2000-2001 Junior Grand Prix Final - Men

Gold - Xiadong Ma (CHN)

Short Programme
3axel2toe, scratchy landing on the axel; flying camel; 3flip; scratchy landing again; combination spin; straight steps; 2axel; circular steps; changefoot sit spin.

5.1 5.2 5.1 5.4 5.2 5.3 4.9
4.9 5.1 5.1 5.2 5.1 5.1 5.0

Free Programme
3axel3toe; 4toe two-footed, possibly underrotated; flying camel on FI edge; huge 3lutz3toe; 3flip also huge; 2axel; changefoot camel travelled a little on second part; serpentine spirals; 3axel; 1salchow; changefoot sit; 3salchow; combination spin. He was delighted at the end, of course :o) His music was "Mount Olympus" that Shen/Zhao used in '98.

5.5 5.6 5.4 5.6 5.5 5.7 5.6
5.0 5.3 5.3 5.2 5.3 5.2 5.1

General Comments
Ma was the clear winner, he simply outjumped everyone else. But I thought he was the least interesting of all the men, he didn't seem to have a lot besides the jumps, unless you count noisy blades and weak spins...Still, it was wonderful to be able to witness his jumps, they are so huge and powerful. In practice he hardly ever seemed to fall, he would be landing 3axel3toe only a few minutes into the session, before any of the other skaters on the ice had done so much as a waltz jump, which in itself would seem to indicate where his priorites lie. Something I found interesting about his quad toe-loop - he enters it with a three turn rather than using the toe-walley type entry - I've never seen a quad done that way before.

Silver - Sergei Dobrin (RUS)

Short Programme
3lutz3toe, just held; 3flip; flying camel; straight steps; 2axel from steps; combination spin with Biellmann. Hmm, I see I must've missed the changefoot spin somewhere, oops... His music was some kind of jazzed-up version of Toccata and Fugue.

5.0 5.2 4.7 4.1 4.7 5.2 4.7
5.2 5.4 4.9 4.6 4.9 5.3 5.1

Free Programme

3salchow3toe; 3lutz3toe; 1flip; 3loop; flying camel really flew; serpentine spirals; 3flip; 2axel; flying sit didn't fly; circular steps; combination spin with Biellmann. Some kind of classical music, it sounded like Tchaikovsky to me but I've no idea if it actually was...

5.3 5.4 5.2 5.2 5.1 5.2 5.2
5.3 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.2 5.4 5.3

General Comments
Dobrin clearly won the hearts of the crowd, judging by the cheers he got, presumably mostly due to the fact that he's so tiny, but he also has a certain presence on the ice. He has the ability to land jumps that you think he can't possibly hang on to - but he seems to have to use that ability an awful lot, which isn't so good...

Bronze - Stanislav Timchenko (RUS)

Short Programme
3axel2toe, lovely; flying camel; hand down on 3flip; straight steps diagonally across the rink, with several one foot turns that I can't identify but which weren't three turns; changefoot sit; step out of 2axel; circular steps into combination spin. The music was some strange synthesiser arrangement of Bolero (why has everyone decided to use it this year?)

4.8 4.9 5.0 4.8 5.0 5.0 5.0
5.2 5.5 5.5 5.1 5.2 5.4 5.3

Free Programme
Backspin; 3axel2toe; 3lutz landed on inside edge; changefoot camel; 3toe; flying camel; serpentine spirals; fall on 3loop from running threes; 1flip; 2axel; circular steps; 3salchow; fall on 3flip; combination spin.

5.1 5.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.3 4.9
4.8 5.2 5.1 5.2 5.1 5.5 5.1

General Comments
The thing I found most impressive about Timchenko was his edges, they are so smooth and quiet, I could've watched him just stroke round the rink all day. Unfortunately I didn't find him quite so interesting once he started doing stuff other than just stroking round the rink...his spins are nice enough, and so are his jumps - his triple axel isn't totally consistent but when he lands it it's lovely - but he never seems to do anything to really grab your attention.

4th - Nicholas Young (CAN)

Short Programme
3flip, cool landing position with one hand on his hip and one over his head; 1lutz; flying camel; 2axel; changefoot sit, good positions; serpentine steps; combination spin. The music was Zorba the Greek and I was glad he managed to keep up with the music as it got faster...

4.6 4.7 4.3 4.0 4.0 4.9 4.6
5.2 5.3 4.7 4.5 5.0 5.4 5.3

Free Programme 3axel two-footed, possibly underrotated; 3flip3toe, dodgy landing on flip; flying camel; 3lutz3toe, just; 3salchow with a really odd entry, almost on two feet; 3loop; really nice straight steps; 3lutz; 2axel (followed by a fist in the air :o)); changefoot sit; some mock sword-fighting; circular steps with more sword-fighting; good combination spin. His music was the Man in the Iron Mask.

5.0 5.2 5.1 5.0 5.3 5.1 5.1
5.0 5.4 5.2 5.1 5.4 5.3 5.2

General Comments
If I hadn't known he was from Canada beforehand, I would've guessed the instant he stepped onto the ice. I can't figure out quite what it is about his skating, but there's something about his style that's just so Canadian. He seems to present every element with outstretched arms and upturned hands, which I quite liked, but could also be the kind of thing you find irritating very quickly...One thing I found very distracting was his odd entry to the axel - so far as I can tell he scrapes his free foot on the ice as he swings it through on the takeoff, there's a very definite loud toe-pick-scrape type sound. So I was amazed that he was coming so close to the triple axel - he tried it a few times, it was always two-footed and sometimes underrotated. He also has a very strange entry to the salchow, which thoroughly confused me, I only worked out what it was through a process of elimination...He seems to be able to squeeze out a triple toe on the end of anything, time and again I saw him land a jump at a dead stop and I'd think it impressive enough that he managed to hang onto the landing, only to see him launch into the air again and somehow get the triple out. Anyway, he's a very nice, stylish, polished skater.

