Four Continents Championships, 15-19 Feb, Gangneung, S Korea

[bumphystars]

Is this arena at high elevation or something? All of the skaters seem so winded, more than usual, when they come off the ice. Even Meagan Duhamel and she is known as a supremely fit skater. Just curious.

[chuckiem]

Altitude is 27 meters (89'). If skaters seem winded, it's probably from jet lag, not because of the altitude.

[chuckiem]

PAIRS FREE SKATE

1 Wenjin SUI / Cong HAN CHN 144.28 71.45 73.83 9.07 9.21 9.21 9.36 9.29 1.00 15
2 Meagan DUHAMEL / Eric RADFORD CAN 137.92 70.71 67.21 8.50 8.25 8.29 8.54 8.43 0.00 12
3 Cheng PENG / Yang JIN CHN 136.48 71.40 65.08 8.04 7.96 8.21 8.21 8.25 0.00 9
4 Lubov ILYUSHECHKINA / Dylan MOSKOVITCH CAN 132.27 66.17 67.10 8.29 8.18 8.54 8.43 8.50 1.00 13
5 Xiaoyu YU / Hao ZHANG CHN 128.20 63.70 64.50 8.29 7.89 7.89 8.25 8.00 0.00 14
6 Kirsten MOORE-TOWERS / Michael MARINARO CAN 124.81 61.54 63.27 7.75 7.68 7.93 8.11 8.07 0.00 11
7 Alexa SCIMECA / Chris KNIERIM USA 121.46 60.97 61.49 7.68 7.54 7.71 7.75 7.75 1.00 10
8 Haven DENNEY / Brandon FRAZIER USA 116.06 57.91 59.15 7.29 7.29 7.50 7.43 7.46 1.00 8
9 Sumire SUTO / Francis BOUDREAU AUDET JPN 106.82 56.43 51.39 6.36 6.29 6.50 6.54 6.43 1.00 7
10 Ashley CAIN / Timothy LEDUC USA 106.29 53.28 54.01 6.68 6.61 6.71 6.82 6.93 1.00 6
11 Ekaterina ALEXANDROVSKAYA / Harley WINDSOR AUS 98.00 51.89 46.11 6.00 5.61 5.68 5.89 5.64 0.00 4
12 Su Yeon KIM / Hyungtae KIM KOR 90.80 50.16 40.64 5.11 4.89 5.29 5.18 4.93 0.00 2
13 Minji JI / Themistocles LEFTHERIS KOR 83.38 45.39 39.99 5.32 4.79 5.00 5.07 4.82 2.00 1
14 Miu SUZAKI / Ryuichi KIHARA JPN 80.37 39.20 42.17 5.50 5.21 5.07 5.46 5.11 1.00 5
15 Kyueun KIM / Alex Kang Chan KAM KOR 77.85 38.71 40.14 5.11 4.86 5.07 5.11 4.93 1.00 3


FINAL STANDINGS PAIRS

1 Wenjin SUI / Cong HAN CHN 225.03 1 1
2 Meagan DUHAMEL / Eric RADFORD CAN 212.23 3 2
3 Lubov ILYUSHECHKINA / Dylan MOSKOVITCH CAN 205.31 4 4
4 Xiaoyu YU / Hao ZHANG CHN 203.40 2 5
5 Cheng PENG / Yang JIN CHN 202.92 7 3
6 Kirsten MOORE-TOWERS / Michael MARINARO CAN 195.70 5 6
7 Alexa SCIMECA / Chris KNIERIM USA 190.56 6 7
8 Haven DENNEY / Brandon FRAZIER USA 179.45 8 8
9 Ashley CAIN / Timothy LEDUC USA 168.87 9 10
10 Sumire SUTO / Francis BOUDREAU AUDET JPN 164.96 10 9
11 Ekaterina ALEXANDROVSKAYA / Harley WINDSOR AUS 154.10 11 11
12 Su Yeon KIM / Hyungtae KIM KOR 140.68 13 12
13 Miu SUZAKI / Ryuichi KIHARA JPN 130.85 12 14
14 Minji JI / Themistocles LEFTHERIS KOR 129.19 14 13
15 Kyueun KIM / Alex Kang Chan KAM KOR 118.91 15 15


================================================================================================


