Crystal Skate

Italy's Matteo Rizzo was the underdog of the night The men's final might not have been the main event of the competition in Hiroshima (see the ladies' for that), but there were still some amazing skaters - rising stars, solid veterans or established prodigies - to look forward to. June Hyoung Lee  started the event with a couple of big mistakes - a fall on the 3Axel, another on the 2Loop and a hand down on the 3Salchow. The music was Piano Concerto Number 2  by Rachmaninoff. Score: 122.10  -> 188.26 . Kevin Reynolds  has a lot of fans in Japan, and they cheered him on, despite his doubling out of the 3Axel and 4Toeloop, as well as stepping out of the 3Lutz. Kevin has had a bad Grand Prix experience all season long, and the performance in Hiroshima was unfortunately not an exception. Score: 121.53  -> 182.67 . Hiroaki Sato  received loads of support as well, but he would have also probably liked to do much better. He doubled out of a 3Toeloo...

Who says you can't wear fake armour on ice? Not Natalia Zabjiako and Alexander Enbert If you ask me what my favourite Grand Prix event is, I will say without a doubt that it's the NHK Trophy. Why? It's easy! The atmosphere in the ice rink is second to none. Japanese fans can appreciate great figure skating louder and more energetically than any other nation. That energy is felt even by far away viewers like me. So although it is always being held nine hours ahead of my timezone, I never fail to catch up on it. Hosted by Hiroshima, this season's NHK Trophy was as exciting as ever, particularly in the ladies and men's events. Despite the fact Elizaveta Tuktamysheva  was the main rival of all their best skaters (and indeed finished first with 76.17 points), the Japanese crowd rained gifts on her as soon as she finished her brilliant performance. She reminded me of Mao Asada, the last skater who got the crowd on their feet because of perfectly executed 3Axels. It...

Determined to win - Japan's Shoma Uno The men's short programme left us all in awe. The host's Keegan Messing defeated Japan's super star, Shoma Uno, who is exactly 0.01 points ahead of South Korea's newbie, Junhwan Cha. Hold onto your hats. This final is by no means already settled. Jason Brown   is first to skate with a medley from Simon and Garfunkel. He still doesn't land a quad, as he doubles out of the Salchow. I have to say, and this is just personal opinion, I don't feel his new programmes are as spectacular as some of his old routines. Score: 158.51  -> 234.97 . Kevin Aymoz 's expression stays the same throughout the routine, but it's a testament of his fabulous presentation skills. Very expansive, open movements and lots of displays of flexibility. Making no mistakes sure helps. Score: 151.26  -> 230.09 . Roman Sadosky  steps out of the 4Toeloop and 3Toeloop, falls on the 3Axel and double-foots the 2Axel. Some of his spin p...

Canada's Nam Nguyen performed much better home than he did at Skate America Photo: Lindsey Wasson/Getty Images North America Guess who miscalculated the time difference between Lavac, Quebec, Canada and London, United Kingdom? Yep, yours truly. Long story short, the men's short programme is the first competition I'm commenting on because I tuned in for the pairs' about 10 minutes before it ended. Oh well, I'll watch that one after. Roman Sadovsky  is the first skater to go out. He puts a hand down on the 4Salchow and falls on the 3Axel. However, he also lands a 4Toeloop, which shows a lot of potential. He does finish behind the music this time. Score: 67.72 . Kevin Aymoz 's routine is so much fun! He skates to Horns by Brye Fox. Great idea to sync the spins to the softer parts of the song. His face isn't relaxed enough to interpret the music during the tougher elements, but he'll learn that in time. He over-rotates the 3Axel. Score: 78.83 . B...

The men's short programme saw a lot of mistakes, but also a return to top form from Europe's favourite skater. There are therefore great things expected from Spain's national champion tonight, but also a redeeming from Shoma Uno, who could have done better yesterday. If they're both at their best, the battle for the gold will be tough to win. Vincent Zhou  is the first to skate. He falls on the 4Flip and singles the 4Lutz, but still manages two other quads. His spins are also not very graceful - his leg is bent throughout the camel spin and his low spins need to be a bit tighter. His score: 156.09 . Overall: 222.21 . Romain Ponsart  skates to the same theme as Vincent, Moulin Rouge , but to a different selection of songs. Unfortunately, the mistakes are similar to those of the American. He steps outs of the 3Axel, doubles out of the 4Toeloop and singles the 3Axel. He gets 134.31  points. Overall: 198.12 . Javier Fernandez's performance in Grenoble is miles b...

The Internationaux de France hasn't been the most glorious event of this Grand Prix Series so far. There were systems crashing (more about that in my post about the pairs' event ) and lots of mistakes from unexpected places (more about that in my ladies post ). So as we go into the men's short, I can't help but feel a bit apprehensive. Hopefully, the technical side of things has been fixed and it'll be smooth sailing from now on in Grenoble. Romain Ponsart  is unfortunately not off to a good start. He falls on the 4Toeloop, steps out of the 3Axel and makes a mistake on the 3Loop that might very possibly be interpreted as a second fall. He skates to  Je Suis Malade , but the errors massively overshadow the presentation. His score: 63.81  (and I was right about the 3Loop, the mistake is scored as a fall). Kevin Aymoz  has a lot of fans here tonight, but he still has a long way to go in terms of consistency. He over-rotates the 3Axel and doubles out of the 3Loo...

