International Skating Union

START ORDER PAIRS SHORT PROGRAM Thu Nov 2 3pm local time / 8 am EDT

1 Miu SUZAKI / Ryuichi KIHARA JPN
2 Laura BARQUERO / Aritz MAESTU ESP
3 Tae Ok RYOM / Ju Sik KIM PRK
4 Deanna STELLATO / Nathan BARTHOLOMAY USA

5 Daria PAVLIUCHENKO / Denis KHODYKIN RUS
6 Miriam ZIEGLER / Severin KIEFER AUT
7 Nicole DELLA MONICA / Matteo GUARISE ITA
8 Natalia ZABIIAKO / Alexander ENBERT RUS

Tech Team

Ref: Okabe-JPN
TC: Zonneyken-BEL
TS: Briggs-GBR
ATS: Bich-RUS

Judges: AUT JPN ITA GER CHN RUS ESP FIN CAN

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START ORDER LADIES SHORT PROGRAM Thu Nov 2 4:54 pm local time / 9:54 am EDT

1 Hanul KIM KOR
2 Daria PANENKOVA RUS
3 Emmi PELTONEN FIN
4 Angela WANG USA
5 Viveca LINDFORS FIN

6 Rika HONGO JPN
7 Yuna SHIRAIWA JPN
8 Loena HENDRICKX BEL
9 Alina ZAGITOVA RUS
10 Kaori SAKAMOTO JPN
11 Stanislava KONSTANTINOVA RUS

Tech Team

Ref: Rosenbluth-USA
TC: Zonneyken-BEL
TS: Ong-TPE
ATS: Tewanian-POL

Judges: BEL ITA USA SVK FIN RUS JPN AUT GER

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START ORDER RHYTHM DANCE Thu Nov 2 6:47 pm local time / 11:57 am EDT

1 Shari KOCH / Christian NÜCHTERN GER
2 Juulia TURKKILA / Matthias VERSLUIS FIN
3 Betina POPOVA / Sergey MOZGOV RUS
4 Katharina MÜLLER / Tim DIECK GER
5 Jasmine TESSARI / Francesco FIORETTI ITA

6 Christina CARREIRA / Anthony PONOMARENKO USA
7 Sara HURTADO / Kirill KHALIAVIN ESP
8 Alexandra STEPANOVA / Ivan BUKIN RUS
9 Lorraine McNAMARA / Quinn CARPENTER USA
10 Charlene GUIGNARD / Marco FABBRI ITA

Tech Team

Ref: Abbott-CAN
TC: Marron-USA
TS: Baranov-RUS
ATS: Towler-Green-GBR

Judges: GER USA CZE RUS JPN FIN ISR ESP ITA

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START ORDER MEN SHORT PROGRAM Fri Nov 3 12:46 pm local time / 5:46 am EDT

1 Phillip HARRIS GBR
2 Andrei LAZUKIN RUS
3 Alexei KRASNOZHON USA
4 Junhwhan CHA KOR
5 Valtter VIRTANEN FIN

6 Michal BREZINA CZE
7 Boyang JIN CHN
8 Keiji TANAKA JPN
9 Yuzuru HANYU JPN
10 Alexei BYCHENKO ISR
11 Mikhail KOLYADA RUS

Tech Team

Ref: Okabe-JPN
TC: Rhee-KOR
TS: Tewanian-POL
ATS: Ong-TPE

Judges: ISR CHN RUS BEL FIN GBR CZE JPN USA

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RESULTS PAIRS SHORT PROGRAM
1 Nicole DELLA MONICA / Matteo GUARISE ITA 68.18 36.47 31.71 7.93 7.68 8.04 7.96 8.04 0.00 7
2 Natalia ZABIIAKO / Alexander ENBERT RUS 67.59 35.68 32.91 8.14 8.07 8.29 8.43 8.21 1.00 8
3 Daria PAVLIUCHENKO / Denis KHODYKIN RUS 63.80 36.14 27.66 7.04 6.75 6.93 7.04 6.82 0.00 5
4 Miriam ZIEGLER / Severin KIEFER AUT 62.69 33.57 29.12 7.36 7.07 7.25 7.39 7.32 0.00 6
5 Tae Ok RYOM / Ju Sik KIM PRK 56.87 30.58 27.29 7.11 6.57 6.68 6.86 6.89 1.00 3
6 Deanna STELLATO / Nathan BARTHOLOMAY USA 56.44 30.43 27.01 6.82 6.50 6.79 6.79 6.86 1.00 4
7 Laura BARQUERO / Aritz MAESTU ESP 50.91 28.53 23.38 5.79 5.61 5.86 6.00 5.96 1.00 2
8 Miu SUZAKI / Ryuichi KIHARA JPN 46.22 25.77 22.45 5.96 5.50 5.39 5.75 5.46 2.00 1