LADIES FREE SKATE

1 Mai MIHARA JPN 134.34 72.30 62.04 7.89 7.50 7.89 7.71 7.79 0.00 19 3z+3t, 3f, 2a, 2a+3t, 3z+2t+2lo, 3lo, 3s
2 Mirai NAGASU USA 132.04 69.81 8.00 62.23 7.86 7.46 7.93 7.75 7.89 0.00 18 3f+3t, 3z, 3s, 2a+3t+2t, 3lo+2t, 3lo, 2a
3 Gabrielle DALEMAN CAN 128.53 63.78 64.75 8.18 7.89 8.25 8.14 8.14 0.00 22 3t+3t, 3z, 3f, 3z+2t+2t, 1lo, 2a-so, 3s^2a
4 Da Bin CHOI KOR 120.79 62.84 57.95 7.21 7.04 7.32 7.36 7.29 0.00 20 3z, 3f, 2a+3t<, 3lo, 3z+3t<+2t, 3s+2t, 2a
5 Zijun LI CHN 116.68 61.02 5.00 55.66 7.04 6.71 6.96 6.96 7.11 0.00 17 3f+3t<, 3z, 2a+3t+2t, 3lo, 3f, 3s+2t, 2a
6 Kaetlyn OSMOND CAN 115.96 55.25 64.71 8.29 7.93 7.68 8.18 8.36 4.00 21 3f+3t, 2a+3t, 3z!↓, 3lo-so, 3f↓, 3s<↓, 1a
7 Mariah BELL USA 115.89 58.03 58.86 7.32 7.18 7.36 7.39 7.54 1.00 15 3z, 3lo, 2a+2t, 3f!+1lo+3s↓, 3z!+2t, 2a, 3f
8 Alaine CHARTRAND CAN 113.48 59.02 54.46 6.96 6.61 6.96 6.68 6.82 0.00 7 3z+3t, 3fe, 3s, 3lo, 2a+1lo+3s<, 3z<, 2a+2lo
9 Wakaba HIGUCHI JPN 113.33 57.66 55.67 7.11 6.71 6.86 7.04 7.07 0.00 13 3z+3t, 3lo, 2s, 2a<<, 3z+3t, 1f, 2a+2t+2lo
10 Karen CHEN USA 111.22 51.85 59.37 7.54 7.18 7.39 7.54 7.46 0.00 14 3z, 3f!, 2a, 3lo, 3s+2t, 3z<-so+2t*, 2a
11 Elizabet TURSYNBAEVA KAZ 109.78 52.13 59.65 7.50 7.29 7.46 7.57 7.46 2.00 23 3z, 3z↓+rep, 3f↓, 3s+3t, 1lo, 2a, 2a+3t
12 Xiangning LI CHN 109.12 58.77 50.35 6.46 6.04 6.36 6.29 6.32 0.00 12 3f, 3z, 3lo, 2a+1lo+3s, 3f+rep, 3s+2t
13 Rika HONGO JPN 108.26 50.16 59.10 7.32 7.11 7.43 7.46 7.61 1.00 16 3f+3t<, 3s, 3ze<↓, 1a+2t, 3lo<, 3f<+2t+2lo, 3t
14 Brooklee HAN AUS 103.61 53.77 49.84 6.29 5.93 6.43 6.18 6.32 0.00 10 3lo, 3z!, 3s+2t, 3s<, 3t+2t+2lo, 3t^2a, 2a
15 Ziquan ZHAO CHN 97.40 52.75 45.65 5.96 5.46 5.71 5.71 5.68 1.00 8 3z, 2a+1lo+3s<↓, 3lo, 3t, 3lo+2t, 3t+2t, 2a
16 Suh Hyun SON KOR 83.74 44.48 40.26 5.25 4.82 5.07 5.14 4.89 1.00 5 3z!, 3f+1t, 3lo, 2a+3t<+2t, 3z!<↓+rep, 3s<+2t, 2a
17 Kailani CRAINE AUS 82.21 37.13 47.08 6.00 5.57 5.89 5.93 6.04 2.00 9 3f+2t, 3ze<<↓, 3lo<<↓, 3f!<<, 3lo+rep, 2a, 2a
18 Maisy Hiu Ching MA HKG 81.10 40.41 41.69 5.39 4.96 5.32 5.07 5.32 1.00 1 3lo↓, 3t+2t, 2a+1lo+2s, 3lo+rep, 3t<+2t, 2a, 1z
19 Amy LIN TPE 79.62 34.56 46.06 5.96 5.54 5.79 5.71 5.79 1.00 11 3z<<↓, 3t, 1lo, 1t, 2a, 3s, 2a
20 Chloe ING SGP 78.57 38.35 41.22 5.04 4.93 5.25 5.18 5.36 1.00 3 3s<, 3lo+2t, 3lo<↓, 2a, 2a, 2z!+2lo+2lo, 2z!+2t
21 Shuran YU SGP 75.14 36.71 39.43 5.14 4.68 4.93 4.93 4.96 1.00 2 2z, 3s<↓, 2t, 2a, 3s+2lo, 3t+1t, 2a+2t+1lo


