Crystal Skate

Sometimes you need to sacrifice something in order to get what you wished for. That's how I feel about the ladies' final rankings in Osaka. I got what I wanted, but it's bittersweet because one of my favourite skaters dropped a few places in the process. The results have nothing to do with my wishes of course, but with  a lot of hard work from some brilliant skaters, some of whom I'll talk about in this blog post. Rika Hongo  was the bitter part of my 'bittersweet' emotions. She didn't make any catastrophic errors though - there was a 3Flip that was all sorts of wrong, but otherwise, the elements were alright. What hurt her more was the presentation - there were some blank spaces in terms of interpretation. Absolutely loved the black and red costume though, very Frida Kahlo-like. Her free score was 122.00 , her total score was 187.83  and her final rank was 7th. Satoko Miyhara  was the sweet part, but barely. I wanted her to move up to the top 5, and she...

Did anyone expect the ladies' short programme in Osaka to end as it did? Okay, okay, I don't mean the top spot, but the order of say...the next five skaters? I was a bit surprised when I found out the results, so I'm having a look at the top five ladies to catch up on what went on. Mirai Nagasu  has grown so much technically since I last saw her. Congratulations on landing that amazing 3Axel. After I saw it, it suddenly made sense why she looked rather stressed at the very beginning. She's one of the skaters who keeps growing every season, so it's always a joy to see her skate. She finished on 5th, with 65.17  points. I don't have a favourite Japanese skater at the moment, but Rika Hongo  comes pretty close. I have to be honest, I was so mesmerised about her performance, I forgot to take notes. Carmina Burana  was an amazing choice for her, the costume was breathtaking and the elements were extraordinary. Loved every second of it. Unfortunately, it didn'...

These European Championships have turned out to be more surprising than anyone expected. With so many twists and turns in pairs and ice dance, the ladies' final feels like a breather. Then again, who knows what this evening could bring? You never do with figure skating. I'll start with Emmi Peltonen , Finland's national champion. She skates to Papa Can You Hear Me , and makes great use of her arms and body to express emotion in the transitions. Only mistake is stepping out of the triple Loop. Her score: 107.05 . Overall: 160.57 . Russia's Maria Sotskova Helery Halvin  can't seem to be able to connect with Celine Dion's I Surrender , which results in a rather stiff interpretation. Perhaps the mistakes are to blame - first Lutz is double-footed, she falls on the second, then falls again on the triple Toeloop. Her spins are quite simple although they have some nice touches. She gets 94.96  points. Overall: 146.68 . Kerstin Frank  doesn't manage t...

The ladies' competition has become one of the most exciting to watch in the past few seasons, but figure skating fans had an extra reason to watch it today. Carolina Kostner, one of the greatest European figure skaters, has returned to the competitive rink. She's done it in a time when nothing's sure anymore in the sport except that the one spot on the podium she probably still wants the most, the highest, is quite simply out of reach. The reason it is out of reach, and not just for Carolina, is Evgenia Medvedeva. Russia's national champion is possibly the greatest storyteller we've ever seen in the ladies competition. And, as she usually does, she skated perfectly in Ostrava, earning a score of 78.92 points. France's Laurine Lecavelier turned out to be the dark horse of the day Anna Pogorilaya finished right behind her teammate. Despite not making any mistakes, she looked slightly uncomfortable, which resulted in a disappointing presentation for me. ...

About a week ago, while I was enjoying a perfectly lovely evening next to a good book and a cup of chai tea, I started to hear this little voice inside my head that nudged me to check the dates of the European Championships. I had at some point got it into my head that they were going to be held in February, so I wasn't really stressing about it. Well, imagine my surprise when I saw how very wrong I was. So I got my pen, my notebook and my laptop, and now here I am. Kudos, little voice of reason. I have to admit I am unusually excited about these championships, because I realised, as I was going through the list of skaters, that there would be a lot of faces I didn't know. Maybe the next big star of European figure skating is still to come out this week? Before we find out though, I've compiled a list of the top five figure skaters of each discipline I'm going to keep an eye on. MEN Maxim Kovtun Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images North America Javier Fernand...

Italians have a saying that goes something like this: "He that has patience, can have what he will." Carolina Kostner, Italy's greatest figure skater so far, would surely agree. After being the poster girl for two Olympic Games and failing to meet everyone's expectations, each time worse than the other, a weaker athlete would have not risked a third participation. But Carolina knew better; she had a dream and she was determined to make it reality. Dreaming of climbing the Olympic podium in figure skating felt natural for a child whose family was made half out of athletes, half out of artists. She started skating at the age of three and stepped on senior ice 13 years later. At the age of 14, she hired Michael Huth as her coach and began commuting between her hometown and Oberstdorf to work with him. Her potential shone through from very early on - she became the first Italian to win a medal (bronze) at the Junior World Championships. Carolina with Roberto Caval...

After four impeccable performances, Mao Asada, Carolina Kostner and Julia Lipnitskaia are a stone's throw away from each other. It will take an absolutely flawless performance to win this gold medal. Nyah  by Hans Zimmer is quite a happy song to skate to and Valentina Marchei  enjoys every moment. She's elegant, charismatic and knows just how to dance to a guitar. There is no real mistake here. Her score: 107.37 . Overall: 157.64 . Anne Line-Gjersem  chose a very difficult part of the West Side Story  soundtrack and it hurts her. There's no trace of the romance in there and she's not really following the rise and fall of the music. Technically, her only mistake is the fall on the Triple Loop. Not a big fan of the costume! She gets 80.55  points. Overall: 130.03 . La Bayadere  is a beautiful song and Natalia Popova 's pleasant style can only improve it. Unfortunately, the technical errors bring the interpretation down. She falls on two jumps and double...