START ORDER PAIRS FREESKATE Fri Nov 3 2:37 pm local time / 8:37 EDT

1 Laura BARQUERO / Aritz MAESTU ESP
2 Miu SUZAKI / Ryuichi KIHARA JPN
3 Tae Ok RYOM / Ju Sik KIM PRK
4 Deanna STELLATO / Nathan BARTHOLOMAY USA

5 Daria PAVLIUCHENKO / Denis KHODYKIN RUS
6 Miriam ZIEGLER / Severin KIEFER AUT
7 Nicole DELLA MONICA / Matteo GUARISE ITA
8 Natalia ZABIIAKO / Alexander ENBERT RUS

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RESULTS LADIES SHORT PROGRAM

1 Alina ZAGITOVA RUS 68.90 33.13 35.77 8.89 8.93 8.86 9.04 9.00 0.00 9 3z+1lo*, 2a, 3f
2 Yuna SHIRAIWA JPN 63.77 33.29 30.48 7.64 7.39 7.93 7.54 7.61 0.00 7 3z!+3t, 2a, 3lo
3 Loena HENDRICKX BEL 63.17 32.14 31.03 7.68 7.57 7.75 7.86 7.93 0.00 8 3z+3t<, 2a, 3f<-so
4 Stanislava KONSTANTINOVA RUS 62.56 32.67 30.89 7.79 7.57 7.64 7.82 7.79 1.00 11 3z+3t, 2a, 3f<<↓
5 Emmi PELTONEN FIN 59.90 29.89 30.01 7.36 7.21 7.54 7.57 7.82 0.00 3 3t+3t, 3lo, 2a
6 Daria PANENKOVA RUS 58.23 32.01 26.22 6.68 6.29 6.68 6.64 6.50 0.00 2 3lo, 2a, 3z+3t<
7 Kaori SAKAMOTO JPN 57.26 26.93 32.33 8.36 8.04 7.82 8.11 8.07 2.00 10 3f↓, 2a, 3lo+3t<<↓
8 Hanul KIM KOR 55.38 29.37 26.01 6.61 6.29 6.79 6.46 6.36 0.00 1 3z+3t<, 3lo<, 2a
9 Angela WANG USA 53.76 25.81 27.95 7.07 6.68 6.96 7.11 7.11 0.00 4 1f*, 3lo+2t, 2a
10 Viveca LINDFORS FIN 52.95 26.65 26.30 6.64 6.46 6.46 6.68 6.64 0.00 5 3z-so, 3f!-hd+2t, 2a
11 Rika HONGO JPN 51.11 23.79 28.32 7.11 6.75 7.11 7.25 7.18 1.00 6 3t<+3t<, 3f<↓, 2a

Wow! Zagitova makes the same mistake as Bradie Tennell! And that sets off a series of mistakes by the two ladies that followed her: Sakamoto (although I think Kaori's problem was related to a bad fall into the boards at practice yesterday---she didn't seem able to do pick jumps as a result) and Konstantinova.

