Short Programme
Huge 2twist drew a loud gasp from the audience; lovely lift with a change of position to a hip grip achieved with a little hop; sbs 2axel; circular spirals; throw 2salchow; sbs spins not completely together and moved away from
each other; pair spin; BO death spiral, nice position. The music was the Thunder and Lightning Polka, which along with some spectacular elements made for an exciting programme.
5.4 5.5 5.5 5.3 5.3 5.6 5.3
5.2 5.4 5.4 5.1 5.3 5.3 5.1
Free Programme
FI death spiral, she really "sits" on the entry; 3twist; sbs 3toe she put a hand down; throw 3salchow; circular steps; lasso lift; sbs 3salchow she doubled; sbs spins pretty well together; throw 3loop she stepped out early; spirals; hip lift;
pair spin; sbs 2axel she singled; sbs 2flip; star lift. Their music was Coppelia.
5.1 5.3 5.5 5.2 5.4 5.5 5.4
5.0 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.4 5.3 5.2
General Comments
These two are a fairly typical Chinese pair - very fast, lots of spectacular elements, and not too much in between. But their presentation isn't bad, they move nicely and get some good positions in their spirals, for example. Their twist is
quite breathtaking - on the double it seems like she's going to stay in the air forever, and on the triple she finishes the rotation way before landing. And they're trying the quad twist, too. They did a few in practice, and a couple in the warmup
for the free, but I don't think they were quite rotated - there's a possibility some of them may have been clean, it's so hard to tell on the twist - but certainly there was the tendency for them to be underrotated. Their stroking wasn't as smooth as
that of many of the other pairs, and their spins are pretty bad.
Short Programme
Circular spirals straight into BO death spiral; 2twist; sbs 2axel; loop lift; sbs spins very good but lost unison right at the end; throw 2salchow; pair spin. The music sounded like it was from a ballet, I don't know if it actually was.
5.0 5.2 5.1 4.8 5.3 4.7 4.8
4.9 5.4 5.3 4.8 5.1 4.5 4.8
Free Programme
2twist; sbs 2axel; lift with waist hold, her horizontal holding one leg high at her side; throw 3salchow; FI death spiral; nice controlled sbs spins; sbs 2axel he stumbled out, made it to 1toe just before she did 2toe; lasso lift changed to
one hand late on; throw 2axel; lasso change to hip lift; sbs 2toe from nowhere; BO death spiral; pair spin with standard but lovely positions. A really good skate.
5.2 5.3 5.2 5.0 5.1 5.3 5.1
5.0 5.5 5.3 5.2 5.3 5.2 5.1
General Comments
I liked this pair a lot. They don't have the innovation or the "wow" factor of many of the others, but everything they do is smooth, easy and controlled. They also are very clearly a pair rather than two singles skaters, and I didn't get that
feeling with any of the other pairs here. I love their back outside death spiral, they get a nice position and what really impressed me was how solid her edge was, she never wobbled or went too far over the toepick.
Short Programme
BO death spiral not very low; 2twist; sbs 2axel; throw 2salchow; sbs spins well timed; really cool lift where she bends her legs and leans backward so that she's kind of curled up backwards; circular spirals, half of them with her
in a Biellmann position; pair spin. Slow violin music, pale blue costumes, and a lovely programme.
4.8 4.9 5.1 5.1 4.8 4.9 5.0
5.0 5.1 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0
Free Programme
FI death spiral; sbs 3toe turn 2toe, great; throw 3salchow looked wobbly on landing; 3twist slightly underrotated; sbs 3toe he fell; one-handed lasso lift; throw 3loop; pair spin with cool positions; carry lift which started off as a star lift,
and ended up with her upside-down in a sideways-split position, and him in a spreadeagle, I loved it; nice sbs spins; straight steps; hip lift ending with another carry. The music was Spartacus, they had brown/orange costumes.