FINAL STANDINGS LADIES

1 Mai MIHARA JPN 200.85 4 1
2 Gabrielle DALEMAN CAN 196.78 1 3
3 Mirai NAGASU USA 194.95 5 2
4 Kaetlyn OSMOND CAN 184.17 2 6
5 Da Bin CHOI KOR 182.41 6 4
6 Mariah BELL USA 177.10 7 7
7 Zijun LI CHN 177.05 8 5
8 Elizabet TURSYNBAEVA KAZ 176.65 3 11
9 Wakaba HIGUCHI JPN 172.16 10 9
10 Rika HONGO JPN 167.42 9 13
11 Alaine CHARTRAND CAN 167.12 14 8
12 Karen CHEN USA 166.82 12 10
13 Xiangning LI CHN 164.85 11 12
14 Brooklee HAN AUS 152.05 16 14
15 Ziquan ZHAO CHN 147.37 15 15
16 Kailani CRAINE AUS 136.91 13 17
17 Amy LIN TPE 125.02 18 19
18 Maisy Hiu Ching MA HKG 124.65 19 18
19 Suh Hyun SON KOR 122.35 22 16
20 Chloe ING SGP 120.18 21 20
21 Shuran YU SGP 118.40 20 21
R Na Hyun KIM KOR 17
R Michaela DU TOIT RSA 23


Not a shining event, notable exceptions being Mai Mihara, Mirai Nagasu, Da Bin Choi and Zijun Li.
Not that surprised Mihara won, as she has turned in clean/near clean performances every time this season.

[Maleeva]

Are my eyes deceiving me? Nagasu had almost all positive GOEs and no under-rotations? Is it too late to send her to worlds instead of Bell or Chen LOL? Very happy for her skating PBs in the free program and total score.

Sorry but not sure how Osmond had the second highest PCS with a three fall program. Hoping she can re-group in time for Helsinki.

[wmari]

Agree with you guys - Nagasu is the best US candidate for Helsinki and possibly Olympics.

[chuckiem]

One of the ladies would have to withdraw in order for Mirai to substitute. Last year, Mirai was 2nd at 4CC with a similar clean skate and then placed 10th at Worlds. So even if Mirai did replace Karen or Mariah,that would still not guarantee saving three spots for Olympics. With the return of Kostner, it will be hard for Ashley to medal this year.

[Maleeva]

Perhaps the best the US can hope for is Ashley finishing 4th in Helsinki and either Bell or Chen somehow finishing 9th, to get the three spots.

[Jonas]

Steps backwards for both Chen and Bell since Kansas City. This should've been an opportunity for them to build some momentum before their Worlds debuts. Nagasu jumped well, but I'm not so sure I can say she performed well. In the FS, it looks to me that she laser focused on landing the jumps and only after the last pass did she let loose a little. Not to take anything away from her as she deserved this medal. I'm not that surprised Nagasu ended up being the top US lady here. I think she really wanted to end her pre-Olympic season with a bang and some need body of work points! Having said all of this, I don't necessarily find the itch to replace either Chen or Bell for Nagasu on the World Team. Karen Chen is the US Champion and as inconsistent as she is, replacing the US Champion just ain't happening. Bell has had an equally solid fall international season as Nagasu. Nagasu was in position to win the whole thing in KC, but was beaten fair and square for the bronze medal. I'd say Nagasu should celebrate, keep up the training just in case, and focus on the Olympic season. Might be good time to amp up that 3Axel!