START ORDER LADIES FREESKATE Fri Nov 3 5:30 pm local time / 11:30 am EDT

1 Rika HONGO JPN
2 Viveca LINDFORS FIN
3 Angela WANG USA
4 Hanul KIM KOR
5 Kaori SAKAMOTO JPN

6 Emmi PELTONEN FIN
7 Stanislava KONSTANTINOVA RUS
8 Daria PANENKOVA RUS
9 Alina ZAGITOVA RUS
10 Yuna SHIRAIWA JPN
11 Loena HENDRICKX BEL

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RESULTS RHYTHM DANCE

1 Alexandra STEPANOVA / Ivan BUKIN RUS 78.18 42.14 36.04 8.93 8.82 9.07 9.11 9.11 0.00 8
2 Charlene GUIGNARD / Marco FABBRI ITA 77.36 42.56 35.80 8.89 8.82 9.00 9.00 9.04 1.00 10
3 Lorraine McNAMARA / Quinn CARPENTER USA 71.40 38.75 32.65 8.21 7.93 8.29 8.14 8.25 0.00 9
4 Christina CARREIRA / Anthony PONOMARENKO USA 66.93 36.10 30.83 7.75 7.54 7.68 7.82 7.75 0.00 6
5 Sara HURTADO / Kirill KHALIAVIN ESP 66.25 35.41 30.84 7.57 7.54 7.86 7.82 7.75 0.00 7
6 Juulia TURKKILA / Matthias VERSLUIS FIN 63.06 34.76 28.30 7.00 6.93 7.14 7.14 7.18 0.00 2
7 Betina POPOVA / Sergey MOZGOV RUS 62.35 33.17 29.00 29.18 7.39 7.11 7.29 7.36 7.32 0.00 3
8 Jasmine TESSARI / Francesco FIORETTI ITA 58.48 31.00 27.48 6.82 6.71 6.89 6.96 6.96 0.00 5
9 Shari KOCH / Christian NÜCHTERN GER 56.71 30.49 26.20 26.22 6.57 6.39 6.54 6.64 6.64 0.00 1
10 Katharina MÜLLER / Tim DIECK GER 56.59 29.96 26.63 6.71 6.54 6.64 6.79 6.61 0.00 4

Hmmmmmm. If G/F hadn't gotten that time deduction, they would have beaten Stepanova / Bukin. Makes the FD very, very interesting.

START ORDER FREE DANCE Fri Nov 3 7:40 pm local time / 1:40 pm EDT

1 Shari KOCH / Christian NÜCHTERN GER
2 Katharina MÜLLER / Tim DIECK GER
3 Betina POPOVA / Sergey MOZGOV RUS
4 Jasmine TESSARI / Francesco FIORETTI ITA
5 Juulia TURKKILA / Matthias VERSLUIS FIN

6 Christina CARREIRA / Anthony PONOMARENKO USA
7 Sara HURTADO / Kirill KHALIAVIN ESP
8 Lorraine McNAMARA / Quinn CARPENTER USA
9 Alexandra STEPANOVA / Ivan BUKIN RUS
10 Charlene GUIGNARD / Marco FABBRI ITA

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RESULTS MEN SHORT PROGRAM

1 Yuzuru HANYU JPN 106.69 59.09 47.60 9.50 9.39 9.46 9.64 9.61 0.00 9 4s, 3a, 4t+3t
2 Michal BREZINA CZE 93.31 51.14 42.17 8.46 8.07 8.57 8.46 8.61 0.00 6 4s+3t, 3f, 3a
3 Boyang JIN CHN 85.97 45.86 41.11 8.25 7.93 8.32 8.29 8.32 1.00 7 4z-hd+3t<↓, 4t, 3a
4 Junhwhan CHA KOR 82.82 43.50 39.32 7.93 7.64 7.79 7.96 8.00 0.00 4 4s, 3z+3lo<-so, 3a<
5 Andrei LAZUKIN RUS 82.54 45.57 36.97 7.43 7.07 7.61 7.32 7.54 0.00 2 4t, 3a, 3f+3t
6 Mikhail KOLYADA RUS 81.76 38.51 43.25 8.89 8.54 8.43 8.71 8.68 0.00 11 4t-so, 1z*-nc, 3a
7 Keiji TANAKA JPN 80.60 42.28 39.32 7.89 7.61 7.86 7.89 8.07 1.00 8 4s<↓, 3z+3t, 3a
8 Alexei KRAZNOZHON USA 74.05 39.66 34.39 6.96 6.68 6.89 6.86 7.00 0.00 3 3f!+3lo, 3a, 3z
9 Alexei BYCHENKO ISR 73.44 36.30 37.14 7.46 7.11 7.50 7.39 7.68 0.00 10 3f, 3a-hd-so, 3z+3t
10 Phillip HARRIS GBR 58.99 25.70 33.29 6.71 6.61 6.43 6.75 6.79 0.00 1 3a, 3z, 2f+2t*
11 Valtter VIRTANEN FIN 48.16 17.69 30.47 6.04 5.86 5.82 6.36 6.39 0.00 5 3t+3t<-so-hd, 1a*, 2z*

It was a POOH MONIUM!!!!

