Warm-up Group 2.
Anastasia Gimazetdinova (UZB) - 2flip2toe; 2lutz; flying camel, fast; spirals; 2axel fall out; spin combo with ugly Biellmann; layback, fast. 3.0 to 3.8, 4.0 to 4.6.
Silvia Fontana (ITA) - 3lutz fall, stood up and ran into boards backwards; 2toe; deathdrop; spirals; 2axel; layback; circular steps; spin combo, fast but a little travel. 3.8 to 4.4, 4.4 to 5.1.
Diana Poth leads, but Eurosport didn't show her, apparently she skated really well.
Group 3.
Galina Maniachenko (UKR) - 3lutz2toe; 3flip fall; flying camel; spreadeagle; 2axel; layback; spiral; straight steps; spin combo. Lovely programme to Love Story. Chris says .1 deduction for flying part of camel, for not getting a good flying position, but I missed that part of the spin. She's a similar type skater to Anna Rechnio. 4.3 to 4.8, 4.9 to 5.3. Second on the afternoon, first overall.
Sabine Wojtala (POL) - 3lutz2toe; layback; 3loop; deathdrop, good; circular steps; 2axel looks very happy!; spirals, also circular I think, can they do that?; spin combo. Apparently she changed her programme at the last minute, she had been doing 3toe3toe and 3lutz. .2 decuction for not finishing the circle on steps say Chris. 4.6 to 5.2, whistles 4.8 to 5.3 applause. Firsts from all but three judges.
Anna Lundstrom (SWE) - spirals, including slide spiral? some kind of turning spiral anyway; 2axel two-footed; 3toe2toe; spin combo; 3loop two-footed; deathdrop; circular steps; layback. Shrugs her shoulders at the end. 4.1 to 4.9, 4.6 to 5.2.
Yoshie Onda (JPN) - 3flip2toe; 3lutz (flutz?); flying camel; spirals; layback; 2axel, big, very soft landing; circular steps; spin combo. Looks absolutely thrilled at the end! Jumping about shaking her fists and grinning! 4.9 to 5.3, 4.6 to 5.2. Second.
Vanessa Gusmeroli (FRA) - 3lutz2toe; circular spirals, very nice, especially the first one; 3flip; layback; spin combo, love her Biellmann; 2axel, her axels are so scary; circular steps; flying camel. Looks like you can have both circular steps and circular spirals. If only she hadn't made such a mess of the qualifying! "she has been doing 3lutz3toe" says Simon, presumably he means in run-throughs. 5.2 to 5.5, 5.4 to 5.7, screams from the crowd.
Anna Rechnio (POL) - 3lutz fall; 1flip step out; layback; straight steps; deathdrop; spirals; spin combo. I think I must have lost concentration because I've missed the double axel. She went out with zero confidence, even before she started she looked like she was about to burst into tears. Oh, here's the 2axel on the replay, I remember seeing it but I mustn't have written it down. 3.6 to 4.2, missed the second mark but it was mostly in the fives. Deductions of .5 says Chris. He says she skates faster than the men! Doesn't look too upset with her marks.
Alisa Drei (FIN) - 3toe2toe; 3loop; flying camel; straight steps; spin combo with pretty good Biellmann; 2axel; spirals; layback, not a pretty position, but interesting. 36 minutes since she was on the ice for the warm-up says Chris. Lots of laughter in K&C, I wonder what that's about. 4.5to 4.9, 4.7 to 4.9, looks slightly disappointed. Fifth on the short, behind Poth, fourth overall.
Group 4.
Elena Liashenko (UKR) - 3lutz2toe, lutz two-footed; 3flip; flying camel; spirals; 2axel just barely kept hand and free foot off the ice; spin combo; straight steps; layback, very cool position wih her hands linked behind her back. Shiny dress in kind of titanium colours, with big square rhinestones round the edges, in a Butyrskaya style. Katarina Witt on the big screen getting cheered, she smiles and nods to the camera! They put the camera on her again and she laughs and blows kisses! 4.7 to 5.2, 5.0 to 5.5. Places from second to seventh.
Jennifer Robinson (CAN) - 2axel; 3lutz2toe lutz two-footed; spin combo; 3loop; deathdrop; straight steps; spirals; layback. They're interviewing Tammy Sear now, she says she's getting internationals next season, yeah! She's got a bit of an annoying voice but I reckon there's a career as a commentator for her when she stops skating! 4.6 to 5.0, 5.0 to 5.5.