Mai Mihara started her first full senior season with a bang and barely looked back. I bet on Osmond winning here, but I'm not surprised that Mihara took the title instead. She skated right after Nagasu, who received a partial standing ovation, but didn't seem the least bit phased. You'd be smart to add her to the list of medal contenders in Helsinki. She's as rock solid and super consistent as Japanese Champ Satoko Miyahara, but doesn't seem to be as prone to carrot calls.

And how about Gabby Daleman winning a silver medal AND, more importantly, beating Kaetlyn Osmond in both phases AND by a healthy margin overall. I've said it multiple times, but this girl is unapologetically hungry and is not afraid to go for it -- a trait I don't really say about Canadian ladies' singles skaters. Difficult as it may be, I don't think a repeat top 7 performance in Helsinki is out of her reach.

Your thoughts...

[chuckiem]

Gabby finished 9th last year in Boston, Jonas. She could equal that or possibly better it a bit.

Not sure what to think about Osmond. She fell twice at Nationals, but was held up there to win over Gabby, who had only a few minor stepouts. Kaetlyn's first fall on the lutz here was very unexpected, and clearly it rattled her. That last fall must have been painful, because she was in tears leaving the ice. There were some pre-Nationals 'tweaks' to the FS that may not have worked out as intended.

[Maleeva]

Nathan beat the big boys and his first win over Hanyu! Well done.

Jason brown really needs to learn a 3 axel 3 toe combo. It would help his technical score tremendously. That element was Hanyu's highest scoring jump last night.

[chuckiem]