START ORDER MEN FREESKATE Sun Nov 4 2pm local time / 7 am EDT

1 Phillip HARRIS GBR
2 Valtter VIRTANEN FIN
3 Keiji TANAKA JPN
4 Alexei BYCHENKO ISR
5 Alexei KRASNOZHON USA

6 Junhwhan CHA KOR
7 Andrei LAZUKIN RUS
8 Mikhail KOLYADA RUS
9 Boyang JIN CHN
10 Yuzuru HANYU JPN
11 Michal BREZINA CZE

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RESULTS PAIRS FREESKATE

1 Natalia ZABIIAKO / Alexander ENBERT RUS 130.92 66.50 65.42 8.18 7.96 8.32 8.29 8.14 1.00 8
2 Daria PAVLIUCHENKO / Denis KHODYKIN RUS 121.81 64.37 57.44 7.29 7.11 7.11 7.32 7.07 0.00 5
3 Nicole DELLA MONICA / Matteo GUARISE ITA 117.59 54.86 63.73 8.07 7.79 7.86 8.18 7.93 1.00 7
4 Tae Ok RYOM / Ju Sik KIM PRK 117.37 60.53 56.84 7.21 6.89 7.21 7.25 6.96 0.00 3
5 Miriam ZIEGLER / Severin KIEFER AUT 112.12 53.83 58.29 7.39 7.11 7.18 7.39 7.36 0.00 6
6 Deanna STELLATO / Nathan BARTHOLOMAY USA 102.77 47.74 55.03 6.93 6.79 6.71 7.00 6.96 0.00 4
7 Miu SUZAKI / Ryuichi KIHARA JPN 99.43 52.91 47.52 6.14 5.64 6.07 6.04 5.82 1.00 2
8 Laura BARQUERO / Aritz MAESTU ESP 98.63 51.58 47.05 5.86 5.71 5.93 6.04 5.86 0.00 1


FINAL STANDINGS PAIRS

1 - Natalia ZABIIAKO / Alexander ENBERT RUS 198.51 2 1
2 - Nicole DELLA MONICA / Matteo GUARISE ITA 185.77 1 3
3 - Daria PAVLIUCHENKO / Denis KHODYKIN RUS 185.61 3 2
4 - Miriam ZIEGLER / Severin KIEFER AUT 174.81 4 5
5 - Tae Ok RYOM / Ju Sik KIM PRK 174.24 5 4
6 - Deanna STELLATO / Nathan BARTHOLOMAY USA 159.21 6 6
7 - Laura BARQUERO / Aritz MAESTU ESP 149.54 7 8
8 - Miu SUZAKI / Ryuichi KIHARA JPN 145.65 8 7

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As the Ladies starts, I would like to say that Zagitova should not be getting the kinds of scores she does with her bad posture and her toe pushes. I thought this last year when she was hiding it with the tutu, and it's even more noticeable now that she's not. And her hand over the head looks like a floppy rag. Ugly. Worst skating by an Olympic champion ever.

DL, I couldn't agree with you more. Watching Alina skate, it seemed to me her posture is getting even worse than it was last year. Her backside is to the audience more times than not.