Zoya Douchine (GER) - 3flip fall out 2toe; 3toe; layback, sideways leaning; spirals; deathdrop; circular steps; 2axel step out; combo spin with ugly Biellmann, slow. Katarina Witt on screen again, she's pulling faces now, I think she wonders why they keep showing her! 3.7 to 4.2, 4.5 to 5.0. Tenth on the short, looks very disappointed.
Viktoria Volchkova (RUS) - 2lutz step 2toe; 3flip; layback; circular steps; 2axel; flying camel; spirals; spin combo. 4.6 to 5.2,5.1 to 5.5, second to seventh places, second on the short behind Gusmeroli, first overall.
Tatiana Malinina (UZB) - 3lutz hands down step 2toe; 3flip step out; spin combo; 1axel; flying camel; spirals; straight steps; layback. A whole point of deductions says Simon. 3.5 to 4.1, 4.8 to 5.4, places tenth to eighteenth, tenth overall. Very disappointed, obviously, but not too distraught. Roman in the K&C as usual.
Angela Nikodinov (USA) - 3flutz2toe; spin combo; 3flip; 2axel; layback; circular steps; spirals; flying camel, good position and speed. Chris says he would have her behind Gusmeroli because all her jumps were in the first forty-five seconds to a minute of the programme, and her technique isn't quite as good, she turns a bit on the takeoff. 5.1 to 5.7, 5.1 to 5.6. Two firsts, one third, but second on the afternoon and first overall.
Group 5.
Michelle Kwan (USA) - 2axel; 3flutz2toe; layback, certainly much-improved position; 3flip just held; spirals, change edge spiral wonderful; spin combo, very well-centred; circular steps; flying spin. I hate the music, it sounds like it belongs in a doctor's waiting room. Chris loves it, which makes it tacky 80s without a doubt! 5.4 to 5.7, 5.7 to 5.9, Hungarian judge has her third! Not keen on the costume either.
Julia Sebestyen (HUN) - 2axel; 3lutz2toe, lutz so very high and light; flying camel, bit slow; 2flip; circular steps; layback, kind of travelled round in a circle; spirals; spin combo, love that gradual change of position up into the Biellmann. Dress is in a really nasty shiny white fabric, complete with matching white shiny pants. 4.7 to 5.3, 5.0 to 5.5, places from third to eleventh, fourth in the short, didn't see the overall placing, presumably second.
Mikkeline Kierkgaard (DEN) - 3loop fall out; flying camel; 3toe2toe; spirals; 2axel; straight steps; spin combo, really nice. She looks quite upset, almost crying as she comes off the ice. Recovered a little by the time we saw her in the K&C after the replays. 4.1 to 4.7, 4.9 to 5.4, seventh to fourteenth, ninth overall, nearly crying again when she sees her marks, but coping pretty well IMO.
Irina Slutskaya (RUS) - 3lutz2toe, looked slightly dodgy; 2axel; 3flip beautiful; flying camel very good; straight steps; spin combo, wonderful; spirals; layback, sideways leaning change to backwards leaning. "Well, the second mark for me will be better than Kwan's" says Simon, I like this guy! Chris doesn't agree. Split screen showing Kwan backstage looking concerned as Slutskaya spins. 5.4 to 5.8, all 5.8s except one 5.7 and one 5.9, three second places the rest firsts.
Sarah Hughes (USA) - 2axel; flying camel, very high jump and changing edge halfway through the spin; 3flutz2toe; 3flip, very high picking leg; circular steps, very flowing; spin combo very good; circular spirals; layback. Crumbs, what a change from last year! Chris says he has two problems with the programme, there weren't many steps in the step sequence and she didn't complete the circle on the spirals. "That was pretty awesome!" she says as she laughs in the K&C! Chris would have her fourth behind Gusmeroli. 5.0 to 5.5, lots of whistling and she looks disappointed. 5.3 to 5.7, third to sixth, fourth on the short, third overall. Still don't like the new haircut but it looks better than in the pictures.
Maria Butyrskaya (RUS) - 3lutz2toe; 3loop; spin combo; 2axel; flying camel; straight steps; spirals; layback. New dress with sea-foam skirt, little fluffy shreds of skirt, with a couple of similar fluffy shreds on her arm and leg, lines of diamante leading into them. Chris says it's the best he's ever seen her skate, I agree. They show Kwan looking concerned again. Very soft flowing landings today. 5.6 to 5.9, all 5.9s except two 5.8, two second places. She was fab.