5th - Ryan Bradley (USA)

Short Programme Fall on 3lutz; changefoot sit; circular steps; steps into 3flip; serpentine steps; 2axel right over the toe, just held; flying camel. Hmm, presumably there was a combination spin in there somewhere, too...

4.6 4.5 4.3 4.0 4.1 4.5 4.3
5.4 5.0 4.8 4.4 4.7 5.1 4.9

Free Programme
3flip3toe; 1axel; 3lutz3toe on almost the same spot as the first combination; some kind of sit spin, I looked up when he was already spinning, oops; nice spirals; 3loop; flying camel; good circular steps; straight steps with sword-fighting (is it contagious?); fall on 3lutz; 3salchow; 2axel; combination spin a little slow, it had two changes of foot, with the second being a hop-over. Part of his music was the William Tell Overture.

4.9 5.0 5.0 4.9 5.0 5.1 4.7
5.4 5.3 5.1 5.0 5.0 5.4 4.9

General Comments
Before the event, when I was trying to find out as much information as possible about the skaters competing, one of the names that came up most often was Bradley's, and it was nearly always closely followed by the word "charisma" - now I understand why. Something about him commands your attention, when he's on the ice you just can't take your eyes off him (which I suppose will have to be my excuse for not having written down that combo spin in the short...) I'd heard so many complaints about his spins that I was expecting them to be horrible, but although they were a little slow they really weren't that bad, and he had nice positions.

6th - Parker Pennington (USA)

Short Programme
3flip stumbled out; 3lutz3toe; changefoot sit, fast; circular steps; 2axel; straight steps; good combination spin. According to the programme his music was "The Festival Overture" by Victor Herbert.

4.5 4.7 4.9 4.8 4.7 4.6 4.2
5.2 4.9 5.4 4.9 5.0 5.2 4.8

Free Programme
Flying camel; 3axel (I think...); 3lutz stumbled out; 3flip3toe; deathdrop; spirals; camel spin; spreadeagle; 3salchow; 2axel; 3lutz3toe, toe may have been two-footed; straight steps; spreadeagle; 3loop; combination spin. He did a little skip into the air at the end with a big smile :o)

5.1 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.8 4.8
5.2 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.7

General Comments
I don't really have much to say about Pennington. He didn't leave much of an impression on me - although that's not such a bad sign because if I'd disliked anything about him I certainly would've remembered ;o) His jumps were very consistent, and he tried a couple of triple axels, but couldn't quite hold the landings, stepping or spinning out.

7th - Anton Smirnov (RUS)

Short Programme
Stumble in stroking early on; fall on 3axel, right in front of the judges; 3flip spun out; flying camel looked short on revolutions; 2axel; changefoot sit, fast; straight steps; combination spin. The music was some loud soundtrack-type stuff, complete with agressive choreography...

4.6 4.8 4.6 4.6 4.5 4.8 4.8
5.3 5.3 5.3 4.8 4.9 5.3 5.2

Free Programme
2axel (should've been a triple); 2lutz; step out of 2flip; flying sit; 2axel; 3loop put free foot down fairly early, looked like he couldn't be bothered to try to hold it; 3toe; 3salchow; changefoot sit travelled; combination spin. Dark, dramatic soundtrack-type music with suitable choreography.

4.5 4.5 4.7 4.9 4.7 4.6 4.3
4.6 5.0 4.7 5.1 4.8 4.9 4.8

General Comments
Smirnov gives the impression of being very much a power skater, he seems to muscle through his jumps rather like Yagudin. He was working on his triple axel a lot, right in front of me, but with little success, sometimes singling or doubling out, more often taking really hard falls - but he did land some, and when he landed them they were usually in combination with a triple toe, it was amazing to see these jumps from just a few feet away. In practice he always wore some scruffy looking fleece and seemed so casual, almost reluctant, about everything, he just looked so much like an average teenager who'd somehow ended up at a rink on a boring weekend, it seemed strange to see him doing these big elements :o)

8th - Evan Lysacek

Short Programme
Fall on 3lutz, just when I thought he'd managed to land it; 2axel; flying camel with a kind of sideways/almost layover variation; straight steps; 3flip; changefoot sit; circular steps with lots of appropriate arm movements; really nice combination spin with good positions. He used kind of dance/club music, with great choreography and a cool black and silver costume, and he carried it off brilliantly. I love this programme!

4.3 4.7 4.4 4.1 4.3 4.7 4.3
5.1 5.2 4.8 4.5 5.0 5.2 5.1

Free Programme
2axel from a standstill at the beginning (I loved that); 3lutz3toe, lovely; 3flip; changefoot camel with almost a layover; 2axel; 3flip half-loop 3salchow; combination spin; 2loop; nice circular steps; walley into 2lutz; deathdrop. I think the music was Storm by Vanessa Mae. I don't seem to be able to remember much about the programme, but I know I liked it a lot at the time...

4.8 4.7 4.8 4.5 5.1 4.9 4.9
4.8 4.9 4.8 4.8 5.1 5.1 5.0

General Comments
I don't really know what to say about Lysacek, I just love his skating. He was by far my favourite of the men here. His spins were very impressive, fast, centred and with good and unusual positions. I thought both of his programmes were excellent, much more interesting in terms of choreography than the other men, and he was able to perform them so well. And he's so young still, I'm really looking forward to seeing how he develops.