MEN FREE SKATE

1 Yuzuru HANYU JPN 206.67 112.33 94.34 9.46 9.25 9.54 9.46 9.46 0.00 23 4lo, 4s, 3f, 2s+1lo, 4t, 3a+3t, 4t+2t, 3a
2 Nathan CHEN USA 204.34 115.48 88.86 9.00 8.75 8.89 8.93 8.86 0.00 24 4z+3t, 4f, 4t, 4t+2t, 3a+2t+2t*, 4s, 3z, 3a
3 Shoma UNO JPN 187.77 98.69 91.08 9.11 8.96 9.04 9.18 9.25 2.00 22 4lo, 4f, 3z, 3a↓, 4t, 4t+2t, 3a<↓+rep, 3s
4 Patrick CHAN CAN 179.52 88.94 92.58 9.25 9.18 9.14 9.29 9.43 2.00 20 4t+3t, 3a, 4s<↓, 4t↓, 3a-hd+rep, 3lo, 3z-so, 3f+2t+2lo
5 Boyang JIN CHN 176.18 100.74 77.44 8.04 7.43 7.64 7.82 7.79 2.00 19 4z+3t, 4s-so, 4lo<↓, 4t<↓, 4t-hd+2t, 3a+1lo+3s, 3a, 3z
6 Jason BROWN USA 165.08 79.36 85.72 8.43 8.43 8.64 8.61 8.75 0.00 16 3a+2t, 3a, 2a, 3z, 3f+3t, 1a, 3lo-hd, 3z!+1lo<<+2s
7 Nam NGUYEN CAN 164.09 92.57 72.52 7.32 7.04 7.29 7.29 7.32 1.00 7 4t, 4s<↓, 3a, 4s+2t+2lo, 3a+3t, 3lo, 3f+2t, 3z
8 Misha GE UZB 157.56 80.64 76.92 7.68 7.46 7.75 7.71 7.86 0.00 17 3a, 3a+1lo+3s, 3f, 3z+3t, 3z, 3lo, 2a, 2a+2t
9 Grant HOCHSTEIN USA 153.78 77.00 77.78 7.82 7.64 7.75 7.79 7.89 1.00 18 4t-hd+2t, 3a<↓, 4t, 1a, 3z+1lo+3s, 3f, 3lo, 3t+2t
10 Han YAN CHN 151.37 73.09 78.28 8.00 7.68 7.71 7.93 7.82 0.00 21 3a-2hd, 4t-so-2hd, 4t+2t, 1a, 3lo-so, 3z+3t, 3s, 3f
11 Brendan KERRY AUS 149.28 76.70 72.58 7.39 7.00 7.29 7.29 7.32 0.00 15 4s, 3t-so, 3a+2t, 3t+2t, 3a+1lo+3s-hd, 3f, 3z, 3lo-hd
12 Kevin REYNOLDS CAN 145.95 72.31 74.64 7.50 7.29 7.46 7.50 7.57 1.00 14 3s, 4t<↓, 4s<, 4t<+rep, 3a<, 3z+3t, 3f+3t, 3lo
13 Keiji TANAKA JPN 142.63 68.71 73.92 7.54 7.21 7.29 7.46 7.46 0.00 13 3s, 2s, 3a, 2f+2t, 3a+2t+2lo, 3z, 3lo, 3f
14 Michael ChrIstian MARTINEZ PHI 141.68 71.56 71.12 7.07 6.82 7.21 7.25 7.21 1.00 9 3lo, 3t, 3a+2t, 3a-to, 3z+1lo+3s, 3f, 3z↓, 2a
15 Jin Seo KIM KOR 130.79 63.95 67.84 6.82 6.46 6.82 6.89 6.93 1.00 11 4t<↓, 1a, 3z+3t<, 3lo, 3a-hd, 3z, 3s+2t+2lo, 3a low+rep
16 Julian Zhi Jie YEE MAS 130.46 63.96 67.50 6.75 7.50 6.82 6.75 6.93 1.00 10 3a+2t+2lo, 3s, 3f+3t<<, 3a↓, 3z, 3f, 3lo<, 2a^2a
17 Sihyeong LEE KOR 130.32 64.04 66.28 6.61 6.50 6.71 6.68 6.64 0.00 8 3z+3t, 3f, 3s, 3lo<+3lo<, 3a, 3z, 2z+2lo+2lo, 2a
18 June Hyoung LEE KOR 120.03 56.11 64.92 6.61 6.32 6.46 6.61 6.46 1.00 12 3a<↓, 3lo+2t, 3f, 3f+3t, 2a+2t+2lo-so, 3s<, 3lo-so-hd, 3ze
19 Chih-I TSAO TPE 118.61 64.25 56.36 5.93 5.46 5.61 5.68 5.50 2.00 6 3a↓, 3s+2t, 3f+2t+2lo, 3z, 3lo↓, 3f, 3s, 2a+2t
20 Mark WEBSTER AUS 105.11 51.41 54.70 5.46 5.29 5.39 5.64 5.57 1.00 4 3a↓, 1a+2t, 3f+2t+2lo, 2z+3t, 3s, 3f<, 3t, 2a
21 Andrew DODDS AUS 101.88 48.04 54.84 5.79 5.21 5.46 5.50 5.46 1.00 2 3z↓, 3f+2t, 3lo<, 3z+2t+2lo, 2f, 3s, 2a, 2a
22 Leslie Man Cheuk IP HKG 93.88 52.32 45.56 4.89 4.25 4.50 4.68 4.46 4.00 1 3z, 3a<<↓, 3fe↓, 2a+3t, 3z↓+rep, 3lo, 3s+2t+2lo, 2a+2t
23 Kai Xiang CHEW MAS 91.08 46.88 45.20 4.82 4.21 4.50 4.64 4.43 1.00 5 2a, 3z+3lo<, 3lo, 3z, 3fe↓, 3s<<, 2z+2t, 2a+1t+1lo
24 Micah TANG TPE 89.38 46.24 44.14 4.61 4.18 4.39 4.57 4.32 1.00 3 2a, 2z+3t<, 3f, 0 fcsp, 3lo, 3z, 3s, 1a+2t+2lo, 3s+2t



FINAL STANDINGS MEN

1 Nathan CHEN USA 307.46 1 2
2 Yuzuru HANYU JPN 303.71 3 1
3 Shoma UNO JPN 288.05 2 3
4 Patrick CHAN CAN 267.98 5 4
5 Boyang JIN CHN 267.51 4 5
6 Jason BROWN USA 245.85 9 6
7 Misha GE UZB 239.41 8 8
8 Nam NGUYEN CAN 237.08 13 7
9 Grant HOCHSTEIN USA 235.72 7 9
10 Han YAN CHN 235.45 6 10
11 Brendan KERRY AUS 227.39 10 11
12 Kevin REYNOLDS CAN 222.31 12 12
13 Keiji TANAKA JPN 220.18 11 13
14 Michael ChrIstian MARTINEZ PHI 214.15 14 14
15 Julian Zhi Jie YEE MAS 202.67 15 16
16 Si Hyeong LEE KOR 195.72 17 17
17 Jin Seo KIM KOR 195.05 18 15
18 June Hyoung LEE KOR 187.58 16 18
19 Chih-I TSAO TPE 169.63 22 19
20 Andrew DODDS AUS 162.05 19 21
21 Mark WEBSTER AUS 160.03 20 20
22 Leslie Man Cheuk IP HKG 146.74 21 22
23 Kai Xiang CHEW MAS 138.46 23 23
24 Micah TANG TPE 135.79 24 24

