that off. Their score: 112.35. Overall: 183.19.
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| China's Xiaoyu Yu and Hao Zhang take the silver medal at their first Grand Prix Final together Photo: Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images North America |
Xiaoyu Yu/Hao Zhang skate to Cavatina and Larghetto Amoroso. The side-by-side spins are out of sync for them too, and she puts a hand down on the triple Toeloop, then double-foots the landing of the double Loop. Still, she has a very delicate skating style, almost floating on ice, which is very beautiful. Not sure if the little fall right at the end of the routine will count as a fall. Their score: 131.37. Overall: 206.71.
Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov do their best to grasp the chance they've been given, but if the others didn't make mistakes, they'd struggle to get the gold. She doesn't manage to stop the rotation of an overly enthusiastic triple twist, while he double-foots the side-by-side triple Salchows and singles out of the double Toeloop. Their lifts are breathtaking though. They get 135.25 points. Overall: 213.85.
The pairs' Grand Prix Final ends thus. It wasn't pretty, but the gold medal of Tarasova/Morozov was well deserved. The silver medal goes to Yu/Zhang, who are proving there was indeed a good reason behind their sudden teaming up. Duhamel/Radford have to settle for the bronze, but they'll be sure to be back with a vengeance at their next competition.
Want more from the Grand Prix Final 2016? Have a look here.
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