With as many as four great skaters trying to claim the World title in Saitama, the ladies' event is bound to be quite the spectacle. Here's the first part: Making up for the mistakes in Sochi, Mao Asada  is absolutely sublime. This is her last competition and judging by the flood of flowers and gifts she's just received, there is at least one country in the world that will miss her dearly. Her score: 78.66 . Kanako Murakami  strikes you as delicate and emotional even before entering the ice, so it's no surprise that her chosen music for the short is Violin Muse . She's great technically and so powerful artistically that you can read the sadness in her eyes throughout the routine. 2013/2014 hasn't been the best of seasons for her, so it's good to see her firm on her skates. She gets 60.86  points. Another skater whose grace we will miss after this season is Akiko Suzuki . Hymne de l'Amour  is her music and this performance is the perfect ending to h...

It's official! The 2014 Figure Skating World Championships have begun, and if previous competitions held in Japan show us anything, is that they're hosted by one of the greatest, if not the best audience in the world. As it usually happens in an Olympic season, most of the Olympic champions have decided to skip the Worlds, understandably so - after winning the most supreme of medals, they are entitled to a well deserved holiday. The only victor who will compete is Yuzuru Hanyu, probably because the Championships are held in his native country. The other notable absentees are either Olympic medalists (the same right to a holiday applies) or skaters for whom the Olympic Games were the final chapter in their skating careers. Patrick Chan and Brian Joubert are missing from the Men competition, with the Frenchman clearly retiring and the Canadian unsure about his future in figure skating. Another favourite of the audience who won't be attending is Florent Amodio due to lac...

Adelina Sotnikova is so very close to achieving her dream and winning the European title that slipped out of her fingers last year. But with Julia Lipnitskaia and Carolina Kostner breathing down her neck, the task is not easy at all. Natalie Weinzierl 's Rhapsody in Blue sounds grand and looks fabulous, but looks can be deceiving. She had a hand down on the Triple Lutz, stepped out of the Triple Loop, fell on the last Triple Salchow and lost her balance during the second-to-last spin. In terms of transition, there wasn't much there. Her score: 98.86 . Overall: 151.88 Julia Turkkila 's La Gazza Ladra migh sound funny, but it's quite a repetitive song. With a bit more imagination, she could have made a story for it, but as it is, the programme doesn't stand out. She missed a couple of elements, the most important being the Triple Salchow, which she fell on. She obtains 89.89 points. Overall: 140.31 I don't know if Elena Glebova builds her programmes arou...

DANCE Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron  put the mishap from the short in the past, and did a terrific job in the free. Their somewhat futuristic concept features the music of Woodkip ( Iron  and Run Boy Run ) and Olafur Arnalds ( Brotsjor ). Their score: 79.78 . Overall: 124.27 Siobhan Heekin-Canedy/Dmitri Dun  skated on one of the most beautiful tangos, El Tango de Roxanne . Her dress was gorgeous, but his shirt looked a bit like a waiter's. The real problem was that although she tried her best to express the music, he was not feeling it at all. Where there should have been anger and passion, there was nothing. They obtained 78.57  points. Overall: 123.57 Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier  have really struck gold with their Hitchcock  theme. Unfortunately, Paul lost his balance in the twizzles. The costumes were superb and the way his is both symbolic for Hitchcock and makes hers stand out is brilliant. Their score: 82.52 . Overall: 133.66 Ksenia Monk...

DANCE Ksenia Monko/Kirill Khaliavin  had a little stumble during the step sequence, but were otherwise dynamic and pleasant to watch. Their score: 55.83 Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier  were fun and had great twizzles. The choice of costumes was very clever as it relates to the first song. They obtained 51.14  points. Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron 's flame was significantly less bright than in Paris. He messed up the twizzles and lost focus on the presentation from that moment on, then fell at the very end of the routine. Their score: 44.49 . Ekaterina Riazanova/Ilia Tkachenko  brought the atmosphere of Chicago  to Moscow. It was fast, very well presented and had complex steps. They obtained 58.59  points. Madison Chock/Evan Bates  dug their hands into the showmanship bucket, but didn't get the best out of it. The twizzles were fine, but the first song just didn't seem to get them in the mood. Their score: 57.80 Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje...

MEN The first out of three Chinese skaters, Yi Wang  skated on A Beautiful Storm . Overall, it was a good, enjoyable skate, but he double-footed the Triple Axel and singled the second Triple Flip. His score: 63.27 . As beautiful as the music was, Peter Liebers'  routine lacked smoothness. The jumps were perfect though, except for the Triple Toeloop. He got 69.34  points. China's national champion, Nan Song , brought his inner rock star on ice, skating beautifully on Guitar Concerto . Unfortunately, his Quad Toeloop was messy and the Triple Toeloop ended up being a Single. His score: 68.68 . Maxim Kovtun  proves he's worth a lot to the Russian team with two perfectly landed quads and a 'spot on' interpretation. His silly fall at the end was a mistake that took us all by surprise. He got 81.84  points. Charming, funny and in perfect control of his elements, Han Yan  probably had the best skate he's had so far in his entire life. The music was Viper'...