Nathan Chen served notice at 4CC that he is a serious threat that cannot be underestimated. If the big guns like Hanyu and Fernandez make any mistakes, Nathan's quad virtuosity and performance consistency can win the day. He even added a second 3a in his freeskate at the end of his performance, like an exclamation point!

[Jonas]

Cray-cray!! We were all in awe of Javi nailing 3 quads and 2 3Axels en route to his World title defense last year in Boston. Looking forward to Helsinki, it appears as though that'll be the absolute minimum to land on the podium. All three of the medalists here have at least four quads of at least three different types planned in their free skate.

Nathan Chen is absolute bona fide medal contender in Helsinki and he could very well emerge as the new World Champion. Is he an artiste?? -- No, but you can't deny the quads and the points they rack up.

Your thoughts...

[Maleeva]

Good for Vincent Zhou easily winning the Bavarian open and getting the minimum tech score needed for sr worlds, in case he is needed in Helsinki. Jason's score at 4 Cs was only two points behind Vincent so that makes me feel a bit better about Jason going to Helsinki rather than Vincent.

[icequeen]

Things to look forward to: Can Chan take Hanyu?

Thoughts?

Are you having a laugh? Chan's had his day (if he ever really had it). He turned in his usual flawed, soulless performance which couldn't even begin to compare with Hanyu's sublime excellence.

[Jonas]

Jason brown really needs to learn a 3 axel 3 toe combo. It would help his technical score tremendously. That element was Hanyu's highest scoring jump last night.

Jason does 3Axel-2toe, 3flip-3toe, and 3Lutz-half loop-3Sal as his three combinations and is able to repeat 3Axel and 3Lutz. He's maxing out his jump offering in the absence of a quad. His 3Axel still gives him headaches, so I don't see him tacking on a 3toe to that nor would there be any strategic advantage in doing so. What Jason really needs is to get a consistent quad in both the short and long programs.

This same argument holds true for Adam Rippon, Ross Miner, and Tim Dolensky.

Conversely, Grant Hochstein has stood up more quad attempts this season than last, but it seems to have come at the expense of his 3Axel, which he really got a tighter grip on in competition last season.

Your thoughts...

[chuckiem]

I'm not convinced Jason can get his quad back in time for Worlds, and if he goes for it, URs and crashes, it won't help his performance or his score.

At 4CC, in the SP, he fell on the 3a and URd the 3z. If he does that at Worlds, he might not even make the penultimate flight for the FS, and that would affect his PCS scores for sure.

Here was what he did in the FS: 3a+2t, 3a, 2a, 3z, 3f+3t, 1a, 3lo-hd, 3z!+1lo<<+2s
The second half of the program was a mess. Obviously, the lack of practice time affected his stamina.

He isn't even practicing the quad yet, and I suspect his practice time is still somewhat limited so as not to strain the injured leg. A stress fracture can recur if too heavy exercise is resumed before the injury is completely healed. So he still may have stamina problems six weeks from now.

[Dragonlady]

Nathan Chen's obvious surprise and happiness at winning was very endearing. His joy and enthusiasm is infectious. His skating is improving by leaps and bounds. He's made huge stride in his presentation, and the jumps are incredible.

[Virginia]

Jonas wrote:

"Cray-cray!!"

... translation, please?

[Dragonlady]

Jonas wrote:

"Cray-cray!!"

... translation, please?

Crazy, crazy stuff!

[canskate79]

Kaetlyn's crash and burn in her FS was almost expected. That's been the norm for this season. I really think she needs to consider a new coach. Ravi isn't able to get her in the mindset to perform a clean program. Someone new with different perspectives, different strategies and a new plan of attack. Kaetlyn could seriously contend for World or Olympic medals but not with her current coach. She needs a new team.