RESULTS LADIES FREESKATE

1 Alina ZAGITOVA RUS 146.39 74.28 72.11 8.86 8.86 9.07 9.14 9.14 0.00 9 2a, 3z+3t, 3s, 2a, 3z<+3lo<, 3f+2t+2lo, 3f
2 Kaori SAKAMOTO JPN 140.16 72.96 67.20 8.39 8.11 8.50 8.43 8.57 0.00 5 3f+3t, 2a, 3ze, 3s, 2a+3t+2t, 3f+2t, 3lo
3 Stanislava KONSTANTINOVA RUS 135.01 73.57 61.44 7.68 7.29 7.93 7.75 7.75 0.00 7 3z+3t, 2a+eu+3s, 3lo, 3f+2t, 3z, 3f
4 Loena HENDRICKX BEL 128.05 64.45 63.60 7.82 7.71 8.04 8.00 8.18 0.00 11 3z+3t<, 3f, 2a, 3z, 3f<+2t+1lo, 2a+2lo, 3s
5 Yuna SHIRAIWA JPN 127.69 64.59 63.10 7.93 7.61 8.00 7.96 7.93 0.00 10 3z+3t<, 2a, 3f!, 2a, 3z+3t<, 3s<+2t+2lo, 3lo
6 Viveca LINDFORS FIN 106.67 53.67 54.00 6.75 6.50 6.75 6.89 6.86 1.00 2 3z+3t, 3lo<↓, 3f, 3z+2t, 2a, 2s, 2a-fo
7 Rika HONGO JPN 105.48 51.64 53.84 7.00 6.36 6.86 6.71 6.71 0.00 1 3f, 3f+rep, 3z!<, 2a+2t+2lo<, 3s+2t, 3s<, 3t
8 Hanul KIM KOR 104.77 51.68 53.09 6.79 6.50 6.68 6.71 6.50 0.00 4 3z+3t<<, 3lo<+2t, 1fe, 3lo<, 3z, 2a, 2a+2t+2lo,
9 Daria PANENKOVA RUS 103.25 52.98 51.27 6.68 6.18 6.43 6.50 6.25 1.00 8 2a, 3z+3t<<, 3s<↓, 2a, 3z+3t<, 3f+2t+2t, 3lo
10 Emmi PELTONEN FIN 98.82 41.67 58.15 7.29 7.14 7.07 7.46 7.39 1.00 6 3t+3t, 2z, 3lo↓, 2a+eu+2s, 2fe, 2lo, 2a<
11 Angela WANG USA 95.81 42.85 54.96 7.07 6.82 6.50 7.00 6.96 2.00 3 3f+3t, 1z, 2a<+2t, 2a+2t, 3z<<↓, ↓, 2t*, 2s


FINAL STANDINGS LADIES

1 - Alina ZAGITOVA RUS 215.29 1 1
2 - Stanislava KONSTANTINOVA RUS 197.57 4 3
3 - Kaori SAKAMOTO JPN 197.42 7 2
4 - Yuna SHIRAIWA JPN 191.46 2 5
5 - Loena HENDRICKX BEL 191.22 3 4
6 - Daria PANENKOVA RUS 161.48 6 9
7 - Hanul KIM KOR 160.15 8 8
8 - Viveca LINDFORS FIN 159.62 10 6
9 - Emmi PELTONEN FIN 158.72 5 10
10 - Rika HONGO JPN 156.59 11 7
11 - Angela WANG USA 149.57 9 1

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RESULTS FREE DANCE

1 Alexandra STEPANOVA / Ivan BUKIN RUS 121.91 67.01 54.90 9.14 8.93 9.36 9.11 9.21 0.00 9
2 Charlene GUIGNARD / Marco FABBRI ITA 118.93 66.83 53.10 8.82 8.75 8.79 8.96 8.93 1.00 10 fall?
3 Sara HURTADO / Kirill KHALIAVIN ESP 105.84 58.67 48.17 7.89 7.75 8.18 8.11 8.21 1.00 7 time
4 Lorraine McNAMARA / Quinn CARPENTER USA 105.26 58.54 48.72 8.14 7.96 8.04 8.25 8.21 2.00 8 ext lifts
5 Christina CARREIRA / Anthony PONOMARENKO USA 100.35 55.91 46.44 7.79 7.54 7.68 7.79 7.89 2.00 6 ext lifts
6 Juulia TURKKILA / Matthias VERSLUIS FIN 97.56 53.65 43.91 7.32 7.07 7.25 7.50 7.46 0.00 5
7 Jasmine TESSARI / Francesco FIORETTI ITA 95.41 53.02 42.39 6.93 6.86 7.14 7.18 7.21 0.00 4
8 Betina POPOVA / Sergey MOZGOV RUS 95.21 51.71 43.50 7.21 7.14 7.36 7.29 7.25 0.00 3
9 Katharina MÜLLER / Tim DIECK GER 87.00 48.19 39.81 6.57 6.61 6.54 6.71 6.75 1.00 2 fall
10 Shari KOCH / Christian NÜCHTERN GER 86.91 47.56 39.35 6.54 6.43 6.50 6.71 6.61 0.00 1

IMO, there was some blatant score manipulation going on in both RD and FD.....
You can expect S/B's score to go up exponentially at CoR---whether it deserves to or not.