5.1 5.3 5.5 5.2 5.4 5.5 5.4
5.0 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.4 5.3 5.2
General Comments
I'd heard a lot about this pair, and they were among the skaters I was most looking forward to seeing. There was much more innovation among these pairs than I've seen in the senior pairs, and these two were among the most creative, making
much use of Kawaguchi's extraordinary flexibility. It was in the gala, though, that they really came into their own, free of the restrictions of competition.
Short Programme
Lift with scary dismount (I don't remember what I meant by that...); sbs 2axel she fell; sbs spins out of sync in places but OK; big 2twist; throw 2salchow; fast circular spirals; BO death spiral, she looked like she was going too far
over the toe but it was OK. Strange new-agey music with a heavy beat and a soprano singing lots of short, staccato notes...
4.7 4.9 5.0 4.6 4.8 4.8 4.6
5.3 5.3 5.4 4.7 5.4 5.2 5.0
Free Programme
Sbs 3toe she just held hers; sbs 2axel, nasty cross-legged fall for her, he went on to 2toe; twist, didn't catch whether it was double or triple, sorry; throw 3salchow; really cool lift that I can't possibly describe - it's the one in the picture
but the takeoff and dismount were really unusual; pair spin starting with her in almost a lying position, supported only by one of her skates and one of his hands under her; fall on throw 2axel; one-handed hip lift, her horizontal with legs
together; FI death spiral; sbs flying camels only three or four revolutions; straight steps. Their music was Lord of the Dance.
4.8 5.1 4.8 4.7 4.9 4.8 4.8
5.0 5.3 4.9 5.0 5.1 5.0 4.9
General Comments These two have the typical fast, smooth, quiet stroking of a Russian pair, but certainly not the classical programmes that you might expect. This is another pair who are really innovative, lots of unusual positions and a short programme weird enough even to satisfy me (I have a thing for weird programmes...)
Short Programme
BO death spiral; 2twist; sbs 2axel; massive throw 2salchow; sbs spins; lift with a change to one-handed lasso position; pair spin. Dramatic oriental music.
5.0 4.9 5.2 4.9 4.9 5.2 5.1
4.8 4.7 5.0 4.7 4.6 5.3 4.7
Free Programme
3twist; throw 3toe, huge; sbs 2axel she singled; sbs 2toe she bailed out and just didn't take off; sbs 3toe; one-handed lasso lift; sbs 2axel both stumbled out; throw 3loop, free foot may have touched down at the very end; hip lift into platter
with the kind of tricky-looking dismount that involves flinging her around unnecessarily; FI death spiral; sbs spins; front press change to hip lift; straight steps; pair spin. Generic slow, dramatic classical music.
5.0 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.7 5.2 4.9
4.9 4.7 4.6 4.9 4.6 4.9 4.6
General Comments
These two don't have the same level of presentation as Zhang/Zhang, but they are close to matching them in terms of spectacular elements. They too were attempting quad twists, though once again they often seemed to be underrotated. One of
the highlights of the event for me was a pairs practice where for the last fifteen minutes or so Ding and Ren were the only pair left on the ice. They worked on throws the whole time - double salchow, triple loop, some huge triple toe-loops -
and finally, a couple of quad toes. Her hand may have touched down on one, but the other was perfectly clean, and it was incredible to see such a tiny girl landing such difficult jumps. Actually the throw they were having most trouble with was
the double salchow!
Short Programme
Sbs 2axel she singled; 2twist; really nice circular spirals; pair spin; throw 2salchow, scratchy landing; BO death spiral; sbs spins; inverted star lift.
4.2 4.5 4.4 4.5 4.9 4.5 4.7
4.9 5.1 4.8 4.6 5.2 4.9 5.2
Free Programme
A kind of mini-lift at the start; 3twist; sbs 3toe, she doubled, he may have put a hand down; star lift with cool dismount; throw 3loop perfect; sbs 2axel she may have singled, I'm not sure; sbs spins didn't finish together; hip lift, change
direction into platter, really impressive; fall on throw 2salchow; really lovely lift in a kind of stag position with her facing the ice; sbs 2toe into 2something else; FI death spiral; pair spin. Tango music which apparently was "Concerto por
Bandoneon" by Astor Piazzolla. When they finished their music started over again which thoroughly confused everyone...