Out of all the short programmes in Marseilles, the men's was the only one not to have any elements of surprise for me. I expect the final to be the same in this battle of the continents - will the gold go to Asia, stay in Europe or move to North America? Shoma Uno  starts the event by proving yesterday's bad performance was an accident. The only error is the over-rotation of the quad Toeloop. He maintains the stance of a tango dancer throughout the routine, which helps link everything together. My favourite element is the triple Axel, set perfectly against the music. His score: 195.69 . Overall: 282.51. For  Adam Rippon  the detail that connects the different parts of the routine is the bird movement he adds to every transition and element. As beautiful as this detail is, it can't save his routine today. He falls on the quad, steps out of the triple Axel, falls on the triple Lutz, doubles out of the triple Loop and possibly double-foots the last triple Lutz. He gets 1...

One of the most famous rival trios in the history of figure skating is back on ice, competing against each other. Javier Fernandez, Yuzuru Hanyu and Patrick Chan are all World champions looking to take the title in Marseille. In the meantime, newcomers from Japan and the US might threaten their podium positions if they make mistakes. The competition is not exactly off to a great start as Javier Fernandez steps out of the quad Salchow and falls on the triple Axel. His jumps look very awkward tonight as he desperately tries to save the last two. In fact, he almost seems to have super powers to manage to stay on his feet at the end of the quad. The crowd is very supporting despite the errors, as they should be. His score: 91.76 . Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan sets himself on the right path to a gold medal on Prince's music Patrick Chan 's short programme is very laid-back and relaxing, set to Dear Prudence  and Blackbird  by The Beatles. His jumps are all clean and beautiful, ma...

Over in the men's event, my predictions were shook until they shattered to the ground. Well, actually, not really, but there were a few bittersweet surprises for me in the top five. The first pleasant surprise came from France. Chafik Besseghier  exceeded my expectations and landed himself in fifth place. His music was Seal's It's a Man's World . I find his spins very interesting - some he needs to work on (camel), others he's really good at (low spins). His score: 80.68 . Alexei Bychenko  stayed true to his worth and ended right on the tails of the podium contenders. His quad Toeloop looked effortless and his personality on the ice was very endearing. The music, Chambermaid Swing , fit him like the gloves he was wearing. Again, some spins, like the umbrella spin, were not quite perfect, knees bent and all. He got 86.81  points. I've said this before about Mikhail Kolyada , but it is still true - he needs to make sure his comedic body language reaches his ...

The third final of this season's Skate America is about to start. Is it going to be a reversal of the outcome as seen in the pairs' final or are Shoma Uno, Adam Rippon and Jason Brown going to keep their current standings? Let's start by looking at those most likely to reach the podium. Boyang Jin  has been working over the summer to improve his presentation. Choosing the comedic, but melancholic Avenue  helped a little, but he's still got a long way to go. Love his interactions with the judges though - talk about getting up close and personal. Technically, he steps out of the quad Salchow and falls on the quad Toeloop. There's also a double-footed Axel. His score: 172.15 . Overall: 245.08. Shoma Uno, from Japan, at the end of his short programme in Chicago Photograph: Tasos Katopodis, Getty Images North America The atmosphere stays jazzy thanks to Nam Nguyen 's An American in Paris . He seems very comfortable with this musical style. The only mistake ...

Ironically, the only final that seems predictable at the moment is the men's. Japan's hold on the gold  is strong, but can it be taken from Hanyu? Fernandez has great chances of taking the silver to Spain, while Chan could easily snatch the bronze. That doesn't mean we should underestimate the likes of Shoma Uno and Boyang Jin, who are waiting for the top three to make the kind of mistake that would knock them off the podium. Denis Ten 's beautiful Romeo and Juliet  suffers from a few technical errors. His biggest mistake is falling on the quad Toeloop. He gets himself back together in the second half of the programme, but this is not going to be good enough to get on the podium. His score: 151.58 . Overall: 230.13 . Deniss Vasiljevs  skates to Adagio for Tron  by Daft Punk. The medley is very smartly put together, but I'm not sure Jeff Bridge's voice makes much sense for the routine. It is a cool detail though. I love his camel combo spin - it's got an ...

The men's competition has always kept us on the edge of our seats. Each season the World Championships seem more difficult for them, as the number of quads rises and the artistry gets more important. With three men reaching for the gold and at least three others targeting the other two spots on the podium, this season's Worlds won't be any less exciting than the ones before. Let's start with  Misha Ge , who surprised us last season by finishing the Worlds on 6th place. That's very unlikely to happen here. His programme is clean, but he has no quads. Did you know he's one of the few skaters who can change direction during his camel spin? The music is Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 . His score: 77.43 . Adam Rippon  doesn't attempt his famous Quad Lutz, but does land a triple with his arms aloft. The music is Who Wants to Live Forever  by Queen. The crowd gets wild cheering for him. Beautiful spin at the end. He gets 85.72  points. If we didn...

Six events, six countries, tens of talented skaters, and it's all wrapping up in a three-day final that is sure to be spectacular. Welcome to Barcelona and the 2015 figure skating Grand Prix Final! The boy's event is undoubtedly going to be the most thrilling. It reunites three great rivals for the first time in two years: Yuzuru Hanyu, Javier Fernandez and Patrick Chan. After the Japanese's record-breaking performance in Nagano a couple of weeks ago, it's not hard to see the balance leaning in his favour. But you can never be sure of anything in figure skating, so let's see what happens: The fact that Daisuke Murakami  is the underdog here shows what a high level figure skating is at right now. Despite the hand on the ice on the triple Lutz and doubling out of the triple Toeloop, his artistry is sublime. The song is Bring Him Home  by Josh Groban. His score: 83.47 . Patrick Chan 's style is more relaxed than ever, but maybe that's a problem. Or maybe ...

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. THE SHORT PROGRAMME One of Joshua Farris' more peculiar spin positions Photograph: Chung Stung-Jun / Getty Images Asia 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...