Grand Prix of Helsinki 2018 - Ladies Final - How Not to Lose
The biggest surprise of the short programme was seeing Kaori Sakamoto end on seventh place. At almost the opposite end of the rankings, Alina Zagitova finished right where everyone put her: first position. How are these two ladies going to fare in the final? The Russian is bound to keep her place, but how high can the Japanese rise? These are the main questions swarming in my head before this final.
Rika Honko goes first, which is a position she must not be used to - we normally see her in the last group of the Grand Prix events. I didn't see her skate yesterday, but I imagine this is miles away from that. The choreography of Child of Nazareth is intense and energetic, just as we are used to seeing from her. She makes no mistakes. Score: 105.48 -> 156.59.
Viveca Lindfors comes out wearing a gorgeous costume which you could easily turn into a gown fit for the Oscars, so I am a bit surprised to see the routine is set to Les Miserables. That being said, the dress does fit the actual song she chose: I Have a Dream. Anyway, she falls on the 3Lutz, doubles out of the 3Salchow and steps out of the 2Axel. Score: 106.67 -> 159.62.
Send in the Clowns is one of my favourite musical songs, so I was nervous about Angela Wang's interpretation of it, but she's done a great job. The problem here is the technical: she singles the first 3Lutz, falls on the second 3Lutz, falls on the 2Toeloop and doubles the 3Salchow. Score: 95.81 -> 149.57.
Hanul Kim is not a tall skater, so her jumps are some of the lowest I have ever seen, but they are good. The only mistake is singling out of the 3Flip. Content-wise, she has decent transitions, but there is no feeling for the music at any point during the programme. That's something that needs improvement. Score: 104.77 -> 160.15.
Kaori Sakamoto finished second in Skate America, so it's daunting to see her start the final from the seventh place. The free skate proves that she is too good for this position. All the jumps are great, and the only dodgy moment is when she almost can't grab hold of her skate during the choreographic sequence. Score: 140.16 -> 197.42.
Everything starts to go wrong for Emmi Peltonen after the first flawless triple-triple combination. Her jump technique is amazing, but as soon as she makes a mistake, the elements come crumbling down, it seems. She doubles out of the 3Flip, 3Lutz, 3Salchow and the 3Loop. Score: 98.82 -> 158.72.
There is something distinctly aristocratic about Stanislava Konstantinova's performance, which is of course very appropriate for Anna Karenina. She does a great job, landing all the jumps and pulling off a decent rendition of the classic Russian tale. Score: 135.01 -> 197.57.
Daria Panenkova has to fight for almost every element, but her only big mistakes are double-footing the 3Toeloop and falling on the 3Salchow. I'm not too sure about the step sequence, which is almost entirely out of sync with the music; this is more a note on choreography than performance. Score: 103.25 -> 161.48.
Alina Zagitova is phenomenal as Carmen, but to be honest, I am not sure whether this is necessarily a memorable programme when you compare it with all the other Carmens that have ever been done on ice. She is technically flawless and very expressive, but I would have liked to see something new brought to this almost over-used theme. That being said, she will surely win a lot of competitions with this routine. Score: 146.39 -> 215.29.
Yuna Shiraiwa's expression shows pure joy throughout her performance of Pictures at an Exhibition, which is lovely to see. I don't know whether she's simply really good at masking her nerves or she is so happy to skate here, it shines out of her, but it definitely shows maturity to seem so confident for such a young skater (she's 16). Score: 127.69 -> 191.46.
Skating last when you have a chance at a medal and all your rivals have had astonishing performances is not an easy position to be in, but Loena Hendrickx handles the pressure very well. She has a tiny mistake - singling out of the 2Loop - but her transitions are so expressive and on point with the musical genre (tango). Score: 128.05 -> 191.22.
The final ends with a bronze medal for Kaori Sakamoto, a silver for Stanislava Konstantinova and the gold for Alina Zagitova. However, the biggest achievement of the night has to be the collective turn-around most ladies did from a rather disastrous short programme for most of them.
Quote of the competition is:
Rika Honko goes first, which is a position she must not be used to - we normally see her in the last group of the Grand Prix events. I didn't see her skate yesterday, but I imagine this is miles away from that. The choreography of Child of Nazareth is intense and energetic, just as we are used to seeing from her. She makes no mistakes. Score: 105.48 -> 156.59.
Viveca Lindfors comes out wearing a gorgeous costume which you could easily turn into a gown fit for the Oscars, so I am a bit surprised to see the routine is set to Les Miserables. That being said, the dress does fit the actual song she chose: I Have a Dream. Anyway, she falls on the 3Lutz, doubles out of the 3Salchow and steps out of the 2Axel. Score: 106.67 -> 159.62.
Send in the Clowns is one of my favourite musical songs, so I was nervous about Angela Wang's interpretation of it, but she's done a great job. The problem here is the technical: she singles the first 3Lutz, falls on the second 3Lutz, falls on the 2Toeloop and doubles the 3Salchow. Score: 95.81 -> 149.57.
Hanul Kim is not a tall skater, so her jumps are some of the lowest I have ever seen, but they are good. The only mistake is singling out of the 3Flip. Content-wise, she has decent transitions, but there is no feeling for the music at any point during the programme. That's something that needs improvement. Score: 104.77 -> 160.15.
Kaori Sakamoto finished second in Skate America, so it's daunting to see her start the final from the seventh place. The free skate proves that she is too good for this position. All the jumps are great, and the only dodgy moment is when she almost can't grab hold of her skate during the choreographic sequence. Score: 140.16 -> 197.42.
Everything starts to go wrong for Emmi Peltonen after the first flawless triple-triple combination. Her jump technique is amazing, but as soon as she makes a mistake, the elements come crumbling down, it seems. She doubles out of the 3Flip, 3Lutz, 3Salchow and the 3Loop. Score: 98.82 -> 158.72.
There is something distinctly aristocratic about Stanislava Konstantinova's performance, which is of course very appropriate for Anna Karenina. She does a great job, landing all the jumps and pulling off a decent rendition of the classic Russian tale. Score: 135.01 -> 197.57.
Daria Panenkova has to fight for almost every element, but her only big mistakes are double-footing the 3Toeloop and falling on the 3Salchow. I'm not too sure about the step sequence, which is almost entirely out of sync with the music; this is more a note on choreography than performance. Score: 103.25 -> 161.48.
Alina Zagitova is phenomenal as Carmen, but to be honest, I am not sure whether this is necessarily a memorable programme when you compare it with all the other Carmens that have ever been done on ice. She is technically flawless and very expressive, but I would have liked to see something new brought to this almost over-used theme. That being said, she will surely win a lot of competitions with this routine. Score: 146.39 -> 215.29.
Yuna Shiraiwa's expression shows pure joy throughout her performance of Pictures at an Exhibition, which is lovely to see. I don't know whether she's simply really good at masking her nerves or she is so happy to skate here, it shines out of her, but it definitely shows maturity to seem so confident for such a young skater (she's 16). Score: 127.69 -> 191.46.
Skating last when you have a chance at a medal and all your rivals have had astonishing performances is not an easy position to be in, but Loena Hendrickx handles the pressure very well. She has a tiny mistake - singling out of the 2Loop - but her transitions are so expressive and on point with the musical genre (tango). Score: 128.05 -> 191.22.
The final ends with a bronze medal for Kaori Sakamoto, a silver for Stanislava Konstantinova and the gold for Alina Zagitova. However, the biggest achievement of the night has to be the collective turn-around most ladies did from a rather disastrous short programme for most of them.
Quote of the competition is:
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