4.7 4.7 4.8 4.8 4.7 4.7 4.7
4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.8 4.7 4.7
General Comments
I really liked these two, they have a striking look on the ice, and are very stylish and polished. They have good posture and lovely positions in everything, especially the lifts. They're powerful and exciting, and he looks to be immensely strong.
Short Programme
2twist; BO death spiral; sbs 2axel; throw 2salchow; serpentine spirals; sbs spins, some timing problems in changes of position; lift where she leans backwards and arches her back; pair spin. Their music was "Storm" by Vanessa Mae.
4.2 4.4 4.6 4.3 4.2 4.4 4.0
4.8 4.7 4.8 4.6 4.9 4.7 4.6
Free Programme
3twist; sbs 3toe he put his hand down; pretty good sbs spins; lift with changes of position ending with the same stag-type one Magarian/Guzman did; throw 2toe; pair spin; sbs 2axel; lasso lift change to stag-type carry with him on one foot;
throw 2salchow; sbs 2flip into 2toe; one-handed lasso lift; FI death spiral, I *love* the little head movement she does in time with the music going into it. The music was from the Shaft soundtrack, and it really suited them well.
4.7 4.9 4.6 4.8 4.5 4.5 4.5
4.9 5.0 4.6 4.8 4.7 4.6 4.7
General Comments
The thing that really stands out about this pair is Sima's personality. On the ice she seems fun, bubbly and outgoing, and the really nice thing is that she looks to be just the same off the ice. She spent a lot of time in the stands loudly cheering on
her team-mates, especially Ann Patrice McDonough who received encouragement through constant shouts of "Go AP!" Anyway, skating-wise, it's their presentation that's impressive, I found their programmes to be among the most interesting of
the event.
Short Programme
2twist, light and clean; circular spirals; sbs 2axel she two-footed; sbs spins very good; lift where she leans back horizontally; throw 2salchow; BO death spiral; pair spin.
4.3 4.6 4.7 4.0 4.3 4.1 4.0
4.8 4.9 4.9 4.4 4.7 4.5 4.5
Free Programme
2twist; throw 2salchow; aborted attempt at a lift; star lift; sbs 2axel she two-footed hers; she does a layback and he "catches" her straight into a pair sit spin; nice FI death spiral; sbs spins pretty good; odd lift with her in a foetal position
upside-down; spirals into dance-type lift where she's upside-down in a split hanging underneath him as he does a spiral; throw 2loop; sbs 2flip into 2toe; pair spin; one-handed lasso lift; BO death spiral. A little slow and tentative.
4.4 4.6 4.5 4.4 4.4 4.3 4.3
4.5 4.8 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.4 4.4
General Comments
It wasn't much fun watching these two in practice, because Dean was falling so much, and they were really hard falls, over and over again, it was so sad to see. She really struggled with the jumps, I don't think I saw her land a clean double axel
at all. I really enjoyed his skating, but she just doesn't appear to be quite at the same level yet.
| 1 | Dan Zhang/Hao Zhang | CHN | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Kristen Roth/Michael McPherson | USA | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Yuko Kawaguchi/Alexander Markuntsov | JPN | 4 | 3 |
| 4 | Svetlana Nikolaeva/Pavel Lebedev | RUS | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | Yang Ding/Zhongfei Ren | CHN | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Amanda Magarian/Jered Guzman | USA | 6 | 6 |
| 7 | Sima Ganaba/Amir Ganaba | USA | 7 | 7 |
| 8 | Christen Dean/Joshua Murphy | USA | 8 | 8 |
Judges were from: RUS SUI JPN CHN USA CZE SVK