FINAL STANDINGS ICE DANCE

1 - Alexandra STEPANOVA / Ivan BUKIN RUS 200.09 1 1
2 - Charlene GUIGNARD / Marco FABBRI ITA 196.29 2 2
3 - Lorraine McNAMARA / Quinn CARPENTER USA 176.66 3 4
4 - Sara HURTADO / Kirill KHALIAVIN ESP 172.09 5 3
5 - Christina CARREIRA / Anthony PONOMARENKO USA 167.28 4 5
6 - Juulia TURKKILA / Matthias VERSLUIS FIN 160.62 6 6
7 - Betina POPOVA / Sergey MOZGOV RUS 157.56 7 8
8 - Jasmine TESSARI / Francesco FIORETTI ITA 153.89 8 7
9 - Shari KOCH / Christian NÜCHTERN GER 143.62 9 10
10 - Katharina MÜLLER / Tim DIECK GER 143.59 10 9

Regarding Alina,

Agree with both posters who remarked on her posture and her toe pushes, but I also thought she seemed slow. Or is it just me? I just felt like she didn't cover the ice with the power and speed one might expect of her, given her reputation.

Thoughts?

RESULTS MEN FREESKATE

1 Yuzuru HANYU JPN 190.43 98.01 92.42 9.32 9.07 9.14 9.36 9.32 0.00 10 4lo<, 4s, 3lo, 4t<, 4t^3a, 3f+3t, 3a+eu+3s
2 Michal BREZINA CZE 164.67 80.11 85.56 8.54 8.21 8.71 8.57 8.75 1.00 11 4s+2t, 3a↓, 3f, 3z, 3a+2t, 3f+2t*+2lo, 3lo
3 Junhwhan CHA KOR 160.37 80.07 81.30 8.11 7.86 8.18 8.36 8.14 1.00 6 4t, 4s<↓, 3z+3lo, 3a<+2t<, 3a, 3f+3u+3s<, 3lo
4 Mikhail KOLYADA RUS 157.03 75.03 84.00 8.54 8.21 8.25 8.46 8.54 2.00 8 4s<↓, 4t↓, 3a+2t, 3a, 3lo, 3z+eu+2s, 3z+2t
5 Boyang JIN CHN 141.31 69.21 76.10 8.04 7.36 7.29 7.61 7.75 4.00 9 4z, 4s↓, 4t<↓, 4t+2t, 3a<↓, 3a-so+rep, 3z+3t
6 Alexei KRASNOZHON USA 136.98 67.40 69.58 7.07 6.68 6.89 7.11 7.04 0.00 5 3a, 3a+2t, 3f+2t, 2a, 3f+3lo, 3z, 3s
7 Andrei LAZUKIN RUS 135.68 62.96 73.72 7.50 7.21 7.29 7.36 7.50 1.00 7 2t, 4t+3t, 3a-to+2t, 3f<+eu+2s, 3z<, 3lo, time
8 Alexei BYCHENKO ISR 128.89 58.75 70.14 7.11 6.57 7.00 7.21 7.18 0.00 4 3z+3t, 3a+2t, 3lo, 2a, 3a-so-hd, 2z+eu+2s, 2f
9 Keiji TANAKA JPN 126.22 54.92 72.30 7.54 7.00 7.00 7.32 7.29 1.00 3 4s↓, 1a, 2t, 3a, 3z-so, 3f+2t, 3lo
10 Phillip HARRIS GBR 123.67 58.83 65.84 6.71 6.32 6.46 6.61 6.82 1.00 1 3a+2t, 3z+3t↓, 3a, 2f+eu<+3s, 2lo, 3z, 2a
11 Valtter VIRTANEN FIN 106.58 44.44 62.14 6.18 5.93 6.07 6.50 6.39 0.00 2 4t<, 3lo, 3lo+3t<, 3z<, 3s<, 3t, 1a


FINAL STANDINGS MEN

1 - Yuzuru HANYU JPN 297.12 1 1
2 - Michal BREZINA CZE 257.98 2 2
3 - Junhwhan CHA KOR 243.19 4 3
4 - Mikhail KOLYADA RUS 238.79 6 4
5 - Boyang JIN CHN 227.28 3 5
6 - Andrei LAZUKIN RUS 218.22 5 7
7 - Alexei KRASNOZHON USA 211.03 8 6
8 - Keiji TANAKA JPN 206.82 7 9
9 - Alexei BYCHENKO ISR 202.33 9 8
10 - Phillip HARRIS GBR 182.66 10 10
11 - Valtter VIRTANEN FIN 154.74 11 11

Michal Brezina becomes the first man to make the GPF, a huge comeback for him.
Junhwhan Cha will probably not make the final with 22 points, but we'll have to see how things pan out.

Virginia wrote:Regarding Alina,

Agree with both posters who remarked on her posture and her toe pushes, but I also thought she seemed slow. Or is it just me? I just felt like she didn't cover the ice with the power and speed one might expect of her, given her reputation.

Thoughts?

She was probably trying really hard not to make a mistake, hence the slowdown. All that did was make her faults more glaring.
She got 3z<+3lo< on her combo in the second half, maybe because she slowed down too much.

IMO, being Olympic champ is weighing heavily on her and she is terrified of being beaten. Losing at Worlds must have been a huge blow to her confidence. It must be tough to have a rough skate and have Eteri waiting for you in the KnC with that frown on her face.....

There is much to like in Zagatova's spins - positions, speed, centering, all of it. There's no flow out of her landings, and her knees are stiff. She reminded me of Butraskaya with the stiff landings and lack of soft knees. I wasn't really focusing on her speed so I have no comments. I think that last year's packaging and back loading did a lot to cover the issues. The back half was all jumps with nothing in between, and no time to recover.

That's what undid her at Worlds. She was exhausted and it showed. At the end of the freeskate, the first mistake threw her off, and with no time to recover and refocus before the next jump, she had nothing left in the tank.

I know she's having her problems adapting at the moment, but I really like most of what I saw of Medvedva at Skate Canada. The SP choreography was not organic for her. You could see her thinking her way through it and not quite getting it, hence the mistakes and the marks. But the speed, the jump height and ice coverage are all very much improved.

To me, Kaori Sakamoto had the winning FS. Her overall speed, power, ease of movement was just miles ahead of Zagitova, IMO. I honestly didn't find any area in which Zagitova was superior.

Michal Brezina figured out that 4Salchow! Something's clicking!

Hanyu's FS was kinda messy, honestly, so I couldn't really get a sense of his program. He was clearly the class of the field here. That 4toe+3Axel+SEQ was pretty sick!!

Your thoughts...

I got home from Skate Canada and visiting relatives north of Montreal, on Thursday evening. Company was arriving for the weekend, Saturday morning. I haven't seen any the Ladies or Men's LP, although we were on the TV while I cleaned and got ready for company. Today I have orders to get out and laundry to do so maybe tonight I'll get time to watch. I'll reserve my comments on the LP until then.

In the interim, it is so nice to see the return of Michael Brenina.

I am thrilled about Brezina too. Going for that European gold now with Javi out of the way.

Other highlights of the grand prix competitions for me so far: James/Cipres & Shoma Uno + Gilles/Poirier´s FD at Skate Canada, Sakamoto at both of her events (especially the comeback in Helsinki after mistakes in SP), Hendrickx's comeback in Helsinki after having to withdraw at her first event due to illness and of course Hanyu and that crazy new jump sequence in Helsinki. I also liked Chen at Skate America and I hope he will be able to challenge Hanyu at the GPF and worlds to keep things interesting.

I also have to mention Della Monica & Guarise's gala programme in Helsinki. Those two have never struck me as particularly humorous people, so it was surprising and fun to watch